That Time of the Month (Part Three)
In the end, all Yin JiYao said was for him to ask Yao Yue.
She believed that Gu JiuGe would definitely meet with Yao Yue after he returned. Yao Yue would not hide this from him, and it would definitely be better to hear it from Yao Yue than from herself.
She found it hard to talk about.
Gu JiuGe recalled Yao Yue’s illness from before he had left and figured that he should go and visit her, thus he left the Western Wing.
Arrangements were made for Yin JiYao and her maidservant to live in a small courtyard near the Western Wing. Kun YuYang was also living in this courtyard. Both of them were young women, and they had a bit in common.
The one thing that they shared most of all was how they were “seeking refuge” in Marquis Gu’s Manor, and this allowed them to understand each other a little better.
After settling in, Pei’er asked Yin JiYao, “Young miss, why did you have the second young sir ask Miss Yao Yue? You two are rivals. If Miss Yao Yue jealously spoke negatively of young miss, how could young miss ever see second young sir ever again?”
Yin JiYao looked at her, her eyes were more stern than they had ever been before.
“Pei’er, I will tell you for the last time that you are not allowed to say anything bad about Miss Yao Yue. Do you understand?”
Pei’er was given a fright by her stern expression.
The young miss, whom she had taken care of from childhood, had never been so fierce toward her before. Even when the folk remedy that she had found made her scar worse, she had been reluctant to say anything against her.
Today, however, she was being so stern with her because of Yao Yue…
Yin JiYao saw the timidness in her eyes and softened her tone, “Ever since my face became like this, I have thought about many things and came to many realizations. There are many things that I no longer value, and Yao Yue is a good girl. In truth, you know this very well. You just refuse to trust her for the sake of protecting me. If not for Yao Yue coming when she did, how could young sir Chen have given up so easily? She saved me and would not spout nonsense in front of second young sir.”
Pei’er lowered her head with a look of remorse.
“What young miss said is true. Miss Yao Yue can be considered your benefactor. This servant won’t ever say anything demeaning about her in the future. Young miss, please forgive this servant this one time.”
Yin JiYao did not say anything. Pulling her by the hand, she sat down next to the bed, as hot air emanated from the brazier below.
She looked around. The guest rooms in Marquis Gu’s Manor were all so exquisite, and Yu Fu sent people to deliver her many things that she could use. Even Kun YuYang sent her many accessories, saying that it was because she left home in a hurry and did not have a chance to bring these sorts of things.
Marquis Gu’s Manor was an unrelated place to her; however, she found it very warm.
She faintly smiled, and some of her former gentlenesses returned to her gaze, “Don’t worry. Of course, I don’t blame you. I have run away, and I have nobody with me aside from you. You are my maidservant, but more than that, you are my sister. You and I will need to rely on each other to survive. It’s better than suffering in the prime minister’s manor.”
Pei’er nodded with joy, “Young miss has finally returned to being like the young miss from before. Ever since the imperial physician said that the scar on young miss’ face could not be fixed, young miss has been quite gloomy. Now, things are better. We’re now in Marquis Gu’s Manor. The second young sir will surely protect young miss, so there’s no need for young miss to worry about anything!”
Yin JiYao forced a smile and said: “Naturally, he’s a good person. If he says that he will protect me and seek a good doctor to treat me, he will definitely do it. But I can’t just live off of the benevolence of Marquis Gu’s Manor and Princess ZhenJiang for the rest of my life.”
They had only just settled in, yet Yin JiYao seemed to have already begun thinking about the distant future.
Pei’er did not want to bring up any frustrating topics and immediately changed the topic, “Young miss, have a smell. The fragrance in this room is so nice. It smells like plums. It really matches our young miss’ otherworldly and fairy-like elegance!”
“Plums?”
Yin JiYao looked toward the door. The cold autumn wind blew the fallen leaves in a scattered mess, “That’s right. It’s almost winter. It’s about time for the plum blossoms to flower.”
