Yun Kui had indeed seized the opportunity to slip away.
After following Qing Dai to receive her reward and seeing that the Empress had no further instructions, and that the Crown Prince had already awakened—meaning he could likely take his medicine himself—with so many palace attendants serving in the hall, her presence seemed unnecessary. So she seized the chance to return to the kitchen.
Clutching the gold ingot in her hand, Yun Kui was still trembling with fear.
Truly, great wealth comes from great risks.
The red swelling on her wrist, where the Crown Prince had gripped her, hadn't subsided, and the pain made her gasp. How could someone severely injured and unconscious exert such force? He'd nearly crushed her bones!
Fortunately, she'd had the foresight to blindfold the Crown Prince in advance, and with the Empress guaranteeing her safety, today's incident should be considered over, right? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, burdened with countless affairs of state, probably wouldn't remember someone like her.
Not long after, Dan Gui returned from Cheng Guang Hall as if her soul had left her body, shivering all over as she climbed into bed.
Yun Kui quietly moved closer and asked, "Is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that terrifying? You're scared out of your wits."
"How would I dare look at him!" Dan Gui's face was pale as she whispered, "But just now, the Crown Prince declared that if Imperial Physician Chen doesn't cure him within a month, he'll have his family executed and properties confiscated."
How tyrannical! Killing someone just for failing to cure him?
But this Crown Prince must value his life dearly; otherwise, he wouldn't use the physician's family and livelihood as leverage. So, her act of stepping forward to administer the medicine today might actually count as a meritorious deed?
Regardless, Yun Kui's already limited courage had been stretched to its limit today. After being frightened like that by the Crown Prince, she wouldn't dare go near him for the rest of her life.
Recalling the events in the hall earlier, Dan Gui also felt a wave of lingering fear. "How did you muster such boldness to step forward and serve the medicine?"
Yun Kui hunched her shoulders. "I was terrified too."
She never expected the Crown Prince to wake up just like that. Wasn't he critically injured with multiple arrow wounds? Wasn't he supposed to be unconscious? Why did he have to wake up precisely when she was feeding him medicine? What luck!
Though she loved money and had taken a risk based on the belief that "boldness determines harvest," it didn't mean she wasn't afraid of death. This transaction for ten taels of gold was a one-time deal; another round would surely cost her her life.
Dan Gui asked curiously, "How did you come up with that method? I've never seen anyone use sheep casing to feed medicine before."
Yun Kui thought for a moment and said, "I saw my uncle do it for my aunt."
Once, when her aunt was lying in bed, looking terribly ill and refusing to take medicine, Yun Kui secretly watched from outside the window as her uncle filled a sheep casing with medicine and fed it to her. At the time, her aunt shook her head, unwilling to drink, but in the end, her uncle forced it down.
When her aunt came out of the room, her complexion had visibly improved, proving that the method really worked.
"I see," Dan Gui nodded. "By the way, I've never heard you mention your uncle's family before?"
Yun Kui lay back on her bed and sighed. "I've been in the palace for six or seven years. It's been so long since I last saw them; they're probably dead by now."
Orphaned at a young age, she had been taken in by her uncle's family. But her uncle was lustful, her aunt greedy for money, and her cousin addicted to gambling—none of them treated her well.
Her aunt, noticing Yun Kui's slight beauty, grudgingly raised her with the intention of marrying her off as a concubine to some wealthy old official someday, hoping to extort a hefty bride price.
She had met that Squire Zhu once before—he always leered at her with that pig-like, bloated face, and the strange odor emanating from him was enough to make anyone retch.
She was barely ten years old at the time!
That night, she actually dreamed of Squire Zhu grinning and reaching out to touch her hand. She woke up in terror, still unaware of her ability to enter others' dreams, feeling only pure fear. That very night, she fled her uncle's home.
After drifting from place to place, she eventually entered the palace as a maid, and so many years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Yun Kui took a deep breath, forcing those unhappy memories from her mind. Before falling asleep, she couldn't help but pray: May His Royal Highness the Crown Prince forget what happened tonight, forget someone like me exists! Please don't cause me trouble, I beg you!
As she drifted into a hazy dream, a blurred face appeared before her—a tall figure in dark golden robes, his presence terrifying.
Even more horrifying, this person was choking a young girl, lifting her off the ground. The girl being strangled whimpered pleas for mercy, her legs kicking wildly in the air as she struggled desperately.
Yun Kui had never dreamed of such a brutal scene—far more terrifying than missing a step on stairs or being chased. She felt as if an invisible hand were tightening around her own neck, a suffocating pain crushing her chest.
Looking closer… ah! The girl being choked… wasn't that herself?!
