Chapter 92: Delicious
Xue Sui’s expression was complex as she looked at Xue Yuechen’s nervous face.
“Firstly, the Eastern Palace caused trouble at the Prince’s Mansion today, and it coincided with the Princess suddenly falling ill. The Prince must be exhausted from dealing with it all, so he wouldn’t have the leisure…”
“Secondly, the Prince is more wary of me than fond of me.”
“Thirdly, even if the Prince were to come, I would find a way to make him leave.”
Xue Yuechen was slightly stunned.
Seeing the smile on her lips, Xue Yuechen felt her head spin, her thoughts completely jumbled.
“Even if the Prince has reservations today and doesn’t come, he will eventually. Why is my sister unwilling to serve the Prince?”
She paused and asked nervously, “Are you perhaps still thinking about that Gu Jie?”
Xue Sui gently shook her head.
“What merit does Gu Jie have to be worth my thinking about?”
“Sixth Sister, you’re going to confuse me.”
If she could, Xue Yuechen wouldn’t want to push her husband onto someone else.
But the words of the Great Monk Jing Kong still echoed in her ears.
Besides having Xue Liu serve him and bear children, what other method could she think of?
If Yuan Qingzhu were to give birth to the Prince’s eldest son first, how could Consort Xiao and the Prince still have a place for her in their eyes? To lose all favor would undoubtedly be a catastrophic disaster for her, perhaps even robbing her of the courage to live.
Xue Yuechen’s eyes reddened with anxiety, on the verge of tears.
“You’re going to worry me to death. Quickly, explain clearly, why is this?”
Xue Sui did not speak, slowly took Xue Yuechen’s hand, walked around the brightly festive brocade screen, and smiled faintly.
“Sister, please look.”
She used to always call Xue Yuechen Princess Consort, respectfully, but also with a distant politeness.
But this address of “Sister” was spoken with great intimacy.
Only when Xue Sui slowly removed her outer garment and untied the sash at her waist did Xue Yuechen personally see the shocking scars on her body—
The expression on her face seemed to freeze, gradually fading, her face stiff as a puppet.
Slowly, her eyes widened in shock, reddened, and finally, tears fell.
“Sixth Sister, I never knew you had suffered so much…”
Xue Sui smiled faintly and calmly put her clothes back on.
“It’s all in the past, Sister doesn’t need to dwell on it. But now, with a broken body, how can I serve Prince Duan’s noble personage?”
Xue Yuechen had not expected her to have so many scars.
And after ten years, they had not faded.
But she was merely surprised, not entirely unexpected.
“I have the palace-made scar cream. I’ll send someone to bring it over… or perhaps when the Prince comes, you can extinguish the lights and leave only a small night lamp for illumination…”
“Sister.” Xue Sui smiled at her and said softly, “The Prince is not an ignorant young boy, how can he be deceived? If you anger the Prince because of this, it will be more loss than gain.”
“Then what should we do?”
Xue Yuechen felt both angry and annoyed.
Angry at herself for not realizing this beforehand, for not considering this aspect.
Even more angry at Xue Liu for knowing but pretending ignorance, for not telling her the truth sooner.
“If my sister is unwilling to serve the Prince, why did she marry into the Prince’s Mansion?”
Hearing the annoyance in her tone, Xue Sui couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“For Eldest Sister…”
Xue Yuechen was filled with anxiety, pacing back and forth in the room.
She couldn’t take in a single word of what Xue Sui said.
“What should we do? Sixth Sister, you’re going to kill me…”
Xue Sui seemed not to notice her expression and said softly, “In the Xue Mansion, only Sister treats me sincerely. Others have never paid me any mind. This time, it was Sister who found a way to bring me back from the Old Mausoleum Swamp, saving me from further suffering. Sister, rest assured, I will not covet Brother-in-law, nor will I make things difficult for Sister. I am here to take care of you…”
She spoke with genuine sincerity.
Hearing this, Xue Yuechen’s eyes welled up with tears.
“I know your years have not been easy…”
She turned to look at Xue Sui, her throat almost choked, “Originally, with such thoughtful intentions, Sister should be pleased. But without bearing an heir for the Prince, how can we sisters stand firm in the mansion?”
Xue Sui retorted, “Sister has been married for over ten years, what did you rely on to stand firm?”
Xue Yuechen was stunned, not understanding why she asked this.
“Naturally, it was the Prince’s consideration and the marital affection that still exists.”
Xue Sui smiled, “Then doesn’t Sister understand? What you rely on is not just offspring, but also the Prince’s feelings. If you gain the Prince’s favor, you will be treated well regardless of whether you have children. If you don’t gain his favor, even if you give birth to ten sons, you might not be able to keep the Prince’s heart.”
Xue Yuechen naturally knew that a man’s favor was crucial.
