After Becoming the Cannon Fodder Live-in Spouse A (GL) - Chapter 7: The Seventh Day

Chapter 7: The Seventh Day

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ye Fuguang reflected on them. She felt they deviated a bit from her persona, but asking her to say even harsher, more venomous words to a sickly wretch like Prince Qi was too much of a test. She decided to take it step by step.

“Prince, you seem a bit strange today… strangely annoying.”

Damn.

Ye Fuguang, the university student, started pinching her own philtrum, screaming internally. She muttered to herself in a mournful tone, “Ye Fuguang, you’ve got some heavy tastes, huh? Liking to play these games with a vegetable, are you?”

The world’s morals were declining.

After cursing herself, she bowed to Shen Jinglan, clasping her hands together devoutly and testing, “For the sake of me going back home for you, Prince, let me curse once. Just this one practice. If you disagree, blink your eyes.”

“Great, you’re still kind to me. Shall I start?”

“Prince Qi, you stupid thing.”

“Seems like it lacked punch. Give me one more chance, please, qaq.”

…

When the voice reached that bl00d-red world again, Shen Jinglan immediately looked toward the sky. The sounds she could hear were faint, often drowned out by the clashing of weapons and war cries in this nightmare battlefield. But that didn’t matter, as the sounds she missed were ones she didn’t care about.

Except for this one.

For some reason, she didn’t want to miss a single word of this voice’s tone.

But the opening line made her pause.

Until she heard this kid muttering to herself again.

…Ye Fuguang?

Was that her name?

Shen Jinglan lowered her eyes, the curve of her eye tails dropping to her lips, forming a faint smile, like a waning moon climbing the frosty skies of hell.

Since the founding of the Great Dynasty, no one had dared speak to her so rudely. Of course, there were a few who were tired of living. At such times, Prince Qi would kindly help them achieve their dreams of lording over her—by sending them to be reborn.

But this Miss Ye’s way of cursing was unique. It not only failed to anger Shen Jinglan but even made her want to laugh.

Amid the kid’s apologies and explanations, she realized the reason for Ye Fuguang’s emotional instability was herself. It seemed her condition hadn’t improved, and the other was trying to find other solutions, like going home?

But she seemed worried about being bullied at home.

With such a sharp tongue, how could she not be bullied?

Moreover, those who bullied others usually preferred to solve problems with force.

Even through the chaos, Shen Jinglan found the voice as melodious as an oriole’s, soft and crisp, not much different from the pampered noble ladies of Yong’an City. She didn’t seem like someone with martial skills. If there were clumsier tongues ordering servants to attack her, no matter how clever she was, she’d be at a disadvantage.

This made Shen Jinglan’s thoughts pause.

Strangely, she felt a slight urge to protect this girl she’d never met.

…Would Ye Fuguang be badly bullied?

–

Ye Fuguang unilaterally decided Shen Jinglan had agreed to her “Hundred Bold Curses” practice. But she ended up exhausting herself, yawning and preparing to sleep since she had to wake early for her return home.

After looking around the room, she noticed that compared to the luxurious silks and satins of Prince Qi’s main hall, Plum Garden was just a small winter retreat for snow-watching. Since the mansion’s new master wasn’t fond of poetic charm, and after last year’s Yancheng incident, the servants had little interest in leisurely decorations. The room lacked warmth.

Apart from the lavish bed Yu Qing had people replicate that morning, the chairs were cold, the footrests hard. If she made do for the night, her two hundred-some bones would perform a grand symphony tomorrow.

So, claiming great credit for herself, Ye Fuguang decided to avoid suffering. She glanced at Shen Jinglan, lifted the blanket’s corner, and slipped into the bed near the outer edge.

Far apart.

The bed was wide, so even if she rolled over at night, she wouldn’t touch Shen Jinglan at all. But after closing her eyes, Ye Fuguang realized it wasn’t so.

The lingering scent of camellia kept drifting into her nose.

Perhaps because the owner was unwell, the fragrance was uneven, like incense burning inconsistently in a shrine. Half-asleep, Ye Fuguang thought she was back in the days when she bought pleasant perfume and body wash, instinctively chasing the scent.

Until the bedroom door was knocked.

“Princess, it’s time to get up.”

Jixiang’s voice came through.

Yesterday, Ye Fuguang had warned she might not wake early and told them not to mind her, just to call her at the right time. So, the door was pushed open a moment later.

