Another lamp was lit in the house, and more people arrived as a soft sedan chair was carried inside.
“Greetings, Madam.”
From the outer hall, separated by a curtain, Doctor Li bowed deeply with visible emotion.
Inside, Cheng Jiao-niang nodded in acknowledgment and returned the courtesy.
“…Thank you, Master…” Doctor Li suddenly bowed once again.
This time, Cheng Jiao-niang moved aside to avoid the gesture.
“Madam, when you were treating Old Master Chen back then, you allowed me to observe your acupuncture technique… It was entirely thanks to what I learned during that time that I was able to save the Duke’s life this time…” Doctor Li said excitedly. “No, I should say it was you who saved His Highness’s life once again…”
Someone nearby coughed heavily.
“It’s getting late. Doctor Li may continue this reminiscence another day,” Master Gu said with a frown.
Yes, indeed – today was her wedding day, and she had already endured a long day. Doctor Li awkwardly rubbed his hands and composed his expression.
“This is the matter at hand,” he began. “His Highness’s condition has suddenly taken a turn for the worse…”
Upon hearing these words, Ban Qin, who had just stood up in the room, felt her legs give way again. As she leaned on the maid for support, her hands trembled uncontrollably.
Suddenly, the curtain rustled. Ban Qin’s hand dropped empty – the maid had already hurried after her mistress.
The people in the outer hall were also taken aback. No one had expected Cheng Jiao-niang to walk out just like that. Several advisors quickly lowered their heads, avoiding her gaze, inwardly grumbling: the lady had already changed into casual skirts, and her hair was loosely untied – really, how improper…
Doctor Li, however, showed no such reservations. He guided her to stand before the sedan chair, and the maid promptly stepped forward with a lamp.
Under the summer cloak, Duke Jin’an’s face appeared stiff. His eyes were closed, making it impossible to tell whether he was asleep or awake.
Cheng Jiao-niang examined him briefly before straightening up.
“He’s fine,” she said.
Doctor Li’s expression turned somewhat awkward.
“I know he isn’t in critical condition, but I still couldn’t quite rest easy…” he explained. “Tonight, he even refused to take his medicine…”
“Isn’t this all because of your recklessness!” Master Gu couldn’t hold back any longer, his face dark with anger.
The so-called “recklessness” likely referred to the prince insisting on attending the wedding ceremony in person.
The maid couldn’t help but glance at Duke Jin’an. In her ears, Master Gu’s voice grew louder and more agitated.
“…He hasn’t been able to leave his bed at all, yet you let him stand for so long and walk such a distance…”
So that was it. She had heard that people who have been bedridden for too long can’t walk much at first – they need to take it slow and steady. And for Duke Jin’an, who could hardly even sit up, to suddenly walk so far…
No wonder, after drinking the ceremonial wedding wine in the bridal chamber, even the eunuch couldn’t help him up anymore.
“…Doctor Li, I never thought you would do this too – colluding with them to send me away…”
“…Are you so focused on honoring your teacher that you disregard His Highness’s health?”
Master Gu grew angrier as he spoke, no longer caring about propriety. He raised his head and paced restlessly around the room.
“…Is this wedding ceremony so important? Would it have been such a loss if it hadn’t taken place?”
The eunuch and Doctor Li hung their heads in guilt, remaining silent. In the room, only Master Gu’s voice echoed.
“If you have something to say, say it outside.”
A lady’s voice suddenly rang out.
Master Gu’s words came to an abrupt halt.
“I need to rest,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
He was an advisor, a respected guest – not a servant. Yet she had dismissed him so bluntly!
Master Gu’s face flushed red and then paled.
Doctor Li, however, couldn’t help but smile faintly.
He had long been acquainted with just how direct this woman could be with her words.
“It was my negligence and mistake,” he said, smoothing things over. “I am responsible for His Highness ending up in this state. So, I must ask you, Madam, to look after His Highness tonight. It would set our minds at ease.”
Cheng Jiao-niang gave a soft hum of acknowledgment.
For a moment, everyone in the room was stunned.
“Then hurry and help His Highness inside,” the eunuch was the first to react and said.
Only then did the room stir back to life. Several maids lifted the curtains, while four young eunuchs carefully assisted Duke Jin’an.
“Hurry and prepare the bed,” the maid urged as she entered, noticing Ban Qin still standing dazed. She swiftly moved forward to help.