…
After Yu Fu helped Yin JiYao settle in, she went to look for Gu ShuBai to ask about Baibu Yang. Who knew that she would find Yan Zheng when she arrived at his courtyard.
Seeing Yu Fu, Yan Zheng grinned like an idiot and fidgeted uncomfortably.
Yu Fu stared at him, “Yan Zheng, are you feeling itchy?”
“No, no, I’m not itchy!”
Yan Zheng immediately stood upright and glanced back toward the room. His eyes were like a pan that could not hold any water, as they completely leaked the fact that he was hiding something.
Yu Fu simply chose not to go in, “Eldest brother isn’t inside, is he? Speak, where has he gone?”
Yan Zheng’s face instantly turned red.
He had not said anything. How did the young miss know that the young general was not inside?
Yu Fu simply took a seat in the courtyard, and a servant quickly brought out a hot cup of tea. Yan Zheng saw that she did not plan on leaving and had no choice but to slowly ease his way over.
With his head lowered, he stood there like a child admitting to doing something bad, “Young general is indeed not in his room, but young miss must not get angry after hearing where he has gone. Young general specifically ordered us to keep young miss calm. I can’t ignore my orders.”
Yu Fu pointed at a wooden chair nearby, “Let’s speak while seated.”
“Aye.”
Yan Zheng strode over and sat down, “The young general discovered the people dispatched by the eldest prince. They left Lin’An and headed west. We figure they’re heading in the direction of Baibu Yang. The young general left first thing in the morning with a group but was worried that young miss would also want to go, thus he had me stay here to keep young miss calm.”
Yu Fu gnashed her teeth, “Hmph, we already agreed that we would investigate this matter together, yet he went off on his own and even left you here to keep an eye on me. Could it be that I would cause trouble?”
Saying this, she slammed the table and stood up, and Yan Zheng immediately stood up, his eyes landing on the wooden chair behind Yu Fu.
The light-yellow wooden chair was quite plain. It was made of fir, and the rings could still be seen. This gave it a certain natural feeling to it.
Yu Fu muttered to herself, “… Eldest brother is really too terrible. When he gets back, I will need to give him a talking to. Keeping someone here specifically to keep an eye on me, at least send fifth brother or sixth brother. How could you possibly do?”
He was so bad at hiding things. He had been seen through without needing to say a single word. He was even worse at lying than Gu Xiang and Gu Yi.
Just as Yu Fu was thinking about this, she raised her head and saw Yan Zheng looking at her with a look of concern.
She was stunned, “What’s wrong?”
Yan Zheng grabbed her arm and looked behind her, “Young miss, did you get hurt? Where did you get hurt?”
Yu Fu was completely confused, “I haven’t gotten hurt. What are you saying? Where do I look hurt?”
Yan Zheng pointed at the wooden chair behind her. Yu Fu turned around and was stunned in place. A large patch of the wooden chair had been dyed red with blood!
She frowned, “I… I looked before sitting down. It was perfectly fine…”
Yan Zheng pulled her over, his mouth agape, “Young miss, you have a lot of blood on you. This blood came from your body!”
He charged out of the courtyard, “Quickly go and call an imperial physician, quickly! Young miss is hurt!”
Yu Fu’s mind was a mess. She felt her body but did not feel any pain. She could not even find any signs of any wounds.
Who could possibly have hurt her without her realizing it?
No, there had to be some sort of problem.
She was currently standing in a daze when she suddenly heard Gu ShuBai’s voice, “Yan Zheng, what happened?”
Yan Zheng let out a shocked cry, “Young general, you’ve returned! This is great, quickly come and see young miss. The young miss is hurt and has lost a lot of blood!”
“What?!”
Gu ShuBai strode toward the middle of the courtyard with ten soldiers following behind him. They were all worried about Yu Fu’s injury; however, they found Yu Fu standing in the middle of the courtyard. The complexion on her small face was perfectly fine, and there was absolutely no sign of any illness.
