The Crown Prince was diligent. Sometimes, he would even get up in the middle of the night to review memorials that were difficult to discuss during the day. Lan Yue had already told Qunqing about this beforehand.
One by one, the lamps in Qingxuan Pavilion were lit.
From the corner of her eye, Qunqing saw two young eunuchs carry a low table from the outer room into the inner room and place it on the carpet. They also brought a cushion, writing brush, inkstone, and red ink.
After a while, someone pulled open the screen. The young eunuch who usually served the Crown Prince bowed and entered the room, placing a stack of memorials on the table.
The eunuchs were well-trained and completely silent. Only their shadows moved around the room. Once everything was arranged, they all withdrew, leaving only Qunqing standing nearby to attend to Li Xuan.
Unexpectedly, what Lin Yujia had told her was true.
The Crown Prince could really handle official matters beside his sleeping concubine, with only one palace maid attending him.
Serving the lamp was nothing more than standing against the wall and waiting for a nobleman to give orders.
Qunqing glanced over and saw Li Xuan sitting quietly at the table, a cloak thrown over his sleeping robe.
At this distance, she could not see the words on the memorials at all, so she did not bother stretching her neck to look.
Li Xuan moistened his brush and said, “Bring me some wine. Don’t warm it.”
The wine Qunqing brought from the ice chest was indeed Taixi Bai, a strong wine.
When Li Xuan saw her bring it to the table, a trace of coldness appeared in his eyes.
Unexpectedly, Qunqing poured the wine into the jade cup very carefully, stopping after filling only a shallow layer at the bottom.
“Is that all?”
After waiting for a moment, Li Xuan glanced at the small amount of wine in the cup.
“Are you playing games with me?”
“This servant would never dare,” Qunqing said thoughtfully. “Drinking cold wine at night can easily cause headaches, so this servant thought Your Highness should not drink too much.”
“How do you know I will get a headache?”
Li Xuan grabbed the cup and made Qunqing fill it to the brim.
Qunqing hurriedly said, “If Your Highness gets a headache here, you will blame this servant.”
Li Xuan almost choked on the wine he had just swallowed.
Qunqing immediately unfolded the shawl she was carrying. The silver-red silk looked as bright as summer flowers under the lamplight. She quickly placed it over the memorial, making sure not a single drop of wine could splash onto the paper.
Once she was sure the memorial was safe, she quickly glanced at it.
She only managed to see half a sentence:
“Trapped in Yanying Hall… awaiting reports from the Western Barbarians…”
This was the first time someone had ignored the Crown Prince himself and cared more about protecting his memorial.
Li Xuan’s expression suddenly changed.
“Move.”
Qunqing quickly returned to the wall, her palms already covered in sweat.
Li Xuan lowered his eyes and stared at the open memorial.
He remained silent for a long time.
Clearly, he had already realized what she might have been trying to do earlier, and his expression darkened.
But he did not expose her.
After a while, he calmly pointed toward a nearby floor lamp.
“This lamp is too bright. Move it farther away.”
Qunqing slowly walked over and reached out to adjust the lamp.
At that moment, Li Xuan’s thumb moved slightly inside his sleeve.
A eunuch suddenly appeared from somewhere, grabbed Qunqing’s arm, and pulled a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve.
He immediately presented it to Li Xuan.
“Your Highness.”
“What is this?” Li Xuan asked.
Qunqing had already been forced to kneel because of the sudden movement.
“Your Highness, it is lamp oil for the lamp offering.”
The young eunuch opened the porcelain bottle and smelled it.
“It really is only lamp oil.”
Li Xuan stared at Qunqing’s face, a trace of hidden anger in his eyes.
“If Your Highness takes away the lamp oil, the lamp will go out, and there will be no way to light it again.”
Qunqing looked innocent as the young eunuch took the porcelain bottle away.
Before coming here, she had already guessed that the Crown Prince would be suspicious of an unfamiliar palace maid. So she had replaced the sleeping potion with ordinary lamp oil beforehand.
“Does Your Highness still find the lamp too bright?”
Qunqing moved the floor lamp a little farther away.
Her voice sounded obedient, but there was something in it that felt almost like a provocation.
It grated on Li Xuan’s ears.
He tightened his grip on the brush, but his voice remained calm and unreadable.
