When Uya woke up in the morning, her fever had already subsided. She had let herself get chilled, and the cold air had entered her body. Once the cold air was expelled, she felt much better.
"My lady, I've brought you some plain porridge. Why don't you get up and have some?" Cuiyun had been taking care of the feverish Wuya all night, and her eyes were full of dark circles from exhaustion.
"I won't drink!" Wuya said weakly. She thought that the Fourth Prince would at least come to see her, but after such a commotion last night, she still hadn't seen him.
“My lady, you can’t be so hard on yourself. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let you bring the master here like this,” Cuiyun said, seeing that Wuya was throwing a tantrum.
"I might as well die of illness, so as not to be disliked by others!" When Wuya thought about the half month she had spent in this house and what she had suffered on the day she entered the mansion, she felt a little pessimistic. Although she was unwilling to be widowed at such a young age, she couldn't help but feel a little disheartened now that she was sick.
"Who dislikes you!?" When Fourth Master walked into Wuya's room, there was no one else in the room except for Cuiyun.
Uya and her maid hadn't noticed the footsteps outside, assuming the Fourth Master wouldn't come. When he appeared at the door, Uya almost called out his name, a name they had only ever used between themselves.
"This servant has failed to serve my master well, please punish me, Your Highness!" Cuiyun immediately turned around and bowed to the Fourth Master.
"It's not her fault, I just caught a cold because I wasn't careful." Uya leaned against the bed, having had a fever all night, and the skin on her lips was peeling.
"There are too few servants here. Su Peisheng, go to the head maid and have her choose two quick and clever maids to serve you." The Fourth Master couldn't stand Wuya's appearance and disregarded the rules, giving the order.
Su Peisheng glanced at Fourth Master a few times, then gave a quiet reply and turned to leave.
Uya was so moved that she almost cried. She whispered, "It was really my fault for letting you see me like this. Please go back, I'm fine now."
She knew in her heart that the more she acted weak and vulnerable, the more she could arouse the Fourth Prince's pity for her.
As expected, upon seeing Wuya's haggard and frail appearance, the Fourth Prince felt a pang of guilt. He had indeed been preoccupied with Lanqin, which was why he hadn't come to see Wuya. Even though he no longer harbored the naive love he once had for Wuya, he still felt affection for her; after all, they had once admired each other in their youth.
"Cuiyun, go fetch water for your master to wash his face. And give the porridge to the master!" Fourth Master finally said.
"Yes, this servant will go fetch water right away." Cuiyun nodded in delight and quickly handed the porridge in her hand to the Fourth Master. She then smiled and hurried out.
When Wuya saw the Fourth Master carrying porridge to her and sitting down on a round stool by the window, her heart pounded with excitement.
Fourth Master, holding a bowl of porridge, said, "You drink it yourself. I'll find you a pillow to lean on!"
Wuya thought that the Fourth Prince would feed her, but instead the Fourth Prince handed her the porridge in his hand and then stood up to find her a pillow.
After the Fourth Master placed the cushion behind her back, he sat down in front of her and watched as Wuya ate her porridge spoonful by spoonful.
“My lord, I am a restless person. How about I go and make some clothes for Consort Niu from now on?” said Lady Wuya. The Fourth Prince did not come yesterday, probably because he was kept by Consort Niu Gulu. Lady Wuya had long been jealous of him.
“She has plenty of embroiderers over there. You should take good care of yourself.” The Fourth Prince’s heart skipped a beat. Mentioning Lanqin made him feel uneasy. Remembering that he still had to go back to prepare for the trip to Mount Wutai with Emperor Kangxi, he added, “I will be leaving in a few days. You should take good care of yourself. When the two maids come over later, you can serve them for now.”
Upon hearing this, Wuya became anxious and hurriedly asked, "Where is Master going?"
The Fourth Prince then said, "The southern tour with Father Emperor is a secret, so don't ask too many questions. Wanru, take good care of yourself; I can't always be thinking of you."
Wuya didn't expect that the Fourth Master would leave so soon, without even having the chance to stay overnight at her place, and that he would be gone for several months.
"Master, who do you plan to bring to serve you?" Uya asked, somewhat forgetting her status. This was not a question she should have asked.
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince frowned. Wuya immediately realized that she had overstepped the bounds and explained, "I was just worried that Your Highness would be out and about without anyone to take care of you."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Master's expression softened slightly. He said, "We're not bringing any women this time. Su Peisheng has always served you diligently, so there won't be any problems."
Uya felt bitter inside. What a great opportunity! If she could go with him, she could monopolize the Fourth Prince's affections for several months! The concubine in the South Courtyard was pregnant and definitely couldn't go; the concubine Nian had just given birth a few months ago and couldn't be separated from her child either; so if she could go with him, she would be the one who received exclusive favor.
"I still need to go back and pack my things, you should rest well," Fourth Master said after sitting for a while.
"My lord, I've made you a set of undergarments. Please take them with you. It's inconvenient outside, and you can never have too many clothes," Wuya said through gritted teeth, suppressing her request to go with the Fourth Prince. She knew the Fourth Prince disliked women who overstepped the bounds, and if she asked for anything more at this moment, it would only provoke his displeasure.
"Alright, have Cuiyun bring the clothes over. Get some rest!" Fourth Master said, then turned and walked out.
After the Fourth Master left the house, Cuiyun immediately went to help Wuya and said, "Master, it would be so nice if we could go out with you at this time."
Uya rolled her eyes at her and said, "You don't even need to tell me that! But I'm so sick right now, even if he wanted to take me, I'm afraid someone would use that as an excuse!"
Upon hearing this, Cuiyun said, "Does Master suspect that someone will prevent Master from taking Master along?"
Uya nodded, coughed a few times, and said, "No, I have to get better quickly. If I get better before he leaves, maybe I'll still have a chance."
Seeing that Wuya immediately perked up, Cuiyun also asked, "Master, what should we do with the two maids who came?"
When Wuya heard that the Fourth Prince had indeed increased the number of servants to serve her, she became even more convinced that the Fourth Prince had only prevented her from going because he was instigated by someone with ulterior motives.
"Naturally, you can train them all. My people must be completely loyal to me. Cuiyun, keep a close eye on the two new maids. If any of them are not useful, send them away as soon as possible." Wuya Shi said with a strong and imposing manner, completely changing her previous weak and delicate appearance.
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