Enter the mansion
As Mu Qing left, she saw a carriage parked on the shore, seemingly there when she arrived.
The carriage had gilded patterns on its walls that shimmered in the night, vaguely resembling the designs of Prince Qing's mansion. Just as Mu Qing was about to approach for a closer look, he heard a faint sound coming from in front of the carriage, indicating that someone was there.
She stopped immediately, her mind clearing for a moment. It was impossible for the young prince and Princess Duanjing to be here at this time. It was best not to cause trouble rashly. But for some reason, before she left, she couldn't help but take another look at the gilded pattern on the carriage wall.
At the front of the carriage, the waiting guard sat on the side of the shaft, shifting his posture as he gazed at the dark river, wondering when he would be able to return. He had been sent here to drive the carriage, told he would be back soon, but instead, he watched helplessly as the person boarded the boat and sailed away from the shore. He was puzzled for a moment, but remembering that his master was always capricious, he waited patiently.
They waited until dawn.
As dawn broke, the river shimmered with golden waves, and the boats that had been adrift all night were still on the water.
The houseboat, built of wood, had turned a dark brown color over the years. An elderly woman, dressed in a light brown dress, stood on the deck, backlit by the sun, and gently knocked on a door.
The furniture inside the door was very simple, mostly the utensils commonly used by ordinary people. However, the seven-stringed zither on the table was no ordinary object. Its body was gleaming with a gentle luster due to the morning light streaming in through the window.
A few steps away, on a high-backed chair, layers of heavy satin embroidered robes lay draped to the ground, with one end of a gold and jade-inlaid official yellow belt draped inside the blue cloth bed curtains.
At the sound of knocking, the sleeping young man inside the tent slowly opened his eyes, his face showing confusion, as if he were still in a chaotic dream. He was dry-mouthed, tired and weak, and something was weighing him down, making it hard for him to breathe.
He opened his eyes and saw someone with loose black hair raising their head from his chest, revealing a pair of clear eyes.
"Qing..."
As soon as he spoke, he knew he had made a mistake. He pursed his lips for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was as cold as ice.
"go out!"
"good."
Lu Xier, who felt completely unfamiliar to him, responded softly. She climbed out of the soft quilt naked, and when she pulled back the bed curtains, she glanced back and saw him frowning and turning his head away. A look of sadness flashed across her face.
After getting dressed, she went out the door, and after a while, she stepped back into the room, now all tidied up, carrying a basin of clean water in her hands.
She looked down at the hanging bed curtains, from which came the sound of fabric rubbing together, sounding hurried and chaotic.
"Your Highness, would you like some service?"
"Get out! Call Qi Sheng here!"
Lu Xier placed the wooden basin of water on the table, put away the zither, and said calmly, "Guard Qi is still not awake. We used a bit too much sleeping potion on him last night, so he won't wake up until later."
Xiao Yu, inside the tent, flew into a rage and shouted, "How dare you! Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Does the prince want to kill us?" Lu Xi'er said softly. "I suppose I didn't serve him well enough last night."
Having grown up in a brothel, she was exposed to matters of love and romance from a young age and was not ashamed of them. In fact, she was surprisingly calm now.
A tremor was heard inside the bed curtains, followed by silence.
Lu Xier walked over and saw the young prince inside the tent, his outer robe disheveled, slumped on the pillow, breathing heavily and pale. When he saw her come to the bedside, he glared at her with red eyes.
His voice was weak, but still tinged with anger: "Why do you have to debase yourself like this?"
Seeing that he seemed weak, Lu Xi'er reached out to check the temperature of his forehead. Finding nothing amiss, she breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her eyes, saying, "Was Your Highness not satisfied last night? Towards the end, I said I didn't want it anymore, but Your Highness still..."
Xiao Yu interrupted her: "That's only because I didn't know it was you!"
Lu Xier looked back without changing her expression, "The prince called out for Qingxue all night. I am Qingxue, Lu Qingxue."
