Two days later, You Yuji was in the flower hall reading a letter from her cousin when news finally came from Zhuo Wen. Lin Yingying, Cuiyu, and Chunxing had just left, leaving You Yuji alone in the hall.
“We finally saw the person in charge of the Poison Pavilion. That girl is so arrogant; no matter what price we offered, she wouldn’t sell. She said the Poison Pavilion’s master instructed her to chase away any household servants coming to buy medicine.”
Baohe frowned. “Does this mean the madam has to go to the Poison Pavilion herself to buy the medicine?”
“That won’t do,” Lady Jing shook her head in disapproval. “The Poison Pavilion is a dangerous place. How can the madam risk herself?”
You Yuji asked, “Did you see the master of the Poison Pavilion?”
Zhuo Wen shook his head and continued, “No, we didn’t see the master. The girl said the master of the Poison Pavilion would be there in five days. If we want to buy medicine, that’s the only day to get it directly from the master. After that, the master will leave Chenjing.”
You Yuji lowered her eyes, gently stroking the soft fur on Baisui’s back, lost in thought.
It seemed that if she wanted the false death medicine, she would have to go to the Poison Pavilion herself in five days.
The people around You Yuji didn’t know why she insisted on the false death medicine. Lady Jing advised, “It’s just some dubious medicine. Why risk it? How can you go to a place like the Poison Pavilion yourself?”
Zhenxu also urged, “Madam, you’d better not go.”
Lady Jing’s words were reasonable. The false death medicine wasn’t essential. She could find another way to send Si Que and the concubines away. But was there a more ingenious way than the false death medicine? She needed to take more than one person; other methods might be too conspicuous.
Moreover, it was already early November, and before the New Year, the Western Empress Dowager would surely return to the capital. That would be the day she had to leave the Jinnan Prince’s Mansion. Time was really tight.
Furthermore, early next month was the Eastern Empress Dowager’s eightieth birthday. The Western Empress Dowager might return to the capital early for the celebration. If she hurried back for the Eastern Empress Dowager’s birthday, the time left for You Yuji would be even more pressing.
After weighing the pros and cons, You Yuji made up her mind. “I’ll go myself in five days.”
Lady Jing still wanted to persuade her, but all the obstructive words rolled back down her throat. She knew that once You Yuji had made up her mind, no amount of persuasion would work.
Fine, since she couldn’t persuade You Yuji, Lady Jing could only think about how to strengthen security on the day You Yuji went to the Poison Pavilion to ensure her safety.
In the afternoon, Zhenxu added charcoal to You Yuji’s bedroom and lit incense before retreating. As soon as she left You Yuji’s room, she lifted her skirt and quickly ran back to her own room, where Baohe was already waiting for her.
“How is it? Are they still sleeping together?” Baohe asked anxiously.
Zhenxu nodded repeatedly. She sat down next to Baohe and said, “I suddenly thought… our madam wants the false death medicine so badly, could it be that she wants to take Princess Que with her when she leaves the mansion? She can leave with a divorce, but Princess Que, being a slave from a fallen country, can’t leave!”
Baohe thought for a moment and found it very reasonable.
“I get it!” Baohe’s eyes lit up. “I suspected before that Princess Que couldn’t have accidentally fallen from the building. She must have jumped!”
“How could that be?” Zhenxu didn’t believe it and thought Baohe was talking nonsense.
“You think, ever since Princess Que broke his leg, hasn’t our madam been inseparable from him day and night?”
“That’s because on the day Princess Que fell from the building, our madam’s place was closer…” Zhenxu’s voice trailed off as she spoke, beginning to doubt herself. Yes, the madam’s place was indeed closer, but it had been several days now, and Princess Que had no intention of moving back to the east wing!
“Could it be that on that day, Princess Que confessed to our madam, and the madam, constrained by societal prejudices against love between women, ruthlessly rejected him? The princess, heartbroken, jumped from the library…” Baohe became more convinced as she spoke, “It must be like that! The madam was moved by the princess’s sincerity and finally decided to abandon all societal norms to be with him!”
