Chapter 11: I’m Your Wife
Lin Xueyi spent half the day having an emotional breakdown in her chamber after Rong Shuyan asked her to make the Golden Wound Medicine from scratch.
[Maybe I should’ve just told him I was having an affair with Rong Mingze! That would’ve been much easier!]
Worse yet, what if she accidentally made poison instead of medicine? She would definitely be accused of trying to poison the Sixth Prince!
"Princess Consort, are you alright in there?" Lin Xueyi’s personal maid, Mei Lu, knocked on the door again. "It’ll be dark soon, and you haven’t eaten anything. Princess Consort, would you like this servant to bring you some food?"
Unlike the other maids in Prince Rui’s Manor, Mei Lu had come with Lin Xueyi from the Lin family’s residence.
She was thirty years old, only ten years older than Lin Xueyi, but since Mei Lu’s mother had served the Lin family for many years, Mei Lu had known Lin Xueyi since the day she was born.
Because of that, she noticed that something was truly different about Lin Xueyi. Ever since the day Rong Shuyan nearly died, the Princess Consort had been acting strangely. Mei Lu didn’t know what had happened, but seeing Lin Xueyi looking stressed all the time made her worry more and more.
On the other hand, Lin Xueyi finally realized that her stomach had been growling for quite some time. The original Lin Xueyi might have enjoyed starving herself, but she definitely wasn’t like that!
Besides, if she didn’t eat, she wouldn’t have the energy to think.
She opened the door and said to Mei Lu, "I would love that. Thank you."
Mei Lu’s eyes widened in surprise because this was the first time Lin Xueyi had ever thanked a servant. In the past, she had always believed that serving her was simply their duty, so there was no reason to thank them.
"T-This servant will bring it right away, Princess Consort!"
Lin Xueyi watched Mei Lu with a puzzled look. She became even more confused when the woman hurried off as if she had just seen a ghost.
Still, she didn’t think much about it. Her mind was already busy trying to figure out how to make the Golden Wound Medicine.
[Oh! I’ll ask Physician Liu tomorrow!]
Unfortunately, just before sunrise, Physician Liu left Prince Rui’s Manor to visit his nephew, who had suddenly fallen ill.
In his place, Gu Yao, his disciple, remained at the manor.
Wouldn’t it be better to ask a female physician instead? Not at all.
Gu Yao’s personality was almost the same as the original Lin Xueyi’s. More accurately, they were two sides of the same coin.
Both of them were willing to do anything to get what they wanted, no matter the cost.
The only difference was that the original Lin Xueyi had tried to kill Rong Shuyan so she could inherit his fortune, while Gu Yao wanted to win his heart so she could enjoy that same fortune by making him fall deeply in love with her.
In the novel, she even went as far as secretly giving Rong Shuyan wine mixed with an aphrodisiac, hoping to trick him into believing they had spent the night together.
But to her shock, Rong Shuyan chose to drink poison instead of letting a woman touch him. The poison wasn’t strong enough to kill him, but it was enough for Gu Yao to be sentenced to death for deliberately poisoning the Sixth Prince.
Rong Shuyan could have punished Gu Yao the moment he found out she had mixed an aphrodisiac into his wine, but his pride seemed too great for him to tell anyone about that part.
No matter how many times Lin Xueyi thought about it, she still couldn’t understand how someone could casually drink poison!
The poison even had left him shivering from the cold for two days and two nights!
[Still... I guess that’s better than letting Gu Yao touch him.]
Since Gu Yao was the only physician left in the manor, Lin Xueyi decided to head to the library pavilion instead. The novel had mentioned that Prince Rui’s library held an enormous collection of books because he loved gathering knowledge from everywhere.
Surely there would be plenty of books about medicine as well.
"Princess Consort."
Lin Xueyi jumped in surprise when she heard Rong Shuyan’s voice. The moment she turned around, she saw Eunuch Shen pushing his wheelchair toward the library pavilion.
"I didn’t expect to see you here this early," Rong Shuyan said. His gaze slowly traveled from her feet to her face, and he noticed that she looked much neater this morning than she had yesterday.
"Oh, hi—I mean, good morning, Your Highness!" Lin Xueyi greeted, quickly giving him a small bow. "What brings you here so early, Your Highness?"
Rong Shuyan looked at her strangely. "This is my library. Do I need a reason to be here?"
[Why does he have to answer so bitterly like that?!] Lin Xueyi complained inwardly. [And of all places, why does he have to come to the library this early? There are so many places in this manor! Why here?!]
In complete contrast to the storm raging inside her head, Lin Xueyi replied with a gentle smile. "Of course not, Your Highness."
"And what are you doing here, Princess Consort?" Rong Shuyan asked.
Without thinking too much, Lin Xueyi answered, "This is my library as well. Do I need a reason to be here?"
She blinked several times while keeping the smile on her face.
[He’s never told the original Lin Xueyi that she wasn’t allowed to enter the library pavilion... so that means I’m allowed in, right?]
The truth was, Rong Shuyan had never bothered to say it because the original Lin Xueyi had never cared about books in the first place.
Sometimes, he even wondered if she could read at all, considering she spent more time bothering the fish in the pond than filling her head with knowledge.
"I don’t really enjoy having company," Rong Shuyan said flatly.
The corner of Lin Xueyi’s lips twitched. So this was his polite way of telling her to leave.
Did she want to leave? Not a chance.
This was the only library in the entire manor, and she wasn’t giving up that easily.
"But, Your Highness," Lin Xueyi said with an even brighter smile, "I’m not just your companion."
She placed a hand on her chest and smiled sweetly. "I’m your wife."