He absolutely did not expect this would be the case, that his younger sister’s first menses actually arrived all of a sudden within the crooks of his arms. After Yu Pin Yan regained his senses, he only felt an itch in his throat while the apex of his heart could not stop quivering.
Since the jar was broken, it would still be broken if it was dropped again hence Yu Xiang could care less about being shy at this moment. She waited for Liu Lu to lay out the cotton cloth then commanded angrily, “Put me down quickly. I am cold and in pain.”
Yu Pin Yan immediately put her gently inside the quilt where Yu Xiang wrapped herself up and even buried her head too, then urged him repeatedly in a muffled voice, “Go and change your clothes quickly. Don’t let anyone see you.” Should anyone see it, she will be too embarrassed to face anyone.
Yu Pin Yan didn’t know why at first but the moment he reached out to tuck the corner of the quilt, then and only did he noticed traces of red specks staining his sleeves, this is… his younger sister’s … first menses?
No wonder she insisted him to carry herself in a different position and unsurprisingly held fast in the crook of his arms refusing to come down. Yu Pin Yan scooped the wrapped up in the quilt younger sister into his embrace and rocked her gently as he laughed gaspingly, “Xiang’er, my little Xiang’er, why are you so cute?”
With her face flushed, Yu Xiang bore out from the quilt and bellowed in a low voice, “Move away quickly!”
“It’s a joyous occasion having your first menses, so there’s nothing to be bashful about. Elder Brother will stay to keep you company.” Yu Pin Yan’s state of mind was unusually pleasant now and unprecedentedly delightful. He had witnessed every moment of his younger sister’s growth and such intimacy was like she was destined to belong to himself.
“You go away and don’t touch me!” Yu Xiang was anxious that her small hands pushed and shoved hard against her elder brother’s handsome face when he moved closer.
Liu Lu was kind of convinced with the thick-skinned and lack of attentiveness of the Marquis. Menses are filthy things that ordinary people dread and shun to the max but why does the Marquis not seem to feel the same? However, thinking about it the other way around, this menses are not someone else’s but actually her master’s, so he naturally does not feel disgusted. This precisely showed the extent of his love for her master that he can simply condone whatever sweet-scent or foul-smell.
The last thought was somewhat a little averse. The corner of Liu Lu’s mouth twitched and was about to open her mouth urging the Marquis to go back and change his clothes when Tao Hong was seen coming in with a wooden box followed by a little maid carrying a basin behind her.
Yu Pin Yan knew they were going to wash and change his younger sister’s clothes, so he went out and walked to the corridor to quietly look at the traces of red on his sleeves. The blood was obviously filthy yet to him it was maddeningly sweet. If it was not for the extraordinary self-control, he even wanted to move it closer to the tip of his nose and sniffed it carefully. This is the scent of ripened nectarine that entices him to pick …
The window was half opened and the golden sunlight projected his tall upright figure on the thin window paper. Heart filled with mortification, Yu Xiang shouted, “Why on earth are you still standing there! Go back and change your clothes!”
The sound of low laughter continued further and further away. Yu Xiang then wiped her face and let Liu Lu undo the sash of her pants. Seeing Tao Hong holding a strip of cloth bag which was filled with plant ashes, her face turned green and asked incredulously, “You want me to pad this thing later?”
“Yes ah, everyone uses this,” Tao Hong nodded as she shook off the excess ashes then picked up the needle and thread to sew up the gap.
Yu Xiang groaned as she suddenly felt that she had been living in vain all these years to actually forget creating such a sensational thing like a sanitary pad. She waved at Tao Hong, “No need to stitch it. I’ll draw a pattern and see if you can make it for me. It’s not good to use the plant ashes as it’s not clean.”
While helping to clean her up, Liu Lu implored, “Young Miss, can’t you just lie down properly. Don’t you feel uncomfortable with this profuse sweating of cold sweat? Can’t you deal with these things when the pain has subsided?”
It was still not bad if she did not mention it. Once it was mentioned, her lower abdomen started to feel jolts of pains just like her flesh being probed desperately by a pickaxe. Yu Xiang fell backwards dejectedly and groaned noisily.
The imperial physician arrived shortly. After diagnosing the pulse, he prescribed some prescriptions to nourish the blood and qi then said it was not a big deal as she would be fine after lying down for a few hours. During this period, taking ginger brown sugar drink would help relieve the pain.
Tao Hong went to boil the sugary drink while Liu Lu rushed to report her well-being to Old Madam in the front hall. As it was not good to announce it, she only mentioned it close to the ear. The Crown Princess waited for Liu Lu to leave before asking in a low voice, “How’s Xiang’er?”
Old Madam laughed and covered her mouth with her hand, she whispered. Sighing with a smile, the Crown Princess clapped her hands, “Great goodness, this day of jiji is exactly the day of adulthood. Good. Old Madam, you should let her drink more sugary water and eat more red dates.”
Nodding her head, Old Madam ordered someone to go prepare the sugary drink and red dates. The female guests naturally understood this and covered their mouths successively to hold their laughter back. At this moment, Yu Miao Qi wished she could strangle Yu Xiang to death. Of all the time, it came the moment her crown’s hairpin was being put on and very much suspected that Yu Xiang had done this on purpose.
When Lin Shi saw her daughter’s menacing appearance, she quietly pinched her fingertips then stood up and smiled, “My daughter is now resting well. There’s no need to worry. A banquet has been set up outside the hall, please follow me.”
Old Madam bowed to invite the Crown Princess respectfully while the Ninth Princess and Fan Jiao Jiao had long slipped away, probably gone to visit the sick in the west wing.