But Chief Steward Xiao was a eunuch! How could people think such things about her?
“What favor? ” Yun Suiwu turned around, his toes pointed toward Lianxiang as he looked down at her from above.
“It… It was because I had been away from home for so long and missed my child very much. I wanted to ask for leave to go home, but I knew that before my duties were finished, I was not allowed to return home.
“My cousin told me that Chief Steward Xiao might have a way to help me go home, so she told me to build a good relationship with him…”
“Song Guiren? ” Yun Suiwu narrowed his eyes slightly as his long fingers turned the white jade ring on his thumb.
Lianxiang nodded.
“I… I am not good with words and didn’t know how to build a good relationship with Chief Steward Xiao, so I simply did what my cousin told me.
“But I truly had no other intentions. My husband has been dead for less than a year. All I want is to do my job well as a wet nurse in the Prince’s manor and earn money to support my child at home.
“If I had wanted to remarry, I would never have entered the manor to become a wet nurse.”
Because she knew Chief Steward Xiao was not a real man, she had gathered the courage to get close to him. But who would have thought that people would misunderstand and accuse her of having an improper relationship with him?
Why were people’s mouths so cruel and their thoughts so dirty?
Yun Suiwu lowered his gaze and looked at her.
The candle on the table had already burned halfway down, making the room dim. The charcoal in the brazier beside them flickered continuously.
Under the glow of the firelight, Lianxiang’s beautiful profile was covered in a soft halo. She looked like a flawless piece of jade. Her eyes were clear and pure, like untouched snow without a trace of impurity.
It seemed impossible to find another pair of eyes in the world that was so clean.
Yun Suiwu had met countless people. No matter how skilled someone’s disguise was, it could not escape his eyes.
Yet she was like a blank sheet of paper.
Every emotion and thought was written plainly on that paper for anyone to see.
The closer one looked, the more obvious her simplicity and innocence became.
From beginning to end, she was like a clear spring. There were no hidden schemes in her heart. She only wanted to be a small flowing stream. She did not dream of stars or oceans. She only wanted to be the Little Prince’s wet nurse and support her child back home.
“According to the laws of our dynasty, after a husband dies, a wife may remarry after one year.”
After a long silence, Yun Suiwu finally spoke.
But Lianxiang shook her head firmly.
“I… I do not want to remarry. I only want to remain faithful to my late husband for the rest of my life.”
Her husband had been a pig butcher and a little slow-witted, but he had treated her very well.
He listened to everything she said, took on all the dirty and difficult work himself, and handed all the money he earned to her for safekeeping.
She wanted to remain loyal to him forever and never remarry.
Yun Suiwu searched her face for any sign that she was lying.
There was none.
So when she deliberately avoided him, she was not playing hard to get.
She was not pretending to be innocent and pure in front of him.
She was simply frightened because of what had happened that summer afternoon when, while drunk, he had mistaken her for someone else.
She truly wanted to avoid him.
At that thought, his jaw tightened. His expression became cold as he slowly turned the white jade ring on his thumb.
Then he said in a cool voice,
“In the future, if you wish to go home, you may tell me directly.”
Lianxiang lowered her head. Her long eyelashes trembled gently.
She did not even dare mention such things to the head nanny, let alone to the Prince.
Besides, none of the other wet nurses were allowed to go home. If she received special treatment, it would leave a bad impression on the head nanny.
“Did you hear what I said? ” Yun Suiwu asked again when she remained silent.
“I… I wouldn’t dare,” Lianxiang quickly replied.
“I will simply focus on serving the Little Prince well.”
She had already made up her mind.
After the Little Prince’s first birthday, only one or two wet nurses would likely remain by his side.
If she was not chosen, then in just two more months she could return home and reunite with her child.
If she was chosen and even became the Little Prince’s chief wet nurse, she could ask her elder brothers to bring her child to Guangling so she could see him.
Then she would only need to leave the manor for half a day.
Yun Suiwu’s eyes lingered on her. His dark pupils were unreadable.
He said nothing more.
After putting his gloves back on, he left.
As soon as he was gone, Lianxiang pressed a hand to her chest and let out a long breath.
She truly could not understand why the Prince had come to Qingzhu Courtyard so late at night.
Nor could she understand why the usually quiet and reserved Prince had asked her about remarriage.
Surely it was because she was the Little Prince’s wet nurse, Song Guiren’s cousin, and because Chief Steward Xiao was the manor’s chief steward.
The Prince simply would not tolerate any improper conduct within his household, which was why he had personally questioned her.
Those rumors definitely had not come from her cousin. Her cousin knew very well that she had only been asking Chief Steward Xiao for help.
Someone else in the manor must have spread them with bad intentions.
Afterward, Lianxiang could no longer sleep.
She sat beside the bed, staring at the glowing charcoal in the brazier until the second half of the night, when Nurse Li came to take over her shift.
…
Over the next few days, the weather became unusually pleasant, and most of the snow had melted.
The most famous thing in Guangling was its hot springs.
They were said to improve circulation, strengthen the body, and enhance beauty.
Back then, the Emperor had brought the Empress to Guangling for exactly that reason.
Now that the weather was cold, it was naturally the perfect time to visit the hot springs and drive away the chill.
The Little Prince would be going as well.
The head nanny had already given orders several days in advance for preparations to begin.
The Little Prince’s toys alone could fill an entire carriage.
Not to mention his clothes, hats, and shoes.
There were also his bowls, chopsticks, spoons, the cooks who specially prepared his meals and snacks, and all the necessary ingredients.
At least five carriages would be needed.
It was practically as if the entire Qingzhu Courtyard were being moved to the hot spring estate.
As the departure date approached, the servants of Qingzhu Courtyard and Chaoxu Hall became increasingly busy.
Chief Steward Xiao was especially occupied, barely having a moment to rest, as many items had to be transported to the hot spring estate several days in advance.
Meanwhile, Linglong Pavilion was unusually quiet.
A few days earlier, Song Guiren had received a letter from her family.
It informed her that her elder brother, relying on her status as a concubine of the Prince’s Manor, had opened a gambling house.
But gambling was strictly forbidden throughout Guangling.
The ban had been personally ordered by the Prince.
It was a serious crime punishable by death.
Now her brother had been thrown into prison, and her family was urging her to find a way to persuade the Prince to release him.
She had gone to Chaoxu Hall several times to seek an audience with the Prince, but each time he was absent.
Just as anxiety was consuming her, she unexpectedly learned from Lianxiang that in a few days the Prince would be taking the Little Prince to the hot spring estate.
Yet she had known nothing about it.
It was obvious that the Prince had never intended to bring her along.
She had saved both the Empress and the Little Prince’s lives.
How could the Prince be so heartless as to leave her alone in the manor?