"Moreover, the Prince had to take care of a lot of things, his health is needed to be taken cared of more than anything else! As for those idle parasites… Just leave them to fend for themselves…" Su Jinxiu glared at Qiu Yue who was in front of her. Her cherry lips drew a trace of a sinister curve, and with a smirk, she left haughtily!
"You!" Qiu Yue wanted to chase Su Jinxiu to contend with what she just said, but she was stopped by Li Ping.
"Yue'er… Don't cause trouble for the Wangfei! You should know the position of Su Jinxiu in this Manor. Now that the Old Duke and the Prince of Ping weren't around, the head of the entire Xiao Manor was practically the Prince of Qi. If you offend Su Jinxiu, then it's the same as offending the Prince of Qi…" Li Ping earnestly reminded Qiu Yue. "Don't worry, I will make another one. It would be better than that one...! Just help me with the fire so it would be done in no time..."
"Chef Li, I know this matter is out of your hand. It's just that in her position, a servant of this manor just like us, she couldn't do that to Wangfei! Even though she was the late Wangfei's personal maid, but she shouldn't act haughty, forgetting her position in this house and ignoring the line of authority! Who does she think she is?!" Qiu Yue angrily spoke, her eyes fiercely glaring at the direction where Su Jinxiu had left out.
"It's not that she's forgetting her position in this house, it's just that...
Seeing Li Ping's back towards her, Qiu Yue's bright eyes dimmed. She couldn't help but sigh. Indeed… Although Su Jinxiu was just a maid, but in the eyes of Prince of Qi, she was more than a maid. Thus, Su Jinxiu bullying her Mistress she could really not do anything. So whatever grievances she had for her Mistress, she could just keep them inside her heart...
A fragrance of night-blooming jasmine lingered within the room wafting into the slightly opened door to the hallway. The sweet smell permeated the air, intoxicating people into tranquility and daydreaming. The drifting green drapes were gently swayed by the gentle breeze coming from the widely opened window.
On the exquisite carved bed, Xiao Jinfeng slumped against the bed rail, his deep gaze staring sorrowfully at the white rabbit in his arms.
"Xiao Rou… Are you thinking about your Mistress… Me too… I really wanted to see her face one more time..." His heart broke at the thought! 'Shi Rou… Where are you?! I've been waiting for you in my dreams every night, yet not even once you came... Are you blaming me? Is this your way of punishing me? Even though you kept on telling me that I should marry Duan Muyan, but I know, in your heart you were hurting! How hard it was, how burdened you were... I am so, so sorry! It was all my fault! There are too many 'ifs' that I wish I did; too many things that I wish I said! Too many... there are just too many! But can I, at least just once, see you again, Shi Rou... Just once is all I am asking... I beg you...!' The warm tears rolled down unrestrictedly like a surging spring onto his cheeks, soaking his clothes and breaking his heart!
In his arms, the white rabbit with the name 'Xiao Rou' seemed to have felt his master's sadness. The entire room was filled with an inexplicable sense of sorrow.
Right at this moment, the door opened with a creak. Su Jinxiu walked in at inappropriate time while carrying the bowl of bird's nest porridge that she had snatched from earlier.
"Get out!" Without even looking back, Xiao Jinfeng let out a furious roar that frightened Su Jinxiu so much that she didn't know what to say nor do for a moment.
"I will call you if—!" Xiao Jinfeng's deep black eyes were terrifying! But when he saw the person who had interrupted his solitude, he saw Su Jinxiu standing there, petrified! His heart suddenly hurt, as if it was being stabbed by a knife. Every time she saw Su Jinxiu, Chu Shirou's figure would always appear in his mind.
"You're here to deliver the porridge to Xiao Rou…" Xiao Jinfeng spoke dejectedly, his body slowly turning back to its original position. In his hand, the white rabbit was still obediently lying in his embrace! It didn't move at all.
As she looked at Xiao Jinfeng's beautiful face which was growing thinner by the day, Su Jinxiu felt tormented! In this world, if there was a person she truly cared about, it would be Xiao Jinfeng.
