Despite being sweating profusely, Wushuang inexplicably sneezed twice.
Even though everyone in the hall was focused on listening to the abbot's sermon and no one even glanced at her, Wushuang still felt embarrassed.
How rude of me!
Without noticing her younger sister's pitiful look out of the corner of her eye, she whispered to her mother, Madam Yang, "Shuangshuang doesn't seem to be feeling well. I'll take her out first, feed her something and give her some water, so she won't start making a fuss and disturb everyone's listening to the sutra."
Madam Yang nodded, and Wuxia picked up Wushuang and walked out.
The young novice monk led them to a side room, where tea and snacks were quickly served, along with a pot of warm water that Ying Wuxia had requested be prepared especially for Wushuang.
Wushuang was extremely thirsty, so she gulped down the entire pot of water in one go. Before long, she skipped off to the bathroom to relieve herself.
When she walked out feeling completely refreshed, she saw her older sister, Wuxia, slumped over the round table, seemingly unconscious, while Chu Yao sat in the armchair by the window, a half-smile on his face.
"What...what have you done to my sister?" Wushuang couldn't wake Wuxia no matter how hard she tried, and she was on the verge of tears. "What do you want to do to my sister?"
"It's just a little calming powder, enough to give her a nap. It won't harm her health," Chu Yao said.
Is that all?
Wu Shuang was skeptical. Chu Yao wasn't some seven or eight-year-old child who would throw a dog at someone. It didn't make sense for him to put drugs in Wu Xia's tea just to make her fall asleep.
She stared at Chu Yao with wide eyes, as if he were a thief, her arms tightly wrapped around Wu Xia's waist, as if Chu Yao would steal Wu Xia away the next second if she didn't.
Chu Yao found her expression amusing: "Come here, I have something to tell you."
"I have nothing to say to you." Wushuang paused, then said, "You should wake your sister up first."
“I said I wouldn’t harm her, and I won’t go back on my word. Think about it, since we’ve known each other, have I ever lied to you?”
Wushuang's small feet scribbled twice on the blue brick floor, seemingly indicating that there was nothing there.
But she didn't let her guard down and refused to leave Wuxia's side no matter what.
After all, she was small and weak, and she couldn't possibly fight back if Chu Yao tried to take her away by force.
This morning he said he wouldn't let his sister marry the Third Prince, and he might stop at nothing to achieve his goal!
After dawdling for a while, Chu Yao lost his patience and walked over to pick up Wu Shuang.
Wushuang: She knew he'd try to take her away by force...
"Alright, stop sulking." Chu Yao carried Wu Shuang back to the armchair, gently soothing her as she continued to wriggle and struggle. "It was my fault this morning."
Wushuang snorted and said, "It's your fault to begin with, you start yelling at people at the drop of a hat!"
“Yes, you’re right. Now let’s talk about it properly,” Chu Yao said.
"What do you want to say?" Wushuang asked.
"Your real purpose in coming to Biyun Temple this time is to help your sister find a husband, right?" Chu Yao revealed the secret in one sentence.
He seemed to know everything, but Wushuang pursed her lips and remained silent.
Before she could answer, Chu Yao continued, "While the Pingyang Marquis's family may not be the most prominent among the noble families in the capital, their foundation is solid, their ancestral precepts are strict, and for generations they have never participated in the royal power struggles, focusing solely on practical matters. Such a family can endure for so long, at least we don't have to worry about our precious daughter being implicated if something happens to our in-laws. As for Pang Yuan, he is my subordinate, and I know his character very well. He is honest and kind, but not stupid, and will surely achieve some success in the future. As the eldest grandson, he can uphold the reputation of the Pingyang Marquis's family, making him a good choice for a lifelong partner. On the contrary, Chu Ye, as a prince, is naturally drawn into trouble, and coupled with his frivolous and undisciplined nature, he is most likely to offend people. If your sister marries him, she will suffer greatly."
After all that talk, I still don't want my sister to be with the Third Prince!
Wushuang started off off-topic, unwilling to engage in conversation with him.
Chu Yao continued, "Since returning from Jiangnan, the Crown Prince has been confined to the Eastern Palace, ostensibly to recuperate, but in reality, it's house arrest. His future is uncertain, and the fate of all the princes is also unpredictable. Aren't you afraid that after your sister becomes the Third Prince's consort, the Jun family will be passively drawn into the royal power struggle?"
Wushuang counted on her little hands and looked at him with a blank expression: "I don't understand."
She's only five years old, how could he have thought to say these things to her? Could it be that he was really so angry that he lost his mind?
Chu Yao sighed, not exposing Wu Shuang's deliberate act of pretending to be a child, and continued to earnestly advise, "In short, you can't go wrong by listening to me."
"My sister's marriage is decided by our parents and grandmother," Wushuang retorted softly to Chu Yao, who was indeed meddling too much.
The little girl in his arms was stubborn and unruly. Chu Yao really wanted to expose her pretense, but seeing that Wu Shuang was pouting and puffing out her cheeks, clearly still angry, he didn't want to argue with her anymore, so he changed the subject and asked, "What's going on with Wang Hongbo?"
Wushuang blinked: "What? What's going on?"
"Why did you think of marrying him?" Chu Yao asked.
"Shuangshuang's marriage was also arranged by her parents and grandmother," Wushuang continued to feign innocence.
“Although you are still young and it’s too early to talk about marriage, you should have your own ideas,” Chu Yao advised. “Wang Hongbo’s parents are gone, so he will have one less person to rely on in the future. Besides, he is still young, and it’s hard to tell whether he will achieve anything in the future. He is not a good husband for at least the next twenty years. At your age, you will be getting married in ten years at most. So you two are not a good match.”
Wu Shuang frowned. Why was Chu Yao being so meddlesome today? He wanted to interfere in his sister's marriage, and now he wanted to interfere in hers too. She wondered what had gotten into him!
She didn't want to talk to him about either of these matters.
Marriage is a major life event, and it should naturally be decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers. I have never heard of anyone allowing unrelated people to interfere.
"I love Brother Bo! He's good to me, he's never mean to me, and he never bullies Sister!" To deal with the unreasonable Chu Yao, you have to use unreasonable methods. Wu Shuang kicked her little legs and cried, "Why do you say Brother Bo is bad? You can't say he's bad! I hate you!"
"Alright, Jun Wushuang!" Chu Yao also got angry. "You're not a child anymore. Can't you speak properly? Don't throw tantrums all the time."
"Keep making a scene! Go ahead and hit me if you dare!" Wushuang thought to herself, continuing to cry and make a scene.
Perhaps she was too noisy, because Wuxia, who was lying on the table, was woken up. She slowly sat up and asked groggily, "Shuangshuang, what's wrong?"
Having said that, she saw Chu Yao sitting by the window and was greatly surprised: "Your Highness, what are you doing here?"
With a third party present, the conversation was destined to break down, so Chu Yao had no choice but to lie and say, "Just now, I was walking outside when I heard a baby crying inside. When I came in, I found that you, Miss Jun, had fallen asleep at your desk. Wushuang was frightened and cried for no reason, so I comforted her."