Chapter 38 The bitterness of the contraceptive soup outweighs the bitterness of the medicine.
In the days since the news of Yuan Yan's assassination came, Lu Lingyue has lost a lot of weight.
His eyes, as clear as lake water, held a faint emotion. His robes were a little loose, and his lips were so pale they almost blended into his skin, giving him an almost transparent, fragile appearance.
But no matter how haggard a beauty may look, she is still beautiful.
When Yuan Yan stepped into the mansion, he saw Lu Lingyue like this, and his steps faltered slightly.
"Your Highness has really returned safely..." Lu Lingyue gazed at Yuan Yan entering the mansion from afar, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
A sense of sudden relief washed over me, yet I was unsure how to cope. It felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted from my heart, leaving me unable to discern the exact feeling.
Yuan Yan glanced at him subtly, then looked away and led the officials of the Prince's residence inside.
She first rewarded and punished Xue Lang, Yu Liu, and other officials for their grain inspection, and then ordered people to investigate the assassination attempt, with a focus on the Third Princess's unusual movements.
By the time everything was settled, it was already night.
"Your Highness, it's late. Are you going back to the main courtyard?" the servant asked.
If not the main courtyard, where should we go?
Yuan Yan did not answer, and continued walking forward.
The system asked her: "Host, aren't you going to see Lu Lingyue?"
"Let me see... While you were missing, he couldn't eat or sleep well, and he's lost a lot of weight. Although he doesn't say it, he still seems to have some feelings for you!"
Yuan Yan scoffed at this.
"What kind of affection is this? Not saying it doesn't mean you don't love someone enough. If you truly love someone, it will have been shown long ago."
System: [Uh...]
This statement seems reasonable, yet something seems off; the system can't quite put its finger on it.
“If you don’t believe me, let’s make a bet. I’ll ask Lu Lingyue if he’s ever worried about me, and you’ll see what he says,” Yuan Yan said calmly.
“I bet he won’t agree,” she said confidently.
【How could that be? He's worried about you so much he's lost weight. To use a line from a poem on your planet, it's like, 'He's grown thin and haggard for her sake.' How could he possibly say no under these circumstances?】 The system was still too naive and immediately agreed.
Yuan Yan: "What if you lose the bet?"
[Impossible... If you lose, I'll give you a hundred achievement points!] The system, being stingy, only gritted its teeth and took out a hundred achievement points from its pocket as a wager under Yuan Yan's provocation.
"Okay, but don't try to cheat if you lose later."
Upon hearing the achievement points, Yuan Yan paused slightly and turned to walk towards the backyard.
Hengwu saw it from afar in the courtyard and immediately came out to greet it.
"Your Highness, the young master is in the courtyard. Would Your Highness like to come in and have a seat?"
Although the young master didn't say anything, Hengwu knew in her heart that he must want to see His Highness this time.
Therefore, he kept a close eye on the main courtyard. As soon as Yuan Yan appeared in the backyard, Hengwu quickly stepped forward to stop him from leaving.
Lu Lingyue could hear the voices outside from inside the house.
Yuan Yan was assassinated while he was away. Although he returned, he was worried because he heard that he had suffered serious injuries.
But remembering what Yuan Yan had said the night before his departure, he hesitated for a moment and did not get up.
After Hengwu made her request outside, Yuan Yan seemed to say something, and then the footsteps turned towards this direction.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Lu Lingyue's previously calm heartbeat quickened slightly.
"Lu Lingyue, you don't seem very happy to see me return."
A familiar voice rang out, and Yuan Yan appeared before him.
During his disappearance, Yuan Yan's complexion darkened considerably, and his eyes became even sharper.
Seeing Yuan Yan's change and hearing her words, Lu Lingyue felt as if she had been struck by a hammer.
He curtsied, his expression humble.
"Your Highness has only been away from me for a long time and has a misconception. I have always looked the same, so there is no question of whether I am happy or not."
"Oh, really?" Yuan Yan said skeptically. "The servant said you wanted to see me, but your expression doesn't seem to confirm that."
"Upon seeing me, you showed neither the slightest joy nor inquired about my injuries. Is this how you show your desire to see me?"
When Lu Lingyue heard her mention the injury, she couldn't help but raise her head and look at Yuan Yan, only to meet Yuan Yan's cold eyes.
"Lu Lingyue, tell me the truth. After hearing the news of my assassination attempt, have you been worried about me during these many days in the manor?" Yuan Yan asked.
"Of course!" the system replied in its mind, even more eager than Lu Lingyue.
If you were to ask Lu Lingyue if he had ever worried about Yuan Yan, the truth in his heart would definitely be yes.
Not only was he thrown into turmoil upon hearing the news, but even now, looking at Yuan Yan, he wondered about her injuries and how she had survived the river... she must have suffered terribly.
However, he still did not reveal his true thoughts.
"Why does Your Highness ask these questions... I am very clear that I am now in the Prince's Palace, and my fate is intertwined with Your Highness's. If anything happens to Your Highness, I will not have a good end either. I am just worried about myself."
Lu Lingyue pursed her lips slightly, turned her face away, and said softly.
[No way! The host clearly has it, why won't he admit it...]
Upon hearing this, before Yuan Yan could say anything, the system exclaimed in disbelief.
"See? That's what Lu Lingyue said. You lost, so give me your achievement points."
The system bites its handkerchief: [Waaah, you hypocritical humans, Lu Lingyue, give me back my achievement points...]
Yuan Yan didn't care about anything else. After obtaining the achievement points, she remained calm and let the system automatically hide the screen.
[Block? Host, what are you going to do?] the system asked warily.
"He doesn't want to talk about feelings with me, which is fine since I don't need those either. Let's set aside our original emotions and just treat him as a good-looking servant."