"Your Highness… Mistress is already dead...! Regardless of whether His Highness is willing to admit this or not... It can't be always like this... If Mistress is still alive, she would definitely not want to see you in this state!" Su Jinxiu chocked with sobs as she spoke. Her hands, which were holding the bird's nest porridge, were trembling with agitation.
"Who asked for your opinion! Get out! Leave me be!" If it were any other time, he would have had Su Jin Xiu dragged out! But now, just like the white rabbit in his arms, Su Jinxiu was someone related to his late wife that he had to protect and keep. Not for anything else, but to let him remind of his wife.
"Your Highness… Pull yourself together?! Mistress is dead! You still have you life! No matter how dejected you are, no matter how much you tortured yourself, it would be the same, she won't be coming back! In this world, it was not just the Mistress who had treated—!"
"Pah!" Before Su Jinxiu finished speaking, she already felt a burning pain on her cheeks. In front of her, Xiao Jinfeng's eyes were burning with rage. He looked at the servant girl in front of him with hostility and clenched his hands into fists.
"Your Highness… If Xiu'er can help you placate your anger, then Xiu'er does not mind for a few more...! What Xiu'er only desire in this world is for the Prince to move on and stop hurting himself...!" Most of the porridge on the tray had been spilled, but Su Jinxiu stubbornly held tightly to it and didn't let it fall onto the ground. She stood still despite of the force she took from Xiao Jinfeng, and her tears kept filling the air!
Su Jinxiu had never allowed herself to be at the mercy of anyone, but to Xiao Jinfeng, she is willing to be vulnerable and powerless!
As if being awakened from a nightmare, Xiao Jinfeng saw the five-finger mark impressively displayed on Su Jinxiu's face! His heart shook and trembled. At this moment, the reality had really struck him well—his wife, whom he loved the most in his life, had died, and would never, ever come back to his arms again!
Normally, after suffering great injustice, Chu Shirou would always be the first one to speak up for her personal maid, Su Jinxiu. She would angrily point a finger at his nose with a warning not to treat her little sister unfairly! She had always treated her personal maid as her little sister. But now…!
Xiao Jinfeng suddenly felt that this room of her late wife was so cold, so lonely, and so heart wrenching! In his heart, the last line of defence was finally defeated. Xiao Jinfeng crouched on the ground like some child and cried his heart out. On the battlefield, he was a world-shaking general legend. But at this moment, as reality dawned on him, the loss of a lover defeated him overwhelmingly!
Looking at Xiao Jinfeng squatting on the floor like some child and sobbing like a small beast, Su Jinxiu slowly put down the tray she has been carrying and squat down in front of Xiao Jinfeng. Her hands moved so fast that they wrapped around Xiao Jinfeng's shoulders. At this moment, it was as if they were the only people in this world. Su Jinxiu never thought that happiness would be so close to her.
"Your highness…" Su Jinxiu embraced Xiao Jinfeng emotionally. She fantasised about using her embrace to warm the heart of this man, her most beloved, and them eventually falling in love. At this moment, she felt that she was so close to victory. Her beautiful dream had finally become a reality!
"Shi Rou… Shi Rou, is that you?!" Feeling that his body was being tightly embraced, Xiao Jinfeng looked up with a joyful expression. What she saw was Su Jinxiu's face!
"Make way…" A chill spread from the bottom of his heart as Xiao Jinfeng mercilessly pushed Su Jinxiu to the ground. He abruptly stood up, and his cold gaze was mixed with an ice-cold chill!
"Xiu'er! You're getting more and more presumptuous!" Xiao Jinfeng's deep voice did not carry a trace of warmth.
"Xiu'er knows her wrongs… Only Xiu'er doesn't want to see His Highness suffer any further… Xiu'er wouldn't dare doing it again, Your Highness…" From the heaven to hell, it only took a second. Su Jinxiu could even feel the killing intent coming from Xiao Jinfeng!