Finally snapping back to reality, Ban Qin flusteredly picked up the pillow from the floor and, together with the maid, tidied the bedding.
Duke Jin’an, however, was still dressed in his wedding attire. It took another flurry of activity to carefully remove it. By the time everything was settled, two more lamps had been lit in the room, and outside the window, the night had grown deep and dark.
“Madam, do you think it would be sufficient to leave two attendants to keep watch overnight?” the eunuch asked cautiously and respectfully.
“No need,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
“My lady… Madam,” the maid quickly stepped forward to explain, “Madam is not accustomed to having attendants on night duty. Please, sir, take everyone to rest.”
Upon hearing this, Master Gu, who had been about to storm out in anger but couldn’t bring himself to leave Duke Jin’an, could no longer hold back.
“How can that be acceptable? His Highness is in such a state now…” he protested.
“And will having you all attending to him right now make him any better?” Cheng Jiao-niang’s voice came from inside.
Doctor Li lowered his head, suppressing a smile, and reached out to pull aside Master Gu, whose face had turned livid with anger.
“Let’s go, let’s go,” he said in a low voice. “Master Gu, you don’t know this, but when this lady treats a patient, she never allows anyone to stay and watch.”
“That’s right. With just Lady Cheng alone, she is worth more than ten of us,” the eunuch also chimed in, visibly relieved.
Standing under the corridor, Master Gu’s face flushed red under the glow of the crimson lanterns.
“You all seem remarkably at ease,” he said, glaring.
The eunuch looked out into the courtyard and sighed softly.
“Sometimes a person must accept fate,” he said.
Accept fate?
“Whether she is trustworthy or not, this is His Highness’s destiny now,” the eunuch whispered, then bowed his head and stepped down the stairs, hands hanging respectfully at his sides.
What nonsense is this!
Something that could clearly be prevented or avoided – how could it be reduced to mere fate?
Master Gu frowned.
“Please rest assured,” Doctor Li said as he stepped past Master Gu. “If she is not to be trusted, then there is no one in this world worthy of trust.”
Master Gu continued to frown. He watched the eunuchs and maids filing out in an orderly manner, then glanced at Doctor Li and the eunuch who had already reached the courtyard gate. With no other choice, he reluctantly followed.
“You’d better not deceive me a second time!” he ground out through clenched teeth.
At these words, the shoulders of Doctor Li and the eunuch ahead seemed to hunch slightly, and they quickened their pace even more.
The maid reached out to extinguish two of the lamps, her gaze falling on Cheng Jiao-niang, who had already settled before the low table and resumed reading.
“Do you still wish for some tea, Miss?” she asked.
“No need,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, setting down her book and pausing in thought. “Light an incense stick instead.”
The maid was momentarily taken aback.
“Is it the incense from the box you made yourself, Miss?” Ban Qin asked.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded.
Ban Qin promptly went to fetch it.
“Miss also makes incense?” the maid followed to help.
After searching through a chest in the eastern side chamber for a while, Ban Qin happily retrieved a small box.
“Yes, in the days after the Fourth Young Master passed, the lady would make a little each day,” she explained.
The maid was often away and naturally hadn’t known about this. She sighed softly upon hearing it.
“This incense must be very fine.”
Watching as the incense was lit, the maid said with a gentle smile.
Cheng Jiao-niang shook her head.
“It’s not fine,” she replied.
“Whatever Miss makes must be of the highest quality,” the maid insisted.
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled.
“Well, that’s true. What I make is indeed excellent,” she said, looking at the two of them and nodding. “You may go and rest now.”
The maid and Ban Qin nodded in acknowledgment.
“Miss, we’ll be right outside,” they said.
The room settled into quiet once more. Cheng Jiao-niang finished reading the final words and set down her book. Outside, the faint rustling sounds from the maids had already faded, gradually replaced by soft, steady breathing.
Their long-held tension finally released, the two maids had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as their heads touched the pillows.
Cheng Jiao-niang turned to look at the couch.
The man lying there was also sleeping peacefully.
She walked over and sat by the bed, gazing at the young man whose face was half-hidden in shadow.
“Would you… like some water?” she asked.
Duke Jin’an’s eyelashes fluttered twice before his eyes slowly opened.