One person saw the blood on the wooden chair, “Young general, look. There’s a lot of blood!”
Gu ShuBai looked toward the wooden chair then shifted his gaze to Yu Fu. He saw the hem of her goose-yellow skirt soaked in blood. It resembled plums that had been frozen in winter.
“Yu Fu, where did you get hurt?”
“I don’t think I got hurt…”
Her confused expression confirmed Gu ShuBai’s speculation, and the latter became extremely worried, “Yan Zheng, all of you leave the courtyard. Nobody is allowed to enter!”
“Yes! Huh?”
Yan Zheng was confused. The young miss had suffered such a severe injury, so what was he dismissing everyone for?
One more person meant a bit more manpower!
Gu ShuBai sharply scolded them, “Huh what? Everyone, get out! Quickly!”
The group did not understand but had no choice but to obediently leave. Gu ShuBai picked Yu Fu up and carried her into the room.
He spoke cautiously, “Lie down first and don’t move. I will have someone call Lian Zhu and Lian Bi over.”
Saying this, he turned around and left the room. Yu Fu was extremely puzzled, not understanding why Gu ShuBai had such an expression. That expression was very hard to explain. It seemed to be… embarrassment?
No, no, no, how could that be? What would he have to be embarrassed about?
Just as she was about to get up and go out and clarify the situation, Gu ShuBai brought a blanket in and used it to push her back down. After spreading the blanket out for her, he brought in some warm water for her.
It was just plain water and not tea.
“A girl should avoid getting cold at a time like this. Just obediently stay here and don’t move. Wait for Lian Zhu, Lian Bi, and the others to come first. I will have the kitchen prepare some soup for you to drink.”
A time like this for girls…
An explosion boomed in Yu Fu’s head. No matter how confused she might have been, she could now guess what had happened to her.
She had actually had her period, and it had happened in the courtyard in front of over ten grown men?!
That Time of the Month (Part Three)
In the end, all Yin JiYao said was for him to ask Yao Yue.
She believed that Gu JiuGe would definitely meet with Yao Yue after he returned. Yao Yue would not hide this from him, and it would definitely be better to hear it from Yao Yue than from herself.
She found it hard to talk about.
Gu JiuGe recalled Yao Yue’s illness from before he had left and figured that he should go and visit her, thus he left the Western Wing.
Arrangements were made for Yin JiYao and her maidservant to live in a small courtyard near the Western Wing. Kun YuYang was also living in this courtyard. Both of them were young women, and they had a bit in common.
The one thing that they shared most of all was how they were “seeking refuge” in Marquis Gu’s Manor, and this allowed them to understand each other a little better.
After settling in, Pei’er asked Yin JiYao, “Young miss, why did you have the second young sir ask Miss Yao Yue? You two are rivals. If Miss Yao Yue jealously spoke negatively of young miss, how could young miss ever see second young sir ever again?”
Yin JiYao looked at her, her eyes were more stern than they had ever been before.
“Pei’er, I will tell you for the last time that you are not allowed to say anything bad about Miss Yao Yue. Do you understand?”
Pei’er was given a fright by her stern expression.
The young miss, whom she had taken care of from childhood, had never been so fierce toward her before. Even when the folk remedy that she had found made her scar worse, she had been reluctant to say anything against her.
Today, however, she was being so stern with her because of Yao Yue…
Yin JiYao saw the timidness in her eyes and softened her tone, “Ever since my face became like this, I have thought about many things and came to many realizations. There are many things that I no longer value, and Yao Yue is a good girl. In truth, you know this very well. You just refuse to trust her for the sake of protecting me. If not for Yao Yue coming when she did, how could young sir Chen have given up so easily? She saved me and would not spout nonsense in front of second young sir.”
Pei’er lowered her head with a look of remorse.
