Chu Yu listened in a daze, feeling somewhat disoriented.
If Shen You was cultivated by Zhao Yue and sent to Northern Di, and if it was Zhao Yue who advised Northern Di to use the White Emperor Valley case to make the Yao and Wei families fight each other, thereby weakening Emperor Chun De and ultimately allowing him to ascend the throne, then it meant that Zhao Yue had been plotting this since Prince Qin’s death, or even earlier.
But why didn’t Zhao Yue appear in her previous life?
Chu Yu racked her brain, trying to find the key point she had missed.
She had never interacted with Zhao Yue, who lived in the Long Princess’s mansion. What had changed in this life?
Gu Chusheng went to the Long Princess’s mansion and had contact with Zhao Yue. He even learned later that Zhao Yue intended to take Hua Jing, and thus avoided disaster by coming to Fengling City.
It was Gu Chusheng.
Chu Yu suddenly realized.
In her previous life, she had never heard the news of Zhao Yue, only that the Long Princess had a beloved male favorite who died shortly after the Wei family’s downfall. Based on current deductions, the one who died back then must have been Zhao Yue.
Without Gu Chusheng’s help, Zhao Yue was discovered early by the Long Princess and killed prematurely. But in this life, Gu Chusheng arrived at the Long Princess’s mansion and naturally helped Zhao Yue.
Thus, Zhao Yue survived and seized Hua Jing to ascend the throne during the chaos.
As a result, the country was torn apart, and turmoil ensued.
How could such a person exist?
How could there be someone who would destroy a country and kill seventy thousand loyal soldiers just to fight for the throne?
Even Emperor Chun De might not have such a vicious heart.
Chu Yu slowly began to understand, and a cold sweat broke out on her skin. Remembering Zhao Yue’s smiling face in his light blue robe, she couldn’t help but feel chilled to the bone.
Wei Yun watched her zone out and asked worriedly, “Sister-in-law?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Chu Yu snapped back to reality and hurriedly lowered her head. “It’s nothing, I just spaced out.”
Chu Yu lowered her head and continued massaging his legs. Wei Yun watched her quietly, feeling a sense of peace as he spoke about those schemes and intrigues with her by his side.
He finally realized that he seemed to be slowly moving on from the deaths of his father and brothers, bit by bit.
He had thought he would remember and hate for a lifetime, forever living on September 7th, when he was in the valley, turning over corpses one by one to find his family members.
However, as he calmly spoke about these conspiracies and schemes, he no longer recalled the heart-wrenching pain of kneeling on the ground and crying that day. He thought that perhaps he had a chance to move on.
He quietly gazed at Chu Yu for a long time until Shen Wushuang came in, knocked on the door, and said, “Time’s up, let’s eat.”
Hearing this, Chu Yu carefully pulled down Wei Yun’s trousers, helped him sit in the wheelchair, and then pushed him to the dining hall.
In the dining hall, Shen Jiaojiao and the woman they had met earlier were setting the table. Shen Wushuang jumped in happily and said, “Sister-in-law, let me help you.”
“Just sit down,” the woman smiled and glared at him, putting chopsticks on the chopstick rests. She complained, “If you wanted to help, you should have come earlier. Now that the food is ready, you come to show off. What a fake kindness.”
“Sister-in-law, don’t say that,” Shen Wushuang sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and beckoned Chu Yu and Wei Yun to come over. He looked up at the woman and said, “Wasn’t I treating patients and earning money to support the family?”
“I saw you slacking off earlier,” Shen Jiaojiao chimed in.
Shen Wushuang immediately glared at her, “Little kids should speak less!”
Shen Jiaojiao rolled her eyes, and Shen Wushuang looked at the woman pleadingly, “I was just too tired, wasn’t I?”
The woman shook her head with a smile, full of helplessness, “Oh, you.”
As the three of them chatted and laughed, Chu Yu helped Wei Yun sit down. The woman nodded and bowed to Chu Yu and Wei Yun, saying, “This humble one is Bai Shang, greetings to both of you.”
“I am Wei Yun.”
“This humble one is Chu Yu.”
