Chapter 4 The man who appeared in the bridal chamber on their wedding night was...
Shen Wujiu slowly woke up, his eyes darting around before he stared intently at Yu Tan, his pale lips parting slightly: "Th-thank you."
"I didn't save you." Nobody saved him at all.
Yu Tan took several steps back, afraid of causing a misunderstanding. Although Shen Wujiu's appearance did not trigger the plot, he was the official love interest of the female lead, Zhao Qiuchi, so it was best to stay away.
Moreover, whenever she sees Shen Wujiu, she is reminded of the various ways the male and female protagonists play the "fire avoidance" game, which is really hard for her to face.
"I am..." Shen Wujiu struggled to get up, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to groan in pain. A silver longevity lock slipped from his arms, and before he could finish speaking, he collapsed to the ground and fainted.
The longevity lock, about the size of a palm, has three small bells at the bottom and the word "Wu Jiu" (meaning "without blame") engraved in the center. It is crudely made, with blackened edges, and is tied with a red rope.
Yu Tan rubbed her fingertips helplessly. She had an identical longevity lock with the words "Yaoyao" engraved on it. The longevity lock was placed in the lining of her swaddle blanket when she was brought home as a child.
She was worried that wearing it would damage it, so she carefully kept it in her dressing box.
The two characters “杳杳” are her nickname. It seems that not only does her given name belong to a true princess, but even her nickname belongs to her.
After a long silence, Yu He'an seemed to have figured it out and stood up, saying, "Changming, help him into the carriage."
Yu Tan looked up in confusion. Yu He'an wasn't the type to cause trouble, yet he had taken the initiative to save someone today.
Changming lifted Shen Wujiu and carried him into the carriage. "My lord, shall we take him back to the Marquis's residence?"
Yu He'an whispered instructions: "Take him to Yutong Manor while it's still dark. Remember to have a doctor treat his injuries. If he wants to leave after he wakes up, let him go. If he wants to stay, treat him well and keep his whereabouts a secret."
"Yes," Changming replied, driving the carriage into the night.
Yu Tan lowered his head, thinking about Yu He'an's attitude towards him, and assumed that they knew each other.
Yu He'an actually knows Shen Wujiu, could he also know Zhao Qiuci?
Will her identity be exposed prematurely?
Recalling Ji Yushang's attitude towards her, which seemed to be one of irreconcilable enmity, she dared not even imagine how miserable she would be if she were to leave the Marquis's mansion and lose its protection.
She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms vigorously.
No, if Yu He'an knew she was an imposter, he definitely wouldn't tolerate her anymore.
"Yaoyao, are you cold?" Yu He'an looked down at Yu Tan. He remembered that Yu Tan had been weak since childhood and was very afraid of the cold. Now that it was late autumn, the night wind was tinged with a chill.
Yu Tan shook her head, forcing herself to remain calm, not wanting to lose her composure first.
"It's not cold, brother. Does your hand still hurt? There's a clinic up ahead..."
Yu He'an raised his hand, and the cold water ran over the back of his hand. His skin was still red, but the burning pain had lessened considerably.
Seeing that Yu He'an did not answer, Yu Tan pointed to a spot not far away, "It's on that street ahead, the second shop, the lanterns in front of it are still lit."
Yu He'an said, "Let's go."
"Okay." Yu Tan smiled sweetly and replied, carrying a lantern and walking to the left of Yu He'an. Their shadows were elongated as they slowly walked out of the alley.
Today, the doctor on duty at the clinic is an elderly man in his seventies with clean white hair and beard. He is sitting behind his medical desk, propping his head up and dozing off.
Yu Tan stepped forward and gently tapped the medical record, softly calling out, "Doctor, wake up."
After a while, the old doctor woke up, stroked his beard, and coughed a few times. "Which of you is sick?"
"Doctor, my brother burned his hand on the oil lamp. Please take a look." She took Yu He'an's hand and gently placed it on the medical table.
The old doctor approached with an oil lamp, examining Yu He's hand injury back and forth. Yu Tan watched with alarm, fearing that the oil lamp would fall again.
"Doctor, let me hold the oil lamp."
The old doctor glanced at her and steadily placed the kerosene lamp on the table. "Fortunately, it's just a burn. There's no fracture where it hit. Just go back and apply some medicine."
