Chapter 15: Choosing Him
The night breeze carried a lingering chill, stirring the strands of hair at Song Hemei's temples so they brushed against her cheek, tickling.
She stared intently at Yu Yeqing, believing he must have understood her meaning. Yet he wrung out the clothes from the basin, stood up, and draped them over the rack beside him, his back to her as he said, "Second Miss, would you still like to see my younger sister?"
The change of subject was rather abrupt.
Or perhaps... should she call him oblivious to romantic cues?
Song Hemei was in no hurry. She rose as well. "Naturally, I wish to see her."
Yu Yeqing turned around, his long lashes veiling the look in his eyes. The knuckles of his slender fingers were reddened as he slowly rolled down his cuffs, covering his taut forearms where veins were visible.
He gestured for her to go first. The courtyard was small. On the night she had come before, she had originally planned to stay in his young sister's room, so there was no need for him to lead the way now.
But when they reached the door, she couldn't simply push it open. It was Yu Yeqing who gently knocked. "Minglian."
After a pause, a slightly delighted voice came from inside. "Brother, you're back?"
Yu Yeqing pushed the door open. The warm, soft glow of the oil lamp spilled through the gap. Song Hemei turned her head and saw a thin girl with bright eyes half-reclining on the bed, struggling to sit up.
Yu Yeqing stepped into the room. His tall frame made his strides long, and in a few steps he was at the bedside, slowly helping her up. "We have a guest."
Song Hemei immediately entered the room and waved her hand. "Miss Minglian, your health is frail. There's no need to mind such formalities."
The young girl blinked, studying her as if trying to identify her. Just as Song Hemei stepped forward to speak first, the girl called out, "Second Miss Song?"
Song Hemei was a little surprised. Back when she had sent people to hire Yu Yeqing, she had caught a distant glimpse of this girl, but at that time she had been even thinner, obediently following behind Yu Yeqing to pay her respects.
Now, the girl had grown and matured. One could see that her features resembled Yu Yeqing's, but paired with a delicate nose and lips, the lines of her face were softer, evoking a desire to be close to her.
Song Hemei curved her lips into a smile and said the customary pleasantries one uses with children. "You still remember me? It's been years, and you've grown so big."
But Minglian smiled shyly. "All these years, my brother has been under your patronage, Miss. I should have come to thank you myself."
Song Hemei walked to her bedside, the smile on her lips taking on a bit more genuine warmth.
A girl of just over ten, having lost both parents and being chronically ill, yet she spoke with such completeness and endearing grace. No doubt it was due to Yu Yeqing's daily guidance.
She lifted her chin toward Yu Yeqing, signaling him to move aside, then went over and sat on the round stool by the bed. Taking a hairpin from her sleeve pouch, she handed it over. "I thought you might be bored while ill, so I brought this to keep you entertained."
Minglian was overwhelmed by the kindness. She didn't dare to accept it and instinctively glanced at her brother.
Song Hemei noticed and said directly, "I'm giving it to you. You don't need to ask your brother."
She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at Yu Yeqing. "Young Master Yu, would you trouble yourself to heat some water?"
They would need it later, after all.
Yu Yeqing pressed his thin lips together, hesitating for a moment, but in the end he silently left the room.
Song Hemei turned back and taught Minglian about the hidden clasp on the hairpin. Pushing it would reveal a carved bird—it was a novelty her own brother had brought back from the capital.
Halfway through her explanation, she paused, her emotions unavoidably complicated.
In the past, whenever she mentioned her brother, she had been so proud. Among her circle of young ladies, his pampering of her was well known.
But now, facing Minglian, she felt ashamed to even think of her own brother.
She placed the hairpin in Minglian's hand. "You and Young Master Yu are very close, aren't you?"
The girl nodded and answered whatever was asked. "My brother dotes on me greatly, but my body is ungrateful—I always drag him down."
Song Hemei paused for a moment, recalling the woman she had seen earlier. "When I arrived earlier, I saw your aunt."
Minglian was startled and gave a soft sigh.
Observing her expression, Song Hemei probed, "It seems your household... isn't very close to your aunt?"
"My aunt is very good to me, but she has never liked my brother." Minglian's eyes showed worry and anxiety. "Second Miss, did you see my aunt give my brother a hard time again?"
Seeing the girl's pale face flush with concern, Song Hemei quickly said, "No, no. I was just asking casually."
She tucked the blanket around her. "Rest well. Don't worry about grown-up matters."
Just then, Yu Yeqing returned. Song Hemei stood up and gave him the spot. "Spend some time with your sister. I'll wait outside."
Yu Yeqing gave her a deep look, as if wanting to say something, but he first went to his sister's bedside.
Song Hemei stepped out and, having nothing else to do, began to examine the courtyard carefully.
The ground was clean, with no dust or fallen leaves or broken branches. A railing had been added around the well, probably to keep Minglian from falling in. But it was built rather high—unless one were tall, fetching water would be a struggle.
