You Yuji went to the small room to take a bath, and Si Que could vaguely hear the sound of water.
He lay on the wooden bed, thinking about what You Yuzhi had just said.
A gentleman among gentlemen
In Si Que's life, no one had ever described him as a gentleman. Even the word "man" had never been acknowledged by anyone. But now, a woman who had just been rude to him sat opposite him, looking at him tenderly, and said he was a gentleman.
Si Que found it funny and laughed.
Each of the guest rooms provided by Yunping Temple for pilgrims has a small bathroom, which is so cramped that it seems as if one can turn around. You Yuji once again glanced at the locked door latch before carefully stepping into the bathtub and letting the warm water wrap around her body. The thin wooden board had almost no soundproofing effect, and she moved slowly like an octogenarian, trying not to make any noise.
She was bathing here, and the sound of water reached Si Que outside, which always made her feel a little embarrassed. However, after being in the wind and snow for so long, she was still very cold. For the sake of her health, she had to take a hot bath to drive away the cold.
The warm water embraced You Yuji, and after a long time, her chilly body slowly recovered. She folded her arms over the edge of the bucket, resting her cheek on her arms, and fell into deep thought.
She thought of "Yunling Fu", and every article, poem and piano piece written by Si Que.
Before she knew Si Que, she first got to know his poems, essays and music.
At that time, she was still young, and she often danced with Si Que's poems and lyrics. As she danced, she was also curious about what kind of person was the one who wrote such a beautiful poem.
Although her father was a military commander, he was also a scholar who loved everything. The You family did not have the absurd idea that a woman's virtue was determined by her lack of talent. She found Si Que's poems and articles and recited them one by one under the green grass, blue sky and gentle breeze.
She could recite every sentence.
Before she knew Si Que, she first got to know him from his writings and lyrics.
You Yuji sighed silently.
She couldn't help but think about the reason why Si Que had dressed up as a girl since he was a child, and then she felt even more sad when she thought that he had become Chen Anzhi's concubine now.
If she told others that he was dressed as a woman, it would be a huge trouble for him.
She couldn't betray his trust.
After warming up, You Yuji stood up from the water, and the water drops on her body dripped into the water. Listening to the sound of water, she subconsciously raised her eyes and looked towards the door through the thin wooden board.
She wiped the water stains and used a cotton towel to wipe her wet hair repeatedly. This place was small and damp, and she should have gone out to dry her hair, but because Si Que was outside, it was too inconvenient. She had no choice but to spend a long time in the small bathroom to dry her hair. When she went out, it was already very late.
The lamp on the small square table between the two wooden beds was on, reflecting Si Que's sleeping profile.
"Are you asleep?" You Yuji asked softly.
No response.
You Yuji tiptoed over and blew out the light, and the room suddenly fell into darkness. Her eyes adjusted for a moment, and she groped her way onto the bed. She moved slightly and lay on the side of the bed away from Si Que.
She clenched the quilt with her slender fingers.
Even though she trusted Si Que, it was impossible for a single man and a single woman to sleep in the same room comfortably.
You Yuzhi fell asleep quickly, not knowing whether it was because she was tired from being in the snowy mountains today, or because Si Que added some sleeping-inducing spices to the hot water.
After she fell asleep, Si Que opened his eyes. He relit the candle and walked to the end of You Yuji's bed with the candlestick. He placed the candlestick next to You Yuji's feet, held You Yuji's ankles, and took off her white silk socks.
The dim candlelight fell on her slender snow-white feet, and there was a little red on the outside of her little toe.
Si Que took out a box of medicine, smeared the colorless cream on his fingertips, and carefully applied it to the slightly reddish area on the outside of her little toe.
"Sister, you'll get frostbite if you wear wet shoes and socks for so long." Si Que smiled slowly. He looked up at You Yuji who was sleeping soundly, and said in a light and strange voice, "Sister, am I good to you?"
The candlestick was placed at the end of the bed, and the shadow of the flickering flame fell on the small red mole on You Yuji's ankle.
