Chapter 61: What Gives You the Right?

Since Liu Lusheng said Liu Yun was looking for her, Shen Yuezhuang naturally didn’t suspect anything. But when she arrived at the Empress Dowager’s tent, she was told that Her Grace was busy with important matters and had no time to see her at the moment.

Shen Yuezhuang didn’t think much of it. Since the Princess had gone back to sleep for the night, she didn’t need to go supervise the riding lessons. She had nothing to do, so she wandered around the open space outside, waiting for Liu Yun to finish her business.

It was the end of the seventh lunar month. The night wind had already gained a chill, seeping coldly through her clothes.

Shen Yuezhuang rubbed her arms. She was too lazy to go back for her cloak, so she simply picked up a handful of pebbles and started tossing them for fun. When she got tired of that and her body had warmed up, she saw that the “important matters” inside still showed no signs of ending. She sat cross-legged on the ground, picked up a small twig, and began idly poking at the grass around her.

The spot she chose was sheltered from the wind and the light. From a quick glance, all that could be seen from the shadow of the tent was a vague patch of crimson fabric.

The fabric was stained with damp grass juice and carried a faint, earthy smell.

After an unknown amount of time, the moonlight gradually shifted overhead. The bright, clear light illuminated the spot where Shen Yuezhuang was sitting, making the pink gemstone ring on the middle finger of her left hand sparkle alluringly in the moonlight.

Shen Yuezhuang noticed it. She brought it up to her eyes for a closer look, and her mind suddenly recalled the butterfly-shaped gold hairpin she had gotten from the Princess.

Liu Yun liked butterflies. That was one of the few things that could, in their childhood, make Liu Yun drop her usual air of maturity and reveal a clear, unequivocal delight.

Ever since she got that hairpin, Shen Yuezhuang had been meaning to give it to Liu Yun when she had a chance, but she got too busy and forgot.

Remembering it now, Shen Yuezhuang was about to get up and go fetch it. But the moment she moved, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through the outer side of her right thigh.

Shen Yuezhuang sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. She practically hopped over to the light in front of the tent, clutching the painful spot.

The sharp sting began to burn, and the pain spread rapidly. By the time the palace maid who had delivered the message earlier walked out of the tent flap, the pain on Shen Yuezhuang’s leg had already spread to the size of a palm.

“Miss Shen, what’s wrong?”

The maid was startled by Shen Yuezhuang’s reaction and cried out, hurrying over.

Drawing closer, she saw Shen Yuezhuang clutching her leg, her face contorted in pain. The maid immediately understood what had happened, but before she could say another word, a figure swiftly emerged from inside the tent.

Shen Yuezhuang could no longer focus on anyone else. The pain on her leg had spread across her entire outer thigh. Her skin was burning hot, and it seemed to be swelling, feeling hard and tight to the touch. She felt like her very scalp was tingling with pain!

It hurt so much she wanted to cry. But from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the palace maid’s pink court attire, and she forced herself to hold it in. It wasn’t until Liu Yun’s voice rang out beside her.

“Were you bitten? Come inside first.”

Shen Yuezhuang’s nose stung, and she nearly broke down right then and there. But her mind quickly caught the concern hidden beneath Liu Yun’s urgent tone.

She took a slow, steadying breath, pushing down the acrid feeling. She thought to herself that she’d been an official for quite a while now, and she absolutely couldn’t cry from the pain in front of so many people—that would be too embarrassing!

She bit her lip hard, not making a sound, as she was helped into the tent.

Soon, palace maids set up a screen. While a female physician applied medicine, Shen Yuezhuang also changed completely from head to toe.

She didn’t know what had bitten her. To be safe from anything that might have gotten into her clothes, changing felt better.

While the medicine was being applied, Shen Yuezhuang saw that her right leg was indeed swollen badly. The spot where she was bitten had two tiny bleeding points, and it was raised like a little hill.

The salve the physician applied was cooling and detoxifying. The moment it touched her skin, it was cool and soothing, instantly reducing the burning pain. Shen Yuezhuang felt as if she had come back to life. The pained tension on her face relaxed, and only then did she feel the dampness on her forehead, her temples soaked.

