After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Mutual Threats

Initiating the flirtation, yet refusing to take responsibility.

Yan Yunti stood up, resigned to her fate. Yuan Jingxue’s scent had already begun to seep through the medicinal patch; if she didn’t leave now, she feared she truly would lose control.

Yet, a spark of indignation lingered in her heart. Halfway through standing up, she caught sight of the Princess’s eyes, shimmering with a faint ripple of desire. On a whim, she leaned back down, pressing against that soft curves once more. Leaning close to the other’s ear, she whispered softly, “It seems Your Highness’s scent truly likes me.”

So much so that even a medicinal patch couldn’t block it.

Having said her piece, Yan Yunti quickly rose and departed, giving Yuan Jingxue no chance to reprimand her.

Yuan Jingxue let out a few long breaths. After a moment of recovery, she stood and pushed open the window lattice to let the lingering scent in the room dissipate.

This window faced the bamboo grove. In the distance, amidst the stalks, the young woman in blue held a green bamboo branch as a sword. Her figure danced gracefully, her movements sharp and vigorous—it was a sight quite pleasing to the eye.

Yuan Jingxue felt the gland at the back of her neck, which had just settled down, release another trace of scent.

She immediately averted her gaze and pulled the window shut.

Her current reactions were entirely driven by the Dependency Period; she must not allow her own mind to fall into disarray. Moreover, the events of today had made one thing clear: no matter how obedient a Qianyuan might appear on the surface, their nature was inherently “wicked.”

Yan Yunti practiced her swordplay in the bamboo grove for half an hour. Once her stray thoughts had vanished, she stepped into the medicine hut.

Yuan Jingxue’s side had not yet finished formulating the fragrance. Yan Yunti sat to the side and waited, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the Princess’s profile. The woman’s features were cold and elegant, like a painting, making it easy to lose oneself in the sight.

Not until the sound of two “thuds” on the table reached her ears did Yan Yunti awkwardly withdraw her gaze. She looked at Xu Su: “Physician Xu, what is it?”

“I need to make things clear to you both in advance,” Xu Su said with a physician’s gravity. “The Scent Pills cannot completely resolve your Dependency Period. They can only suppress it temporarily. The more deeply your scents are compatible, the weaker the effect of the pills will be. As for exactly how long they remain effective, you will only know after you try them.”

Xu Su’s voice grew heavy: “Once the Scent Pills fail to suppress the Dependency Period and you do not comfort each other in time, your bodies and minds will experience a certain level of discomfort—such as irritability, loss of appetite, headaches, or a slight fever in the gland. If it continues, the headaches will intensify, the gland temperature will rise, and in severe cases, the pheromones will spiral out of control. If you keep enduring beyond that, you risk burning out the gland, which is life-threatening. So—”

Xu Su tapped the table twice for emphasis. “Do not force yourselves to endure. Comfort when comfort is needed; mark when marking is needed. There is no fixed duration for the Dependency Period; it can last for over a year or be as short as a month. Things having reached this point, you should prioritize your own health.”

Xu Su could see the awkwardness between them, which is why she offered these extra instructions.

Yan Yunti nodded in agreement. “Thank you for the warning, Physician Xu.”

She thought Xu Su was finished, but the doctor continued: “Also, special care must be taken during the Kunze’s ‘Dew Period’ (estrus). It is extremely easy for things to go wrong then. Furthermore, since your health is already poor, your Dew Period will be harder to endure than most. You must not let your guard down, understood?”

These words were clearly directed at Yuan Jingxue.

A Kunze’s Dew Period occurred for three to five days every month. During this time, the release of scent was uncontrollable, and desire intensified, making the Qianyuan’s comforting marks an absolute necessity.

But what did she mean by saying Yuan Jingxue’s health was poor and her Dew Period would be harder than most?

Yan Yunti recalled something she had previously overlooked—when Yuan Jingxue had reached out to press her collar, the fingers that touched her nape were slightly chilled. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Yuan Jingxue was not dressed lightly; logically, she shouldn’t have been cold.

Yan Yunti had doubts but did not voice them. Although they had been physically close earlier, their relationship was actually quite distant. She had no standing to pry into the Princess’s privacy.

Before leaving the hut, Yan Yunti said to Xu Su, “Physician Xu, regarding our visit today, I hope you can…”

“Today I have been alone in this hut organizing herbs. No one has come to visit,” Xu Su replied, her hands never stopping their work.

Yan Yunti bowed in gratitude. “Thank you, Physician Xu.”

Stepping out of the Qingxuan Temple, the afternoon sun spilled down lazily, making one feel comfortable all over. Yan Yunti stretched her muscles and began walking down the mountain.

