“How could such a thing be done?” Zhao Si assumed Yun Qing was merely joking.
“Why ever not? Could it be the young master wishes for Yun Qing to disfigure her own face right now? Very well. Since Yun Qing is resolved to marry the young master, she must also provide the young master with some undeniable proof, so that you may witness Yun Qing’s sincerity!”
As she spoke, Yun Qing first looked at Zhao Si, her eyes holding a deep affection that Zhao Si could not comprehend, and then, lowering her eyelashes, she inverted the short blade in her palm with lightning speed in the blink of an eye, stabbing it toward her own face.
“Milady!” Zhao Si reached out to grab the blade’s edge, thinking to herself that this woman was truly ruthless.
“Swish”
Blood dripped down between Zhao Si’s fingers, and a red scratch appeared on Yun Qing’s cheek, which had originally been as delicate as white porcelain.
Staring at that red scratch and knowing that Yun Qing genuinely intended to self-harm, Zhao Si felt her heart which had initially grown cold ache uncontrollably against her will.
Looking at the blood between Zhao Si’s fingers, Yun Qing’s fingertips trembled, and her entire body began to shake.
“Husband.” Yun Qing released the dagger, words failing her.
Zhao Si released her hand in tandem.
“Clatter.”
The dagger fell to the ground. The blood on the blade was so striking that Zhao Si involuntarily shifted her gaze back to Yun Qing. With that shift, Yun Qing snapped back to her senses.
Sobbing softly as she threw herself tenderly and desperately into Zhao Si’s arms, Yun Qing buried her face against Zhao Si’s shoulder and choked out, “Since the young master cannot bear to see Yun Qing hurt, you can no longer push Yun Qing away. It is settled then: three days from now, Yun Qing shall marry the young master.”
“I…” Zhao Si struggled, stiffening her spine, plagued by the doubt of whether marrying in three days was far too hasty.
Yun Qing wrapped her arms tighter around Zhao Si.
“Since three days from now the young master will be welcoming me as your bride, Yun Qing will dispense with ceremony. From now on, Yun Qing shall address the young master as ‘husband’.”
“Husband,” Yun Qing murmured softly and tenderly.
“I…” Zhao Si’s cheeks burned hot.
“Why does the husband not answer?” Pressing herself intimately against Zhao Si’s temple, Yun Qing chided playfully, “Could it be that the husband does not like Yun Qing?”
“N—no. I am simply worried about you, young sister.” Zhao Si averted her face, trying to widen the distance between them.
“Still calling me young sister?” Refusing to let the matter drop, Yun Qing ordered her maidservant to present the medicinal powder and ointment used for binding wounds. Taking Zhao Si’s hand in her own, she began to bandage it. “I told you, from now on Yun Qing calls husband ‘husband’. Yun Qing is not the husband’s young sister; Yun Qing is the husband’s wedded wife.”
“Wedded wife?” Zhao Si looked at Yun Qing, who was mere inches away, repeating the tail end of Yun Qing’s words.
Yun Qing lowered her head to gently blow on the wound in Zhao Si’s palm. The tip of the dagger had not only broken the skin of Zhao Si’s hand but had also exposed the raw flesh.
Gazing at the crevices in her palm, Zhao Si looked down at the fingertips fluttering over her skin fingertips that were conspicuously several shades fairer than her own and momentarily forgot the pain. However, when Zhao Si’s sight brushed against her own blackened fingernails, she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
Only to be caught firmly by Yun Qing.
“Husband, do not be hasty; it is not yet bandaged.” With practiced skill, Yun Qing tied a neat knot in the gauze across Zhao Si’s palm, instructing, “Do not let it get near water.”
“Alright.” Zhao Si nodded lightly.
The maidservant had already pushed the tray in her hands into Zhao Si’s embrace.
“Since the master husband’s hand is mended, please apply the ointment for my lady.”
“I—I—Alright.” Cupping the tray through the gauze wraps, Zhao Si felt her palms sink instantly with weight.
Lowering her gaze, Zhao Si saw that the tray handed over by the maidservant was gleaming white throughout, its rim embedded with gold beads the size of soybeans.
This was truly the dwelling of the wealthy and noble!
Could it be that her luck was finally turning?
Blinking, Zhao Si recalled all the events since she had awakened, one by one, as her fingertips dipped into the ointment and applied it gently to Yun Qing’s face.
The cooling ointment spread along the bloody scratch on Yun Qing’s cheek, and within a short moment, the scratch faded away until it was virtually invisible.
