Chapter 460: Your lords.h.i.+p rather likes wine red
Once Zhao mama left, Baili Mingxiang retreated back upstairs with a pounding heart. Moreover, she’d climbed the stairs so quickly that she was now left short of breath. She took a long time to calm herself before entering the rooms. She wasn’t worried around esteemed w.a.n.gfei waking up all of a sudden, since she had strategies in place to counter that if it happened. Right now, she was more nervous about facing His Highness Duke of Qin.
Baili Mingxiang stood vigil by the door as her chest heaved with a mixture of anxiety and fear. It was getting a little hard to breathe. She had never felt so guilty in her life, worried that she wouldn’t be able to maintain her act in front of His Highness.
Alright, she’d forgotten that she’d been playing pretend in front of him this entire time. Even though she really liked him, she feigned indifference beyond respect and reverence. Soon enough, Long Feiye appeared. He walked up with soft steps since Han Yunxi was sleeping and asked, “What’s going on?”
“There’s a spot on esteemed w.a.n.gfei’s back that was burnt quite seriously. This one is afraid it’ll leave a scar, so I dare not apply the medicine carelessly. But esteemed w.a.n.gfei is sleeping right now, so I can’t bear to wake her up. I can only leave it in Your Highness’s hands,” Baili Mingxiang murmured with a bow.
Long Feiye stepped into the room without a word, allowing Baili Mingxiang to exhale in relief before following him inside. On the bed, Han Yunxi was dressed as before in nothing but her dudou, her skin exposed to the air. The dark hued silk of her covers s.h.i.+elded her up to her waist, creating the image of a white-skinned beauty amongst the soft layers of the bed and canopy. Her indistinct form behind the bed curtains was nothing if not ambiguous.
When Long Feiye approached her, he noticed that Han Yunxi’s dudou was different this time. The one she wore last time was a pale white, a purer, more innocent shade than today’s s.e.xy wine-red hue. He could even tell that the straps on this dudou were thinner than the other one. After all, he had always had sharp eyes. If he could see through a person’s hidden motives, why couldn’t he tell the difference in dudou straps? Of course, he could tell that her two burns were just about recovered as well.
He stared at them for a long time in silence. Baili Mingxiang stood on the side, observing the entire scene. Although she was an unmarried woman herself, unfamiliar with the affairs of men and women, she could understand the deep, intense look in His Highness’s eyes that was unique to all men. Her heart sank further, and she almost lost her cool. She had never expected to see so much after coming to the Duke of Qin’s estate. All she wanted was to repay her debt of grat.i.tude. Don’t look so much!
But who would’ve known she had to lure His Highness Duke of Qin here under such circ.u.mstances!
“Your Highness…” Baili Mingxing finally spoke up.
Long Feiye recovered his senses. He settled down to sit on the edge of the bed while Han Yunxi snoozed on, oblivious. Perhaps she had been too tired as of late, because she was dead asleep.
“Which spot?” Long Feiye said in a low voice.
Baili Mingxiang took a deep breath before she walked over. In front of Long Feiye, she pretended to casually draw the covers aside, exposing Han Yunxi’s lower back at the same time. She didn’t immediately point out the burn issue she had made up, but neatly folded up the covers and set them aside to buy herself more time. This gave Long Feiye a chance to sweep his gaze over Han Yunxi’s entire back. He seemed to be admiring a piece of art as he did so, his eyes tracing a path from her shoulders and the curve of its blade all the way down to the start of her b.u.t.tocks. It was also here that Long Feiye first saw the spot of red near the base of her spine.
His casual gaze turned serious as he focused on the spot, only to realize it was a birthmark that resembled a phoenix in flight. He had no idea what it represented, but simply touched the mark with curiosity, his movements inexpressibly gentle. In the process, he’d neglected the existence of Baili Mingxiang completely.
His was a hand that had soaked itself in the blood of countless victims at the end of his sword. It was a cruel, callous, and unfeeling hand, but even it could be so soft and warm? Baili Mingxiang felt her heart melt at the sight, wondering if she was dreaming. She finally understood that His Highness Duke of Qin hadn’t known about this birthmark at all. Judging from his current reaction, he probably didn’t know its implications, either. Baili Mingxiang averted her gaze and silently exhaled. The multiple weights crus.h.i.+ng against her heart finally disappeared.
Since he doesn’t know, I definitely won’t betray esteemed w.a.n.gfei and tell him. She didn’t hesitate to make her decision. I’ll keep this secret to myself forever!
As if sensing the activity above her, Han Yunxi suddenly tried to turn over! Long Feiye immediately let go, but it was already too late. Han Yunxi was preparing to lie on her back! Her burns had yet to heal, so that was impermissible! Over the past few days, it had been either Baili Mingxiang or Zhao mama keeping watch while she slept so she wouldn’t sleep on her back by accident. Baili Mingxiang grew alarmed, but Long Feiye quickly pressed a hand against Han Yunxi’s back to hold her still.
Han Yunxi didn’t wake up at all. She wasn’t quite dead asleep, but she’d gotten used to hands straightening her out before she could turn over. Baili Mingxiang and Zhao mama would use pillow to prop her upright, or flip her over to keep lying on her stomach. In the beginning, the action woke her up, but she was able to sleep peacefully once she got used to the help.
Sitting behind Han Yunxi, Long Feiye’s eyes carefully examined her back before moving on to her face. Seeing her sleeping expression only made him reveal a wry smile.