Chu Yu and Wei Yun spoke simultaneously, returning Bai Shang’s greeting. Seeing them being polite, Shen Wushuang pointed at the table and said, “Alright, no need for formalities, let’s eat.”
Chu Yu and Wei Yun didn’t stand in the ceremony. Wei Yun couldn’t kneel to sit, so he had to lean against the chair with his legs stretched out, naturally farther from the dining table. Chu Yu picked up food for Wei Yun, who didn’t feel embarrassed and ate openly. Occasionally, he would look up and see Chu Yu watching him, and they would smile at each other. Chu Yu would then ask, “What do you want to eat?”
Watching this, Shen Wushuang felt a bit uncomfortable for some reason. He leaned over and looked at Bai Shang, saying, “Sister-in-law, I want you to pick food for me too.”
Wei Yun and Chu Yu both froze for a moment. Bai Shang’s face immediately turned cold, and she angrily said, “How ill-mannered!”
Shen Wushuang shrugged and withdrew.
Wei Yun and Chu Yu watched, feeling that initial strange sensation grow stronger.
After finishing the meal, Shen Wushuang arranged rooms for the two of them. Since neither of them had explained their identities to Shen Wushuang, he only provided one room.
In the room, Chu Yu went into the inner chamber to make the bed. Wei Yun sat in his wheelchair, seeing her silhouette through the beaded curtain as she bent over to make the bed. He felt something welling up inside him.
He had always thought this was a special journey.
Here, he forgot his name was Wei Yun, and he didn’t remember this person was called Chu Yu. He had simply met a girl he liked and, following his heart, accompanied her on this journey.
But it wasn’t until this moment that he realized he could never truly get over this.
He gripped the armrests of his wheelchair and spoke hoarsely, “Sister-in-law, let me go ask for another room.”
“It’s fine,” Chu Yu laughed from inside, “I’ve made the bed for you. You sleep inside, and I’ll sleep on the small couch in the outer room. Your legs aren’t convenient, so if you need anything during the night, just call me.”
“But…”
“Don’t be so fussy.”
Chu Yu straightened up, picked Wei Yun up horizontally, and placed him on the bed, smiling, “In these special circumstances, it’s only right that I take care of you.”
Wei Yun didn’t speak. He stared at her blankly.
She was leaning over him, her hair falling, framing his face on both sides.
She blocked out the light, making her shadow fill his entire world. Chu Yu saw his gaze and couldn’t help but freeze.
Those words she had just said were spoken with some forced courage, but now, being looked at like this, she suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. She pretended to be calm, straightened up, and said with a smile, “Alright, you sleep now. I’m going out to sleep.”
As she spoke, she walked out, her steps somewhat unsteady.
Wei Yun lay on the bed, and after a moment, he finally said, “Sister-in-law.”
“Hm?”
Chu Yu responded from outside the curtain. Wei Yun swallowed and said with difficulty, “You should sleep on the bed. I’ll be fine on the couch.”
Chu Chu Yuckled lightly, “You’re taller than me, you’ll be cramped there. Besides, how can we let a patient sleep on the couch?”
Wei Yun knew that once Chu Yu made a decision, she rarely changed it. He lay on the bed and didn’t speak again.
He listened to the breathing sounds from outside.
Strangely, when they were in the wilderness, she was closer to him, yet he hadn’t thought anything of it.
But now, lying properly on the bed, covered with a blanket, watching the hanging ornaments on the bed sway gently in the night, his mind was full of images of Chu Yu’s back as she made the bed.
For a moment, perhaps due to the dim light, he thought that Chu Yu was wearing a red wedding dress.
She was wearing a wedding dress, making the bed for him.
Wei Yun clenched his fist, and after a while, he slapped himself hard.
The pain brought him back to his senses. He curled up, suppressing all his desires.
He felt disgusted with himself, terribly disgusted.
After enduring through the night until dawn, when Chu Yu woke up and rolled up the curtain to check on Wei Yun, she found his face swollen on one side.
She was stunned for a moment, then anxiously asked, “What happened to you?!”
Wei Yun hung his head, sitting on the edge of the bed, not saying a word.
