Chapter 39: Between Women, Good Things Naturally Require More Effort

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

Young Master Meng was sullen all the way, and the Princess could naturally feel it.

Now, it was rare to hold her in her arms again, and the Princess was unwilling to let go.

Li Qiubai tightened her arms, holding the Young Master even closer, leaned slightly, and softly asked by the Young Master's ear, "Chang'an, what are you troubled about?"

The voice by her ear was gentle, gradually soothing the Young Master's distress.

What was troubling her? The Young Master didn't know what exactly was causing her distress.

Many chaotic thoughts flooded Young Master Meng's mind. At this moment, she could not sort out those confusing thoughts and did not know how to deal with herself.

Since her elder brother had returned, she, as the fake Prince Consort, could not stay by the Princess’ side under that title anymore.

Moreover, her face was too similar to her brother's. After escaping from the dungeon, it was certain she could no longer appear openly by the Princess' side.

Seeing the Young Master Meng frowning deeper and deeper, Li Qiubai had to comfort her, "If you are worried about your elder brother, you can rest assured. I will definitely bring him out as soon as possible."

If the Princess had not mentioned He Changping, it would have been better. Now that she did, Meng Chang'an felt even worse.

Indeed, the Princess and her elder brother were the rightful couple.

To the Princess, she was perhaps just a momentary novelty, was she not? 

If her elder brother had not returned, perhaps she could still deceive herself into thinking that if she could continue accompanying the Princess like this morning, it would not be too bad.

But now, she did not even qualify to deceive herself.

Since her elder brother had returned, regardless of the reason, the absurd affair of marrying in his stead had ultimately become a thing of the past.

Thinking of this, Meng Chang'an felt more and more stifled.

At this moment, it was as if a heavy blow had knocked the Young Master awake.

She knew she should follow the original agreement: once her brother was found, she should leave, return to her carefree life in the jianghu, and never appear in the capital again. This would be the best choice for everyone.

Yet, the Princess’ embrace was too warm.

Held protectively in her embrace, Young Master Meng became even more reluctant to leave.

Meng Chang'an did not want to say more, nor did she want to think more. She simply followed her current feelings, burying her face into the Princess' shoulder, preventing her from seeing her expression.

"Do not move..."

Half lying on the Princess, the Young Master hugged her, gradually tightening her arms, and said in a muffled voice, "Let me hold you for a while, just for a while..."

Seeing the Young Master's slightly reddened ear tips, Li Qiubai, who had been worried, finally relaxed her brow.

At this moment, the Princess' eyes held a faint smile. She was not in a hurry, nor did she press with questions. She just let the Young Master hang onto her.

When the Young Master needed time to calm down, she only needed to quietly accompany her.

She did not know about the Young Master's growing desire to give up, assuming her unusual clinginess was due to reluctance to part with her.

When the Young Master told her not to move, the Princess truly did not move. She just continued to hold the Young Master's shoulder, gently stroking her hair to comfort her.

The Young Master said it would be for a while, but she never let go.

The carriage traveled on, and the two of them silently held each other the whole way.

Neither said more, and neither asked more.

It was not until the carriage stopped at the side door of Xueyue Pavilion that Li Qiubai leaned close to the Young Master's ear and softly called, "Chang'an, we have arrived."

However, the Young Master did not react at all.

"Chang'an? You can wake up now."

The Princess called again, but the Young Master still did not respond.

The hands that had been loosely hanging around the Princess' waist had now fallen limp.

Realizing this, Li Qiubai reached out to touch the Young Master's flushed face. Only when she felt the scorching heat of her forehead did she belatedly realize that the Young Master had not fallen asleep, but had fainted!

"Yuechu, quickly find someone skilled in medicine from the pavilion!"

Distressed, the Princess did not dare to delay even for a moment. She hurriedly carried the Young Master off the carriage and rushed into the pavilion.

"Look at you, making such a fuss. It is just a bit of a cold, yet the dignified Princess is frightened like a country girl who has never seen the world!"

After a while of bustling, it was only upon hearing Ye Wuyou's laugh that the Princess snapped back to her senses.

Seeing Ye Wuyou sitting at the table, seriously writing out a prescription, Li Qiubai could not help but frown and suspiciously ask, "Can you really handle this?"

"Do not worry. She is like her brother; when she is injured and catches a cold, this happens easily. I have prepared this prescription many times; it will not kill her!"

Seeing that Li Qiubai still seemed distrustful, Ye Wuyou quickly added, "What, do you want to send someone far away to fetch a doctor? If the news accidentally gets out, would that not be even more troublesome? Trust me this once; this girl is not so delicate. Just give her some medicine and she will be fine!"

Ye Wuyou was right. Young Master Meng was indeed not a delicate ordinary girl.

Even when she got minor injuries or illnesses, she did not care much herself.

But just because others did not care, just because others did not feel distressed, did not mean the Princess did not feel distressed.

