Xie Zhenrong glanced at the Crown Prince and waved her hand. “All of you may withdraw for now.”
“Yes.”
Wen Lier and the others curtsied and retreated from the warm chamber.
After exiting, Yang Ni Shan’s expression turned unpleasant.
She had originally thought that among the three Bong Yis, she was the only one who had served the Crown Prince in bed, so his attitude toward her should have been somewhat different.
Yet just now, the Crown Prince hadn’t even glanced at her more than once. Instead, Wen Lier, who had just recovered, managed to lure him into speaking so much with her!
She turned her head and cast a cold glance at Wen Lier.
Then, her gaze fell upon Zhou Momo behind her.
“How did that wretched maid’s matter get spread outside?”
Zhou Momo bowed her head very low. “Mistress, this matter is not small.”
With one less person in the palace for no reason, how could the Crown Princess not know?
Seeing Yang Ni Shan’s gaze suddenly turn icy as she looked at her, Zhou Momo advised with earnest persuasion. “Mistress, you must not deal with maids on your own again next time.”
Hearing this, Yang Ni Shan became furious.
“Why can’t I deal with my own maid? Before entering the palace, I could handle misbehaving maidservants however I wished. Now that I’m in this palace, I have to be timid and cautious, watching others’ expressions?”
Zhou Momo nearly rushed forward to cover her mouth, frantically signaling her with her eyes.
“What is there to fear? Would they dare spread it outside?”
Yang Ni Shan swept a contemptuous glance over Wen Lier and Lin Fujia, then flicked her sleeve, raised her head, and walked away.
Zhou Momo sighed repeatedly. Looking back at the docile Wen Lier and Lin Fujia, she suddenly felt her fate was bitter.
Why was she assigned to serve such a life-threatening ancestor!
But no matter how disheartened she felt, she could only resign herself to fate and follow along.
Wen Lier returned to her room and took off her cloak, which Qing Zhu hurriedly reached out to take.
Wen Lier shook it out, then turned to climb into bed.
Seeing this, Qing Mei stepped forward to help her draw aside the bed curtains.
“Mistress, are you going to sleep a while longer?”
Wen Lier nodded and quickly burrowed under the covers.
Mama Qin, standing nearby, couldn’t help but advise her.
“Mistress, you’ve eaten quite a bit. Sleeping too often will make you gain weight.”
After a moment’s thought, she sighed with regret.
“You really should have listened to this old servant and dressed up properly. See, you encountered His Highness today, didn’t you?”
Wen Lier quietly pulled the quilt up a little higher, covering her ears.
“Don’t blame this old servant for speaking out of turn, but what man doesn’t appreciate beauty? If you don’t make an effort to adorn yourself now, when there are more and more beauties in the Eastern Palace in the future, His Highness will pay even less attention to you.”
Wen Lier sighed. Mama Qin repeated this daily, never tiring of it.
She knew the next topic would be about heirs.
Sure enough, Mama Qin’s eyes already welled up with tears.
“If you don’t gain His Highness’s favor and don’t have a child or two to rely on, what will you do when you grow old?”
Wen Lier buried her entire head under the quilt.
Not listening, not listening… like a monk chanting sutras.
Mama Qin had also said that in the future, the Eastern Palace would have countless beauties. How could she possibly have the ability to win His Highness’s favor?
It was more reliable to eat well and sleep well.
Mama Qin looked at Wen Lier, who had covered her head completely, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
This little ancestor was starting to disobey too.
…
When Wen Lier woke up, it was just the right time for the evening meal.
Qing Mei brought back two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup from the kitchen.
Attended by Qing Zhu, Wen Lier washed up and then sat down at the table to eat.
Qing Zhu was by her side, serving dishes.
Mama Qin, worried she might eat too much, cautioned her from the side, forbidding this and that.
Wen Lier paid her no mind. Seeing that Qing Zhu was heeding Mama Qin’s words and no longer serving her, she took matters into her own hands.
She picked up a piece of pork trotter and took a big bite.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she sneakily observed Mama Qin’s expression.
She knew that although Mama Qin loved to meddle, she genuinely had her best interests at heart.