Yun Kui woke gasping for air.
So close—she'd nearly died.
But why? She had no enemies! Who would want to kill her?
Yun Kui struggled to recall the dream figure's appearance. Though his face remained unclear, she remembered the ghastly pale skin, the prominent blue veins and sharp Adam's apple on his neck. His dark robes were embroidered with intricate golden patterns… python patterns!
Could it be… His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?!
This dangerous thought took root in her mind, instantly stealing her breath.
Yun Kui could see others' dreams after falling asleep, but this inherently bizarre ability had never been properly verified. For instance—whose dreams could she enter, and how? She only vaguely knew that frequently thinking of someone before sleep might allow her to enter their dreams. But not everyone's dreams were accessible. Noble figures like Your Majesty and the Empress existed far beyond her reach—she never even saw them normally, let alone entered their dreams.
Could it be that her pre-sleep prayers to avoid the Crown Prince's attention had somehow drawn her into his dreams?
Was His Royal Highness now planning… to take her life?
No! Help…
If the Crown Prince were a righteous and kind lord, he probably wouldn't strangle her.
But the problem was—he was the undisputed Living King of Hell, who killed people as casually as slicing melons, without considering whether they were innocent.
What a miscalculation! She'd been blinded by those ten taels of gold, afraid someone else would claim them first, and acted recklessly in the heat of the moment.
Yun Kui hugged her knees and let out a despairing sigh.
She spent the entire day in anxious fear, only relaxing when no summons came by evening. Then, under the corridor, she saw a blood-soaked young maid being carried out of Cheng Guang Hall.
The icy wind in the corridor pierced through her. Yun Kui shuddered, every hair on her body standing on end, her hands and feet going numb with cold.
The meal delivered to the hall remained untouched by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The chief eunuch of the kitchen returned with his head bowed timidly, and someone approached him to whisper, "What offense did that palace maid commit earlier to be beaten to death by the Crown Prince?"
The chief eunuch dared not inquire about such matters. In the hall earlier, he had only faintly heard the Crown Prince say, "Who sent you here?" The woman refused to answer and was dragged outside to be beaten to death with clubs.
When he returned earlier, he happened to pass by the execution site. Blood had seeped into the cracks between the stones, and even two large water vats couldn't wash it clean. The stench of blood churned his stomach so violently he felt he might vomit up even the previous night's meal.
He made a gesture indicating the matter was not to be discussed. No one dared ask further. From then on, they would all have to live with their heads hanging by their belts.
Yun Kui felt uneasy and restless, so distracted that she could hardly focus on her tasks. Only at night, when she hugged the ten taels of gold to sleep, did her fear gradually dissipate.
Late at night, in Kunning Palace.
The Chunming Emperor was resting there that day. As the Empress helped him change his clothes, she hesitantly remarked, "The Crown Prince… seems to be in poor condition. I wonder if he can survive this time."
The Chunming Emperor sighed. "Tomorrow, I will issue a widespread decree to see if we can summon more extraordinary talents to the palace to treat the Crown Prince."
The Empress glanced at him covertly. "Even the folk healers brought last time couldn't cure him. Some even fell ill from fear of the Crown Prince's tyranny after returning home."
The Chunming Emperor gazed silently at the dragon-and-phoenix motif on the canopy for a long time before saying, "No matter what, we must do our utmost."
The Empress nodded. "Yes."
The Chunming Emperor had ascended the throne following his elder brother's death. The current Crown Prince was the son of the Late Emperor, Jingyou Emperor.
Years ago, the Late Emperor had personally led an expedition to the northern border and returned severely wounded. At the same time, several powerful feudal lords staged a coup. It was the heavily pregnant Huigong Empress who devised a stratagem to sow discord among the lords, causing them to turn on each other and thus stabilizing the situation. However, the Huigong Empress exhausted herself and went into premature labor from the strain.
To ensure the Da Zhao dynasty had an heir, the Huigong Empress struggled to give birth to the Crown Prince but died on the birthing bed. The Late Emperor, already critically wounded and overwhelmed by grief at losing his wife, also passed away shortly after.
The court and the country fell into turmoil, with feudal lords across the land growing restless. The ailing Empress Dowager, who had long been absent from court affairs, had to step in to manage the crisis.
A nation without a ruler descends into chaos. The court split into two factions: one advocated for the Crown Prince's enthronement with the Empress Dowager as regent, while the other argued that the Crown Prince was too young and inexperienced, and the Empress Dowager too aged and frail. With powerful enemies threatening Da Zhao externally and rebellious feudal lords internally, the grandmother and grandson would struggle to maintain stability. They proposed selecting a virtuous and capable successor from the imperial clan.
