Bright Moon Enters My Embrace - Chapter 24
24
Lin Yanran instantly felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She placed the bedding on the table and sat down herself.
Propping her chin on her hand, she watched Youqin Mingyue read.
Youqin Mingyue found her gaze irritating. “Go make your own bed on the floor.”
Lin Yanran replied gently, “It’s all right. I’m not sleepy. I’ll keep you company while you read.”
She reached for a book, but Youqin Mingyue closed the one in her hands. “Sleep.”
Then she extinguished the lamp, steadied herself against the table edge, walked to the bed, climbed in, lowered the canopy, and lightly pulled the quilt over herself.
Lin Yanran heard that she was sleeping fully clothed and knew the other woman was still on guard against her. Strangely, this reaction actually set her mind at ease.
This was the normal reaction for a villainess.
She hurriedly moved the table and chairs aside, laid out a pallet in the middle of the room, and slipped into her own bedding.
For a time, the room was perfectly still.
Youqin Mingyue was beginning to regret letting this lowly commoner into her bedroom, now she couldn’t fall asleep at all.
Just then, Lin Yanran suddenly spoke. “Mingyue, everything I told you before is true. I’m not the same Lin Yanran I used to be.”
Youqin Mingyue did not reply.
Moonlight spilled in through the lattice window, scattering silver across the floor. By its glow, Lin Yanran could make out the hazy pink of the lotus-colored gauze canopy.
It was a brand-new mosquito net she had specially bought on this latest trip to town—a silk-gauze product that had cost a full thirty taels of silver. She hadn’t even been willing to buy one for herself.
Inside the gauze, everything was indistinct, she could only vaguely see the slender silhouette outlined beneath the quilt on the bed.
She continued, “I know it’s hard for you to believe me right now, but please give me time. I will prove that I bear you no ill will. Whatever evil the old Lin Yanran did to you, I will do everything in my power to make amends—as long as it is within my ability, I will do it for you.”
Her words were utterly sincere, in the darkness they rang especially clear. Youqin Mingyue heard every one. She would not trust easily, yet that did not stop her from testing the waters.
She asked, “Did Gu Yuwan speak with you?”
Lin Yanran’s heart leapt with joy. As long as Youqin Mingyue was willing to talk, she was confident she had a chance.
“Yes. It turns out she is the young lady of the Gu family from Fengwu City, her family are merchants.”
“She offered to sell the medicinal pills on your behalf. Why did you refuse?”
“My strength is meager, I feared attracting the covetous eyes of the truly powerful.”
That was reasonable enough. Youqin Mingyue thought to herself. However, the old Lin Yanran had been greedy, selfish, and short-sighted—she would never have possessed such foresight.
She said, “Hand the business of the pills over to her.”
A bolt of realization flashed through Lin Yanran’s mind, everything suddenly became clear.
She understood: Youqin Mingyue didn’t just want the pills themselves—she wanted money.
Lin Yanran knew exactly how enormously profitable these pills were. Entrusting them to a professional merchant house would naturally bring in far greater returns. So her true goal was silver.
Of course.
And then she thought further: Youqin Mingyue wanted to contend for the throne. To seize military power she needed money. Without money, who would risk their life for her?
Lin Yanran felt she had grasped the key to her own survival and immediately said, “Very well. First thing tomorrow morning I’ll tell her.”
Youqin Mingyue made no sound.
After a moment’s thought, Lin Yanran added, “Mingyue, I have another idea. Would you hear me out?”
Youqin Mingyue remained silent, yet she couldn’t help tilting her head to listen.
Lin Yanran said, “These pills were developed for you in the first place. I want to hand full ownership of the pills to you. If Gu Yuwan—or any other merchant—wishes to sell them, they must obtain the sales rights from you. This way, no matter who sells the pills, the ownership always remains in your hands, and the lion’s share of the profit will naturally be yours as well.”
“Those wealthy merchants who obtain the sales rights can then resell distribution rights. If they want to maximize their own profit, they will spare no effort to promote the pills and perfect every link in the sales chain. That way we achieve twice the result with half the effort and simply sit back and collect the money.”
How could Youqin Mingyue not be brilliant? In an instant she grasped the essence of the proposal.
Ownership rights? Sales rights? Distribution rights?