"..." Xiao Yu was speechless with surprise.
"Your Highness understood immediately. Did you already know that the one from the Lu family was a fake?" Lu Xi'er's eyes were filled with tears. "If it weren't for that fake young lady, I could have recognized my parents when I came to Weizhou, instead of being an orphan girl who sells her art. If it weren't for that fake young lady, Your Highness wouldn't have anyone in your heart, and it wouldn't be so difficult for me to get in now."
Xiao Yu finally spoke after a long pause: "What makes you say you are Lu Qingxue?"
Lu Xier took out a gold lock from her collar and showed it the character "Lu" on it. "Besides this, there are my childhood clothes and the birthmark on my back. My godmother can also testify for me."
The golden lock was not unfamiliar; Xiao Yu had seen the exact same one on Lu Fei before.
He looked at Lu Xier with a deep gaze, "What do you want most?"
*
Upon hearing that the young prince was ill, Mu Qing accompanied the third madam to the Prince Qing's residence by carriage. Entering the inner courtyard, the ground was paved with white marble carved bricks, and one could see vermilion walls and yellow tiles with flying eaves.
A maid led the way, and the Third Madam turned back to look at her, then instructed, "Qingxue, you can't have that expression when you meet people later."
Mu Qing looked somewhat bewildered, with a puzzled expression, "But His Highness was perfectly fine yesterday."
“Illness strikes like a landslide; that’s just how people are sometimes,” the Third Madam said in a low voice. “Not to mention, the Prince was already in poor health and only recovered in the last two years. It’s not surprising that his old illness has relapsed. You should just ask the Prince how he is doing, say something to cheer him up, but think before you speak and pay attention to his expression.”
Mu Qing agreed, pondered what to say, and entered the hall with the Third Madam. After drinking a cup of tea, Princess Duanjing came out.
Princess Duanjing sat down in the main seat, her expression not good. She forced a smile, but there was no real joy in it. "I just helped the Prince take his medicine and fall asleep. I'm late and sorry to have kept you waiting."
"How is Your Highness now? Is he alright?" the Third Madam asked with concern.
The Prince's Mansion sent someone to the Lu family early in the morning, saying that the young prince was not at home. They asked if he had come to the Lu family, but they couldn't find him there. They then searched elsewhere, but couldn't find him all morning. At noon, the young prince returned home, so they invited Doctor Hua to come. The Third Madam also had doubts about this, but at the moment, she prioritized the prince's health.
"It's just a relapse of an old illness, I need to rest for a while." Princess Duanjing looked at Mu Qing. "The prince was just thinking about Qingxue. If you had come half an hour earlier, you could have seen her, but it's inconvenient now."
Mu Qing blurted out, "It's okay, I can come again tomorrow."
Seeing Princess Duanjing's expression stiffen, she lowered her voice and asked, "Is it alright?"
Princess Duanjing looked at her and said, "Then come tomorrow."
Having received a positive response, Mu Qing looked at the Third Madam, only to see that the Third Madam's expression was complicated. After exchanging words with Princess Duanjing, she still hadn't relaxed.
The Third Madam was worried that her daughters would not be well-received, especially since they had fallen ill one after another as the wedding date approached. For those who believed in metaphysics, this marriage was considered extremely unlucky. She expected that Princess Duanjing might ask to reconsider the engagement, just like last time, but instead of doing so, she frequently gave her daughters ambiguous and apologetic looks, which was quite unlike Princess Duanjing's style.
Could it be that the young prince is seriously ill? The third madam looked at Mu Qing with concern, thinking that since the marriage was already arranged, the rest was up to fate.
After the two women left, Princess Duanjing, her usual gentle demeanor vanished. She summoned Qi Sheng, who was serving the young prince, and sternly questioned him, "Where did the prince go last night?"
Qi Sheng lowered her head and said, "Just like the prince said, we were on a boat enjoying the breeze and drank some wine."
"So, Dr. Hua made a mistake in his diagnosis?"