Baohe clenched her little fist.
Zhenxu sat there in a daze, staring at Baohe’s determined gaze, unable to help but follow her train of thought. She thought for a moment and said, “So, Princess Que moved to Tanxiang Yingyue because of the renovation of Yunxiao Courtyard, likely to see the madam every day.”
Baohe tightly grasped Zhenxu’s hand, saying excitedly, “Oh my! The princess, not being in good health and unable to visit the madam every day, simply moved here, choosing the cramped east wing over the spacious Yunxiao Courtyard!”
Baohe was moved by her own imagined story. With reddened eyes, she said, “Zhenxu, I now believe all men in the world are trash. Only women understand women’s hardships, and only women know how good other women are!”
Her eyes grew brighter, and she declared passionately, “I will definitely stand by the madam’s side until the end! Bless the madam!”
Zhenxu, initially shocked, slowly regained her composure. Seeing Baohe’s excitement, she whispered, “You must have read too many storybooks…”
Baohe was young, still a child.
But Zhenxu thought more deeply. Affairs of love are the easiest to bring tears, especially those not accepted by society. Besides, the identities of the madam and the princess were also awkward…
She furrowed her brows, deeply worried.
Not only had You Yuji’s maids noticed how close You Yuji and Si Que had become, but even the concubines who came daily to pay their respects seemed to sense it. Even the servants in the household whispered about it in secret.
You Yuji was somewhat aware, but didn’t care much. She sat lazily on a beauty couch by the window, flipping through a recipe book, more concerned about how to prepare nourishing meals for Si Que.
The room was warm, and she didn’t even wear socks or shoes, her legs casually draped on the beauty couch, her bare, snow-white feet peeking out from under her cloud-like skirt.
Si Que wheeled himself in from outside, looking at You Yuji.
The warm afternoon light filtered through the window lattice, falling on You Yuji, and even the tips of her slightly raised toes were kissed by the warm sunlight.
Si Que suddenly let out a cold snort.
——Even the warm sunlight could kiss her so casually.
You Yuji looked over gently and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Si Que wheeled himself to the beauty couch, his knee touching the edge. He grasped You Yuji’s ankle with one hand and brushed her toes with the other, chasing away the warm sunlight.
You Yuji didn’t understand his meaning and looked at him in confusion.
Si Que let go of her foot, placed her snow-white foot down, and tugged at her skirt to cover it. He lifted his dark lashes and gave her a clean smile.
He said, “Mine.”
Yuan Yuan is mine.
You Yuji seemed to understand and yet not understand. She pondered for a moment, then smiled at Si Que, tucking the loose hair behind her ear and gently nodded, saying softly, “Alright.”
—
Early in the morning, before the sky had even lightened, You Yuji set off to return to the You family home—today was the anniversary of her father’s death.
In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since her father passed away.
From yesterday, You Yuji had been in a bad mood. As soon as she arrived at the You family home today and saw the somber white decor, her tears fell.
“The madam is awake,” Liu Momo said.
You Yuji was surprised and quickly stepped into her mother’s room.
You Jiamu was sitting by the bed, holding a clay flute, playing a tune from their hometown for their mother. Seeing You Yuji, You Jiamu quickly stood up and called out, “Sister.”
You Yuji nodded hastily, barely glancing at You Jiamu, and went straight to her mother.
Her eyes were filled with tears, but there was a smile within those tears.
“Mother.” Her voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing her.
Her mother nodded at her and even slightly raised her hand towards her. You Yuji hurriedly held her mother’s hand tightly.
“Yuan Yuan, don’t cry.”
You Yuji hadn’t heard her mother’s gentle voice in a long time. Just one soft sentence from her mother made her tears overflow. Her mother was not from the grasslands of Si Kingdom but from the water towns of Su Kingdom, always as gentle as water.
You Yuji had waited too long to hear her mother gently call her by her nickname again.
