Chapter 122 After Marrying the Crippled Prince, Part 2: Husband

"Your husband will teach you," Lin Jinyuan whispered in her ear.

Upon hearing this, Yun Chiyi frowned.

He first untied the red ribbons from their wrists, then, with her soft, boneless hands, removed the jade belt, and the wide wedding dress slid off his body onto the bed.

Yun Chiyi's hands were guided to roam over his body, instantly waking him from his drowsiness.

Lin Jinyuan wrapped his ring finger around her belt, and with a gentle tug, Yun Chiyi felt the binding around her waist come loose.

He put on quite a show, and Yun Chiyi wondered just how far he intended to go.

Coming to her senses, Yun Chiyi was pressed down on the brocade pillow. Lin Jinyuan leaned half of his body against her, lifted her chin with his slender hand, and pressed his warm lips against her jade-like neck.

Yun Chiyi frowned, and when he bit her, she let out a sigh of relief from the pain. She shrank back, something on the bed pressing against her lower back.

Lin Jinyuan remained silent, and she felt as if her neck was being torn apart.

That madman.

His hand parted the veil and covered the snow-capped peak. Yun Chiyi finally couldn't bear it any longer. She arched her back, hooked her wrist around his neck, and struggled to sit up.

No wonder it felt rough; when I reached back, the bed was covered with red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds.

Lin Jinyuan propped himself up and lay down on the inside, watching her pick up a red date in the dark and throw it down.

She searched diligently, not missing a single one. After picking up all these things, she was extremely exhausted. Unable to suppress the itch in her chest, she turned her head and coughed for a long time.

Lin Jinyuan grasped her wrist: "Tired?"

Yun Chiyi suppressed a cough and shook her head.

Lin Jinyuan said understandingly, "Madam's health is so weak, she shouldn't be tired anymore. Let's call it a night."

The coughing stopped abruptly. Yun Chiyi grabbed his hand, shook her head weakly and unwillingly, determined to keep him here.

Lin Jinyuan was already adjusting his clothes and calmly instructed, "Tonight we'll have to postpone it. This matter is a secret between you and me and cannot be told to anyone. Does Madam agree?"

Yun Chiyi lowered her head in regret.

His hand touched her cheek: "Go to sleep early."

He moved to the edge of the bed, lowered the heavy bed curtains, and called out softly to the outside.

"Chaosheng, come in."

A guard named Chaosheng lowered his head, pushed open the door, and walked in wearing a snow-white crane cloak.

Lin Jinyuan draped a crane cloak over his slender shoulders, and amidst the snow-covered landscape, the gentleness in his eyes vanished completely.

He glanced up at Chaosheng and pointed to the round table in the darkness. Chaosheng walked over in tacit agreement and removed the candied fruit.

After the door closed, Yun Chiyi lifted the curtains, hurriedly got out of bed barefoot to check the candied fruit, only to find it empty; even the plate had been taken away.

Just as I thought.

She opened the window, letting in a sliver of dim light. Under the long corridor, Chao Sheng pushed Lin Jinyuan away, their tall and short figures disappearing into the night.

The spring rain continued, and the cold wind forced Yun Chiyi to close the window.

How can one live in constant fear when one is in a dangerous situation? Yun Chiyi's health was poor, and she couldn't bear the sleepless nights, so she went back to lie down and sleep.

-

The Prince's Mansion, Study.

Chao Sheng lit a candle, and the darkness in the room receded like the tide.

Lin Jinyuan sat at the desk, his brows lowered, revealing no emotion. With his well-defined hands, he picked up a wolf-hair brush and made a stroke on the rice paper, leisurely painting a peony in ink.

"Give the order to spare her life for three months."

Chao Sheng's brow twitched, and he stared at the candied fruit on the table, puzzled.

Weren't you worried she was the Empress's person? Why didn't you kill her then...?

Chao Sheng asked, puzzled, "Is it because she has a clean background?"

