Only after the breathing beside him had settled into a deep, even rhythm did Shen Xiabai slowly open his eyes. His gaze fell on the woman’s stunning face, fixed there without blinking.
“A Chu.” He reached out and lightly tapped her on the tip of the nose.
Three days. Tonight, at last, he could sleep peacefully.
Cui Yunchu shifted in her sleep. Perhaps his arms were warmer, because she burrowed deeper into his embrace.
Delighted, Shen Xiabai tightened his hold around her. Spring seemed to bloom in the corners of his eyes and brows.
“Shen-Cui A-Chu.”
“Stop talking. I’m sleepy.”
Shen Xiabai asked, “A Chu, between Princess An and the Crown Princess, whom do you like more? Whom do you favor?”
Cui Yunchu turned over, presenting him with her back. She tucked her feet against his body to keep warm. “Of course Yunfeng. She’s my own younger sister.”
Shen Xiabai lay down and gathered her completely into his arms, gently patting her back. “Go to sleep.”
The faint candlelight cast the shadow of the two embracing figures onto the window paper. Outside, the cold wind howled, while inside, warmth filled the room.
#
“Ah—!”
Before dawn, Cui Yunchu was jolted awake by a roar that seemed to split the heavens. She sat bolt upright, her eyes still barely open.
“What happened? What happened? Is the sky falling?”
A strong, warm arm encircled her waist and pressed her back down. “It’s cold. Be careful not to catch a chill.”
Cui Yunchu shot him a sidelong glance. “Why haven’t you left yet? It’s almost dawn.”
Shen Xiabai pulled her against his chest. “This is my wife’s courtyard. Why should I leave? You said you liked me.”
“…”
Was he afraid she would forget?
What did her liking him have to do with his spending the night in her chambers?
Before they could discuss it further, the commotion outside grew louder. Cui Yunchu immediately pushed Shen Xiabai away, threw on an outer robe, and climbed out of bed, intending to go outside.
Just then, the door was suddenly shoved open.
“Miss, there’s an assassin! Please be careful.”
Nanny Zhang burst in and stood protectively in front of Cui Yunchu, her old face flushed dark red.
A tall figure stopped at the doorway without following her inside. Cui Yunchu turned her head and glanced over. It appeared to be Yu Feng.
Shen Xiabai also got out of bed. Nanny Zhang, who had already been frightened nearly out of her wits, saw the sudden appearance of a man in the room and almost fainted. She covered her mouth tightly, terrified that someone outside might hear her.
By the candlelight, she had now clearly seen the man’s face—the Lord Shen whom Miss had always claimed was devoted to her.
“What happened?” Cui Yunchu asked.
Nanny Zhang’s expression was ghastly. The corners of her mouth trembled, and with a thud, she dropped to her knees, suppressing a heartbroken wail.
“Miss, this old servant… this old servant’s decades of virtue and purity are ruined!”
“????”
It felt as though someone had struck Cui Yunchu hard over the head. She was so shocked that she could barely make a sound.
She looked toward Yu Feng, who was pacing anxiously outside the door, then at Nanny Zhang, kneeling on the floor and sobbing as though her life had ended. Her head buzzed violently, as if it were about to explode.
#
Cui Yunchu and Shen Xiabai sat fully dressed in the seats of honor. Nanny Zhang knelt before them, crying so hard she looked ready to faint at any moment, while Yu Feng wore the expression of a man whose entire world had collapsed. He had nearly torn his hair out.
After listening to the broken account for a while, Cui Yunchu finally understood.
Nanny Zhang had kept watch outside the door until midnight, then returned to her room to sleep. When she woke, she discovered a man lying beside her and was scared half to death.
Though she was no longer young, she had never married. Yet in her old age, she had somehow spent the night sharing a bed with a man.
“Miss, this old servant cannot go on living! My reputation, my purity—they’re all gone!”
Cui Yunchu: “…”
She glanced sideways at Yu Feng.
