Yun Kui had already lain down for the night when she was unexpectedly summoned.
If it were any other master, she wouldn’t have to worry so much, but this was the Crown Prince. There was no telling when his illness might flare up, and she had to constantly fear for her own life.
Sighing inwardly, she hurriedly dressed and made her way to Cheng Guang Hall.
Seeing her arrive, Cao Yuanlu handed her a tray holding medicinal wine and gauze. “His Highness has a knife wound on his arm. Please go in and change his dressing.”
Yun Kui was surprised but dared not ask questions. Having witnessed Cao Yuanlu’s ruthlessness earlier that day, she was still shaken by the memory. She obediently replied, “Yes.”
Cao Yuanlu said kindly, “Don’t be afraid, miss. Our Crown Prince isn’t some man-eating tiger. As long as you harbor no ill intent, His Highness would never kill innocents indiscriminately.”
Yun Kui thought to herself, Do you even believe your own words?
If the Crown Prince were truly a good man, why would he inspire such fear? Why would so many people risk their lives to assassinate him in the name of justice? Besides, rumors were spreading that he had slaughtered seven cities in Northern Wei—were those innocent civilians not victims?
Cao Yuanlu guiltily rubbed his nose. “When his head ailment flares up, he might indeed hurt someone. If you notice His Highness suddenly becoming irritable, just call for me.”
Yun Kui pursed her lips. It seemed to her that the Crown Prince was perpetually irritable.
“This servant understands. Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Cao.”
Cao Yuanlu lowered his voice. “The fresh wound on His Highness’s arm wasn’t inflicted by anyone else. Last night, fearing he might lose control and harm someone, he cut himself with a dagger.”
Yun Kui: “…”
That sounded even more terrifying.
Cao Yuanlu thought of something and cleared his throat. “His Highness has never taken a woman to bed before. Given his current injury, he shouldn’t engage in intimate activities, but if he insists… please try to cooperate and not let him exert himself too much, lest his wound reopen.”
He was implying she should take the initiative.
But… wasn’t it widely rumored that the Crown Prince was lustful and indiscriminate in his tastes? How could he have never taken anyone to bed?
After a moment’s thought, Yun Kui decided to be honest. “To be frank, Eunuch Cao, His Highness didn’t touch me last night…”
Cao Yuanlu wasn’t surprised. When he tended to the Crown Prince’s wound that morning, he hadn’t found any signs of intimacy on the bedding. He understood that His Highness would rather injure himself than let the aphrodisiac cloud his judgment and fall into someone else’s trap.
But summoning her again tonight… surely it wasn’t just for conversation.
He gave Yun Kui an encouraging look. “Go on in, miss. Don’t keep His Highness waiting.”
Yun Kui nodded and entered with the medicine tray, only to be glared at by Si Zhang, who was on duty in the corridor.
Yun Kui: …
Si Zhang had overheard her conversation with Cao Yuanlu and now knew she hadn’t served the Crown Prince the previous night.
With such beauty before him, the Crown Prince had remained unmoved. It seemed she wasn’t all that special—perhaps she had even been driven out of Cheng Guang Hall by the Crown Prince…
But why had he summoned her again tonight?
“Miss Lian Rui, you won’t be needed in the hall tonight. You may retire early.”
Lost in thought, Si Zhang was startled by Eunuch Cao’s instruction and quickly composed herself, bowing in acknowledgment.
Entering the hall, Yun Kui saw the Crown Prince dressed in dark black inner robes, sitting on a luohan bed and drinking tea.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and respectfully curtsied. “Eunuch Cao sent this servant to change Your Highness’s dressing.”
The Crown Prince stared at her and responded indifferently.
The young woman approached slowly, a faint fragrance of grass and flowers wafting through the air, reminiscent of sunlit meadows after days of rain, where sunflowers still glistening with dew lifted their heads to bask in the sunlight.