“Did you teach the concubines the palace rules?”
“Yes,” Qunqing answered.
“Last time, His Highness said that there were no rules in Qingxuan Pavilion. We servants have remembered that clearly. Everyone in the palace has memorized the palace rules. We will never allow a concubine to say anything that goes against them.”
Li Xuan used all the self-control he had left to answer with one word.
“Hmm.”
He had not forgotten why he had come here tonight.
Both Shouxi and Li Xuan suspected that Qunqing was a spy planted by Prince Yan’s residence. Especially today, Shouxi had reported that the Qixi wishing official happened to be Lu Huating, and that Qunqing had spoken with him at the waterside pavilion.
Now that Prince Yan was in trouble, she must be anxious to find out how the Emperor planned to deal with him.
If that was the case, he could expose her tonight.
Li Xuan rested one hand on the memorial and quietly looked toward the wall.
His eyes met Qunqing’s.
Qunqing’s eyes flickered, and she quickly looked away.
“Is your shawl made from the silk I gave you?”
Li Xuan looked at her shadow, remembering the bright silver-red flowers he had just seen.
Qunqing composed herself.
“Yes.”
“This silk isn’t suitable for making a shawl. Why make it so flashy?”
The Crown Prince was skilled in calligraphy and painting, and his artistic taste was quite refined. He preferred elegance and simplicity. The palace maid’s outfit, with its bright silver and red colors, looked messy and vulgar to him.
He could not help mocking her.
“Do you think something is beautiful just because you can put everything on yourself?”
The words were harsh.
Qunqing coldly curved her lips and answered honestly, “This servant does not know much about dressing. I was only copying the outfit in Grand Tutor Meng’s painting, Ladies at Night Banquet.”
Li Xuan was stunned.
Meng Guangshen, the Crown Prince’s tutor, had once painted a group of court ladies while he was drinking and in high spirits. He used different shades of red to paint their shawls and sashes. The style was bold and unusual, and many officials highly praised the painting.
“You even know about Ladies at Night Banquet?”
Qunqing replied, “This servant came from the embroidery workshop of the Imperial Household Department. We had calligraphy and painting classes there. An Imperial Academy scholar once gave a lecture about this painting. We all thought Grand Tutor Meng’s painting was very beautiful.”
Meng Guangshen was the Crown Prince’s own teacher.
How could a student criticize his teacher’s painting?
Li Xuan was left speechless, and the anger he had been trying to vent suddenly had nowhere to go.
He raised his phoenix-shaped eyes and sneered.
“So, according to you, the palace teaches embroidery, calligraphy, and painting, and you are even more talented than the ladies of the Six Palaces?”
Qunqing answered, “There are many talented women in the palace. Unfortunately, they carry the crimes of the previous dynasty and are forced to serve here for life. I am only one of the most ordinary among them. If Your Highness is willing to show concern for us and give us a chance, what does it matter if we have to endure some punishment?”
These were truly Qunqing’s thoughts.
She spoke calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.
Compared with everything she had said before, these few words were much more powerful.
Li Xuan paused.
After a long while, he lost the desire to continue mocking her.
“Is this the blessing slip you went to get today?”
He closed the last memorial.
“Yes,” Qunqing said. “His Highness hung it on the tree. If you want to see it, this servant can go and get it.”
“No need. I saw it on my way here.”
Li Xuan suddenly slapped the memorial down on the table.
“What a wonderful ‘knowing each other, promising ourselves to each other, and becoming husband and wife of one heart.’ Even Zheng Zhiyi would not dare to make such a wish.”
His voice was cold.
“Is this Liangdi’s wish, or yours?”
His tone was unfriendly.
Qunqing immediately knelt down with a thud, finally showing some panic. There was even a hint of grievance in her expression.
“This servant does not understand the Emperor’s intentions, so I asked Lord Qi to write some beautiful words. This servant even tried to give him gold and pearls, but he refused to accept them. He said that if he wrote a beautiful blessing for Qingxuan Pavilion, he would give this servant a string of copper coins and make sure that this blessing was hung on the tree.”
Li Xuan remained silent for a long time.
Lu Huating?
The relationship between Prince Yan’s residence and the Eastern Palace had already become hostile. Writing something like this to mock him was completely in line with Lu Huating’s sarcastic and unpredictable personality.
