Mistakenly Treated The Princess As A Concubine - Chapter 41

Wen Zhuojin was kissed on the lips by Yan Qinglan, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifted. She reached out to hold the person, wanting to make it easier for her to kiss.

But just as she held her properly, the cool lips left before they could warm up.

As if afraid that Wen Zhuojin might kiss her back, Yan Qinglan turned her face to the side, almost pressing it into Wen Zhuojin’s neck.

Wen Zhuojin felt the breath from her neck, a tingling sensation.

She turned her head to see Yan Qinglan’s cheeks and ears flushed red.

“One kiss, that’s enough, right?” Yan Qinglan’s voice came, soft and quiet, almost inaudible if not paying attention.

Wen Zhuojin’s eyes sparkled even more. Ah, the beautiful sister is so adorable!

“Sister, what I meant earlier was that you could kiss me anywhere, but you went straight for my lips. Are my lips easier to kiss? How did you find them so accurately? It’s like you can see.”

Wen Zhuojin leaned in but didn’t kiss her, just whispered teasingly.

During these days of ongoing treatment, Wen Zhuojin would periodically ask about the condition of Yan Qinglan’s eyes, whether they had improved.

So far, Yan Qinglan could perceive light but still couldn’t see anything clearly.

Yan Qinglan’s face turned even redder. It must be that little brat’s voice, so bewitching.

She hadn’t meant to kiss her lips!

The reason she had kissed Wen Zhuojin’s lips was partly because Wen Zhuojin was too close, and partly because her eyes seemed to see a bit more clearly.

Those dark eyes were the first thing she had seen clearly in a long, long time.

She just wanted to get closer to see better!

Yan Qinglan blinked, trying to see if her vision had improved.

But it seemed like it was just a fluke. Everything around her was still blurry, just large blocks of color.

“Sister, have some more? Come on, you haven’t tried everything yet. There are a few more things. Try them, eat more of what you like, and leave what you don’t.”

Wen Zhuojin continued, feeding her some pastries.

Earlier, Yan Qinglan hadn’t been in the mood to eat, and though she still wasn’t, she…

Tried a few more bites, the taste of fresh flowers filling her mouth.

“Recently, all the flowers have bloomed. It’s a pity you can’t see them, sister. But I can make a new hundred-flower fragrance for you to smell.”

“Did you like the storybook Miss Qin read to you today? If not, we can switch to another one.”

Wen Zhuojin’s voice continued in her ear.

Yan Qinglan responded intermittently.

Since Yan Qinglan’s health had improved, she was awake for longer periods each day. Worried that she might get bored, Wen Zhuojin had asked Qin Yuerou to read storybooks to Yan Qinglan from behind a curtain when she was away at the shop or making incense.

She had also bought a qin (a traditional Chinese string instrument) and would occasionally play it for Yan Qinglan.

Even if Qing Chenning didn’t come, Yan Qinglan wouldn’t be bored.

Yan Qinglan felt that, although she was still in a difficult situation, it was the most relaxed she had been in years, both physically and mentally.

Her body felt as if it had been softened by rest.

After feeding Yan Qinglan several types of pastries, Wen Zhuojin chatted with her for a while longer before going out to check on Odesse’s progress.

The new method of making incense was similar to steaming. The fragrant materials were mixed with water and continuously heated, with the goal of capturing the condensed, flower-scented “water” that evaporated.

The advantage of this floral dew incense was that it didn’t need to be burned, and the fragrance was rich. However, it had to be stored in a sealed container, or the scent would easily dissipate.

Wen Zhuojin had almost perfected the entire process. Now, she was mainly experimenting with blending several types of floral dew and combining them with other existing fragrant materials.

“The scent isn’t strong enough. If we use crystal bottles, the price would need to be set at over five hundred taels of silver per bottle. But at this level, it’s still not enough. We need to find a way to refine it further,” Wen Zhuojin said after inspecting it. The floral dew was targeted at wealthy nobles, so a higher price was acceptable, but the quality had to be excellent and difficult to replicate.

“We could steam it again, remove more water, and leave behind a purer floral dew!” Odesse suggested.

