Chapter 27: Certain of Something, All He Wanted Was to Hold Her

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Certain of Something, All He Wanted Was to Hold Her

Xie Jinbai’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently.

All these coincidences made him almost certain that something was off about the girl inside.

’Is it her?’

’If it’s really her...’

’Then why, after being reborn, did she not come looking for him?’

’Why... is she so determined to become Shen Tingyu’s... concubine?’

Inside the room, Cui Lingyao lay back on the bed, closing her eyes and trying to drift off to sleep.

Through the window, the sound of her tossing and turning reached Xie Jinbai’s ears.

’...What is it that’s keeping her awake?’

’Is it her unrequited love for Shen Tingyu that has her tossing and turning, unable to sleep?’

’Or is it because she saw me today?’

’Is her refusal to acknowledge me because she has fallen in love with Shen Tingyu?’

’She’d rather be a concubine than...’

An unspeakable, piercing pain spread from his heart through every fiber of his being.

Xie Jinbai tilted his head back and closed his eyes, fighting the urge to storm in and demand answers.

But he couldn’t.

’I have to be sure. I have to be absolutely, completely sure that she is *her*.’

’I have to confirm whether she has truly given her heart to another.’

’If she has, what am I supposed to do?’

’...And if she hasn’t, then what is she plotting?’

’I have to get to the bottom of this.’

After some time, the moon had climbed to its zenith. Following one last turn, the breathing of the girl inside the room finally steadied.

In her groggy state, Cui Lingyao vaguely sensed the window being opened again.

But her eyelids were heavy. Assuming it was a dream, she mumbled a little and fell back into a deep sleep.

Xie Jinbai strode to the bedside in a few steps, his eyes fixed on the girl on the bed.

She was lying on her side, back to the wall and facing him, seemingly sleeping restlessly.

Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, as if she might wake at any moment.

She was covered by a thin quilt, but feeling the heat, she had kicked it down so it was bunched up beneath her legs.

Her pajama bottoms had ridden up, revealing the smooth, pale curve of her calf.

Xie Jinbai glanced down but quickly averted his eyes, his gaze locking onto her face.

His vision was excellent, and by the moonlight from outside the window, he could take everything in.

With those lovely almond eyes closed, this face bore not the slightest resemblance to his Yaoyao.

’And yet, he felt she resembled her in every way.’

’Three years as husband and wife, their love had been deep and passionate.’

’He knew her habits better than she knew them herself.’

’Her subconscious habit of avoiding her index finger... That was just like her.’

’The way she slept with one leg drawn up, her head tilted to bury half her face in the soft pillow, one hand clutching the quilt... That was just like her.’

’Even the slight curve of her furrowed brow was so very much like her.’

Perhaps his gaze was too intense, disturbing the sleeping girl. Already a light sleeper, her breath hitched, and she seemed on the verge of waking.

Xie Jinbai bent down slightly and pressed a finger to a point on her neck.

Then, his fingertips slid up, unhesitatingly gripping her jaw and tilting her face up.

The skin beneath his fingertips was delicate. The young woman’s entire face was revealed to him.

Curved brows, a pert nose, and beautifully shaped lips that were slightly upturned, as if always holding the hint of a smile.

A completely unfamiliar face.

Yet Xie Jinbai’s heart pounded like a drum. As if his suspicions were confirmed, he felt an overwhelming urge to hold her.

To hold her tight.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, leaned down, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and took a deep breath.

The girl wore no perfume.

All he could smell was the clean, fresh scent of soap... and her own innate, sweet fragrance.

Xie Jinbai’s eyelashes trembled as he murmured softly.

"Yaoyao..."

...

The window slid shut.

After erasing all traces of his presence, Xie Jinbai left the Duke Shen Mansion. He turned to the attendant behind him and ordered, "Have men watch her. I want to know what she says, where she goes, and what she does every day. Her expenses, her daily habits—I want a detailed report on everything, no matter how trivial."

In his heart, he was already sure of who she was.

