Four Seasons Brocade – CH 166

Chapter 166 ☆、

Ah Wu felt like Chu Mao had almost sucked all the moisture from her mouth. When she returned to the inner room, she drank a whole pot of water to quell her parched throat.

In the front courtyard of Bingxue Forest, Chu Mao was still engaged in a late-night conversation with his guests by candlelight. After bathing, Ah Wu looked out the window and saw figures still moving about inside, seemingly discussing until dawn.

Ah Wu lay on the bed, wide awake, unable to fall asleep. She had been sleeping far too much these past few days, and she began to miss the soft blankets of Yulan Hall. Chu Mao’s bed in Bingxue Forest was hard and uncomfortable. Moreover, the floor heating in Yulan Hall was strong, while Bingxue Forest—just thinking about the name made her feel chilled.

Ah Wu turned over, thinking that she should tell Chu Mao tomorrow that she was going back to Yulan Hall. Bingxue Forest always felt a little uncomfortable since she was on someone else’s turf. Ah Wu sighed, regretting that she still had not been able to step into Shuangjian Tower.

The next day, when Ah Wu woke up, it was already broad daylight. Before she even opened her eyes, she felt a slight discomfort in her chest. When she opened her eyes and looked down, all she saw was jet-black hair.

Ah Wu stirred, and Chu Mao rubbed his face against her chest before falling back asleep.

Ah Wu disdainfully tapped Chu Mao’s forehead with her index finger, gently pushing his face away. Of course, she still remembered how she had accidentally gotten close to Chu Mao because she was cold, only to be pushed away in disgust, with the blanket being folded into a perfect line to separate them. Ah Wu thought that with Chu Mao’s strength, even a dead pig would be woken up.

Chu Mao was still a little drowsy. Seeing that Ah Wu had pushed him away, he leaned back against her, rubbing against her a few times. “Why not sleep a little longer?”

Ah Wu was completely wide awake, only feeling a stinging pain in her chest from Chu Mao’s rubbing. “Why did Your Highness not practice your martial arts today?” Since Ah Wu entered the mansion, there had never been a time when Chu Mao was still asleep when she woke up.

Chu Mao leaned back, rubbing his temples as if he had not woken up yet, then turned back and pulled Ah Wu into his arms. “Sleep a little longer with me.” Chu Mao closed his eyes again.

Ah Wu was completely helpless against Chu Mao’s overly familiar manner. “I…” The words “I am awake” were swallowed by Chu Mao pressing his foot down on her leg. Ah Wu thought to herself, if anyone saw them, they’d think they were twisting pretzels.

Poor Ah Wu, in Chu Mao’s hands, was utterly powerless. Forced to remain on the bed by Chu Mao, she was both angry and annoyed and had no choice but to stick her buttocks out, trying to extricate herself from under Chu Mao’s legs.

But as soon as she arched her back, Chu Mao slapped her on the buttocks, slamming her flat on the bed, his body almost entirely on top of Ah Wu. Ah Wu tried to twist, but the hard object on her buttocks froze her.

Ah Wu’s mind involuntarily flashed back to the ugly image of the man in the picture book that Lady Cui had given her, which she had burned. Then, the silhouette under the lamplight, which she tried so hard to forget, resurfaced in her mind—the silhouette of Concubine Wang eating…that… for Master Rong that night. At the time, Ah Wu was too confused to understand what it was, which was why she had only fallen seriously ill.

Now that theory and practice were combined, the thought of Concubine Wang repeatedly eating a man’s genitals made Ah Wu want to vomit.

Ah Wu quickly covered her mouth with her hand, gagging. Chu Mao noticed her distress and immediately released her, carrying her to the bedside. Ah Wu leaned halfway out of the bed, vomiting up a lot of bile. Her stomach and throat ached, and tears streamed down her face.

“Wen-Mei!” Chu Mao called out.

Wen-Mei, who had been waiting outside, rushed in. Seeing Ah Wu’s condition and smelling the odor in the room, she quickly poured a cup of tea and handed it to Chu Mao.

“Rinse your mouth,” Chu Mao said, handing Ah Wu the tea. Wen-Mei quickly took the cup and offered it to her.

