Si Que slowly rotated the delicate bracelet off his wrist and placed it back onto You Yuji’s wrist. The bracelet was cool with the touch of jade, while her wrist was warm.
Si Que gently lowered You Yuji’s hand, but his gaze did not waver. Her hand was not only extremely beautiful, but the brief contact while putting on the bracelet also revealed how smooth and soft her skin was, akin to warm jade.
Baisui, who had been pushed away, persistently crawled back. It climbed along You Yuji’s arm onto her body, then tumbled over to the side of You Yuji closest to Si Que. Wagging its tail, it crawled to You Yuji’s hand, rubbing its head against her fingers—it was seeking comfort after the fall.
Si Que glanced at it and once again grabbed it by the scruff, lifting it up.
Startled by the sudden lift, the little creature flailed its short legs and stiffened its tail, letting out a series of meows.
You Yuji frowned and woke up, groggily asking, “What’s wrong with it?”
“No idea why it’s meowing,” Si Que replied, setting the kitten down and looking at You Yuji with innocent eyes.
You Yuji rubbed her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow, gently stroking the kitten’s head with her other hand. Baisui immediately quieted down, even squinting its round eyes.
“He left?” You Yuji asked, still looking tenderly at Baisui.
“Yes, he left.” Si Que observed You Yuji’s expression, speaking with a playful tone, “The heir said all those things to me, and you fell asleep listening?”
As soon as he finished speaking, You Yuji’s palm covered his forehead. Her sleeve blocked Si Que’s view, preventing him from seeing her face for a moment.
You Yuji lowered her hand, revealing her bright, smiling face again.
“The fever is completely gone,” You Yuji said to Si Que with a gentle smile. “The princess is so good; if I were a man, I would like her too.”
Si Que wanted to speak but hesitated, feeling it was too complicated to explain.
You Yuji was sincere in her words. Whether Chen Anzhi liked Princess Que or Fang Qingyi or someone else, it didn’t matter much to You Yuji. She disliked Chen Anzhi’s behavior, but she had no ill feelings towards the women involved with him.
On the contrary, she felt sorry for these women.
You Yuji sat up, holding Baisui on her lap, teasing its little pink paws as she spoke, “I know you wanted me to see another side of the heir for my own good. But such rash actions shouldn’t be repeated; it’s too improper.”
“Alright, you just recovered from the fever, so you need to rest well. I’ll be going now.” You Yuji placed Baisui down, moved forward, and naturally patted Si Que’s shoulder as she got off the bed.
Just as she stood up, the voice of Zhenxu came from outside.
“Madam, Concubine Lin requests an audience. She seems very urgent.”
If it weren’t for an urgent matter, Lin Yingying wouldn’t have come to Yunxiao Courtyard, especially since Chen Anzhi had instructed the household not to disturb them.
You Yuji didn’t bother putting on her cloak to leave but went out directly to see what was happening.
As soon as You Yuji appeared, Lin Yingying, who had been waiting outside, knelt down with red eyes.
“What happened? Just speak up,” You Yuji inquired.
Zhenxu hurried to help Lin Yingying up.
Lin Yingying, however, refused to get up. She sobbed and pleaded, “Sister, my mother is gravely ill; this might be the last time I see her. I want to go home, to go back now. Sister, I beg you to let me go back. Tomorrow, I fear it will be too late, and the heir won’t see me… I don’t know who else to turn to. Sister, good sister, please, I’m begging you!”
Lin Yingying, usually eloquent, was so flustered that her words came out haltingly and stuttered, yet each time she called “sister,” it sounded sweeter and more sincere.
“Alright, go home then. Don’t cry.”
Lin Yingying hadn’t been crying initially, but upon hearing You Yuji agree without hesitation, the tears she had held back all night suddenly burst forth. She repeated over and over, “Sister, you’re so kind!”
