In early May, when the gardenias first bloomed, You Yuji casually mentioned that the scent of the gardenias was sweet, and soon the scent of gardenias could be seen everywhere in Tanxiang Yingyue.
She lazily leaned on the beauty couch by the window, the warm breeze flowing in through the window gently lifted strands of her hair. A thin blanket was draped over her knees, and Baisui was curled up sleeping beside her. Occasionally, it would yawn widely and stretch before continuing to sleep.
You Yuji smiled and glanced at Baisui, lightly tapping its forehead with her finger. Baisui was too lazy to open its eyes, lazily wagging its tail in response.
You Yuji smiled and looked away, her gaze returning to the medical book in her hands. Despite the afternoon drowsiness, she couldn’t sleep, so she leaned there flipping through medical books to pass the time.
Baohe came in from outside, smiling as she reported, “Madam, everything is packed.”
You Yuji nodded, glancing at the fine beads of sweat on Baohe’s forehead, and said with a smile, “We’re leaving tomorrow. Since you’ve finished, have some tea and rest.”
“Yes!” Baohe responded, walked into the room, and poured herself a cup of tea from the teapot on the table, drinking it in one gulp. However, she couldn’t stay idle and soon went inside to check if anything had been left behind.
Although the Empress Dowager’s intention was to wait for Chen Anzhi to return and then have the two of them go to the ancestral home to record their divorce, she didn’t say that You Yuji had to stay at the Jinnan Prince Mansion before Chen Anzhi returned.
She planned to return to the You family tomorrow.
You Yuji lowered her eyes, her gentle gaze falling on her lower abdomen.
This child was the reason she was so eager to leave the Jinnan Mansion. When she conceived this child, Chen Anzhi had already gone to war, so no one would suspect that the child had any connection with Chen Anzhi. But now that she was pregnant, she didn’t want to stay in the Jinnan Mansion.
“Meow.” Baisui, fully rested, stretched lazily, its gem-like eyes wide open.
You Yuji scratched its chin, listening to it purr contentedly.
You Yuji’s gaze moved past Baisui to the bottle of gardenias on the windowsill. The room was filled with freshly picked gardenias, but this particular bottle had been picked three days ago.
Si Que had picked them for her.
After picking these gardenias, Si Que had said he needed to return to the Poison House and hadn’t returned since.
You Yuji’s gentle stroking of Baisui gradually slowed as she stared at the bottle of gardenias, lost in thought.
She had successfully conceived a child and was now focusing on nurturing the pregnancy, waiting for the child to be born to complete her mother’s prescription.
And then?
Suddenly, You Yuji felt a trace of confusion.
She had planned her future carefully and knew what she had to do, but she couldn’t explain why she still felt lost. It was as if the road ahead was shrouded in mist, and even though she knew the path, the uncertainty made her feel empty.
She, who was always so methodical, didn’t even know what she was confused about.
She and he had mutual affection, their time together was warm and pleasant, and now they had a child. Wasn’t that wonderful? She tried to convince herself not to overthink; nothing was more important than enjoying the present.
You Yuji stopped the comforting strokes that Baisui loved. After a long wait, Baisui reached out a small paw to tap her wrist in protest.
You Yuji came back to her senses, picked Baisui up, and gently stroked it. Only then did Baisui close its eyes in contentment.
Before long, Zhenxu came in to report that Chunxing had arrived.
You Yuji didn’t get up and instead had Chunxing brought in.
Chunxing was holding a box. Today, she was wearing a rare pomegranate red dress. There was a happy event in the mansion; today was the day of the engagement between Chen Lingyan and the son of Princess Huarong. You Yuji gestured for Chunxing to sit next to her on the beauty couch.
“Sister, you are leaving tomorrow. Luckily, this dress is finished.” Chunxing lowered her head and opened the box on her lap.
You Yuji straightened slightly, pushed Baisui off her lap, brushed off the cat hair, and looked at the dress in the box.
“Is this for me?” she asked softly.
“Yes.” Chunxing replied, “I had nothing else to give you, so I thought of making you a spring dress. My hands are clumsy, and it took three months to finally finish it.”
Whether her hands were clumsy or not was hard to say, but she was always daydreaming, which was true. But Chunxing felt that fortunately, making this dress had helped her pass the difficult time over the past few months.
You Yuji took out the dress and ran her fingers over the exquisite embroidery, sincerely saying, “You put a lot of thought into this. This embroidery must have taken a lot of effort.”
“As long as sister likes it.” Chunxing smiled faintly.
But her smile no longer reached her eyes.
You Yuji observed Chunxing’s expression. Several months had passed, and she still seemed the same. If there was any difference between people and things, it was probably that unique spirit. However, You Yuji felt that Chunxing’s spirit had disappeared along with Wangjiang.
After hesitating for a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “Have you still decided to stay here?”
Chunxing, while folding and putting back the clothes into the box, softly replied, “It’s the same wherever I go.”
You Yuji couldn’t help but recall the night they toured Lianshui last year. Back then, Cuiyu and Lin Yingying were there, and laughter was endless. Now, everyone had left, leaving only Chunxing behind.
“Cuiyu and Yingying might be hoping for your help,” You Yuji persuaded again.
Chunxing seemed to hesitate for a moment but still shook her head.
In this world, only here still had traces of his presence. She didn’t want to go anywhere else.
You Yuji nodded and stopped persuading, changing the topic.
When Si Que returned, Chunxing was still there.
Before he even entered the door, he heard Baohe’s laughter. Casually listening, it seemed they were talking about Chen Lingyan’s engagement.
“Is it really that troublesome?” Chunxing said, “I never paid attention before.”
“I remember my engagement was somewhat like this,” You Yuji said casually.