The calls, the creak of the door, the footsteps… these sounds only made Ye Fuguang frown slightly.

Then she heard a sharp gasp.

She sluggishly opened her eyes, meeting the four wide eyes of Jixiang and Ruyi outside the bed.

“?”

Ye Fuguang, confused, wanted to sit up and ask what was wrong.

But as she moved, her palm touched something soft and warm, drawing her attention. Turning her head, she met Shen Jinglan’s stunningly beautiful face.

“!”

Shocked by the beauty at such close range, Ye Fuguang’s intermittently failing brain crashed again. After a few seconds of daze, she hurriedly scooted away.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Staring at the near-zero distance between them, Ye Fuguang judged from their positions that she’d used the noble Prince Qi as a body pillow all night. She might’ve even sniffed around her neck like a pervert, chasing that pleasant scent. She sat there, quietly dying inside.

Ruyi, who had just made a fuss不仅是, was slapped by Jixiang. She gave Ye Fuguang a natural smile. “The princess and the prince are so close. We were just surprised. Should we have the kitchen prepare breakfast early?”

Ye Fuguang nodded stiffly, “Hmm…”

Jixiang helped her up and dressed her.

…

During breakfast, Ye Fuguang barely looked at the eight delicate dishes on the table, staring instead at her palm in a daze.

Did she really hold Prince Qi with this hand last night?

Though the memory was gone, she could guess her outrageous sleeping posture—probably like hugging a big pillow at home, eagerly burrowing into soft spots like a pig digging into cabbage.

What a beast.

She cursed herself on Shen Jinglan’s behalf.

She also felt lucky that she wasn’t accepted into the archaeology department. Otherwise, during excavations, if she got sleepy and slept sprawled out with a terracotta warrior in one hand, a Loulan mummy in the other, and lying on a pile of Haihun Marquis gold coins, she’d probably enrage her classmates who were painstakingly digging with brushes on their knees.

Feeling deeply guilty, Ye Fuguang repented to the Buddha in her heart, punishing herself by skipping meat for breakfast.

At that moment, Yu Qing entered with a large group.

Seeing the messy bed and the prince’s disheveled collar, she, as usual, shot Ye Fuguang a fierce glare as she left.

Ye Fuguang instinctively shrank her neck under the sharp look.

Halfway through, she remembered her current role in the mansion was that of a scoundrel who could mess up a bed with a vegetable. Plus, she was supposed to return to the Ye Family to show off later.

As the saying goes, the morning sets the tone for the day.

If you don’t win in the morning, the whole day is ruined.

So, Ye Fuguang boldly glared back.

What’s wrong with cuddling with my mommy?

Never seen a mommy’s girl?

Ignorant!

Yu Qing, glared back at, was stunned.

The mansion’s steward Yu was grinding her teeth today too.

–

Thanks to that shocking morning scene, Ye Fuguang wasn’t as nervous on the way back home. She had a carefree, given-up attitude.

After all, could anything at the Ye Family be scarier than sleeping with Prince Qi in her arms?

No way.

Just the Ye Family.

“Princess, we’re here.”

Outside the sedan, a maid accompanying her reminded her.

Lifting the curtain, Ye Fuguang saw the Ye Family’s gate was deserted. Only a street-sweeping servant glanced at her, dropped his broom, and shouted with an exaggerated expression, “The eldest miss is back!”

Ye Fuguang was puzzled for a second.

Entering the gate, she realized only the servants were surprised. Her nominal father, her stepmother, and Ye Yuge were nowhere to be seen.

Indeed, when she refused to marry, she was tied up and forced into the sedan, showing the Ye Family’s attitude toward her. The servants’ fear was likely because they worried she’d settle scores later.

Thinking of her plans for returning home, Ye Fuguang grabbed a servant and asked, “Where’s Ye Yuge?”

The unlucky servant felt both relieved and despairing.

Relieved that the vengeful eldest miss wasn’t targeting him first, but despairing that she seemed to be doing well at the prince’s mansion—her complexion much better than on her wedding day—meaning she had plenty of energy to cause trouble.

“S-Second Miss… is in the study.”

He stammered, then, remembering the master was out socializing and worried about the sisters causing a scene, added, “The imperial exams are near. The master ordered no one to disturb Second Miss’s studies.”

His intention was to stress the importance of Ye Yuge’s exam preparations. After all, Ye Yuge had been brilliant since childhood and, now legitimized, was the family’s future pillar. If Ye Fuguang disrupted her, she’d be in trouble.