If Lu Huating were really a spy from Prince Yan’s residence, would he have written such words while also plotting against himself?
Of course, it was possible that the two were working together.
But Qunqing was still talking nonstop, interrupting his thoughts.
“This servant certainly doesn’t want that string of coins. I only wanted to ask for a beautiful blessing for Your Highness, so that you would be happy.”
Qunqing looked anxious.
“Your Highness, could there be some hidden meaning in the phrase ‘husband and wife of one heart’? This servant is not well-educated…”
“There is nothing profound about it.”
Li Xuan closed his eyes and interrupted her.
“You talk too much. Let someone else offer the lamps tomorrow.”
Qunqing immediately stopped talking.
But her dark eyes remained calm. There was no sign of disappointment.
Li Xuan stared at her.
“Why do you look so happy?”
Qunqing cautiously asked, “Your Highness… will you come to Qingxuan Pavilion again tomorrow?”
Li Xuan realized that he had said the wrong thing.
He gave her a cold smile.
“What I mean is that I will no longer allow you to offer the lamps.”
Qunqing leaned against the wall. There was still no disappointment on her face.
Instead, she seemed relieved, and her expression relaxed.
“Thank you, Your Highness, for your understanding during tonight’s night duty.”
The next day, the Crown Prince’s carriage passed by Bao Shu, who had been eagerly waiting for him, and entered Qingxuan Pavilion again.
This attracted the attention of everyone in the Eastern Palace.
Late the following night, Li Xuan got up again to deal with state affairs.
He turned through the memorials, and the only sound in the quiet night was the rustling of paper.
His gaze fell toward the wall.
Lan Yue was leaning against it, nodding off from exhaustion.
Li Xuan placed his brush on the brush rest with a crisp sound.
Lan Yue immediately woke up.
“Your Highness, are you hungry?”
After a moment, she cautiously added, “Do you need more ink?”
“No,” Li Xuan said. “If you’re sleepy, go sleep beside your mistress.”
Lan Yue was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
She covered Zheng Zhiyi with a blanket and then lay down on the small couch.
Li Xuan did not feel sleepy at all.
His mind was tense like a tightly stretched string.
He looked out at the moonlit window and listened to the crickets chirping in the grass.
Unfortunately, the two people beside him, master and servant, were both snoring loudly.
One after another.
“Call Qunqing over. You go back to sleep.”
Li Xuan woke Lan Yue.
Qunqing entered the inner room without saying much.
Li Xuan ignored her.
It seemed he had already forgotten his words from the previous night—“Don’t come again.”
He silently allowed her to continue standing by the wall.
After some time, Li Xuan finished his wine and fell asleep with his head resting on the table.
The candlelight flickered.
A half-read memorial lay open on the table.
Qunqing hesitated for a long time.
Should she move closer?
Or should she stay where she was?
Finally, she slowly walked over.
Her footsteps became closer and closer.
First came the sound of the window closing.
Then came the sound of someone covering Zheng Zhiyi with a blanket.
Finally, Qunqing slowly approached Li Xuan from behind.
Li Xuan was extremely alert.
Suddenly, Qunqing stopped.
She picked up the coat that had fallen onto the carpet, dusted it off, and placed it back over his shoulders.
Without staying any longer, she returned to the wall.
One side of Qunqing’s hand had gone numb.
She quietly curled her fingers inside her sleeve.
Her mother had taught her before how to tell whether someone was truly asleep or only pretending.
Through Li Xuan’s close-fitting silk undergarment, she could clearly see the outline of his back.
The moment she approached, the muscles in his back had tightened.
It startled her so badly that she immediately abandoned her plan to move closer to the memorial.
The Crown Prince had been pretending to sleep.
He was testing whether she would take the opportunity to read his memorials.
He could not possibly use this trick on every palace servant. Otherwise, he would have exhausted himself long ago.
That meant this test was specifically aimed at her.
Had she made a mistake somewhere?
Had Li Xuan discovered that she was a spy from Southern Chu?
Qunqing carefully thought about his behavior over the past few days and quickly rejected the possibility.
She slowly calmed down.
After thinking carefully, there was only one thing she could connect to.
The day of the fight in the West Market.
She had happened to be outside the palace that day.
This matter was probably related to the Crown Prince.