Yu He'an paid the consultation fee and said, "Thank you, doctor."
"Don't rush off, we haven't gotten the medicine yet." The old doctor turned and went into the inner room. After rummaging around for a while, he came out with two boxes of black ointment. "Apply the medicine before you leave. Don't take the burn lightly. Here, apply the medicine to him."
The old doctor handed the ointment to Yu Tan and then went back to the inner room to work on it.
“Brother.” Yu Tan washed her hands and took Yu He’an’s hand. Yellow fluid had begun to seep from the edges of the wound, which looked particularly horrifying against the fair skin.
If Yu He'an hadn't blocked it, this injury might have appeared on her face.
"fine."
She took out a light pink handkerchief and wiped away the yellow water droplets, leaving the handkerchief stained with yellow stains.
She dabbed the dark ointment on her fingertips and gently applied it to the wound. Worried that she might hurt Yu He'an if she used too much force, she had to be careful. It took her half an hour to finish applying the ointment. The dark ointment covered the back of Yu He'an's hand, making the blisters even more conspicuous.
She was still pondering whether to discuss popping the blisters with him when Yu He'an withdrew his hand.
"Let's go back, it's late."
"good."
When they came out, the street vendors had already started packing up to go home, and the bustling city had fallen silent. They moved among them. The clinic was only two streets away from the Marquis's residence, and it would only take a quarter of an hour to walk there.
Yu He'an lowered his head, watching Yu Tan frown and then relax, her lips pursed repeatedly, the small mole on her lip twitching with each movement.
Yu He'an stopped in her tracks: "You want to ask about the man from earlier?"
She wanted to know if Yu He'an had encountered Shen Wujiu or Zhao Qiuci while he was away from home.
Yu Tan tilted her head back, feigning nonchalance, and asked, "Hmm, does brother know him?"
"We met a few times when I was in Liangzhou, but we weren't very familiar with each other."
Liangzhou, Zhao Qiuci was also in Liangzhou.
Yu Tan cautiously pressed further, "What place is Liangzhou?"
Yu He'an stared at her for a while, his glassy eyes seemingly able to see through her heart, and she turned her head slightly to avoid him.
"I can't remember. I've been to so many places in the past three years that I can't remember every single one."
Yu Tan tentatively asked, "Brother, did you meet any women who left a deep impression on you?"
Yu He stood still, frowning: "No."
Yu Tan was absent-minded the whole way. When she said goodbye at the gate of the mansion, she didn't notice that Yu He'an frowned several times. She turned around and took Lan Xin back to Lanfang Courtyard.
Yu Tan had three personal maids: Lan Xin was simple-minded and very loyal, and was in charge of clothing and daily necessities; Qiao Xin was meticulous and was in charge of food; and Hui Xin was quite good at managing accounts and was arranged by Yu Tan to go out of the mansion to do business.
Only one maid was allowed to accompany the banquet, so Lanxin went along, while Qiaoxin stayed at Lanfang Courtyard. When Qiaoxin went out to greet Yutan, she saw that Yutan was in a daze.
Qiaoxin nudged Lanxin: "What's wrong, my lady?"
Lanxin said happily, "My husband told his wife about Liangzhou when he came back. It seems that my wife wants to go out and play."
Qiaoxin had overheard others talking about Liangzhou, a desolate and windswept place, and said with a hint of disdain, "Wife, don't even think about it. What's fun about Liangzhou? It's a desert with sandstorms, and people starve to death there all year round."
After washing up, Yu Tan lay down on the canopy bed. Since her awakening, she had collected a large number of stories about real and fake heiresses and placed them by her bedside. She had already read most of them, but the endings of most of them were not to her liking.
She reached for the book from last night, "The Princess Returns to Court." Last night, she read that the real princess had been found, and the next page showed the fate of the fake princess.
Her grip on the storybook tightened, she pursed her lips, and turned to the next page.
Because of their long-standing friendship, the emperor only stripped the fake princess of her title, allowing her to continue living in her former residence, with her food, clothing, and daily necessities remaining the same.
She closed the book, the pages pressed against her chest, unable to block out the pounding of her heart.
There were still pages a finger's width thick at the end, but she didn't want to read them anymore.
Let's leave this story here.