This was truly outrageous. If it had been Xing’er, at most she would have beaten him to death. But he had actually gone after Nanny Zhang, a woman with a face full of wrinkles.
The corner of Cui Yunchu’s eye twitched. Her hand clenched, then loosened; loosened, then clenched again.
If Nanny Zhang no longer wanted to live, Yu Feng would be dead in an instant!
He stood there helplessly, as though the heavens had collapsed around him.
“Madam—no, Eldest Miss Cui, this subordinate… this subordinate…”
At last, he understood what it felt like to grow more and more aggrieved until one wanted to cry as one spoke.
He looked toward his master.
Under the candlelight, Shen Xiabai’s face had turned livid.
His own attendant had slept in the bed of his future wife’s nanny. In all his life, he had never lost face so thoroughly.
Nanny Zhang shuffled forward on her knees until she reached Cui Yunchu’s feet. “Miss, you must uphold justice for this old servant!”
Cui Yunchu looked horrified.
Uphold justice? How was she supposed to do that? Make Yu Feng marry her?
She bent down and hauled Nanny Zhang to her feet, her expression awkward. “Stop crying for now.”
Her head was beginning to ache.
“Yu Feng, why were you sleeping in Nanny Zhang’s bed?”
Yu Feng puffed out his cheeks, looking as though he was trying not to cry. “Master told me to wait outside for a while, so I did. But then…”
His master had extinguished the lamp and gone to sleep.
“The wind in the courtyard was strong, and it was bitterly cold. I found an empty side room and thought I could make do for the night. But then…”
That had been Nanny Zhang’s room. It had clearly been empty when he went to sleep.
If only he had known, he would have chosen to freeze to death.
Cui Yunchu turned to look at Shen Xiabai.
For a brief moment, the two masters were speechless.
Cui Yunchu first sent the sobbing Nanny Zhang out of the room.
“Shen Xiabai, what do you think we should do about this?”
Yu Feng’s eyes widened, and once again he felt the sky collapsing. What did she mean, what should they do? Was she really going to make him take responsibility?
“Madam, this subordinate swears he didn’t even touch the hem of Nanny Zhang’s robe.”
Shen Xiabai frowned and looked at Yu Feng with utter disdain. Still, the boy had followed him since childhood, so he cautiously suggested, “It was an accident. Not many people know about it…”
“You mean we should simply let it go and pretend nothing happened?”
Cui Yunchu raised her voice slightly. Shen Xiabai immediately lowered his head and fell silent.
Yu Feng looked from his master to Cui Yunchu. He had already decided where he would go to bash his head against a wall after returning.
The atmosphere grew somewhat stifling. After a moment, Shen Xiabai spoke again, his voice soft and gentle.
“A Chu, it was truly an accident. Yu Feng is still young.”
Yu Feng nodded repeatedly.
The meaning of his life was to marry a wife, have children, and give his life in service to his master. Without that meaning, he might as well die.
He pursed his lips and knelt on the floor. “Master, Madam, just beat this subordinate to death.”
Even if they beat him to death, he couldn’t take responsibility for this.
“…”
Cui Yunchu was not unreasonable. Although she favored Nanny Zhang, she could not force anyone into marriage. More importantly, even she lacked the face to suggest such a thing.
“A Chu,” Shen Xiabai suddenly said, “was Nanny Zhang never married and without children?”
Cui Yunchu nodded. “Yes. Ever since I was little, she’s treated me like her own daughter.”
Shen Xiabai offered a compromise. “Yu Feng is an orphan as well. Why not have him acknowledge her as his mother? That way, he can care for her in her old age.”
It would at least serve as compensation for Nanny Zhang.
Cui Yunchu thought the idea was acceptable. Marriage was out of the question; otherwise, they would not even gain this convenient son.
“What do you think, Yu Feng?” Cui Yunchu asked.
Without a second word, Yu Feng scrambled to his feet, rushed to the doorway, dropped to his knees, and called out brightly to Nanny Zhang:
“Mother!”
*
Cui Yunchu rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh of relief.
What on earth was going on with everyone these days?
