Chapter 101: A Strange Familiarity

Shen Youran, the woman occupying Luo Wuyan’s every thought, was currently seated in the pavilion by the waterside, lazily teasing a little bunny she had rescued a few days prior.

The afternoon sun spilled over her, tracing a soft, ethereal silhouette that left the rushing Luo Wuyan completely dazed upon her arrival.

Sensing someone approaching, Shen Youran instinctively turned her head. Her eyes met Luo Wuyan’s—whom she hadn’t seen in quite some time—and a gentle, composed smile played at the corners of her lips.

She rose, leaning forward slightly to offer a graceful curtsy, her voice polite yet marked by a subtle distance.

“The Prince has returned.”

“Pri… Princess Consort,” Luo Wuyan stammered, her voice trembling slightly.

Wrapped in silks and jade, a face beyond compare; a single glance, a smile that captures the soul…

Unlike the panicked, terrified woman from before, or the frail, bedridden shadow of her previous life, the current Youran was like the moon in the sky or a flower in a hidden garden—soft, enchanting, and utterly breathtaking.

Luo Wuyan instinctively held her breath.

Coming back to her senses, she hurried forward to help the woman up. Looking into that blossom-like face, she whispered, “Your Highness, I asked the Empress to grant us an auspicious date today. We can be wed on the eighteenth day of the seventh month.”

Even though Shen Youran was a demon, she had lived among mortals for nearly twenty years. Naturally, she was deeply influenced by human traditions and customs.

Hearing Luo Wuyan mention the grand wedding, a faint blush crept onto her fair cheeks. She gave a small, quiet nod.

Seeing her shy demeanor, Luo Wuyan’s heart softened into a puddle.

Her gaze swept over the bead string Youran wore—a gift meant to sustain her—and she noticed the Kingly Aura within it had been mostly depleted. She quickly pulled an exquisite box from her robes.

“I saw this on my way back and thought it suited you perfectly, so I bought it. See if you like it?”

As she spoke, Luo Wuyan opened the box.

Inside lay a bead hairpin, warm and lustrous as jade. At the end of the pin was a butterfly outlined in gold thread. It looked light and nimble, its wings seemingly fluttering with the breeze as if it were alive.

Shen Youran was initially drawn to the butterfly. Just as she reached out, however, she sensed a familiar energy—the exact same Kingly Aura that resided in the beads.

The joy on her face instantly vanished. Her lashes fluttered down as she lowered her gaze, the previous suspicions she had harbored resurfacing in her mind.

Does Prince An know my true identity? Is this a repeated test?

Otherwise… why was it that every item she received from the Prince was saturated with such dense Kingly Aura?

Sensing her hesitation and doubt, Luo Wuyan supplemented smoothly, “I picked this out myself. I’ve been keeping it close to my chest in my robes the whole way back.”

Youran looked up at Luo Wuyan’s sincere face and eventually reached out to take the gift.

“I like it very much. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Perhaps I am overthinking it? she mused. If the Prince had kept it tucked against her body for so long, it was possible for the item to be stained with so much Kingly Aura.

However, the thought of the hairpin being held so close to Luo Wuyan’s skin for so long made Youran’s fingertips feel strangely hot as she gripped the ornament.

Noticing the crimson tint on Youran’s earlobes, Luo Wuyan’s throat tightened. She fought to suppress the fluttering in her chest, feigning a calm reply.

“We shall soon be husband and wife. There is no need for such formality every time, Princess Consort.”

Youran’s hand tightened around the hairpin at those words.

She was a demon; should she truly marry Prince An?

Her biological mother’s tragic fate was a sufficient lesson for her to learn from. Humans were cunning; they were never to be trusted!

And yet, both gifts from Prince An had been of immense benefit to her. After her tail had been severed without cause, her injuries had struggled to heal. But over the past month, nurtured by the Kingly Aura in the beads, there were finally signs of recovery.

Then there was the hairpin in her hand. While the Kingly Aura within was not as dense as the beads, it would still provide a significant boost if she absorbed it all.

Looking at these two items, Prince An had essentially become her benefactor.

But should she really enter this marriage in a daze just to repay a debt of gratitude?

Youran stole a glance at Luo Wuyan, only to be caught red-handed by those smiling eyes.

Startled, she jerked her gaze away in a panic. Her skittishness reminded Luo Wuyan of the little bunny she had just shooed away from Youran’s lap.

Youran took a deep breath, trying to steady her erratic heartbeat. Recalling the glimpse of that gentle smile, she suddenly felt that marrying such a kind person might not be so bad after all.

But the moment she remembered Luo Wuyan’s true status, the tiny spark of affection was suppressed.

Prince An was a woman. She was a woman disguised as a prince, infiltrating the imperial court. No matter how one looked at it, her motives could not be simple.

Youran’s own identity was far too sensitive. It was unwise to get entangled in the internal power struggles of the royal family.

However, since I have accepted her favors, I should help her in return.

The problem was, she still didn’t know what the Prince was actually after.

Forget it. I’ll stay for now. Once the debt is repaid, I will leave…

As Youran thought this, her eyes regained their usual clarity.

In truth, she had considered fleeing the capital before Luo Wuyan returned. But for one, her injuries were not yet healed; if she encountered danger outside, she would be truly vulnerable.

Secondly… whenever she thought of those bright, clean eyes, she found herself unable to be so cruel.

Though she didn’t know why Prince An was so insistent on marrying her, she felt that even if she were to leave, she should say a proper goodbye to the owner of those eyes and depart from the manor with dignity.

She didn’t want the Prince to return only to face a lonely farewell letter.

Regardless of what Prince An planned, she was her benefactor. One could not leave a benefactor without a word.

It was just that, between the two of them, things would likely…

Youran looked down, hiding the complexity in her eyes.

Beside her, seeing that Youran hadn’t spoken for a long time, Luo Wuyan couldn’t help but speak up.

“Princess Consort…”

Meeting those shimmering, watery eyes, Luo Wuyan’s mouth opened and then shut again.

What was she going to say? How could she have forgotten it so suddenly?

Youran waited for a moment, but when no words followed, she looked at the Prince, who was currently scratching her head in an anxious fluster. A small curve formed on Youran’s lips, and her tone carried a hint of amusement.

“If Your Highness has something to say, please, speak freely.”

Luo Wuyan coughed twice, awkwardly avoiding those smiling eyes.

Once her nerves had settled, she fixed her gaze back on Youran and said seriously, “Youran, you are a year older than me. May I call you ‘Sister’ from now on?”

Seeing the woman before her hesitate, Luo Wuyan added hurriedly, “I feel it would make us closer. I don’t wish for us to be so distant.”

Unprepared for such a request, Youran paused for a long while, her gaze drifting toward the distant scenery. Finally, her voice drifted over, light as a feather.

“As the Prince pleases.”

Hearing her consent, Luo Wuyan breathed a secret sigh of relief.

Her eyes traced the perfect, flawless profile of Youran’s face. Growing a bit bolder, she continued, “Then, may Youran Sister also call me by my name?”

Youran nodded slightly. She turned back to look at the expectant Luo Wuyan and tested the name on her tongue.

“Wu… Wuyan.”

Across the divide of life and death, her name had finally been uttered by Youran’s lips once more. The rush of emotion was so overwhelming it nearly brought tears to Luo Wuyan’s eyes.

“Youran Sister.”

As that slightly choked-up voice reached her, Youran’s fingertips trembled, and her heart skipped a beat.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that this form of address carried a strange sense of familiarity…