That explained why he had reacted so strongly when she went to Lingxin Inn, why he had driven her out of the palace, and why he later summoned her back.
Once she understood the reason, Qunqing felt relieved.
Fortunately, she had not done anything.
For several days, the bottle containing the sleeping medicine had remained untouched inside the package.
The blue-robed palace maid picked up the candlestick and quietly swept her gaze across the room.
The safest way to deal with the Crown Prince’s traps was to do nothing.
She had wanted to read the memorial not because she wanted to help Southern Chu, but simply because she wanted to know what would happen to Li Huan.
She would no longer risk her life because Southern Chu threatened her.
As for how to deal with Lin Yujia, the information she had received on the first day was already enough.
From the number of memorials Li Xuan received each day and his unchanged expression, Qunqing could deduce that Li Huan was being confined in Yanying Hall and that government affairs had temporarily stopped.
The Emperor was waiting for news from the Western Barbarians before making a final decision.
After all, she was only a palace maid.
It was already a great achievement for her to have any contact with the Crown Prince.
Things naturally could not move too quickly.
This information should be enough to reassure Crown Prince Zhao.
As for the rest, Qunqing decided to bet on Lu Huating.
She carefully expanded the message, wrote it onto a small wax pellet, and released the lark.
The lark flew into the sky and soon disappeared.
The sky had been cloudy for several days.
At noon, two muffled claps of thunder sounded.
The sky darkened, and soon a light drizzle began to fall, covering the palace eaves in a thin mist.
The corridor was wet, and the wooden floor was slippery.
The Crown Prince and Consort Liang’s relationship seemed to be improving every day.
The Crown Prince had developed a liking for the soup prepared in Qingxuan Pavilion’s small kitchen. Ruochan was carrying a wooden tray to deliver the daily soup to the Eastern Palace.
When she saw the skirt of a noble lady approaching, she quickly moved aside.
Suddenly—
“Meow!”
A fierce cat cry exploded beside her ear.
Ruochan was startled so badly that her silk slippers slipped off.
The tray tilted, and the soup spilled all over the noble lady’s skirt.
“Please forgive me, Your Highness!”
Ruochan immediately knelt down.
When she raised her head, her face had turned pale.
The noble lady wore a royal-blue robe with wide sleeves. Her black hair was tied high, her skin was as white as snow, and her expression looked tired and lifeless.
It was Princess Bao’an, Yang Fu, who had not appeared in public for a long time.
When Bao Shu saw the oil stains covering Yang Fu’s sleeves, her expression immediately changed.
“This is the first time the princess has left her palace in days. Did you do this on purpose?”
Ruochan was almost in tears.
“This servant really didn’t mean to! It was… that fox…”
A little over a month earlier, Princess Bao’an’s health had finally improved.
Under Bao Shu’s guidance, she had begun carefully taking care of her appearance.
She was already beautiful, and after dressing up, she looked even more stunning.
Bao Shu had believed that the Crown Prince would surely be unable to take his eyes off her.
But on the Qixi Festival, they had prepared delicious food and waited eagerly, only to watch the Crown Prince’s carriage go straight to Zheng Zhiyi’s palace.
The ridicule from the harem had come like a huge wave.
The humiliation had caused Yang Fu to become seriously ill again.
Now that the Crown Prince and Consort Zheng seemed to be growing closer, Bao Shu had tried everything to persuade Yang Fu to leave the palace and visit Han Wanyi.
But after this disappointing incident, Yang Fu seemed ready to turn around and go back.
“She is from Consort Zheng’s palace.”
Bao Shu had already recognized Ruochan.
Because A-De, A-Meng, and Qunqing had worked together to tease her before, Bao Shu already hated everyone in Qingxuan Pavilion.
She stepped forward and deliberately stepped on Ruochan’s fingers with her embroidered shoe.
“Princess, you are too kind, so people take advantage of you. This time, you must not back down or tolerate it. You must speak up properly in front of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Ruochan cried out in pain.
Yang Fu’s dark eyes shifted toward the distance.
Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure.
Her expression changed.
“Slap her.”
The sudden change in her tone caught Bao Shu completely off guard.
Yang Fu stepped forward and slapped Ruochan across the face with her sleeve.
She used all her strength, and Ruochan immediately burst into tears.
