Cui Hui didn't manage to get out of bed until the third day after she regained consciousness.
Cui Zhi remained as elusive as ever.
Only in the hazy moments between sleep and waking did Cui Hui vaguely sense that he had briefly appeared. Each time she woke, he was nowhere to be seen; all that remained was the faint scent of incense on him. It didn't matter that the man was absent. She still had her dutiful eldest son at her side, pouring tea and water and waiting on her hand and foot.
Still, even a good son couldn't always make things go smoothly.
Cui Xiong seemed attentive and considerate, but whenever Cui Hui wasn't looking, he wore a hesitant, as-if-he-wanted-to-say-something expression.
He thought he was hiding it well. In truth, he wasn't fooling anyone.
The sight of him nearly gave Cui Hui a stomachache. Impatiently, she said, "Your mother knows you can't keep things bottled up. If you have something to say, say it. If not, wipe that look off your face!"
Cui Xiong hesitated. "Lady Bao came by."
"Where is she?"
"Your son... your son decided she should go back for now. Mother's health is poor, and what you need most right now is peace and quiet to recover..."
Cui Xiong's voice gradually trailed off.
Cui Hui sneered. "Go on. Why did you stop? What did Bao Jun do to offend you that you sent her away?"
The "Bao Jun" Cui Xiong spoke of was You Bao, the disguise Miao Ne was using. Ever since the Sovereign had arranged their marriage, they had officially been betrothed. To give the two of them a chance to grow closer, so they wouldn't end up in a bitter marriage after being wed without knowing each other, both the Sovereign and the