Chu Yu listened in a daze, feeling somewhat disoriented.
If Shen You was planted by Zhao Yue to be sent to Northern Di, if it was Zhao Yue who advised Northern Di to use the White Emperor Valley case to pit the Yao Family and Wei family against each other, thereby weakening Emperor Chunde and ultimately allowing himself to ascend the throne, then it meant Zhao Yue had been scheming this since the death of the Prince of Qin—or even earlier.
Then why hadn’t Zhao Yue appeared in her past life?
Chu Yu desperately pondered, searching for the key point she had missed.
She had never interacted with Zhao Yue. Zhao Yue lived in the Eldest Princess’s residence. What had changed in this lifetime?
Gu Chusheng had gone to the Eldest Princess’s residence. He had contact with Zhao Yue and even later learned of Zhao Yue’s plan to seize Hua Jing, which was why he fled to Phoenix Tomb City to avoid disaster.
It was Gu Chusheng.
Chu Yu realized.
In her past life, there had been no news of Zhao Yue—only rumors that the Eldest Princess had a beloved male favorite who died shortly after the Wei family’s downfall. If her current deductions were correct, that person had been Zhao Yue.
Without Gu Chusheng’s help, Zhao Yue had been discovered and killed prematurely by the Eldest Princess in that lifetime. But in this life, Gu Chusheng had arrived at the Eldest Princess’s residence and naturally aided Zhao Yue.
Thus, Zhao Yue survived, seized Hua Jing amidst the chaos, and ascended the throne.
Thus, the nation crumbled, teetering on the brink.
How could such a person exist?!
How could someone destroy a country and slaughter seventy thousand fervent soldiers just to fight for the throne?!
Even Emperor Chunde might not have been so ruthless.
Chu Yu slowly understood, breaking into a cold sweat. Remembering Zhao Yue’s smiling face as he wore that water-blue robe, she couldn’t help but shudder.
Wei Yun noticed her distraction and asked with concern, "Sister-in-law?"
"Oh, it’s nothing." Chu Yu snapped out of it and lowered her head hurriedly. "Just lost in thought."
She bent down and continued massaging his legs. Wei Yun watched her quietly. With her by his side, even as he spoke of those intricate schemes, he felt an unexpected calm.
He finally realized that he was gradually emerging from the shadow of his father and brothers’ deaths.
He had thought he would remember it forever, hate forever—that he would forever live trapped in the seventh day of the ninth month, the day he had turned over corpse after corpse in the valley to find his family.
But now, as he spoke calmly of these conspiracies, he no longer recalled the agony of kneeling on the ground, weeping uncontrollably. He thought, perhaps, he had a chance to move on.
He gazed at Chu Yu silently until, after a long while, Shen Wushuang entered and knocked on the door. "Time’s up. Let’s eat."
Hearing this, Chu Yu carefully pulled down Wei Yun’s pants, helped him into his wheelchair, and pushed him to the dining hall.
Inside, Shen Jiaojiao and the woman they had met earlier were setting the table. Shen Wushuang bounded in cheerfully. "Sister-in-law, let me help you."
"Sit down," the woman chided with a smile, placing chopsticks on their rests. "If you wanted to help, you should’ve come earlier. Now that the food is ready, you’re just trying to look good."
"Don’t say that, Sister-in-law," Shen Wushuang said as he sat and picked up his chopsticks, motioning for Chu Yu and Wei Yun to join them. He glanced up at the woman. "I was busy tending to patients, earning a living."
"I saw you slacking off earlier," Shen Jiaojiao interjected.
Shen Wushuang immediately glared at her. "Children should speak less!"
Shen Jiaojiao rolled her eyes. Shen Wushuang turned back to the woman with an ingratiating smile. "I was just too tired, that’s all."The woman shook her head with a helpless smile. "You..."
The three of them chatted and laughed. Chu Yu helped Wei Yun sit down, and the woman nodded in greeting to them. "This humble one is Bai Chang, pleased to meet you both."
"Wei Yun."
"Chu Yu."
