Chapter 35 What Are You Asking For?
She had only taken two bites of a bowl of wontons when he pressed her down on the stone table and acted domineeringly. Yu Fei's stomach was empty but her belly was swollen. In a daze, she heard him teasing her, "Are you full?", "Are you still hungry?"
Yu Fei didn't even have the strength to roll his eyes, and he complained in his heart: Next time he shouldn't drink anymore, he has become more openly coquettish than being repressed!
Wrapped in his fur coat, he carried her back to the prince's bedroom. When they were about to go to bed, she jumped up with a start and shouted that she wanted to go back to her own room to sleep.
Jing Cang looked unhappy, but she insisted.
When they arrived at the dormitory, Yu Fei asked Dingxiang to help rub her stomach and washed her body with saffron juice. For fear of unsafe conditions, she drank a bowl of saffron water.
The last time they made love, she realized later that the worms were ineffective. Although she did not use any contraceptives, luckily her period came as usual. However, she may not be so lucky every time. If she gets pregnant, the consequences will be disastrous.
Firstly, it was like telling Jing Cang that she could get rid of the problem by giving birth to the child, and then let him do whatever he wanted. Secondly, she herself had not survived the inevitable death, and she did not want to drag an innocent child into another world and face the intrigues of the palace.
Furthermore, this body is too young. It is too early to get pregnant and have a child before the age of 18.
Ever since Yu Fei's scorpion stopped working, he asked someone to ask the Imperial Hospital for some saffron, claiming it was for beauty and skin care, but in fact it was for emergency use.
It was impossible for the Eastern Palace to give her contraceptive soup. Jing Cang just wanted her to get pregnant and get rid of the acne.
Before going to bed, Dingxiang remembered something and said, "Miss, tonight when you were talking with the prince in the side room of the main hall, Miss Yang came over."
At that time, she and Jing Cang were arguing, but Yu Fei didn't notice. "Did she hear anything?"
Ding Xiang said, "When she came, Huo Dao sent her away. I heard someone say, 'Who told you that she must be my future Crown Princess?' I think Miss Yang heard it too."
Yu Fei nodded. This was her and Jing Cang's excuse that asking Yang Zhi to deliver the blanket was to please the future Crown Princess, and he refuted her words.
"Miss...is there any trouble?" Ding Xiang hesitated.
Yu Fei smiled and said, "No, it will be of great benefit."
The only ones close to Jing Cang tonight were her and Yang Zhi. Yang Zhi was recognized by everyone as the future Crown Princess, so Jing Cang's words clearly referred to Yang Zhi.
The words were not harsh, but for a woman who had been secretly in love with him for many years and was full of hope, they were like a sharp sword energy, which greatly hurt the woman's dignity and self-confidence.
Yu Fei planned to take advantage of the opportunity to sneak in. She fulfilled Yang Zhi's wish, and Yang Zhi gave her the treasure she wanted.
Yu Fei behaved himself for two days and asked Yang Zhi to come to the East Palace to appreciate the plum blossoms.
The sky was gloomy, like ink spread on white paper. When the breeze blew, the red plum blossoms fluttered like butterflies and fell to the mud.
Yu Fei crushed a plum blossom on the ground and smiled sweetly: "I invited Miss Yang here today because I want to give you a big gift."
"What gift?" Yang Zhi asked.
Yu Fei changed the subject and talked about Jing Cang: "In the past two days, the Queen sent several portraits to the Prince. They are all the daughters of important officials in the court."
She did not lie to Yang Zhi about this. When the Queen saw that Jing Cang did not like Yang Zhi very much, she thought of changing his candidate for wife.
A trace of sadness flashed across Yang Zhi's eyes, and she whispered, "Your Highness, which one do you like?"
Yu Fei shook his head. "How could he tell such a thing to a servant like me?"
"That's right." Yang Zhi sighed, "I wonder which woman will be so lucky in the future."
Yu Fei saw Yang Zhi approaching the bait on her hook like a fish in water, and quickly cast a net around her.
She sighed, "Since ancient times, women with infatuation have always been unkind to men."
"I used to have a playmate in Shu County. She had a crush on the son of her father's colleague since she was a child. The man was devoted to studying and wanted to take the imperial examination. My playmate hated to be pedantic, and was afraid that the man would think she was stupid and untalented, so she read a lot of poetry and became a famous talented woman."
"What happened next?" Yang Zhi asked.
"Later, the man met a girl of his dreams on the way to the imperial examination and wanted to marry her. My playmate was so heartbroken that she tied her hair and became a nun, spending the rest of her life in the temple of Buddha."
