Murong Jiu performed a simple washing, changed her clothes, and applied some medicinal powder on her body before she walked out of the inner room.
She was born with an exotic fragrance, and after sweating, the scent would become even more intense. Her master said her body's fragrance could make men impulsive and had specially prepared the powder for her to mask the scent.
Jun Yuyan was sitting by the table, taking a sip of tea with an casual posture, which reminded her that this was originally Jun Yuyan's room, and she had boldly occupied it.
Seeing her come out, Jun Yuyan turned his head to look at her and asked how she was feeling.
"Thank you, Prince, for your concern, I was merely distressed by a nightmare. May I ask how Guard Yang is doing?"
"Thanks to the Princess Consort's rescue, his life is no longer in danger. He just needs to recuperate for some time to completely recover."
The two of them exchanged pleasantries and then had a meal together.
After dinner, Jun Yuyan stayed with her in the room for half a shichen before leaving.
During that half a shichen, Jun Yuyan was reading under the candlelight, while she was busy with something else on the other side. The two barely spoke, like two people with no connection at all.
When it was time for Jun Yuyan to leave, she tacitly stood up and accompanied him out to the courtyard.
Jun Yuyan had given her ample dignity, and she felt grateful. With these two nights' accommodation, the servants of the Prince Mansion would dare not gossip idly.
And the child within her womb would not be subjected to cold stares and called a bastard.
After leaving Qiyun Courtyard, Jun Yuyan turned back to glance at her. Murong Jiu's slender figure flickered in the lantern light, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, leaving an unusual imprint in his heart that he couldn't shake off.
Clearly, when he was waiting in the room, he had smelled a familiar fragrance, but when Murong Jiu approached, the fragrance had disappeared.
The third day was the day to return to her parents' home.
Chun Tao got up early to prepare, her spirits high. Despite the Marquis Mansion's people not being particularly kind to her mistress, that was where her mistress's parents lived, and since her mistress always respected her elders, she must be very happy.
However, looking at herself in the bronze mirror, Murong Jiu's face was devoid of any joy, her eyes filled with deep-seated hatred.
In her previous life, until her death, she had never thought that she was not the blood of the Marquis Mansion.
She had treated the Marquis and the Marchioness as her biological parents, believing that they did not favor her because of her poor fate. She thought that there were no parents in the world who did not love their child and that they must just be more reserved.
Little did she know, she was intentionally switched with their biological daughter, doomed to never meet her real parents, her fate miserable!
"Miss, the son-in-law is waiting outside to return home with you," Chun Tao said, running back with a radiant smile.
Murong Jiu suppressed the coldness in her eyes, and rode the carriage with Jun Yuyan back to the Marquis Mansion.
"Thank you, Prince, for accompanying me back home. May I ask what you have considered about my proposal the other day?" she said, glancing at Jun Yuyan's leg.
His leg was inconvenient to walk with and could only move slowly. It looked particularly stiff when getting on the carriage. If put off further, it was uncertain if it could still be cured.
Jun Yuyan was a gentleman, and if he could ascend to the throne in the future, he would surely be a good Emperor. Compared to the Second Prince, he was incomparably better.
"I've said before, I do not like to be touched," especially by women.
He spoke with a calm voice.
Murong Jiu noticed that every time they were in the carriage together, he sat far away from her, and even when it was difficult for him to get on the carriage, he refused any assistance.
She said, "If acupuncture can be used for the treatment, I might not need to touch your leg."
"Really? You can tell at a glance whether my leg can be treated?"
"Not exactly. I would need to use my hands to press and check during the diagnosis."
Jun Yuyan said, "This Prince will consider it."
Murong Jiu knew that there probably wouldn't be any follow-up, so she thought about persuading him again another day.
With Yang Shan's matter, it was normal for Jun Yuyan not to trust her. She initially didn't want to be too involved with him, planning to ask for a divorce once he found the woman he loved, but the dream from that afternoon gave her a strange feeling whenever she faced Jun Yuyan, often recalling the lonely expression in his dream.
She was aware that dreams were just dreams. Jun Yuyan clearly had someone he loved. How could he possibly have different feelings for her?
Moreover, with her being so ugly, how could Jun Yuyan fancy her?
"The person you mentioned yesterday that you wanted to find, I already have some clues about them," he said.
Suddenly, she heard Jun Yuyan say this.
She looked up in surprise, "So soon? Where is he now?"
"Three days ago, someone saw him in Lanan. If nothing goes wrong, my men should find him within two days, and they will convey your message to him."
Lanan? What is Master doing in Lanan?
Lanan was hundreds of miles away from the Capital City, with a large mountain that was home to many precious and rare herbs. Perhaps her master had gone to Lanan to gather herbs.
She said happily, "Thank you, Prince! Prince, your men are so capable. Is there a possibility they could find Star Snow Grass? If we can find it, I am confident I can restore your appearance!"
"My face... can be saved?"
Jun Yuyan looked at her with slight astonishment in his deep eyes, "Do you know that the wound on my face is deep enough to see the bone?"
He didn't mind his leg, but his face... He didn't want to meet that woman wearing a mask, nor did he want to frighten her by taking it off.
He remembered when his facial injury had just healed, the centipede-like scar had terrified several maids, causing them to lose their color, and once outside the mansion, it had even made a child cry. Since then, he had worn a mask.
Murong Jiu said, "May I take a look?"
Jun Yuyan hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "I hope it won't frighten you."
She smiled, "How could it? I've seen all sorts of grievous wounds following my master."
Jun Yuyan pursed his lips, and his slender fingers slowly removed the silver mask from his face.
A red, centipede-like scar appeared before Murong Jiu's eyes. She furrowed her brow slightly; Jun Yuyan's scar was more severe than she had imagined.
Jun Yuyan, thinking she was discomforted, looked down to put the mask back on.
At that moment, Murong Jiu stopped his action with her hand and said to him,
"Don't always wear the mask, it isn't breathable. It's fine, I think you also look very handsome like this. The scar doesn't affect your temperament at all but adds to your mature charm; it's your badge of honor. However, the area around the scar has begun to grow excessively. You need to apply medicine to prevent further growth, or else the scar might become even larger."
Her words left Jun Yuyan slightly surprised and taken aback.
Her tone wasn't one of flattery or appeasement; her eyes seemingly genuinely believed that the horrific scar wasn't ugly.
Murong Jiu continued,
"My master's medical skills are unparalleled. He once treated a patient who was more severely burned than you. It's just unfortunate that Star Snow Grass is hard to find. If it can be found, it will certainly restore your appearance. For now, I can make an ointment for you to prevent the excessive growth. If you apply it daily, it can smooth out the scar quite a bit and even has the effect of eliminating scars, though it can't completely remove them."
Worried that he wouldn't believe her, she rolled up her sleeve and pointed to a faint white scar on her arm, saying,
"This is the scar from when I was cut by a knife three months ago. I've been applying medicine, and now it's almost invisible."
Her arm was dazzlingly white, delicate, as if it would break at the slightest fold like white jade.
All of a sudden, Jun Yuyan caught that familiar fragrance again and incredulously moved closer to Murong Jiu.