Chu Yu and Wei Yun spoke simultaneously, acknowledging Bai Chang. Seeing their formalities, Shen Wushuang pointed at the table. "Enough with the pleasantries. Let's eat."
Neither Chu Yu nor Wei Yun stood on ceremony. Unable to kneel properly, Wei Yun leaned back in his chair with his legs stretched out, naturally keeping some distance from the table. Chu Yu picked up food for him, and Wei Yun ate without any embarrassment, completely at ease. Occasionally, he would look up to find Chu Yu watching him, and they would exchange smiles. "What would you like?" Chu Yu would ask.
Watching this, Shen Wushuang felt inexplicably uncomfortable. He leaned toward Bai Chang and said, "Sister-in-law, I want you to pick food for me too."
Wei Yun and Chu Yu both stiffened slightly. Bai Chang's expression instantly turned cold. "No manners!" she scolded.
Shen Wushuang shrugged and withdrew.
Wei Yun and Chu Yu exchanged glances, the earlier sense of strangeness growing stronger.
After the meal, Shen Wushuang arranged a room for them. Since neither had revealed their identities, he only prepared one.
Inside, Chu Yu went to the inner chamber to make the bed while Wei Yun sat in his wheelchair, watching her shadow move behind the beaded curtain as she bent to arrange the bedding. Something welled up in his heart.
He had always thought of this as a special journey.
Here, he forgot he was Wei Yun, and she wasn't Chu Yu. He had simply met a girl he liked, following his heart to accompany her on this path.
But only now did he realize he could never truly untie this knot.
Gripping the armrests of his wheelchair, he spoke hoarsely, "Sister-in-law, I'll ask for another room."
"It's fine," Chu Yu called from inside, still smiling. "I've made the bed for you. You take the inner chamber, and I'll sleep on the daybed outside. With your legs not convenient, you can call me if you need anything at night."
"But—"
"Don't be fussy."
Chu Yu straightened up, scooped Wei Yun into her arms, and placed him on the bed with a smile. "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. It's only right I take care of you."
Wei Yun said nothing, staring at her blankly.
She hovered above him, her hair cascading down to frame his face.
She blocked the light, filling his world with nothing but her silhouette. Meeting his gaze, Chu Yu froze momentarily.
Her earlier boldness had been forced, and now, under his stare, she felt inexplicably flustered. She feigned composure as she straightened up. "Alright, get some rest. I'll sleep outside."
With that, she walked out, her steps slightly unsteady.
Wei Yun lay on the bed, collecting himself before finally saying, "Sister-in-law."
"Hmm?"
Chu Yu responded from beyond the curtain. Wei Yun swallowed hard. "You should take the bed. I'll sleep on the daybed."
Chu Yu chuckled. "You're taller than me. It'd be cramped. Besides, what kind of person makes an injured man sleep on a daybed?"
Knowing Chu Yu wouldn't change her mind once decided, Wei Yun stayed silent.
He listened to her breathing outside.
Strangely, when they were in the wilderness, she had been closer, yet he hadn't thought anything of it.But lying comfortably in bed, covered by the quilt, watching the hanging ornaments sway gently in the night, his mind was inexplicably filled with the image of Chu Yu making the bed with her back to him.
For a fleeting moment, perhaps because the lamplight was too dim, he even thought that Chu Yu seemed to be wearing a red wedding dress at that instant.
She was dressed in bridal attire, making his bed.
Wei Yun clenched his fists tightly, and after a while, he slapped himself hard across the face.
The pain sobered him up a little. He curled up, suppressing all his desires.
He felt disgusted with himself, utterly disgusted.
He endured the night until dawn. When Chu Yu woke up and lifted the curtain to check on Wei Yun, she found his face swollen and red.
She froze for a moment before exclaiming anxiously, "What happened to you?!"
Wei Yun sat by the bed, head lowered, and remained silent.
Chu Yu stepped forward and reached out to touch his face, but he turned away and said calmly, "There was a mosquito. I slapped it."
"A mosquito? And you slapped your own face until it swelled?!"
