As Hongzan approached the flower hall to pay her respects, she hadn’t yet entered when she heard laughter coming from within. Lin Yingying loved to laugh, and Cuiyu had a loud voice. Even Chunxing was softly praising something for its beauty.
Hongzan’s steps paused briefly.
Sometimes, Hongzan couldn’t quite understand why these concubines liked to stay in You Yuji’s flower hall every morning. Even when You Yuji wasn’t there, they would gather in the flower hall to do some needlework.
If they couldn’t win the favor of the heir, did they have to curry favor with the mistress?
Hongzan hesitated for a moment but continued walking inside.
On the table were some pearl hairpins and jewelry, and the concubines were all redoing their hairstyles. Hongzan curiously glanced over at them.
Concubine Lin was wearing a pink skirt, inserting an elegant peach blossom hairpin into her cloud-like hair.
Concubine Cui was wearing a green long jacket with a matching pleated skirt, showing the tips of her grass-green shoes. Usually, her hair was mostly loose, with the rest loosely tied at the back. But now, her maid was redoing her hair, gathering all her hair up high.
Even Concubine Chunxing, who usually wore plain white clothes, was now dressed in a goose-yellow outfit. You Yuji slightly turned, placing a pearl tassel hairpin on one side of Chunxing’s hanging bun.
“This is too precious,” Chunxing repeatedly shook her head, reaching up to remove the hairpin.
You Yuji softly said, “Keep it on, it looks nice.”
You Yuji always spoke in a gentle tone, not in a commanding way, but Chunxing looked into her eyes and put her hand down, smiling, “Thank you, sister.”
Actually, Chunxing had a beautiful smile, but she didn’t smile often.
Hongzan suddenly realized that the clothes and jewelry on the three concubines were given by the mistress.
The flower hall was bustling with the chatter and laughter of the girls. Because of this, Hongzan didn’t immediately notice the quiet Si Que. When she finally did, she was stunned.
What was special about today that everyone had changed their appearance? Even the one who always wore white was now dressed in bright red?
Hongzan glanced at her own white dress, bewildered.
“Hongzan is here,” You Yuji looked over.
Hongzan quickly came to her senses, respectfully curtsying to You Yuji, “Hongzan pays her respects to Madam.”
You Yuji nodded and then looked away.
Lin Yingying ran up to You Yuji, holding two boxes of nail polish, “Sister, sister, help me choose which color looks better on my nails?”
A few years ago, Lin Yingying loved to decorate her nails. However, Chen Anzhi didn’t like it. He preferred simple and elegant girls, with light-colored clothes and minimal accessories, and thought painted nails were dirty.
You Yuji looked at them and said, “You’re already dressed in pink, so use this red one.”
“I’ll listen to sister!” Lin Yingying smiled with crescent-shaped eyes.
In the past, after paying her respects to You Yuji, Hongzan would leave immediately. However, today she couldn’t help but linger for a while before leaving. On her way back, Hongzan kept pondering if the concubines had gone mad. If the heir saw them dressed like this, he would certainly be displeased.
The three concubines left the flower hall and walked back together.
Lin Yingying looked at Cuiyu and then at Chunxing, asking, “What should we wear tomorrow?”
The three had been chatting and laughing, but her sudden question brought silence.
After a while, Cuiyu snorted, “From now on, I’ll wear whatever I want! I’ve figured it out—although the heir took us in, he still dislikes our backgrounds. Otherwise, he wouldn’t always avoid us. When I get back, I’ll burn all those white dresses. Anyway, our contracts are in the mistress’s hands now. The heir can do whatever he wants!”
“That’s great!” Lin Yingying took Cuiyu’s hand and shook it playfully, “With you by my side, I’m not afraid. I really miss those beautiful dresses at the bottom of the chest…”
The two of them turned to look at Chunxing.
Chunxing shrank back, taking a step backward, looking timid.
Cuiyu clicked her tongue, mocking, “Chunxing is different from us. She belongs to the heir.”
“Don’t look at me like that. The mistress obviously doesn’t like our old style, that’s why she went to such lengths to prepare these.” Chunxing touched the pearl hairpin in her cloud-like hair. “If we go back to our old ways tomorrow, it would be ungrateful to the mistress…”
Her brows furrowed, and she clasped her hands together, thinking that she could dress up carefully when visiting the mistress during the day, and change back to her old self when the heir came…
Chen Anzhi had just returned to the manor and saw them dressed oddly from a distance. However, he was too preoccupied to bother with them and hurried to Anxiang Courtyard.
——Fang Qingyi had felt fetal movement and wanted to see him.
When Chen Anzhi arrived at Anxiang Courtyard, the doctor had just finished checking Fang Qingyi’s pulse and had written a prescription to calm the fetus, advising the pregnant woman to maintain a cheerful mood.
Lushu escorted the doctor out. Chen Anzhi sat beside Fang Qingyi, asking with concern, “Is the baby being naughty?”
He held Fang Qingyi’s hand in his, gently stroking it, looking at her tenderly, “Cousin, you’ve worked hard.”
Fang Qingyi shook her head with a smile, “No need to worry, cousin. It’s just a routine check-up.”
Leaning on Chen Anzhi’s shoulder, she softly said, “Cousin, you’re so good to me.”
Her voice carried a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Cousin, today is my mother’s birthday. I want to go back. Will you come with me?”
Chen Anzhi’s face darkened immediately. “What happened last time, although Aunt did it for the sake of our child, was too malicious. If Que…”
He paused and then continued, “I know you’re kind-hearted and filial, but you should limit your contact with your mother to avoid being influenced by her. Since it’s her birthday, I won’t stop you from visiting the Fang family. But I won’t go.”
