Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Pei Yun walked into the room and walked straight into Gao Yi, who was coming out carrying a basin of clean water, medicinal ointments, and used bandages.

"Princess."

Gao Yi was startled for a moment before hastily bowing in greeting.

Pei Yun nodded, glancing at the bandages Gao Yi was holding. There were flecks of fresh blood on them—clearly just changed. The water in the copper basin was murky too, faintly tinged with blood.

Pei Yun pressed her lips together. "How bad is the Marquis's injury?"

She'd seen the wound when Qin Chu first got back yesterday—it was on his back, near the shoulder blade. But it was bandaged, so she couldn't tell how serious it was.

Judging by how energetic Qin Chu had seemed, she'd figured it wasn't serious. But now, seeing this, it looked pretty bad.

Gao Yi hesitated, then answered honestly: "The wound is rather deep, though luckily it didn't hit anything vital. However, the physician said he needs to rest and recover for a good while."

"Things in the northwest were still being wrapped up when His Majesty heard about the Marquis's injury and summoned him back to the capital early."

So that's what happened.

Pei Yun nodded. "I see. It's late—go get some rest."

Qin Chu didn't have many attendants, and Gao Yi was probably his most trusted. Running around all day couldn't be easy.

Gao Yi acknowledged this and quickly withdrew.

Pei Yun entered the inner chamber and saw Qin Chu sitting bare-chested on the carved daybed where she usually napped, his back to her. The daybed, which was more than roomy enough for her, looked cramped with him on it.

She crept closer and examined the wound on his shoulder blade. His honey-toned skin was warm to the touch, and as she leaned in, she could feel heat radiating off him. She studied it from every angle for a long moment before finally reaching out and poking it.

The man on the daybed didn't turn around or move.

Pei Yun pouted, finding it boring, and sat down right beside him, shoving him to scooch over.

"Done having your fun?"

Qin Chu shot her a sidelong glance, then calmly stood and pulled on the night robe from the rack.

Pei Yun swung her legs, hands braced on the daybed as she watched him. "Is it very serious?"

There wasn't a hint of real concern in her voice—she sounded more like she was watching a show.

Qin Chu said flatly, "Not gonna die."

Pei Yun pouted, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him back down to sit. She knelt on the daybed, not giving up, wanting to check again: "Let me take another look."

After studying it for a good long while, Pei Yun guessed, "This'll take at least ten days to half a month to heal, right?"

In just that short time, blood was already seeping through again—the wound must be pretty big.

But watching Qin Chu walk around normally, she'd never have guessed he was hurt. Or maybe the man was just incredibly good at enduring pain.

Qin Chu hummed in agreement. Full recovery would indeed take over a month.

Then he heard her sigh behind him and say wistfully, "You're really lucky."

"..."

Qin Chu turned to look at her. He didn't say a word, but she could read "what do you mean by that?" loud and clear in his eyes.

She said with a perfectly straight face: "If you weren't injured, I'd be furious right now."

Now isn't that lucky?

Qin Chu watched her quietly. Seeing her sitting there with her fair little face all serious, staring at him in a way that was both solemn and adorable, he suddenly laughed.

He even reached out and ruffled her hair. His tone had turned remarkably gentle when she said she wanted to be angry.

"What are you mad about?"

Pei Yun: "You know exactly what."

Pei Yun hopped off the daybed, climbed onto the bed, and crawled to the far side before lying down. "I'm a very empathetic person. I don't pick fights with injured people."

Qin Chu sauntered over and looked down at her. "You teased me first, and you're the one who's mad?"

So he knew all along! He was definitely playing dumb!

Pei Yun shot up.

"I already apologized to you!" Her eyes wide, she accused him. "And I explained myself too!"

She had the righteous look of someone who believed that since she'd apologized and explained, the other party had to accept it—and any payback afterward was just despicable.

Such a straightforward, almost childish way of thinking made Qin Chu raise an eyebrow in amusement. He'd spent years in the treacherous world of officialdom, dealing daily with old foxes who'd practically become spirits.

Pei Yun wasn't oblivious to the concepts of "superficial courtesy" and "outward harmony, inward discord." She didn't act this way with her mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law in the household either. She could certainly do the same with Qin Chu, but it would just be too exhausting.

