Jiang Rongyin gave the tightened bandage a fierce yank. Jiang Yun grunted and grabbed her hand: "So you've got strength now?"
"If I don't bandage it properly, Your Highness's wound won't heal well either."
Jiang Rongyin flashed Jiang Yun a smile—a smile that looked utterly harmless.
The little fox could barely conceal the cunning in her eyes, yet she was still making excuses.
Jiang Yun held her hand and pulled her toward him: "If you don't want to bandage me, I wouldn't mind doing something else."
That intimidating presence pressed in again, and Jiang Yun's kiss seemed about to land the very next moment.
Jiang Rongyin quickly lowered her head: "I'll rebandage Your Highness."
With Jiang Yun's threat hanging over her, Jiang Rongyin didn't dare try any more tricks and obediently bandaged him.
"Tomorrow Qin Shiyan and Chu Qingyin will enter the palace to give thanks."
Jiang Yun pulled on his outer robe, his taut muscles carrying a certain pressure.
He reached out and drew Jiang Rongyin into his arms, letting her lean against his chest.
"What does Your Highness want to say?"
Jiang Rongyin turned her gaze away, not looking at him. Jiang Yun was a man full of suspicion.
He had brought up the matter of Qin Shiyan time and again just to watch Jiang Rongyin's reaction.
To see whether Jiang Rongyin truly meant what she said—that she no longer thought of Qin Shiyan and was content to be Jiang Yun's woman.
Or whether she was still harboring stubborn designs, scheming for the next opportunity to break free of Jiang Yun.
"Why won't you look at me? Feeling guilty?"
Jiang Yun's hand came to Jiang Rongyin's chin, forcing her to lift her head and meet his eyes.
Their gazes met in midair. Jiang Rongyin blinked: "Does Your Highness want me to go meet Qin Shiyan's new bride tomorrow?"
"I've heard the young lady of the Chu family is a stunning beauty. Rongyin would like to see her too."
Jiang Rongyin took the initiative to grasp Jiang Yun's wrist, while her other hand reached upward and came to rest on his wound: "Your Highness, how did you come back from Jiangnan with such a severe injury?"
The wound was right over Jiang Yun's heart—just one inch short of taking his life.
Jiang Rongyin felt a touch of regret. The one who wielded the blade—how did his hand go astray?
Hearing Jiang Rongyin's initiative in words and feeling her initiative in movement, Jiang Yun let out a soft laugh and caught her hand in midair.
"Only now do you think to care about me? Isn't it a bit late for that?"
His gaze burned hot, looking at Jiang Rongyin as though he wanted to see straight through her.
In the year since Jiang Yun returned to the palace, the words he had heard most were how well-matched Jiang Rongyin and Qin Shiyan were.
A childhood sweetheart bond, pure and sincere.
That was why Qin Shiyan had defied Jiang Yun many times for Jiang Rongyin's sake.
Originally, Jiang Yun hadn't intended to do this. After all, although Chu Qingyin came from a prominent family and was a stunning beauty, she was a genuine invalid.
It might well turn out that instead of forming a marriage alliance, they formed a feud.
But the Chu family doted on this youngest daughter. Since Chu Qingyin's birth, they had fed her precious medicinal herbs every day, and only thus had her life been sustained to the present.
Although the great noble families coveted the Chu family's status, none dared propose marriage to the Chu family.
If she were to die in their home, the Chu family would certainly not let them off lightly.
So Jiang Yun made Qin Shiyan marry her.
Because Chu Qingyin liked him.
Because Qin Shiyan was still thinking of Jiang Rongyin.
Jiang Rongyin pulled her hand free, broke out of his embrace, and got off the bed: "I'm tired. I'm going to rest. Your Highness, do as you please."
She couldn't be bothered to waste more words on Jiang Yun.
It was simply like playing the lute to a cow. No matter what was said, Jiang Yun's suspicions would not be dispelled.
Jiang Yun watched Jiang Rongyin push open the palace doors and walk out, that retreating figure looking, no matter how he looked at it, somewhat like she was fleeing in panic.
He shifted his posture, leaning back, his gaze dark and heavy, not saying a word.
Jiang Rongyin slept all the way until evening. She heard from Baoyin that Jiang Yun had stayed for a while before leaving.
He left in quite a hurry—probably urgent matters of court.