“I am a grown woman with needs. After being abstaining for so many days, what can I do in the backyard? What do you think?” Yuan Yan retorted without any politeness.
【You, you, you…】The system was shocked by her directness.
Yuan Yan was restrained and polite to Shen Lianzhou when they were out, and she even thought she had become a gentleman. But as soon as she came back, she was preparing to do this kind of thing.
"Host, why don't you find a few more men who suit your taste? Otherwise, I'm afraid Lu Lingyue's frail body will be ruined by you sooner or later," it suggested weakly.
"It's too late today, let's make do for now." Yuan Yan dismissed the system and looked at Lu Lingyue again.
"Someone, bring the food up to Lu Shifu," she said.
A bowl of pre-prepared medicinal soup was presented to Lu Lingyue by a servant.
"Please serve, my lord," the male servant said respectfully.
When Lu Lingyue saw the bowl of brownish-red medicine in front of her and smelled its strong bitter aroma, she seemed to have guessed what it was beforehand, and her eyelashes trembled.
"What is this?" he asked the servant.
“In reply to you, Master Lu, this is a contraceptive soup,” the male servant said.
This contraceptive soup was prepared by the eunuch of the Prince's Mansion after Yuan Yan finished speaking with the system last time, and the servants of the mansion were to deliver it to her before she went to Lu Lingyue's courtyard.
Lu Lingyue couldn't help but turn her gaze to Yuan Yan, smelling the medicinal scent, and a sudden, sharp pain shot through her eyes.
"Ayan...do you hate me that much? You're so afraid I'll get you pregnant that you're going to force me to drink contraceptive soup."
Lu Lingyue couldn't believe that Yuan Yan would treat him like this. Ignoring the fact that the male servant was still there, she couldn't help but call out "A-Yan" from the bottom of her heart again, her voice slightly hoarse.
In the Phoenix Kingdom, having many women is considered a blessing. Generally, men who are not of low status or particularly disliked by their wives will not be forced to drink contraceptive soup.
Lu Lingyue never imagined that the contraceptive soup would one day be used on him, and that Yuan Yan would personally order someone to bring it to him. He couldn't help but ask in a hoarse voice.
When the male attendant heard the attendant speaking to His Highness in this manner, he was somewhat at a loss, having suddenly overheard the private conversation between His Highness and his attendant.
"You may leave now." Upon seeing this, Yuan Yan turned and dismissed the servant.
"Yes." The servant quickly bowed his head and withdrew.
After he left, Yuan Yan saw that the room had returned to quiet before he spoke.
"Lu Lingyue, what are you sad about? Isn't this your own opinion?"
“I…” Lu Lingyue opened her mouth to defend herself, wanting to say “I didn’t have three words,” but she couldn’t make a sound.
He knew Yuan Yan was referring to the argument the two had made before their departure over the matter of taking a concubine.
However, at that time he was immersed in the sadness of being complained about by his mother, and because Yuan Yan's demands on him were too much to bear, he wrote to his father and asked him to send those little servants.
Deep down, Lu Lingyue had never considered not having children.
After all, in this land, men have no right to reproduce. The only way for them to continue their bloodline is to please their wives and make them willing to have children with them.
For a man, having his wife give birth to a child with half his blood is something he would be extremely happy to do, and who could refuse it?
Lu Lingyue was no exception.
"Whether Your Highness believes it or not, I have never thought about not having children." He finished speaking with a somber expression, then picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
The thick medicinal liquid rolled down my throat and into my stomach; it was so bitter that it made me want to vomit.
But the bitterness of the medicine couldn't compare to the bitterness in Lu Lingyue's heart.
Yuan Yan disliked him and didn't want him to have any possibility of becoming the biological father of their future child... This fact made Lu Lingyue's heart clench.
But all of this was his and the Lu family's own choice, and Lu Lingyue could only silently accept the result.
Lu Lingyue gently put down the empty bowl, allowing Yuan Yan to see the bottom of the bowl.
"Your Highness, I have done as you instructed." His long eyelashes drooped like broken butterfly wings, his lips were pale, and he spoke with a pained expression.
"Alright, let's blow out the lamp then."
Yuan Yan watched expressionlessly as he finished the entire bowl of contraceptive soup, then finally stood up and pushed Lu Lingyue onto the bed.
...
Yuan Yan remained silent throughout the entire night.
When emotions ran high, Lu Lingyue reached out and touched the uneven scars on her body. As if realizing something, his fingers paused slightly, and suddenly tears streamed down his face silently.
These scars, large and small, are the price Yuan Yan paid for his narrow escape from death.
Lu Lingyue didn't know why he was crying, but in that instant, under the cover of darkness, he suddenly felt an urge to cry.
It is for myself at this moment, and for Yuan Yan at this moment.
...
The next day, Yuan Yan left the backyard early.
At Hengwu's urging, Lu Lingyue, unusually, stepped out of the courtyard, wanting to go to the garden to clear her head.
However, as he passed by an artificial hill, he suddenly overheard two male servants whispering about the contraceptive soup they had used the previous night.
"...You wouldn't believe it, would you? Despite how favored Lu Shifu is, His Highness often goes to his courtyard and calls for water several times a night."
"But who knew that His Highness didn't want him to have the chance to have sex with a woman, so he ordered someone to bring him a contraceptive soup beforehand and made Lu Shifu drink it." The male servant whispered to his companion.
Since Lu Lingyue is the only male master of low rank in the backyard of the Prince's mansion, his every move is being watched by all the servants in the mansion.
"This...isn't it a good thing for a male servant to give birth to a daughter for the Prince's household? Why would Your Highness do this?" another male servant asked, puzzled.
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