You Yuji was startled and quickly glanced behind Si Que. Fortunately, Lady Jing had just left, and it was only the two of them in the small room.
You Yuji shifted her gaze back to Si Que’s eyes. After a moment of internal struggle, she leaned forward and gently hugged Si Que before quickly releasing him and leaning back against the soft pillows.
The smile on Si Que’s lips grew even more sincere.
See, Sister allows me to hug her.
But this felt too perfunctory.
Si Que leaned forward, wrapping his arms around You Yuji’s slender waist and pulling her into his embrace. You Yuji’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, but before she could protest, Si Que buried his face in her chest.
You Yuji’s body stiffened, and she awkwardly leaned back, pressing her spine closer to the pillow. She tried to relax her tense body but could hear her own heartbeat.
Si Que could hear it too, as his ear was pressed against her heart.
You Yuji glanced toward the door. Even though it was just the two of them in the small room, it was only a wall away from the flower hall outside, and the soundproofing wasn’t very good. She reached for Si Que’s hand, trying to pull him away.
“Sister,” Si Que tightened his grip around her waist, “don’t push me away.”
You Yuji’s hand paused. She asked him softly, “What’s wrong?”
Si Que was silent for a moment before speaking, “I hurt you yesterday.”
You Yuji looked down at Si Que in slight surprise. Her voice was soft and gentle, “It’s okay. We can take it slow from now on.”
You Yuji averted her gaze slightly, feeling a bit of shyness.
Si Que remained nestled in her embrace, refusing to leave. She gently tapped his hand on her lower back with her fingertips, speaking softly, “Can you get up, please?”
“No.”
You Yuji was silent for a while before speaking softly again, “What will make you get up?”
She waited but received no response from Si Que. She frowned slightly and whispered, “Si Que, you can’t be so unreasonable.”
Si Que finally lifted his head slightly, looking up at You Yuji with a mixture of sadness and determination in his eyes. “Sister, I know I hurt you. I just… I just need to be close to you, to feel that you don’t hate me.”
You Yuji’s expression softened. She sighed softly and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. “Si Que, I don’t hate you. I’m just worried about you, about us.”
He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, and nodded slightly. “I know, Sister. I promise I’ll be more careful.”
You Yuji gave him a small, reassuring smile. “Thank you. Now, let’s get up and face the day together, alright?”
Reluctantly, Si Que nodded and slowly got up, releasing You Yuji from his embrace. She adjusted her clothes and stood up, ready to continue with the day’s tasks, hoping they could find a way to ease the tension and misunderstandings between them.
Listening to You Yuji’s somewhat helpless tone, Si Que raised one corner of his lips and smiled.
“Big sister! Big sister!” Lin Yingying ran in excitedly, holding an embroidery pattern. “Which pattern do you think looks better on the sleeve, big sister?”
Lin Yingying pushed the door open and was stunned by the sight of the two of them leaning close to each other on the narrow bed by the window.
You Yuji’s heart skipped a beat. Then, she noticed the snow-white hem of Si Que’s dress.
Just as Si Que was about to get up, You Yuji suddenly hugged his head tightly into her chest. She frowned at Lin Yingying and said, “The princess is homesick and crying. I’ll talk to you later.”
Saying this, You Yuji even gently patted Si Que’s shoulder, soothing him softly.
“Oh! Then big sister, you comfort the princess well. I’ll go ask Cuiyu.” Lin Yingying, holding the embroidery pattern book, pushed the door and went out.
You Yuji even heard Lin Yingying, who had just walked out, saying to someone, “Big sister is busy comforting Princess Que. We’ll go in later.”
You Yuji let go of Si Que, lowering her eyes to hide her amusement.
She lifted her eyes to look at Si Que and met his smiling gaze.
They exchanged smiles. While straightening Si Que’s collar, You Yuji deliberately raised her voice, “Que Que, stop crying! Big sister will be with you from now on.”
You Yuji softened her eyebrows and eyes, and whispered, “You rest here for a while, don’t go out.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to big sister.” Si Que smiled obediently at her.
