Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C021 pt2

This reminded Wushuang of the first time in her previous life when Ji Yang forcefully dragged her onto the dragon bed. He had been just as domineering then.

Now, she felt a sense of destiny. Just as she had ended up in Ji Yang's hands in her previous life, so it was in this life. However, this life should be better than the last. She hadn't broken off the engagement yet, and while Prince Wei and Ji Yang had their flaws, they were generally quite protective of her.

In her previous life, aside from the fact that she had been with him as a married woman, which made her reputation tarnished, and Ji Yang always bullied her, she hadn't actually suffered much. On the contrary, she had enjoyed fine clothes and food, surrounded by servants. Her situation in the Duke Zhao's mansion had been miserable, filled with cold indifference. It was because of him that they later dared not treat her so poorly.

Even the people from Marquis Changyang's mansion.

They had forgotten about her when she no longer had any use value. Later, when she was with Ji Yang, they put on a different face. They were clearly angry and resentful, yet they dared not confront her directly. Except for Old Madam, who had used her age to scold her once, but that was the only time. Later, for some reason, she fell silent.

And her "eldest sister."

In her previous life, many people thought she disliked talking with the Empress, but she only did so out of politeness and weakness. That wasn't true. Although she felt self-pity and resentment, believing her fate was cruel and beyond her control, she actually quite enjoyed talking with her eldest sister. Whenever she saw her eldest sister, who clearly hated her, yet had to win her over, she felt a sense of satisfaction.

Who said that being timid and weak couldn't be satisfying?

Being timid didn't mean being stupid. Even a fool knew to choose what was good for them. Mei Wuxia wouldn't give up on trying to steal her marriage. She still had to fight her. If she didn't marry Ji Yang, it would be like letting the entire first branch family control her marriage, which would be giving them the upper hand. So, this time, it was best to follow the predetermined course.

Besides, she was going to marry him anyway. He wasn't wrong, even though it went against societal norms. But wasn't it a secret known only to them?

Wushuang drifted off to sleep, lost in her thoughts.

Asleep, she had no idea that her two maids outside were about to go crazy with worry.

Outside the door, Meifang wanted to bang on it, but she dared not, for she had been sent out by the Miss.

In her anxiety, she spoke harshly, gesticulating at Xiaohong, who looked thoughtful and pulled her aside.

"Don't you think that person looks familiar?"

Xiaohong lowered her voice.

"What?"

Meifang looked at her.

Originally, Xiaohong hadn't seen the man's face, as he had been facing away from her. It was only when the Miss had sent Meifang out that the man's gaze followed the Miss, allowing Xiaohong to catch a glimpse of his profile.

"He seems to be that Prince Wei His Highness."

That day, when Old Madam Mei had been put in her place, Xiaohong had been present and naturally hadn't missed the man in the carriage. However, their attire and demeanour were different, making Xiaohong hesitate to recognize him.

"Re-really, Prince Wei?" Meifang was equally startled. "Prince Wei, how, how could he be here?"

"I don't know."

However, Xiaohong could tell that the Miss must know Prince Wei, otherwise she wouldn't have sent them out and closed the door, leaving herself alone with him.

But how did the Miss know him? Though Xiaohong was a mere servant girl, she had been in this courtyard for a long time and knew many things. She knew that the Miss rarely left the mansion, let alone go out alone. How could she possibly know Prince Wei?

Xiaohong recalled that day when Prince Wei had berated Old Madam Mei, and how he had stayed at the manor for a few days. That was the only time he could have had contact with the Miss. Could it be then?

It must be said that Xiaohong was right.

"Ev-even if he, he is Prince Wei, he, he shouldn't, at, at night, barge into the Miss's, boudoir."

Xiaohong pondered for a moment and said, "Since the Miss sent us out and closed the door herself, she clearly has her own reasons. We should wait a little longer and see what happens when she comes out."

They waited for almost the entire night.

Meifang tried to barge in several times, but Xiaohong held her back. She reasoned with her, even going so far as to say that the Miss might already be close to Prince Wei, and that barging in might ruin things. Only then did Meifang give up her attempts.

***

Wushuang slept soundly.

Though she had things on her mind, she should have been unable to sleep, yet she slept. This strange situation caused her to suddenly wake up from her dream, only then realizing that she had forgotten something – the two maids outside.

In that situation, she had closed the door without saying anything. They must have been worried sick.

Seeing that Ji Yang was still asleep, she quietly climbed out of his arms, got off the bed, and went to the outer room to open the door. She found that a light mist had risen, thin and faint, carrying the coolness unique to the latter half of the night in summer.

Two figures emerged from behind a nearby tree, none other than Xiaohong and Meifang, who had been squatting outside for almost the entire night.

Why were they hiding there?