“I…” He looked at Cheng Jiao-niang, his expression seeming slightly dazed. “It’s you…”
He didn’t say more, as if he had already understood where he was and what was happening. On the pillow, he gave a faint shake of his head.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded and didn’t speak further either. She turned and extinguished the lamp.
The room plunged into darkness, yet Duke Jin’an could still clearly sense the lady settling beside him, drawing the bed curtains closed, pulling over a thin quilt, and lying down.
In the summer heat, the close proximity – almost arm against arm – brought a wave of warmth, soft and fragrant.
Duke Jin’an lay with his eyes open, fixed on the canopy above.
It seemed that earlier, when he sat on the bed at dusk, he had vaguely noticed something like a sachet hanging from the canopy. Or perhaps it had already been removed. There had been dried fruits scattered on the bed earlier too, but lying down now, he felt no discomfort – only a softness… Soft, and with the curtains drawn, the room should have been stifling… A few basins of ice had been placed… Were they enough…
A hand suddenly rested on his body.
Duke Jin’an stiffened instantly, his mind going completely blank.
The hand lifted again, seeming to hesitate for a moment, then fell once more, rose again, fell again…
Suddenly, Duke Jin’an snapped back to his senses – this seemed like…
“Sleep,” a lady’s voice whispered by his ear.
The hand on his body withdrew.
Duke Jin’an felt a layer of sweat break out across his skin.
The person beside him shifted slightly, turning to face outward, and a steady, even breathing gradually filled the space.
“Cheng Fang.”
Duke Jin’an couldn’t help but call out softly.
Cheng Jiao-niang made a soft sound of acknowledgment.
“I…” Duke Jin’an said, “feel a little uncomfortable.”
The person with her back to him did not turn around.
“Such matters – how could they not be uncomfortable?” she replied calmly.
…
Ban Qin vaguely heard voices coming from inside in her drowsy state. She wanted to open her eyes but couldn’t quite manage it.
“…Such matters – how could they not be uncomfortable…”
What matter?
Has something happened?
Wake up, wake up!
Ban Qin forced her eyes open. Darkness surrounded her, and she couldn’t help but gasp for breath.
From the inner chamber came soft rustling sounds, exceptionally clear in the stillness of the night.
Remembering the words she had heard earlier, Ban Qin immediately sat up.
It wasn’t a dream!
The maid, stirred by her movement, woke up in a daze.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It seems… inside…” Ban Qin whispered, glancing toward the inner chamber.
As soon as she spoke, a soft gasp came from within.
“It hurts!”
Ban Qin and the maid both jolted. Ban Qin made to get off the bed, while the maid sat upright.
“…I told you, such matters – how could they not be uncomfortable… Just bear with it a little…”
Another low voice followed.
The sounds of conversation from the inner chamber faded, leaving only faint, muffled groans.
The maid’s body stiffened, as if she had realized something.
It couldn’t be…
Though still skeptical, she didn’t hesitate to reach out and grab Ban Qin.
Ban Qin had already lifted her foot to step forward when she was abruptly pulled back, stumbling slightly.
“Sister?” she whispered, confused.
The maid held her tightly, refusing to let go.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Come back and lie down to sleep,” she whispered, keeping her voice low.
Ban Qin remained suspicious.
“But the sounds inside…” she murmured.
The sounds inside… weren’t those just the usual noises of a wedding night?
She had once overheard older married women whispering and laughing away from others, saying improper things – how that night would surely be painful…
The maid’s cheeks flushed bright red as she leaned close to Ban Qin’s ear and whispered something.
Instantly, Ban Qin’s face turned scarlet.
“N-no, that’s impossible,” she stammered in a hushed tone.
Hadn’t it been said that Duke Jin’an was brought here because he was unwell? How, how could such a thing happen?
“We didn’t expect him to come in person for the wedding ceremony either,” the maid whispered.
True – there had been far too many unexpected events today. But this… consummating the marriage…
“Since Miss hasn’t called for anyone, let’s… let’s not interfere,” the maid murmured. She lay back down, hesitated for a moment, then pulled the quilt over her head.
Seeing her like this, Ban Qin felt her face burn and her ears grow hot. Part of her wanted to keep listening, but she didn’t dare. In the end, she simply climbed back into bed, closed her eyes, and tried desperately to fall asleep.
The night grew deep. At times, faint sounds seemed to reach her ears, and at others, all was quiet. Amid the jumble of thoughts, the room gradually settled into stillness.
