"Weakness?!"
Liu Rongruo's movements paused, and he let out a cold laugh. "My weakness must die."
Chi You raised an eyebrow and sneered. "Then she is truly unlucky."
A moment of silence hung in the air.
He raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and released her.
As soon as Chi You was released, her body felt weak, and she leaned against the wall for support.
"When will Prime Minister allow me to leave?"
"Tricking me again and again, constantly trying to escape. Would breaking your legs stop you from thinking about running off with other men?"
He glanced at her sideways, his expression terrifyingly indifferent.
Chi You remained silent, watching him quietly.
Liu Rongruo let out a cold hmph and took out a jade-white jar.
"I've heard of a蠱 in Southern Xinjiang called the Twin-Life Gu."
Twin-Life Gu?!
Chi You narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the jar in his hand.
"Twin-Life Gu, born together, dies together. You live, I live! You die, I perish!"
A hint of a teasing smile played on his lips.
Chi You's heart grew cold. Before she could say anything, he suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her into his embrace. "Let's consume its blood, live and die together, alright?"
"Are you crazy?"
Chi You couldn't hold back, and the words tumbled out. Immediately, she regretted it, sensing his terrifying gaze on her, and quickly asked, "How did you get it?"
The Twin-Life Gu was a蠱 developed by the Grand Priest over a lifetime. It was given to her elder brother, and eventually sent back. How did it end up in his hands?
Liu Rongruo bit her lip fiercely. Hearing her hiss, he finally released her mouth.
Chi You was so angry she wanted to curse, but she didn't dare to say anything more. She covered her mouth and remained silent.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and released her. "I obtained it unintentionally from the Southern Xinjiang royal family."
With that, he walked to the table, opened the jar, and took out a knife.
Chi You watched as he peeled skin and drew blood inch by inch, clenching her fists.
Was he insane?
"I am pregnant. Drinking this Gu blood will be useless."
Liu Rongruo's blood-stained hand paused slightly, and he turned back. "Is that so?"
Chi You's expression didn't change. "Yes."
"Then drink it and see."
"----"
He's a lunatic.
Chi You suppressed her anger as much as possible and said calmly, "If you want the child to be a monster, then force me to drink it."
Liu Rongruo's eyes darkened. He put down the knife, grabbed her, and pulled her into his embrace. "Lying to me?"
Chi You shook her head. "I'm not lying. This Gu is very strange. Pregnant women cannot drink it, and those already infected cannot drink it either."
He looked at her, quietly watching her, saying nothing.
A dead silence flowed through the air.
In the end, he didn't force her to drink it and left her in the secret room.
The heavy door closed, leaving only the faint candlelight illuminating the surroundings.
Chi You slumped onto the ground, exhausted, her hands gripping her skirt until they turned white and trembled.
Bai Ze delivered a pile of silk, thread, and tassels.
"What does this mean?"
Bai Ze replied respectfully, "What the master wants."
Chi You looked at the needles and threads in the tray, and a nameless anger flared up in her heart. "Don't tell me he wants to force me to embroider sachets for him."
Bai Ze bowed. "Knowing that miss cannot embroider, a wet nurse will come to teach you."
As he spoke, a wet nurse respectfully entered from outside.
"----"
Chi You clenched her fists. "Once it's embroidered, you'll let me out, right?"
"Yes."
The people left, leaving only Wet Nurse Yang.
Chi You didn't know why he was acting so mad, but she had no choice but to learn to embroider.
She had never learned needlework before, and she held the needle awkwardly, embroidering something perfunctorily just to get by.
But Liu Rongruo was not satisfied and forced her to re-embroider it.
Chi You was confined to the secret room, embroidering that wretched thing every day, and her hands were pricked with many holes.
She was so angry her face contorted, but that scoundrel refused to let her out.
The wet nurse also suffered with her; teaching her needlework was harder than killing her.
'Miss, embroider it properly, and we can leave sooner.'
"Go embroider for him! He's a lunatic! He can buy all these wretched things in the capital! What kind of madness is this?"
The wet nurse was stunned and quickly fell silent.
Chi You poured all her resentment into the sachets, embroidering them until they were stained with blood.
When Liu Rongruo heard the news, he was in the embroidery workshop.
He didn't look up and said calmly, "Tell her that if I don't see something wearable tomorrow night, she knows the consequences."
"Yes."
With the wedding approaching, the manor was bustling with activity, especially the embroidery workshop, which was filled with festive cheer.
A month ago, the Prime Minister had suddenly invited imperial embroiderers to prepare the wedding attire, and they had to supervise the work daily, making the embroiderers both nervous and delighted.
Everyone privately gossiped that the Qin family had already prepared their wedding attire, and the manor didn't need to prepare any, so no one knew what was going on.
But ultimately, it was the master's business, so they only dared to whisper amongst themselves.
These imperial embroiderers were skilled, and it took them a month to complete the wedding dress. The stitches were dense, the embroidery patterns were beautiful, and the phoenix patterns woven with gold thread were priceless.
However, the Prime Minister was still not satisfied. Half a month ago, he personally took action and embroidered golden-feather butterflies on the phoenix coronet cloak.
It was rumored that these golden-feather butterflies were purchased from the Western Regions. Once exposed to light, the butterflies would seem to fly with the light, flowing and magnificent.
Back then, the wedding dress worn by the Dingbei Princess had amazed all of Shangjing. Now, Miss Qin was also fortunate to wear such a fiery red, resplendent wedding dress.
"Master, these stitches are wrong."
Liu Rongruo's face was calm as he corrected them according to the embroiderer's instructions.
The embroiderer watching beside him sighed inwardly, glad that it was finally nearing completion.
Serving such a cold master made her legs tremble every day.
Fortunately, the Prime Minister had gone out a few days ago, giving her a few days of rest.
After his return, his progress had indeed improved.
The sky gradually darkened.
Chi You looked at the sachet in her hand, then rubbed her forehead in frustration and let out a sigh.
Asking her to do needlework was harder than asking her to kill someone; it was too difficult.
"Miss, almost there, just bear with it."
The wet nurse was also astonished by Chi You's clumsiness. She had already taught her the simplest patterns, yet she still couldn't learn them. Her embroidery looked more like chickens than mandarin ducks; she was truly the most inept apprentice she had ever taught.
Chi You noticed the wet nurse's disdain and became even more annoyed. However, having embroidered so many now, she had figured out a few things. Eager to finish the task quickly, she began to embroider diligently.
The light in the secret room was dim.
She embroidered for a long time, her hands aching, before finally finishing.
As soon as she finished, she loudly called for Bai Ze.
The door to the secret room rumbled open, and light flooded in.
Chi You shielded her eyes, unaccustomed to the brightness, and handed over the sachet.
"This one, it should be acceptable now, right?"
Bai Ze looked at her a few times, took the sachet, and left.
He went straight to the study and saw that the master had already returned. He handed over the sachet.
Liu Rongruo sat in the pear blossom chair, examined it for a moment, and then curled his lips. "It's at least presentable."
Hearing this, Bai Ze couldn't help but snicker with his head lowered. The Saintess's embroidery was truly hard to describe.
If the master really went out with this thing, he would surely be ridiculed. Especially Young Master Li, with his gossiping nature, would laugh him to death.
"What are you laughing at?"
A cold voice came from above, making him shiver all over.
"This subordinate dares not."
Liu Rongruo looked at him with a placid expression.
Bai Ze wailed inwardly and said respectfully, "This subordinate will accept his punishment."