“What young miss said is true. Miss Yao Yue can be considered your benefactor. This servant won’t ever say anything demeaning about her in the future. Young miss, please forgive this servant this one time.”
Yin JiYao did not say anything. Pulling her by the hand, she sat down next to the bed, as hot air emanated from the brazier below.
She looked around. The guest rooms in Marquis Gu’s Manor were all so exquisite, and Yu Fu sent people to deliver her many things that she could use. Even Kun YuYang sent her many accessories, saying that it was because she left home in a hurry and did not have a chance to bring these sorts of things.
Marquis Gu’s Manor was an unrelated place to her; however, she found it very warm.
She faintly smiled, and some of her former gentlenesses returned to her gaze, “Don’t worry. Of course, I don’t blame you. I have run away, and I have nobody with me aside from you. You are my maidservant, but more than that, you are my sister. You and I will need to rely on each other to survive. It’s better than suffering in the prime minister’s manor.”
Pei’er nodded with joy, “Young miss has finally returned to being like the young miss from before. Ever since the imperial physician said that the scar on young miss’ face could not be fixed, young miss has been quite gloomy. Now, things are better. We’re now in Marquis Gu’s Manor. The second young sir will surely protect young miss, so there’s no need for young miss to worry about anything!”
Yin JiYao forced a smile and said: “Naturally, he’s a good person. If he says that he will protect me and seek a good doctor to treat me, he will definitely do it. But I can’t just live off of the benevolence of Marquis Gu’s Manor and Princess ZhenJiang for the rest of my life.”
They had only just settled in, yet Yin JiYao seemed to have already begun thinking about the distant future.
Pei’er did not want to bring up any frustrating topics and immediately changed the topic, “Young miss, have a smell. The fragrance in this room is so nice. It smells like plums. It really matches our young miss’ otherworldly and fairy-like elegance!”
“Plums?”
Yin JiYao looked toward the door. The cold autumn wind blew the fallen leaves in a scattered mess, “That’s right. It’s almost winter. It’s about time for the plum blossoms to flower.”
…
After Yu Fu helped Yin JiYao settle in, she went to look for Gu ShuBai to ask about Baibu Yang. Who knew that she would find Yan Zheng when she arrived at his courtyard.
Seeing Yu Fu, Yan Zheng grinned like an idiot and fidgeted uncomfortably.
Yu Fu stared at him, “Yan Zheng, are you feeling itchy?”
“No, no, I’m not itchy!”
Yan Zheng immediately stood upright and glanced back toward the room. His eyes were like a pan that could not hold any water, as they completely leaked the fact that he was hiding something.
Yu Fu simply chose not to go in, “Eldest brother isn’t inside, is he? Speak, where has he gone?”
Yan Zheng’s face instantly turned red.
He had not said anything. How did the young miss know that the young general was not inside?
Yu Fu simply took a seat in the courtyard, and a servant quickly brought out a hot cup of tea. Yan Zheng saw that she did not plan on leaving and had no choice but to slowly ease his way over.
With his head lowered, he stood there like a child admitting to doing something bad, “Young general is indeed not in his room, but young miss must not get angry after hearing where he has gone. Young general specifically ordered us to keep young miss calm. I can’t ignore my orders.”
Yu Fu pointed at a wooden chair nearby, “Let’s speak while seated.”
“Aye.”
Yan Zheng strode over and sat down, “The young general discovered the people dispatched by the eldest prince. They left Lin’An and headed west. We figure they’re heading in the direction of Baibu Yang. The young general left first thing in the morning with a group but was worried that young miss would also want to go, thus he had me stay here to keep young miss calm.”
Yu Fu gnashed her teeth, “Hmph, we already agreed that we would investigate this matter together, yet he went off on his own and even left you here to keep an eye on me. Could it be that I would cause trouble?”
Saying this, she slammed the table and stood up, and Yan Zheng immediately stood up, his eyes landing on the wooden chair behind Yu Fu.
