Han Yunxi had just returned to her quarters when she saw Baili Yuanlong and a crowd enter the meeting tent. She knew that Long Feiye wouldn’t be back until late tonight and immediately instructed Zhao mama to prepare him soup.
She didn’t know about Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao’s present circumstances and could only sigh to herself. If Gu Beiyue wasn’t so busy helping Little Qi find an antidote, he could be a big help to Long Feiye right now.
As everyone busied about, three months went by. Within that time, Medical City only sent good news to Han Yunxi. Even the bad news wasn’t too terrible, only reports of various prescriptions failing. Gu Beiyue had thought up the idea of mixing good news and bad to avoid raising Han Yunxi’s suspicions.
In truth, Gu Beiyue didn’t find any poisonous medicines made from plague patients. Gu Qishao had given up his scarlet robes and hid his body in loose black ones, leaving only his eyes showing. It was just like the outfit he used to wear when disguising himself as Pill Fiend.
He could pass entire days just sitting on the roof and even joke with Gu Beiyue about where to plant him if he really turned into a tre.
Gu Beiyue would only reply with a smile, “Little Qi, I can cure you. Believe me.”
“Of course I believe you!” Gu Qishao nodded every time.
Mu Linger remained waiting at the Tang Clan. She knew everything about Ning Jing and Tang Li as well as their whereabouts. She dearly wanted to leave the Tang Clan, but kept writing letters to tell Ning Jing not to fret about little Tang Tang and go traveling with Tang Li. They could always come back a few months later.
At night, Mu Linger would climb to the roof and lie down to see the stars, copying her Qi gege. She was constantly missing him even though she knew they had no future after he rejected her.
This was simply a form of missing someone you hadn’t seen in a while.
Occasionally, she’d think of Jin Zi, but that was less “missing” and more “remembering” that there was a person like him who loved her.
—
Ning Jing’s fake teeth had already been molded, so she was waiting as well. Every night she’d stay by Tang Li’s side, hoping he could come to his senses and make her sweet red bean soup.
Han Yunxi was also waiting. Her little fellow was eight months along and Fourth Young Miss Ren was already on her way to join them. Everyone said a pregnancy took ten months, but the reality was closer to nine. Recently, Han Yunxi had been overtaken by frequent bouts of drowsiness. She couldn’t even help Long Feiye take care of his letters anymore. Sometimes she wanted to stay up until he came back to bed, but she’d always end up dozing until the late morning and even miss him leaving to work.
Long Feiye was also waiting. Many good news came from the western front in the past three months. Two huge battalions from Western Zhou had chosen to surrender, so he seized the chase to make Chu Tianyin as the Great General of the West and gave him a large contingent of soldiers. It not only won over Chu Tianyin’s heart, but also showed off his frame of mind to the various civic officials in Western Zhou. They too, all chose to surrender.
In three months, Long Feiye had taken over half of Western Zhou with minimal losses. Today, Chu Tianyin and the western army’s two camps were attacking the Western Zhou capital from the southeast. The ending was preordained, so it’d take less than 10 days before they finished them off. Although matters of war and politics were tiring, Long Feiye was at ease with his stratagems. He could declare himself emperor and establish his kingdom at any time.
Many people were already urging him to hold a ceremony to ascend the throne, but he was still waiting–for the birth of his child, for Gu Beiyue’s news. He wanted to spend plenty of time with Han Yunxi in the month before she gave birth. He also hoped that the winter would pass with Gu Beiyue’s good news so he could ascend the throne with no regrets.
Today, Long Feiye was basking in the sun with Han Yunxi in front of the house when Chu Xifeng personally led in Fourth Young Miss Ren. While Long Feiye remained languidly in his seat, Han Yunxi wanted to rise and greet the girl.
Fourth Young Miss Ren immediately dashed over. “Princess, please don’t, please don’t!”
“Didn’t you say I need to exercise during the later stages? Moving around more will make the birth easy,” Han Yunxi teased.
Like all women, Fourth Young Miss Ren only felt a little fearful when speaking in front of Long Feiye. She didn’t even look at him, but said seriously, “If His Highness has time, he can accompany princess on walks more often. There’s no need to confine yourself to your courtyard.”
“Mm,” Long Feiye acknowledged.
Zhao mama was secretly spying on His Highness from the sidelines. She knew that he would take the princess out from walks from today on. Meanwhile, Han Yunxi ordered a servant girl to bring over a seat while Long Feiye wanted Fourth Young Miss Ren to take Han Yunxi’s pulse for an immediate examination.
Although maternity inspections were a norm, there was no need for Han Yunxi to have her pulse taken by every single doctor she met. Her two nurses were enough for the task and had already done it earlier. Fourth Young Miss Ren felt the same way, especially since the nurses had updated her on the princess’s condition. But she respectfully acquiesced with a “Yes.”
Han Yunxi remained docile as well, but after Fourth Young Miss Ren declared that everything was normal, the princess chased off Long Feiye with a few words. With him gone, Fourth Young Miss Ren felt much more relaxed and even changed her sitting posture.
“Princess, aren’t you afraid of His Highness?” Fourth Young Miss Ren asked.
“What should I be afraid of?” Han Yunxi asked back, but quickly added, “Actually, I used to fear him a lot.”
As she disliked discussing Long Feiye with other women, even her closest friends or sisters, she quickly changed the subject. “How are Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao doing?”