“Your Highness, this servant was wrong…”
Hearing Ruochan’s voice, Qunqing quickly came over.
Yang Fu was about to slap Ruochan again, but Qunqing stopped her.
“Princess, you must not punish palace servants privately. I am a maid from Qingxuan Pavilion. If you have anything to say, please tell me.”
Her tone was exactly the same as before.
Yang Fu could not tell whether Qunqing was protecting her palace servants or simply afraid that Yang Fu would break the palace rules and be seen by others.
Yang Fu stared at her for a while before saying coldly, “Don’t you know that you should bow when speaking to me?”
Qunqing bowed.
“Please forgive me, Princess Bao’an.”
“Don’t you know the rules? Perform a full bow.”
Seeing Qunqing kneel obediently before her and endure the pain without resisting, Yang Fu once again felt that familiar sense of control.
All the schemes she had used against her were lies.
Qunqing’s appearance had changed, but her eyes had not.
Her long illness had finally allowed Yang Fu to see the truth.
Qunqing had betrayed her long ago, yet she was still trying to deceive her.
Ruochan was sobbing.
Qunqing looked at the food that remained in Ruochan’s hands and the stains on Yang Fu’s sleeve. She immediately understood what had happened.
She took a folded white handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to Yang Fu.
“Princess, please wipe yourself first. Then come with me to the side hall to change your clothes.”
Qunqing knew that Princess Bao’an must have many questions about the drastic changes in her life.
Yang Fu clearly wanted to confront her personally.
She could not avoid this conversation.
Qunqing held out the handkerchief.
But no one took it for a long time.
Yang Fu said, “Come here and wipe it for me yourself.”
Bao Shu looked at Yang Fu in surprise.
Qunqing suddenly felt a surge of anger.
If they were seen like this by outsiders, it would cause trouble.
She looked up at Yang Fu, her eyes clearly showing defiance.
“This servant refuses.”
The wind blew through the corridor, and the rain fell at an angle.
Yang Fu’s eyes suddenly turned red.
“Princess, make them all kneel here. I’ll find a way to punish them later. But we’re going to be late.”
Bao Shu had just taken the handkerchief and was about to wipe Yang Fu’s face when Yang Fu suddenly slapped her hand away.
Bao Shu was startled.
After taking a moment to calm herself, Yang Fu finally managed to hide her shock.
She took Bao Shu’s hand again and looked down at Ruochan.
“Did you see how the palace servants from Zheng Zhiyi’s palace bullied me? Report this to the Crown Prince for me.”
Bao Shu was confused, but she suppressed her grievances.
“Yes.”
Amid the sound of falling rain, the clashing of armor suddenly came from outside.
Qunqing turned around sharply.
A eunuch was leading a tall figure into the garden.
She blurted out, “The Prince of Yan is here.”
Seeing the sudden fear and panic on Yang Fu’s face, Qunqing felt complicated emotions.
“Is the princess really afraid of the Prince of Yan?”
“What do you mean?”
Yang Fu’s eyes were bloodshot and sharp like knives.
Qunqing thought for a moment before saying, “If the princess is truly afraid of the Prince of Yan, you should take the corridor to the second palace on the west side. Consort Chen is living there in seclusion. You can change your clothes there. It would be inconvenient for the Prince of Yan to enter.”
“What did you say?”
Bao Shu immediately objected.
“Our princess has an appointment at Han Wanyi’s palace today. Consort Chen is the biological mother of the Fourth Prince. After losing her son, she went mad and likes to force people to stay and listen to her preaching. Anyone who goes there cannot leave for at least half a day.”
She glared at Qunqing.
“You deliberately want to send the princess there. Do you think I don’t know that you are trying to make us late?”
Qunqing looked at her.
“You’re going to Han Wanyi’s palace today?”
She then asked, “Han Wanyi only became pregnant a month ago. This is a time when she needs to be especially careful. So why is she carrying a cat?”
Bao Shu was speechless for a moment.
She had tried to persuade Princess Bao’an before, but Yang Fu had been through a palace coup and had become extremely fragile.
She only felt safe when she was with the cat she had raised since it was a kitten.
Without it, she would not even want to leave her palace.
“What does that have to do with you?” Bao Shu said angrily. “Does a lowly maid from Qingxuan Pavilion have to interfere in everything?”