After more than a month of working together, Wen Zhuojin had grown more accustomed to Odesse’s speech. She had also learned a bit of the Dashi language from Qin Yuerou, so she could understand some of the Dashi words Odesse occasionally mixed into her speech.

Wen Zhuojin understood Odesse’s meaning. The floral dew they were making still contained too much water, so the two of them spent some more time refining the process.

“By the way, in the next few days, make sure to study Northern Jin language more with Miss Qin. I’m going to take you to the Dashi merchant guild,” Wen Zhuojin said to Odesse, thinking about the upcoming opening of their fragrance materials shop.

Odesse’s eyes lit up at Wen Zhuojin’s words, and she nodded repeatedly.

In the evening, Wen Zhuojin returned to the inner chamber to have dinner with Yan Qinglan. Afterward, she fed Yan Qinglan her medicine and helped her take a few steps to move around.

Yan Qinglan’s ankle had mostly healed, and during the day, she would move around a little on her own. However, since she was blind, she only moved within the vicinity of the bed.

Wen Zhuojin walked with Yan Qinglan for a while, but when she noticed Yan Qinglan starting to breathe heavily, she stopped, not wanting her to overexert herself.

Although Yan Qinglan’s eyes had improved somewhat, they still became teary and watery at the slightest stimulation. Now, after a bit of exertion, her eyes were glistening with moisture, and a light sweat had formed on her forehead.

“Auntie Zheng said you need to move around more. You’ve worked hard today, sister. You’ve done really well, walking back and forth several times…” Wen Zhuojin whispered soothingly as she carried Yan Qinglan to the bed.

“……” Yan Qinglan had grown accustomed to Wen Zhuojin’s praise, but it still made her cheeks flush.

It was just a few steps, after all.

Although her health had improved significantly, she was still quite weak.

“In a few days, I’ll have a surprise for you!” Wen Zhuojin said.

“What kind of surprise?” Yan Qinglan asked.

“That’s a secret. You’ll find out in a few days,” Wen Zhuojin teased, deliberately keeping it a mystery.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t elaborate, so Yan Qinglan didn’t press further.

After walking for a while, Yan Qinglan lay back, not wanting to move anymore.

Wen Zhuojin went to light the medicinal incense.

Now that Yan Qinglan could move around on her own, she could handle washing herself, though Wen Zhuojin still had to guide her to the washroom.

Once the wounds on her body had mostly scabbed over and healed, Yan Qinglan was able to soak in a medicinal bath. The bath contained herbal packets to nourish her body. After the medicinal bath, she would switch to another tub filled with the newly developed floral dew, which masked the medicinal smell and left her skin fragrant with the scent of flowers.

Yan Qinglan had already taken a few of these baths.

Each time, she felt her body grow a little lighter.

After helping Yan Qinglan into the bath, Wen Zhuojin placed the towel, soap, and other items within Yan Qinglan’s reach and then left.

In the past, Wen Zhuojin would wear a black veil over her eyes, focusing her mind on the process of making incense, and any wandering thoughts would be suppressed.

But this time, she couldn’t hold them back.

Even through the black veil, she could see the curves of Yan Qinglan’s body.

The images from the secret playbook Xuanzhen had given her flashed in her mind, and the entwined figures in the illustrations became her and Yan Qinglan.

Wen Zhuojin’s face burned as if it might explode.

She regretted being curious enough to glance at those pages earlier.

Wen Zhuojin drank a few cups of cold tea and splashed her face with cold water. When she felt slightly better, she heard Yan Qinglan call for her. She quickly tied the black veil back on and went to the washroom. She added hot water and floral dew to the bath next to Yan Qinglan’s, then lifted Yan Qinglan out of the medicinal bath, wrapped her in a towel, and carried her to the tub filled with floral dew.

After soaking in the medicinal bath, Yan Qinglan’s body had warmed up, and her vision seemed to have improved slightly. When Wen Zhuojin entered, she looked toward her.

She still couldn’t see clearly, but she could make out the general outline.

On the pale face, there was a black circle.

What was that?

Yan Qinglan reached out toward the black circle on Wen Zhuojin’s face.

Her fingers touched a piece of gauzy fabric, and with a light tug, the black veil fell away.

