21 Chapter 21 People in the Play
◎A sunset afternoon alone with Yunhe◎
Yuliu lifted her skirt, stepped over the high threshold, and walked into the inner courtyard, only then did she notice something strange.
The door of the main palace was opened, and the front yard was very large and spacious. Apart from two black-clad guards standing on the left and right, there were no scattered rockery or flowing water, no tall trees and green plants. The only few carved bonsai were placed against the wall, with their branches drooping under the shadow of the high eaves.
The view is so wide that as soon as you step in, you can see everything in the palace.
Yuliu and Yunhe walked into the hall one after another. The hall was decorated with gold and jade and was quite gorgeous. At that time, Su Yunyue was sitting in front of a long table with cloud-patterned mahogany carvings. She had just turned a page of an old book and was reading it with considerable concentration.
Yuliu walked closer and found that there were no maids around, so she called out softly, "...Sister?"
Su Yunyue closed the book and put it beside her, then turned around and responded.
Those peach eyes were indeed similar to those of Elm Willow and Eight-point, but Su Yunyue grew up in a family of wealth and power, so her facial features were more stretched and broad. Although her face still had the paleness and weakness of surviving a disaster, her well-educated figure could still be seen. She had a slender neck and straight and thin shoulders. She wore the palace dress with intricate and layered Ruyi cloud patterns and gold-woven red satin in a grand and dignified manner. The hem of the dress dragged on the ground. Just sitting there, she looked like a blooming peony.
Yuliu didn't know what she was thinking about, and suddenly turned her head to look at Yunhe. She found that the man was standing next to her with a food box in his hand, with his head slightly lowered, his eyes not looking away, and a look of indifference.
Yuliu was puzzled: It's strange. Yunhe obviously doesn't care about the Fourth Prince's wife. Then why did he agree to accompany her into the palace?
Seeing that it was Yuliu, Su Yunyue finally smiled. She stood up, holding onto the table. The red hairpin and jade rings on her head were all drooping steadily, but her movements made a tinkling sound. Yuliu was wondering where the sound came from when she saw Su Yunyue spread her palm towards her and invited her, "Sister, are you here? Come and sit down."
Yuliu walked forward with a smile and put his hand in Su Yunyue's palm. Just as he was about to say a few words to improve their relationship, he found a gilded hollow gold bell hanging on the other's slender white wrist.
I think the jingling sound just now came from the small golden bell on Su Yunyue's wrist.
The design of the golden bell was extremely special. An extra silk thread extended from the tiny belly seam and was buried in the thick and complicated palace dress. Yuliu was unable to tell where the end of the thread was connected.
Seeing Yuliu gazing at the golden bell in a trance, Su Yunyue rolled up her wide sleeves, revealing the exquisite golden bell, and took the initiative to explain, "The Fourth Prince was worried that something might happen to me, so he tied a golden bell to each of my hands, and connected them to the pillars inside the hall."
Yuliu paused for a moment: "...Sister, this?"
It sounds familiar, isn't it "ice silk for cocoons, golden bells for bait, and red cloud satin skirt for binding"?
But this was the method that was used later when Su Yunyue escaped and was captured by the Fourth Prince and forced to be trapped in the palace and not allowed to move around freely!
"A few days ago, you sent me a lot of things that were just like the spring breeze. I liked them very much. Thank you very much." Seeing that Yuliu looked unhappy, Su Yunyue took the initiative to comfort her.
But after all, she was a girl who was brought up in a wealthy family, and she was not used to bringing her family scandals to the public.
Su Yunyue frowned slightly, thought for a while, and finally found the right words: "A lot of things have happened recently, and His Highness the Fourth Prince is probably a little nervous. You don't have to worry too much. He should be able to untie it in a while."
Yuliu: “…”
As expected, the heroine's judgment of men is as bad as ever.
The Fourth Prince has used this trick, which clearly means he wants to cut off your wings and trap you in the deep palace without freedom!
But Yuliu couldn't say these words openly.
With a warm and friendly smile on her face that would make anyone feel warm and friendly, she helped Su Yunyue sit back on the enamel round stool, and her eyes fell on Su Yunyue's abdomen covered by the layers of palace dress, hinting subtly:
"When I was out for an outing and passed by Chunfeng Brushing Lan before, I happened to hear that my sister was pregnant, so I specially picked out some Yuchun clothes and jewelry, just to entertain my sister and show her some joy. However, I'm afraid the needlework outside the palace can't match the exquisite craftsmanship inside. I hope my sister doesn't blame me for being inconsiderate. But I wonder...how is the fetus doing?"
As a new mother, there will be some longing and expectation on her face when she talks about her child.
But after Su Yunyue heard this, her brows became even more serious. When she was about to say something, her gaze turned to Yunhe, who had never spoken. She saw that the young man was dressed in clean clothes and had an elegant demeanor, and his behavior was definitely not that of a servant.
Su Yunyue was obviously very surprised why her sister came to the palace with such a man. She immediately looked at Yuliu with a curious look: "Who is this...?"
Yuliu originally planned to bring Yunhe into the palace and call him his own follower to avoid any other complications.
