Zhuang Yunlan had just settled onto the stone bench when she nearly passed away on the spot.
She really shouldn’t have eaten that pot meal.
“It’s the truth,” Zhuang Yunlan raised her eyes, trying to look as sincere as possible at The Crown Prince. “During the conferment, the inner palace rewarded me with a thousand strings of cash, along with quite a few gold and silver bean leaves. Even now, half of it remains unspent. Usually, I don’t have to pay for meals or clothing myself. Thinking back, when I was at home, I only received about one tael of silver as my monthly allowance. I’ve never had this much money in my hands before.”
But back at home, she felt secure. If she wanted to buy something, she could just act coquettishly with her parents. Moreover, even if she occasionally had no money to reward the maids on duty, no one would make her wear small shoes.
But such words couldn’t be said to The Crown Prince. There was a difference between telling the truth and seeking death.
One tael of silver was equivalent to one string of cash.
According to the ancestral regulations of the Jing Dynasty, to avoid interference by external relatives, the selection of beauties was conducted among the common people.
However, because requirements were placed on the speech and demeanor of concubines, most of those who actually entered the palace were daughters of local gentry and wealthy households. As for the others, even if they passed the initial selection due to their outstanding appearance, they were gradually eliminated during the stage of learning etiquette.
Zhuang Yunlan’s batch of concubines were all selected from Nanzhili. The Crown Prince had been involved in court politics for several years and had a good understanding of the economic conditions in various regions, so he didn’t doubt her words.
Originally, she had only one string of cash per month. Now, after just a few months in the Eastern Palace, she had already spent five hundred strings. No wonder she felt insecure and had started saving.
“You spent it so quickly,” The Crown Prince ate another slice of lamb roll, the chill on his body dissipating slightly. “What will you do when it’s all gone? Your current allowance quota probably can’t sustain such spending, right?”
Zhuang Yunlan noticed The Crown Prince’s mood shifting from cloudy to clear. She couldn’t tell whether it was the hot pot’s doing or if it was because when people were unlucky, they liked seeing others even more unfortunate—no words of comfort were as effective as “my brother is even worse off.”
But The Crown Prince’s improved mood was naturally a good thing for her, a Cairen of the Crown Prince.
Zhuang Yunlan thought for a moment and said, “I’ve only just entered the palace. The noble ladies favored me and sent people to visit. The distance between the rear palace and the Eastern Palace isn’t short, after all. I couldn’t let them make the trip for nothing, could I? And then there are the palace maids and inner officials of the Western Side Hall, serving me diligently and conscientiously. During the four seasons and eight festivals, I had to reward them a little as well. But now that the noble ladies have all visited, this expense should decrease. If I really run out of money… well, I’ll just have to be a stingy person and let them laugh at me behind my back.”
A Cairen of the Crown Prince, according to regulations, was assigned four major palace maids, along with six rough-duty palace maids and six small fire attendants each. With just these few people, how much could the reward silver possibly amount to? It was obvious that the bulk of it must have been used to appease the attendants of the ladies of the rear palace.
How many of those people truly wished the Eastern Palace well?
It was no easy task for her to deal with those palace personnel.
The Crown Prince curled the corner of his mouth. “You’re quite open-minded.”
“What else can I do? Even if I frowned and worried every day, I couldn’t conjure silver out of thin air. Since I can’t solve the problem, I might as well be open-minded. Why torment myself?” Just like today, when The Crown Prince ate her rare fruits and vegetables, Zhuang Yunlan had no choice. She couldn’t very well tell The Crown Prince not to eat them, could she? All she could do was hope that the next month would come quickly, so she could eat again once her quota was refreshed.
This time, The Crown Prince genuinely felt like laughing.
He glanced at the young concubine who was staring eagerly at the pot and instructed the palace personnel, "Come serve your mistress her meal."
Shaoyao acknowledged the order, and Zhuang Yunlan finally got to enjoy the hotpot she had been longing for.
The Crown Prince did not send anyone to the kitchen for additional food. The two of them simply gathered around the pot and finished most of the fresh vegetables, beef, and lamb that were already there.
After the meal, they returned inside the hall. Shaoyao brought tea forward, and Zhuang Yunlan took it and presented it to the Crown Prince, saying, "Your Highness, have some tea to relieve the greasiness."
Once the Crown Prince accepted the tea, Zhuang Yunlan also held her own cup to warm her hands.
Indeed, hotpot and ice cola were her destined couple. Unfortunately, she couldn’t go back.
The Crown Prince looked at the person beside him, whose eyes were sparkling as she seemed lost in thought. The image of Zhuang Yunlan eating hotpot earlier resurfaced in his mind.
To be honest, the Crown Prince had never seen someone eat with such focus. It even made him eat more than usual. As he was thinking this, his gaze met Zhuang Yunlan’s as she looked up.
Zhuang Yunlan quickly and cautiously spoke, "Your Highness, you’ve just returned today. Surely there are many matters awaiting your attention?"
The Crown Prince glanced at her. Just as he was about to straighten his back, he relaxed instead, leaning comfortably against the chair back. He even closed his eyes, leisurely resting.
"Not many," he said with his eyes closed.
Zhuang Yunlan: …
She looked pleadingly at Zhang Bao.
Zhang Bao couldn’t pretend to be oblivious.
His Highness had just returned to the palace from the capital camp today. If he were to rest here at Mistress Zhuang’s place, it would clearly be a slap in the face to the Crown Princess. After all, The Emperor had just reprimanded His Highness today on behalf of the Crown Princess.
But when the masters were speaking, it wasn’t his place to interrupt.
The Western Side Hall fell into a dead silence.
Leisure belonged solely to His Highness the Crown Prince.
Bathed in Zhang Bao’s encouraging gaze, Zhuang Yunlan felt like crying but had no tears.
She was just an ordinary person, lacking the courage of Ban Jieyu of Western Han. She didn’t dare risk angering the Crown Prince by playing the virtuous concubine, but she also didn’t want to be sent by the emperor to the Inner Anle Hall and become the second Jieyu Chu.
The Crown Prince was truly inhuman!
The inhuman Crown Prince, under Zhuang Yunlan’s resentful yet unspoken gaze, stubbornly sat on the not-so-comfortable chicken-wing wood rose chair, leisurely resting for a full quarter of an hour. Only then did he mercifully open his eyes and leisurely leave Chenghua Hall, without sparing her a single glance.
"Mistress…" Shaoyao looked worried. "Could His Highness be angry with you?"
Zhuang Yunlan smiled bitterly. What could she do if he was angry? She couldn’t possibly keep the Crown Prince here today anyway.
At worst, she’d fall out of favor. It wasn’t as if she had ever been favored in the first place. She might as well consider it early retirement—better than going to the Inner Anle Hall to weep with Lady Chu.
"Bring water for washing up. Tomorrow, I still have to pay respects to the Crown Princess," Zhuang Yunlan said, turning to sit before her cosmetics case, pushing all those troublesome thoughts out of her mind.