Ah Wu rinsed her mouth, unable to bear the smell in the room. She frowned slightly, then was carried, blanket and all, to the outer room to lie down on the couch. Wen-Mei quickly tidied the inner room.

“What’s wrong? Did you eat too much last night and upset your stomach?” Chu Mao reached out to touch Ah Wu.

Ah Wu was nauseous. She twisted her shoulders to avoid Chu Mao’s hand, covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and gagged again, this time dry heaving.

Chu Mao withdrew his hand and sat silently opposite Ah Wu. Their eyes met, and Ah Wu guiltily looked away. She used to dislike being touched, but as a child, she loved to snuggle in Lady Cui’s arms, and Ah Wu had not thought anything was unusual about her. But now, she could tolerate Chu Mao touching her, but anything related to that… well, Ah Wu could not stand it.

Ah Wu gradually realized something was wrong with her. Someone like her was simply incapable of having children. But Ah Wu knew that Chu Mao had been quite good to her lately, and her reaction had definitely angered him. Ah Wu felt a deep sense of helplessness, realizing she was ungrateful and powerless to change anything.

If she could, Ah Wu would have loved to flatter Chu Mao, but alas, she had no choice.

After feeling guilty and remorseful for a while, Ah Wu looked up at Chu Mao again. She wondered what he was thinking, so engrossed in his thoughts. “Your Highness, Your Highness,” Ah Wu called out twice before Chu Mao snapped out of his reverie.

“I will have He Nianfang come and take your pulse,” Chu Mao said.

“No need, it’s not my stomach…” Ah Wu quickly stopped herself, not saying anything more.

Suddenly, the intimacy between Ah Wu and Chu Mao these past two days seemed to vanish like smoke, leaving only an awkward distance.

After He Nianfang took Ah Wu’s pulse, he said she was much better and only needed two more doses of calming medicine.

“Your Highness, I wish to move back to Yulan Hall today.” Ah Wu lowered her head, revealing a section of her snow-white neck. Through her open neckline, one could see her collarbone, which made one’s body tense.

“Mm,” Chu Mao nodded slightly in response.

Whatever Chu Mao promised, he carried it out with utmost efficiency. Before noon, Ah Wu had already moved back to Yulan Hall.

“Your Highness, you are finally back!” Upon hearing the news of Ah Wu’s return, Nanny Sang felt much better and insisted on personally welcoming her.

Ah Wu’s return to Yulan Hall was not particularly exciting; to her, it was like a simple trip. But for Nanny Sang and the maids of Yulan Hall, it was like being reborn. Even the usually cold and aloof Nanny Gong had tears in her eyes. Seeing their excitement, Ah Wu herself felt a little moved to tears. She had not expected that her illness would cause them such worry and discomfort. Ah Wu first comforted Nanny Sang before calling Zi-Shan and the others to speak privately.

“Tell me about what’s happened these past few days,” Ah Wu said, leaning comfortably against her large pink-purple embroidered butterfly and peony cushion. She took a long breath, feeling that even the scent of Yulan Hall was better than that of Bingxue Forest.

Zi-Shan hesitated for a moment before saying, “The Princess went to Bingxue Forest…”

Before Zi-Shan could finish, Ah Wu interrupted, “Start from the day I fainted.”

Upon hearing this, Zi-Yi knelt with a thud. “That day it was all my fault! If I had not been careless, Master would not have been blamed by the Prince, and then…” Zi-Yi burst into tears, unable to continue due to sobs.

“Get up, it’s not your fault; I was arrogant,” Ah Wu said softly. “Tong-Guan, help Zi-Yi up. Zi-Shan, you continue.”

Zi-Shan had thin lips, and her mouth moved quickly, recounting everything that had happened in the past few days clearly.

“You mean even He Nianfang said I was beyond saving?” Ah Wu was genuinely surprised. He Nianfang was the imperial physician appointed after Chu Mao ascended the throne, and his medical skills were widely recognized.

Zi-Shan and the others nodded vigorously.

Zi-Shan then mentioned the later Taoist Master Changchun and then Zen Master Huitong of Daci Temple. The more Ah Wu listened, the more alarmed she became, her face growing increasingly pale. No wonder she felt she could not control her body, sleeping for seven or eight days without any medical help, yet she needed the assistance of monks and Taoists. Chu Mao even recited three sutras for her every day. Could it be that Heaven was about to take away the life of this monstrous little devil?

