This was the first time Si Que took the initiative to speak to someone from Prince Jinnan’s mansion other than You Yuji.
Cuiyu was startled. She fumbled in the pouch at her waist, pulled out a copper coin, and hurriedly handed it to Si Que.
Si Que glanced at Cuiyu’s hand. They had been walking in the wind and snow for a long time, and during that time, Cuiyu had fallen, leaving her a bit dirty. Her fingers were smeared with snow and mud, and even her nail crevices were stained with dirt that she hadn’t had time to clean.
Si Que looked at Cuiyu’s hand holding the copper coin but did not take it.
“No need.”
Cuiyu’s eyes widened. She had naturally narrow phoenix eyes, which couldn’t become round even when opened wide. Realizing belatedly that Si Que disliked her dirty hand, her cheeks flushed red. She awkwardly put the coin back into her pouch, hid her hands behind her back, and wiped them haphazardly with a handkerchief.
You Yuji had finished speaking with Zhao Sheng. She lowered the curtain and turned around. She had overheard the conversation in the carriage. She hesitated for a moment before cautiously glancing at Si Que. Seeing his lowered eyelashes, oblivious, her gaze grew bolder, but only for a moment before she quickly looked away.
The moment she averted her gaze, Si Que’s eyelashes fluttered, and he looked over, his eyes lingering on the pleats of her skirt at her slender waist before slowly moving upwards.
A moment later, You Yuji looked back and happened to meet Si Que’s gaze. Their eyes locked, and You Yuji’s fingers trembled slightly on her lap before she quickly looked away. She silently told herself never to look at him again, but suddenly, she heard his slow, leisurely tone by the hot spring in her ears—”Sister, just look at me.”
Suddenly, lingering images flashed before her eyes.
You Yuji leaned forward, picked up the now-cold tea on the small table, and took a sip of the cold tea.
—
Fang Residence.
Fang Bishu walked briskly into her daughter’s room, her face tense.
“What happened?” Fang Qingyi stood up to meet her mother. Seeing her mother’s expression, she had a bad premonition.
Fang Bishu shook her head. “Everyone was detained, not one escaped. I fear our plan was discovered early on. That wretched You Yuji was prepared and waiting for us to take the bait!”
“This…” Fang Qingyi’s face turned pale, and she took a step back in shock.
“The Emperor decided on a whim to visit Yunping Temple today, and Prince Jinnan and your aunt went with him. I fear Prince Jinnan and the princess already know about this.”
Tampering with divine matters and even meddling with Prince Jinnan’s sedan chair—this was no small matter.
“What’s to be done…” Fang Qingyi’s face grew paler as she listened, her voice trembling. A cold chill ran down her spine. She deeply regretted that drunken night of folly with her cousin… Ever since that reckless encounter, she had staked her entire future on Chen Anzhi, with no room for further loss.
Seeing her daughter in such a state of despair, Fang Bishu gripped her hand tightly and scolded, “What are you panicking for? The child in your belly is our greatest bargaining chip. Besides, You Yuji is just an orphan from a fallen kingdom, while the princess is your aunt. Your aunt knows who is closer to her.”
Fang Bishu leaned in and whispered in her daughter’s ear for a while.
Fang Qingyi frowned, a struggle evident in her eyes, but ultimately, she placed her hand on her lower abdomen and nodded firmly.
Not long after, Fang Qingyi hurriedly boarded a carriage to the Jinnan Mansion, urging the driver to go faster.
Chen Anzhi was sitting on the bed, rubbing his swollen ankle. He was in a foul mood, still suffering from the punishment he had received, with his backside still not fully healed and now his ankle injured.
“Ever since I married that seductive woman, nothing has gone right!” Chen Anzhi grumbled irritably.
When a servant announced Fang Qingyi’s arrival, Chen Anzhi was taken aback. Given his cousin’s recent coldness towards him, he was surprised but immediately delighted, thinking she had come to reconcile. Ignoring the pain in his ankle, he got out of bed, grabbed his crutch, and went to the door to greet her personally.
“Cousin,” he called to her in a gentle tone.