“Alright,” Fang Qingyi replied softly, “I’ll listen to cousin.”
Fang Qingyi returned to the Fang family on her own.
Her mother had moved back to the Fang residence after the separation. The Fang family was a prestigious and wealthy family in Chen Country, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to marry into the Jinnan royal family.
Fang Qingyi clearly felt a subtle change in the attitude of the household staff towards her.
Was it because she was now a lowly concubine?
Fang Qingyi clenched her hands, for the first time resenting the spaciousness of the old Fang family mansion, which made her endure the gazes of the servants for a long time before reaching her mother’s residence.
“Why have you come back?” her mother frowned, “Didn’t I tell you? Since I have taken all the blame alone, you should keep up appearances before the heir and the princess and cut ties with me!”
“Mother, I came back this time to ask for your help,” Fang Qingyi said.
“What kind of help?”
“Help me find some poor women who are two to four months pregnant. The more, the better,” Fang Qingyi smiled slowly, “One of them has to give birth to a boy.”
She lowered her eyes, looking at her own belly with a cold smile.
—This child must be a boy.
It must.
·
It was dark by the time You Yuji finished dealing with business matters and returned to her bedroom from the flower hall. As soon as she entered, she smelled alcohol.
Si Que was lazily leaning on the beauty couch where she usually reclined, drinking plum wine alone. Several empty wine jugs were already on the table.
“Sister.” He looked up at her, raising his glass with a smile.
You Yuji gracefully walked over to him, leaned down by the beauty couch, and used a light purple silk handkerchief to wipe the wine stains on his robe. The red fabric had been darkened by the wine.
As she wiped, she gently asked, “Why did you drink so much?”
Si Que grabbed You Yuji’s wrist, pulling her into his arms with force. Holding her, he rested his chin on her shoulder, softly calling, “Sister, sister, sister…”
He didn’t say anything else, just kept calling her like that.
“Why did you get drunk?” You Yuji didn’t push him away; instead, she placed her hand on his back and gently patted him, “I’ll have Zhenxu make you some sobering tea. Shall we rest?”
Si Que didn’t speak. After a while, he slowly shook his head. With his chin resting on You Yuji’s shoulder, his face lightly brushed against her cheek with each movement.
“Alright, we’ll sit here for a while. When you feel ready, we can wash up,” You Yuji said gently. She softly smoothed Si Que’s long hair.
He stopped talking and quietly held her. She also stayed silent, just accompanying him. But You Yuji couldn’t help but wonder why he seemed unhappy. Could it be because she made him wear the red outfit today? On one hand, she felt that Si Que wouldn’t be upset over such a small thing, but on the other hand, she couldn’t quite understand his peculiar temperament.
After a while, Si Que muttered, “Sister, I want a kiss.”
You Yuji was taken aback and softly whispered, “You really are drunk…”
“Sister…”
You Yuji frowned and whispered, “Which night have you not kissed?”
Her tone was unnatural, and she didn’t want to say more. She pushed Si Que and finally managed to push him away. Standing up from his embrace, she said, “I’ll go call someone to bring water. You need to bathe obediently in a while.”
Si Que slowly nodded. He watched You Yuji walk out, suddenly smirking, showing no sign of drunkenness.
Then, he sighed.
Yes, he had kissed her every night, but not in the way he wanted.
Si Que turned his eyes away, dejectedly playing with an empty wine cup, spinning it on the table over and over again.
His actions paused, and a spark of light flashed in his eyes.
After all, who would want to kiss a drunk man’s mouth?
That’s why tonight Si Que not only rinsed his mouth repeatedly but also ate a whole box of sweets. However, he still didn’t get what he wanted.
You Yuji leaned over, pulled down the bed curtains, and then turned to look at him, “Rest well tonight.”
That meant no kissing anywhere.
Si Que hesitated to speak.
Alright, who cares, time to sleep.
You Yuji adjusted the quilt, covering him properly. She nestled beside Si Que, and after she fell asleep, Si Que gently reached out and held her hand in his palm.
He held it gently, afraid of waking her.
He couldn’t help but caress it repeatedly.
Si Que had seen many treasures in this world, but none could compare to the soft and delicate touch of her hand, which he found irresistible.
In her sleep, You Yuji frowned and turned over.
Si Que was startled and instantly let go of her hand.
After a moment, realizing she was still asleep, he gently took her hand again, not daring to hold it tightly, just lightly hooking her small, curled fingers.
•
In the blink of an eye, the day for You Yuji to go to the Poison Pavilion had arrived.
Early in the morning, You Yuji opened her eyes and saw that Si Que was still asleep. She quietly watched him for a while, telling herself that she must retrieve the fake death pill.
She got out of bed carefully to avoid waking Si Que and went outside to wash up.
Lady Jing tried to dissuade her again, but it was clearly futile.
After having breakfast, You Yuji was ready to set off.
Si Que was sitting inside by the window, looking out at You Yuji speaking with the maid, “Sister, are you going out?”
“Yes, I have to go out for a while,” You Yuji turned around and looked at Si Que, closely observing his complexion.
“Will you be back tonight?” Si Que asked.
You Yuji smiled, “Of course, I’ll be back.”
Si Que smiled at her.
The moment You Yuji turned around, Si Que’s smile vanished. With a blank expression, he flipped a copper coin.
After a brief clink, the coin settled quietly on the table.
—Tails.
Si Que’s lips curled into a sinister smile.
It seemed she wouldn’t be coming back tonight.
