When they were about to return to the Jinnan Palace, You Yuji collected her thoughts and asked, "Has Prince Qi returned to the Pinghuai Palace?"
Madam Jing nodded: "Our carriage was running forward like crazy, but it was stopped by Prince Qi's personal guards. Then Prince Pinghuai sent a large number of officers and soldiers to chase us and take Prince Qi away."
Zhenxu added, "Although Prince Qi didn't suffer any vital injuries, the blood that flowed out was black. The arrowhead must have been coated with poison!"
You Yuji nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Soon the carriage stopped in front of the main gate of Jinnan Prince's Mansion. You Yuji got off the carriage and was invited to the front hall by the steward. It turned out that the government officials had arrived at Jinnan Prince's Mansion earlier and asked her about the situation at that time. This is the capital, the person who was assassinated is the eldest son of the third prince, and many innocent people were killed and injured. The matter is serious.
When You Yuji arrived at the front hall, the King of Jinnan and the Princess were there, as well as an official named Xu whom she did not know. You Yuji briefly recounted the situation at that time. Some things were not convenient to say, so she only said that she met Prince Qi by chance when she went to Wanzhen Tower to have tea, and later when she was about to get on the carriage in front of Wanzhen Tower to return home, she encountered an assassination attempt.
"Excuse me, did the Crown Princess see the owner of the Poison Tower appear at that time?"
You Yuji lowered her eyes: "The thick blue fog blocks my vision, I can't see anything clearly."
You Yuji was asked about some details again. She answered briefly and to the point, occasionally shaking her head to show she didn't know. The princess noticed that she looked unwell and was worried that she was frightened. She stopped asking questions and told her to go back and rest.
On the way back to Tanxiang Yingyue, Madam Jing was secretly troubled. Not only was it bad luck that this happened today, but she was also worried that when the prince returned home, he would mistakenly think that Madam and Prince Qi had gone to Wanzhen Tower for a private meeting...
If that were the case, there would be more trouble. She felt a headache just thinking about it.
When she reached the gate of Tanxiang Yingyue Courtyard, You Yuji suddenly stopped. The sun was about to set, and the lights in the rooms were gradually turned on, with soft light and shadows reflected on the windows. After staying outside for a day, she was covered with a lot of deep winter chill, but she didn't feel it at first. Now, looking at the soft warm light in the room, she felt the warmth and cold.
When she entered the house, Baisui meowed to greet her.
You Yuji smiled and bent down to pick up the soft kitten. Baisui smelled a strange smell, twisted his body in her arms, and looked at her hand.
The blood from the abrasion on her palm had already coagulated, and the dirty bloodstain covered her palm. There was another dried bloodstain running along her palm, winding down and disappearing into her sleeve.
As soon as Zhenxu came back, he took the initiative to get the abrasion medicine and told Baohe to quickly fetch a basin of clean water.
"Madam, please put the cat down. Be careful not to be scratched by it again. The wound on your hand needs to be treated quickly." Zhenxu said as she walked quickly towards them carrying a medicine box.
You Yuji sat down on the couch under the window, pinched Baisui's soft neck, bent down and put it on the ground.
"My sister is back."
You Yuji paused for a moment after stroking the back of Baisui's head, then withdrew her hand, slowly stood up, and looked at Si Que who came out from the inner room.
He seemed to have just taken a shower and changed into loose pajamas. His black hair was half dry and draped neatly over his snow-white clothes.
You Yuji slowly curved her lips and said, "I'm back."
"What's wrong with your hand, sister?" Si Que suddenly frowned, walked quickly towards You Yuzhi, sat down beside her, and nervously held her hand.
You Yuji looked at him tenderly. He had a faint scent of irises on him. He must have used her bath cream again. She was silent for a while before saying, "It's just an accidental scratch. It's nothing."
Baohe came in quickly with a basin of warm water and placed the water on the high table next to the couch where the pillow had just been dragged.
You Yuji put his right hand into the water and watched the blood on the palm of his hand slowly melt away.