Zhao Si marvelled inwardly.
Seeing that Zhao Si liked it, Yun Qing smilingly bestowed it upon her.
“If the husband likes it, just take it.”
“Many thanks.” Accepting the tray with a smile, Zhao Si did not decline.
Frowning upon seeing this, the maidservant blurted out, “This Huihun Ointment is worth a thousand gold; even the imperial family can scarcely enjoy it. For my lady to gift it so casually to the husband, Ying’er fears the husband does not know its true value.”
“This…” Zhao Si had not expected the medicinal paste casually gifted by Yun Qing to be so precious. Had she known earlier, she certainly would not have accepted it.
“Silence!” Frowning immediately, Yun Qing rewarded Ying’er with a slap across the face. “To contradict the husband is this the rule you learned in my Yun household? I already stated just now that this young gentleman is the husband chosen by me, Yun Qing. Once we return to the pavilion, every single one of you must respect the husband as you respect me.”
“Is that clear?” Glancing sideways at the attendants, Yun Qing softened her expression once more as she looked at Zhao Si, pleading gently, “Husband, my hand hurts so much. Might the husband blow on it for me?”
“This… there are people watching.”
“But Yun Qing’s hand truly hurts so much.”
“Very well then.” Resigning herself to her fate, Zhao Si took Yun Qing’s hand, smoothed it open, and saw that the palm was indeed flushed red.
“Do not be impatient in the future. Excess anger is bad for your health.”
“Husband… what did the husband say?” Yun Qing acted as though she had not heard Zhao Si clearly.
Zhao Si repeated herself.
Covering her mouth, Yun Qing let out a series of giggling laughs.
“Yun Qing is truly blessed to have found such a considerate and tender treasure of a husband. In that case, husband, accompany Yun Qing back to the pavilion. Once you and I have truly concluded our wedding rites, I shall follow you to your manor.”
“Is that true?” Zhao Si’s heart was moved. When she thought about how the woman before her possessed extraordinary looks, boundless wealth, and swarms of maidservants, while holding her in deep, genuine affection—
To let such a beauty slip away would surely be a slight against her.
Indeed, if she had still harbored reservations an hour ago, that single flash of a blade across the cheek had thoroughly pierced away every shred of doubt in her heart.
She was truly blessed indeed.
Looking at Yun Qing and hearing her soft yet resolute affirmation of “It is true!”, Zhao Si felt as sweet as honey tasting in her heart.
Yet, reflecting upon her own meager background and current circumstances, Zhao Si gritted her teeth, hardened her face, turned her head slightly, and emphasized to Yun Qing:
“Let us make this clear first. My manor is completely destitute. Later on, Yun Qing must not seek a divorce from me because of this.”
“Very well.” Yun Qing nodded.
“And let us make this clear again: I am illiterate and my future is uncertain. Later on, Yun Qing must not seek a divorce from me because of this either.”
“Very well.” Yun Qing’s smile grew deeper.
“Lastly, there is one more matter: I suffer from a severe affliction and will likely struggle to stand on my own as master of a household. Even then, Yun Qing must not seek a divorce from me.”
“Very well! Does the husband have anything else to say? If the husband has no other thoughts, then listen to what Yun Qing has to say. Yun Qing comes from a distinguished lineage, and having entrusted her life to you, barring the netherworld or the boundless earth, I shall never part from you for all eternity! However—”
Changing the topic abruptly, Yun Qing widened her apricot-like eyes and declared, “I have agreed to so many of the husband’s terms, and the husband must also grant me a few.”
“First, the husband must trust me.”
“Second, the husband must love me.”
“Third, the husband must revere me.”
“From this day forward, the husband must never abandon me or grow weary of me because of the words of others, nor must you ever deceive me or hurt me because of the vicissitudes of fate and future. As long as I draw breath, the husband shall love me each and every day, keeping me forever on your lips and deep within your heart.”
“And so, husband, are you willing to grant me this?”
When Yun Qing finished listing her conditions, a profound silence descended all around.
Zhao Si likewise remained silent.
How could there not be a single harsh demand?
This was truly… far too yielding.
In a single instant, Zhao Si wished nothing more than to gather Yun Qing into her embrace and shield her from the world.
Yet amidst the quiet, Yun Qing bit her lower lip.
“If the husband feels that Yun Qing’s demands are too many, then… the husband need only allow Yun Qing to follow by your side.”
At the tail end of her words, fearing that Zhao Si might refuse, Yun Qing lowered her gaze, not daring to look at Zhao Si.