Looking further, farming tools sat beside the drying rack. As she was studying them, Yu Yeqing had somehow come up behind her. "Second Miss Song."
He always addressed her this way, with courtesy and restraint. In the past, and still now, after everything that had happened.
Song Hemei tilted her chin to gesture forward. "Do you usually do farm work?"
Yu Yeqing replied in a low voice, "Our family has two mu of paddy fields, just enough to make ends meet."
Song Hemei was quite surprised. He usually appeared refined and aloof—not at all like someone who would work the land. Besides, some men who studied grew to have lofty ideals and idle hands, unwilling to toil, leaving all the labor to their wives and mothers, while they tightened their belts and buried themselves in dead books, dreaming of becoming marquises and ministers.
But thinking about it, it made sense. He took meticulous care of his sister, so he would naturally have to do everything else himself.
No wonder, beneath the wide-sleeved scholar's robes, every part of him was taut and strong.
She turned around and tilted her head to look at him. "Young Master Yu, won't you invite me inside to sit?"
Yu Yeqing frowned, his hands slowly clenching within his wide sleeves. "Second Miss, you should return to the Song residence."
Song Hemei ignored him and walked straight past him toward his room. "When you gave away my silver notes to others, you were quite generous and open-minded. I thought you had seen reason, understood that listening to me would bring you benefits, and didn't care about those few notes."
Once inside the room, she sat directly on the bed and patted the spot beside her. "Come here."
Yu Yeqing stood before her. The room was unlit, moonlight spilling over his back, making him seem extraordinarily tall, solitary, and aloof.
Song Hemei didn't want to waste her patience at such a moment. She put on a stern face. "Come here. Don't make me say it a second time."
Yu Yeqing's somewhat stiff body shifted, and finally he walked slowly toward her, sitting down beside her.
This bed, which had belonged only to him for so many years, now bore a woman he had never dared to covet, in a way he had never imagined.
He closed his eyes, and the room fell silent.
Song Hemei didn't know what others did before such acts.
Soft words and gentle murmurs? They weren't close enough for that.
Drinking wine to kindle passion? They hadn't prepared anything. Could drinking hot water also arouse passion?
Or... should they just disrobe directly?
She stopped thinking and simply reached out to grasp the hand of the man beside her.
His hand was larger than hers. She could only lay hers on top; she couldn't truly hold it. She felt his knuckles pressing into her palm—a firmness wrapped in thin skin and flesh, a sensation that felt oddly familiar.
Fortunately, the room was dark, or else the flush spreading across her cheeks would have been too embarrassing.
She suddenly realized that, in certain matters, men and women reacted the same way.
For instance, when persuading a virtuous person to cross the line, not knowing how to speed things up, one could only blurt out all the benefits one could offer. "If you listen to me, in the future, for your sister's medical treatment—calling the doctor, buying medicinal herbs—I can cover all the expenses. Is there anything else you want? You can tell me."
Yu Yeqing said nothing, made no move, like an immortal who had fallen to earth, about to be defiled.
Song Hemei felt a bit impatient and took the initiative to ask, "Isn't it because of your sister that you've been unable to take the imperial examinations? I can find a way to send you—"
"No need."
Yu Yeqing refused.
Song Hemei gritted her teeth. What was with this man—impervious to both soft and hard tactics? Even the lure of the imperial examinations couldn't tempt a scholar?
But before she could say anything else, her hand was suddenly seized instead. She was pulled, and her whole body tumbled sideways.
She was startled. A feeling of being controlled, unable to break free, surged from her side. But in the next moment, his arm wrapped around her waist and tightened, pressing her entire body against his chest.
She instinctively looked up, and her lips were captured—
More wanton, more violent than that afternoon. It scattered and shattered everything in her mind.
Her parted lips could no longer close, her tongue no longer her own. It was as if she were completely under his control, and with ease he sent tremors she could hardly endure through her.
The arm around her waist tightened and strained, feeling impossibly hard in that moment. He lifted her up and placed her on his lap.
For one absurd instant, Song Hemei's mind wandered—
If it were Shao Wen'ang beside her now, thin and frail as he was, could he have lifted her so effortlessly?
When the reluctant tangle finally ceased, their breathing was ragged. Song Hemei swallowed. "You startled me..."
In the darkness, Yu Yeqing's eyes, like black gems, glowed. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted, Miss?"
Before Song Hemei could react, she was laid on the bed. The sash at her waist was untied; the city gates were wide open, accessible for plunder.
A firm spear stood at the city walls, mercilessly lodged at the gate. Chaos erupted within the city. Song Hemei could hear her own heart racing with fear and nervousness.
Even though it was the second time, there was no nuptial wine this time. She was sober, caught between fear and anticipation. But the one who threatened her made no further move to conquer.
She heard his hoarse voice break the silence, asking at the most inappropriate moment, "Why did you choose me?"
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