After Becoming a Succubus, I Was Offered to My Mortal Enemy - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Perhaps it was due to the Chen-shui incense in the room, but Ning Yuan slept soundly, only lazily crawling out of bed at noon. Just as she was about to change her clothes, she remembered that she had spent the night in Sikong Xue’s room.

She looked around blankly; in the daylight, this room felt even colder and more desolate than it did at night.

Sikong Xue’s sword was still resting on the rack, but Ning Yuan wasn’t as afraid of it anymore. She walked forward and lightly brushed the somewhat faded tassels of the sword pendant.

It really was the sword pendant she had given to Sikong Xue. The bead hanging from it was one she had secretly taken from her mother’s hairpin back then. For that, she had even received a scolding from her mother.

Back then, Sikong Xue had clearly said it wasn’t good-looking. Why hadn’t she changed the pendant even after changing her sword?

On second thought, perhaps Sikong Xue was simply accustomed to being frugal; looking around her room, there wasn’t a single valuable vessel. It must be that the Grand Preceptor’s family discipline was strict, forbidding the younger generation from being extravagant, so Sikong Xue kept this pendant just for show.

There were no clothes for her in Sikong Xue’s room. In broad daylight, she couldn’t exactly wander around the manor in her nightgown. After some thought, Ning Yuan pushed open the door, intending to ask the attendants outside to fetch her a garment.

She had expected to see Sikong Xue’s personal attendants, but to her surprise, she was met with the faces of Chun He and Xia Xun.

Xia Xun said, “Miss, you’re finally awake. You must have been exhausted last night.”

Ning Yuan nodded blankly. Walking all the way here on an empty stomach was a bit exhausting. However, having filled her belly last night and slept for quite a while, she no longer felt tired.

Before she could react, a group of maids filed into the room. Chun He and Xia Xun helped Ning Yuan change into newly tailored clothes and styled her hair in a trendy bun. Once Ning Yuan was finished dressing and turned around, the table was already covered with various medicinal cuisines and mountain delicacies.

Had she starved her yesterday only to feel guilty today? Is that why Sikong Xue ordered the kitchen to make all this good food?

Chun He served Ning Yuan a large bowl of chicken soup stewed with donkey-hide gelatin and said, “This soup is best for nourishing Qi and blood. Please drink more, Miss. The Master is likely delayed by court affairs and will be back in a while.”

Ning Yuan understood. This was a signal for her to hurry up and finish eating, then go back to her own courtyard and hide. After all, Sikong Xue had previously ordered her not to loiter in her presence.

Ning Yuan held the bowl and took a sip. The taste was mediocre—it was medicinal food, after all, so she couldn’t be too picky. As long as she didn’t have to eat that “slop” made by the foreign chef, she was willing to eat anything.

She just couldn’t figure out why, for no reason at all, they wanted her to “nourish her blood”? She wasn’t on her period; there was no need to be so careful.

Having eaten and drunk her fill, she thought about returning to the West Court to avoid Sikong Xue, but the maids said, “Why doesn’t the Miss wait here for the Master to return?”

“Wait for her to return?” Ning Yuan frowned. Didn’t Sikong Xue want to avoid seeing her?

Seeing the people in the room looking at her with eyes full of smiles, Ning Yuan suddenly realized something. These naughty girls must think that she and Sikong Xue had… last night!

They really were people of Sikong Xue’s manor; just like Sikong Xue, their heads were filled with nothing but improper thoughts! Ning Yuan ran out with a flushed face, while Chun He and Xia Xun hurriedly chased after her, fearing she might trip.

Having just returned to the manor, Sikong Xue was momentarily dazed as she saw the two maids chasing Ning Yuan through the flower bushes. She remembered how, in their childhood, they used to play hide-and-seek; A-Yuan would cheat even after being caught and slip away from her just like that.

Sikong Xue had practiced martial arts since she was a child; how could she not catch Ning Yuan? She only pretended she couldn’t so they could play a little longer. A-Yuan would slip away and even make a face at her.

“Sikong Xue.” Yin Chiyun saw her staring blankly and quickly pulled her back to reality.

Seeing this foreign tribute again, Yin Chiyun still couldn’t help but be startled. She looked too much like Ning Yuan. Especially in these fine silks, her hairpins swaying slightly as she ran, her features looking lovely whether in joy or anger. Compared to their first meeting, the woman had a bit more flesh on her face, no longer looking piteously thin as she did when she first arrived in Great Liang.

It seemed Sikong Xue was treating her extremely well, though Sikong Xue herself might not have noticed.

Sikong Xue snapped out of it, called Song Yan over, and said, “Didn’t I say that when I am in the manor, do not let her wander in front of me? You’ve performed your duties like this—do you want to be punished again?”

She was running so fast; if she fell, someone would have to take care of her. What a hassle.

Song Yan hurriedly said, “It must be that the people in the manor thought that since the Miss received your favor, she no longer needed to follow those rules.”

Sikong Xue’s face changed. “What nonsense are you talking! What favor?”

Yin Chiyun looked at Sikong Xue with an expression that said she had discovered something extraordinary. Sikong Xue claimed she wouldn’t treat this foreign woman as Ning Yuan and talked about finding a medicine that could suppress the heat of passion for a lifetime. Yin Chiyun had taken this to heart, consulting medical books and ancient texts for days, hoping to concoct a medicine to completely cure the woman’s heat.

She had come to Sikong Xue’s manor today specifically to check the girl’s pulse and then prescribe medicine. Who would have thought Sikong Xue had already… with her? No wonder Sikong Xue looked like she hadn’t rested well during the morning court today.

