Chu Tianjiao didn't wake up until dusk.
Lu Yu sat on the couch, eyes closed, supporting himself with one hand on the bed, feigning sleep.
After removing the arrowhead, Chu Tianjiao developed a slight fever, and Lu Yu had personally tended to her all day.
Chu Tianjiao stared at Lu Yu's exquisite profile, which looked as if carved from jade, feeling somewhat wistful.
Having lived through one lifetime, she was no longer the mischievous little tyrant of her childhood, while Lu Yu remained that alluringly beautiful "beauty."
Chu Tianjiao tried to sit up, but the movement pulled at the wound on her shoulder, causing her to let out a groan.
Lu Yu opened his eyes, his gaze lingering on Chu Tianjiao's face for ten seconds. His bewitching phoenix eyes seemed to sparkle with starlight.
"Your Majesty, you're awake?"
Hearing this affectionate address, Chu Tianjiao couldn't help but smile, revealing her teeth.
"My beauty, help your lord up..."
Chu Tianjiao put on a roguish expression, exuding an air of "the spring night is short and dawn comes early, but from now on, the king will not attend morning court."
Lu Yu played along, helping her up and propping her against the headboard.
"Hahaha..."
They looked at each other and laughed, their laughter growing louder...
This laughter brought their relationship back to the intimate closeness of their childhood.
Chu Tianjiao naturally cupped her hands towards Lu Yu in gratitude, saying, "Thank you for saving me, Young Master. What time is it now?"
Lu Yu stood up, glanced at the hourglass, and turned to say, "It's the end of the hour of the Monkey. Shall I have someone bring dinner?"
Chu Tianjiao anxiously tried to rush out.
"Oh no, I wonder if His Majesty has punished the Marquis of Liyang Mansion? I need to sneak out and find out."
Lu Yu held her back, "Don't worry, I heard from the servants that His Majesty has already issued a decree. Your wedding with the Fourth Prince has been postponed."
Chu Tianjiao let out a sigh of relief.
She had originally planned to escape the marriage and go to the border city to find her father and brothers. Now that the wedding was postponed, she didn't need to flee for the time being.
Soon, Zi Chen came in carrying a food box.
Chu Tianjiao got up and saw that she was still wearing the clothes she had arrived in, with the shoulder torn and wrapped in white cloth.
She wasn't a fussy person, so she put on a cloak that Zi Chen had brought and sat down at the table.
Seeing a bowl of plain congee and two small dishes in front of her, Chu Tianjiao complained with a grimace:
"I thought I'd accidentally get to freeload a meal at the Surprising Swan Pavilion, but this food is truly disappointing..."
Lu Yu's expression cracked instantly. Last night, it was just him and Chu Tianjiao in the room. Surely, this "freeloading" wasn't referring to him?
Chu Tianjiao, having spent her previous life in military camps swearing with soldiers, and then arguing with a bunch of ancestors every day after her death, hadn't realized there was anything wrong with her choice of words.
She noticed Lu Yu's ear tips turning red and asked curiously, "Beauty, have you caught a cold from taking care of me?"
Seeing her casual manner, Lu Yu exhaled, thinking he had been overthinking.
Seeing Chu Tianjiao's pitiful look, Lu Yu got up and went out to ask Zi Chen to bring another meal.
After Zi Chen brought the new dinner, Chu Tianjiao craned her neck, eyeing the white-cut chicken that Zi Chen deliberately placed in front of Lu Yu. She solemnly flattered:
"My beauty, you have the finest looks in all of Li Country. Adding an ounce would make you too fat, losing an ounce would make you too thin. This white-cut chicken is clearly not suitable for you. Let me help you get rid of it, shall I?"
Lu Yu nodded with a smile and even had Zi Chen place the braised beef, which he was about to set down, in front of Chu Tianjiao as well.
Zi Chen, who had studied some medicine and had dug out the arrowhead from Chu Tianjiao's shoulder, felt obliged to remind her, "Miss Chu, you've just been injured. You should eat light foods."
Chu Tianjiao waved her hand dismissively: "No, it's precisely because I'm injured that I need to replenish meat with meat."
Lu Yu waved Zi Chen away and said with a smile, "If Your Majesty wants to eat, then eat. Just avoid spicy foods."
Chu Tianjiao was elated and didn't hesitate to praise Lu Yu, giving him a metaphorical "good person card": "Beauty, you're so kind!"
Chu Tianjiao ate quickly. In no time, all the meat dishes had gone into her stomach. She didn't forget to urge Lu Yu, "Beauty, drink your congee!"
Lu Yu took a spoon and sipped Chu Tianjiao's bowl of congee in small mouthfuls, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily.
After eating and drinking her fill, Chu Tianjiao still decided to return to the Marquis of Liyang Mansion.
Zi Chen found her a set of women's clothes to change into, and she followed Lu Yu onto the carriage.
Looking back at the Surprising Swan Pavilion, which had already hung up lanterns, Chu Tianjiao felt like she had forgotten something.
Lu Yu escorted her to the west corner gate of the Marquis of Liyang Mansion.
Taking advantage of the absence of people nearby, Chu Tianjiao slipped into the mansion.
The gatekeeper didn't dare stop her and could only report to the main courtyard, informing Old Madam Chu that the eldest young lady had returned.