The physician went out from behind the screen to report. Shen Yuezhuang lay on the couch. Her freshly changed undergarments were loose and light, the leg of her trousers still rolled up, revealing the freshly applied ointment. She let out a long breath and, seeing Liu Yun enter, even put on a placating smile.

But right after, Pei Shangyu and A Sang also entered with worried expressions.

Pei Shangyu examined her wound, her delicate brows knitting tightly together. “What bit you? How did it get so bad?”

She then mumbled, “Does it hurt a lot? You, too. Everyone stays away from that area during the day, but you just had to go poking around there at night!”

Shen Yuezhuang grinned cheekily. “I had nothing else to do waiting outside by myself. That spot was out of the wind. Who knew I’d be so unlucky?”

As she spoke, she looked to see if the ointment on her wound was dry. She didn’t notice the flicker of something dark and unreadable that crossed Liu Yun’s face.

Shen Yuezhuang continued, unconcerned. “It’s fine now. It feels much better with the medicine on.” She tried moving her leg a little and added, “It doesn’t hurt as much anymore. Don’t worry, Sister Pei!”

She was still grinning without a care in the world, as if she hadn’t been the one unable to speak from the pain just moments ago.

Pei Shangyu could only offer a helpless smile. She reached out a hand to her. “Can you walk? We were just about to head back. A Sang and I can help you back to your tent?”

These words were addressed to Shen Yuezhuang, but Pei Shangyu’s gaze slid past her to rest on Liu Yun, who had remained silent.

Liu Yun was sitting with her back to the light, her expression inscrutable. She, who was usually the one making decisions for Shen Yuezhuang, said nothing now, only pursed her lips and looked at her.

Shen Yuezhuang lifted her leg a little. “I can walk.”

A Sang was about to step forward to help her, but Shen Yuezhuang immediately added, “I’ll make my way back by myself in a bit. You two go on ahead.”

Pei Shangyu didn’t say anything more. After taking her leave of Liu Yun, she departed with A Sang. Shen Yuezhuang watched them leave the screen and exit the tent.

Once they were gone, Shen Yuezhuang craned her neck to look outside again—When she had been helped in, her head had been pounding with pain and bowed down, so she’d only seen a blur of figures and hadn’t noticed who else was talking business with Liu Yun.

Now, through the screen, she could only see Ruixue standing far off by a chest, putting away the ointment the physician had just left behind.

The pain in her leg served as a reminder, reminding Shen Yuezhuang that it was already quite late. Pei Shangyu being a woman was one thing, and Liu Lusheng being Liu Yun’s own brother was another. But besides them, everyone else at the hunting grounds had no legitimate reason to be inside the Empress Dowager’s tent!

Yet Liu Lusheng had just finished talking to her. That meant that just a while ago, only Liu Yun and Pei Shangyu had been in the tent.

The sour, swollen feeling Shen Yuezhuang had suppressed earlier surged back up, this time more obscure and overwhelming.

“Was it just the two of you discussing business?” She stared straight at Liu Yun, who was sitting on the edge of the couch.

The burning on her leg had mostly faded, but a nameless fire was kindling in her heart. She shifted her leg away to avoid Liu Yun’s touch.

If nothing had happened tonight, it might have been fine. But the injury on her leg amplified the price she had paid for waiting outside, a price that brewed resentment and discontent within her.

Shen Yuezhuang couldn’t understand. If it was just her and Sister Pei, why couldn’t she come inside and wait?

Besides, sometimes even Ruixue and Chun Rui would step away when she talked to Liu Yun. Yet Sister Pei was allowed to bring A Sang, and Ruixue was waiting on them inside!

She felt terribly wronged. Both were people she had grown up with. A Sang was her friend who had been through life and death with her. The three of them were discussing things together, but they deliberately excluded her!

Shen Yuezhuang’s anger flared up quickly. She pulled her trouser leg down and was about to leave, but Liu Yun blocked her by the waist. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going back to my tent to sleep!” Shen Yuezhuang wanted to shout it to sound imposing. But in reality, to keep the sob from her voice, it came out as quiet as a newborn kitten’s mew.

And Liu Yun, as if restraining a young kitten, easily subdued Shen Yuezhuang, who was having trouble moving with one leg.

Liu Yun’s tone was cold and calm. She let out a cold laugh and countered, “Weren’t you always uninterested in serious matters? Why are you so angry this time? Or are you just mad that you couldn’t go riding with the Princess today, and you’ve come here to take it out on me?”