Her heart pounded. If they truly operated according to Lin Yanran’s plan, as long as she firmly controlled ownership—that is, the formula and the manufacturing method—wouldn’t that allow her to command the wealthy merchants of the realm to work for her? When that day came, wouldn’t silver flow in like water?
Then she would never again have to worry about military funds.
Thinking of this, her gaze penetrated the gauze canopy toward Lin Yanran on the floor.
At this moment, this lowly commoner was the key.
“Who else knows the formula?”
Lin Yanran immediately knew the other woman had understood her intent. She inwardly praised: Worthy of the future empress—no one could match this intelligence. She herself was a modern person and could directly transplant these business models, but Youqin Mingyue was an ancient person who had never encountered modern theory.
“The formula is something I developed myself, only I know it. Oh, right—the moment I finished it, I wrote out a complete copy of the formula for you.” Lin Yanran did not forget to curry favor.
Youqin Mingyue’s tone was unreadable. “If I remember correctly, yesterday you also wrote out a formula and gave it to Liu Zhenzhen to buy ingredients.”
Lin Yanran’s eyelid twitched. She had deliberately glossed over that detail, yet Youqin Mingyue had still noticed.
She hurriedly explained, “Don’t worry. On that copy I only listed the names of the herbs, but I wrote none of the proportions. A formula isn’t just the ingredients—it involves dosage, sequence, and processing methods. Every single step affects the final efficacy. A hair’s breadth of error leads a thousand miles astray.”
Youqin Mingyue said no more.
Lin Yanran cautiously asked, “Mingyue, what do you think of my proposal?”
Her very life hung on this. If Youqin Mingyue accepted, and the formula and manufacturing method remained in her own hands, then she would possess a lifeline.
If she could think of this, how could Youqin Mingyue fail to?
Hmph. This lowly commoner was truly cunning.
Even if she had not offered it, Youqin Mingyue would have seized control of the formula anyway. As for the money—of course it would all be hers. In her eyes Lin Yanran was nothing but a slave, everything the woman owned belonged to her.
Even if Lin Yanran did not willingly hand it over, she would take it by force.
Still, having it offered voluntarily was naturally more pleasing.
Youqin Mingyue felt much better and said, “Very well.”
Lin Yanran immediately replied, “Good. Tomorrow I will explain everything to Gu Yuwan.”
With Youqin Mingyue’s agreement, Lin Yanran’s heart settled a little. Yet very quickly she grew nervous again. Making medicine was not like cooking, only she could produce the best results. If Youqin Mingyue killed her and then found another physician to compound the formula, they could still manufacture the pills.
No—this was not safe enough. She needed more lifelines.
Lin Yanran promptly said, “Mingyue, when I previously mentioned being able to develop a pill that suppresses your pheromones, I was not speaking idly. If you lend me your personal pill to study, I am confident I can duplicate it. Then you will finally be free from the torment of pheromones and bodily fragrance.”
Youqin Mingyue had already been tempted before, hearing it again naturally made her even more tempted.
Yet she still hesitated.
That pill had accompanied her since birth. It carried her imperial mother’s love, as well as the longing and warmth she had clung to during her downfall and danger.
Suddenly handing it to an outsider was a psychological barrier she found difficult to cross.
Lin Yanran waited quietly.
The night deepened, the moonlight in the room gradually dimmed until the space grew dark.
After a very long time, the gauze canopy stirred lightly. A slender, jade-white hand reached out from within.
“You have the time it takes one incense stick to burn.”
Lin Yanran was overjoyed and hurried forward to receive it.
But first her eyes fell on that hand.
The fingers were delicate, in the moonlight they shone like polished jade. Inside the thin sleeve of the under-robe was revealed a segment of snowy wrist—supple and boneless, exquisitely beautiful, as though drawn by an immortal brush.
She gently took the ornate brocade pouch from those fingertips and immediately felt a trace of lingering warmth.
The hand swiftly withdrew into the canopy.
Lin Yanran returned to her bedding, shook her head to dispel the image of that hand, then opened the pouch and took out the pill.
The pill was pure snowy white and gave off an extremely tranquil, profound fragrance that calmed the mind.
She held it up to the moonlight and examined it closely.