But at this moment, Yuliu suddenly realized that if Yunhe was dressed like that and said he was a servant, no one would believe him. But in front of Su Yunyue, he could easily fool her. So he simply said the truth: "He is..."
"Yunhe, politely." Yunhe said these two words lightly, answering the Fourth Prince's wife's question on behalf of Yuliu. Then he bowed and explained, "Yun has received the young lady's favor and temporarily stayed in Yuqing Courtyard. Today, I happened to be traveling with you, so I accompanied you into the palace."
After hearing this, Su Yunyue was slightly stunned, and her eyes moved back and forth between the two of them intentionally or unintentionally.
Yunhe, dressed in green, stood as tall as a green bamboo, but her body was obviously leaning towards Yuliu, while Yuliu, dressed in pink, sat at the table with her back slightly tilted towards Yunhe. They were like a delicate pink peach blossom clinging to a single bamboo.
Although their auras are different, they seem to complement each other very well. From their body language alone, one can tell that they are familiar and harmonious. Both sides are restrained in their words and actions but do not seem unfamiliar. Even just a brief exchange of glances is enough to allow them to understand each other's thoughts.
The tacit understanding of mind cannot be developed without being together day and night.
Su Yunyue narrowed her eyes slightly, and suddenly remembered what Yumei had told her when she came over before, that her sister was a vixen who grew up in a brothel, and took advantage of her downfall to shamelessly become the Fourth Prince's concubine kept outside the palace.
She didn't trust Yumei in the first place, so she just heard it and didn't take it to heart.
After all, how could the relationship between blood relatives be completely disrupted just because of a word from an outsider?
Su Yunyue thought about it and touched her soft belly through the palace skirt with intricate patterns.
Now it seems... the rumor is wrong, right?
She saw that her sister had gone to deliver spring clothes in winter, and then came to visit her in person immediately because of an appointment they had made. She was really sincere to her.
Rather than saying that her sister was someone else's mistress, she would rather believe that her sister took in Mr. Yun out of kindness, which led to the spread of these false rumors.
Su Yunyue lowered her sleeves, folded her hands on her knees, and asked, "Is that really the case?"
What Yunhe said was true, so Yuliu didn't need to waste any more words and just nodded in agreement.
Su Yunyue, as the eldest sister, felt that her younger sister looked innocent and romantic, perhaps still naive and inexperienced. She wanted to make a few remarks, but was afraid of being too abrupt. Then, remembering something she wanted to entrust to someone later, she mentioned it at the same time: "What a coincidence! We sisters have had quite a few good opportunities recently. Did you see Jiang Qianhu when you came here?"
The corners of Yuliu's smiling mouth twitched slightly a few times in anxiety, and she thought to herself: Your Jiang Qianhu will be a powerful general under the villain's command in the future. She really doesn't want to have such a coincidence...
However, Yuliu changed her mind and realized that compared to the encounter between Su Yunyue and Jiang Jingmo, the time she had taken Yunhe in was actually quite peaceful:
Probably because Yunhe was born in the Poison Doctor Valley, he also looked gentle and refined, not like the kind of person who liked fighting and killing.
Yuliu only had this sudden thought in her mind, but she nodded with a subtle smile on her face, saying something flattering: "I've met him. Captain Jiang seems to be taking good care of you. I was worried that you would be alone outside without anyone to look after you, but now you're lucky enough to have a right-hand man. It's truly a double blessing."
"Yes, it was thanks to his care that I was able to rest well and keep the baby alive during the half month after I fell off the cliff. Now I think about it, if I hadn't met him, I'm afraid I would..." Su Yunyue said, but the smile on her face faded visibly.
She suddenly felt a little envious of the relationship between Yuliu and Yunhe, which was free and unrestrained, and could be open and honest with others. She sighed in her heart and suppressed the words of advice she wanted to say.
Never mind, we are all young people, so I won’t give you too much advice.
Freedom is hard to come by, so let them be for now.
Su Yunyue sighed, and suddenly took Yuliu's hand and placed it on her knees, crossing her hands and holding them.
It has been a long time since Yuliu has been so intimate with someone.
The last time I was caught off guard by Yun He and had my pulse taken, it felt like yesterday. The feeling of my heartbeat being held in the man's broad palm was still so vivid.
At this moment, Yuliu's hand was suddenly held by Su Yunyue again, but under the bright light and shadow of spring, Yuliu felt as if she was back in the afternoon when she was alone with Yunhe in the setting sun.
Yuliu's heart suddenly skipped a beat and she subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back.
Su Yunyue felt that it was perfectly normal for sisters to hold hands and have long conversations.
But when she saw Yuliu and Yunhe's expressions suddenly change, she thought she had violated a taboo between them. She looked down at the sisters' folded hands, then looked up at Yuliu's somewhat stiff smile, and asked Yuliu with a puzzled look:
"……What's wrong?"
Yuliu suddenly came back to his senses. When he looked up and saw Su Yunyue's pair of affectionate peach eyes that were somewhat similar to his own, something seemed to be touched in his heart.
For a moment, she couldn't bear to pull her hand out, for fear of disappointing the other person.
So, Yuliu smiled and shook hands with him.
【Author’s words】
Yuliu: Don’t ask! If you ask, there’s a needle in your hand!
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