In the blink of an eye, autumn had arrived.
The mornings and evenings were growing cooler each day.
There were still three months until the end of the year, and Liu Yushu was to attend a banquet at the Prince Yu's Mansion. At home, her father and grandmother wouldn't let her do anything but prepare for the year - end banquet hosted by Prince Yu.
Her father had procured precious fabrics and all kinds of valuable hairpins and jewelry for her, insisting that she must dress up brightly and charmingly in front of Prince Yu.
She knew exactly what was on her father's mind. He hadn't changed his nature; he was just hoping that she would catch Prince Yu's eye and become the princess, bringing glory to the family.
Princess? Heh, Liu Yushu had no interest. In her past life, she had been a concubine, yet still ended up dying with hatred in her heart.
In this life, she didn't aspire to marry someone of high - ranking power. All she wanted was a man who would love her whole - heartedly and protect her for a lifetime.
That man was Wu Qing.
But more than a month had passed in a flash, and Wu Qing hadn't come to see her even once.
At night, she could only hug the quilt alone and shed silent tears in her dreams. She missed Wu Qing terribly, so much that the bone - deep yearning made her restless all day long. It tortured her so much that she had lost weight.
Liu Yushu was already slender, and her pale face made her look even more pitiful and endearing than usual.
Zui Tao came in with a bundle of fabrics and placed them on the tea table. "Miss, the fabrics you asked for are here."
Liu Yushu put down the bowl in her hand. She had only taken a few sips of the congee and couldn't swallow anymore. Zui Tao tried to persuade her, but to no avail.
Her heart grew even more desolate. When would he come to see her?
Liu Yushu secretly swore that if Wu Qing came back, she would never let him leave again.
Tears welled up in her clear eyes. She fought back the urge to cry bitterly and chose a smoky - gray fabric.
After cutting it out, she carefully sewed it with a needle. She noticed that he didn't have many good clothes, and with autumn coming, she wanted to make a set of clothes for him with her own hands. The smoky - gray color suited his cold personality.
As she was thinking, suddenly her finger hurt. The needle had pricked her finger, and a drop of bright red blood welled up like a red bean.
"Miss, you should let the servants do this kind of rough work. It took so long to take care of your fingers. What if they get hurt?" Zui Tao saw it and anxiously tried to persuade her.
Liu Yushu ignored her, sucked the drop of blood from her finger, and continued sewing the clothes. She thought that Wu Qing had suffered so much for her, and this little injury of hers was nothing.
She couldn't sleep at night, ate and drank little, and stayed up late by the lamp. It took her three days to finish the clothes. After that, she fainted from exhaustion.
When she woke up again, it was already deep night.
Liu Yushu got out of bed, walked to the window, and stared blankly outside. She hoped that Wu Qing would suddenly appear and hug her tightly. A sudden cold wind blew, chilling the warm tears on her face.
-
On the other side, Wu Chunzhe had been trying to intercept Zhao Qin but had been unsuccessful. Since he had been cut by a kitchen knife by Zhao Qin last time, Zhao Qin had been hiding at home and didn't step out at all.
Zhao Qin was lecherous but timid and extremely cunning. He knew that he would surely be retaliated against, so he simply hid at home. He didn't believe that Wu Chunzhe and Liu Yushu would dare to break into his house.
Wu Chunzhe came to Zhao Qin's house at night. He climbed over the wall and jumped in. There were night - patrolling guards in the Minister's Mansion. He hid in the darkness and quickened his pace. All the way to Zhao Qin's room, he took out the pre - prepared silver needles and, while the two guards at the door weren't paying attention, stabbed them in the necks. The two guards immediately fell silently.
The medicine on the silver needles could make people unconscious.
Wu Chunzhe only wanted Zhao Qin's life this time. These servants were just following orders, and he wouldn't kill them indiscriminately.
Inside the room, there came the weak and painful cries of a woman. Zhao Qin was taking his anger out on a maid and beating her.
Wu Chunzhe cursed silently in his heart: This brute is really a beast.
He quietly pushed the door open. Zhao Qin was too busy going crazy to notice. The maid was beaten black and blue, with her hair in a mess. Her limbs were tied with ropes and she couldn't resist. Even so, Zhao Qin didn't allow the maid to cry out. If she dared to make a sound, Zhao Qin would beat the woman even more brutally until the maid was beaten beyond recognition.
"Say, say that Liu Yushu loves me to death and can't live without me for a lifetime." Zhao Qin grabbed the maid's neck and threatened her with bulging eyes. There was a long, raised scar on the left side of his chin where he had been cut by Wu Chunzhe with a kitchen knife last time, making him look even more hideous.
The maid was choked and couldn't breathe or make a sound. Zhao Qin punched the maid even more brutally while cursing angrily, "Liu Yushu, you bitch. You've been flirting with other men all day long and still pretending to be innocent. You're just a born slut."
The vulgar words were all aimed at Liu Yushu. Zhao Qin was crazy and had taken the maid as Liu Yushu.
Wu Chunzhe couldn't bear it anymore. He kicked Zhao Qin hard in the waist. Zhao Qin fell to the ground at once and shouted, "Which dog is sneaking up on me!"
Looking back and seeing the murderous look in Wu Chunzhe's blood - red eyes, he immediately cowered and retreated in a hurry. "Don't mess around. If you dare to touch me, my mother won't let you go, and neither will my father." Then, he grabbed the maid and used her as a shield, hiding behind the maid. His voice trembled with fear. "Wu Chunzhe, we're both men. It was my fault to laugh at you before, but we don't have to fight over a Liu Yushu. Women are like clothes. If you like her, I'll give her to you. I can even help you tie her up for you to enjoy. Please spare me. Don't hurt me."
Disgust and contempt were written all over Wu Chunzhe's eyes as he stared at Zhao Qin. A silver light flashed by.
The man and the woman looked at the sharp dagger in Wu Chunzhe's hand and were so frightened that they stammered incoherently.