After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: The End of Rain and Dew

The night breeze was warm, and the spring air was lingering and tender.

The window was left with only a thin slit; the wind entered the room, lifting the woman’s loose, dark hair. It slid from her rounded, fair shoulders and fell onto Yan Yunti’s shoulder, the ends of the hair brushing against her collarbone with a fine, scattering itch.

Yan Yunti had her right leg bent upward, her back leaning against the wall by the window. Yuan Jingxue sat in her lap, trapped between her right leg and her chest, a shallow layer of sweat already forming on her forehead.

Outside the window, the moonlight seeped through the gap into the room, landing precisely on Yan Yunti’s face. Her eyes reflected the starlight and the moon as she looked at the moistened beauty in her arms. “Can Your Highness see my expression clearly?”

The beauty’s clothes were loose; the light crimson garment hung haphazardly on her body, the sash having long since been untied and tossed aside. The collar had slid from her shoulders, bunching up at the crooks of her arms.

Yuan Jingxue’s hands rested on Yan Yunti’s shoulders. She looked at the leisurely and self-possessed Qianyuan, slowly leaning closer to her, speaking in a soft, fine voice: “A-Yun, what are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking,” Yan Yunti frowned slightly, appearing quite troubled as her fingertips hooked and toyed with the other’s hair, “after Your Highness’s Rain and Dew period ends, will you cast everything that happened today to the back of your mind, relying only on the Pheromone Pills and refusing to see me ever again?”

Pheromone Pills could not completely resolve the Dependency Period. Knowing this was impossible, she still used it as an excuse to be mischievous.

Yuan Jingxue pursed her lips tightly. Her fingertips on Yan Yunti’s shoulders dug into her skin. Amidst her misty, blurred vision, she asked softly in return: “And what about you?”

“Me?” Yan Yunti pressed her right leg against Yuan Jingxue’s lower back, pulling her into her embrace. “Can Your Highness not see it? The affection and obsessive madness in my eyes?”

The tears in Yuan Jingxue’s eyes condensed and fell onto the girl’s cheek. She raised her hand to stroke Yan Yunti’s eye corner, using the moonlight to look into the young woman’s eyes that were filled with “affection.”

But it wasn’t enough.

Yuan Jingxue’s lips lightly landed on the corner of Yan Yunti’s eye, her trembling, delicate voice sounding like a lover’s secret whisper: “A-Yun, do you know? When I first saw you at the Thousand-Year Banquet that day, I felt… these eyes of yours were born very beautiful.”

Yan Yunti’s gaze flickered as she met the woman’s eyes, which were overflowing with the light of spring. “Is Your Highness speaking the truth?”

Yuan Jingxue did not answer. Her fingertips slid down to Yan Yunti’s neck, stroking the spot where the silver needle had pierced that day. Her murmured whispers rose again: “That day in the secret chamber, when I let you bite me… I had not actually lost my mind.”

Yan Yunti froze, her lips parting as if to ask something.

Yuan Jingxue reached out to press against her lips, a shallow smile surfacing in her eyes. “In fact, if one were to look closely into it, I was the one who chose you in that secret chamber.”

In such a situation, choosing Yan Yunti had been her best decision. Whether that decision was right or wrong, or whether it was mixed with selfish motives, Yuan Jingxue still could not distinguish even now.

And at this moment, she had no intention of trying to distinguish it.

Amidst the ambiguous and blurred words, her hand stroked back to Yan Yunti’s cheek. During a brief pause, the watery light in her eyes receded slightly, her pupils clearly reflecting Yan Yunti’s face. Her tone became increasingly soft and slow: “I suppose it’s probably because our A-Yun was born too good-looking, making the me of that time…” Yuan Jingxue leaned down, her lips nearly touching, and said slowly: “…deeply tempted, unable to resist.”

With a clack, the window that had been cracked open was suddenly blown shut by the night wind.

The pheromones Yan Yunti had been restraining at her nape were released wantonly at this moment, coiling around the magnolia scent permeating the room, intertwining and merging tightly.

During a brief separation of their lips, Yuan Jingxue looked at Yan Yunti’s expression seriously for the first time. It was much as she had expected; Yan Yunti’s eyes held only her, appearing as though they could only contain her. They were filled with an irrepressible obsessive longing that was inexplicably startling to behold.

Yuan Jingxue felt a late-blooming sense of regret. She thought that perhaps she shouldn’t have provoked the Qianyuan so, especially not now.

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t have told me these things.” Yan Yunti saw her trying to pull back and grabbed her waist to pull her back. Her peach-blossom eyes stared intently at the woman. “Didn’t Your Highness want to see me lose my composure? Then look well, look closely, and look for a long time.” Each sentence was heavier than the last. The swarming cedar pheromones surrounded Yuan Jingxue completely like a dense spiderweb, trapping her within so thoroughly she could hardly breathe.

At dawn, Yan Yunti gently placed the drowsy Yuan Jingxue on the bed and tucked her in, then quietly went to clean up the mess on the daybed.