Qunqing lowered her eyes.
She remembered her previous life.
Han Wanyi’s real name was Han Qingxu.
She was Yang Fu’s distant half-sister.
When the Han family was in trouble, Yang Fu’s mother, Consort Han, had helped Han Qingxu.
After the new dynasty was established, Han Qingxu was selected to enter the palace. She later married Emperor Chenming and became one of the Nine Concubines.
Yang Fu, the fallen princess, had to rely on Han Wanyi’s influence.
Bao Shu was quite clever.
In her previous life, Qunqing had also taken Yang Fu to Han Wanyi to ask for help. She wanted Han Wanyi to say a few good words to the Emperor so that Yang Fu could become Crown Princess.
Qunqing clearly remembered that Han Wanyi had been extremely friendly that day. She had promised to help and had even played with Yang Fu’s cat.
But ten days later, Han Wanyi inexplicably miscarried.
She blamed the miscarriage on Princess Bao’an, claiming that the cat had frightened her.
Yang Fu had been speechless and unable to defend herself.
Although the Emperor did not punish her, he ordered the cat to be killed to calm the matter.
From then on, Yang Fu’s life became even more miserable.
At least the cat was innocent.
Qunqing stretched out her hand.
“Princess, you can leave the cat with me. I’ll take it back to Luan Yi Pavilion.”
“With you?”
Bao Shu laughed.
She thought Qunqing was always showing off and overestimating herself.
She did not mind watching a good show.
This fierce cat recognized only Princess Bao’an. If anyone else tried to touch it, it would scratch and bite them.
It had already left several scratches on Bao Shu’s wrist, so she never dared touch it again. In fact, she wished she could kill the beast.
But in the next moment, Yang Fu’s expression softened.
She loosened her grip.
The snow-white cat jumped directly into Qunqing’s arms.
It snuggled against her as if it had finally found its owner. It rubbed its head affectionately against her neck and even changed the sound of its meow.
Qunqing, however, remained expressionless.
She held the cat as if it were nothing more than a sack of cloth.
Bao Shu’s expression froze.
It looked as if an ink bottle had suddenly been overturned across her face.
“As expected of a lowly servant,” Bao Shu said disdainfully. “She has fed horses and cleaned their stalls countless times. Even animals recognize familiar smells.”
Seeing Yang Fu leave quickly, Bao Shu had no choice but to lift her skirt and follow.
Qunqing held the cat with one arm and helped Ruochan up with the other.
Ruochan had never seen such a large cat before.
She instinctively stepped back.
“Sister, how dare you hold it…”
Then she noticed the person behind Qunqing.
Her eyes widened.
“Sister! The Prince of Yan!”
Qunqing turned around.
A bronze demon mask suddenly appeared before her.
She froze as if rooted to the ground.
She used all her strength to hold the cat tightly so it would not fall, but she accidentally hurt it.
“Meow!”
It cried out.
It turned out that Li Huan had seen Yang Fu arguing with someone from a distance.
Ignoring Zheng Fu’s advice, he strode over and followed her.
Yang Fu’s skirt swayed like the tail of a goldfish.
With his long strides, Li Huan entered the corridor and blocked the two palace maids.
Li Huan was nearly nine feet tall.
Standing in front of Qunqing, he looked like a mountain rising from the ground.
His voice came from beneath the bronze mask, low and muffled, with a strange echo.
“You are the scoundrel who humiliated Princess Bao’an that day?”
“I have not settled that matter with you yet. If you dare disrespect the princess again, you will regret it.”
Qunqing did not hear a single word.
The sounds of shouting and doors being smashed echoed in her ears.
Amid the flames and screams, a man wearing a bronze demon mask had once mounted a horse and driven a rusty sword straight through her chest.
The terrifying part was that she had not died immediately.
Like a crab nailed to a chopping board, she had been soaked in cold sweat.
She could still hear Princess Bao’an crying for help and sobbing.
But even moving one finger had felt like being pierced by a thousand arrows.
…
People always retain some fear of the enemy who once killed them brutally.
After living two lifetimes, Qunqing had thought she could overcome that fear.
But the moment she got close to the Prince of Yan, the pain in her old wounds and the feeling of being restrained reminded her that her fear and hatred had not weakened at all.