Old Madam Chu had just finished her dinner, and the ladies and young misses from the second and third branches of the family hadn't left yet. Hearing the report, she sent someone to summon Chu Tianjiao.
When Chu Tianjiao returned to the Green Pine Courtyard, the maids, led by Qingluan, surrounded her crying.
"Young Miss, you scared us to death. How could you run away on your wedding day?"
Qingluan saw Chu Tianjiao's pale face and was startled when she took off her clothes to reveal the wound on her shoulder.
"Young Miss, you're hurt? I'll call the family doctor for you right away."
Chu Tianjiao stopped Qingluan, "No need, don't alarm others about this wound."
When leaving the Surprising Swan Pavilion earlier, Lu Yu had given her medicine.
Chu Tianjiao strictly ordered her servants not to leak any information, only keeping Qingluan to help her change clothes and apply medicine.
Hearing that Old Madam Chu from the main courtyard had summoned her, Chu Tianjiao, fearing her condition would be noticed, applied some rouge to improve her complexion, changed her clothes, and went to the main courtyard with Qingluan.
On the way, she met Sangshen's Sister-in-law, and Chu Tianjiao finally remembered what she had forgotten earlier:
"I wonder if the madam would let Lu Dingfeng leave after his extravagant spending at the Surprising Swan Pavilion yesterday?"
Patting her head, Chu Tianjiao reassured herself: He snuck out on his own, what does it have to do with me?
Entering the main hall of the upper courtyard, Chu Tianjiao saw her long-separated family members and felt somewhat emotional.
Under the disapproving gazes of her family, she explained her reason for breaking off the engagement:
"I accidentally found out that the Fourth Prince's intention to marry me was merely to leverage our family's influence in the army. He has no genuine feelings for me."
Chu Tianjiao's second uncle, Chu Ye, now thirty years old and serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, a fourth-rank official, listened to Chu Tianjiao's account with a grave expression. He stared directly at Chu Tianjiao and questioned, "Are you suggesting that the Fourth Prince has ambitions for the throne?"
Old Madam Chu, wearing an elegant peacock-green brocade dress, sat upright at the head of the room, her face stern as she scolded, "Stop talking nonsense! The Crown Prince is the legitimate son of the Empress, virtuous and talented. The princes are all brotherly and respectful to each other. How could the Fourth Prince have such ambitions?"
Chu Tianjiao pouted dismissively.
The current Crown Prince was indeed legitimate, but virtuous and talented? That was complete nonsense.
Moreover, in a few months, the Crown Prince would die in an accident.
By then, those princes wouldn't appear as brotherly and respectful as they did now.
But she couldn't reveal the details she knew, so she could only raise her head stubbornly and say, "I definitely won't marry the Fourth Prince."
Old Madam Chu angrily said, "You were the one who wanted to marry him in the first place, and now you're the one changing your mind on the wedding day, saying you won't marry. Girl, your behavior is getting more and more outrageous!"
Madam Xue, the second aunt, added fuel to the fire from the side, "Miss, this is a marriage bestowed by the Emperor. Your frivolous behavior will bring trouble to the family."
Chu Tianjiao glanced at her second aunt, remembering that in her previous life, she had remarried shortly after her second uncle's death. She felt annoyed but couldn't talk back due to her aunt's seniority.
In this family, Old Madam Chu still had the final say.
Chu Tianjiao knelt down, hugging Old Madam Chu's legs and wheedling, "Grandmother, I know I was wrong, but this marriage absolutely cannot happen. Weren't you always against our family marrying into the royal family?"
Old Madam Chu kicked her away, her face dark as she spat:
"Breaking off the engagement is fine, but this unruly temperament of yours must be corrected. As punishment, you'll kneel in the ancestral hall for three days without food!"
Chu Tianjiao, hearing that she was allowed to break off the engagement, was very happy. Ignoring Old Madam Chu's anger, she jumped up and hugged her, snuggling into her embrace, "Grandmother, I knew you loved me the most!"
Old Madam Chu, unable to resist her clinginess, dismissed the other bystanders, keeping only Chu Tianjiao and the second master. She instructed:
"There are many people in the family with loose tongues. From now on, don't speak carelessly about royal affairs."
She pointed her finger at Chu Tianjiao's forehead and scolded, "You're such a brainless girl! I warned you against the Fourth Prince back then, but you insisted he was fond of you and that you couldn't let him down. How foolish are you? He sweet-talks you a few times, and you take it as truth? At least you've finally come to your senses."
Chu Tianjiao nestled in Old Madam Chu's embrace, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
How could she say she had come to her senses in time?
It had taken her an entire lifetime, dragging her whole family down with her, and being reborn to finally wake up.
In this life, she was determined to use her brain properly and never be easily manipulated again.
In her memories, Grandmother had always been wise, one of the few in the Chu family who actually used their minds.
Grandmother had also always disapproved of the family's daughters marrying into the royal family, often saying that the Chu family's current power was already like oil on a raging fire, and they should keep a low profile.
Thinking about it now, if Grandmother hadn't died of a cold soon after, the Chu family might not have ended up being completely wiped out.
Recalling this, Chu Tianjiao grew anxious and hugged Old Madam Chu, asking, "Grandmother, have you been feeling unwell lately?"
Old Madam Chu slapped her shoulder and chided, "I eat and drink well every day and I'm in perfect health. There's no need for you to worry!"
Chu Tianjiao, hit on her wound, grimaced and wailed in pain.