Chu Yu came forward and raised her hand to touch Wei Yun’s face, but he turned his head away, calmly saying, “There was a mosquito. I hit it myself.”
“There was a mosquito, so you hit your face until it swelled?!”
Chu Yu was incredulous. Wei Yun didn’t speak. Seeing his awkward appearance, Chu Yu couldn’t help but laugh.
Of course, hitting a mosquito and swelling one’s face was indeed an embarrassing thing.
Chu Yu didn’t touch on his sore spot. She brought water for him to wash up and then took him for a medicinal bath.
With the experience from the first time, Chu Yu was much more composed. While massaging Wei Yun, she said, “In a couple of days, I’ll go gather information about Wei Qiu, Wei Xia, and the battlefield. For now, let’s not think about anything and just rest well.”
“Mm.”
“Is there anything you want to do?”
Wei Yun didn’t speak.
Chu Yu looked up at him, “Since I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you rest. It’s just a few days, isn’t there anything you want to do?”
“I want… to go out for a walk.”
Wei Yun’s voice was muffled, seeming a bit embarrassed.
Chu Yu nodded, “Alright, I’ll ask Shen Wushuang. If he says it’s okay, I’ll take you out.”
Wei Yun responded, and Chu Yu stood up, ruffling his hair. Wei Yun frowned and said seriously, “Don’t ruffle my hair.”
Chu Yu raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled. Wei Yun struggled for a while before saying, “When you do that, it makes me feel small.”
Chu Yu was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
She nodded repeatedly.
“Mm-hmm, you’re not small, you’re not small.”
Hearing this, Wei Yun felt even more frustrated. But he felt that if he said more, he would only appear more childish, so he just remained silent and didn’t speak again.
Chu Yu carried the water basin out and found Shen Wushuang, asking, “Doctor Shen, when do you think Little Seven’s condition will improve enough for me to take him out to play?”
“That’s fine,” Shen Wushuang said while looking for medicine. “In a couple of days, there’s the Lantern Festival in Sha City. My sister-in-law and I are going, and we can take you along. But remember,” Shen Wushuang turned around and looked at Chu Yu, “you have to carry him.”
Chu Yu responded, “Alright, don’t worry about that.”
“There’s one more thing,” Shen Wushuang called out to Chu Yu as she was leaving. Chu Yu turned back, and Shen Wushuang hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, “If Wei Yun’s legs aren’t better after seven days, I might need to use some strong medicine.”
Chu Yu’s heart sank. Shen Wushuang struggled for a moment, but still said, “It might be a bit painful.”
Chu Yu didn’t speak. After a while, she let out a deep breath.
“It’s alright,” she said. “I’m here.”
Shen Wushuang made a hissing sound and covered half of his face, complaining, “Enough, you two. My teeth are aching from the sweetness.”
Chu Yu waved her hand, not saying more. She turned and went to find Wei Yun. After telling him about the outing, she combed his hair and asked, “Is there anything you want to prepare?”
Wei Yun shook his head, “Nothing to prepare.”
But after thinking for a moment, he added, “Sister-in-law should dress up nicely.”
Chu Yu was using a jade hairpin to style his hair. She said disapprovingly, “What, you think I’m ugly?”
Wei Yun hurriedly spoke up, “Not at all. My sister-in-law is breathtakingly beautiful and unparalleled in the world. Dressing up nicely would just be icing on the cake.”
Chu Yu knew that Wei Yun had always been witty by nature, but he had been suppressing it for too long.
She smiled and patted Wei Yun’s face, standing up and saying, “Alright, I’ll stun you with my beauty then.”
Wei Yun didn’t speak. He lowered his eyes, stroking the patterns on his sleeve.
Thinking about this being their first outing together, he didn’t know why, but his heart started beating a little faster.
Mini-scene
Shen Wushuang: I refuse to eat dog food. Sister-in-law, I only want to produce my dog food.
Bai Shang: Get lost.
Wei Yun (beckoning with his finger): Lord Shen, come here for a moment. I have something good to show you.
Shen Wushuang: What is it?
Wei Yun (pushing his head into a basin): Eat, eat, eat! Fresh dog food, eat up quickly!!!
Shen Wushuang: Bursts into tears.