Chapter 13: Called Back At Midnight

Several maids did not dare delay.

They nearly ran the whole way, lanterns in hand, toward Wei Lan’s courtyard.

Wei Lan had gone to bed early that night.

Only two young maids on night duty remained in the courtyard.

When they saw people approaching from a distance in the direction of Fuqu Courtyard, the two drowsy girls immediately woke up.

Before long, several maids entered Wei Lan’s courtyard.

The leading maid asked, “Which room does the Lord Consort live in?

The young miss says the Lord Consort is to go over immediately.”

One of the maids in Wei Lan’s courtyard pointed toward an inner room.

“That one, but the Lord Consort has already gone to sleep.”

“Oh dear, there’s no time for that.

The young miss is in a real hurry.”

A maid from Lu Zijin’s courtyard immediately went to Wei Lan’s door and raised her hand to knock.

“Lord Consort, Lord Consort, please wake up.

The young miss is calling for you right now.”

The maid’s voice passed through the door and reached Wei Lan’s ears.

Wei Lan took several deep breaths, telling herself that since she had benefited from Lu Zijin, she couldn’t very well refuse now, before getting up to open the door.

She hadn’t even put on her outer robes yet when she opened it and asked, “What’s going on?

Didn’t I already go over once today?

Why am I being called again?”

Her tone was far from pleasant.

The maid who had come to fetch her could only coax her gently.

“It’s because the young miss suddenly felt unwell again, so she urgently asked for the Lord Consort to come.”

At this moment, Li Zhufeng and Zhao Linghui had also risen.

The two were clearly flustered, and when Li Zhufeng came out, she was still fastening her sash with one hand.

Li Zhufeng and Zhao Linghui pulled over a little maid to ask what had happened.

After exchanging a glance, the two of them hurried straight toward Wei Lan.

“Lord Consort, let this old servant help you dress.

We must hurry and get you changed.

We can’t keep the young miss waiting,” Li Zhufeng said with an ingratiating smile.

“That’s right, Lord Consort.

The young miss has finally asked you to come over.

You must take good care of her,” Zhao Linghui also urged.

And just like that, Wei Lan, who very much did not want to go and only wanted to sleep, was swiftly dressed by the two matrons.

Seeing that Wei Lan still looked reluctant, Li Zhufeng added, “Lord Consort, please go quickly.

You mustn’t make the young miss wait too long.”

Wei Lan sighed.

What else could she do?

She could only go, since she still wanted to keep eating this warm, freshly served soft rice.

She glanced at the maids Lu Zijin had sent and said listlessly, “Let’s go.”

“Thank you for your consideration, Lord Consort,” the leading maid said quickly.

Thus, four maids holding lanterns walked ahead to light the way, with two more following behind Wei Lan.

The group moved at a rapid pace.

It wasn’t that Wei Lan wanted to walk fast.

The maids around her were moving quickly, so she had no choice but to speed up as well.

On the other side, Lu Zijin’s courtyard stood in stark contrast to Wei Lan’s pitch-dark one.

At this moment, Jingchen Courtyard was brightly lit, as bright as day.

Knowing that Lu Zijin was unwell, the maids and servants all waited outside, ready to act on the instructions of the senior maids inside.

Inside the bedroom, Lu Zijin had just finished having her pulse taken by Deng Jin.

Deng Jin frowned slightly, then rose and bowed before speaking.

“Young Miss, during your rain-and-dew period you must remember not to overexert yourself, or it will harm your health.

You should rest more these next few days and eat more nourishing foods.”

“There’s ginseng chicken soup simmering in the small kitchen.

I’ve had someone keep it warm over a low fire.

Shall I bring it over now for you to drink?”

Yun Xiang said hurriedly from the side, her eyes turning as she added another sentence.

“That ginseng was sent by the young master cousin a few days ago out of concern for your health.

I heard it was a hundred-year-old root.”

Yun Xiang threw that line out, but no one in the room responded.

She could only pretend nothing had happened and let it pass.

Lu Zijin closed her eyes slightly and asked, “In my current state, can medicine be used to treat it?”

Deng Jin quickly replied, “No.

You have already taken too many scent-suppressing pills in the past.

During the rain-and-dew period, you must not take more medicine.

Right now, the best method is for the Lord Consort to help you ease it.”

When Deng Jin mentioned the Lord Consort, Lu Zijin’s brow creased almost imperceptibly.

In the end, she still had to rely on a Qianyuan’s scent.

Troublesome.