Wen Zhuojin, who had been holding Yan Qinglan and was about to place her into the floral dew bath, suddenly found her vision unobstructed.

What she saw was a expanse of skin as smooth as sweet white porcelain, with hills, valleys, and… a color more delicate than the softest pink.

“Si… sister…” Wen Zhuojin’s voice caught, her breath becoming uneven.

“Why do you have something covering your face?” Yan Qinglan asked softly, holding the black veil in her hand.

She had thought that, over these past few days, the little brat had only been interested in kissing her.

Being seen while undressed for bathing didn’t seem like a big deal.

But she never expected that Wen Zhuojin had been wearing a black veil over her eyes the entire time while helping her bathe.

“……” Wen Zhuojin didn’t know how to explain. With her vision unobstructed, she had seen everything.

She felt as if something inside her was being unleashed, clamoring and colliding against a fragile barrier.

“Sister, I was afraid that if I didn’t cover my eyes, I wouldn’t be able to control myself… I… You soak for a while, and I’ll come back later,” Wen Zhuojin stammered, her voice tight and trembling, her words coming out in a rushed jumble.

Before Yan Qinglan could ask anything else, Wen Zhuojin had already placed her into the bath and taken the black veil from her hand.

Yan Qinglan sank into the fragrant bath, looking around, but Wen Zhuojin was already gone.

Thinking about the black veil, a strange feeling stirred in Yan Qinglan’s heart.

Was this the reason the little brat had always been so well-behaved?

Outside, Wen Zhuojin couldn’t calm herself down.

Cold tea wasn’t helping anymore.

It felt like unless someone knocked her out, there was no way she could regain her composure.

Wen Zhuojin closed her eyes and let her thoughts run wild, indulging them completely.

Heat spread through her body, and a strange, unfamiliar sensation threatened to break through.

But it lacked something, a final push, and it couldn’t quite surface.

“Ah Zhuo…” Yan Qinglan’s voice brought Wen Zhuojin back to reality.

After taking a few deep breaths outside the washroom, Wen Zhuojin put the black veil back on and went in.

Yan Qinglan stood up from the bath, and Wen Zhuojin wrapped her in a large towel, carrying her out and heading back to the inner chamber.

Yan Qinglan was pressed close to Wen Zhuojin, close enough to hear her rapid heartbeat and uneven breathing.

She looked up at Wen Zhuojin, her fair face now half-hidden behind the black veil.

After carrying Yan Qinglan to the inner chamber, Wen Zhuojin handed her sleeping robe and turned away, letting Yan Qinglan dress herself.

Once Yan Qinglan was dressed, Wen Zhuojin took a towel and began drying her hair, just as she did every day.

But this time, one of them was blushing as red as a boiled shrimp.

After drying her hair, Wen Zhuojin applied scar-reducing ointment to Yan Qinglan’s wounds.

The scars on her hands and the thick scab on her ankle, which had just recently fallen off, required careful attention. The skin there was especially tender and fragile.

Wen Zhuojin’s focus was finally pulled back to the task at hand.

Those scars, especially the one on her ankle, always made her heart ache when she saw them.

After applying the ointment, Wen Zhuojin tucked Yan Qinglan into bed and told her to rest.

In her current state, Wen Zhuojin decided it was best to go make some incense and read for a while to calm herself down.

Yan Qinglan could sense Wen Zhuojin’s turmoil and suddenly felt a pang of pity for the little brat.

But feeling pity was one thing—what was she supposed to do about it?

Yan Qinglan felt herself acting strangely again.

Perhaps she should focus on how to win over the capital’s power brokers once Yan Zisang returned…

Wen Zhuojin didn’t return until midnight. After calming herself for a long time and washing up, she felt slightly better, less likely to lose control the moment she touched her beautiful sister.

But when she entered the inner chamber, she found Yan Qinglan still awake, curled up in pain.

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Wen Zhuojin was startled and rushed over to hold her.

“It’s probably my monthly cycle…” Yan Qinglan whispered.

Her periods had always been irregular, and after being poisoned by the incense, they became even more unpredictable.

This was the first time it had come since Wen Zhuojin had brought her to the small courtyard in Wujiu Lane.

Her body was cold, her abdomen aching and sore, and she felt utterly miserable.