The Crown Prince's furrowed brow gradually relaxed as he watched her carefully unwind the bandages, layer by layer. When she saw the scars covering his forearm, her lips parted slightly, and her fair face paled with fear.
He tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, then after a long pause, said nonchalantly, "There are still unresolved doubts in Cai Ju's case. I need you to recount everything you know, leaving nothing out."
Yun Kui had not expected this matter to resurface. The Crown Prince had summoned her to the hall not to change his bandages, but to interrogate her.
But… what more was there to say? This man was far too suspicious.
She clenched the gauze in her hand tightly. "It is true that I witnessed it with my own eyes. I was worried for Your Highness's safety and cried out in a moment of panic."
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. "You were worried about me?"
Yun Kui's mind raced. Her gaze drifted over the Crown Prince's lean waist, and she inappropriately recalled the well-defined abdominal muscles she had seen when he was bare-chested.
The Crown Prince's face darkened as he returned to the original topic, his dark eyes probing. "Regarding Cai Ju's matter, I want the truth."
Yun Kui hurriedly replied, "Even with ten times the courage, this servant would not dare deceive Your Highness."
"Help! What truth does he want to hear? The truth is I saw Cai Ju's suspicious movements and instinctively spoke up to warn him. What exactly is he suspecting?"
"If I had known this would happen, I should have kept my mouth shut at the time!"
"Although I did see Cai Ju poisoning in my dream, how could I possibly explain that? The Crown Prince doesn't even believe the truth—how would he believe that I saw it in a dream?"
Hearing her inner thoughts, the Crown Prince narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly.
So it was a dream.
He hadn't misheard during the day—this girl truly had the ability to peer into dreams.
The Crown Prince himself could hear others' thoughts, so even the most bizarre and mysterious phenomena held no surprise for him. The challenge was finding a way to extract the information from her.
After a moment's consideration, he deliberately asked, "I've heard that you can dream of future events?"
Yun Kui's fingers trembled in fright, and the scissors in her hand clattered onto the carpet.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as she quickly knelt. "Your Highness, please forgive me! This servant possesses no such ability!"
The Crown Prince toyed with the dark jade ring on his finger, his tone casual. "You probably don't know yet—the Eastern Palace's interrogation chamber has eighteen forms of torture. Flaying, bone-breaking, sky lantern punishment… each one will make you deeply regret not telling the truth sooner."
As he spoke of torture, the corners of his lips curled slightly. His leisurely pace and tone were as if he were making casual conversation, yet they carried a chilling, terrifying undertone that made one's blood run cold.
"Has the Crown Prince discovered something? But I've never told anyone about my ability to enter dreams. How could he know?"
"Could I have accidentally revealed it to Dan Gui one day?"
She trembled all over, her face deathly pale. "If this servant speaks, would Your Highness be gracious enough to pardon my offense of concealment?"
The Crown Prince replied indifferently, "Speak first, and then we shall see."
Yun Kui swallowed hard and answered truthfully, "This servant did indeed dream of Cai Ju poisoning someone last night, but I possess no ability to foresee the future. I merely occasionally glimpse others' dreams. It just so happened that I encountered Cai Ju beneath the corridor yesterday, and at night I saw her secretly administering poison in her dream. When I suddenly recalled this matter during the day, I became particularly attentive to Cai Ju's every move… Every word I speak is true, I dare not deceive Your Highness. I beg Your Highness to investigate clearly!"
The Crown Prince watched her swear to heaven, then compared it with her inner thoughts, confirming her words were genuine.
He asked, "You can enter dreams?"
Indeed, compared to his mind-reading skill, the ability to enter dreams could be considered equally bizarre.
Yun Kui nodded, then fearing the Crown Prince might want to utilize her humble skill, hurriedly added, "This servant only stumbled upon Cai Ju's secret by accident. Normally, I only witness trivial matters in the dreams of those around me, never anything useful."
The Crown Prince's gaze turned sharp. "You merely met Cai Ju once and could enter her dream. Now that you serve daily in Cheng Guang Hall, does that mean you can enter my dreams as well?"
