Even Cheng Yunyin, whose murderous aura froze for a fraction of a second upon realizing he had misread the situation, could not abide being played with like this. Seeing the fierce intent in his master's eyes, Wufeng quickly leaned forward, bowed his hands, and whispered, "Your Highness, one must endure minor slights to achieve a grand objective."
Swallowing down the raging fury burning in his chest, Wufeng crouched and carefully pulled the lower robes back up.
Pei You had prepared everything. Seeing Wufeng's dawdling movements, she simply shoved him aside, rolled up his trouser legs with a few swift motions, and began applying the needles.
Cheng Yunyin had been poisoned for too long; through a prolonged lack of movement, his leg muscles had already withered. Pei You focused entirely on her task, inserting the sharp silver needles through the skin, yet Cheng Yunyin felt nothing at all.
It was not until much later that Cheng Yunyin's long-stiff and icy legs slowly began to sense a trace of warmth. Even though it was only a faint hint, it was enough to rekindle hope in his despairing heart.
After finishing with all the needles, a thin layer of perspiration beaded Pei You's forehead. Shifting slightly to ease her stiff lower back, she picked up a clean towel and handed it to her patient.
"It will hurt a bit when the needles are removed. If you can't bear it, bite down on the towel and don't move around." With that, casting a wary glance at him, she instructed Wufeng, "Forget it, big guy, hold him down."
"Wufeng."
Pei You raised her head in confusion as the tall, muscular man with a scar on his face spoke up again. "This subordinate's name is Wufeng."
*Don't call me big guy,* he thought. *My master just got disciplined by this young lady like a child. If you keep calling me big guy, I won't survive the trip back.*
Giving Wufeng a puzzled look, Pei You simply introduced herself, "Oh, I'm Pei You."
Wufeng had already crouched down to hold his master's legs, not daring to lift his eyes. His massive frame curled up tight right where he stood, radiating an oddly pitiful air.
Cheng Yunyin opened his eyes after a brief moment of closing them, and Pei You started removing the needles right on schedule. Piercing, bone-deep pain forced Cheng Yunyin to clench his teeth.
Wufeng could feel the muscles beneath his hands trembling, along with large drops of sweat splashing down from his master's forehead.
Holding her breath, Pei You extracted the very last silver needle. With a muffled groan, Cheng Yunyin gripped the towel tighter and panted heavily.
Though he looked as though he had just been fished out of the water, Cheng Yunyin managed a crooked smile.
Pei You packed away her silver needles, her complexion frighteningly pale. Both the insertion and removal had consumed a massive amount of inner qi, and with the meager spiritual energy down here in the mortal realm, it would likely take a long time to recover.
"Under no circumstances should you touch anything with intense cold—not even herbal tea," Pei You exhaled a breath and offered a warning, her round apricot eyes filled with absolute menace. After all, this patient had a history of disobedience; knowing full well his poison was cold-natured, he had still dared to soak in an icy pool.
Cheng Yunyin was already frighteningly lean, and sweat now plastered his strands of hair to his pale face, making him look even more emaciated.
"You're far too thin." Disgust was written all over Pei You's face.
"What? Can't you cure me if I'm thin?" Cheng Yunyin raised his eyes to look at her, resembling a venomous snake locking onto its prey, his voice hoarse and raspy.
Ignoring the Ninth Prince's sarcasm, Pei You retorted, "Medicine that's too potent will wreck your body, while medicine that's too mild won't do a thing. You'll need to take this for quite a while—suit yourself." She shrugged indifferently; after all, she wasn't the one swallowing the medicine.
Cheng Yunyin managed a rare smile, baring his bone-white teeth as his eyes narrowed menacingly. "Disrespecting an imperial prince—you truly have no regard for what sits atop your shoulders."
As that chilling gaze swept back and forth across her neck, Pei You instinctively covered her throat and took two steps back. Her jaw dropped slightly in sheer disbelief, and the lingering pallor on her face made her look exceptionally pitiful.
Suddenly finding the interaction rather tedious, Cheng Yunyin withdrew his expression. Feeling the residual heat dissipate and leave behind only a dull ache, he decided to leave.
Watching Wufeng wheel Cheng Yunyin away, Pei You still felt a lingering sense of unease. Her pitiful gaze slowly shifted from the doorway to Nanny Xu. "It's over, Nanny. I showed disrespect to an imperial prince, and now he wants my head."
Nanny Xu chuckled helplessly. "My lady, have no fear. Long before anyone else could harbor the thought of taking your head, he wouldn't even have his own left to keep."
