Chapter 47: Hidden Reflections Amidst These Feelings (Part Two)

“What kind of drug could make someone cough up blood?” Yun Qi was startled as well and hurried to explain to Yun Ci, “No, no, it was only an aphrodisiac, I swear it on my life!”

Yun Ci glared at Yun Qi, but seeing the sincerity in his half-brother’s eyes, he decided not to speculate further before getting to the bottom of things. He suppressed his anxiety and said to Yun Qi and Yun Xiangrong, “You two go back first.”

Neither dared linger and quickly withdrew.

By now, Yun Ci’s leg ailment tormented him so badly that he could barely endure it. Seeing only Danxin remaining in the room, he finally allowed a hint of weakness to show and said through gritted teeth, “Help me to the wheelchair.”

Danxin, knowing her master had taken medicine last night and now must be suffering its backlash, hurried to support him, her heart aching. “Master, your leg…”

“Take me to see Chuxiu,” Yun Ci cut her off urgently, his face twisted in pain but his worry for Chuxiu even more evident.

Tears nearly welled in Danxin’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Master. Though she coughed up blood, she’s alert and says she doesn’t feel unwell. Maybe it’s just some old blood from her chest…”

“Or maybe it’s fatal heart blood,” Yun Ci finished grimly. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead from the pain in his legs, but he disregarded it and insisted, “Take me to her!”

Danxin dared not disobey. With Zhuying’s help, she pushed Yun Ci toward Yinxian Zuoyue Courtyard.

Chuxiu was half-reclined on the couch, staring blankly at the bright red bloodstains on her handkerchief. Hearing the sound of the wheelchair rolling, she snapped back to herself and saw Zhuying and Danxin bringing Yun Ci into the room.

Yun Ci’s face bore a look of urgency and forbearance, paler than Chuxiu had ever seen him. For a moment, her heart seemed suspended in midair. She rose to greet him. “What’s the matter?”

Yun Ci took her hand and looked her up and down. “You coughed blood?”

Chuxiu shot Danxin a reproachful glance, then reassured him, “I don’t know what happened. I just felt a strange taste in my throat and coughed up some blood. But I’m not in any discomfort. I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

Without a word, Yun Ci took her pulse, but after a long moment, he frowned and shook his head. “I can’t find anything wrong.”

Chuxiu breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Yun Ci with concern. “I told you, it’s nothing. But you, you don’t look well…” Was it because he’d exhausted himself curing her of the aphrodisiac last night? She wondered but didn’t say it aloud. Even so, her cheeks flushed.

Yun Ci guessed the unspoken question but was in no mood for teasing. As a physician, he knew there were varying degrees of hemoptysis; if there was no pulse abnormality, it could be trivial—or it could be something fatal.

He feared it was the latter…

That fleeting thought, because it was Chuxiu who coughed blood, grew into a gnawing worry; he even forgot his own pain.

“Marquis.” Chuxiu called him three times before Yun Ci snapped out of his reverie. “What?”

“You should rest. I’m really fine, perfectly well. If you don’t go back and take your medicine, I…”

“And what will you do?” Yun Ci forced a smile.

“I won’t talk to you anymore,” she said with childish indignation, the only threat she could think of.

Yun Ci played along. “All right. You lie down too. I’ll send a physician to see you.”

Chuxiu knew if she didn’t agree, Yun Ci would never be at ease, so she obediently returned to the couch.

Only then did Yun Ci, heavy with worry, return to Zhiyan Pavilion. Before leaving, he reminded Danxin, “Take good care of her. If anything unusual happens, don’t hide it from me.”

Danxin accepted the order, then fretted about his leg. “Master, your leg…”

“It’s all right. I know my own limits,” Yun Ci replied in a low voice, signaling Zhuying to push him away.

The two of them returned to Zhiyan Pavilion, where Shanyun had already prepared a medicinal decoction for his leg. After drinking it and resting a while, Yun Ci asked Zhuying, “When Chuxiu caught the epidemic, I ordered you to send word to all regions to find famous physicians. Is there any news?”

Zhuying shook her head. “Not yet.”

Yun Ci’s expression darkened. “Who is leading the Shadow Guards now? They’re not being very effective.”

“Forgive me, Master. The current leader of the Shadow Guards is…” Before Zhuying could finish, a personal guard arrived to report, “Marquis, word just came from the southern and northern borders. The divine physician Qu Fang has been found in Qicheng and is already en route to Yanlan City.”

Qicheng lay on the southern border of Naxi. It would take at least a month to reach Yanlan City—would Chuxiu last that long? Still, Yun Ci’s expression eased slightly and he ordered, “Pass down my command: make all haste.”

…

The epidemic in Fangzhou had come and gone without warning. Lord Mu, the stern master of the fief, dealt with it ruthlessly: he ordered all corpses incinerated and the worst-hit villages burned to the ground.

Many people were forced from their homes, and refugees poured into Yanlan City. Yun Ci spent days negotiating with Lord Mu, and finally it was decided—a new city would be built fifty li north of Yanlan to house the displaced.