Over the past two years, they had developed an unspoken understanding, always managing to communicate affectionately even in the presence of others. He believed his cousin could hear the depth of his feelings in that single word.
“Cousin…” Fang Qingyi gazed deeply at Chen Anzhi with tear-filled eyes. Ignoring the presence of the servants, she threw herself into his arms.
Chen Anzhi was startled.
They had always maintained proper decorum as cousins in front of others. He was hesitating whether to push Fang Qingyi away when she sobbed, “Mother sent people to kill Sister-in-law, Cousin, you must save her!”
“What? Aunt sent people to kill You Yuji?” Chen Anzhi quickly realized the situation, waving his hand to dismiss the servants.
Fang Qingyi was sobbing uncontrollably, “Mother knows I’m pregnant and wants to plan for me and my child. I know she’s doing it for our sake, but I don’t want my child to be born with blood on their hands. Waaa, Cousin, I would rather not have this child than harm innocent people… Please send someone to save Sister-in-law…”
—
Fang Bishu thought You Yuji had prepared in advance and had gathered evidence to seek justice from the princess. What she didn’t know was that You Yuji had made a solemn vow to the Jinnan Princess before leaving.
The princess sat in her meditation room, frowning.
The day before, she had called You Yuji to discuss burning Buddhist scriptures at Yunping Temple as suggested by a sorcerer. You Yuji had confidently claimed that it was all a plot by the Fang mother and daughter to take her life and make way for a new princess.
With strange occurrences happening in the palace, the princess had already been suspicious. When You Yuji spoke, she believed it a little, but Fang Bishu was her own sister, and she didn’t want to believe her sister would sabotage the prince’s carriage and injure Chen Anzhi’s foot.
Gu Momo lifted the heavy curtain and entered, speaking softly, “Princess, the princess consort and her party have arrived at Yunping Temple. They had a rough journey. Shall we let them rest first or summon them for a talk?”
“No need to summon them, we’ll discuss everything tomorrow when we return home. Do not alarm His Majesty,” the princess sighed deeply.
Years ago, before her brother-in-law’s crimes were exposed, the princess had ruthlessly used her influence to force her sister to divorce and take their three children to live independently. Sure enough, when her brother-in-law’s crimes came to light, and his entire family was executed, her sister and her three children were spared.
Over the years, she had felt sorry for her sister, but to think that her sister would scheme against her?
—
The table was set with the simplest vegetarian meal, but it was steaming hot, and everyone was eating heartily.
You Yuji had something on her mind, and held her chopsticks for a long time without eating.
Gu Momo came over with a message from the princess. The weather was bad today, so everyone would stay at the temple for the night and return to the mansion tomorrow.
Lady Jing entered from outside and said, “Madam, there aren’t many guest rooms in the temple, so we’ll have to make do with two people per room tonight.”
You Yuji nodded, “Arrange it as you see fit.”
You Yuji collected her thoughts and began to eat.
“If Lady Chunxing doesn’t mind, I’ll share a room with you tonight,” a servant suggested.
Chunxing quickly responded, “I don’t mind, I don’t mind at all. How could I dare mind? And please, don’t refer to me with such respect, I’m not worthy.”
Chunxing spoke sincerely. She never considered herself a mistress and felt she was not even as respectable as the maids.
“Lady Cuiyu and Lady Lin will share a room. Madam will share with Princess Que.”
You Yuji’s hand trembled, and the tofu she was holding with her chopsticks fell onto the table.
Si Que lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting shadows over his eyes. He watched with interest, waiting to see how You Yuji would refuse.
You Yuji glanced at the fallen tofu, maintained her composure, and responded with a simple “Hmm.”
Si Que looked up in surprise, his dark eyes reflecting a trace of curiosity.
You Yuji calmly picked up another piece of tofu and ate it.
Si Que narrowed his eyes slightly, watching her eat, noting how her bright red lips moved softly.
They looked very soft.
Everyone was cold and hungry, so they focused on eating. Except for You Yuji, no one noticed that Si Que had hardly eaten and was watching You Yuji with an amused look for a long time.