Pei You poked her head out to peer at the still-wide-open courtyard gates, then asked hesitantly, "Does this mean I don't have to stay cooped up in this courtyard anymore?"
Upon receiving Nanny Xu's affirmative nod, Pei You hurried off to gather the gold and silver trinkets she had recently earned—most of them rewards collected on the night of the Cold Food Banquet.
"Where is my lady heading?" Nanny Xu watched as the girl bundled up sycees and banknotes, wondering why she looked as if she were fleeing for her life.
Pei You smiled, her eyes shining brightly. "An older brother from my home village is still working as a tea-house errand boy. I'm going to take him some money so he can get by."
Nanny Xu wiped a cold sweat with a nervous chuckle. *This sounds suspiciously like something the young master would do. I'd better listen closer just to be sure.*
"But... isn't this a bit too much?" Seeing the bundle in Pei You's hands growing heavier, Nanny Xu finally spoke up. "My lady ought to keep more silver for yourself."
Pei You shook her head with utmost earnestness. "It's fine. That person is very delicate and needs to be properly provided for."
With that, she slung the heavy bundle over her shoulder and puffed out her chest, looking fully prepared to march into battle—so much so that Nanny Xu hurriedly reached out and grabbed her by the arm.
"My lady, with your noble status, you cannot simply wander out of the mansion," Nanny Xu said, freezing Pei You in her tracks. "The gatekeepers will not let anyone pass without direct orders from the Marquis and Madam."
"But I went out last time," Pei You said, taking down the heavy pack from her shoulder with a puzzled expression. Not a single person had stopped her when she left the Marquis's Mansion before.
While Pei You remained oblivious to the profound contempt the household held for her, Nanny Xu understood it down to the last detail. What sort of family could neglect their own flesh and blood to the point where no one cared if she left the estate?
Nanny Xu sighed. "Now that the Ninth Prince has come in person to back my lady up and lifted your confinement, there's no telling how many pairs of eyes in this household are watching you. Trying to leave the estate now will likely prove difficult."
Pei You understood the situation well enough, though her focus didn't lie on whether she could leave the grounds. Instead, her eyes grew red-rimmed as she forced a fragile smile. "So Father didn't release me because he knew I was innocent, but simply because the Ninth Prince wanted to find me for medical treatment, right?"
Faced with such a young mistress, Nanny Xu bowed her head respectfully. The young miss had to face reality eventually; perhaps it was far too painful for her right now, but this first step toward growth was bound to hurt.
Though Nanny Xu remained silent, Pei You could read her attitude clearly enough. After a moment of quiet reflection, Pei You shouldered her bundle once more and returned to her original question. "Then I'll just sneak out."
With a soft warning to be careful, Nanny Xu watched as Pei You vaulted lightly out the window and darted away toward the bamboo grove like a swift shadow.
Seeing Pei You vanish into the distance, Nanny Xu stepped out of the main room, pulled the door shut behind her, and sat down in the courtyard to attend to some needlework, keeping the doorway within the corner of her vision at all times.
***
"A pot of Jingting Lvxue, a plate of peach blossom pastry." Practice made perfect; after placing her order with the white-clothed attendant, Pei You walked with practiced familiarity straight up toward Changjun Pavilion on the upper floor.
Finding it strange that she hadn't caught sight of Jiang Sinian anywhere on the lower level, Pei You suddenly realized how eerily quiet this floor was. Her previous visit had been so consumed by the joy of seeing Jiang Sinian that she hadn't noticed how tranquil and secluded the environment here was—a stark contrast to the bustling ground floor that welcomed guests.
Pushing open the door to Changjun Pavilion, she was met by a pair of smiling, phoenix-like eyes. The man was dressed in white that put snow to shame, blessed with superior bone structure. His slender fingers still held a Go piece poised above the board, though his gaze had already locked onto Pei You as she pushed her way inside.
Even though she had grown up seeing Jiang Sinian's face countless times, Pei You still found herself momentarily dazed by the sheer beauty before her. Muttering "vixen" under her breath, she hauled her bundle inside and remembered to shut the door behind her.
Observing the young girl's haughty expression, Jiang Sinian's gaze lingered on Pei You's fair, delicate cheek. The red, swollen marks from days past had already healed, leaving her skin as smooth as snow without a single trace remaining.
Yet Pei You's complexion was abysmal, and at the thought of why she looked so unwell, Jiang Sinian let out a cold snort.
"Little You'er is far too kind-hearted. Any stray dog or wild cat that hurts its leg is worth picking up and saving."