Inside the canopy, Youqin Mingyue was also watching her.
The pill was vitally important to her. Having handed it over, she could not help feeling nervous and uneasy.
Lin Yanran studied it with utmost seriousness. Her eyes seemed glued to the pill, she slowly turned it in her fingers, scrutinizing every surface.
Her face was also bathed in moonlight, her expression grave, her gaze focused. She was wholly immersed in researching the pill, radiating the spirit of complete scholarly devotion.
Youqin Mingyue suddenly recalled something from her previous life: the legendary genius blacksmith she had obtained. When she had personally visited the forge to console him, she had seen exactly this demeanor as he worked on a blade—absolute concentration and total commitment.
She was secretly astonished. This lowly commoner actually possessed such craftsman’s heart?
The next instant, her expression turned extremely ugly.
Because Lin Yanran had actually stuck out her tongue and licked the pill!
And with an expression of utter relish, as though it were the rarest delicacy in the world.
That was the treasure she had worn next to her skin for sixteen whole years, never once parting from it for even a moment—it was practically her second life.
Yet this lowly commoner was profaning her treasure in such a manner!
Detestable! Damn her!
Youqin Mingyue felt an indescribable shame surge from the depths of her heart—secret and unspeakable. And precisely because it was unspeakable, it tormented her even more.
Her hands clenched the quilt fiercely.
Lowly commoner, lowly commoner, lowly commoner!
She cursed furiously in her mind.
Then she saw Lin Yanran lick it a second time, then shift position and lick a third time…
Too presumptuous! Utterly outrageous!
Youqin Mingyue’s face flushed crimson with anger. Were it not for the refined self-control drilled into her by years of royal upbringing, she would truly have wanted to slash the woman to pieces right then and there.
After who-knows-how-many licks, Lin Yanran finally stopped. She got up, hurried into the outer room, fetched paper and brush, hunched over the table and began writing furiously.
She was recording the ingredients she had identified.
Youqin Mingyue felt a little better.
Even the Divine Farmer had tasted all the herbs, this lowly commoner was surely identifying ingredients.
After finishing her notes, Lin Yanran picked up the pill again and examined it further.
A cool voice suddenly came from behind her: “The time of one incense stick is over.”
She quickly turned. “Mingyue, please let me look a little longer. There’s one last herb—I’m so close to identifying it…”
“Bring it here.” Youqin Mingyue’s tone was icy.
Lin Yanran had no choice but to return the pill to its pouch and hand it over.
The room was unlit, only faint moonlight remained. Through the gauze canopy she felt as though she was being glared at.
What did I do this time?
Lin Yanran felt bewildered. She sat back down at the table, scratching her head in frustration as she stared at the paper in the moonlight.
Youqin Mingyue heard her mutter, “Why wouldn’t she give me just a little more time? I was about to figure out the sixth herb—just a tiny bit more… sigh… sigh…”
Her tone was filled with utmost dejection. Youqin Mingyue felt secretly pleased.
Serves her right for defiling my pill!
She brought the brocade pouch to her nose and sniffed carefully. Fortunately there was no strange smell.
But when she thought about how it must now be covered in Lin Yanran’s saliva, a wave of revulsion hit her. How could she possibly wear it against her skin again?
Furious, she tossed the pouch onto the pillow beside her.
That damned lowly commoner!
Lin Yanran truly possessed the spirit of a researcher. At first it had been to curry favor and save her life, but now it was mostly the thrill of solving an academic puzzle.
When a puzzle remained unsolved, she could neither eat nor sleep in peace.
Thus after sighing at the table for a while, she lay down, yet tossed and turned, still thinking about that sixth herb that had been just on the tip of her tongue.
What exactly was it? It tasted a bit like this herb, a bit like that one… Damn it, so close!
Full of regret, Lin Yanran tossed for a long time before finally falling asleep.
And then she overslept.
Youqin Mingyue adhered strictly to the rigorous palace schedule, she woke at the first hint of the Mao hour.
She arranged her clothing and hair as usual, then lifted the gauze canopy and hooked it in place.
Only to discover Lin Yanran still sprawled on the floor in front of the bed, sleeping soundly. Somehow she had rolled in her quilt all the way to the foot of the bed and was now blocking the footstool completely.