The cat’s fur stood completely on end as it hissed and cried furiously.
Qunqing’s face was deathly pale.
She remained silent.
Li Huan could not help touching his mask.
He knew the mask was frightening, but this was the first time someone had reacted to him with such terror.
“Why are you so nervous?”
Qunqing’s forehead was covered in cold sweat.
“This servant is nervous because I cannot hold the cat properly. I’m afraid it might scratch Your Highness.”
Zheng Fu had also been startled by Qunqing’s expression.
Hearing this, he could not help speaking up.
“She’s just a young lady. Your Highness is so tall and imposing. Why frighten her?”
He hurriedly said, “Come with me. We should not cause any more trouble.”
Li Huan did not leave.
He continued staring at Qunqing.
The woman holding the cat was staring straight back at him.
Her eyes were extremely dark, as if they contained poison and hidden hatred.
It made his hair stand on end.
Li Huan had fought countless battles and had captured at least fifty or a hundred enemy spies.
His instincts immediately told him that something was wrong.
When Qunqing turned to leave, he reached out and grabbed her right shoulder.
The cat cried loudly.
Qunqing thought that Li Huan’s appearance today probably meant that the Emperor was about to pass judgment on him.
If Li Huan really wanted to attack her, she would not hide.
She would simply suffer the injury in front of Eunuch Zheng.
Li Huan had already angered the Emperor because of his impulsive actions.
If he now disturbed the inner court and showed disrespect to a palace maid, that crime could be added to his punishment.
Li Huan’s fingers suddenly tightened around the back of her neck.
A powerful squeeze sent sharp pain through Qunqing’s right arm.
Cold sweat poured down her face.
Something was wrong.
This was a common military technique.
It would have little effect on an ordinary person, but against someone trained in martial arts, it could directly cripple the strength in the right arm.
Qunqing was overwhelmed by the pain and panicked for a moment.
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on Li Huan’s wrist and pulled his hand away.
“Sanlang, let go.”
The pressure on Qunqing’s shoulder suddenly disappeared.
She smelled the sandalwood fragrance coming from behind her, mixed with a faint citrus scent.
Still sweating heavily, Qunqing turned around.
Another person was standing in the corridor.
Lu Huating had grabbed Li Huan’s arm and pushed him several steps away.
Lu Huating stood between them.
His eyes lightly passed over Qunqing’s face before he slowly said to Li Huan,
“Your Highness, you’re standing far too close to a woman you don’t know. Aren’t you afraid she might pull a thin blade from her sleeve and slit your throat?”
His voice was pleasant, like the sound of a plucked string.
Even his jokes carried hidden meaning.
Many people had tried to assassinate the Prince of Yan.
Li Huan understood the warning.
Therefore, he forgave Lu Huating for gripping his wrist so tightly.
He merely flicked his sleeve to show his displeasure.
Zheng Fu looked as if he had finally seen his savior.
“Chief Secretary Lu is here! The Emperor has gone to great lengths to summon you, yet His Highness Prince Yan doesn’t seem to care about his future at all!”
Lu Huating said, “Eunuch Zheng, please take Sanlang to see the Emperor immediately. Don’t delay the Emperor’s summons.”
During their conversation, Qunqing caught sight of Lu Huating handing Li Huan a piece of paper.
Li Huan skillfully slipped it into his sleeve before Zheng Fu led him away.
Qunqing’s gaze turned cold.
She understood immediately.
They had specially prepared a cheat sheet for him.
Lu Huating had stood between her and Li Huan, probably because he was afraid that she might assassinate the Prince of Yan.
His timely intervention was also likely meant to prevent Li Huan from causing any more trouble.
Lu Huating turned his head, revealing a face as beautiful as polished jade under the sunlight.
Ruochan quickly explained, “We are palace maids from Consort Zheng’s palace. We happened to meet here and have not offended His Highness Prince Yan.”
“Your face is swollen like that, yet you still say you haven’t offended anyone? What is your name?” Lu Huating asked Ruochan.
Ruochan not only explained what had happened to her, but also exposed Qunqing. “Your Excellency, this servant is Ruochan, and my sister is Qunqing. It was not His Highness Prince Yan who hit her. It was Princess Bao’an.”
Hearing this, Lu Huating suddenly turned his gaze toward Qunqing.