Just then, Wei Lan finally arrived at Jingchen Courtyard.

Qing Zhi quickly led Wei Lan into Lu Zijin’s bedroom.

A faint white sandalwood scent lingered in the room, Lu Zijin’s own fragrance.

Wei Lan swept her gaze around the room and saw that the bed curtains were still drawn.

Lu Zijin should be lying inside.

She looked toward the bed and asked, “What is it?”

“Mm.”

When Lu Zijin heard Wei Lan’s voice, her throat involuntarily swallowed, recalling the cool taste she had held in her mouth earlier that day.

She tried her best to suppress the rising heat within her and instructed, “All of you, leave.

I have something to say to the Lord Consort.”

“Yes.”

The maids and the physician immediately withdrew.

Only Yun Xiang, upon seeing Wei Lan, rolled her eyes subtly.

When the last maid left, the bedroom door was closed from the outside.

“Why aren’t you coming over?”

Lu Zijin propped herself up and shifted inward on the bed, then lay on her side, one hand supporting her cheek as she looked at the person outside.

Wei Lan walked over and was about to lift the bed curtains, but then remembered how particular Lu Zijin was and that she couldn’t get on the bed wearing her outer clothes.

As someone who still had to live off soft rice, Wei Lan very consciously removed all her outer garments and hung them on the rack to the side.

Only then did she slowly walk to the bedside and reluctantly reach out to lift the curtains, mostly because her neck still hadn’t healed and she was worried Lu Zijin was about to bite her again.

When the curtains were lifted, Lu Zijin knew Wei Lan had arrived.

A slight curve lifted her lips before she quickly returned to her usual cold expression.

Lu Zijin raised her eyes to look at Wei Lan and saw her wearing a miserable expression, as if she were extremely unwilling.

Lu Zijin’s face cooled.

She was, after all, the most talented and beautiful Kunze in Panyang City.

Being able to lie in the same bed and exchange scent with her was a privilege, yet Wei Lan dared to look like this, as though she were being forced.

“What, you seem very dissatisfied?”

Lu Zijin’s clear, cold voice reached Wei Lan’s ears.

“Of course I am.

Don’t you look at the time?

I was already half asleep when you sent people to wake me up and make me walk all this way to your courtyard in the middle of the night,” Wei Lan said frankly.

But when she met Lu Zijin’s gaze, Wei Lan felt she should probably shut up.

There was something off about the way Lu Zijin was looking at her.

“Lie down.”

That voice grew even colder.

“Lie down it is.

It’s not like I haven’t done it before,” Wei Lan muttered under her breath without much confidence, then took off her shoes and obediently lay down, just like during the day.

Seeing her settled, Lu Zijin swung a leg over and straddled Wei Lan’s waist before leaning down close to her.

Her gaze deepened further.

With her right hand, she pinched Wei Lan’s chin and made her look up.

“Be good and turn your face to the side.”

As she spoke, Lu Zijin held Wei Lan’s chin and adjusted her face to one side.

Lu Zijin’s eyes fell on Wei Lan’s bond mark.

It was still red and swollen from her bite earlier and had yet to fade.

The corner of her lips lifted, her gaze darkening.

Lu Zijin leaned down and bit that spot again.

She could feel Wei Lan stiffen beneath her, so she placed her left hand against Wei Lan’s cheek, gently stroking it to help her relax.

Wei Lan had already been unhappy about being bitten.

Now Lu Zijin was also touching her face, which made her even more displeased.

But thinking of her soft rice, Wei Lan gritted her teeth and endured it.

It was just a bit of touching.

She could handle that.

Lu Zijin quickly drew in a large amount of that fresh-snow scent from Wei Lan.

Perhaps because she had taken in quite a lot during the day, she could clearly feel that Wei Lan’s scent was not as abundant as before.

Even so, she continued eagerly.

Wei Lan lay there pitifully, letting Lu Zijin hold her and inhale deeply.

Only after quite a while did Lu Zijin seem satisfied and pull back slightly.

She fixed her gaze on Wei Lan, seemingly displeased by her wooden lack of reaction.

With a mischievous streak, Lu Zijin pinched Wei Lan’s chin again and deliberately ground her thumb against Wei Lan’s lips.

Wei Lan frowned slightly and looked at the person on top of her.

“Are you done yet?”

Seeing her anger that dared not quite surface, a faint smile appeared on Lu Zijin’s face.

“Come here.

Like during the day.

Bite down.”

Lu Zijin swept aside the dark hair at the right side of her neck, exposing the bond mark.