"Oh dear, I've brought back the medicine for my lord," Lanxin exclaimed with a pained expression as she packed her things.
Lanfang Courtyard and Fengxu Courtyard are separated by more than half of the Marquis's residence, and it takes more than half an hour to go back and forth.
Lan Xin, with a bitter face, cried out again, "Wife."
Because of the storybook, Yu Tan was in a good mood. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she said softly, "Brother is probably resting now. Let's go tomorrow."
"Okay." Lanxin happily agreed, then turned to tidy up the clothes Yutan had changed out of. After searching for a while, she still couldn't find her handkerchief. "Wife, where did your handkerchief go?"
Perhaps she had casually placed it on the medical table when she was wiping Yu He'an's hand injury, thinking, "If it's lost, it's lost."
"My lady, that's the best handkerchief you've ever embroidered," Lanxin muttered as she packed up the clothes.
Yu Tan is older and much healthier. He is usually fine, but he coughs when he catches a cold or wind.
The courtyard was always stocked with medicinal herbs to dispel cold and stop coughs. Qiaoxin was thoughtful and meticulous. After hearing that Yutan had fallen into the water, she brewed some medicine, took a bowl, and handed it to her. "My lady, drink this and get some rest."
Yu Tan took the white porcelain bowl, held it and drank the medicine in small sips. After finishing the medicine, she drank some hot tea to rinse her mouth, then lay down and waited for sleep to come to her.
Qiaoxin blew out the rest of the lamps in the bedroom, leaving only one solitary lamp. She lowered the sky-blue gauze curtains, so that the pale yellow candlelight could not penetrate, and the canopy bed was completely dark.
"My lady, please rest in peace. I will stay here and keep watch." Qiaoxin placed a quilt under the foot of the canopy bed to keep watch.
Yu Tan clutched the blanket: "Qiao Xin, do you have an older brother?"
Qiaoxin sat at the head of the canopy bed and tucked the quilt into her bed. "I don't have a biological brother, but I do have a sworn brother."
Yu Tan became interested and tilted her head to look at Qiao Xin. "I've never heard you mention how your sworn brother treats you before?"
Spots of blood crept onto Qiaoxin's ears and neck. Qiaoxin lowered her head and said, "Very well. When I am working at the manor, I will trouble him to take care of my parents."
"Um."
If her sworn brother can take care of Qiaoxin's parents, then if she can recognize Yuhe'an as her sworn brother, taking care of her will definitely not be a problem.
Having received a satisfactory answer, Yu Tan nodded, the soft brocade quilt rubbing against her chin.
The sworn siblings truly have an excellent relationship.
After taking the medicine, sleepiness gradually crept in, and she slowly closed her eyes.
*
A gentle breeze lifted a corner of the gauze curtain, and the intense candlelight of the wedding candles pierced through the veil, leaving her eyes with only a blinding red glow.
She was in a dream again, the same nightmare that had been haunting her.
Yu Tan sat upright on the wedding bed, wearing an elaborate bright red wedding dress. The waistband with the pattern of epiphyllum flowers outlined her slender waist, and pearl and silver chains hung below. The long skirt spread out like flower petals.
Outside, the atmosphere was lively and noisy, with wedding guests clamoring and making a ruckus in the bridal chamber, while the matchmaker and children sang along:
"The bride and groom are deeply in love."
"A pair of mandarin ducks enter the bridal chamber, and their sons and grandsons fill the house with happiness."
Suddenly, the joyful singing and shouting stopped, turning into an eerie silence.
Her intuition told her that something extremely terrifying was about to happen and that she should run, but her feet seemed rooted to the spot. To be precise, she didn't move in her dream, and she couldn't run away.
Yu Tan looked up and, through the red veil, could only vaguely see a very tall man walking in.
The man didn't say a word, but his gaze remained fixed on her, obsessive and manic.
A chill ran up her spine from the soles of her feet. The figure drew closer and closer, and her heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat. She clutched her sleeves in fear.
The man stopped in front of her, blocking the light and casting a large shadow. A glimpse of a moon-white robe appeared in her line of sight.
She was horrified to discover that the man who appeared in the bridal chamber on their wedding night was not the groom.
A note from the author:
Thanks for the nutrient solution from the roadside couch potato! [cheering emojis]
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