But he needed concrete evidence, evidence she could not deny.

He also needed to find out the real reason she refused to acknowledge him.

’In the carriage today, she even tried to help that girl from the Shen Family ’deal’ with me...’

’Deal! With! Me!’

A savage rage suddenly flared in Xie Jinbai’s chest.

’If she really dares to fall for Shen Tingyu and tries to pawn me off on another woman...’

’...then she can’t blame me for starting a massacre.’

’First, I’ll kill Shen Tingyu.’

’Then I’ll kill Shen Hanyue.’

Li Yong bowed. "Yes, my lord." Seeing his master standing ramrod straight, radiating a murderous aura, he braced himself and reminded him, "The Imperial Physician said you need to rest your injuries. It’s already past midnight..."

Xie Jinbai cut him off with a raised hand.

"Have someone tell Zhao Shijie that since seeking out doctors has been useless for his gravely ill wife, perhaps throwing a celebratory banquet to ward off ill fortune might have an unexpected effect."

Li Yong bowed. "Yes, my lord!"

"Also..." Xie Jinbai pondered for a moment before giving a few more orders.

Each and every order concerned people from the past.

Li Yong vaguely guessed his master’s intention.

For some reason...

His shrewd and wise master was now convinced that this young lady of the Duke Mansion was the Princess Consort, reborn in another’s body.

As his heart ached for his master, Li Yong also felt a glimmer of hope.

He hoped that this time, his master would not be disappointed.

...

「The next day.」

When Cui Lingyao woke up, she caught a familiar scent in the air but dismissed it as her imagination.

’This is the room of a young lady in the Duke Mansion. How could Xie Jinbai possibly have been here?’

She rose and got ready for the day, then went to the main house to have breakfast with Mrs. Shen.

However, she found that Mrs. Shen was not yet awake.

Mrs. Shen’s personal attendant, whose eyes were red-rimmed, saw her and whispered, "The madam threw up twice last night. She didn’t sleep a wink and only just drifted off."

Mrs. Shen was a doting mother. Whenever her illness acted up at night, she refused to let the servants disturb her daughter.

Cui Lingyao frowned. "Was a doctor sent for?"

"The household doctor came this morning. He said it was just her old ailment and prescribed a tonic for her."

They called it recuperation, but everyone in the Duke Mansion knew Mrs. Shen’s life was fading. She was like an oil lamp about to burn out, merely trying to hold on for another day.

’It was incurable.’

The woman who had been gently comforting her just yesterday was now unable to even get out of bed.

Cui Lingyao didn’t know what to feel.

’There was no real mother-daughter bond between them. If the original owner’s body hadn’t drawn her soul in, then upon the original owner’s death, Mrs. Shen’s frail health wouldn’t have survived the grief of losing her child.’

’She might have passed away yesterday.’

’So, she didn’t feel she owed this mother anything.’

But perhaps it was the lingering emotions of the body’s original owner, because her heart felt heavy.

She lost her appetite as well.

With the household doctor being summoned first thing in the morning, news of Mrs. Shen’s worsening condition quickly spread to all the relevant parties.

She was, after all, a daughter of the house. Moreover, the Lord Duke—Mrs. Shen’s own father—was still alive.

Even if she was the daughter of a concubine, she was still his own flesh and blood.

If she were to pass away, he would be a parent forced to bury his own child.

The matter could not be treated lightly.

That day, the mother and daughter’s secluded courtyard became much more lively.

First, Pei Shuyao’s maternal grandmother—who had been a concubine in the Shen household and was Mrs. Shen’s mother—came to cry over her daughter.

Before she had even finished crying, Mrs. Shen’s younger full-brother—the Fourth Master of the Duke Mansion, also born of a concubine—arrived with his wife and daughter to see his sister.

While the adults spoke inside, Cui Lingyao and her sixth female cousin stood in the courtyard, staring blankly at each other.

If there was one person in the Duke Mansion whom the original owner got along with the least...

...it would have to be this cousin.