Chapter 18 Lost

Yu Wanyin had just turned on the light in the inner room when she suddenly realized that the tall man in the bed was nowhere to be seen.

Almost simultaneously, she heard Chu Yu's footsteps behind her, and her heart pounded like a drum.

Yu Wanyin pretended to be calm as she rummaged through the bookshelf, pulled out two or three seals, and turned to show them to Chu Yu.

Chu Yu accepted them all, saying, "Thank you, Madam."

His attention wasn't on the print, but rather, like a beast whose territory had been invaded, he keenly surveyed his surroundings.

But strangely enough, there seemed to be nothing unusual about the house.

Seeing his expression, Yu Wanyin's heart tightened to its limit. "What's wrong?"

Chu Yu was brought back to his senses. After a moment's pause, his gaze naturally fell on Yu Wanyin.

Yu Wanyin felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze.

Until Chu Yu asked with a smile, "Is Madam hiding something from me?"

Yu Wanyin's mind went blank. "What could I possibly be hiding from you?"

Chu Yu nodded knowingly, then slowly looked around the room.

Her fingers parted the gauze curtain that Yu Wanyin had just lowered.

His actions were unhurried and leisurely, but every move he made made Yu Wanyin tense up.

Chu Yu didn't ask any more questions. As he turned around, he suddenly caught sight of a book on the table.

He picked it up casually. "Is this military strategy yours?"

This is indeed hers.

Yu Wanyin hesitated and said, "I don't know why I brought my third brother's book with me. I saw it when I was packing and just put it here."

Chu Yu asked, "You like watching this?"

Yu Wanyin blurted out, "I don't like watching it."

It was against the rules for women of that era to see these things.

Chu Yu laughed, "Madam, you'd better stop lying to me. I can tell."

Yu Wanyin's palms were covered in a layer of cold sweat.

Seeing how nervous she was, Chu Yu didn't ask any more questions, put it back for her, and left the room first.

He admitted that he was indeed a little unhappy today.

He was unhappy that she looked at other men.

He was also unhappy that she had so many secrets she was hiding from him.

She still didn't consider him her intimate husband.

Yu Wanyin searched the entire room after he left, but still couldn't find any trace of Rong Si hiding.

Yu Wanyin sat on the bed to calm herself down when Qing Song came in from outside, carrying some snacks she had prepared for her. "Madam."

Yu Wanyin snapped out of her daze and looked up at her, her forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat.

She had no appetite left, so she only took a couple of bites and then put the food aside to take a bath and wash up.

Qingsong was packing her things outside.

Qing Song was halfway through tidying up when she felt something was missing. She knocked on the bathroom door and asked, "Madam, did you take your brocade garment in?"

Yu Wanyin was stunned for a moment, then mumbled, "I brought it in."

But she didn't bring it in.

After Yu Wanyin bathed and washed, she couldn't find the heart-shaped garment no matter how hard she looked.

A strange thought popped into my mind.

Could it be him...?

Yu Wanyin bit her lip.

No, her not answering doesn't mean she doesn't want it.

How could this person...?

He's truly a despicable scoundrel!

Yu Wanyin sat anxiously in the bathroom for a long time.

After calming down, Yu Wanyin was certain that he did it on purpose.

This is a form of retaliation and threat.

Holding her heart in one's hand signifies holding onto their past relationship.

On one hand, it was to retaliate against her deception.

On the other hand, there is the threat. If she pretends to ease the tension with him but secretly exposes him to Chu Yu, then he will have enough leverage to drag her down with him.

Yu Wanyin couldn't fall asleep for a long time that night, her mind racing until midnight, when she finally couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep.

After all this commotion, she developed a fever the next day.

The female doctor said it was due to sweating after intercourse, not taking a bath in time, and catching a cold from the wind.

Chu Yu clicked his tongue lightly and pondered, "Why can't Yao Yao be punished at all?"

"Every time I'm punished, I have to get sick and have to see a doctor."

Yu Wanyin concealed her guilt and teased him half-jokingly, "It's my weak health that's causing trouble for the Prime Minister. Why don't you take a wife with a better constitution?"

Chu Yu had a faint smile on his lips, but the smile was slightly cold. "I knew I couldn't do anything to you right now, so you dare to say such things to anger me."

Chu Yu rarely put aside his official duties and spent half a day with her in her room.

I was called away again in the afternoon due to military intelligence.

In general, everyone in the mansion knew that the new lady was ill again.

At first, some people speculated that it might be due to disharmony in their relationship, but now it seems that it's because their bodies are too weak to even withstand sexual pleasure.

The old women in the backyard sat together, washing clothes and gossiping, "What they're saying is one thing, but it's a big deal that the new wife can't serve the Prime Minister."

"Young and impetuous men always try to endure, but how can they endure it? They probably need someone who can take care of them to take care of them."

After taking the medicine, Yu Wanyin began to sweat profusely. Her lack of sleep the previous night had exacerbated her drowsiness.

In her half-awake state, she felt a large hand cover her forehead.

That hand was burning hot, and it felt even hotter than her body.

Yu Wanyin turned her head away to avoid it.

A muffled chuckle came from inside the room, "So easily frightened."

"How dare you lie to me and him at the same time?"