He smiled!
Baili Mingxiang was seeing it for the first time and felt that it changed Long Feiye into a completely different person. So he really does know how to smile.
“Where’s the place you were talking about?” Long Feiye asked.
Baili Mingxiang recovered and walked over before pointing at a tiny scab. “The burns are rather severe here. If we keep using esteemed w.a.n.gfei’s medicine, it’ll heal, but it might leave faint traces of scars in the future. That’s why this servant darned not use medicine.”
“And then?” Long Feiye asked.
“According to what chenqie knows, the Imperial Physician Courtyard contains a type of decoction called that Smooth Black Jade Dew. It can heal all sorts of injuries until the skin is smooth beneath scabs and scars. It’s also low maintenance and requires now after care. But since this concerns the mistress, this humble servant dare not disturb her,” Baili Ming reported respectfully.
Long Feiye said without hesitation, “Have someone gather ingredients for the prescription. You can withdraw now.”
Although Baili Mingxiang had set up this entire scenario to just gauge Long Feiye’s reaction to the phoenix birthday, she was still left empty at heart when she heard these words. “Yes,” she murmured before leaving the room.
Long Feiye’s gaze drifted back to the phoenix birthmark. He found its shape unique and leaned in close for a better look, only for Ning Xiaoyao to suddenly wake up. She sleepily opened her eyes and tried, “Mingxiang…”
Sensing something was off, Han Yunxi turned around and saw Long Feiye approaching her instead.
“Ahhhh!” With a shriek, she stopped Long Feiye in his tracks, leaving him at a loss. This was clearly his estate, but why did he feel like an unwelcome thief? Unhappy, he m.u.f.fled Han Yunxi’s mouth. Now she was truly awake but still shaken. She looked at Long Feiye just as he was examining her. She instinctively reached for the covers, but Baili Mingxiang had already rolled them to the foot of the bed, leaving her exposed!
Anxious, she reached out and covered Long Feiye’s eyes with her hands. Finally, the two of them sat, one blinded and the other m.u.f.fled. She wanted to speak but couldn’t; he wanted to see but hadn’t.
“Mggmh,” Han Yunxi began to struggle. In the end, Long Feiye gave way first and withdrew his hand.
“Hurry and close your eyes!” she demanded. Long Feiye simply turned his head away to look elsewhere, throwing off Han Yunxi’s hands at the same time. She finally realized how silly every was. If this man had wanted to take advantage of her, just covering his eyes wouldn’t fix anything.
He sat with his back to her, making it impossible to see his expression. But he simply got up and covered her with the covers. “You were in the middle of turning over,” he explained.
Still, he didn’t turn back. After explaining what Baili Mingxiang had done, he actually went to leave the room.
Just like that? Han Yunxi suddenly felt a bit disappointed, but Long Feiye stopped right outside the door and said, “Woman, you have a very beautiful birthmark on the bottom of your back. And also, your lords.h.i.+p likes white-red very much.”
Han Yunxi frozen. It was a long time before recovered enough to realize she was wearing nothing but a wine-red dudou!
This…b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Han Yunxi’s head dropped as she examined herself, her face flushed with a retort, “It’s the pale white one that looks better, alright?!”
Once she made sure that Long Feiye was gone for real, she got off the bed and grabbed a hand mirror to reflect her back. She had no idea she had a birthmark, but after looking all over with the mirror, she finally found the spot of red skin near the base of her spine that resembled a pair of pretty wings.
So Long Feiye saw up to that much just then? Han Yunxi ended up falling deep into her thoughts. After this, Baili Mingxiang got a sound lecture from Han Yunxi, who remained quiet until she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Esteemed w.a.n.gfei, you and His Highness are husband and wife. This isn’t a problem at all.”
Han Yunxi didn’t answer, so Baili Mingxiang kept mum as well. The air between them grew awkward before Baili Mingxiang joked, “Esteemed w.a.n.gfei, His Highness dotes on you. You shouldn’t cause His Highness to suffer…”
Han Yunxi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her “husband and wife” relations.h.i.+p with Long Feiye wasn’t something that could be explained in three lines! She simply glanced at Baili Mingxiang and kept quiet once again. The girl chuckled in turn and dropped the subject.
Another day pa.s.sed before Han Yunxi’s back injury was fully healed. She waited for the dead skin to peel off fully while Baili Mingxiang sent men to the palace to ask for medicine. When Gu Beiyue found out about the situation, he specially sent over an anti-itching liquid. A wound felt the worst during the scabbing process, but Han Yunxi avoided the worst of it with Gu Beiyue’s medicine in tow.
On this morning, she and Long Feiye were preparing to head for Pill Fiend Valley when someone suddenly came from the palace. Apparently the palace had just gotten a s.h.i.+pment of exotic flowers and herbs, so n.o.ble Consort Chu was inviting esteemed w.a.n.gfei to the imperial gardens.
Any idiot could tell that this was just an excuse to draw her into a trap. Why are there always so many problems going on?
Han Yunxi grew irritated. She really didn’t want to go, but Long Feiye rejected the invitation for her before she ever opened her mouth. “Your lords.h.i.+p and esteemed w.a.n.gfei have business outside the city, so we’ll have to politely refuse n.o.ble Consort Chu’s good intentions.”
A n.o.ble consort was no empress dowager or empress, so the Duke of Qin was fully capable of dismissing her words. Just like that, Han Yunxi happily left Tianning Capital with Long Feiye…