Chu Yu couldn’t believe it. Wei Yun didn’t respond, and seeing his awkward expression, she couldn’t help but laugh.
Indeed, slapping one’s own face swollen while trying to kill a mosquito was quite an embarrassing thing.
Not wanting to provoke him further, Chu Yu brought water for him to wash up and then took him for a medicinal bath.
After the first experience, Chu Yu had become much more straightforward. As she massaged him, she said, "In a couple of days, I’ll go gather news about Wei Qiu, Wei Xia, and the battlefield. For now, let’s not think about anything and just rest."
"Mm."
"Is there anything you’d like to do?"
Wei Yun didn’t answer.
Chu Yu looked up at him. "Since I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you take a break. Now that we have a few days, isn’t there anything you’d like to do?"
"I want... to go out for a walk."
Wei Yun’s voice was muffled, as if he felt somewhat embarrassed.
Chu Yu nodded. "Alright, I’ll ask Shen Wushuang. If he says it’s fine, I’ll take you out."
Wei Yun gave a quiet acknowledgment. Chu Yu stood up and ruffled his hair. Wei Yun frowned and said seriously, "Don’t mess with my hair."
Chu Yu raised an eyebrow, puzzled. After a long pause, Wei Yun muttered, "It makes me seem like a child."
Chu Yu was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter.
She nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, you’re not little. You’re not little at all."
Hearing this, Wei Yun felt even more frustrated. But he thought that saying anything more would only make him seem more childish, so he stayed silent.
Chu Yu carried the basin outside and found Shen Wushuang. "Doctor Shen, when do you think Xiao Qi will be well enough for me to take him out?"
"Sure," Shen Wushuang replied while sorting through herbs. "The Lantern Festival in Shacheng is in a couple of days. My sister-in-law and I are going—we can take you along. But remember," he turned to Chu Yu, "you’ll be responsible for carrying him."
Chu Yu agreed readily. "Don’t worry about that."
"There’s one more thing," Shen Wushuang called out as Chu Yu was about to leave. She turned back, and after hesitating, he said slowly, "If Wei Yun’s leg isn’t better in seven days, I might have to use stronger medicine."
Chu Yu’s heart skipped a beat. Shen Wushuang hesitated before adding, "It’ll be... quite painful."
Chu Yu didn’t speak for a while. Finally, she exhaled deeply.
"It’s fine," she said. "I’ll be here."Shen Wushuang hissed, covering one side of his face as he complained, "Enough already, my teeth are rotting from all this sweetness."
Chu Yu waved her hand dismissively without further comment and turned to find Wei Yun. After informing him about the outing, she combed his hair and asked, "Is there anything you'd like to prepare?"
Wei Yun shook his head. "Nothing in particular."
After a moment's thought, he added, "But Sister-in-law should dress beautifully."
As Chu Yu secured his hair with a jade hairpin, she feigned displeasure. "What, do you think I'm ugly?"
Wei Yun quickly responded, "Not at all! My sister-in-law is peerlessly stunning, a beauty that could topple cities. Dressing up would just be the icing on the cake."
Chu Yu knew Wei Yun had always been quick with words, though he'd been suppressing this side of himself for too long.
With a laugh, she patted his cheek and stood up. "Alright then, I'll make sure to dazzle you."
Wei Yun remained silent, his eyes downcast as he traced the patterns on his sleeve.
The thought that this would be their first outing together made his heartbeat quicken inexplicably.
Author's Note: [Mini Theater]
Shen Wushuang: I refuse to eat this dog food. Sister-in-law, I only want to produce my own dog food.
Bai Chang: Get lost.
Wei Yun (crooking a finger): Magistrate Shen, come here. I have something good to show you.
Shen Wushuang: What is it?
Wei Yun (pushing his head into a basin): Eat, eat, eat! Fresh dog food, eat up!!!
Shen Wushuang: Bursts into loud sobs.
[PS: A pitiful author caught between old and new, wanting... to beg for 2-point reviews... Never mind, with debts unpaid, my face hurts.]
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