In just one day’s journey, Chen Anzhi’s several wives and concubines shared a carriage, with only You Yuji bringing along a maid, Lady Jing.
You Yuji walked slowly outside and saw Chunxing, Cuiyu, and Lin Yingying waiting for her by the shadow wall.
Lady Jing cast a glance over Chen Anzhi’s three concubines, scrutinizing them from head to toe.
There were some things Lady Jing had never been able to say. Emotionally, she was furious at the actions of the heir and heartbroken over You Yuji’s cold reception. Rationally, she hoped for harmony between husband and wife. Now, with the deadlock between You Yuji and Chen Anzhi, someone had to take the first step forward.
After much hesitation, she softly said, “Madam, the heir prefers a more elegant and refined style of dress on a woman.”
Her implication was that You Yuji could make a slight concession. Although she knew You Yuji wouldn’t listen, some advice had to be given.
Because they were going to a Buddhist temple, You Yuji wore a plain blue-gray dress today, simple yet dignified. The subdued color made her skin look like smooth porcelain, naturally white. Her hair was styled simply, adorned with just a single hairpin with a large blue gemstone.
Her attire today was much more understated compared to her usual, though it was not as ethereal as the pure white dresses of the three concubines by the shadow wall.
You Yuji asked, “Do I look good today?”
Lady Jing was taken aback, but immediately said, “Yes, you look very good.”
“Mm, I like it too,” You Yuji said with a smile in her eyes.
It is often said that women dress to please those they love. But You Yuji thought this idea was incorrect, a man’s presumption about women. Pleasing oneself was what truly mattered.
As she spoke, they reached the doorway. You Yuji lifted her skirt and stepped onto the carriage. Chunxing, Cuiyu, and Lin Yingying followed.
Si Que had not arrived yet.
Cuiyu pursed her lips and whispered to Chunxing, “She has such an air about her, making the heir’s wife wait. Tsk tsk, you’d think she was still a princess.”
Chunxing chuckled nervously, not daring to respond.
You Yuji overheard and looked over, softly saying, “She’s actually very easy to get along with.”
Cuiyu didn’t dare to speak further.
Lin Yingying handed a safety charm to You Yuji, smiling, “Sister, I didn’t expect my mother to pull through. Thank you for letting me visit home. Here, this is for you. I went to the temple to ask for a safety charm for my mother, and it really worked! Before coming back, I got another one for your mother. I hope your mother can also pull through and live a long life!”
You Yuji accepted it in surprise, looking at the “Longevity” character on the charm, and smiled, “Thank you for your kind words.”
After a while, Si Que arrived late.
Today, he was not wearing a veiled hat and was holding a copied scripture.
The concubines had long been curious about Si Que’s appearance. Seeing him today, they fell silent. This silence persisted until Si Que boarded the carriage and sat beside You Yuji. Even as the carriage moved on, the silence remained unbroken.
Lin Yingying and Cuiyu exchanged glances and then looked down at their own imitation white dresses with a gloomy expression.
You Yuji sighed softly in her heart. When Chen Anzhi brought Si Que back to the mansion despite the emperor’s fury, even a fool could see how much Chen Anzhi valued Si Que. These concubines, seeing Si Que today, should understand something. They would all come to realize it sooner or later.
You Yuji turned her head to look at Si Que, breaking the eerie silence inside the carriage first. She took the Buddhist scripture from beside Si Que, unrolling it as she spoke, “Que Que, your health isn’t good, and the injury on your hand hasn’t healed yet, has it? And you’ve copied the scriptures again, it’s really…”
Her words suddenly stopped.
You Yuji looked at the drawings of turtles and eggs on the unrolled paper, took a deep breath, and barely held back her laughter. She calmly rolled up the “scripture” and earnestly finished her sentence, “…a lot of hard work.”
“It’s not hard work. Thank you for your concern, sister,” Si Que replied, his expression unchanged, innocently as if he had done nothing wrong.
Listening to Si Que’s voice, Cuiyu found it very strange. Si Que’s voice was always low, with a slight chill that carried a sense of distance. Cuiyu felt that Si Que’s voice lacked the softness and pleasantness of a woman’s, somewhat unfitting for his goddess-like face.
The journey was long, and Cuiyu couldn’t help but look at Si Que and ask, “Have you known the young master for a long time?”
Si Que was leisurely eating the pastry handed over by You Yuji, as if he hadn’t heard her.
Cuiyu was a bit displeased. Regardless of Si Que’s previous status, he was now a concubine; how could he ignore people like this? She spoke again, “We’ll be good sisters from now on, why don’t you tell us about it, Que Que?”
Si Que slowly raised his long eyelashes, his clear eyes looking at Cuiyu sitting opposite him. He slowly curled one side of his lips into a faint, elusive smile.
If one could say he was smiling, it was just that his eyes lacked warmth.
Though he hadn’t said a word and was even smiling when he looked over, Cuiyu felt a chill in her heart. She felt as if Si Que’s gaze was looking at a dead object, and she was that dead object. She felt inexplicably frozen in place, as if under a spell, her neck feeling a cold shiver.
Cuiyu saw something flash before her eyes and realized it was a coin tossed high.
At that moment, the carriage bumped, causing You Yuji to lean towards Si Que. Si Que reached out to steady her, not having the chance to catch the falling coin.
The coin hit the ground and rolled under the bench where Cuiyu and Lin Yingying were sitting. After some noisy clattering, it finally settled.
Chunxing thought for a moment, then squatted down to pick up the coin.
“Heads or tails?” Si Que asked.
Chunxing hadn’t seen it clearly and replied casually, “Heads, I think.”
Si Que shifted his cold gaze away from Cuiyu’s face and turned to speak with You Yuji.