The clothes, cushions, and thin blankets on the daybed had not been spared. After a moment’s thought, Yan Yunti simply poured several pots of tea over it, soaking everything to serve as a cover-up.

When she finished cleaning and returned to the bedside, Yuan Jingxue was already fast asleep. Yan Yunti took off her shoes and socks to climb into bed, gently pulling back the woman’s collar. Upon seeing the large patches of red plum-blossom marks blooming on the snowy skin, she sucked in a sharp breath.

She had truly lost control last night.

Yuan Jingxue’s words had directly triggered her Dependency Period. At first, she hadn’t noticed, but later she became increasingly unable to restrain herself, bullying the woman until she was weeping, calling out “A-Yun” until her voice was hoarse… only then did she realize something was wrong, but it was too late.

Medicine definitely had to be applied.

Yan Yunti didn’t want to wake her. She put on her outer robe, went to the main hall to fetch the medicine, and returned silently, taking off her shoes to climb back into bed. Yuan Jingxue was truly exhausted and had no reaction to any external movement; she only let out a few groans when the medicine was applied, her brow furrowing in discomfort.

Yan Yunti lightened her touch again and again, finishing the application with a mind free of stray thoughts. She threw the soaked towel and the clothes from the daybed together and went to sleep while holding the woman, still fully dressed.

It was already afternoon when they woke.

Sunlight poured into the room, illuminating everything within the bed curtains. Yuan Jingxue’s eyelids fluttered, feeling that something wasn’t quite right. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up; Yan Yunti was sitting at the foot of the bed, lifting the quilt and looking at something.

Feeling the coldness of the ointment, Yuan Jingxue raised her foot to kick the girl, but her legs had no strength. Just as she lifted it, she was caught, and a delighted voice came over: “Your Highness is awake?”

Meeting the young woman’s bright eyes, Yuan Jingxue didn’t find them radiant at all. Her ankle shifted as she barked coldly: “Get the hell down.”

Yan Yunti felt guilty, so she wasn’t angry at being scolded. She lightly held Yuan Jingxue’s ankle and emphasized: “I’ll go down after I finish applying the medicine. Your Highness hasn’t eaten until now and surely has no strength. I’ve already had them prepare lunch. After I help you wash and dress, we will eat.”

Yuan Jingxue desperately wanted her to get out, but she truly lacked the strength. Having slept for so long without food or water, her whole body was now sore and weak. She could only allow Yan Yunti to finish applying the medicine.

Yan Yunti even wanted her to eat in bed, but Yuan Jingxue insisted on sitting at the dining table. Yan Yunti placed a soft cushion for her and coaxed her to eat more; no matter how cold the Princess’s face was, the girl didn’t get angry in the slightest.

Yuan Jingxue hadn’t wanted the girl to follow her back to the main hall, but cold words couldn’t drive her away. She simply let her be, allowing Yan Yunti to serve by her side, bringing tea and carrying items with great diligence.

The world knew that Kunze had Rain and Dew periods, so there were no important matters during these few days, and no one came to disturb the Eldest Princess. Yuan Jingxue brought along the books she often read; even for books she had read many times, she had the patience to reread them again and again.

Of course, that was provided Yan Yunti didn’t keep staring at her.

“Do you have nothing to do?” Yuan Jingxue put down her book and looked coldly at the person sitting opposite her.

Yan Yunti smiled, handing over a cup of floral tea she had poured. “I told you, serving Your Highness is my most important task.” Having said that, her gaze fell upon the book in Yuan Jingxue’s hand, looking thoughtful: “I recall Your Highness finished reading this book yesterday?”

Why reread it today?

“A beneficial book does not feel tedious even after a hundred readings,” Yuan Jingxue said before sipping the tea.

Hearing this, Yan Yunti felt she was subtly criticizing the books she read. She argued: “Your Highness hasn’t even read them, so how do you know those books are not beneficial?”

“Then tell me, wherein lies the benefit?” Yuan Jingxue asked in return.

Yan Yunti said as a matter of course: “The book taught me how to play hard to get. Last night, didn’t Your Highness come to find me? And said those things to me…” She had praised her eyes as beautiful, her face as tempting, and said she was the one who chose her. If one were to truly look into it, the cause of last night’s events did not lie with her.

“Those words were not spoken to you by me,” Yuan Jingxue put down her teacup, her expression calm.

Yan Yunti heard something amiss, her peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly. “What does Your Highness mean by that?”

“Haven’t you made the distinction yourself? ‘A-Xue’ and ‘Her Highness,'” Yuan Jingxue reminded her faintly. “Therefore, those words last night were spoken to ‘A-Yun’ by the ‘A-Xue’ in your mouth. Whether they were true or false, there is no need to believe them too much.”

Hearing such an answer, Yan Yunti actually felt a sense of “as expected.” She had long known that with the Eldest Princess’s personality, it was impossible for her to truly have such a tender side. Last night had been nothing more than an attempt to lead her into losing her composure, to see her also controlled by desire.