After making up his lies, Yu Fei recited a classic quote: "Once that person appears in the world, everyone else will become content, but my playmate is unwilling to compromise."
"She is quite a strong-willed woman." Yang Zhi didn't know whether to praise or sigh.
Yu Fei looked at Yang Zhi's increasingly lost expression and deliberately said, "I went to see her before leaving Beijing. She said that the thing she regretted most in her life was that she only wanted to make herself excellent to match him, but she never really worked hard for the two of them to be together."
Yang Zhi seemed to be struck in the heart. She took several steps back, held onto a plum tree, and murmured, "As a young lady from a famous family, with her parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, how can she work hard?"
Yu Fei knew Yang Zhi's emotional history. She had liked Jing Cang since she was young. In order to be worthy of the emperors of the time, she read poetry and studied etiquette diligently, becoming a model of a lady in the capital. As for whether she liked those literary and formal things in her heart, she knew it herself, just like a fish drinking water.
“Efforts are only effective when the right time, right place and right people are there.”
Yu Fei recommended himself to her like a marketing boss: "I have a golden opportunity that can help you get engaged to the prince in one fell swoop."
Yang Zhi stared at her in shock for a long while, and then seemed to think of something, and shook her head hurriedly, "The Yang family has been a family for centuries, and I will never do anything that would dishonor the family tradition."
Yu Fei was stunned for a moment, then she realized that Yang Zhi actually thought that she was trying to bring her and Jing Cang together in order to achieve the purpose of getting them engaged.
She explained: "My method will not harm Miss Yang's innocence and reputation, nor will it hinder the prince."
Yang Zhi looked at her suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, and asked back: "If you are so powerful, why don't you use this method on yourself? Becoming a concubine would be more glorious than being an unknown maid."
Yu Fei laughed: "You and the Crown Prince are a perfect match, and the Empress and the Empress approve of you. If I wanted to take the throne, it would be a foxy move, and I would definitely be beaten to death in the next moment."
Yang Zhi thought about it and realized that it was true. The royal family valued family background the most. The emperor and empress would never allow the prince to marry an ordinary merchant girl.
She remembered what Yu Fei had said that day about "exchange". "No merit, no reward. What exactly is it that you are asking for?"
Yang Zhi's grandfather had been the imperial tutor of two dynasties, assisting three generations of monarchs. His contributions were great and beneficial to the country. Today, after his death, the emperor awarded the Yang family a gold medal that would grant them immunity from death.
This plaque, as the name suggests, is a certificate for the descendants of meritorious officials to enjoy preferential treatment or be exempted from punishment. Although Yu Fei is a person of a different surname, if she obtains this gold medal and the promise of the Yang family to give it to her, it must be effective. When Jing Cang learns that the same root pig is ineffective and wants to kill her, she should be able to save her life by taking out the plaque, and her merits and demerits will be offset from then on.
She was looking forward to the free life after she was cleared of all charges with him!
Yu Fei said slowly: "The Yang family's golden medal of immunity from death."
Yang Zhi was shocked and said, "I'm sorry, I can't obey your order."
Then he asked in surprise: "What do you want this for?"
Yu Fei thought that she really needed to find a legitimate excuse to exchange the golden medal of immunity from death with Yang Zhi.
In the eyes of others, if she had not acted like a demon and had served the prince attentively, she would have been a concubine in the future. When the prince ascended the throne, she would have given birth to a child and perhaps one of the four concubines. With such a bright future, she did not need any support to protect herself. The prince was her biggest supporter.
Yu Fei felt bitter but could not speak. To this day, Jing Cang has never directly replied that he would spare her after Jie Gu, and his attitude still shows that he wants her dead.
Even if he promised, she didn't dare to believe it. He hated her when he just recovered his memory. Would a man's attitude change after being bedmates for a few months? Moreover, he had the upper hand in her hand now. If he said sweet words, it might be just to coax her to cooperate with the birth of a child.
There were many emperors in history who "releasing military power over a cup of wine". It was not normal for him, a prince, to have an affair with a wicked woman for a period of time just to save his own life.
Yu Fei persuaded herself to push Jing Cang to Yang Zhi. She thought of Ah Shen's revelation and took the opportunity to ask, "Miss Yang, do you still remember that my sister's maid reported me to the Queen that I had raped the prince and wanted to do something improper, but failed, so I broke the prince's legs?"
Yang Zhi didn't understand why Yu Fei brought up the old matter again, "Didn't the prince say that she framed you?" She heard Jing Cang's words "Second Miss Yu, I must have remembered it wrongly", and she immediately denied all of Ah Shen's words.
Yu Fei shook his head awkwardly, "Actually, the prince acted as a false witness for me."