Li Qiubai lowered her gaze and said nothing more, not even glancing at Ye Wuyou. She just continued to wring the white cloth in her hand and gently wiped the cold sweat constantly forming on the Young Master's forehead.

"I understand. After you finish writing the prescription, you can leave. I need to wipe the sweat off her body as well."

"Tsk tsk tsk, this is unusual, really unusual."

Ye Wuyou tossed the pen aside and turned to lean against the table, crossing her arms as she observed the Princess. With a smile, she asked, "Look at you, personally attending to her, even willing to serve someone else. Is this still the Princess I know?"

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Li Qiubai did not argue. She just focused on holding the Young Master's hand, carefully wiping her palm, then meticulously wiping each finger one by one.

Not receiving a response, Ye Wuyou was not annoyed. She just leaned against the table, watching the Princess' actions, and smiled playfully. "Li Qiubai, do you not think you have been acting very strangely lately? Logically speaking, I am her sister-in-law. I should be the one most concerned about her, should I not? But look at you. You are almost doing all the tasks that should be mine!"

The Princess wiped very carefully, slowly, and gently.

Knowing that Ye Wuyou was deliberately probing, Li Qiubai did not dodge. She simply continued with her actions and straightforwardly responded, "Hmm, duly noted, sister-in-law. Next time, I will leave some tasks for you to do. Today, you need not trouble yourself, sister-in-law."

Ye Wuyou was stunned for a moment.

Sister-in-law?

Fortunately, she wasn't drinking water at that moment. Otherwise, being called sister-in-law by the Princess so casually would have made her spray it all out in shock.

If the Princess said so, and if Ye Wuyou still could not understand her intentions, then she would have wasted her years as the Master of Wushang Palace.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Li Qiubai, Li Qiubai, I never expected you to fall into someone else's hands! With Young Master Meng's stubbornness, sometimes she is even more conservative than her brother. I think your good fortune will require a lot of effort!"

The more Ye Wuyou gloated, the calmer the Princess became.

"Between women, if there is not much effort, how can good things come about?"

Although the Princess’ words were extremely cryptic, upon seeing the profound smile on her face, Ye Wuyou could not help but feel like she had sensed some unusual meaning from her words.

"Tsk tsk, you do have patience."

Ye Wuyou didn't delve into the deeper meaning behind the Princess’ words. She wasn't surprised, knowing that this person had ulterior motives regarding Young Master Meng. Just based on her rough understanding of Young Master Meng, Ye Wuyou reminded, "Have you ever considered that with everything we are doing, she is completely unaware? Setting aside how she might feel about your and Changping's marriage, even if she were willing to disregard everything and be with you, what then? No matter how much the Emperor indulges you, he probably would not tolerate a woman standing by your side."

Li Qiubai lowered her gaze but remained silent.

"It is only been a year since the agreement. Are you in such a hurry already? Is the fox's tail so eager to reveal itself?"

If it were anyone else, Ye Wuyou wouldn’t want to meddle, but given her close relationship with these two, she felt compelled to continue advising, even if Li Qiubai didn’t want to speak. "Moreover, if one day she learns that the marriage was just a scheme from the beginning, how do you think she will react?"

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.

After a long silence, Li Qiubai let out a slight sigh.

"You are right. I have been too impatient."

Pausing for a moment, the Princess murmured softly, "I should not have been in such a hurry."

It was just that when she saw Young Master Meng, her heart began to flutter, always hanging in mid-air with no place to settle. This made her so eager to move into Young Master Meng's heart immediately, forgetting that some things cannot be rushed to fruition.

One cannot hasten the growth of seedlings.

Li Qiubai tightly grasped Young Master Meng's hand, gazing at her face, and said softly, "For the next few days, please take care of her for me. I will come back for her once everything is arranged."

"All right, all right, I got it. You should hurry back."

Ye Wuyou waved her hand dismissively. Seeing that Li Qiubai still did not shift her gaze from Young Master Meng, she snorted and turned away to continue writing the prescription, not forgetting to add, "Hurry and get her brother out of the prison, otherwise, I might not be very gentle with this stinky girl!"

Although she said so, after speaking, Ye Wuyou still took the initiative to leave the room, calling for Yuechu at the door to help gather the medicine. She consciously left the room to Li Qiubai, allowing her to be alone with Young Master Meng.

Before leaving, Ye Wuyou did not forget to glance back into the room a few more times.

Unfortunately, before she could see how the Princess was helping Young Master Meng wipe her body, Yuechu had already pulled her out by the sleeve.

Author’s Note:

The other day, while eating, I accidentally dropped my phone into the hot pot, so my phone stopped working. There is no internet at home, so without a phone, I couldn't write or update in the past couple of days. Poor author, with no phone and no hotspot, I couldn't do anything...

When I asked for leave in the comment section, all your replies were just "hahaha"? 

That wasn't even the saddest part. After being out of touch for a few days, I asked my mom if she was worried about not being able to contact me. It turned out, she didn't even know I was out of touch (///▽////)