Naturally, they were afraid of attracting attention. Who knew if someone might wake up in the middle of the night and see them standing outside, causing a commotion? So, though they had been guarding outside, they had hidden themselves in a place where they were unlikely to be noticed.

"What time is it?"

"The beginning of the yin hour*."

TN: 3-5am

Wushuang was startled to see that it was already the yin hour. Turning her head, she saw the two maids' faces full of fatigue, and a blush of shame crept onto her cheeks.

She was unaware of the inner turmoil the two maids had experienced. Initially, Xiaohong had claimed that Wushuang and Prince Wei were romantically involved, merely to dissuade Meifang from barging in. Later, even Xiaohong herself came to accept it.

If they weren't romantically involved, how could they have spent the entire night together behind closed doors?

Although there had been no sounds from within, the mere fact of spending a night together was enough to spark speculation.

Wushuang naturally realized the maids had misunderstood. She was still contemplating how to explain herself when Xiaohong suddenly said, "Miss, was that Prince Wei?"

"Miss, are you two… romantically involved?"

The latter question was posed by Meifang, who, for once, did not stammer as much. Her words, however, were startling, not only to Wushuang but also to Xiaohong.

Xiaohong had not expected Meifang to be so blunt, while Wushuang's cheeks flushed crimson. Even in the dimness of the early morning, the faint glow of dawn revealed the blush on her face.

"He is Prince Wei, but he is not my lover." Wushuang was truly embarrassed, and she chided, "Meifang, don't talk nonsense."

The usual Third Miss, always cautious and meek, rarely displayed any youthful charm. Now, with her blushing cheeks and playful scolding, she possessed a certain girlish allure.

"Don't think too much. He merely borrowed my bed for a night's sleep. We, we didn't do anything…"

So what did you want to do, Miss?

Though Meifang was older than Xiaohong, she was a simpleton. Xiaohong, despite her youth, was more perceptive and immediately grasped the subtext in Wushuang's words.

It seemed they must have done something, otherwise, there would be no need for such an explanation.

Xiaohong's gaze grew complex. After a moment's thought, she said with a worried expression, "Miss, although you are betrothed to Prince Wei, you are not yet married…"

Wushuang understood that such words were not befitting a maid's station. But what could she do? Her predicament was impossible to explain, and she didn't want to use her authority to reprimand Xiaohong. She could only look at Xiaohong with her alluring eyes, hoping she would stop talking.

Xiaohong could see that Third Miss, despite her commendable performance managing the estate, was not someone who could stand on her own.

As for Meifang, she was simply a simpleton.

This mistress and her maid, both carefree and oblivious to the gravity of the situation, filled Xiaohong with a sense of responsibility, a feeling that she alone was capable and had to shoulder the burden.

"Is he awake yet? It's already the beginning of the Yin hour. Soon, the sky will start to brighten. If people see him, it will be troublesome." The capable Xiaohong spoke subtly, assuming that her mistress was indeed romantically involved with Prince Wei. Now, as a maid, she felt obligated to help her mistress resolve the situation and handle the aftermath.

She was practically telling Wushuang to chase the scoundrel away. If they lingered any longer, everyone would wake up, and her "affair" would be exposed.

Wushuang understood, but how could she possibly wake Ji Yang?

To be honest, she was afraid. But she was the mistress, the one in charge. How could she let a maid see her weakness? She nodded, indicating that she understood and would go wake the scoundrel up.

Inside the room, the scoundrel slept soundly.

The candle had burned out after a night of illumination, leaving only the faint light filtering in from the window.

Since entering the room, Wushuang had been torn between waking Ji Yang or not. She knew his nature. Nothing in the world was more important to him than sleep. Anyone who dared to disturb him while he slept would be punished, lightly with a reprimand, severely with death.

But if she didn't wake him, the people in the courtyard would soon be up.

Wushuang watched helplessly as the room transitioned from dimness to faint light, her heart filled with anxiety. In her desperation to wake Ji Yang, she even returned to the bed, pretending to have just woken up and trying to rouse him at the same time.

The idea was good, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

A cat's meow came from the south window.

There were no cats in her courtyard, and it was too early for any to be meowing. Wushuang recognized the sound. It was Xiaohong, urging her to hurry.

A moment later, another meow, this time two in quick succession, urgent and fast. Then the sound ceased, and Wushuang heard the sweeping of the courtyard, along with Xiaohong talking to someone.

"Xiaohong, why are you up so early today?"

The speaker was an old woman who did odd jobs in the courtyard, known as old woman Liu. She usually handled the dirty and tiring tasks that the young maids wouldn't do, such as collecting the chamber pots from each room every morning, piling them into a single bucket, and carrying them outside for disposal.

By this time, it was generally the hour when the servants should be getting up.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep. I just wanted to finish these chores and then go back to catch up on some sleep," Xiaohong yawned.