In a daze, her chin was grabbed and turned around rather gently.

The bitter little pill was pushed into his mouth.

Yu Wanyin was still dazed and wanted to refuse.

The pills tasted very familiar, just like the medicine Aunt Duan had given her in the mountain village.

Strangely enough, Aunt Duan is now the only person she can feel safe with.

Like a concubine.

When Yu Wanyin woke up from her nap, the pill in her mouth had completely dissolved, leaving no trace.

It made her wonder if she was having another nightmare.

Is this bitterness from the herbal medicine I drank before bed?

It doesn't seem like it either.

Yu Wanyin sat blankly by the bed, lost in thought.

Qingsong came to report, "Madam, the second young lady has arrived."

"Second Miss?" Yu Wanyin even took a moment to process who the Second Miss was.

Then Yu Heyue walked in from outside, "Sister."

Yu Heyue was dressed very simply today, carrying a food box in her hand. "I heard you were sick, so your father and mother asked me to come and see you."

Yu Wanyin hadn't expected her to come.

Yu Wanyin smiled and said, "We got news from home so quickly."

Yu Heyue paused for a moment, then changed the subject, "Your father and mother are just concerned about you."

"It's alright." It's not surprising that there were spies from the Yu family among her dowry.

Logically speaking, she should have been the biggest informant for the Yu family in the Prime Minister's residence.

Yu Heyue picked up the food box beside her and said, "Sister, look, I brought you some nourishing food today."

The food box was opened, and inside were many kinds of medicinal food pastries.

Yu Wanyin did not expose her purpose for coming today, and rested her forehead on her hand as she watched Yu Heyue explain how she made the things one by one.

Yu Heyue felt a chill run down her spine from her gaze. "Sister, would you like to try it first?"

Yu Wanyin spoke wearily, "Feed me."

The two simple words stunned Yu Heyue. "Huh?"

Yu Wanyin said softly, "I don't have the strength. If He Yue doesn't feed me, how can I eat?"

Yu Heyue's ears throbbed at that tone, and she didn't know why she raised her hand.

She placed a piece of oiled paper on the table and brought the yam and jujube paste cake to Yu Wanyin's lips.

Yu Wanyin took a symbolic bite.

Her soft lips accidentally brushed against Yu Heyue's fingertips.

Yu Heyue's eyelashes trembled, and even after she left, she could still feel the lingering soft touch.

In a daze, she recalled her mother's nickname for Yu Wanyin: "femme fatale."

That's how easily a femme fatale can linger in one's mind, haunting one's thoughts and causing one to think about her endlessly.

Yu Wanyin took one bite and then stopped eating.

Yu Heyue quieted down and silently rubbed her fingers that had just been touched by Yu Wanyin's lips to relieve the occasional itch, and even had the urge to continue feeding her.

Yu Heyue rarely had contact with Yu Wanyin.

In my memory, Yu Wanyin was always recuperating in her own little courtyard. Occasionally, Yu Shao would provoke her, but he would always get a cold shoulder and then take his anger out on her. If she made a scene in front of her parents, Yu Shao would shut up.

Everyone has to fight for their place under the eaves.

Regardless of the means used.

She has to fight for it now.

Yu Heyue suddenly sneezed.

Yu Wanyin looked over. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much." As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Heyue sneezed again.

Yu Heyue's maid, Qiu Rong, hurriedly asked, "Miss, could it be that you've also caught the disease?"

"I can't be," Yu Heyue said, her voice nasal at this moment.

She pretended nothing was wrong and sat in the room for a while longer, but the flush on her cheeks and the moisture in her eyes grew heavier.

Yu Heyue could barely stand when she stood up before she spoke, “Sister, I think I’ve really caught a cold too. It’s getting late, why don’t I stay the night and keep you company?”

Yu Wanyin smiled, as if she had finally seen the end of the play, "You've really gone through a lot."

She turned to Qing Song and instructed, "Arrange a guest room for the Second Miss to rest."

"Yes." Qing Song went out to lead the way, settled them in the guest room, and then went back to report.

The guest rooms in the Prime Minister's residence were also clean and tidy, prepared early in the morning so that they could move in.

Yu Heyue sat in the room for a while.

It wasn't until Qiu Rong returned from scouting outside that she reported, "I found out that the Prime Minister's study is to the east, not far from here."

Yu Heyue stood up. "Okay."

She didn't go directly to the study on the east side, but instead wandered around as if she had gotten lost.

At that moment, Chu Yu came out of the study and asked Chao Yue briefly, "How is Madam today?"

"I heard that your wife's younger sister came by after you woke up in the afternoon, and your wife felt much better afterwards."

"Wife's younger sister?"

As soon as Chu Yu finished speaking, he bumped into the dazed Yu Heyue at the corner of the corridor.

Yu Heyue saw him and was clearly flustered. "Prime Minister."

The girl's colors were different today compared to when we first met a few days ago; she was dressed very simply today, probably because she was attending to the sick.

But her cheeks had a sickly flush that was different from her usual clean look.

Even when bowing, he swayed as if he couldn't stand steadily.

Chao Yue asked on her behalf, "How did the Second Miss end up here?"

Yu Heyue's eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, and her flustered apology made it easy to feel a little sorry for her. "I didn't mean to, I got lost."