She asked Baoyin for a bowl of food, and also had her bring the Bizi Tang.
Baoyin watched as Jiang Rongyin drank down that bowl of Bizi Tang without even blinking, and said with heartache, "Princess, the doctor said this Bizi Tang can't be drunk so frequently—it harms the body."
Jiang Rongyin naturally didn't dare let the palace imperial physicians prescribe her this kind of medicine.
It wasn't as if she was rushing to her own death, wanting others to know about her illicit affair with Jiang Yun.
Even the monthly Ping'an Mai—Jiang Rongyin had coaxed Jiang Yun into exempting her from it.
This Bizi Tang—Jiang Rongyin had previously had Baoyin find her little palace maid friends and get it prescribed when they went out of the palace to make purchases.
The medicine prescribed by ordinary doctors was not as gentle and nourishing as that of the imperial physicians; drinking too much could cause lifelong infertility.
Jiang Rongyin wished for nothing more than to never conceive. If she had Jiang Yun's child, she would never escape him for the rest of her life.
She sighed and said, "The medicine is almost gone. In a few days, have Liu'er buy some more and bring it in."
Jiang Yun had been demanding her frequently these past few days, and it just so happened that her monthly cycle had only just ended. Jiang Rongyin was truly afraid she might conceive.
Baoyin nodded, poured out the medicine dregs, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and would bury them outside later.
The next day, Jiang Rongyin had just woken up when Baoyin came in and said that Aunt Xue'er from Kunning Gong had arrived.
She said that Young Master Qin and Miss Chu were entering the palace to express their gratitude, and the Emperor was hosting a banquet at Qinghui Dian. Empress Wei wanted Jiang Rongyin to come.
Who didn't know about the matter between Jiang Rongyin and Qin Shiyan? And yet Empress Wei still wanted Jiang Rongyin to go.
Wasn't this blatantly twisting a knife in Jiang Rongyin's heart?
Baoyin was somewhat angry and muttered a few words under her breath. Jiang Rongyin smiled and told her to come do her hair and makeup.
"What's past is past. When we get to Qinghui Dian later, you mustn't pull a long face."
"Besides, this is—this is a happy occasion."
The smile on Jiang Rongyin's face gradually faded. She looked at herself in the bronze mirror and blinked gently.
She should be sad—yet for some reason, Jiang Rongyin felt a sense of relief.
Now that Qin Shiyan was taking a wife, the two of them would have no further dealings in the future.
That was fine too. As long as he was well, Jiang Rongyin could be at ease.
After Baoyin finished washing and dressing Jiang Rongyin, the two of them headed toward Qinghui Dian.
Qinghui Dian was at the easternmost part of the palace, near the Imperial Garden. When the flowers bloomed, their fragrance carried for miles, and one could also enjoy the scenery of the Lu Pool in the Imperial Garden.
For ordinary family banquets, the Emperor always set them up at Qinghui Dian.
When Jiang Rongyin arrived, the people from the Qin and Chu families were already inside.
Not far away sat a woman dressed in light purple, her face somewhat pale, yet the joy at the tips of her brows was hard to conceal.
Chu Qingyin had studied at Xuezhiguan as a child; Jiang Rongyin had seen her twice.
"Ninth Princess."
When Chu Qingyin turned her head and saw Jiang Rongyin standing at the entrance, she rose and walked toward her.
"After so many years apart, the Ninth Princess has truly grown even more beautiful."
Her tone was familiar, and she even reached out to take Jiang Rongyin's hand, speaking of that tiny bit of fellow-student camaraderie.
Chu Qingyin smiled gently, but her gaze had already sized Jiang Rongyin up and down from head to toe.
To have made Qin Shiyan unable to forget her for so long—Chu Qingyin was of course displeased in her heart.
"Miss Chu."
Jiang Rongyin withdrew her hand from Chu Qingyin's grasp and put some distance between them.
She had always felt that Chu Qingyin's smile was excessively fake.
Everyone in the noble families knew about her and Qin Shiyan, yet Chu Qingyin seemed utterly unconcerned.
Chu Qingyin retracted her hand and gave a soft laugh. "Earlier at Xuezhiguan, I was focused solely on my studies and never visited Yuhuayuan. If the Ninth Princess doesn't mind, would you be willing to show Qingyin around?"