Shen Yuezhuang’s breathing became ragged with anger. She suddenly lifted her head from in front of Liu Yun, her eyes red, glaring at her, but she no longer wanted to cry.

“What does the Princess have to do with this? It’s you! All of you! What serious matter is it that Ruixue and A Sang can listen to, but you have to hide from me?”

A Sang could listen, meaning it wasn’t Liu Yun’s personal business. Ruixue could listen, meaning it wasn’t Sister Pei’s personal business. It was official business, purely official, yet they wouldn’t let her hear it!

The more Shen Yuezhuang thought about it, the angrier she got. She tried to pry Liu Yun’s arm away from her chest, wanting to leave, her words blurting out without thought. “You wouldn’t let me in the tent. Say it plainly, you just didn’t want to see me, right? Let go! You don’t want to see me, and I don’t want to see you either!”

Liu Yun felt a heavy weight drop in her heart.

Things were proceeding exactly as she had planned, yet she still underestimated Shen Yuezhuang’s capacity to strike back. The main act hadn’t even begun, and she was already bruised and battered by Shen Yuezhuang’s sudden attack, her sanity hanging by a thread.

Fortunately, the sound of Ruixue leaving the tent barely managed to call back a shred of Liu Yun’s reason. She forced down the turbulent emotions in her heart, took a deep breath, and her voice was flat and emotionless.

“Getting bitten by a venomous insect was an accident. It’s not like I told you to go sit in the grass. Why are you getting angry at me?”

Tonight was only supposed to be a prelude.

A prelude to make Shen Yuezhuang realize she was different from them!

The normal course of events would be Shen Yuezhuang being stopped, going back to her tent, and then watching Pei Shangyu come and go early, always by her side, but feeling the disappointment of being left out.

Then Liu Yun would naturally guide her, making her realize on her own that Liu Yun was a different kind of person to her than just a friend!

She also needed Shen Yuezhuang to feel the same way, to feel the emotions and dissatisfaction that she felt when she watched Yuezhuang glued to the Princess’s side…

This process was supposed to be gradual, gentle as still water. But no one had expected that when she wouldn’t let Shen Yuezhuang into the tent, Yuezhuang would simply wait outside until she got herself into such a miserable state.

Liu Yun’s carefully planned “gentle” methods were rendered useless, and she was also provoked to anger by Shen Yuezhuang’s reckless words.

Seeing that Shen Yuezhuang was silent for a long time, but hadn’t let up trying to pry her arm away, Liu Yun couldn’t help but give a cold laugh. “Your Sister Pei has things she’s hiding from you, and I didn’t see you this angry. The Princess made you look like a fool in the main hall, didn’t you still go running to her of your own accord?”

“And now you two are inseparable, sharing secrets and riding under the moon. You’ve even forgotten about your Sister Pei, whom you always had on your lips. Ha! Let alone me! I was wondering earlier why you had time to come see me today. So it turns out your bosom buddy, the Princess, is sick! No wonder. If she weren’t sick, when would you ever think of me?”

“No, that’s not right either. You thought of finding your Sister Pei first, didn’t you? It was only when you saw she wasn’t there that you came looking for me?”

This was supposed to be a reasoned, gentle, and subtle guidance. But the more Liu Yun spoke, the angrier she got.

If she hadn’t cared about these things in her daily life, she wouldn’t have blurted them out now. In the end, she did care. She was even urgently seeking an affirmation from Shen Yuezhuang, an affirmation of their relationship.

Under the current circumstances, she had no standing to criticize or make demands of Shen Yuezhuang’s behavior. The one burning with anxiety was only herself!

How could Liu Yun be content? How could she be willing?

“Shen Yuezhuang!” She called her name with emphasis. “Tonight, it was me and your Sister Pei in the tent, even A Sang was there! You smiled at them like a blooming flower, but with me, you’re all harsh words and fierce looks. I’m not the only one hiding things from you, yet you’re so unrestrained with me. What gives you the right?”

Hearing this, Shen Yuezhuang stared blankly at Liu Yun, as if stunned by her words. It took her a long time to react.

She had never imagined that one day, Liu Yun would ask her “what gives you the right!”