Chapter 463 Prayer
Beigong You's knuckles turned white and he slowly clenched his fists, with unfathomable emotions surging in his dark pupils.
He stared at something in the distance, his voice as deep as ice: "Don't touch her for now, and see what the princess will do."
Feng Ming clasped his fists and said "yes".
He turned around and strode back, the wind raised by his sleeves disappearing in the corridor in an instant.
At the same time, bursts of medicinal fragrance wafted from Youan Villa.
Lin Miaoyin was holding Chu Youan's little hand, and her fingertips lightly tapped the celadon medicine jar on the wooden shelf: "This is angelica, which tastes sweet and spicy, and can replenish blood and promote blood circulation..."
The girl's chubby face was full of seriousness. She suddenly stood on tiptoe and pointed at the highest glass bottle: "What about this one?"
Before she finished her words, Yu Lingxiu stepped over the threshold with small steps.
She lowered her eyes and stared at the dark patterns on Lin Miaoyin's plain skirt, her nails digging deeply into her palms.
She caught a glimpse of Chu Youan's upturned face from the corner of her eye, and her heart ached at the soft look.
She subconsciously pressed her lower abdomen, bitterness rising in her throat - she would never get pregnant in this life, and now she wanted to choose another husband, but with her body, no noble family would want her, and the only way for her to go was to become Prince Ning's concubine.
"My princess, be well." Yu Lingxiu bowed and saluted. "Lingxiu has something important to discuss with you."
Chu Youan suddenly clutched the corner of her mother's clothes, remembering what the eldest princess said yesterday: "Miss Yu is gentle and virtuous. Even if you don't like her, it's good to let her be your loyal dog master."
Thinking of the expressions on his parents' faces when they talked about Yu Lingxiu, his little heart suddenly tightened and hostility appeared in his almond-shaped eyes.
She stood on tiptoe in front of Lin Miaoyin and said crisply, "Mother is teaching me to recognize medicine, she is busy!"
Lin Miaoyin gently stroked her daughter's head and noticed that Yu Lingxiu was deliberately lowering her posture today.
She bent down to look Chu Youan in the eye and wiped the sweat off the tip of the child's nose with her fingertips: "Youan, dear, Sister Yuzhu has just got some sweet-scented osmanthus cakes. Go and try them and see if they are delicious."
"I don't want it!" Chu Youan's eyes turned red with anxiety, and his little arms tightly wrapped around Lin Miaoyin's neck, "Grandma said that Yu Lingxiu wants to be father's concubine, I hate her!"
Yu Lingxiu's face turned pale and the hands hanging by her side trembled slightly.
Lin Miaoyin's eyes were slightly cold, but she still patted her daughter's back gently: "Youan is the most sensible child. Go play with Yuzhu first. Mother will come to find you in a while."
She winked at Yuzhu beside her, and the maid immediately understood, squatted down and took Chu Youan's hand.
"Miss, can we go see the newly hatched ducklings?" Yuzhu coaxed and picked up the struggling Chu Youan. The child's aggrieved cry gradually dissipated at the end of the corridor.
Yu Lingxiu looked at the empty threshold and pulled out a flattering smile: "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Princess..."
On the other side, Chu Youan broke free from Yuzhu's hand, her skirt covered with grass debris, and stumbled to the study.
She threw herself into Beigong You's arms, sobbing, "Father, drive Yu Lingxiu away!"
Beigong You held his daughter up and gently wiped away the tears on her face. "Do you think your mother will agree to let her stay?"
Chu Youan grabbed his father's clothes nervously: "Grandma doesn't like mother, Grandma likes Yu Lingxiu! But Youan doesn't like her, Youan doesn't want anyone else in the family!"
She raised her face, with tears hanging on her eyelashes, like a frightened deer.
Beigong You was silent for a moment, hugged his daughter tighter, with a meaningful dark light in his eyes: "Don't worry, there won't be anyone else between father and your mother!"
Children's Home
After her daughter left, Lin Miaoyin leaned back on the rosewood chair, stroking the teacup with her fingertips leisurely. Her eyes were slightly raised, and her gaze fell on Yu Lingxiu like a cold star. Her tone was so cold that it was almost ruthless: "Tell me, what's the matter?"
Yu Lingxiu clenched the silk handkerchief in her hand, her knuckles turning white. She tried to maintain her composure, but her voice unconsciously became anxious: "Does the princess' previous promise to help me become Prince Ning's concubine still count?"
Lin Miaoyin put down the teacup, and the crisp collision sound was particularly harsh in the silent room.
The corners of her lips curled up into a mocking smile, and her tone was nonchalant: "This is what I promised the princess, not you!"
"I'm the one you were discussing the deal with! Princess, do you think it has nothing to do with me?" Yu Lingxiu took a step forward, her eyes full of reluctance and anger.
Lin Miaoyin slowly stood up and approached Yu Lingxiu step by step, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression: "Transaction? The eldest princess is my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law wants me, her daughter-in-law, to take a concubine for her son. Of course I have to obey!"
She suddenly paused, stretched out her hand to lift Yu Lingxiu's chin, her eyes as sharp as a knife, "But I still have the final say on who to marry! It can be you, or it can be... Cui Xi!"
The two words "Cui Xi" were like a heavy hammer, hitting Yu Lingxiu's heart hard.
Her face turned pale instantly, her pupils contracted violently, she staggered back two steps, and almost fell: "What do you know?"
The chill climbed up her spine and reached her head, and Yu Lingxiu felt cold all over.
She had never thought that her secret deal with Cui Xi was no longer a secret. What about Cui Xi? Was she plotting against her from the beginning, deliberately setting a trap, waiting to see her make a fool of herself?
Countless thoughts surged in her mind, her breathing became rapid, and the calm mask she had carefully maintained was completely shattered, leaving only panic and fear in her heart and eyes.
Lin Miaoyin looked at Yu Lingxiu's distraught appearance and suddenly felt that this woman who was manipulated by fate was somewhat pathetic.
She was just a pawn in the hands of the eldest princess. First, she was almost paralyzed by a scheme, and now the imperial physician declared that she would never have a child again in this lifetime. In this world where having children is everything, this is tantamount to cutting off the foundation of a woman's life.
"So what are you here for?" Lin Miaoyin tapped the table with her fingertips. The muffled sound of sandalwood startled Yu Lingxiu and she trembled all over.
The woman's knuckles turned white as she gripped the gold-painted sandalwood box, and her palms hurt from the corners of the box, but she never handed over this carefully prepared "letter of allegiance."
"If I want to stay with the prince, what does the princess need me to do?" Yu Lingxiu lowered her eyes and stared at the lotus pattern on the hem of her skirt. The petals embroidered with gold thread twisted into a hideous bloody mouth in front of her eyes.
Lin Miaoyin sneered, "You have the support of the eldest princess, why do you need to come to me?"
The ending tone was as sharp as a knife, piercing straight into Yu Lingxiu's heart.
"As the princess just said, the princess wants the prince to have many children."
Yu Lingxiu suddenly raised her head, a desperate madness flashed in her eyes, "And you, as the legal wife, are the one who can decide who will enter the mansion."
Her voice was trembling, but every word was clear, "Even if the princess abandons me in the future, as long as the princess is willing..."
Before she finished her words, she bent her knees and knelt down heavily. The pearl hairpins in her hair swayed with her movements, reflecting tiny pieces of light all over the ground.
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