Baohe wrung out the wet towel and wanted to wipe the area around You Yuzhi's wound.
"Give it to me." Si Que stretched out his hand towards her.
Si Que first wiped the water stains on You Yuji's hands with a soft, dry cotton towel, then held her hand and carefully wiped the remaining blood stains around the wound on her palm with a wet towel.
You Yuzhi turned her head and looked quietly at Si Que's profile.
"Why are you so careless? Does it hurt, sister?" Si Que raised his eyes and looked over, worry clearly written in his clear eyes.
"It doesn't hurt." You Yuzhi shook her head slowly.
"Sister, don't be so stubborn." He smiled and placed You Yuzhi's hand on his leg, then took the abrasion medicine handed to him by Zhenxu.
A watery abrasion medicine with a light yellow tint.
He pinched the medicine bottle with his long fingers, tilted the bottle mouth carefully, and poured the medicine inside into You Yuji's palm.
The blood had already coagulated, and the pain was gone. But when the cool and stimulating medicine was poured on the wound, You Yuji couldn't help but tremble at her fingertips.
Si Que immediately raised his eyes and looked over: "Did you hurt your sister?"
Without waiting for You Yuji to answer, he bent down and gently kissed You Yuji's pale fingertips.
Baohe's almond-shaped eyes immediately widened, and even Zhenxu beside her was stunned. Baohe reacted first, and she quickly winked at Zhenxu, and the two of them quietly withdrew and gently closed the door.
"They are still here..." You Yuji withdrew her gaze from the door.
As soon as she turned her eyes, she met her boss Que's slightly red eyes.
"Sister, I feel so bad." Not only were the corners of his eyes slightly red, but there was even a hint of moisture brewing in his eyes.
You Yuji opened her lips slightly, and couldn't help but reach out her hand, gently stroking the contour of Si Que's eyes with her fingertips. She suddenly said, "A Que, have I ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"
"I haven't said that." Si Que slowly revealed an innocent smile, "But I know that my sister must think that I am beautiful in every way."
You Yuji couldn't help but curl her lips. She asked, "What did Ah Que do alone in the mansion today?"
"My sister is not here, so I slept very late. When I was bored, I went for a walk in Merlin for a while, and then waited here obediently for my sister to come home." He held You Yuzhi's hand and looked at her with a smile in his bright eyes.
After a while, You Yuji said "Oh". She didn't want to look at Si Que's confusing eyes. She lowered her eyes and asked casually, "Is Merlin pretty?"
"Strangely enough, Merlin is always Merlin. When he goes alone, he doesn't look as good as when he goes with his sister."
You Yuji did not respond.
Si Que stared at You Yuji, his simple and innocent eyes concealing another layer of struggle.
She kept her eyes down, and her gaze fell on the hands of the two people. He held her hands with both hands, and under her slightly curled fingers, the old scar on the palm of his left hand could be vaguely seen.
You Yuji took Si Que's left hand and gently stroked the outline of the shallow scar on the palm of his left hand with her soft fingertips. If he had a wound, it would be very difficult to heal. After so long, the two scars on the palm of his left hand have not disappeared.
“It hasn’t completely disappeared yet…” You Yuji said softly.
Si Que lowered his eyes and followed You Yuji's gaze to the scar on his palm. He was silent for a moment before speaking: "It doesn't matter if there is a scar, as long as my sister's hand doesn't have a scar."
It was clearly still the same sweet words that he said as always, but compared to usual, there was less smile in his voice.
You Yuji's eyelashes trembled, and she looked up at him, meeting his innocent and childish eyes.
"After dinner, why don't we go for a walk in Merlin?" she suggested softly.
"With my sister by my side, the red plum blossoms will become more colorful and beautiful."
You Yuji's eyes fell on Si Que's black hair hanging on his shoulders and said, "You should wait until your hair is completely dry before going out. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Si Que smiled and said, "Sister always cares about me like this."
There was still a gentle smile on You Yuji's face, but her heart felt a little empty, not as soft as before.