Si Que’s steps suddenly paused before continuing inside. His gaze fell on the beauty couch, immediately seeing You Yuji surrounded by people.
You Yuji also noticed his return in an instant. She looked up and said, “You’re back.”
Si Que responded with a sound and, passing by her, handed her a skewer of candied haws, then continued inside.
Zhenxu and Baohe exchanged a sneaky glance and then solemnly returned their gazes.
“It’s getting late. I should go back,” Chunxing stood up.
“Alright. I won’t see you off,” You Yuji pulled Chunxing’s hand, “If anything comes up, just send someone to the You family to find me.”
Chunxing nodded, squeezed You Yuji’s fingertips, and turned to leave.
Zhenxu followed to see her off, while Baohe, making an excuse to check on dinner, dashed out.
“Meow.” Even Baisui jumped off the beauty couch and slipped out before Baohe closed the door.
You Yuji smiled, lowering her eyes to the candied haws in her hand. She took a bite, the sweet and sour taste spreading through her mouth.
By the time she bit into the third one, Si Que had changed his clothes and come out from the inner room.
Hearing the approaching footsteps behind her, You Yuji didn’t turn around, slowly savoring the hawthorn in her mouth. She listened to Si Que sit down behind her, waited a bit, but he made no move and remained silent.
Only then did You Yuji turn around in puzzlement, meeting his deep, dark eyes.
When he was deep in thought, those dark eyes became even more profound, like a cold pool.
You Yuji handed the candied hawthorn skewer to Si Que. He lifted his gaze, watching You Yuji bite into a hawthorn.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.
“Not happy,” Si Que stated bluntly.
You Yuji let out a soft “ah,” looking at him in surprise, waiting for him to continue. But Si Que said nothing more and refused to eat the candied hawthorn You Yuji offered.
He reached out, wanting to pull her into his arms. You Yuji, however, placed her hand on his chest to stop him. She looked at Si Que, clearly wanting him to speak.
Si Que suddenly asked, “Is Chen Anzhi dead yet?”
You Yuji was taken aback and then replied, “No, I haven’t heard anything like that.”
“When will he return?” Si Que asked again.
You Yuji shook her head. “The princess only said he would definitely return before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the exact date is unknown. However, with the recent defeats on the front lines, it seems the emperor intends to withdraw the troops, so he might return earlier.”
“I can’t wait anymore,” Si Que said.
“What?” You Yuji still didn’t understand his words.
Si Que’s face turned cold, a ruthless expression in his eyes. “I’m waiting for him to come back so I can skin him and feed him to the dogs.”
He stared intensely at You Yuji. Si Que didn’t know when he started to become jealous of Chen Anzhi—jealous that he once held the title of Yuan Yuan’s husband, jealous that he once prepared to marry her in bridal clothes.
He was so jealous that even the sight of red annoyed him now.
He clasped You Yuji’s waist, pulling her into his embrace, and called out “sister,” lazily leaning in to kiss her neck.
“Your lips are all sticky with sugar. Don’t rub against me,” You Yuji laughed, pushing him away and dodging to the side.
“I’m going to rub,” Si Que insisted, first brushing the sugar from You Yuji’s lips with his own, then using his sugary lips to rub against her cheek.
In the end, he swallowed all the sweetness back down with a hint of sourness.
As usual, Cuiyu and Lin Yingying got up early in the morning to start their busy day. They steamed several trays of buns and made a few new types of pastries.
When Lin Yingying and Cuiyu brought the buns and pastries out from the kitchen, Lin Yingying glanced around and noticed that the person who usually stood at the street corner was not there today.
The person who stood across the street every day was Jiang Yunche’s bodyguard.
Ever since she and Cuiyu started setting up their stall here, that bodyguard had shown up daily. He would stay until they packed up and went home, following them at a distance until they were safely home before leaving. And the next morning, before dawn, he would be back at the street corner.
This morning, not seeing him, Lin Yingying thought he might be waiting here, but even after she and Cuiyu finished setting up, he was nowhere to be seen.
Lin Yingying told herself that this was normal. Jiang Yunche was currently in high spirits and should have moved on from her. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it?
But for some reason, Lin Yingying felt a vague unease.
All morning, she was rather distracted.
Until the conversation of passing pedestrians drifted into her ears.
“Who would have thought the top scholar would write a subversive poem? Yesterday, he was a rising star, and today, he’s a prisoner,” someone said.
Lin Yingying stood up abruptly, grabbing the passerby who was about to leave. “What happened to Jiang Yunche?” she asked urgently.
“He wrote a subversive poem. The officials are escorting him to the dungeon, and he’s likely to lose his head,” the person said, making a slicing gesture across his neck.
Lin Yingying froze, her mind going blank.
The next moment, she turned to Cuiyu. “I can’t stay with you anymore.”
With that, she ran off without looking back.
“Yingying! Are you crazy? You didn’t go with him when he was in glory, and now you run to him when he’s about to be executed? Are you out of your mind?” Cuiyu angrily threw down the cloth in her hand.
She paced back and forth, hesitated for a long time, then abandoned the stall and ran after Lin Yingying, cursing under her breath.
The crowd that had once gathered to celebrate the top scholar’s parade was now just as lively watching him being taken to prison. People lined the streets, pointing and gossiping.
“What’s going on here?”
Despite the mocking and jeering voices around him, Jiang Yunche’s face remained expressionless. But when he heard the commotion, he turned and saw Lin Yingying running towards him from a distance.
“Who’s this causing a disturbance?” an officer demanded.
Lin Yingying was relieved to arrive before Jiang Yunche was taken into the dungeon. She looked past the officers, staring at Jiang Yunche in his prison garb, and panted, “I… I’m his maid. Arrest me too.”
Born worlds apart, if your dreams come true, I am happy. If you fall into the dust, dying with you is my happiness.