Bu Shulin clutched her chest and rolled her eyes dramatically, "Poor soul, what a pitiful soul I am..."
Shen Xihe stifled a laugh and turned to leave, making Bu Shulin even more aggrieved. She spread her arms and lay on the couch with a look of utter despair, moaning, "Jinshan..."
No one answered.
"Yinshan..."
Still no response.
"Baoshan..."
Not a single soul replied. Bu Shulin turned her head and saw that the room was completely empty. She struggled to get off the couch and walked to the doorway—it was eerily quiet, without even a living creature in sight.
The early spring breeze blew by, carrying a fresh green leaf that spiraled down before her eyes before drifting away with the wind. Bu Shulin suddenly felt a wave of desolation. Angrily, she turned back and lay down again. Since her wound made it unwise to move too much, she could only stare blankly at the canopy above.
After who knows how long, the rich aroma of creamy congee wafted past her nose. Bu Shulin turned to see Jinshan entering with a food tray and immediately sat up. The sudden movement tugged at her wound, contorting her face in pain for a moment, but the increasingly enticing fragrance quickly captivated her.
"Hurry, hurry! Stop dawdling—if it gets cold, the flavor won't be as fresh," Bu Shulin urged.
Jinshan swiftly set up a small table for her and placed the food tray down.
Bu Shulin first took a deep whiff of the aroma before picking up her spoon to eat. With just one bite, she recognized the familiar, addictive taste and murmured contentedly, "So stubborn yet so soft-hearted, hmph."
After a couple of bites, noticing Shen Xihe hadn't returned, Bu Shulin asked, "Where's the Princess?"
"The Princess has left. She said..." Jinshan paused before continuing, "She said she didn't want to be fooled by the Young Master exploiting his injury."
"Exploiting my injury!" Bu Shulin immediately felt the delicious food had lost some of its appeal, though her melancholy lasted only a blink before she cheerfully lowered her head to continue eating.
Over the next few days, someone continued to deliver meals to her. For the first two days, it was Shen Xihe's own cooking, but later the flavor changed—though it remained delicious. Bu Shulin assumed it was prepared by the Princess Manor's chefs.
She felt deeply dissatisfied with Shen Xihe's behavior of sending food but not visiting. Upon inquiring, she learned that Shen Xihe was spending all her time with Xue Jinqiao and grumbled indignantly, "I knew it! She's been bewitched by that little enchantress, Qiao Qiao!"
She decided to wait personally by the entrance. Once the Princess Manor's servant delivered the food, she would sternly refuse it. When the servant reported back, Shen Xihe would surely reflect on her coldness.
Hiding behind the main gate, Bu Shulin watched in shock as Cui Jinbai handed a food container to a servant from her residence. She leaped out immediately: "You traitorous dogs! How dare you accept anything from anyone? Aren't you afraid your master might be poisoned to death?"
She was furious, absolutely livid!
Bu Shulin felt her healing wound might burst open. What kind of people had she raised? They dared to accept food from unrelated persons behind her back! If it were poisoned, wouldn't her corpse be rotting by now?
The servant trembled fearfully—it was Guard Jinshan who had instructed them to accept it if Cui Shaoqing delivered it personally. Besides, since the Young Master was injured, she had become overly fussy, criticizing to the point where the residence's chefs nearly resigned in shame, feeling incapable of recreating the flavors the Young Master craved. Fearing they might hinder her recovery, they considered resigning early to atone and urged the Young Master to hire new cooks.
"Don't blame them. I asked them to keep it from you," Cui Jinbai explained gently. "You're injured. If you don't eat properly, your wound won't heal easily...""What does it matter to you whether I recover or not?" Bu Shulin irritably cut off Cui Jinbai's words. "Don't think I saved you out of gratitude either. You helped me first, and I only saved you because I didn't want to owe you anything. We're even now. Since we've already broken our swords and severed our ties, why should we have any further contact?"
Cui Jinbai's face turned pale. His fingertips gripping the food container were bloodless from the force. Remembering his actions that day, he was filled with regret. "I..."
Bu Shulin couldn't stand seeing him like this. Recalling her promise to Shen Xihe to make things clear with him, she realized she'd already delayed for several days. If Shen Xihe found out, she might misunderstand and think Bu Shulin was being perfunctory and not taking her words seriously.
Not that it was entirely her fault—after Shen Xihe left, Cui Jinbai hadn't requested to see her, so naturally she wouldn't seek him out. "Come in. Let's settle this clearly."
Cui Jinbai's face tightened as he carried the food container inside. Bu Shulin led him to the guest room. "That day was my fault. I shouldn't have dragged you into my scheme to avoid marrying the princess. But with your capabilities, if there hadn't been some benefit, you wouldn't have gone along with my recklessness. Call me shameless, but we were even then."
"This time, I'm grateful for your assistance. Taking that dart for you was the least I could do. That makes us even again."
"Now that the Fifth Princess is married to the Turkic khagan, I've heard Tubo has petitioned to marry the Third Princess, and the Sixth Princess is already betrothed."
"I won't bother you anymore in the future. Given time, no one will remember those absurd rumors about us."
"You can marry some noble lady from a prominent family. If she has any doubts, you can come to me for explanation..."
"Is this all you have to say to me?" Cui Jinbai grabbed her wrist, his gaze intense.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" Bu Shulin retorted.
Cui Jinbai was deeply remorseful. "That day... that day I acted impulsively. I apologize to you, I..."
"Breaking our swords and severing ties was just a moment of impulse?" Bu Shulin let out a light, scornful laugh. "If you lost your mind that day, would you have stabbed me with your sword? I dare not entangle with you anymore—you're too unpredictable."
Bu Shulin broke free from Cui Jinbai's grasp. Having mostly recovered, she turned to leave.
But Cui Jinbai embraced her from behind. "That day, I couldn't accept that I had fallen for you!"
Though Bu Shulin had regained most of her strength, her wounds were at her waist and chest, barely scabbed over. Using too much force risked reopening them, so for now, she was trapped in Cui Jinbai's hold.
"Since childhood, I've immersed myself in the classics. The Cui family teachings dictate that all Cui descendants must be prudent, modest, diligent, and endure hardship. Propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor—the Three Fundamental Bonds and Five Constant Virtues—are engraved in our bones. For me, a man, to fall for another man... how shocking and contrary to all principles! I was tormented, self-loathing, anxious, and fearful. Yet you told me you'd do the same for anyone, that your confession was just drunken words. I thought you unbearably cruel—my heartache dismissed so lightly."
"It was absurd, ridiculous, and pathetic. In a fit of anger, I broke my sword and severed our bond. I thought it would free me from this quagmire, let me return to being that confident, unaffected man I once was."
"But I couldn't. After that day, you were in my waking thoughts and my dreams. Everything I saw was haunted by your shadow, lingering relentlessly. It's as if you've cast a spell on me—my heart, my eyes, my mind are filled with you."
"I don't want to struggle anymore. I surrender. I lay down my arms."Listen, I adore you, admire you, and wish to marry you—regardless of whether you are a man or a woman.
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