It was then that someone recommended Prince Rui, known for his integrity in the capital—the present Chunming Emperor.
At that time, Prince Rui was the only prince who had not been assigned a fiefdom and resided in the capital. During the Late Emperor's severe illness, it was Prince Rui who tirelessly attended to him, administering medicine and care. Through these actions, he earned a reputation for fraternal devotion.
After much debate, the Empress Dowager made the final decision: Prince Rui would temporarily act as emperor, while the Crown Prince retained his title. When Prince Rui eventually passed away, the throne of Da Zhao would be returned to the bloodline of Jingyou Emperor.
More than twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Under the governance of the then Prince Rui, now the Chunming Emperor, Da Zhao had experienced many years of uneventful stability—neither remarkable achievements nor notable failures. However, the crown prince left by the Late Emperor suffered from congenital deficiencies and had been plagued by a head ailment since childhood, resulting in a volatile and cruel temperament. His ruthless and extreme actions left both the court and the common people in constant fear, with widespread grievances among the populace, earning him a notorious reputation.
As the prince's uncle, the Chunming Emperor could not discipline the crown prince as he would his own son. He could neither punish nor reprimand him harshly, yet turning a blind eye to his behavior provoked discontent among officials and the people. Thus, the emperor had no choice but to feign ignorance.
Upon the crown prince's return to the palace, voices emerged in the court advocating for his removal and the appointment of a new heir. The Chunming Emperor, who had ascended the throne under unusual circumstances, had once sworn to the late empress dowager on her deathbed that he would return the throne. Having played the role of a caring uncle for many years, he now sought to placate the courtiers with reason and emotion.
Meanwhile, veteran officials who staunchly supported the crown prince argued that, after years of military campaigns and having reached adulthood, the prince should marry and produce heirs to secure the Da Zhao lineage, thus avoiding the mistakes of the Jingyou Emperor.
Had the Jingyou Emperor not lacked sufficient heirs, the rebellion of the feudal princes might never have erupted, and the throne would not have fallen to his illegitimate younger brother, Prince Rui.
At this thought, the Chunming Emperor frowned deeply and sighed after a long pause. "It is time to arrange the crown prince's marriage."
The emperor and empress exchanged glances, a shared complexity flashing in their eyes.
Over the years, to expand the royal lineage, the Chunming Emperor had taken many consorts, fathering nine sons and twelve daughters. The empress, too, had been fruitful, bearing two legitimate princes.
With their own sons excelling, how could the empress willingly pave the way for another?
Yet, the Chunming Emperor had sworn an oath before the late empress dowager, and with countless eyes watching in the court, to avoid being branded a usurper, the imperial couple had no choice but to play the part of devoted parents, treating the crown prince as their own.
No matter how tyrannical the crown prince might be, he was the bloodline of the Jingyou Emperor—a more legitimate and noble royal heir than the Chunming Emperor, who merely held the throne temporarily.
After a moment of silence, the empress gently said, "I understand, Your Majesty. I will soon begin selecting suitable candidates of marriageable age for the crown prince. However… as you know, given his temperament, ordinary noble ladies may…"
The Chunming Emperor was well aware that the crown prince's ruthless nature had made noblewomen in the capital keep their distance. Yet, arranging a marriage with a powerful court official risked strengthening the prince's influence.
As the emperor wrestled with this dilemma, the empress devised a solution: "For now, let the Imperial Household Department and the Bureau of Music select a few attractive women to serve the crown prince and attend to his daily needs. Once his injuries heal, we can hold a grand selection to choose suitable consorts for him."
Their eyes met, each understanding the other's unspoken thoughts.
Assigning serving women would allow them to place their own people, ensuring no heirs would be produced.
It would also silence public criticism, demonstrating that the emperor and empress, as the prince's uncle and aunt, were actively arranging his marriage without any treacherous intent.
Furthermore, it would create opportunities to expose the crown prince's violent nature, making influential families coveting the position of Crown Princess aware that he was not a suitable match.
Meanwhile, Yun Kui, after several days of anxiety and without any summons from the crown prince, gradually began to relax.
Come to think of it, how could an insignificant nobody like her be remembered by such an eminent figure?
But just two days after she had set her mind at ease, someone from the Empress’s palace arrived—a familiar matron whom Yun Kui remembered seeing at the Moon Embracing Pavilion.
“Her Majesty requests that Miss Yun Kui come for a visit.”
Yun Kui froze in place, a sense of foreboding washing over her. “May I ask why Her Majesty has summoned me?”
The matron smiled. “With your radiant beauty, Her Majesty cannot bear to see a pearl buried in dust. She intends to promote you—this is a joyous occasion.”