But with Li Huan’s cold nature, their marriage was not just a facade; there were some rifts.
At least Li Huan had never opened his heart to her. Apart from the daily affairs of the mansion, he had never had a single heart-to-heart conversation.
Without a son, when her beauty faded, would she have to rely on charity?
Xue Yuechen’s heart felt like a jumbled mess of emotions, and she had no immediate solution.
She glanced at Xue Sui’s young and pretty face and felt a little more at ease.
“Since my sister has entered the mansion, live here peacefully for now. We will think of a way regarding the Prince. My sister is so beautiful, I don’t believe the Prince won’t like you…”
The corners of Xue Sui’s lips curved upwards, and she suddenly tightened her grip on Xue Yuechen’s hand.
“Sons born to others are not as good as one’s own.”
Xue Yuechen’s expression stiffened.
Then she heard Xue Sui say, “Does Sister know that I know some folk remedies for women seeking children? Will Sister come over tomorrow morning, and I’ll examine you carefully, alright?”
Xue Yuechen’s pupils trembled slightly, “Does my sister really have such skills? Can that remedy be trusted?”
Over the years, she had tried so many remedies, but there was still no news from her womb.
After a long time, she had given up hope…
Xue Sui, who knew everything about her, smiled faintly upon hearing this.
“Since I am here, I will naturally help Sister. If this remedy doesn’t work, I have others. We will surely find a way to solve Sister’s problem… By then, Sister will surely be favored and cherished by the Prince, and I, serving by your side, will also feel honored…”
Xue Yuechen’s heart became active upon hearing this, and her expression instantly warmed.
To give birth to Prince Duan’s legitimate son and gain her husband’s favor, how could she not long for it?
But for Xue Yuechen, married for ten years, this was just an unattainable dream…
Even in her dreams, she hadn’t hoped for it in a long time.
Yet Xue Liu said she could help her?
Xue Yuechen was half-believing, half-doubting.
Unexpectedly, things turned out as Xue Liu had said; Li Huan did not go to Tan Qiu Courtyard.
The lamp in his study remained lit until the third watch before it was extinguished.
The servant said the Prince had not slept elsewhere…
The breath that had been held in Xue Yuechen’s heart slowly sank.
She didn’t know whether to be happy or worried.
–
That night, Xue Yuechen was not the only one who found it difficult to sleep.
After Xue Sui sent someone away, she had Ru Yi prepare ink and brush, and sat by the window, rolling up her sleeves to write.
Xiao Zhao ground the ink beside her, and seeing her mistress’s calm expression, she had many questions.
“Mistress, do you think the Princess will finally realize and stop liking the Imperial Son-in-law?”
Her mistress had said she wanted Ping Le to be abandoned by everyone.
But the Princess was high and mighty; she might not end up as her mistress wished.
“She is the most favored Princess in the world. Can’t she just find another Imperial Son-in-law? If she doesn’t care, her heart won’t be hurt…”
Xue Sui did not look up, her brush still moving, and replied casually.
“Ping Le will only love the Imperial Son-in-law more, and be devoted to him.”
“Why is that?”
“Precisely because the Princess possesses the world, she becomes so fixated on men she cannot obtain. Back then, if Lu You’an hadn’t ‘invited three times and refused three times,’ and hadn’t shown Ping Le any favor, Ping Le might not have valued him so highly and insisted on him.”
Xiao Zhao nodded, then shook her head vigorously.
“No, no, no, no, that’s terrifying! I don’t want that. I only treat well those who treat me well. Like Mistress…”
As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and hugged her. Xue Sui’s hand holding the brush trembled slightly, and the ink smudged the paper.
She smiled helplessly and glared at Xiao Zhao.
“That’s not necessarily true. People’s hearts are all the same; they always consider the unwilling, the humiliated, and the unattainable as their greatest love… and then they become fixated, trapped in the mire.”
Xiao Zhao pouted, “Then they are fools! I only want someone who is devoted to me.”
Xue Sui smiled faintly, put down her brush, picked up the written paper, and gently blew on it to dry.
“To have someone devoted to you, how easy is that? Countless people pursue it their entire lives and still cannot attain it—so, if someone meets your every wish, you should be careful, perhaps they have ulterior motives.”
Xiao Zhao seemed to understand but not understand, yet she leaned against her obediently.
“I don’t love anyone else, only Mistress. I’ll listen to Mistress, I won’t be fooled!”
Xue Sui’s eyes curved, and she smiled.
She didn’t believe in devotion either, but she cherished those around her.
Xiao Zhao, Ru Yi, Jinshu, and the three Masters far away in the Old Mausoleum Swamp, as well as the Senior Brothers and Sisters who were genuinely good to her…
–
The night was deep and silent.