Si Que lowered his eyes and looked for a while.
The next day, the first thing You Yuzhi did when she woke up was to turn over and look at Si Que - he was still asleep.
She sat up lightly, her eyes inadvertently swept over the candlestick on the square table. She had blown out the candle before going to bed last night. But now the white candle seemed to be a little shorter than when she blew it out last night.
You Yuzhi slowly moved her gaze back to Si Que again.
The King of Jinnan returned to the palace with His Majesty, while the Princess returned to the palace with the others.
The carriage stopped at the main gate of the palace. You Yuzhi helped Madam Jing get off the carriage and was the first to walk into the gate with the princess. She immediately saw Chen Anzhi waiting for them at the screen wall, and Fang Qingyi beside him.
"Mother, you're back." Chen Anzhi said.
You Yuzhi's gaze fell on the hands of Chen Anzhi and Fang Qingyi clasped together.
—This is no longer concealed, it has become completely open and aboveboard.
The princess's expression suddenly changed. In front of so many servants, she pursed her lips and suppressed her anger.
Fang Qingyi timidly took a half step back and hid behind Chen Anzhi. This action obviously aroused Chen Anzhi's desire to protect her. He shook Fang Qingyi's hand vigorously, looked at the princess bravely, and said sincerely: "Mother, my cousin and I are in love, please help me."
The princess took a deep breath and did not reply to her son for the time being. Instead, she looked at Fang Qingyi and asked, "Qingyi, you said last time that you are not someone who does not know your limits. You said that you do not want to be a concubine, and you said that the day Anzhi gets married will be the day when our relationship ends."
This was her niece who had grown up with her, and she even gave her the name. Seeing Fang Qingyi so confused, she felt bad.
Fang Qingyi lowered her head, tears falling one after another. She knew her reputation was damaged, but she had already lost her virginity to her cousin, so she could only try her best to stop the loss.
The princess continued to question, "You are a pure and innocent girl, are you going to be a lowly concubine?"
Lin Yingying, Cuiyu and Chunxing came over from behind and had heard a general idea of what had happened.
Cuiyu rolled her eyes slowly and said sarcastically, "How can a pure and innocent girl like you be a concubine? It's not appropriate."
Fang Qingyi glanced at Cuiyu, then lowered her head and bit her lips hard.
She felt sad, thinking that she had fallen to this point, being mocked by a prostitute. She always thought highly of herself and never took these two women from Rouge Lane seriously.
Last year, she had kept her cousin hooked, doing all kinds of intimate things, and only had to hold on to the last step. Soon after, she learned that her cousin had found two "confidants" in the brothel. She secretly went to see Lin Yingying and Cuiyu, and saw that they were both dressed in white and had elegant temperaments. They were best at playing the piano, and they both had narrow and long phoenix eyes like her.
She thought that these two prostitutes were substitutes for her cousin who couldn't get her. Fang Qingyi's original anger disappeared in an instant, and she felt a little complacent instead.
After all, she could never be a concubine and would never be on the same level as these lowly women!
Chen Anzhi spoke for his cousin: "Mother, I want to marry my cousin as my second wife."
Lin Yingying and Cuiyu looked at each other in astonishment.
A concubine? This is not a decent thing, it will make people poke at your spine.
"Equal wife?" The princess was so angry that she laughed, "Anzhi, do you know what you are talking about?"
"My son knows exactly what he is saying. Please grant my wish, mother!" Chen Anyi lifted his clothes and knelt down directly.
Chen Anzhi didn't want his cousin to be wronged, nor did he want the child to become a concubine, and he didn't dare to disobey the imperial decree of marriage. So he came up with the idea of having a concubine. But... he was not willing to tell the public that Fang Qingyi was pregnant, as this would be a stain that would destroy his innocence.
Lin Yingying and Cuiyu exchanged glances, thinking that the prince was forcing the princess to nod. The two of them couldn't help but secretly look at You Yuji's expression, but surprisingly, they didn't see any emotion on You Yuji's face.