But as soon as he spoke, he saw the eldest miss—now Prince Qi’s side concubine—her eyes suddenly sparkling.

Oh?

Ye Yuge was preparing for the imperial exams?

Perfect timing!

…

The Ye Family wasn’t actually a medical family.

Back then, Ye Rong failed the provincial exams multiple times under the previous dynasty. In the year the Late Emperor granted amnesty and reopened the exams under the Great Dynasty, the tests were easier due to a shortage of officials. Ye Rong passed the provincial exam, but a cheating scandal involving a fellow townsman led to the annulment of all Jiangning City’s results that year.

He failed again.

Disheartened, he often got drunk. One night, passing by a rundown medical clinic connected to the Ye Family’s back alley, he saw an old man wiping a shattered signboard, with jars and herbs spilled everywhere.

Perhaps someone died from their treatment.

Ye Rong didn’t care. He just left his roasted chicken at the old man’s feet.

Later, nearly dying from drinking, he was dragged back to the clinic by the old man and saved. Upon waking, he heard, “Want to study medicine with me? Being an official is the same whether you’re a scholar or a medical officer. I can’t promise to pass down all my family’s knowledge, but my medical texts will ensure you become a medical officer with ease.”

Thus began Ye Rong’s medical journey.

He wasn’t particularly bright. After years in the Imperial Medical Academy, he never rose in rank, relying only on his good looks to catch the eye of Ye Fuguang’s mother’s family, the Jiang Family.

Jiang Yu, the youngest daughter of the Jiang Family, was spoiled. As a nouveau riche family in the new dynasty, they overwhelmed Ye Rong. Unsuccessful, he rarely stayed home, leaving Ye Fuguang’s upbringing to Jiang Yu, who raised her daughter to be as reckless and proud of her beauty as she was, with little regard for intellect.

Only a fallen woman from a brothel, a criminal’s daughter, could soothe Ye Rong’s heart.

He even hid a child from Ye Fuguang and her mother.

Coincidentally, the woman’s family was later pardoned, and Ye Rong seized the chance to redeem her from the brothel, bringing along the child he’d raised outside.

Thus, Ye Fuguang suddenly had a sister two years younger, Ye Yuge, who surpassed her in looks, charm, and intelligence in every way.

–

“You look well after a few days at Prince Qi’s mansion. Their good feng shui must be nurturing. You even look plumper than at home.”

Just after questioning the servant, Ye Fuguang heard a voice tinged with amusement from the blue-white corridor.

Turning, she saw a woman holding a worn-out ancient book, leaning against a stone lion in the courtyard, smiling meaningfully at her.

Dressed in a green robe like distant mountains, she seemed unapproachable at first glance but had a deep, unfathomable air.

Before Ye Fuguang could speak, the woman continued, “Your fate is still blessed, as the Imperial Observatory predicted—a life of fortune.”

Even without introductions, Ye Fuguang recognized her.

Battle mode activated!

“Want this fortune?” she asked.

Ye Yuge froze, expecting Ye Fuguang to curse or attack her as usual, leading to another scene where Ye Fuguang would be in the wrong when Ye Rong returned.

But after a few days of confinement and marrying into Prince Qi’s mansion, she seemed… calmer.

Well, slightly.

Thinking this, Ye Yuge smiled again. “How could I steal my sister’s fortune?”

“As the saying goes, if Sister can do it, so can Little Sister. What, you think you’re inferior to me? Didn’t expect you to be so insecure deep down, Ye Yuge.”

“…”

Ye Yuge took back her words.

She found Ye Fuguang even more annoying now.

Dropping her fake smile, she asked lazily, “So, Sister went through all this trouble to return just to pick a fight with me?”

“Yes.”

Ye Fuguang nodded. Finally, under the sunlight, she noticed the book Ye Yuge was holding, faintly seeing the words “Medical Text.” Without hesitation, she approached. As Ye Yuge squinted at her sudden closeness, Ye Fuguang reached for the book.

Ye Yuge instinctively gripped it, refusing to let go.

But the expected sound of tearing paper didn’t come.

Ye Fuguang smiled at her, like a plump little fox, cute yet cunning.

“Heard you’re taking the imperial exams soon. Think you’ll pass?”

“To avoid embarrassment if you fail, let me test you first. You’re reading a medical text, so I’ll quiz you on medicine. How about it?”

Ye Yuge: “…”

Ye Yuge: “?”

Are you okay?