Qi Sheng knelt down, not daring to speak. On the way back, he rehearsed the story as the prince had asked, but the prince fainted after returning. The doctor Hua who was summoned diagnosed that the prince had been drugged with aphrodisiacs and there were still traces on his body, which was hard to deny.
After repeated questioning, he had no choice but to tell the truth.
Princess Duanjing frowned upon hearing this, "When that musician left, the prince was still speaking normally to her?"
"That's not normal; the prince isn't in a good mood."
"Has it been said how to deal with them?"
Qi Sheng remained silent for a moment, a look of doubt on his face. "No."
*
In Wutong Lane, a mule cart stopped at the entrance of the lane, and two people got off.
A gate to a house in the alley opened, and a young man in a light gray long robe walked out. Just as he was about to lock the gate, he saw the two people in the alley and his face immediately lit up with joy.
"Miss Lu, Aunt Man, where have you been coming from?"
Lu Xier was still wearing a veil and a moon-white dress, looking no different from before. But when she saw Lu Jiu, she felt a sense of loss.
"Young Master Lu, it's been a long time."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiu's face turned slightly sour. "It has been a while since we last met. I was in a cage a few days ago, and I only have some free time now. It will probably be some time before I regain my freedom."
Lu Xi'er was completely confused, but she didn't want to ask any more questions. She simply said, "Then congratulations, young master."
Lu Jiu chuckled, "I thought having a skill would make life easier, but who knew that being targeted because of this skill would make things even more unbearable. I'll tell you the details another day, young lady."
A few days ago, Lu Xier would have liked to hear him speak, but now she had little interest, so she just gave a few words of agreement and said goodbye.
But then Lu Jiu called out to her again, "Miss Lu, are you feeling unwell? You seem to be walking rather unnaturally."
Lu Xier froze for a moment, then said she was alright.
Back in the courtyard, Aunt Man quickly pulled her into the house. "You were tormented by the Prince for so long last night, are you hurt? It's all my fault, I forgot you're a virgin too. Are you still feeling unwell?"
Aunt Man overheard the conversation and learned that the matter had been accomplished. She was so happy that she only remembered this incident after Lu Jiu mentioned it to her.
The afternoon breeze was warm and the sun was shining brightly in the room. Lu Xier nestled into the arms of her godmother, whom she had trusted since childhood, resting her chin on her shoulder, but she still felt suspended in the air, somewhat unsteady.
"Godmother, are we really doing the right thing?"
“There’s no such thing as right or wrong.” Aunt Man gently patted her back. “Look at Painter Lu. He said he was willing to be a poor painter, but didn’t you see him following behind Grand Secretary Zhen’s granddaughter the other day, patiently accompanying her to the shops? People always strive to rise in status. If there’s an opportunity to climb the social ladder, they will try their best not to miss it. Besides, you’re just taking back everything that’s rightfully yours.”
Thinking about the intimacy of last night and the coldness of this morning, Lu Xi'er said, "But, will a forced relationship ever become sweet?"
Aunt Man nodded. "Yes, he will. Although the prince was a bit cold and hard today, it's normal for a young man to have a temper. No man in the world, except for a homosexual, is not lusting after a woman's body. You were raised by your godmother since childhood, and I dare say that once a man touches you, he will never forget you. If the prince had no affection for you, how could he have agreed to let you into his mansion?"
Lu Xier bit her lip, "We have to wait until after his wedding."
"That's because you gave in. If you had insisted on entering the manor immediately, the prince would have compromised. However, it's better this way. The prince has just tasted the sweetness of life and doesn't quite understand how precious your goodness is. Once he's had his fill of that fake young lady, he'll definitely remember you. At that time, when you enter the manor, you won't have to worry about finding a place for yourself. If the Lu family tries to obstruct us, we can just reveal our true identities and expose that fake young lady. It's much safer than tearing things apart now."
Hearing these comforting words, Lu Xier responded softly.
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