The light-yellow wooden chair was quite plain. It was made of fir, and the rings could still be seen. This gave it a certain natural feeling to it.
Yu Fu muttered to herself, “… Eldest brother is really too terrible. When he gets back, I will need to give him a talking to. Keeping someone here specifically to keep an eye on me, at least send fifth brother or sixth brother. How could you possibly do?”
He was so bad at hiding things. He had been seen through without needing to say a single word. He was even worse at lying than Gu Xiang and Gu Yi.
Just as Yu Fu was thinking about this, she raised her head and saw Yan Zheng looking at her with a look of concern.
She was stunned, “What’s wrong?”
Yan Zheng grabbed her arm and looked behind her, “Young miss, did you get hurt? Where did you get hurt?”
Yu Fu was completely confused, “I haven’t gotten hurt. What are you saying? Where do I look hurt?”
Yan Zheng pointed at the wooden chair behind her. Yu Fu turned around and was stunned in place. A large patch of the wooden chair had been dyed red with blood!
She frowned, “I… I looked before sitting down. It was perfectly fine…”
Yan Zheng pulled her over, his mouth agape, “Young miss, you have a lot of blood on you. This blood came from your body!”
He charged out of the courtyard, “Quickly go and call an imperial physician, quickly! Young miss is hurt!”
Yu Fu’s mind was a mess. She felt her body but did not feel any pain. She could not even find any signs of any wounds.
Who could possibly have hurt her without her realizing it?
No, there had to be some sort of problem.
She was currently standing in a daze when she suddenly heard Gu ShuBai’s voice, “Yan Zheng, what happened?”
Yan Zheng let out a shocked cry, “Young general, you’ve returned! This is great, quickly come and see young miss. The young miss is hurt and has lost a lot of blood!”
“What?!”
Gu ShuBai strode toward the middle of the courtyard with ten soldiers following behind him. They were all worried about Yu Fu’s injury; however, they found Yu Fu standing in the middle of the courtyard. The complexion on her small face was perfectly fine, and there was absolutely no sign of any illness.
One person saw the blood on the wooden chair, “Young general, look. There’s a lot of blood!”
Gu ShuBai looked toward the wooden chair then shifted his gaze to Yu Fu. He saw the hem of her goose-yellow skirt soaked in blood. It resembled plums that had been frozen in winter.
“Yu Fu, where did you get hurt?”
“I don’t think I got hurt…”
Her confused expression confirmed Gu ShuBai’s speculation, and the latter became extremely worried, “Yan Zheng, all of you leave the courtyard. Nobody is allowed to enter!”
“Yes! Huh?”
Yan Zheng was confused. The young miss had suffered such a severe injury, so what was he dismissing everyone for?
One more person meant a bit more manpower!
Gu ShuBai sharply scolded them, “Huh what? Everyone, get out! Quickly!”
The group did not understand but had no choice but to obediently leave. Gu ShuBai picked Yu Fu up and carried her into the room.
He spoke cautiously, “Lie down first and don’t move. I will have someone call Lian Zhu and Lian Bi over.”
Saying this, he turned around and left the room. Yu Fu was extremely puzzled, not understanding why Gu ShuBai had such an expression. That expression was very hard to explain. It seemed to be… embarrassment?
No, no, no, how could that be? What would he have to be embarrassed about?
Just as she was about to get up and go out and clarify the situation, Gu ShuBai brought a blanket in and used it to push her back down. After spreading the blanket out for her, he brought in some warm water for her.
It was just plain water and not tea.
“A girl should avoid getting cold at a time like this. Just obediently stay here and don’t move. Wait for Lian Zhu, Lian Bi, and the others to come first. I will have the kitchen prepare some soup for you to drink.”
A time like this for girls…
An explosion boomed in Yu Fu’s head. No matter how confused she might have been, she could now guess what had happened to her.
She had actually had her period, and it had happened in the courtyard in front of over ten grown men?!