You Yuji looked indifferently at Chen Anzhi, her husband, who was kneeling on the ground.
He didn't ask about the assassination, didn't care that his five wives and concubines almost lost their lives, and didn't care about the reputation of the palace. It was extremely stupid not to distinguish right from wrong.
Is this person the husband who will be tied to her for life
You Yuzhi wavered for the second time.
She tilted her head and spoke softly, "Princess, I don't know when Doctor Hu will come to treat my mother. I should go back early and wait."
The princess nodded and said, "Go ahead."
You Yuji bent her knees slightly, without even looking at Chen Anyi, and went back to Tan Xiang Yingyue to change her clothes.
The princess frowned, her head aching so much that she almost couldn't stand. She held onto Aunt Gu's hand and said weakly, "Help me go back."
Chen Anzhi then noticed that his mother looked very bad, and he quickly stood up to help her. The princess pushed him away in disgust. He stood there in a daze, thinking of the gentle tone his mother had just spoken to You Yuji. Did You Yuji say something in the temple yesterday that made his mother misunderstand her cousin? Thinking of this, he comforted Fang Qingyi: "You go back and rest first, I will take care of everything."
Fang Qingyi was laughed at by so many people and her face was gloomy. She forced herself to cheer up, looked at her cousin affectionately, and nodded with her beautiful eyes full of joy.
Chen Anzhi hurried to Tanxiang Yingyue.
Cuiyu wanted to make some sarcastic remarks about Fang Qingyi, but thinking that this cousin might be promoted to a co-wife, she swallowed her words reluctantly, and only hoped viciously in her heart - let her just be a concubine!
At this time, Si Que got off the carriage. He had already put on the cotton-padded clothes that Liu Feng had brought him, held the sleeve warmer with his slender fingers, put on a veil to block the wind, and walked slowly into the mansion gate.
Fang Qingyi was about to leave when she saw Si Que frowning.
She really cared about this woman that her cousin had taken back with him. She thought to herself that when she became the mistress of the house, she would never tolerate this pretentious concubine.
Cuiyu noticed that Fang Qingyi was looking at Si Que. She didn't know what she was thinking about. She burst out laughing and happily pulled Lin Yingying away.
When Chen Anzhi chased after Tan Xiang Yingyue, You Yuzhi was changing clothes in the inner room. Bao He stopped him with a bad look on her face.
Chen Anzhi was very anxious.
My cousin is pregnant, and the only way to conceal the stain of her losing her virginity before marriage is to marry her quickly.
You Yuji changed her clothes and came out from the inner room. Chen Anzhi hurried to meet her and blocked her at the door. The first thing he said to You Yuji was: "My cousin is innocent. It was all her mother's idea. She knows nothing!"
You Yuji didn't understand how a person could be so stupid.
"Your Majesty has been so kind as to allow Doctor Hu to treat my mother. I need to go home now. Please make way, my Lord."
"You Yuji!" Chen Anzhi shouted, "How come you don't know what's more important?"
Which is more important? You Yuji certainly knew that in her heart, nothing was more important than her mother's safety.
"Prince, please move aside." You Yuzhi spoke again.
Chen Anzhi was furious: "Grandpa Emperor just sent someone to go through the motions, do you really think your terminally ill mother can survive?"
You Yuji was stunned for a moment before she realized what Chen Anzhi had said. Looking at Chen Anzhi's face from a close distance, You Yuji slapped him.
There was a loud "bang" and everyone was stunned.
Chen Anzhi kept the posture of being hit on the side of his face for a while, then he looked at You Yuji with wide eyes, incredulous: "You dare to hit me?"
What did he just say
You Yuji finally realized what was happening—this person was cursing her mother.
You Yuji raised her hand and slapped him again.
After being slapped twice in a row, Chen Anzhi was furious: "Why are you crazy? Did I say something wrong? Your mother is already hanging on to her last breath, it would be a blessing if she can survive tomorrow!"
"Baohe!" You Yuji's voice was trembling, "Bring me my bow and arrow!"