You Yuji moved her legs off the bed and bent down to pick up her shoes. Before her hand could touch the shoes, she saw Si Que’s slender hand in her line of sight.
You Yuji slowly lifted her eyes, glanced at Si Que, and then lowered her eyes to look at his hands helping her put on the shoes. His hands were as white as jade, with long and elegant fingers. You Yuji suddenly thought of how he looked when playing the qin.
After both shoes were on, Si Que placed You Yuji’s feet down. When he turned his gaze to her, You Yuji looked away. She got up, picked up the account book beside her, and walked out.
Si Que sat on the edge of the bed, watching You Yuji’s back as she walked out. When she reached the door, her steps paused, and she turned back to give him a charming smile before stepping out and closing the wooden door.
Si Que lay down on the narrow bed, listening to You Yuji’s voice talking to others outside.
“Yingying, which pattern did you ask me about just now?”
“The princess is fine, just let her be alone for a while.”
“Zhenxu, this account book seems fine to me. Later, you should run to Qingya Residence…”
Big sister’s voice is really pleasant, especially when she mentions him. But it sounds even better when she talks to him directly.
Having stayed up all night, Si Que slowly closed his eyes, listening to You Yuji’s voice in the flower hall, and gradually fell asleep.
By almost noon, several concubines finally left You Yuji’s flower hall.
Chunxing lived alone, while Lin Yingying and Cuiyu lived together. After leaving the flower hall, the three walked together for a while before parting ways. Chunxing smiled at Lin Yingying and Cuiyu before heading to her own place.
Cuiyu pouted, “I never would have thought that such a proud person like the princess would cry from homesickness.”
Lin Yingying thought for a moment and said, “Well, she was a proud princess, but now she’s a concubine in a conquered country. Of course, she feels wronged.”
“Even though the princess doesn’t interact with anyone, she seems to have a good relationship with the lady,” Cuiyu added. “I’ve heard that the lady has stayed overnight at Yunxiao Courtyard several times.”
“Yes. Both of them are from the Si Kingdom. They might have known each other before. Besides, the lady is so kind that everyone likes her,” Lin Yingying said with a smile, looking at Cuiyu. “Even you, who usually speaks ill of people, don’t say anything bad about her!”
“Who are you calling prickly? I’ll get you for that!”
The two laughed and chased each other.
Chen Anzhi, accompanied by some aristocratic friends, returned to the manor and heard the women’s laughter. They all turned to look.
Among them, a young man surnamed Sun glanced at Cuiyu and recited a couple of lines of praise, congratulating Chen Anzhi on his good fortune.
Chen Anzhi smiled but felt uncomfortable.
—He never liked women acting frivolously. Playing and laughing in the garden was utterly improper!
Could it be that interacting with You Yuji daily had corrupted these once-elegant people?
Chen Anzhi frowned.
Si Que stood by the window on the second floor of Yunxiao Courtyard, gazing outside. The sky turned from blue to dusk and then to night, but he did not see the familiar purple figure coming through the plum grove.
Tingyun came upstairs and asked, “Your Highness, are we still stopping the medicine today?”
Si Que did not respond. He glanced at the stars shining in the night sky, knowing that You Yuji would not come tonight. He turned away listlessly and walked to the zither table, playing a spontaneous tune.
It was a somewhat melancholic tune.
Many of Si Que’s renowned pieces were composed out of boredom. However, today, for the first time, he did not finish his impromptu tune. He lost interest halfway through, abruptly stopping the melody.
He opened a drawer, grabbed a handful of copper coins, and tossed them into the air.
After a chaotic clatter, the coins scattered on the ground.
Tingyun, observing Si Que’s expression closely, stepped forward and began counting the coins.
“Never mind,” Si Que stopped her. He got up and went to the inner room, lying down on the bed out of boredom.
He lay there, eyes open, staring at the green bed curtains. The green curtains always seemed to faintly reveal a graceful silhouette.