You Yuji was aware but pretended not to know.
After the meal, You Yuji inquired if the guest rooms were ready. Lady Jing nodded, confirming that the bedding was new and hot water for bathing was prepared.
Upon hearing they could bathe, the mistresses hurried to the guest rooms, even playing finger-guessing games along the way to decide who would use the hot bath first.
Si Que remained seated, not moving.
He smiled and watched You Yuji, waiting.
You Yuji took a final sip of tea, then used a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth before looking confidently at Si Que, and said, “You are not well. Go back to your room and take a hot bath to drive away the cold. Since we are at the temple, I will first go and pray for my mother’s peace.”
Si Que looked into You Yuji’s eyes and smiled.
He said, “Alright, I will listen to you, sister.”
Avoiding Si Que to let him bathe first was true, and wanting to pray for her mother’s peace was also true. You Yuji knelt before the Buddha statue, holding the peace talisman given by Lin Yingying in her hand. She looked up at the compassionate eyebrows of the Buddha statue and sincerely prayed, “My mother has been kind to others all her life, and now she is bedridden and in her final moments…”
Thinking of her mother, You Yuji’s voice choked up. She suppressed her emotions and continued, “I am willing to exchange my lifespan for my mother’s, hoping the Buddha will fulfill this wish.”
“What a filial child.” A powerful voice suddenly came from not far away.
You Yuji was startled and quickly stood up to look back.
The speaker was none other than the current Emperor.
Chen Lian stood beside the Emperor. There was also a middle-aged man dressed in embroidered garments with dragon patterns, whom You Yuji had never seen before but could guess was the Crown Prince.
You Yuji hurriedly bowed, “Long live the Emperor, long live the Crown Prince.”
An inner court eunuch whispered You Yuji’s identity into the Emperor’s ear.
“Rise,” the Emperor nodded, “Your father is a valiant general.”
You Yuji kneeled again to thank the Emperor on behalf of his father.
The Emperor did not say much more to You Yuji. Before leaving, he instructed the head eunuch beside him, “Deshun, have Imperial Physician Hu visit the You family tomorrow.”
Imperial Physician Hu was highly skilled and was the Emperor’s personal physician, rarely treating others.
You Yuji, overjoyed, quickly knelt to express his gratitude.
The Emperor waved his hand and left.
You Yuji remained kneeling in place. She opened her palm and looked at the character “Longevity” on the peace talisman.
The guest room in the temple was very small and simply furnished. There were two wooden plank beds with a small square table in between and no other tables or chairs.
You Yuji thought about how Imperial Physician Hu might be able to help his mother recover, feeling delighted. When she entered the guest room, Si Que had already finished bathing and was lying bored on the uncomfortable wooden bed.
You Yuji sat down beside her own bed, put away the peace talisman, and looked at Si Que.
Si Que turned his head and met her gaze.
“Sister.”
He slowly called out and then said, “Do you still want to live under the same roof with me?”
Finally, they were alone.
He looked at You Yuji, waiting for her to get angry, waiting for her to curse.
Imagining the scene where You Yuji angrily scolded him, he felt excited and somewhat impatient.
Si Que, being weak and unable to withstand the torment of wind and snow, coughed twice intermittently before You Yuji could even speak.
Si Que frowned, a hint of weariness flashing in his dark eyes.
The next moment, a faint fragrance wafted through his nostrils as You Yuji’s hand came over. This time, it wasn’t her palm; she restrained herself and used the back of her slightly curled fingers to check his forehead’s temperature, then quickly withdrew her hand.
“I only know that you are willing to share your secret with me,” You Yuji said softly.
Si Que was silent for a moment before speaking, “I am a scoundrel and a rogue. Aren’t you afraid of being taken advantage of by me at night, sister?”
You Yuji shook her head gently. “You didn’t hesitate to tell me such an important secret because you care about me. You are a true gentleman.”
“I don’t know why you are dressing as a woman, but you must have your reasons,” You Yuji smiled warmly. “If you need it, I will help you keep your secret.”
