Yun Si froze mid-step.
Her entire body stiffened, not daring to move an inch.
How… how could this be?
The strange sensation beneath her gauze skirt was impossible to ignore.
After a moment of panic, Yun Si immediately realized what was happening—this was exactly how she had felt in her dream…
The physical reaction from her dream had actually carried over into the waking world.
Yun Si felt like crying from fright, but she had to hold back her tears!
She was not in her own boudoir but at the Prince of Run’s estate, surrounded by lively chatter. Fu Xue and Luo Xuanji were right beside her, and the noble ladies gathered nearby to play were just within reach…
Even across the shallow winding stream, the young gentlemen were right opposite.
The laughter and cheers of the young men came clearly across the water as they competed in archery.
The noble ladies and the young gentlemen were separated by the stream, making it difficult to see each other’s faces clearly. Yet, looking across the flowing water from a distance, one could still make out their clothing and figures.
She had actually dozed off in the pavilion, listening to the laughter and merriment of the young men not far away, and had such a dream…
This was ten thousand times more shameful than dreaming in her own boudoir!
Moreover, today, beneath her gauze skirt, she hid a secret known to no one…
For the first time, Yun Si hated her keen senses. She heard the clear, bright voices of the young men from across the stream.
“Changze, you’re pushing so hard today. Could it be that you want to win first place so you can give the prize to your fiancée?”
The speaker was likely her cousin’s friend, his tone full of teasing.
Faced with his friend’s teasing, Xie Changze did not evade or avoid it but openly admitted: “Yes, if I win first place today, I will give the prize to my cousin.”
Yun Si followed the direction of the voice and spotted her cousin among the group of young men.
Coincidentally, her cousin was also looking in her direction!
With a snap, the last thread of composure in Yun Si’s mind broke.
Her cousin knew she was in this pavilion!
He must not have been looking at her for the first time!
Had his gaze fallen upon her like this while she was intimately entangled with another man in her dream?
Yun Si let out a choked sob. Guilt and shame weighed heavily on her slender back, and she bent over in agony.
“Ah Si, what’s wrong?”
“Are you having stomach pains?”
Fu Xue and Luo Xuanji both noticed Yun Si’s pained expression and quickly asked.
“I… I’m fine…” Under the skeptical gazes of her two close friends, Yun Si went along with their assumption. “I had a sudden stomachache just now, maybe from a cramp. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Fu Xue looked at Yun Si with concern. “Are you really all right? Did you catch a chill in the pavilion earlier?”
Yun Si pretended nothing was wrong and said, “I’m really fine. Let’s go over. It’s rare for us to attend a banquet like this, and you’ve both been stuck in the pavilion with me instead of enjoying yourselves.”
Luo Xuanji spoke cheerfully: “Just being able to see the two of you makes me happy!”
As soon as Yun Si stepped out of the pavilion, she heard a burst of cheers from the young men across the stream.
Yun Si turned and saw her cousin win first place, surrounded by a crowd of young men.
Her cousin was truly wonderful, but she…
Yun Si pretended to be carefree as she mingled and played with the other noble ladies, yet the faint, lingering sensation beneath her gauze skirt continued to remind her…
Yun Si anxiously watched the sky, and as soon as some guests began to take their leave, she immediately told Fu Xue and Luo Xuanji that she had to go as well.
Luo Xuanji looked surprised. “So early? It’s been so long since we last met!”
Fu Xue, more perceptive than Luo Xuanji, asked, “Ah Si, is something on your mind? You seem distracted today.”
Yun Si felt deeply guilty toward her two close friends. Because of her, Fu Xue and Luo Xuanji hadn’t been able to fully enjoy themselves today.
“I think I really caught a chill earlier. My head feels heavy and I’m not feeling well.”
“I’ll invite both of you to my home in a few days.”
Luo Xuanji spoke bluntly, “Isn’t your grandmother returning soon from her Buddhist retreat?”
“If we can visit before your grandmother comes back, we’d be happy to come. But if it’s after she returns… forget it! I don’t want to go pay respects to your grandmother!”
Fu Xue gently nudged Luo Xuanji, thinking she was too straightforward.
Yun Si wasn’t upset at all. Her grandmother was someone even she dreaded seeing, let alone her friends. “Alright, I understand.”
Yun Si bid farewell to the host and was just about to leave Runwang Manor when she saw Xie Changze rushing over.
“Cousin, are you heading home?” The young man’s gaze, filled with affection, was fixed intently on Yun Si’s face.
He took out a pair of yellow jade belt buckles he had won as the top prize in today’s archery contest and gave the slightly smaller one to Yun Si.
Yun Si accepted it, her face flushed crimson.
She knew her cousin was gentle and refined by nature, never one to show off. Today, he had taken first place for her sake—whether to display his prowess in front of her or to give her the prize he had won.
A breeze swept by, causing Yun Si’s gauze skirt to flutter. Her inner garment clung tightly to her skin, a sensation that felt incredibly strange.
The jade buckle in her hand felt as scorching as her cousin’s gaze.
Yun Si felt as though she were about to be burned.
“Thank you for the gift, cousin. I… I should go now.” Yun Si hid all her secrets beneath her gauze skirt, offering her fiancé a reserved smile.
She wanted to flee from her fiancé as if taking flight, escape back to her boudoir, remove the clinging inner garment, and scrub herself clean inside and out in the bathtub…
But she couldn’t let her cousin notice anything amiss!
Yet Xie Changze was reluctant to let her leave. It was rare for them to meet, and he always wanted to look at her a little longer, to exchange a few more words with her…
“Did you get a headache from drinking today?” Xie Changze asked with concern.
Any other topic would have been fine, but he had to bring up the drinking!
All the shame Yun Si had endured today stemmed from those few cups of lotus wine!
In an instant, Yun Si’s face flushed all the way to her ears. “N-no, it’s fine. I wasn’t too drunk.”
Yun Si could bear it no longer. She fled in disarray from Xie Changze and hurried back to her carriage.
Xie Changze, captivated by Yun Si’s blushing, spring-like appearance, stared in a daze.
He stood there, gazing blankly at Yun Si’s carriage until it turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Only after a while did he finally snap out of it.
My cousin is so easily flustered, Xie Changze thought. He had merely mentioned her drinking, and she had fled in embarrassment.
Xie Changze resolved that after they married, he would be gentle with her—gentler still.