The sky had long since turned completely dark. At this time, letting a concubine leave the residence, You Yuji also feared something might happen, so she instructed Zhenxu to find two household servants who had followed from the You family to accompany Lin Yingying home.
“If there’s anything you need, you can tell me. Don’t consider the money for medicine a bother. The weather has been changing drastically these past few days, wear more clothes.”
Lin Yingying nodded vigorously.
The entire conversation outside reached Si Que’s ears without missing a word. He picked up a bowl from the small table beside the bed, which contained a few pieces of dried herbs.
“Sister?” He chewed on a piece of herb slowly, savoring the bitterness along with the novel address.
You Yuji entered from outside, took a cloak from the coat rack, and said while putting it on, “I’m leaving. I have to go out tomorrow during the day. If I come back early, I’ll come see you in the evening.”
“Alright.” Si Que pulled out a faint smile.
Si Que had Liufeng see You Yuji off. When Liufeng returned, Si Que called her over.
“How does one become a concubine?” Si Que chewed the herb expressionlessly.
Liufeng blinked and pondered for a moment before replying, “There are two types of concubines. One is well-behaved and doesn’t cause trouble, serving both the master and mistress well, obedient to both. The other is not so well-behaved, constantly thinking about how to gain favor, firmly capturing the master’s heart, making it a lifelong pursuit to destroy the wife and be favored as the concubine!”
A sudden sound made Si Que and Liufeng look in the direction of the noise. It turned out Baisui, who had been sleeping soundly, somehow climbed into the bowl containing the herbs, causing the porcelain bowl to clatter.
Si Que picked up Baisui, flicked its forehead, and seriously asked it, “Baisui, what kind of concubine should we be?”
Baisui looked around, not really wanting to respond to him.
The next morning, You Yuji got ready and left the palace, heading to the Zhao residence. She had heard from Zhao Sheng the day before that Lady Chun was pregnant and intended to visit her.
Zhao Sheng had worked by her father’s side since he was young, and You Yuji had known him since childhood. She had known Lady Chun even longer, as they had grown up together like sisters. Over the years, there had been constant warfare, with Emperor Chen intent on breaking the old divisions of the twelve nations, employing various measures to encourage people to leave their homelands, gradually achieving cultural and bloodline integration.
Now, in Chenjing, being able to see her childhood friend again was a blessing.
Throughout the journey, You Yuji kept thinking about Lady Chun. Sometimes she worried if Lady Chun was having a difficult pregnancy, and other times she wondered whether this child would be a boy or a girl, and if they would resemble Lady Chun or Zhao Sheng.
A sudden violent jolt interrupted You Yuji’s thoughts.
Baohe tilted her body, hitting her head on the carriage wall, and cried out in pain, “Ow! What kind of driving is this!”
“There are mountain bandits, madam, be careful.”
The sound of Zhuo Wen’s solemn voice came from outside the carriage.
Zhuo Wen had once been a trusted general under You Yuji’s father, achieving numerous military exploits on the battlefield. After her father’s passing, he remembered General You’s life-saving grace and, lamenting the family’s circumstances, took off his armor and willingly became a guard for the You family.
Zhuo Wen, being skilled and seasoned in warfare, conveyed the gravity of the situation with his cautious tone. You Yuji sensed the seriousness and slightly adjusted her posture, pushing the carriage door open a bit to look outside. Sure enough, she saw a large group of bandits approaching.
Glancing at the bandits, You Yuji quickly discerned from their orderly steps that they were not actual bandits but rather people impersonating them.
If they were bandits, it would be for money.
If not, it would be for killing.
Her mind raced, swiftly contemplating who might want her dead. She couldn’t think of anyone she had offended. Changing her perspective, she thought about who would benefit if she died.
The You family had no wealth left to offer, and her only remaining status was that of a prince’s consort.
A name floated to the forefront of her mind.
You Yuji frowned.
She didn’t want to falsely accuse anyone without evidence.
