The main courtyard was surrounded by hidden guards on all sides.
Chiyou had no chance to send a message. She was confined to this garden daily, hearing the sounds of merriment and celebration from all directions.
Crimson satin hung from the rafters, and auspicious double happiness characters were embroidered on the bamboo windows. The entire mansion was filled with laughter and revelry.
She watched her belly grow larger day by day, feeling the occasional kicks, and her inner restlessness intensified.
"Miss, it's time to take your medicine."
Fuling stood respectfully behind her, holding a cup of medicinal soup for pregnancy.
Chiyou turned, giving her a cold laugh. "You watch me so closely every day. Do you take me for a criminal?"
"This servant is terrified."
Despite her words, this person never let her out of her sight.
As soon as there was any slight movement from her, Fuling would appear.
Chiyou had tested her martial arts; they were very high.
She lowered her gaze and took the medicine.
As her body grew heavier, she felt increasingly weak and often felt drowsy.
When Liu Rongruo returned, he saw her napping on a couch in the corridor.
A gentle breeze blew, and he strode over, picked her up, and carried her back into the room.
Chiyou roused somewhat from her stupor and, seeing it was him, deliberately caused trouble.
"My feet are swollen again. Go fetch some water."
Liu Rongruo said nothing. After putting her down, he went to fetch the water.
Ever since her physical condition became inconvenient, he had personally attended to any unreasonable requests she made.
She naturally did not miss the opportunity to torment him, often ordering him to do this and that.
"The Prime Minister is becoming more and more adept at serving others."
Liu Rongruo caught her restless leg and said, "If you continue to act out, I'll pour this basin of water on your face."
Chiyou scoffed and leaned against the bed, her eyes slightly narrowed.
After the soak, he wiped her clean, and a maid came in to take the water away.
In her muddled state, Chiyou felt his hands massaging her ankle.
"When can you let me go to the Qin Estate?"
Here, she was watched too closely.
"The day before the wedding."
Chiyou raised an eyebrow. 'He truly is cold-hearted. If my junior sister knew I had replaced her, wouldn't she seek me out for a fight?'
Liu Rongruo's expression was indifferent. "You are not replacing anyone. I say it's you, and it is you."
Chiyou pouted and said nothing.
She had heard it from the people in the mansion.
Recently, rumors had spread in the capital that the eldest daughter of the Qin family, Qin Yunshang, was gravely ill and had been sent back to her ancestral home in Fanyang.
And the Qin family patriarch had brought a woman back from outside, claiming she was their third daughter, who had been frail since childhood and raised on a manor, and was to be married into the Liu family.
The capital was filled with noisy speculation, with people guessing all sorts of things in secret.
Chiyou looked at him. "I heard from people in the mansion that in the Central Plains, newlyweds are not supposed to see each other for three days before the wedding."
Liu Rongruo's hand, massaging her ankle, paused. He was silent for a moment before speaking.
"Then I'll send you there tonight."
Hearing this, Chiyou's heart suddenly jolted.
It was laughable; this ruthless man actually believed such a tale.
As dusk deepened, the cicadas chirped incessantly.
A carriage stopped at the back gate of the Qin Estate. The wind lifted the curtain, and Chiyou alighted from the carriage, following Liu Rongruo inside.
The head of the prospective bride's family stood beside them, respectfully ushering them into the Cloud Pavilion.
"You don't need to follow. You may leave."
"Yes."
After the others departed, the two stood on the bluestone path in the courtyard. The moonlight overhead was hazy, flowing over them and lending a sense of tranquility.
Chiyou looked at the man beside her and said in a low voice.
"Let's go back."
After speaking, she turned to go inside, but her hand was suddenly grasped, and she was pulled into his embrace.
He held her tightly, his clear scent reaching her ears.
"Don't run."
Chiyou did not struggle. She tilted her head back and looked at the moon.
"You are merely acting on impulse, taking what you desire when you please and discarding it when you don't. Why are you acting like this now?"
Liu Rongruo's eyes darkened slightly. "No."
Chiyou said nothing. She reached out and hugged his waist, burying her face against his chest, her expression hidden.
Under the moonlight, by the pond, they held each other tightly.
"Liu Rongruo, how wonderful it would have been if I hadn't come to the capital in the first place."
Her voice was calm, but to his ears, it carried an inexplicable touch of bitterness.
Liu Rongruo tightened his grip around her waist, his expression unreadable.
The capital had been very lively recently. The young Marquis of Xuanping Estate had just married the daughter of the Wei family. Now, Prime Minister Liu's marriage to the Qin family was also imminent. The streets were unusually bustling, with red carpets stretching for ten li.
The Qin Estate was adorned with lanterns and festive decorations everywhere, exuding an atmosphere of joy.
Chiyou resided in the Cloud Pavilion, closely guarded. Fuling followed her almost every step of the way, and the presence of hidden guards could be felt within the small courtyard.
Tomorrow was the wedding day. She had finally managed to make Fuling let down her guard, creating a brief opening.
Inside the room, she was alone.
She stood by the window, looking at her swollen belly, her eyes darkening.
A moment later, she opened the Silver Snake Illusory Spirit Bracelet. The spirit insects within flew out and quietly slipped away through the bamboo window.
When Fuling entered with a tray, she saw her standing forlornly by the window, her figure slender. Despite being pregnant, she appeared delicate, like a willow swaying in the wind.
But she was a death warrior and would not question her mistress's affairs.
"Miss, let me help you wash up."
After washing, Chiyou got into bed to rest. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind in turmoil.
She forced herself to close her eyes, trying not to think, but she couldn't control it.
If this failed, would she really have to marry him?
"Mother, I will definitely marry the bravest man in the Western Regions in the future."
The absurd words from her childhood suddenly flashed through her mind. She curled her lips in a mocking smile, and hot tears slid down her cheeks, dampening the jade pillow.
It was her own overconfidence that led her to provoke him; it was all her fault.
No, it wasn't her fault.
Tantai Ye repeatedly led his troops to conquer the Western Regions. If Southern Xinjiang did not ally with Northern Qi and remained precariously balanced, becoming a vassal state of Daliang, its fate might have been even worse than it was now.
But what was his fault? He had done nothing wrong either.
He led his troops to attack Southern Xinjiang, eliminated the old bandit King of Gu for her, and supported her younger brother in ascending to the position of King of Gu. If one were to put it this way, he had even removed a major hidden danger for her.
As the thought crossed her mind, Chiyou's hands, gripping the quilt, turned pale and clenched.
She was truly going mad to instinctively make excuses for him, to find reasons for his actions. Even if he had killed the King of Gu and supported Chiyou Qi.
But that still couldn't cover up the scenes of Daliang's troops marching into the royal capital, the flames of war engulfing Southern Xinjiang, nor could it cover up his deception in taking the military tally, much less the bloody scenes of Southern Xinjiang soldiers dying on the battlefield to protect the capital.
If she hadn't knelt before him in humiliation, exchanging a marriage alliance for peace in Southern Xinjiang, Southern Xinjiang would have long ago become a possession of Daliang.
They were destined to be enemies.
"Sister, I will definitely bring you back."
Chiyou snapped back to reality with a jolt. Her brother's face flashed through her mind. After her mother died, to survive and protect her dependent brother, she had struggled against the old man, the King of Gu, for many years.
But now that the old man was dead, she had been brought to the capital and had not even seen her brother again.
If she could return safely this time, she would never leave Southern Xinjiang again.
As Chiyou thought, she couldn't help but reach out and touch her belly, her eyes darkening.