To get out of bed, Youqin Mingyue would have to step over her.
She deeply regretted ever agreeing to let the woman sleep on the floor.
Harboring a bellyful of irritation, she got up and left the room.
The main door was still bolted, she opened it and saw that the sky was only just growing light. Even Lin Cuicui and Chen Xiaohua had not yet arrived. Putao was not sleeping in the kennel built specially for her, but rather under the corridor. The moment the door opened she shot up and trotted to her legs, wagging her tail enthusiastically.
Youqin Mingyue couldn’t help slowly crouching down.
There was still a faint ache at her ankle, but it was much better than a few days ago.
Putao was very affectionate toward her. She stroked her head. During the days she had been locked up, she had slept in the woodshed with her, when it was cold she had even hugged her for warmth.
A princess born to the highest nobility had nevertheless tasted hardship—both in the imperial palace and in this little courtyard.
Her mood suddenly sank. She stood and gazed at the brightening sky. In another ten-plus days, her personal troops would arrive.
Then everything would be different. She would take back what was hers, ascend the throne, and repay blood with blood.
“Sister-in-law—”
A soft call came from behind. Gu Yuwan, who had risen early, walked over.
“It’s still early, why doesn’t little sister sleep more?”
Youqin Mingyue unusually took the initiative to speak.
Gu Yuwan smiled gently. “I went to bed early last night, so I woke early. Sister-in-law, yesterday you were reading, so I didn’t disturb you. Actually, I am the daughter of the Gu family of Fengwu City…”
Gu Yuwan once again explained her background.
Youqin Mingyue was secretly pleased—this showed that Gu Yuwan felt great goodwill toward her.
The two were chatting when the courtyard gate was knocked upon.
Gu Yuwan immediately said, “Sister-in-law, I’ll get it.”
She had noticed Youqin Mingyue’s leg was inconvenient and had quietly asked Lin Cuicui, learning that she had been injured. So she volunteered.
Gu Yuwan opened the gate. Chen Xiaohua led Heihu in first, followed by Lin Cuicui who entered with her head lowered.
Gu Yuwan greeted them. Chen Xiaohua answered sweetly, but Lin Cuicui kept her head down and made no sound, as if avoiding her.
Gu Yuwan found it odd. Over the past two days she had grown very fond of both girls.
She glanced over and was instantly shocked.
Lin Cuicui’s delicate face was covered in purple-black bruises—one patch here, another there—all clearly from vicious punches.
Then Gu Yuwan noticed that when Lin Cuicui walked toward the kitchen, she limped painfully up the steps.
Her legs were injured too.
Gu Yuwan’s heart ached at once. Though her uncle schemed and envied her, she had never been beaten. Seeing a girl her own age beaten half to death like this made her chest tighten.
Who could be so cruel as to beat a young girl so savagely?
Gu Yuwan pressed her lips together and walked back.
Youqin Mingyue was watching her.
She too sensed something wrong. If Gu Yuwan told her, she would help. But Gu Yuwan only gave her a strained smile and went into the main room.
Youqin Mingyue naturally did not ask further.
When breakfast was ready, Lin Yanran still had not woken. Chen Xiaohua came to ask, “Fairy Sister-in-law, shall we wait for Sister Yanran before eating?”
Youqin Mingyue replied, “No need. We’ll eat first.”
Chen Xiaohua quickly and deftly served the dishes. Lin Cuicui had not emerged from the kitchen since entering it.
Only Youqin Mingyue and Gu Yuwan sat at the table.
While eating, Gu Yuwan thought: Cuicui must be hiding because she’s afraid of being seen.
Youqin Mingyue was still recovering, Gu Yuwan didn’t want to worry her, so she kept silent. But keeping it bottled up inside made her feel terrible.
When they finished, it was again Chen Xiaohua who cleared the bowls.
Lin Yanran was awakened by the sunlight streaming through the window. She opened her eyes and immediately squinted against the glare.
The spring sunshine was warm and gentle, extraordinarily bright, filling the room with light.
She sat up, slowly recalled everything from the night before, then shot to her feet.
Only then did she realize Youqin Mingyue had already risen and left.
She hurried outside.
“Mingyue—”
Lifting the curtain, she froze on the spot. Youqin Mingyue and Gu Yuwan were sitting at the table, quietly eating breakfast.