Soon, Zhenxu knocked on the door cautiously and asked if she wanted to serve dinner. After getting permission, she brought in dinner with a few maids.
You Yuji took the lotus seed and cinnamon porridge handed to her by Zhenxu and ate it in small mouthfuls. After being outside for so long, her body became warm when she returned to the house, and she felt more comfortable eating hot food.
Si Que glanced at You Yuji who was sitting opposite him and concentrating on eating, then retracted his gaze, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a sip of the bland Longjing tea.
"This is the glutinous rice wine that was just delivered today. It's perfect for warming up your body in winter." Baohe smiled and poured two cups, first placing one in front of You Yuji and then placing the other in front of Si Que.
Si Que glanced at the cup of sweet glutinous rice wine with a faint fragrance and said, "Take it away. I'm quitting drinking."
You Yuji paused while scooping porridge with the small spoon, and looked up at Si Que who was sitting opposite her. He had hardly eaten anything.
You Yuji put down the small bowl of porridge in her hand, held the soup spoon and scooped a bowl of lotus seed and cinnamon porridge herself and handed it to Si Que, saying softly, "It tastes good, you try it."
Si Que took it and ate in silence.
He only had this small bowl of porridge for dinner.
After the two of them had dinner, it was already dusk, with only a little afterglow in the west and the moon high in the east. You Yuji personally put on the white fox fur coat for Si Que and stood on tiptoe to adjust his collar.
"It's cold outside, don't catch a cold." Her voice was gentle, as always.
You Yuji didn't let any maid follow her, as she was worried that it would be dark when she returned, so she took a glass lamp.
During the day, sometimes someone would come to Merlin, but by this time, even the servants who took care of Merlin had gone to bed and would not come.
The winter evening breeze blew in with a chill, stirring up the hems of the white fox fur coats of the same color on the two people. It also made the glass lamp in You Yuji's hand sway gently, and even the overlapping figures of the two people under their feet swayed.
"Let's go up and take a look." You Yuji raised her eyes and looked towards the viewing pavilion on the rockery.
"Okay, I'll listen to my sister." Si Que smiled obediently, but it was a pity that You Yuzhi didn't look over.
The two walked side by side on the stone steps, one step at a time. After only walking up a dozen steps, You Yuji almost subconsciously said, "Be careful, don't fall."
"Okay, I'll pay attention." Si Que turned to look at You Yuji, but saw that she frowned and pursed her lips, as if she regretted what she had just said.
The two of them walked almost without speaking to each other as they reached the pavilion in silence. You Yuji walked slowly to the railing, looked into the distance, and watched the sunset leave completely.
Si Que walked over, stood beside her, and watched the sunset at the end of Merlin with her.
The wind was stronger above the viewing pavilion, blowing against the fence and making a whistling sound.
After a long silence, You Yuji broke the silence first: "A Que, do you have anything to say to your sister?"
What returned to You Yuji was the sound of whistling wind hitting the wooden railings.
You Yuzhi turned around and walked out of the fence.
"What do you want to hear, sister?" The smile on Si Que's face had faded, and his eyes were fixed on You Yuzhi's back.
He watched her walk away, step by step. Although she was only a few steps away, she suddenly seemed out of reach.
He suddenly walked towards her and followed her.
You Yuji suddenly turned around, her eyes slowly curved, as gentle as water. Then Si Que watched her open her arms and fall backwards towards the rockery.
Si Que's face changed drastically.
The whistling wind ruffled You Yuji's hair, and a strange look appeared in her eyes. Is this the real him
Si Que leaped forward, grabbed You Yuzhi's waist tightly before she fell, and brought her steadily to the ground.
He lowered his eyes and gasped, and for the first time in his life he knew what it meant to be frightened.
You Yuji calmly pushed his hand away.
Their eyes met for a moment, and You Yuji turned away calmly.
Si Que stood there, looking at You Yuji's departing back, and slowly closed his eyes.
She repeatedly probed gently, and he tried to cover up awkwardly every time.
In the end, he lost.
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