In the few months since entering the Eastern Palace, while she lay bedridden with illness, Mama Qin had worked tirelessly for her.
She sighed. Mama Qin just couldn’t seem to grasp it.
In this palace, there were countless beauties of all kinds—how could simply dressing better or having a better figure alone attract His Highness’s attention?
Beside her, Mama Qin started nagging again: “Mistress, please listen to this old servant. A woman’s waist is a blade that steals hearts. What man doesn’t love a slender waist, so delicate it can be held in one hand? If you keep eating like this, once your waist becomes as thick as a barrel, it’ll be hard to slim down again. Even if you do manage to lose weight, your skin won’t be firm or smooth enough—it’ll be loose and wrinkled to the touch, and His Highness will dislike it.”
Wen Lier felt her head was about to be nagged bald.
Mama Qin, this is hardly just “a sentence”…
Wen Lier lowered her head, quickly finished the pork trotter in her bowl, then nodded and said, “Then I’ll listen to you, Mama.”
She began eating the dishes Qing Zhu had served her.
Mama Qin, thinking about the large piece of pork trotter she had just eaten, almost wished she could make her spit it out.
Just then, a sharp scream suddenly came from outside.
Wen Lier tilted her head to listen, but soon, she couldn’t hear anything more.
Mama Qin explained to her: “It’s from Yang Fengyi’s place. Probably some unlucky soul has caught her displeasure.”
They were currently in Yaohua Hall. Yang Ni Shan occupied the main hall, while Wen Lier and Lin Fujia lived in the east and west wings, respectively.
Although they had their own separate corners, being within the same hall meant that any commotion could be heard on both sides.
Qing Zhu said, “It sounded like Cuiluo. Her voice is sharp and thin, easy to recognize.”
Qing Mei exclaimed in surprise, “Really? Cuiluo is so honest—how could she possibly offend Yang Fengyi?”
Mama Qin immediately gave her a light knock on the head.
“One cannot judge a person by their appearance, just as the sea cannot be measured with a bucket. How can you judge whether someone is honest just by their looks? Also, stay away from the people around Yang Fengyi—don’t engage with them.”
With Yang Ni Shan’s picky and domineering temperament, she probably wouldn’t last long in the palace.
Qing Zhu and Qing Mei hurriedly nodded.
Not long after, Lin Fujia came to Wen Lier’s quarters and also brought up the matter of the main hall.
She shook her head and said, “Sister Yang was criticized today in Fuyao Hall. After returning to Yaohua Hall, she took her anger out on the palace maids serving her. She’s so petty and narrow-minded—the servants attending to her are truly cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck.”
Wen Lier quickly stopped her: “Sister Lin, be careful—trouble comes from the mouth.”
Lin Fujia immediately sealed her lips: “Then let’s not talk about her.”
The two chatted about other things for a while, then Lin Fujia suddenly added, “His Highness saw you today, Sister. Perhaps he will summon you to attend him tonight.”
Wen Lier shook her head: “It’s unlikely.”
She didn’t pay much attention to the matter of attending the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince was not particularly driven by desire. Having someone attend him once every ten days or half a month was already considered frequent.
It was said that sometimes he didn’t enter the inner quarters for months.
She handed a piece of pastry to Lin Fujia, then, taking advantage of Mama Qin turning away, quickly snatched one for herself and stuffed it into her mouth.
Lin Fujia stared at her actions, stunned.
“Sister Wen, are you still hungry?”
To be honest, Wen Lier truly hadn’t eaten her fill.
She pondered whether she could assign Mama Qin to handle other tasks during meal times in the future.
“Sister Wen, aren’t you nervous at all? Shouldn’t you prepare yourself first? If His Highness really summons you, you could head over earlier.”
Wen Lier looked at her in confusion.
What was there to prepare?
Wasn’t serving in the bedchamber just a matter of lying down until it was over?
Her mother had told her that when doing that deed, one only needed to lie still obediently – men all preferred to focus on the task without distractions.
If it became unbearable, then she could just act coquettishly and beg for mercy.
Lin Fujia, under her gaze, blushed first and didn’t continue the topic any further.
…