Naturally, she knew Fourth Young Miss Ren was in the dark about both men. This was only a casual question at best. But Fourth Young Miss Ren’s face immediately darkened. “I haven’t see Academy Head Beiyue for months now. He left all matters for Medical City in Vice Academy Head Shen’s hands. He seems to be in closed door cultivation.”
Han Yunxi knew what was up, but she clearly saw Fourth Young Miss Ren’s disappointment and asked, “And Lil Thing? Has it stopped harassing you?”
Fourth Young Miss Ren quickly shook her head. Privately, she wished that was th case so she’d get a chance to see Academy Head Beiyue.
“Princess, why did you leave Lil Thing with Academy Head Beiyue?” she asked curiously.
“Lil Thing likes Beiyue,” Han Yunxi said after some thought. The two conversed while Han Yunxi noted Fourth Young Miss Ren’s melancholy state. Still, she didn’t push and had no interest in probing deeper. She disliked talking about her man with other women just as she avoided chatting with women about other men and their feelings. When they got to discussing about Medical City’s medical treatment systems, Fourth Young Miss Ren lowered her voice and told her a secret: Gu Beiyue had sent someone to the Qin Clan with a marriage proposal!
“She’ll be stuck in that wheelchair for the rest of her life?” Han Yunxi was surprised.
“I sent someone to investigate. This marriage proposal is genuine. Academy Head Beiyue sent his messenger after you guys left Clearbreeze Peak. Although it was in secret, the news still leaked out,” Fourth Young Miss Ren’s face was full of sorrow.
“How is this possible? Beiyue was so busy then!” Han Yunxi refused to believe it.
Marriage was a monumental event. Leaving aside the fact that Gu Beiyue had chosen such a woman to be his wife, his personality wasn’t one to act impulsively. He was never reckless, much less one to wrong a woman by proposing to her in secret.
“That Eldest Miss Qin is of marriageable age but couldn’t find a husband because of her health. I heard the Qin Clan had long sent out offers to prospective suitors that they’d give up a huge dowry and an exclusive medical canon from their family if she was wed. But nobody accepted them.” As Fourth Young Miss Ren spoke, she sighed with emotion. “She’s rather pitiful. I heard that before Academy Head Beiyue sent in his proposal, the Qin Clan was planning to marry her off to a fifth-rank Divine Doctor over 60 years old just so her little sister could have a smooth marriage life.[1] Because of that, Eldest Miss Qin even attempted suicide.”
Han Yunxi was now even more taken aback. “Could it be that Gu Beiyue heard about this and went to propose?”
“Possibly,” Fourth Young Miss Ren said helplessly.
A complex look flitted past Han Yunxi’s eyes, but she kept quiet. She was puzzled over how Gu Beiyue had found out about Eldest Miss Qin’s matters. There were plenty of other ways he could have solved her problem.
The old and established families of Medical City might look down on the Qin Clan’s dowry and medical canon, but they would definitely pay attention if Gu Beiyue placed weight on her. As long as he made it known, many well-to-do young masters of old families would come asking for her hand in marriage. Why did he offer himself to her instead?[2]
Could it be that Gu Beiyue and Eldest Miss Qin share something that isn’t known by outsiders?
“Princess, why do you think Academy Head Beiyue is doing this?” Fourth Young Miss Ren finally gave voice to the true question of her heart. She desperately wished there was a reason for all this.
But Han Yunxi didn’t dare draw conclusions. She wasn’t clear on Gu Beiyue’s matters in Medical City. At the start, he’d called out Fourth Young Miss Ren during the medical skills competition, surprising her and Gu Qishao. Unless Gu Beiyue brought it up, they would never know he was friends with the girl.
“Beiyue must have his reasons for doing what he does. The woman he picks naturally has aspects that suit him too,” Han Yunxi said lightly.
She knew this was a cruel sentence for Fourth Young Miss Ren, but it was also a reminder. Since there was no hope of future prospects, it was better for her to forget about Gu Beiyue.
The intelligent Fourth Young Miss Ren understood with a word. Still, she couldn’t hold back the tears brimming in her eyes as she bid a hasty goodbye. Han Yunxi leaned back in her chair to caress her stomach. She wanted to write Gu Beiyue a letter to ask about the details, but gave up. Since he had proposed marriage in secret, he must have wanted to keep it from them. If she asked him as soon as Fourth Young Miss Ren had arrived, Gu Beiyue would know who spilled the beans.
Sighing with motion, Han Yunxi mused that men like Long Feiye were a mystery to all except those who shared his pillow. Gu Beiyue was a similar enigma, so she could never hope to know him. I wonder how much that Eldest Miss Qin will learn in the future?
—
Fourth Young Miss Ren was quite strong. By the next day, she had recovered her spirits to wait on Han Yunxi, allowing her to relax against the threat of premature labor.
Just like that, the days passed by until it was the end of the year. It became more and more difficult for Han Yunxi to move about, so Long Feiye spent time with her daily at home.
On the 30th day of the last lunar month, Gu Beiyue suddenly appeared on the doorstep of Rear Camp. Han Yunxi was delighted, but Long Feiye’s heart nearly stopped at the sight of him…
1. Traditionally, the eldest daughter in a family must be wedded off first before her younger siblings can be put on the marriage market.
2. I wonder if HYX has temporarily forgotten her modern woman values here. Can a husband who marries a crippled wife just because Big Boss Beiyue places importance on her really learn to love her? Who’s to say he won’t treat her well on the surface and neglect her at home? Tsk tsk, you never know…