Sunlight poured in from outside, illuminating most of the wooden table. On it were thin rice porridge, steamed buns, steamed egg custard, greens with tofu, and a bowl of slim-meat dumpling soup.
These were the breakfast dishes she had specially taught Chen Xiaohua to make.
Every dish steamed invitingly, the rising vapor danced in the morning light, framing Youqin Mingyue’s beautiful face.
The scene looked exceptionally warm and domestic.
Youqin Mingyue glanced at Gu Yuwan, who seemed to want to speak but hesitated, and decided to respond to Lin Yanran.
“Come eat.”
Gu Yuwan immediately stood. “Benefactor, come quickly.” She went to the door to call Chen Xiaohua to serve her porridge.
Lin Yanran smiled. “All right, I’m coming.”
She quickly washed at the well, then came to the table just as Chen Xiaohua brought her porridge.
“Why didn’t you all eat together at the table?”
Chen Xiaohua answered, “Sister Yanran, we already ate.”
Lin Yanran let it drop. She had never cared about hierarchy, from the first day she had said that Lin Cuicui and Chen Xiaohua could eat at the table with them.
She lifted the porridge and slurped along the rim, soon finishing half the bowl. Then she picked up several large pieces of tofu and swallowed them with the porridge.
For some reason, ever since arriving in this world her appetite had increased dramatically.
Soon the bowl was empty. She served herself a bowl of dumpling soup and took a steamed bun. The soup was sour-salty and extremely appetizing. Paired with the hot, fluffy bun—one bite of bun, one sip of thick, fragrant soup studded with diced meat—she found it more and more delicious the more she ate.
Gu Yuwan watched in a daze. She had never seen anyone enjoy food so heartily. She was already full, yet suddenly felt she could eat more.
Youqin Mingyue found it vulgar and set down her chopsticks. “Little sister, enjoy slowly. I’ll return to my room first.”
She supported herself on the table to stand. Lin Yanran called, “Wait, don’t move!” She hastily put down her bowl and chopsticks, rushed over in two strides, and swept Youqin Mingyue into her arms.
Youqin Mingyue was caught off guard, her face flushed with anger. “Insolent… put me down!”
Lin Yanran immediately heard the anger in her voice.
But putting her down now would be even more ungallant.
Steeling herself, she said, “You’re still injured, you mustn’t walk.”
Carrying her all the way back to the bedroom despite the protests, she carefully set her on the chair, then stole a glance at her expression and explained softly, “I didn’t mean to embarrass you just now. I was afraid you’d aggravate your wound, so I acted without thinking. Really, please believe me.”
Her words were so earnest that one couldn’t help but believe them.
Youqin Mingyue turned her face away, annoyed at herself for feeling even the slightest sway.
Her eyes happened to land on the messy bedding on the floor—still bearing the shape of its occupant after she had gotten up.
This lowly commoner didn’t even fold her quilt after rising?
Someone as fastidious about cleanliness as Youqin Mingyue immediately frowned.
Lin Yanran followed her gaze, realized the problem, hurried over, neatly folded the bedding, and placed it in the corner.
“My oversight. It won’t happen again.”
You think there will be a next time? Youqin Mingyue shot her a displeased glance.
Lin Yanran missed it. She crouched in front of her and said, “Mingyue, these past few days have been busy and I haven’t checked your wound. May I take a look?”
Youqin Mingyue felt she was pushing her luck.
She wanted to tell her to get lost.
But then she thought of Gu Yuwan outside. Gu Yuwan knew the pills were made by Lin Yanran and was deeply grateful to her. If she saw them on good terms, she would surely work even harder for her in the future.
For the sake of the greater plan, Youqin Mingyue did not mind putting on an act of loving couple with this lowly commoner for a while.
So she gave a slight nod.
Lin Yanran brought a chair, thought for a moment, then fetched the pillow she had used last night and placed it on the seat. She gently lifted Youqin Mingyue’s left foot and rested it on the pillow.
Carefully rolling up the trouser trouser leg and removing the foot wrapping, she examined the ankle closely.
The wound had completely healed, leaving only a circle of brownish scar.
Flawless jade now bore a blemish.