She put on a polite front with others because she had no choice—their interests clashed. But she and Qin Chu were husband and wife—their fortunes were tied together. If she had to scheme even with him, life would be truly unbearable.

So she'd always tried to be open and honest with Qin Chu. Aside from matters involving her father, she hid nothing from him—and she naturally expected the same in return.

Though Qin Chu hadn't known Pei Yun long, he was starting to think his wife was actually pretty interesting.

The ancients said: "The sun and moon are highest; husband and wife are closest yet most distant." But she seemed to think otherwise.

Out in the world, she was sharp-tongued, meticulous, and adept at handling every situation. But at home, she was often as blunt as a child.

"I saw you clearly wanted that plum wine but were too shy to ask, so I gave you a hand." Qin Chu raised an eyebrow slightly. "I had no intention of getting back at you."

"..."

Yeah, right.

Pei Yun glared at him. Qin Chu's expression softened. "Did you really drink too much? Feeling sick?"

"How could that be? That little bit of wine was nothing." Pei Yun snorted.

Then she saw Qin Chu looking at her with that knowing, half-smile again.

"Fine, I was faking being drunk. What about it?" Pei Yun said with complete confidence.

Qin Chu smiled. "I know."

They stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Finally, Pei Yun rolled her eyes, too lazy to deal with him, and turned over to sleep.

A moment later, she heard rustling, and then that familiar scent of incense filled her nose as a warm body pressed close beside her.

Qin Chu lay perfectly still, not making a move on her. Just as Pei Yun thought he had fallen asleep, she suddenly heard his voice, low and somewhat somber: "I don't like it when people lie to me. Best not be a next time."

"If you want our marriage to continue,"

Pei Yun opened her eyes, turned over to look at him, her eyes practically blazing: "Have you never lied to me?"

"No."

His tone was so calm and composed that Pei Yun was momentarily speechless. Then she recalled that Qin Chu indeed had never deceived her.

This realization made Pei Yun's anger subside considerably. If neither lied to the other, it seemed acceptable after all.

She let out a couple of grunts but said nothing—her way of agreeing.

After a moment of silence, Pei Yun composed herself. She poked him curiously and asked softly, "What did Grandmother say to get you to drop the West Manor matter?"

Qin Chu didn't open his eyes, just hummed in acknowledgment.

He thought her temper truly came and went quickly—in a way, she was quite reasonable.

Pei Yun, however, felt it was just as she had guessed.

She thought for a moment, then asked, "So did you agree?"

She still needed to discuss this with Qin Chu, because she had no intention of letting it go easily. If Qin Chu had conceded, it would be a bit troublesome.

At that, Qin Chu opened his eyes. His dark eyes appeared even more dangerous in the pitch-black night. He curled his lips. "Do you think I have a particularly good temper?"

Pei Yun smiled and looped her arms around his neck.

"What a coincidence—my temper isn't good either."

Qin Chu smiled without saying anything.

But the couple had already agreed on this matter.

The West Manor wasn't the problem; the trouble was Consort Sun and Prince Zhao behind them.

Pei Yun thought for a moment, then said, "Prince Zhao is going to pick his primary consort. Did you know?"

"The Emperor's mentioned it a few times. Why?" Qin Chu said.

"Yesterday when we were at the palace, the Emperor was with the Grand Empress Dowager, also discussing Prince Zhao's marriage. The Emperor wants the Grand Empress Dowager to choose the Princess Consort of Zhao," Pei Yun said. "This news probably hasn't gotten out yet."

If this news had gotten out, her second aunt would've already come running.

Qin Chu didn't seem surprised, just hummed, then asked, "And then?"

"There's no 'and then' to it," Pei Yun mused. "I'm thinking Second Uncle and Second Aunt will definitely want to betroth Shun Jie'er to Prince Zhao. Do you think it'll work?"

To strike a snake, you hit its head. The West Manor's most important matter right now was likely Qin Shun's marriage to Prince Zhao. If they could sabotage that, great. But as the saying goes, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Her actions were no different than cutting off their livelihood. From then on, it'd be a life-or-death struggle with the West Manor, never to interact again. If it came to that, it wouldn't be impossible, just a bit ugly. So Pei Yun had been thinking these past two days about how to quietly sabotage it.