Lin Jinyuan said, "I just tested her. She has no internal energy and her pulse is weak. She will be terminally ill in less than a year. However, a year is too long for me. Three months will be enough."

"It doesn't matter whether she's black or white, don't worry, she'll die."

If the princess died of illness, it can only be considered that she had bad luck.

Chao Sheng understood the meaning and asked again, "Does the Lord intend to change his strategy?"

Lin Jinyuan said, "The parasites in the mansion must be eliminated, but it is ultimately a bad idea to involve too many people."

He set the wolf-hair brush aside, and on the table, the ink paintings were lifelike. In the center of the flower, he raised his thumb and pressed a fingerprint.

"Send this painting to Linshui Pavilion and have them find a renowned doctor. I will have him come to my residence soon. Remember, there must be no mistakes."

"Also, in recent days, a person has been frequently visiting the residence of the Vice Minister of Rites to investigate the background of that person." This refers to Yun Chiyi's maternal family.

Chao Sheng obeyed the order and traveled incognito at night.

Lin Jinyuan picked up his brush again and began to paint. He spread out the Xuan paper, and the thick ink dripped from the tip of his brush, quickly spreading out in a circle.

The delicate wolf-hair brush outlines a slender red figure. The person in the painting holds an umbrella under a bright red crabapple tree and looks into the distance. Her brows are slightly furrowed, her lips are pursed, and her right hand is tightly clutching her wedding dress. She is hiding in the rainy weather with fear and unease.

Once the ink had dried, Lin Jinyuan hung the painting on the wooden shelf behind him. He turned around, and the figure in the painting looked at his back in the shadows, half of his face appearing pale and colorless.

Since they want to see him and her in perfect harmony, why not put on a show for them?

Lin Jinyuan looked up at the window and saw that apricot blossoms on the branches had been knocked down, leaving the ground covered with both beauty and desolation.

This rain probably won't stop tonight.

-

The rain pattered down all night, and Yun Chi was exhausted. She slept very soundly in the latter half of the night.

The rain was still falling the next morning.

With a heavy and confused mind, and a body as hot as a furnace, Yun Chiyi developed a high fever on the second day of her wedding, disrupting the usual tranquility of the Prince's mansion.

The maidservant who was dressing up pushed open the door and immediately noticed that her cheeks were flushed and she was sweating profusely. The maidservant then hurriedly turned around and ran out.

"The princess has caught a cold, quickly fetch the imperial physician!"

Half an hour later, Yun Chiyi vaguely heard some rustling sounds. There seemed to be quite a few people in the bedroom. Rough hands touched her pulse through a handkerchief.

"how's it going?"

A clear, melodious voice was right next to me.

The imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief and comforted him, saying, "It must be from being exposed to wind and rain that you caught a cold. I will write a prescription and get some medicine to dispel wind and cold."

He glanced around at the maids in the room, then leaned a little closer to Lin Jinyuan and said, "Your Highness, I dare to say that the Princess Consort is in poor health, so we should postpone our sexual relations."

Lin Jinyuan looked at the bed. Yun Chiyi was unconscious, her face flushed, and a red mark was visible on the inside of her neck.

He raised his hand to lower the bed curtains, readily agreeing: "What Physician Li says is true."

She then looked up and said, "Xu Hong, go and fetch the brush and ink."

When the maid Xu Hong saw the tender look he gave her, her mind went blank for a moment, and she was both surprised and delighted. She hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran out.

After the imperial physician left, the rain stopped around noon. Yun Chiyi frowned, forced her eyes open, and wiped her lifeless eyes with a warm, damp handkerchief. When she looked up again, she met a pair of clear, black and white eyes.

"The lady has finally woken up."

Lin Jinyuan sat on the edge of the bed and slowly folded the damp cloth again. He opened Yun Chiyi's collar with one hand, and when his cool fingers touched her hot skin, she felt a wave of excitement and quickly grabbed his hand.

She shook her head, peered outside, and wanted the maid to wipe her down.