Yun Kui nervously clenched her fingers.
"Should I mention this? I also dreamed of you trying to strangle me."
But she absolutely couldn't give the Crown Prince this reminder, otherwise he might truly kill her to silence her.
The Crown Prince: …
Dreams were ethereal and chaotic, often forgotten upon waking.
Had he dreamed of strangling her? Though on the night she fed him medicine with the sheep intestine casing, he had indeed felt murderous intent, wishing he could tear her limb from limb.
Yun Kui hesitated, still not daring to speak the truth. "This servant's insignificant skill isn't worth mentioning. Your Highness is the most noble person under heaven, how would I dare offend you…"
The Crown Prince naturally didn't believe her. "Tonight you shall remain in the hall. I want to see whether you can enter my dreams. If you've been spouting nonsense and spreading delusions, I will not leniently punish you."
Yun Kui defended herself, "… This servant has never mentioned this matter to anyone else. I haven't spread any delusions."
The Crown Prince: "You've deluded me."
Yun Kui: "…"
"Can he not understand human speech? I already said I can't enter dreams! It's not like I can enter whoever's dream I want – it's really difficult, okay?"
The Crown Prince ignored her protests, lowering his eyes to command, "Continue bandaging."
Yun Kui felt like crying but had no tears, secretly gritting her teeth as she cleaned his wounds. Her resentment made her hands somewhat heavy, and when the cloth wiped his wounds with uncontrolled force, she heard the man take a slightly sharp breath.
Looking up to meet those cold, fierce black eyes, she became flustered. Seeing he didn't further reprimand her but merely stared coldly, she resentfully muttered "Your Highness, please forgive me" and continued cleaning.
The wounds on his arm crisscrossed, each one gruesome with torn flesh. Yun Kui felt her hairs stand on end, her fingers trembling uncontrollably.
Any one of these wounds appearing on her body would likely make her wish for death from the pain.
She had been beaten before too – by her cousin before entering the palace, and by the matron after entering the palace.
But her aunt cherished her appearance – while her cousin could vent his anger on her, he absolutely couldn't damage her and affect her future marriage prospects.
As for the palace, beatings were measured – as long as one didn't commit major offenses, they typically wouldn't strike the face or leave ugly scars, fearing to offend their masters' eyes.
In her entire life, she had never seen anyone injure themselves to this extent, let alone that it was the Crown Prince of a nation – someone who should be living in utmost luxury.
Actually, she had been fortunate enough to see several princes from afar before.
The Second Prince, also known as Prince Chen, was dignified and majestic. The Fourth Prince, born of a noble consort, was dashing and charming. The Ninth Prince, only five years old, was fair, sturdy, and robust, and he most enjoyed riding palace attendants like horses.
Though the nine sons of the dragon differed, each was radiant and noble beyond compare. Yet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace was perpetually shrouded in bloodshed and turmoil—less like the residence of a crown prince and more like King Yama’s Hall…
Little sunflowers like her needed sunlight to thrive. How could they possibly grow in such a gloomy, sinister place like King Yama’s Hall?
As Yun Kui bandaged her wound, she muttered these thoughts to herself, completely oblivious to the Crown Prince’s increasingly dark expression.
By the time she finished tending to the wound and looked up to reply, the man’s expression had returned to normal, as detached and indifferent as ever.
The Crown Prince gazed at her for a moment before suddenly asking, “What must one do to enter someone’s dream?”
Hearing a glimmer of hope in his words, Yun Kui quickly replied, “It must be someone I’ve encountered in my daily life. But I meet countless people during the day, and whose dream I enter depends on fate. Moreover, this person must occupy my thoughts day and night, keeping me restless and sleepless…”
She embellished her explanation, trying to make it sound as difficult as possible, hoping the Crown Prince would abandon his probing.
Yet the Crown Prince remained unmoved. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Tonight, you shall share my bed. Report back to me tomorrow upon waking.”