Two scouts from the Eastern Palace lay motionless on the rooftop of an unoccupied side room in the Prince’s Mansion, their limbs numb, sighing.
“They’re already married, why are we still guarding?”
“If I say it, no one will believe it, but the Crown Prince actually sent us to protect Prince Duan’s woman!”
“When will this cursed assignment end?”
To avoid being discovered by the guards of the Prince’s Mansion, they avoided Moonlit Lake and stayed on the dark, tiled roof of the side room in Tan Qiu Courtyard, their bodies stiffening like stone.
Putting aside everything else, compared to when they were monitoring Sixth Miss Xue at the Xue Mansion, the current working environment was getting worse and worse.
“Brother!”
Suddenly, one scout tightly gripped his companion’s arm.
“I’ve found something unusual!”
He trembled with excitement.
The other scout crawled over, suppressing his joy, and stared intently into the ink-black night at the small courtyard.
“Where? I don’t see anything.”
“I saw a wild man enter Sixth Miss’s Tan Qiu Courtyard!”
Upon hearing this, the scout gasped.
“Quick, go report to His Highness.”
“No, no, no—”
The other scout forcefully pulled his arm.
Then he lowered his voice and said hesitantly, “That wild man… looks like… seems like… probably… resembles… our Crown Prince?”
“Ah! Does he look like him?”
“A little!”
“What if it’s not him?”
“What if it is?”
The two scouts were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
They looked at each other, then gritted their teeth and played rock-paper-scissors. They unanimously decided to bravely get closer and investigate carefully before making a decision.
–
All was silent, the night wind was clear and cold.
The chirping of a few insects from not far away sounded particularly abrupt in the night.
The gauze curtain by the window moved. In the gentle breeze, it swayed slightly.
The wolf hair brush in Xue Sui’s hand paused slightly, and she looked up at Xiao Zhao.
“You should go down and rest now.”
Xiao Zhao asked no further questions, bowed slightly, and said,
“Yes, Mistress.”
As she left, she thoughtfully closed the room door.
The room immediately became quiet, with no one else present.
Spirit Feather, sensing something, paced back and forth on Xue Sui’s wooden desk, cooing softly, as if agitated, or perhaps excited.
Xue Sui patted the pigeon’s head, extinguished the lamp, and walked over to push open the wooden window latch.
With a light laugh, a figure leaped gracefully through the window.
“Let me see how the married Sixth Miss Xue is now, compared to before?”
Xue Sui couldn’t help but laugh at his audacity.
The Crown Prince’s boldness was simply beyond imagination.
Throughout history, there was no one like him.
Not to mention that Li Huan was his Imperial Brother, and today was her wedding night, which, according to folk sayings, was the bridal chamber night…
Yet he had come.
He dared.
He truly wasn’t afraid of causing trouble.
“I’ve seen. Is Your Highness satisfied?”
Li Zhao looked her up and down, a smile playing on his lips, and picked up the paper she had written with great interest.
The papers were filled with dense writing.
Neatly arranged, with symmetrical lines, as rigorous as her own person.
“A hundred-zhang tall building collapses from a tiny crack.”
“A thousand-li long dike is breached by an ant hole.”
“A forest of ten thousand acres is burned by a spark.”
“…”
“To make someone fail, first indulge their extravagance.”
“To make someone fall, first tempt their greed.”
“To bring disaster upon someone, first incite their recklessness.”
“To make someone disgraced, first inflate their ego.”
“To make someone perish, first let them become arrogant.”
Li Zhao pursed his lips, his dark eyes filled with a smile.
“Sixth Miss Xue’s words are pearls of wisdom, very much to my liking.”
Xue Sui looked at him quietly.
This Tan Qiu Courtyard was specially arranged by Xue Yuechen.
It was close to Moonlit Lake and not far from Li Huan’s residence…
“Your Highness, it’s late and the dew is heavy. I need to rest too. Please leave.”
If it weren’t for the late hour and heavy dew, Li Zhao might not have come.
He straightened the papers on the wooden desk, rolled them up, and tucked them into his embrace.
“After using me, you want to send me away. Ru Ren Xue, who taught you to act this way?”
Seeing that she did not respond, Li Zhao smiled faintly. Not only did he not leave, but he began to examine her wedding chamber with great interest.
He was already tall and slender, and there were many miscellaneous items in the room that had not yet been cleared. As Li Zhao moved around, the space felt crowded.
Xue Sui frowned. Li Zhao remained oblivious. He glanced here, touched there, and finally, he simply lifted his robe and sat on the wedding couch, scattering a pile of peanuts, dates, and longans.
He then smiled and picked up a date from the wedding quilt, popping it into his mouth.
“Delicious.”
Xue Sui: This person has such thick skin…
Li Zhao: Nothing is more delicious than dates, what’s the next line…
