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39: Poisoned

The peaceful days passed one by one. Reports of victory were also sent to Ye Yin as the days passed, but Ye Yin never smiled. Rouge still had not come out of her room.

In order to avoid attention, Ye Yin currently lived in a secluded location. Their courtyard was not big, only composed of an eastern and western courtyard. Its architecture and size was similar to Ren Fengyao's Lifeng courtyard in the suburbs of Minjing. It was a pity its design and quality were far from Ren Fengyao's, but it was still comfortable, so Ye Yin still liked it.

After being brought here, Rouge had stayed in the eastern courtyard without going outside even once, not willing to speak nor meet anyone. Ye Yin knew the only way she could leave would be if the shadow in her heart was erased.

Everyday, Ye Yin would bring food to Rouge's door, and everyday he would come to take away the plates, but would find that more than half the food would be untouched and smile bitterly. He knew it wasn't that the food did not taste good, but that her appetite was not good. In hopes that Rouge would eat more, he would spend much time styling and preparing the food, but Rouge never ate much. He felt powerless. Some things he could never make up for.

Sitting under the in the courtyard, Ye Yin watched the eastern courtyard door with grief. It had almost been two months, the weather had already changed from summer to early autumn, but Rouge seemed still distant. He distinctly remembered the day he saw her on the sixth day of the sixth month. She lied on the carriage like a broken doll, her clothes already in tatters. Her skin had been manhandled roughly, riddled with purple bruises. The vivid, red blood between her legs had been burned into Ye Yin's memory. He remembered how when he hugged her, her gaze was completely unfocused, eerily empty. Her tears had already dried, drying in her despair.

Ye Yin brought her here personally, but she still never spoke a word. Ye Yin knew that he would forever be guilty towards Rouge. He could only watch as Rouge grew thinner day by day, letting his guilty conscious engulf his heart.

Smelling the osmanthus flowers with a deep intake of breath, Ye Yin's gaze started to go distant. Every day, he would ask himself, if he did it over again, would he save her? Would he prevent Qi Chengfeng from assaulting her? Perhaps... He shook his head gently. There was no way to know the answer now.

The moon started to ascend from the west. Ye Yin sighed. It was almost the fifteenth hour. He did not know if Du Luo would be able to return today, but if he did and Ye Yin had a drink with him, his heart would not suffer as much! To drink alone is to drown in sorrows, to drink with another is not lonely.

Plop! "Mmph..."

Ye Yin was immediately vigilant from the sudden, foreign sound that had come from the eastern courtyard. He immediately pushed open the doors of the courtyard and asked loudly, "Rouge, what's wrong?"

The room that Rouge was in was unlit and he could not hear anything either. After some time, he finally heard Rouge say, "It's nothing, I accidentally knocked over a stool!"

Ye Yin's eyes narrowed. He said loudly, "Is that so. You should rest early today!"

Ye Yin's expression was calm. The moment he spoke, he walked loudly back out the entrance, closing the doors behind him, but then immediately and soundlessly leapt onto the rooftop.

Under normal circumstances, Rouge would not speak, so someone was definitely in the room with Rouge. She also feared whoever it was. Ye Yin had been able to hear the faint tremor in Rouge's voice.

Ye Yin silently removed a tile over Rouge's room, then peeked inside. Because it was dark with no lamps, he could not see things clearly, but from the moonlight, Ye Yin could see that there was indeed another person. Who could it be?