The Yun family contributed nearly half the funds for construction, repaying Yun Ci’s debt to Lord Mu, who had provided manpower and medicine to save Chuxiu from the plague. Now, Yun Ci returned the favor with silver.

The remaining funds came from a petition to the Emperor, who allocated eighty million taels, plus three years’ worth of Fangzhou’s taxes—just enough.

Lord Mu’s iron discipline, the Marquis of Lixin’s kindness, and the cooperation between Nie Peihan and Yun Ci brought unprecedented unity to Fangzhou. The people themselves volunteered to help build the new city.

In the midst of this, half a month slipped by unnoticed.

Zhiyan Pavilion and Jinlu Hall, both burned during the turmoil, were swiftly rebuilt. The maids from Zhiyan Pavilion moved back, but those from Jinlu Hall, because Second Master Yun Qi was under house arrest and celibacy, had to stay at Yinxian Zuoyue Courtyard for three more months.

Since the day she coughed blood, Chuxiu had shown no further symptoms, but grew more and more fatigued, always sleepy. Yun Ci pitied her and reduced her tasks, allowing her more rest.

After Yun Qi’s confinement, life in the Marquis of Lixin’s residence seemed to return to normal—except for one thing: the Dowager Marchioness closed her doors for Buddhist meditation, seeing no one, not even Yun Ci.

To the outside world, the Dowager claimed she was praying for deliverance from the epidemic, devoting herself to Buddha for eighty-one days. But Yun Ci knew her real reason—it wasn’t for prayer, but to avoid seeing him.

She was angry that the Marquis of Lixin had risked the entire household for a mute girl infected with plague, and used this as an excuse to refuse Chuxiu a proper place in the family after that fateful night.

Yun Ci even suspected his mother knew Chuxiu’s true identity.

People said theirs was a loving mother and filial son, but for ten years, Madam Xie, who presided over the Yun family, had never shown him tenderness. From the time Yun Ci was aware of things, his mother spoke only of “The Marquis of Lixin,” “the heir,” “the family estate.” Even when he was gravely ill or crippled by his leg, she never showed a trace of affection.

If mother and son are not of one heart, perhaps only she knows him best in the world; but if they are of one heart, she has never granted him his wishes.

Yun Ci sensed that his path with Chuxiu would not be an easy one.

In the end, he had been the one to bring her back to Fangzhou, never realizing he would fall so deeply. Now, he was the first to awaken, yet still he went to her, determined to walk this path to the end.

That night, troubled by thoughts of his mother’s attitude, Yun Ci tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Suddenly, he longed for Chuxiu, so he donned his robe and quietly wheeled himself over to her quarters, not even alerting Zhuying.

It was late. The newly rebuilt courtyard was silent, except for the glow of lamplight in Chuxiu’s room beneath the lonely stars. Frowning, Yun Ci pushed himself up the slope and gently knocked, “Chuxiu.”

Inside, there was a faint rustling, as if of pages turning. Soon, Chuxiu hurried to open the door, her expression evasive. “Marquis…”

Yun Ci looked at her for a long moment before saying, “Take me inside.”

She obeyed, but once inside, he scanned the room as though searching for something. After a while, he pointed to beneath the bed. “Chuxiu, what have you hidden under your couch?”

Chuxiu hesitated, but seeing there was no escape, she brought out a stack of ledgers and handed them to him.

Yun Ci glanced through them, his expression darkening. “You’ve been so tired these days because you’ve been copying these accounts?”

Chuxiu lowered her head and dared not speak.

Yun Ci was both angry and distressed. “Why go to such lengths?”

“I saw the ledgers sent from various places—they’re a mess, and the handwriting is hard to read. I thought I might practice my calligraphy while checking the accounts for errors,” she said, her voice growing softer.

Of course Yun Ci saw through her clumsy excuse—she simply wanted to ease his burdens. Realizing this, his heart ached even more. He took her delicate hands in his own and gently stroked them. “Silly girl, you mustn’t do this anymore.”

Chuxiu’s cheeks flushed scarlet, glowing in the candlelight like clouds at dawn. Yun Ci’s gesture was so intimate she could hardly bear it.

Since that night, they had kept to propriety, never again sharing such intimacy—at Yun Ci’s insistence, wanting to give Chuxiu a proper title before consummating their union.

But now, things had not gone as planned. Thinking of his mother’s attitude, Yun Ci sighed softly and suddenly changed his mind. Caressing her slender fingers, recalling her handwriting and her music, his heart softened and his affection grew.

“Chuxiu, give me a child.” In this way, surely his mother would have no reason to object.

A child… Chuxiu was stunned. In truth, she did not care about status; so long as she could stay by his side, it was enough. But a child…

Her nose tingled, and shy yet resolute, she bit her lip and acquiesced. Letting Yun Ci blow out the candle, the two undressed each other amid the seductive night, their bodies and hearts merging once more…