“Various matters have delayed things these past few days, and there have been some oversights regarding your situation…” Shen Xihe hadn’t told Bu Shulin about Xiao Changmin’s suspicions about her identity. Xiao Changmin and Noble Consort Su had reached an agreement to test Bu Shulin on the day of his wedding to Yu Sangning.
Noble Consort Su hadn’t specified the method of testing – that would be Xiao Changmin’s decision to reveal on the day. Shen Xihe felt his caution was understandable.
“Will this matter alarm His Majesty?” Bu Shulin’s expression immediately grew serious.
“Yes.” Shen Xihe nodded. “The Prince of Zhao is stubborn. He will certainly seek someone to test you, and even if you avoid it, His Majesty will inevitably become involved. You’re of marriageable age now, and His Majesty will likely use this to force an arranged marriage. Lady Xiao is willing to marry you. The Princess Imperial is aligned with the Crown Prince, and Lady Xiao says she owes you a life debt, plus she wants to escape her current predicament…”
Xiao Wenxi didn’t want to marry just anyone but given her prime marriageable age, if she continued refusing marriage, whether or not His Majesty would intervene was beside the point – even rumors could affect her mother and brother, so she planned to marry Bu Shulin.
After hearing this, Bu Shulin fell silent with a slightly solemn expression.
Shen Xihe was feeling lazy today and didn’t want to move much, so she rarely bothered to guess Bu Shulin’s thoughts. She looked at the person beside her: “This is the body double I found for you. Though your voices are quite different, take them back, keep them by your side, and use them carefully.”
The person had to be given to Bu Shulin – only Bu Shulin could train them to match her temperament.
Bu Shulin looked at the body double, then at the weary Shen Xihe, and bowed deeply: “Youyou, I am in your debt.”
She was deeply moved – even her father’s care couldn’t compare to Shen Xihe’s kindness to her.
She didn’t stay long in the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince had already gone to the Policy Discussion Hall, and it wasn’t appropriate for her, as an outside male, to see the Crown Prince Consort for too long. Mo Yuan escorted her out, and with the token of Shen Xihe’s palace authority, their passage was unimpeded.
Bu Shulin took the body double back, shocking Jin Shan and Yin Shan for quite a while. The three master and servants observed the newcomer at length before discussing how to train them, finally agreeing on a two-pronged approach – not only verbal instruction but also keeping the person close to learning through observation.
But apart from Jin Shan and Yin Shan, no one else could know about this body double. Finally, they decided to keep the person directly in Bu Shulin’s quarters – guarding the bedchamber during the day and outside it at night, never leaving Bu Shulin’s rooms.
One day, Bu Shulin received a secret message from her father asking her to meet someone secretly. She decided to let the body double stay in her room as her substitute while she quietly left for the meeting place.
The body double had been practicing copying Bu Shulin’s handwriting these past few days, striving to produce similar characters as soon as possible.
While practicing, they pulled a sheet of paper from below, accidentally knocking over the inkstone. Ink spilled everywhere – on their face, neck, and hands. It was difficult to clean up, so they simply asked Yin Shan to prepare bath water.
It happened to be the same day that Cui Jinbai, who had tried several times to see Bu Shulin without success, had reached his limit of patience. With the help of Sui Axi’s acupuncture, he recovered faster than Xie Yunhuai had expected. As soon as he had strength in his arms, he rushed to the Bu residence.
Cui Jinbai could come and go freely at the Bu residence, to the point where even the steward wouldn’t stop him. Bu Shulin’s secret departure was known only to her confidants Jin Shan and Yin Shan. Jin Shan had gone with her, while Yin Shan remained at the residence as cover.
Yin Shan hadn’t expected Cui Jinbai to come to the Bu residence at this time. After requesting water from the kitchen for the body double, he saw the kitchen preparing a special dish – tender stewed beef. Since draft oxen couldn’t be slaughtered at will, beef was extremely rare. His appetite aroused, and he stayed in the kitchen to feast.
The body double was bathing in Bu Shulin’s room. Being trained in martial arts, they naturally sensed someone approaching but assumed it was Yin Shan returning from his meal. So when Yin Shan pushed open the door, they paid no attention.
Until the person walked around the screen, and they turned to see Cui Jinbai standing before them, pale and rigid!
They quickly pulled on their clothes, but because their voice differed from Bu Shulin’s, they couldn’t speak. They could only stand stiffly across the bath from Cui Jinbai.
Cui Jinbai was completely stunned. He stared fixedly at the person before him, his fantasies shattering in an instant.
He… he was male!
But that night he had been intimate with a woman, the bloodstain on the bedding proved it. If not him, then who had he been with that night?
So did that mean he knew about his encounter with someone else… and that’s why he had been avoiding him?
Cui Jinbai’s mind was in chaos, and all his assumptions were completely overturned. What he had believed to be joy became a massive irony.
Having only recently recovered some strength, Cui Jinbai couldn’t suppress his surging blood and qi. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, spattering the fine silk screen with red plum blossoms, and fainted from the shock.
The body double-handedly helped the unconscious Cui Jinbai to the couch. Anxious and at a loss, they could only maintain a stern expression as they went to the kitchen to grab Yin Shan, who was still fighting over beef. They gave Yin Shan a deep stare before turning to leave, and Yin Shan immediately stood up to follow.
Returning to the room, they found the unconscious Cui Jinbai. Yin Shan’s legs went weak: “I’ll call for a physician and inform the Young Master. You stay calm, just sit there acting like the Young Master usually does…”
The physician diagnosed Cui Jinbai with qi damage from extreme anger, his six organs burning, aggravating his unhealed injuries. The attack was fierce – without timely acupuncture to regulate his qi, he could be permanently paralyzed.
“We can’t enter the palace, and Physician Sui must be in the palace now,” Yin Shan anxiously pulled at his hair.
“I’ll go,” Bu Shulin’s body double said tersely, taking Bu Shulin’s waist token and heading straight for the palace.
Fortunately, with Shen Xihe now controlling palace authority and Bu Shulin holding the rank of Imperial Guard, they managed to reach the Eastern Palace by acting urgently and avoiding small talk with acquaintances. When Shen Xihe heard the situation, she was too shocked to speak and quickly sent Sui Axi to accompany them out of the palace. With Sui Axi handling the return journey, there were no mishaps.
After Sui Axi finished administering acupuncture to Cui Jinbai, Bu Shulin rushed back in great alarm, but Cui Jinbai remained unconscious.
Her heart tightened: “How is he?”
“There are no other major issues, except…” Sui Axi chose his words carefully. “Young Lord Cui has been too severely shocked and may show signs of avoidance. He likely won’t wake easily for some time.”
Cui Jinbai had been too severely shocked. Already seriously injured with his six organs burning, all the vitality he had recovered these days was completely lost. When Sui Axi tried to stimulate his awakening with needles, he showed signs of defensive resistance.