She hadn’t hurried to leave earlier because she had gone to see the famous Master Mingxu of the temple. The dreams she’d had over the past half-month had turned into reality, leaving her perplexed. She had used metaphors from ancient texts to discuss the matter with the Master, eventually arriving at the concept of “Destiny’s Opportunity.”

If someone truly could foresee future events, wouldn’t that be an opportunity to change the future? The matter was too profound; Yan Yunti wasn’t sure if she would ever have such dreams again.

She reached the bottom of the mountain and was about to untie her horse’s reins when a carriage driver approached her, whispering, “Her Highness requests Miss Yan to join her in the carriage.”

The driver’s footsteps were silent—clearly a trained martial artist.

The Princess is inviting me? Has the sun risen in the west?

Upon leaving the medicine hut, the Princess hadn’t said a single word to her, treating her like an invisible person.

Yan Yunti showed no surprise and walked toward the nearby carriage—the same one she had noticed earlier, built of sturdy and expensive materials. She climbed aboard and lifted the curtain, seeing the Princess sitting in the center.

The woman’s neck was slightly bent as she looked down at a book in her hands. She didn’t look up even when she heard the movement.

Yan Yunti took a seat near the door and asked proactively, “What does Your Highness wish to see me about?”

Yuan Jingxue closed the book and raised her eyes to look at the Qianyuan, getting straight to the point: “On the day of the Millennium Banquet, the person who schemed against you was the Third Prince.”

On that day, the Inner Guard had sealed off the Yaohua Pavilion under the pretext of guarding against assassins, trapping the Third Prince in a side hall. Afterward, they questioned the palace servants and eunuchs one by one. Though there was no physical evidence left, all the clues pointed to Yuan Yuxiu.

Yuan Jingxue added, “It seems you already knew.”

Yan Yunti’s face remained calm, showing no surprise. She hadn’t expected Yuan Jingxue to call her up just to tell her this. She had spent a fair amount of time with Master Mingxu; had Yuan Jingxue actually waited specifically for her just for this?

Yan Yunti nodded. “I will not hide it from Your Highness. That day, I saw the Third Prince’s personal eunuch, Chen Jin, near the side hall, so I already had my suspicions.”

“Then do you know that after the banquet, half of Noble Consort Rong’s power to manage the inner palace was handed over to Virtuous Concubine Min?” Yuan Jingxue continued.

This was a matter of the inner palace, so Yan Yunti naturally didn’t know. She could understand Noble Consort Rong losing power, but Concubine Min benefiting?

“Your Highness wants to tell me that not only did the Third Prince pay no price, but he actually benefited?” Yan Yunti frowned slightly.

“Can Miss Yan not figure out the reason?” Yuan Jingxue asked instead of answering.

Yan Yunti remained silent for a moment. This wasn’t hard to understand. From Yuan Jingxue’s perspective, the more fiercely Consort Rong and Concubine Min fought, the better. When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman wins.

Yan Yunti still didn’t quite understand. “I understand the ‘why,’ but I don’t understand why Your Highness is telling me this?” She had no desire to involve herself in the struggle for the throne.

Yuan Jingxue met her gaze, her voice indifferent. “Because I do not want you to learn of this from someone else’s mouth. You and I have been tethered together. I do not wish for the day to come where I am betrayed by someone ‘beside me’.”

Yan Yunti suddenly understood Yuan Jingxue’s meaning. Consort Rong losing power and Concubine Min benefiting must have been Yuan Jingxue’s doing. If Yan Yunti found out from someone else, she might develop a grudge. Given her relationship with the Princess, if someone were to use that grudge to make her do something…

A surge of dissatisfaction rose in Yan Yunti’s heart. Is this how Yuan Jingxue sees me? As someone so lowly and foolish?

The Qianyuan, who had been keeping her distance, suddenly stood up. She closed in on Yuan Jingxue, pressing her hands down on either side of the woman, leaning down until her face was inches away. Her expression was one of displeasure. “Is Your Highness threatening me?”

The seemingly obedient Qianyuan showed her fangs.

Yuan Jingxue was not surprised. She reached out and placed her hand on the Qianyuan’s neck, her fingertip tapping the gland at the nape. “You can interpret it that way. If you refuse to be obedient, I don’t mind letting you suffer the same fate as that Young Master of the Xiang family.”

Yan Yunti laughed from sheer anger. This was the aura of a ruler. How could the Eldest Princess possibly be a weak Kunze for her to bully?

“However,” Yan Yunti leaned into Yuan Jingxue’s ear, her breath brushing against the earlobe, “I am the type of person who hates being threatened the most. Your Highness is being so forceful—aren’t you afraid that when the Dependency Period becomes unbearable, an ‘unruly’ Qianyuan like me might bite even deeper?”