Lin Yanran inwardly regretted it. She fetched the scar cream from Physician Liu and gently applied it.
“Does it still hurt sharply when you walk?”
“It’s tolerable.”
“The bones and tendons are unharmed, so don’t worry. As for this scar—I will find a way to remove it, so you needn’t worry either.”
“Are you planning to develop your own scar-removing ointment?” Youqin Mingyue asked with a trace of resentment.
Lin Yanran was still studying the ugly scar and answered naturally, “Of course. Physician Liu’s cream doesn’t seem very effective.”
Youqin Mingyue stopped responding.
Her ankle had been injured and scarred entirely because of this woman. Even if Lin Yanran restored it perfectly, she would still hate her.
Feeling the topic had turned heavy, Lin Yanran changed it. “Mingyue, the weather has been fine these days. I plan to take the chance to repair the house. It’s the height of spring, the other day when I went hunting I saw a beautiful spot on the back mountain with a stream running through it. How about I take you and Miss Gu on an outing to enjoy the spring scenery? I’ll hunt some prey, we can have a picnic barbecue right there—how does that sound?”
Youqin Mingyue didn’t know what “barbecue” was, but she was somewhat tempted.
Since falling into misfortune she had not left the courtyard for three full months—like a phoenix with broken wings locked in a dark cage, seeing neither sky nor hope.
Now that her death guards had found her and everything was ready, she was about to embark on a new campaign. Before that, going out to enjoy the spring and relax a little was not unacceptable.
Moreover, it would be a good opportunity to grow closer to Gu Yuwan.
“Very well,” she agreed.
Lin Yanran was delighted, she felt things were improving, that the ice between her and the villainess was beginning to thaw.
Unable to contain her optimism, she added, “Mingyue… about that pill, could you let me study it a little more?”
Dare bring that up again?
Youqin Mingyue immediately glared at her.
Lin Yanran was itching with academic curiosity and, facing that cold, displeased look, couldn’t help reverting to the stubbornness of a research maniac.
“Mingyue…” she called softly, pleading, “Just let me see it again, please? I’m so close to figuring out the sixth herb—really—”
She looked at her with soft, eager, puppy-like eyes.
For some reason Youqin Mingyue found it rather pleasing, and after the groundwork Lin Yanran had just laid, she even felt a hint of enjoyment at being coaxed.
But she was still angry about last night and had no intention of indulging her so soon.
Moreover, seeing how obsessed Lin Yanran was with solving the formula was perfect—she would keep her dangling and let her suffer.
“I’m going to read,” she said coolly, her brows and voice both indifferent, even her refusal was delivered with elegant detachment.
Lin Yanran knew there was no hope.
She could only say, “Then today I’ll go find a carriage, clean it thoroughly, and take you out for the outing.”
Youqin Mingyue gave a soft “mm” in acknowledgment. Lin Yanran stepped out of the room and immediately met Gu Yuwan’s curious gaze.
She told her about the outing plan.
Gu Yuwan smiled warmly. “Benefactor and Sister-in-law are so loving toward each other. I’m lucky to benefit from it.”
Just now, while they were in the bedroom speaking softly for so long, she—an unmarried maiden—had felt too shy to listen, yet curiosity won out and she had eavesdropped the whole time.
She could tell that Benefactor treated Sister-in-law extremely well, yielding to her in everything. Sister-in-law seemed a little thin-skinned and shy before Benefactor, but their interaction felt so sweet.
How wonderful.
Gu Yuwan was genuinely happy for them.
Loving? Lin Yanran smiled bitterly inside. She truly wished they were, but the truth was not only were they far from loving—they were bound by a blood-deep enmity.
Still, appearances had to be kept. She smiled and said, “Yes, my wife is beautiful and kind-hearted. Marrying her is a blessing I earned in my previous life.”
Inside the room, Youqin Mingyue’s hand paused on the page she was turning, she let out an annoyed huff of anger.
Lowly commoner—enjoy your moment of smugness. When I have everything ready, I’ll send you straight to the King of Hell.
But that soft huff, heard by the two outside, carried an entirely different meaning.
Lin Yanran thought: Oh no, I’ve made the villainess angry again.
Gu Yuwan thought: Sister-in-law must be shy—Benefactor’s praised her and she got embarrassed!