She had worried that Sikong Xue was weary because she was missing Ning Yuan, but it turned out she was indulging in carnal pleasures and getting no rest. She should have known Sikong Xue was a master of pretense. Back then, anyone could see Sikong Xue liked Ning Yuan, yet Sikong Xue refused to admit it and would constantly make the girl cry.

Just as Yin Chiyun was about to head home, Sikong Xue stopped her. Sikong Xue hadn’t forgotten the main business: “You haven’t checked her pulse yet.”

Yin Chiyun gave a teasing smile. “Aren’t you the medicine? Why do you need me to prescribe more? Speaking of which, she was specially sent by the foreign tribes; there must have been someone to train her. She must have served you quite comfortably last night, right?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Thinking of the misunderstanding last night, Sikong Xue’s expression became even more unnatural.

“In my heart, there is only A-Yuan. How could I do such a thing with her! Last night she was hungry and wanted to find some pastries in the kitchen, but accidentally found her way into my room. Fearing the night was deep and the dew heavy, I let her rest in my room temporarily. I slept in the side room last night; nothing happened between us.”

For someone who usually spoke very little, the more she explained, the more it felt like she was trying to hide something. Song Yan didn’t quite believe it, but since her Master said so, she accepted it.

Yin Chiyun laughed. “Fine, fine, she was ‘accidental.’ You specifically settled her in the courtyard furthest from your bedroom, yet she was so accidental that she found her way to your room…”

Sikong Xue’s face showed anger, and she said, “If the Minister of Justice knew that the rash on his body that day was your doing, I wonder if he would complain to the Grand Physician.”

“Don’t you hate that old fogey too? Why are you using this to threaten me?” If her mother knew she used her medical knowledge to play pranks, she would surely be scolded again.

Yin Chiyun carried her medical chest to the West Court. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw Ning Yuan playing with the two little maids in the courtyard. The two maids, thinking Ning Yuan and Sikong Xue had done that kind of thing last night, had started teasing her as soon as they returned, leading Ning Yuan to chase them around.

Yin Chiyun cleared her throat, and the two maids stopped and greeted her. “Lord Yin, why have you come?”

Yin Chiyun said, “I have come to check this lady’s pulse.”

Ning Yuan stared blankly at Yin Chiyun. “I don’t feel unwell.” She had broken out in a light sweat just now, so her cheeks were slightly flushed and her beautiful eyes held a trace of confusion.

Sikong Xue had originally been worried that Yin Chiyun wouldn’t find the place, so she accompanied her to the West Court personally. But just seeing the foreign woman from a distance made her heart race again. Fortunately, she was hiding far away so the foreign woman wouldn’t see her.

Yin Chiyun felt as if there were needles in her back. Turning around, she saw Sikong Xue standing behind a tree, staring at her gloomily, as if she didn’t trust her to be in a room alone with this foreign woman.

Yin Chiyun: …

It must be an illusion; the person before her wasn’t Ning Yuan. Besides, Sikong Xue was the one who asked her to check the girl’s pulse—what was Sikong Xue glaring at her for? Yin Chiyun simply closed the door to the West Court to avoid the creeping sensation of being watched.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Yin Chiyun didn’t enter the house but sat at the stone table in the courtyard to check Ning Yuan’s pulse. She placed a silk handkerchief on Ning Yuan’s wrist and, through the cloth, took her pulse.

The pulse was no different from an ordinary person’s. If she hadn’t known beforehand that she was a foreign Succubus, Yin Chiyun would have taken her for a normal person. Finding nothing unusual in the pulse, Yin Chiyun considered for a moment before asking, “In the past, how often did your heat of passion occur?”

In broad daylight, being asked such a thing made Ning Yuan’s face turn bright red instantly. She had known since childhood that Sikong Xue and Yin Chiyun were often outspoken, making the academy teacher slam the table several times in anger. How could they still be like this even after becoming officials?

Seeing her shyness, Yin Chiyun quickly said, “Don’t be afraid. I am a proper physician of the Imperial Academy of Medicine. I have no improper thoughts toward you.”

Ning Yuan: …

Could a close friend who grew up with Sikong Xue truly be a “proper person”?

Seeing her bite her lip in silence, her eyes darting about, Yin Chiyun explained further: “Sikong Xue asked me to help prescribe some medicine to suppress the heat so you can live like an ordinary person and not be troubled by it anymore.”

“Truly?” A light finally appeared in Ning Yuan’s eyes. She didn’t want to be controlled by the heat either. Displaying such a state in front of Sikong Xue made her want to find a hole to crawl into.

Yin Chiyun said, “Naturally it is true. But right now your pulse is steady, and I can’t determine anything. If I am to prepare medicine, I’m afraid I’ll have to wait until you…”

“No!” Sikong Xue, who had no idea how long she had been eavesdropping, pushed open the courtyard door without a second thought as soon as she heard Yin Chiyun say that. This woman looked exactly like A-Yuan; her appearance when the heat of passion rose was so alluring—how could it be seen by someone else?

Ning Yuan was startled. Why did Sikong Xue suddenly jump out? On second thought, she figured it made sense; how could Sikong Xue be kind enough to help her with her illness? She must be trying to humiliate her. She huffed back into her room and slammed the door, refusing to see either of them.

Yin Chiyun, exhausted by the antics, said, “Lord Prime Minister, do you want me to treat her or not?”

Sikong Xue said, “You claim your medical skills are superb; why must you wait until such a time?”

Yin Chiyun suddenly thought of something and laughed. “Sikong Xue, tell the truth—have you already seen her like that…?”

The more Yin Chiyun spoke, the uglier Sikong Xue’s expression became. How could Yin Chiyun dare to say such a thing?

“Song Yan, see the guest out!”

Even as she was being ushered out, Yin Chiyun didn’t forget to provoke her: “Sikong Xue, didn’t you say you were keeping me for dinner?”

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