Could it be that she was hurt by his lack of understanding of romance twice and is now thinking of changing partners?
Si Que’s face darkened.
He got up and opened the bottom drawer of the bedside cabinet, looking at the special snow-colored undergarment lying quietly inside.
What initially started as a man’s lust for a beauty had ended in sleepless nights like this.
After a long time, Si Que slowly muttered to himself, “This is not right.”
He closed the drawer and called Tingyun in to give instructions.
The reason You Yuji did not go to Yunxiao Courtyard today was because she had finally finished reading a booklet about conceiving children. On the last two pages, it mentioned that the timing of intercourse should be chosen carefully.
You Yuji stared at the words “seven days before and eight days after” for a long time and smiled helplessly.
So, the pain she had endured the last two times was for nothing?
It was just as well, Si Que should get some proper rest, and she hoped he would sleep well tonight. You Yuji closed the booklet, put it back in the cabinet, and went to take a comfortable milk bath. When she returned to the bedroom, her cat, Baisui, was already lying beside her pillow waiting for her.
“You sleep well too,” You Yuji smiled, gently tapping Baisui’s head with her finger.
Baisui, lazily dozing, merely flicked his tail in response, not wanting to open his eyes to acknowledge You Yuji.
Lying down beside Baisui, You Yuji suddenly realized she had never used the phrase “sleep well” before. The next moment, it dawned on her that this was something Si Que often said.
The next day, after breakfast, Si Que went to Tanxiang Yingyue again.
By the time he arrived, Lin Yingying, Cuiyu, and Chunxing had already embroidered many patterns. He walked slowly through the moon gate and along the path until the flower hall of Tanxiang Yingyue came into view.
Si Que immediately saw You Yuji.
She stood at the entrance of the flower hall, smiling as she spoke to someone. The cool breeze blew the hem of her light purple dress, creating a rippling wave.
Si Que watched her for a moment before shifting his gaze to the person she was talking to.
It was a young man.
With a jade crown, black hair, and a green robe embroidered with jade patterns, he looked scholarly and upright.
Si Que stared at the unfamiliar man and continued walking forward. As he got closer, he heard You Yuji’s voice.
“…Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Fu.” She was thanking him, her voice as gentle as ever.
“No need to be so polite, madam,” the young man replied warmly. “It’s cold, there’s no need to see me off.”
“Alright,” You Yuji smiled and nodded slightly, then instructed Lady Jing beside her to see the guest off.
Si Que continued walking forward and passed by the unexpected guest. The young man surnamed Fu looked at Si Que, but Si Que kept his gaze straight ahead, not wanting to acknowledge him.
You Yuji was about to return to the flower hall, but seeing Si Que arrive, she stopped and waited, smiling slightly. “Perfect timing, the freshly roasted chestnuts have just been brought in.”
“Oh?” Si Que said ambiguously, “Roasted chestnuts are delicious, I like them the most.”
Just like the previous day, Si Que sat beside You Yuji, silently eating the roasted chestnuts on the white plate, one by one.
The image of the young man from earlier kept appearing in his mind.
Although he wasn’t as handsome as Si Que, he did look decent.
Although he wasn’t as learned as Si Que, he did seem like a scholar.
As for his character?
Si Que frowned, there weren’t many people in this world whose character was worse than his.
Lost in thought, Si Que accidentally dropped a half-peeled chestnut, which rolled to You Yuji’s feet.
Si Que’s gaze followed the chestnut to You Yuji’s feet, then slowly moved up from the tips of her shoes visible under her skirt, finally resting on her smiling face as she turned to talk to Cuiyu.
After finishing her conversation with Cuiyu, You Yuji reached down to pick up the chestnut. She finally felt Si Que’s gaze and looked up at him gently.
“Sister, I don’t like the arrangement of Yunxiao Courtyard and want to renovate it.”
You Yuji thought for a moment and nodded, “Alright.”
Si Que looked at You Yuji and slowly smiled. He asked, “Can I stay in your wing until the renovation is complete?”