Lin Jinyuan placed his palm on her fair forehead and asked with a smile, "We shared a bed last night, why are you shy again?"

Nonsense, fabricated facts.

However, upon hearing him spout such nonsense, Yun Chiyi realized that the three maids in the room could not be trusted.

Yun Chiyi felt sore all over and gasped for breath, her breath lingering and brushing against the back of his hand that was pressed against her cheek.

She blinked and turned her head away.

With her permission, Lin Jinyuan put the wet cloth back into the warm water, and then loosened the belt with his smooth, fair hands. Yun Chiyi's ears turned red, and when she looked back, he blocked her view with one hand.

The soft handkerchief brushed against her skin, and Yun Chiyi bit her lower lip, her long eyelashes fluttering rapidly and restlessly, brushing against his warm palm.

The handkerchief fell back into the water, and Yun Chiyi heard the sound of the water and sighed.

Lin Jinyuan fed her the medicine, tucked her in, and then left.

A bitter taste rose in Yun Chiyi's mouth. She struggled to get out of bed and poured herself a cup of tea.

She untied the sash that Lin Jinyuan had tied and re-tied it according to her own habits.

She tried to raise her wrist, but it fell limply back down halfway, indicating she would likely remain ill for another day. It seemed nothing else mattered; getting better was the most important thing.

But he didn't count on Lin Jinyuan anymore; he wished she would die soon so he could gain a reputation for being a loving couple.

Powerless, without influence, and with no one to rely on, Yun Chiyi stared at the ceiling of her bed, lost in thought.

The only connection she can currently make is the Yun family. She's returning to her parents' home the day after tomorrow, so she needs to think of a way to make a move in the next couple of days.

I get extremely dizzy if I use my brain even slightly.

She groped her way back onto the bed, her inner clothes soaked again by a mixture of cold and hot sweat.

The next day, he was still too sick to get up. He ate half a bowl of porridge in the morning and half a bowl in the evening, and then slept for a long time in a daze.

That night, Lin Jinyuan came to see her to discuss whether to postpone her homecoming for a few days.

Yun Chiyi gripped his sleeve, determined to go back, and Lin Jinyuan stopped trying to dissuade her.

Fortunately, when I woke up that day, the pain had lessened and I felt much better.

Xu Hong dressed her up and applied lip rouge to her pale lips. With skillful hands, Xu Hong deftly scooped up her cloud-like black hair and let it slowly slide down her palm.

"Your Highness is unaware that His Highness has been working tirelessly for you every day and has become thin."

Yun Chiyi calmly raised her eyes and glanced at her in the mirror.

Xu Hong's eyes were filled with envy as she bit her red lips tightly.

At first, Yun Chiyi wasn't sure who the tragically fated maid in the original text was, but now she understood. What kind of bewitching potion had Lin Jinyuan given her? It seemed that at this moment, Xu Hong wasn't thinking about loyalty to the Empress, but rather about her infatuation with Prince Cheng.

Yun Chiyi raised her hand and pushed her hand away from her hair.

As if waking from a dream, Xu Hong suddenly knelt on the ground: "This servant does not know how she offended the Princess, please forgive her!"

Ignoring her, Yun Chiyi gathered her layers of long skirt and walked straight out of the room.

Xu Hong quickly got up from the ground, lowered her head and followed.

Walking slowly to the main gate, Yun Chiyi, supported by Xu Hong, stepped onto the stairs and ducked into the carriage.

As she looked up, Lin Jinyuan slowly raised his eyes to look at her.

A low table was set with dried fruit, snacks, and hot tea. Lin Jinyuan took her hand and had her sit down beside him.

"Why is there dust on the Princess's cuffs?"

Yun Chiyi was a little confused, but she immediately realized that it was because Xu Hong had supported her hand.

Lin Jinyuan reached out and lightly brushed off the dust: "Were you always this unsteady at home?"

Yun Chiyi frowned, staring at him with her eyes glistening with tears.

Lin Jinyuan laughed: "I won't tease you anymore."