Zhuo Wen, along with several guards, fought fiercely. Though he was highly skilled, he couldn’t fight off a hundred men alone.
Baohe, being young, covered her eyes with her hands, too afraid to look at the bloody battle outside. Zhenxu, though relatively calm, still turned pale.
Zhuo Wen stabbed his sword into a bandit’s chest and saw two other bandits charging towards the carriage from another direction. Alarmed, he shouted, “Madam!” and quickly untied the bow and arrow from his back, tossing them towards the carriage. You Yuji caught them in her hands.
It had been two years since she last touched a bow and arrow.
She pulled the bow into a full arc, squinting with one eye at the oncoming bandits. As the arrow flew, her father’s words echoed in her ears: “Yuji, when shooting an arrow, your mind must be undistracted. When calm, a moving target becomes a stationary one.”
The arrow struck the bandit between the eyes, and he fell backward.
The recoil made You Yuji’s fingertips tremble, but she quickly nocked another arrow and shot again and again.
Zhenxu anxiously said, “Madam, ride away on a horse. We will try to hold them off for a while!”
Even the terrified Baohe put down her hands, eyes red and nodding repeatedly.
Hold them off for a while? How could two weak women manage that?
“Check the boxes under the bench for arrows,” You Yuji said, releasing another arrow. Her voice remained soft and gentle, unhurried and unafraid.
Zhenxu and Baohe quickly reacted, kneeling and searching everywhere.
You Yuji shot another bandit and then looked southward. Her calm tone was because she knew that panic would only make others more nervous. It did not mean she was not anxious inside.
After a while, she finally saw Zhao Sheng’s figure and breathed a sigh of relief, her tense back slowly relaxing.
The world was just beginning to settle, and it was not yet a time of perfect peace where people could leave their doors unlocked. There was a secluded section on the route from the Prince of Jinnan’s mansion to the Zhao family. Having experienced wartime, You Yuji was accustomed to being cautious. She had sent someone ahead to inform Zhao Sheng, asking him to come and meet her to prevent any encounters with bandits.
They hadn’t encountered real bandits, but they did run into fake ones.
You Yuji was very grateful for her caution.
Seeing trouble, Zhao Sheng immediately led his men to charge over. The bandits, seeing the military attire on Zhao Sheng, quickly retreated. After all, their orders were to silently kill You Yuji and then disguise the scene as a bandit robbery. If they encountered soldiers, their ruse would easily be exposed, so they had no choice but to retreat.
Zhao Sheng didn’t have many men with him and didn’t pursue far. Instead, he ordered his men to check the fallen bandits for any survivors. Indeed, two were still breathing. Zhao Sheng ordered his men to take these two back for interrogation.
Three of You Yuji’s guards were injured, so she decided not to continue to the Zhao family and instead returned to the mansion. Zhao Sheng escorted them all the way back to the Prince of Jinnan’s mansion.
Upon returning to Tanxiang Yingyue, Zhenxu and Baohe finally recovered from their fright, realizing they were safe.
The princess consort soon sent Gu Momo over to inquire about the situation. Before leaving in haste, Gu Momo conveyed the princess consort’s intention—to thoroughly investigate the matter and give You Yuji a fair resolution.
Sitting by the window, You Yuji held a cup of hot tea handed to her by Lady Jing. Her thoughts, however, were elsewhere. The attackers had clearly been prepared. While her trip to the Zhao family wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, it wasn’t widely known either.
Could it be that someone in her courtyard was acting as a spy?
You Yuji tilted her head and rubbed her brow. The pain from drawing the bow lingered in her hand. She repeatedly curled her fingers to relieve the pain.
Feeling uneasy, she gave Lady Jing a few more instructions.
In Yunxiao Courtyard, Si Que was bored, teasing Baisui. He was using a light purple silk handkerchief with an embroidered epiphyllum on the corner to tease Baisui.
Unable to catch the handkerchief, Baisui grew frustrated and took a big tumble.