You Yuji turned her face away, trying hard to hold back her tears, and then looked back at her mother with a smile. She leaned over, pressing her face into her mother’s palm, and whispered, “Mother will get better…”
Her mother smiled and nodded at her.
You Yuji knew in her heart that her mother must have remembered that today was the anniversary of her father’s death and forced herself to stay awake. But her body was too weak, and she couldn’t even get out of bed. You Yuji had to let Jiamu bring her father’s memorial tablet, and her mother caressed it with trembling fingers for a long time.
You Yuji hadn’t left for the cemetery yet when her mother fell back into a deep sleep. When she returned from the cemetery and kept watch by her mother’s bedside for a long time, her mother never woke up again to gently call her by her nickname.
The sky grew dark, and You Yuji reluctantly returned to the prince’s mansion.
On the way back to the mansion, though she no longer shed tears, her eyes remained downcast and sorrowful, which made Lady Jing and Zhenxu, who were with her, cry.
•
The carriage stopped at the Jinnan Prince’s Mansion, and You Yuji got off, looking at the mansion’s plaque, once again hoping in her heart to leave this place soon. This wasn’t her home; she wanted to be with her mother and brother every day.
You Yuji, with a downcast expression, headed towards Tanxiang Yingyue, with Lady Jing and Zhenxu following silently and sadly behind her.
She hadn’t walked far when she encountered Chen Anzhi.
Chen Anzhi looked displeased and asked, “So late, where have you been?”
You Yuji didn’t want to talk and continued walking.
Chen Anzhi was about to get angry but noticed that You Yuji was wearing a white dress today, so he suppressed his anger.
You Yuji had already walked past Chen Anzhi when she heard him mutter behind her, “Since you know to dress simply to please, you should also know not to return home so late…”
You Yuji suddenly found it a bit amusing. Did he actually think she wore white to please him like those concubines? She stopped and said coldly, “Today is the anniversary of my father’s death.”
Chen Anzhi was stunned for a while. He looked at You Yuji’s back and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me, so I could accompany you back…”
You Yuji had already walked away and didn’t respond.
Feeling exhausted, You Yuji returned to Tanxiang Yingyue, first going to the cleansing room to take a hot bath to relax. When she came out of the cleansing room, she saw Si Que sitting at the table, gently blowing on a bowl of porridge in front of him.
You Yuji mustered her strength, smiled, and asked softly, “Why haven’t you eaten so late?”
Si Que looked over and said, “Sister must not have eaten. Eat some porridge before resting.”
You Yuji didn’t have much of an appetite, but looking at Si Que’s clear eyes, she still went over and ate a bit.
Zhenxu, on the side, suddenly recalled Chen Anzhi’s behavior just now and once again thought to herself that women are indeed better, more considerate, and could guess that the madam hadn’t eaten anything tonight!
•
The next day, when several concubines came to pay their respects to You Yuji, she noticed their attire and makeup with some contemplation. Even Hongzan had started wearing white.
The room full of white clothing made You Yuji rub her temples.
To cure the problem, one must find the root cause. Si Que was that root cause.
In the afternoon, You Yuji took a set of her red dresses and sat by the window to alter them. Si Que was taller than her, so her dress naturally didn’t fit him well and needed some adjustment.
Si Que was lazily reclining on the bed, idly stroking the fur of a hundred-year-old pillow.
“Que Lang.”
A gentle call from the window made Si Que turn his eyes. By the window, You Yuji looked at him sorrowfully, her eyes slightly red, whispering sadly, “Why do you never kiss me?”
His heart couldn’t help but beat faster.
Si Que woke up from his midday nap and immediately looked towards the window. You Yuji was leaning against the beauty couch, altering the dress. She looked over, her eyes gentle as water, and said softly, “Awake?”
Si Que slowly blinked and responded with a faint “Mm,” retracting his gaze listlessly.
Oh, it turned out he had just had a dream.
What a strange dream.