Chunxing picked up the coin, intending to return it to Si Que, but seeing him quietly eating his pastry, she awkwardly withdrew her hand and placed the coin on the corner of the table, saying nothing more.
Cuiyu felt as if she had regained her senses and suspiciously looked at Si Que.
You Yuji asked Si Que how the pastries tasted. Si Que said they were delicious, turning his head to smile at You Yuji, his perfect profile looking obedient and pleasant.
Cuiyu blinked, wondering if it had all been her imagination. Remembering the ghost she had seen a few nights ago, she shivered and lowered her head, her gaze falling on the coin at the corner of the table. She frowned, finding the coin increasingly unsettling, and looked away again.
Yunping Temple had a long history in the Chen Kingdom and was most revered by the common people. Situated among the mountains, its scenery was beautiful and far from the mundane world. Therefore, it was somewhat distant from the bustling capital. Today, You Yuji’s group was heading to Yunping Temple.
After an hour of travel, the sky darkened, and snowflakes began to fall. The weather had been bad since the morning, but the date was chosen by a Taoist and couldn’t be changed.
As the snow grew heavier, a loud crash sounded, and the carriage tilted to one side, causing cries of alarm inside.
When the carriage finally stabilized, You Yuji pushed the door open and asked, “Zhuo Wen, what happened?”
“The shaft is broken,” Zhuo Wen replied, squatting by the carriage, frowning as he inspected it.
You Yuji looked up at the increasing snowfall.
Encountering snow in the mountains with a broken carriage shaft was not a good situation.
“I miscalculated,” You Yuji muttered to herself. Recently, there had been strange occurrences in the mansion, orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. She had thought someone was deliberately forcing her to take her concubines to the temple, intending to set her up. But she hadn’t expected the opponent to be so ruthless, aiming to kill this group of concubines altogether.
Zhuo Wen stood up, looking troubled. “It can’t be fixed quickly.”
The snow fell heavier, accumulating on his shoulders.
You Yuji slowly pieced it together. The previous ambush had failed, and the opponent anticipated she would be prepared this time. Hence, they employed such a grand scheme, daring even to tamper with the carriage of the Prince of Jinnan, just to catch her off guard and strike again. They were so determined to relax her vigilance that they didn’t mind sacrificing these innocent concubines.
Si Que sat leisurely in the tilted carriage, his hand resting on the windowsill, long fingers slightly curled, tapping gently. He watched You Yuji’s furrowed brow with a hint of amusement.
“Sister, what should we do?” Lin Yingying panicked.
Cuiyu also cried out anxiously, “How could the carriage break like this? Someone must have sabotaged it! I don’t want to freeze to death in these snowy mountains!”
Chunxing didn’t speak, but her face was pale.
“Don’t worry. Rescue will come soon,” You Yuji reassured them gently, her smile still warm.
—She had already taken precautions and wouldn’t let her guard down so easily. She had sent a message to Zhao Sheng yesterday; if she didn’t arrive at Yunping Temple on time, Zhao Sheng would come with the army.
You Yuji instructed the others to wait in the broken carriage.
The snow continued to fall heavily, and it grew colder inside the carriage. How much colder must it be for the guards outside?
You Yuji frowned.
Chunxing kept her head down, rubbing her hands and blowing on them for warmth. Lin Yingying and Cuiyu huddled together, trying to keep warm.
Worried about Si Que’s frail health, You Yuji hurriedly took off her cloak and draped it over him.
“I’m not cold,” Si Que refused.
As soon as he spoke, You Yuji squeezed under the cloak with him, sharing its warmth. Her soft body pressed against his, exuding her faint, unique fragrance.
She was too close, her softness pressed against his arm.
Si Que lowered his eyes, hesitating.
She didn’t know his true identity as a man and naturally behaved intimately. But he couldn’t take advantage of her ignorance and passively accept such excessive closeness.
“I’m not cold, sister, keep it for yourself.” Si Que tried to move to the side.
You Yuji lowered her voice and said urgently, “Help me cover up!”
Si Que was puzzled and looked at her in confusion.
You Yuji took Si Que’s other hand, holding the corner of the cloak, and then brought his hand around her body to hold the other corner.
In this way, she was almost nestled in his arms, with the cotton cloak shielding them from the front.
In Si Que’s embrace, You Yuji looked up and slowly blinked one eye at him. There were things she was too shy to say directly, so she softly whispered, “Although those guards are well-behaved, there’s always the fear of unexpected situations… Just help cover me up.”
Si Que looked at her in confusion, clearly not understanding what she intended to do.
But he soon found out.
You Yuji lowered her eyes and started to untie the sash at her waist. Instantly, the front of her dress loosened, revealing her snowy skin beneath the white chest wrap. The white cloth wound tightly around her ample bosom, hinting at the light purple garment beneath.
She began to unwrap the chest cloth. The tight white cotton fabric gradually loosened, draping loosely around her slender waist.
Si Que quickly averted his eyes, his lips pressed into a tight line, his grip on the cloak tightening slightly.
The tilted carriage bumped again, causing You Yuji to lurch forward, falling heavily against Si Que, her body resting on his legs, and bumping into something hard. Given the cramped space in the carriage, You Yuji was also nervous. She hastily removed the chest wrap and quickly redressed, not paying much attention to what her chest had hit.
“All done,” You Yuji whispered. She didn’t notice Si Que’s expression as she sat back up. She bent over, took off her shoes and socks, and used the long white cotton cloth she had just taken off to wipe and warm her feet.
It turned out that when the carriage tilted to one side, the tea on the table had spilled, soaking You Yuji’s socks and shoes. At first, she could endure it, but as it got colder, her feet became numb with cold.
Si Que looked at her small, delicate snow-white feet.
There was a tiny red mole on her left ankle.
—That red mole looked like a bewitching charm.