"Scram!" Xiao Jinfeng waved his hand coldly and turned to walk towards the white rabbit. Speechless, Su Jinxiu stood up and put away the tray. When she stepped out of the room, she couldn't help but look back and see Xiao Jinfeng staring at the white rabbit in a daze.
'Xiao Jinfeng, you are mine! It doesn't matter who, whether she's dead or alive. But I won't let anyone take you away from me...! Over my dead body!'
When Qiu Yue returned to her room with the bird's nest porridge that Li Ping made, Duan Muyan was already in a slight slumber. However, she was awoken by Qiu Yue opening the door.
"Yue'er, what took you so long to come back...?" Duan Muyan rose to her feet and slowly got off her bed.
"Wangfei... You must be careful of that Su Jinxiu in the future!" Qiu Yue didn't want to trouble Duan Muyan, so she simply gave a brief reminder!
"What is it? Did she make trouble to you again?" Duan Muyan was startled when she heard this. She immediately walked towards Qiu Yue and hastily inspect her. She only calmed dow when she saw that she was unharmed.
"It would have been better if it was me she's causing trouble with... However, Yue'er is afraid that the real target of her covetous act is Wangfei!" Qiu Yue wanted to say something, but she hesitated. Although they hadn't spent much time together, Qiu Yue knew that her Mistress was a kind-hearted person.
"Heh... Forget it... Perhaps it's because her Mistress passed away, so she was just overly sad..." After which, she sat down.
"Wangfei, Chef Li really made this bird's nest really special for you... Have a taste Wangfei while it's still hot!" As Qiu Yue cheerfully spoke, she poured the bird's nest porridge into a porcelain bowl and respectfully passed it to Duan Muyan.
"Then we should be careful in the future and not gave her any reason to make problem for us. Okay...?" Duan Muyan smiled, but Qiu Yue somehow sensed some sadness in it. The smile was light, like a cloud passing languidly along with the wind, it didn't mean to stay. Qiu Yue knew that until now her Mistress was still in so much pain from the loss of her loved ones beside her: the death of her mother; the ill-fated love she'd ever dream of; and the brother she never knew when to see him again.
Time passed by day by day like the beads in the Buddha's hand. The days passed by in a dull and unremarkable manner.
Imperial Palace
Xiao Yuxuan had walked into the Tinker Pavilion with excitement in his eyes when he saw Duan Jingyang coughing non-stop!
"Jing Yang?! Are you okay?! How come your illness is getting worse as days past by?! Didn't the imperial physician noticed anything?!" Ever since Xiao Yuxuan spent most of his days these past few weeks in the pavilion attending and assisting Duan Jingyang, the First Prince's body had become healthier and stronger every day. However, in just a month, he had lost a considerable amount of weight!
"I'm fine... It's good that you came... Yuxuan...
"Jing Yang, I came this time to tell you that the Emperor agreed for me to go home. And that's tomorrow. Now, I will be able to see Mu Yan again...! Don't worry, if I see Mu Yan is not well, I will definitely bring her away... But Jing Yang, if you truly care about Mu Yan, you should take care of your body. Consort Li had just died. And if destiny permits that you will see Mu Yan again sooner, then how are you going to face her with you like this?!" Xiao Yuxuan looked at Duan Jingyang who looked liked a withered manuscript, and a trace of bitterness flashed in his heart!
"The truth is, I am suspecting that there was something in the medicine being sent by the physician. It's just a simple cold, and yet it hasn't improved after a full month intake of medicine! So I've secretly poured out the concocted medicine this past few days, and I actually felt a bit better... But it doesn't matter, really... whether this is good or bad... What really matter is... if I die... Mu Yan will be free...!" Duan Jingyang spoke with a wry smile. That glint that flickered in his eyes made Xiao Yuxuan shudder!
"Jing Yang! How can you think that way...?! Mu Yan has given so much for you! How can you be so selfish?! How could you not know that Mu Yan's greatest wish is for you to be safe! In this world you are her only family!" Xiao Yuxuan reprimanded him sternly. It had never occurred to him that Duan Jingyang could have such selfish thoughts...