Qin Chu seemed to know what she was plotting. He was quiet for a moment, then said, "Prince Zhao isn't as simple as you think."

Pei Yun didn't have deep interactions with her cousin Prince Zhao, but he was always smiling and seemed to have a good temper. Her relationship with him was decent.

After her mother's guidance, Pei Yun had also guessed Prince Zhao was probably the mastermind behind this. His goal was nothing more than to sow discord between Qin Chu and his brother Qin Sheng, so his aunt's family could reap the benefits and get the title. If the West Manor truly inherited the title, it'd naturally be an advantage for Prince Zhao.

And Prince Zhao had put so much effort into planning for the West Manor—maybe he really did want to marry his own cousin as his consort.

If this marriage fell through, everyone'd be happy.

Pei Yun was thinking about this when Qin Chu answered her previous question: "Who Prince Zhao marries as his primary consort still depends on the Emperor. It's too early to talk about this now."

After all, rumors about Prince Zhao choosing a consort had been going around, but the palace hadn't issued any official decree for young ladies to be presented.

Pei Yun's eyes darted around: "Then I'll start planning. If I run into any trouble, you've got to help!"

"Whatever you want," Qin Chu said with a smile.

Pei Yun was truly delighted. She snuggled contentedly into Qin Chu's arms, yawned, and fell asleep soon after.

The next morning when Qin Chu woke up, Pei Yun was still clinging to him like an octopus. He gazed at her quietly for a while, then carefully got out of bed and went to the outer room to dress and wash.

Gao Yi had been waiting outside for a while. When Qin Chu came out, Gao Yi stepped forward to report: "My Lord, should I have the sedan chair prepared for court today? Your injury won't do well with the jostling of horseback riding."

Qin Chu nodded, and as he put on his court robes, he calmly instructed, "How are those two servants in the punishment hall?"

Qin Chu was referring to Cai Yun and her mother. Both had betrayed their masters and had been thrown into the punishment hall for questioning yesterday.

"They're still locked up. They've confessed everything they know," Gao Yi said.

At this point, these two were useless. It was only a matter of how the Marquis wanted to deal with them.

Qin Chu fastened his jade belt and walked toward the door.

"Don't keep them. Get rid of them."

Gao Yi quickly acknowledged, "Yes."

Qin Chu exited the main house. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he saw a dozen or so matrons standing in the yard, whispering about something. Seeing him, they quickly fell silent, straightened up, and bowed respectfully.

"My Lord."

Qin Chu turned to Gao Yi beside him and asked, "Who are they?"

"They're the housekeepers of our estate. Yesterday, the Princess Consort ordered them to come this morning for questioning," Gao Yi replied.

Qin Chu nodded, glanced over the matrons, and said, "The Princess Consort isn't up yet. Go wait outside."

"The Splendid Courtyard doesn't like commotion. If there's any more noise, they'll be kicked out."

This last remark was clearly directed at the young servants and maids in the courtyard.

Everyone nervously acknowledged, watching Qin Chu leave without daring to utter a sound.

Pei Yun only woke up when Nanny Xu, unable to bear it any longer, came over to draw open the bed curtains and rouse her.

"Princess Consort, the Marquis has already had breakfast with Yu Ge and Yue Jie'er and gone to court. How are you still not up?"

Pei Yun groggily opened her eyes, sat up, and rubbed her head.

Maybe it was because she'd drunk some wine yesterday that she'd slept especially deeply and risen late.

"It's not the first or fifteenth, so I don't need to pay respects at Ronghe Hall, and it's not time for the Moonlight Courtyard yet. What's the rush?" Pei Yun said lazily.

She still had to visit Madam Tang daily, but Madam Tang didn't rise very early either, so there was no delay at this hour.

Nanny Xu helplessly had Bixiao and Hongliu help her up to wash and dress.

"Your Highness, you've forgotten—today you're meant to see the housekeepers. They've been waiting outside for a good while now."

Pei Yun, still dozing, let Bixiao comb her hair, only perking up a little at the mention of this. Right, there was still much to attend to today.

"In a few minutes, have them all come in to speak with me."

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