Old woman Liu said nothing and left.

The sound of sweeping resumed in the courtyard, a rhythmic swish-swish-swish that grated on Wushuang's nerves, filling her with resentment.

In a fit of anger, she impulsively pushed him.

***

Prince Wei opened his eyes in response.

In truth, he had already woken up, just as Wushuang was about to rouse him. To make it seem more natural, she had returned to the couch, nestled into his arms, and placed his hand on her waist.

It wasn't surprising that Wushuang would act this way. Ji Yang had held her all night, so it wouldn't make sense for his hand not to be there when she woke up. It would be obvious that something was amiss. Besides, how could she wake him up without getting closer?

As Prince Wei lay there, he figured out why this little girl was acting this way. He found her small mind to be quite clever, yet also rather awkward.

He had never encountered such a situation before, waking up in a woman's private chambers.

And this was a consequence of 'his' forceful actions. Ji Yang could act without restraint, but Prince Wei couldn't. Just as Wushuang was constantly thinking about how to wake him up without provoking his anger, he was also pondering how to wake up without causing embarrassment.

"You should leave now. It's almost dawn, and the servants are all up," Wushuang, who had just been filled with audacity, now cowered, innocent, pitiful, and weak, afraid of his anger.

Prince Wei rose without a word, silently gathering his clothes and his loose hair.

He couldn't find his hair tie, so he could only try to gather his hair at the back of his head. It was his habit, but as he did so, he realized that Ji Yang wouldn't be so meticulous. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in this state right now.

This caused him to pause for a moment.

The pause made Wushuang tremble with fear, thinking he might be about to lose his temper. She quickly said, "I wasn't trying to chase you away. I was just afraid someone might see us."

Prince Wei looked at her pitiful form, her small frame, her hands twisting her clothes, her dress wrinkled, her hair a mess, and her eyes red-rimmed. It seemed she hadn't slept well last night.

When Ji Yang emerged, Prince Wei wasn't always fully conscious. He spent a significant portion of his time asleep, as he needed to replenish his energy. This was why he had the energy to handle various affairs, including allowing Ji Yang to come out.

Yesterday was the same. Ji Yang had slipped out while Prince Wei was asleep, so Prince Wei had no idea what he had done to her, which was why she was so afraid.

It was all 'his' doing!

Prince Wei furrowed his brow.

"Don't cry. I'm leaving now," he cleared his throat.

"Don't let anyone see you."

Wushuang was genuinely afraid of being seen. Even though she and Prince Wei were betrothed, if anyone caught them, not only would Prince Wei have trouble explaining himself, but her reputation would be ruined.

"No one will see."

Then you should leave quickly.

Wushuang didn't say it out loud, but Prince Wei saw it in her eyes. He chuckled softly and walked towards the door.

It wasn't until he reached the doorway that Prince Wei suddenly realized his martial arts were no match for that person. The other could roam freely like a night spirit, but that didn't mean he possessed the same ability.

For a moment, the composure on Prince Wei's face cracked.

A wave of boisterous laughter echoed in his mind.

Hearing that laughter, Prince Wei realized that he had woken up before the other not because Ji Yang was still asleep, but because he had been watching the whole thing.

It was intentional, a deliberate act to make him face such an awkward situation.

[Come out!]

[You beg me.]

[Even a cornered rabbit will bite. You ruined her reputation, next time you…]

The next moment, Prince Wei felt himself being pushed aside, his body lifted into the air.

Before he left, he saw a young maid staring at him in astonishment. He could only hope that this girl was one of hers, and wouldn't cause her any trouble.

Seeing the man fly away, Xiaohong dropped her broom and ran towards the house.

"He's gone, he flew away."

Wushuang seemed not to notice the word 'flew', and nodded.

Xiaohong stammered, "Miss, will he come back? Did you tell Prince Wei not to come anymore? It's too dangerous, what if someone sees them?"

Wushuang drooped, "If he wants to come, I can't stop him."

This man had a history in his previous life, treating the Duke Zhao's mansion as his own backyard. The key was, he wouldn't listen even if you told him.

Now that the man was gone, Xiaohong's mind wandered to other things. Remembering the rumors she had heard about Prince Wei, and seeing her Miss's dejected appearance, she could understand why she was like this.

She had even guessed last night that they were secretly in love. This wasn't love, it was a bully forcing himself on a helpless girl. The only thing to be thankful for was that her Miss was betrothed to him.

Xiaohong sighed, not knowing what to say, "Miss, you probably didn't sleep well last night. It's still early, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Wushuang didn't refuse. She took off her crumpled clothes, asked Xiaohong to undo her hair, and lay back down on the bed comfortably.

The bedding held a faint fragrance, a scent unique to Ji Yang. Wushuang inhaled the aroma, her thoughts drifting, and she fell asleep.