Knowing this was the case, hearing such words still felt a bit uncomfortable. Yan Yunti covered her heart and gave a bitter smile: “Your Highness is as heartless as ever, refusing to leave me even a single shred of hope.”

Yuan Jingxue remained unmoved: “Miss Yan didn’t lose out either, did she?”

Having been so dissolute and tasting everything she shouldn’t have, she didn’t think the Qianyuan had anything to be sad about.

Yan Yunti laughed instead upon hearing this. Although she had bullied the woman too much last night, those memories… were indeed very good. She propped her chin on one hand to admire the beauty, nodding slightly: “True, I didn’t lose out. Your Highness’s Rain and Dew period has only been two days; there is at least one day left. It will be enough to keep me full, serving to get me through the days of longing after we separate.”

Yuan Jingxue didn’t want to say any more to her, withdrawing her focus to her book.

However, this peace lasted for only two hours. As the sky outside darkened, Yuan Jingxue felt discomfort in her body. The temperature of the gland at her nape began to rise; it had been in a state of slight warmth, but the sudden spike felt scorching.

Yan Yunti came back with a book, saw that something was wrong, and asked her: “Shall we go to the hot spring in the rear hall?”

Yuan Jingxue nodded slightly, wanting to get up. The daybed in the side hall had already been ruined yesterday; she didn’t want to leave any more marks today.

“Don’t move, Your Highness.” Yan Yunti bent down to pick her up, still holding her book in one hand as she walked toward the rear hall.

Immersed in the hot spring, Yuan Jingxue let out a light breath. She had become accustomed to sitting in the Qianyuan’s lap and felt nothing wrong with it. Feeling the Qianyuan’s breath lingering around her nape, she thought for a moment and gave a reminder: “Be gentler.”

“I know.” Yan Yunti looked at the swollen gland at the Kunze’s neck. She wasn’t in a hurry to mark her; instead, she opened the book she had brought before the two of them. “Your Highness, whether a book is good or not can only be judged after you’ve seen it yourself. Why don’t we read together first?”

Yuan Jingxue didn’t want to look, but Yan Yunti patiently read aloud by her ear: “The entire household knew that the Eldest Princess never showed a kind face to her Consort. Only during the Rain and Dew period would the usually indifferent Princess reveal a side completely different from usual, her countenance becoming languid…”

Unable to block the girl’s mouth, Yuan Jingxue was forced to listen to much she didn’t want to hear. Furthermore, this book had illustrations; the ink-wash drawings expressed the forms and meanings beautifully. One picture of a couple bathing in water together looked as if it were drawn based on their current situation.

It was a scene before the Eldest Princess and the Consort divorced. Yan Yunti clearly enunciated the Consort’s words: “Your Highness, if I leave tomorrow, will you miss me even a single bit? Will you, in the depth of night when dreams return, miss the warmth and embrace of this moment? Will you be so unable to sleep at night that you think of me until dawn?”

“Stop reading.” Yuan Jingxue snatched the book from her hand and threw it onto the shore.

Yan Yunti looked at her irritated and blushing profile, laughing softly: “What is Your Highness angry about? This ‘Highness’ is not that ‘Highness.’ Your Highness certainly won’t be like the one in the book, thinking of me until dawn. Am I right?” As she spoke, her lips pressed against the back of the Kunze’s neck.

Yuan Jingxue could not answer, and Yan Yunti didn’t need her to. She knew what Yuan Jingxue’s answer would be, so she didn’t want to hear it. This final time of pleasure—let her enjoy it slowly.

The sun rose and set, and dusk arrived once again. Yan Yunti held the lightly gasping woman in her arms, stroking the gland at her nape where the warmth was fading. She understood clearly that Yuan Jingxue’s Rain and Dew period was over.

Yan Yunti opened her lips, wanting to ask something, but the words tangled in her teeth and then vanished. She then thought of the matter of Yuan Jingxue falling into the water in her dream. She spoke a sentence of sincere truth by Yuan Jingxue’s ear: “I only hope that from now on, Your Highness’s body and mind will be at ease, and there will be no more setbacks.”

The lingering sensations in Yuan Jingxue’s body had not yet faded, and her spine trembled under the girl’s touch. Hearing this, she said nothing. She only felt that these words were strange; it wasn’t as if they would truly never see each other again, so why produce such feelings of parting sorrow?

It was all likely just an act for her to see. How much of the truth in a Qianyuan’s mouth could be trusted?

With the Rain and Dew period over, Yuan Jingxue felt as though her rationality had returned completely.

That night, Yan Yunti slept in the side hall, no longer sharing a bed with her.

The moonlight was dim tonight; no candles were left lit in the inner chamber of the main hall, leaving it so dark that nothing could be seen clearly. Yuan Jingxue opened her eyes in the darkness. She was startled to find that she had slept on the outer side of the bed, her nose pressed against the soft pillow Yan Yunti had used. Smelling the scents that had not yet dissipated, she pulled her legs together tightly.

It must be the influence of that book. Otherwise, how could she have such a shameful dream? How could she possibly be tossing and turning, unable to sleep, just because of Yan Yunti’s departure?