Ah Wu was enjoying her life, but she could not bear to leave the mundane world. She made up her mind immediately.

“During my time in Bingxue Forest, did the Prince punish you?” Ah Wu asked again.

Zi-Shan said somewhat excitedly, “It’s all because we servants did not protect our mistress well. The Prince’s punishment was justified.” Actually, Zi-Shan and the others felt incredibly lucky to have survived. They did not dare look at Prince Qi’s gaze a second time.

“How did he punish you?” Ah Wu raised her voice slightly. She did not believe Zi-Shan and the others had not protected her; the enemy was clearly too powerful at the time.

“The Prince has already been merciful to us. He only fined us half a year’s wages and forbade us from leaving Yulan Hall.” Zi-Shan looked terrified, showing no resentment at the punishment. In fact, she seemed to wish Chu Mao would punish them more.

This was rather mild, which made Ah Wu feel slightly better.

That evening, Ah Wu thought Chu Mao would not come to Yulan Hall, but to her surprise, he walked in before dinner. He was kind and gentle to Ah Wu and did not make things difficult for her. When he noticed the box containing the jade lion that had been tossed into the corner, he even took it out and played with it for a moment. After glancing at Ah Wu’s feet, he tossed the jade lion back into the box.

“I will recite a sutra for you,” Chu Mao said to Ah Wu after dinner.

This time, Ah Wu showed no impatience. She listened attentively to Chu Mao’s recitation. Finally, she said to him, “Your Highness, I’d like to go to the Daci Temple to burn incense in a couple of days.”

“Very good, I was just about to mention that to you,” Chu Mao said.

After saying this, the two exchanged a glance and guiltily looked away. Ah Wu was guilty, afraid that Chu Mao would see through her disguise as a demon who had died and come back to life, while Chu Mao was afraid that Ah Wu would be frightened by the talk of ghosts and spirits.

The two tacitly avoided mentioning Ah Wu’s coma again.

Ah Wu had initially been worried that Chu Mao would stay at Yulan Hall. After what happened this morning, she was very reluctant to share a bed with him. However, Chu Mao was very perceptive; after reciting the sutra, he returned to Bingxue Forest.

The arrangements for Ah Wu’s trip to Daci Temple were made the next day, with Chu Mao personally accompanying her. Ah Wu even secretly lit an oil lamp for the deceased eunuch. Chu Mao, in turn, ordered Lu Ruoxing to add extra money for incense oil so that the monks at the temple could recite a rebirth mantra for the lamp every day.

On the carriage returning to the Prince Qi’s Mansion from Daci Temple, Chu Mao said to Ah Wu, “I’ve already sent someone to the Bai family. In a few days, the Bai family will come to discuss marriage. You should meet them then.”

Ah Wu did not immediately recognize the Bai family. Only upon hearing the words “discuss marriage” did she realize it was for Xiangsi’s sake, and the Bai family was the very family on Ah Wu’s list, which Chu Mao had rejected outright.

“Your Highness…” Ah Wu suddenly felt immense pressure.

Author’s Note:
Si Mao: Do not push people too hard.
Dang’s Mom: That makes sense.
Master Ming: Hypocritical.
Ah Wu: I have another bad feeling.
Also, I was deeply impressed and embarrassed by the cultural level of the names everyone suggested for Brother Si-Mao. I summarized yesterday’s comments: Hanhui, Zexu, and Runyu were all good, each with its own connotation. Actually, I prefer men giving women’s names, like Chu Liuxiang, Lu Xiaofeng, Wahaha.
Some readers even strongly argued that Zesheng was good, meaning “benefiting all living beings,” which was nice, but I did not think Brother Si-Mao would choose such an obvious name.
I was thinking, how about Hanyu? Yu, of course, is Rong Xuan’s Yusheng, and Han, this character is too meaningful. I don’t know if it’s okay.
Actually, I also thought of one yesterday: Jinghui, from a poem about fog, Jinghui means foggy. And the character Hui had a self-deprecating meaning, but I always felt that Hui was unlucky. Oh dear, so difficult.