Ever since Kan’er was assigned to the tea room a month ago, her daily task had been to tend to the water boiling by the wind stove.
The wind stove was a furnace used for brewing tea.
Shaped like a ding cauldron with three legs and two handles, it contained charcoal fire inside.
Kan’er’s job was to add charcoal to the stove, ensuring the fire never went out throughout the day, so that the tea room always had boiling water readily available.
The work was quite easy.
She wasn’t constrained to standing—she could sit if she wished, and when she felt like drinking tea, she could brew some using the leftover tea leaves discarded by her masters.
It was considered an exceptionally light duty.
The medicine given by the Crown Prince was effective; in just one night, the finger marks and red streaks on Kan’er’s face had faded away.
Saving the time she would have spent covering them with powder, Kan’er arrived at the tea room earlier than anyone else that day.
First, she checked the fire in the stove. Noticing it was a bit too strong, she used tongs to remove two pieces of charcoal and added more water to the pot.
Just as she finished this task, someone arrived from the main quarters.
Pausing slightly as she set down the copper pot, Kan’er immediately guessed why Zheng Shi was summoning her at this hour.
She found it inwardly amusing but placed the pot properly and followed the person to the main quarters.
Entering the inner chamber.
Zheng Mingzhi was sitting on the kang bed covered with a brown-yellow quilt embroidered with tortoise-shell and ball-path patterns, having her shoes changed by her dowry maid Shuangyue.
Another dowry maid, Shuangyun, was touching up her makeup using the duck-egg-scented powder from this year’s spring tribute of Yangzhou, filling the air with a faint, elegant jasmine fragrance.
“Your servant pays respects to the Crown Princess.”
Kan’er quickly scanned the room and stopped about ten feet away from the kang, respectfully curtsying.
“Kneel.”
Zheng Mingzhi examined her newly done Kou Dan nails and spoke indifferently.
The disparity in their status was clear.
Kan’er wasn’t foolish enough to throw an egg against a rock. Without any pretense, she promptly performed the proper kneeling ceremony.
Only then did Zheng Mingzhi’s gaze fall upon Kan’er. “Lift that thing on your neck up for me.”
Knowing the other was intentionally humiliating her, Kan’er feigned embarrassment and timidly raised her head.
But in truth, she didn’t need to act much, for her current body instinctively feared the other woman.
Kan’er didn’t have to pretend at all.
By simply letting nature take its course, she could easily pass off the act as real.
Seeing that the little wretch still appeared spineless, trembling at the sight of her, Zheng Mingzhi felt a twinge of satisfaction.
So what if she was pretty?
She was still nothing but a servant under her.
Zheng Mingzhi sneered coldly, her scrutinizing gaze sweeping over Kan’er’s face.
Others might not know, but although Zheng Mingzhi had yet to consummate her marriage with the Crown Prince, she was not ignorant of certain matters.
When it came to women.
Those who had been intimate with men and those who hadn’t, and to what extent, she could tell at a glance.
Finding no signs of intimacy on Kan’er’s face, Zheng Mingzhi’s eyes shifted to Kan’er’s chest, her tone leaving no room for argument:
“Take it off.”
Kan’er’s eyes widened.
Zheng Mingzhi hadn’t forgotten the sight beneath the little wretch’s clothes—that dazzlingly pale and provocatively alluring body.
The thought that the Crown Prince might have already touched that body last night, or that the lowly servant had revealed her true nature behind her back, using that shameless body to seduce the Crown Prince, filled Zheng Mingzhi with burning rage!
This had nothing to do with love or affection.
It was simply because she was the Crown Prince’s lawfully wedded wife, brought home with great ceremony in a sixteen-carrier palanquin, the mistress of this Eastern Palace!
She would see for herself whether the Crown Prince had touched this lowly servant last night!
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Zheng Mingzhi gazed down at the kneeling figure, her noble and benevolent face seemingly radiating compassionate mercy.
Kan’er found it laughable.
In her previous life, she had been entangled with Zheng Shi for nearly two decades, their enmity finally concluding only when the other drank that cup of poisoned wine.
In the many years that followed, time had smoothed away all traces of the past.
Kan’er felt that since Heaven had returned her to the original turning point of fate, it wasn’t to have her carry the already-avenged grudges and resentments from her past life into this one.
To live another lifetime consumed by hatred.
But since Zheng Shi insisted on making things difficult for her, she didn’t mind confronting her once more!
“Replying to the Crown Princess.”
Kan’er met Zheng Mingzhi’s gaze, as if mustering immense courage with great effort, “I beg your forgiveness, but this servant cannot obey.”
“Audacious!”
Shuangyun shouted sharply.
“Don’t you see what place this is? How dare you defy the Crown Princess’s command?! Kowtow and beg for forgiveness at once!”
Zheng Mingzhi hadn’t expected Kan’er to be so bold as to openly defy her orders!
She was momentarily stunned, then laughed.
A smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“I never took you for someone who couldn’t handle being elevated. You haven’t even received favor yet, and already you dare to disobey? What would happen if you actually gained favor?”
“This servant wouldn’t dare.”
Kan’er didn’t deliberately suppress her body’s instinctive fear of Zheng Shi, but her tear-glazed eyes remained clear.
“It’s natural for servants to obey their masters. Though I’ve received the Crown Princess’s favor, I wouldn’t dare commit such an ungrateful act. But this servant now belongs to Dianxia. If the Crown Princess orders me to remove my clothes, I could comply, but I cannot bear the charge of disclosing Dianxia’s private chamber matters and defiling the imperial family’s dignity. If the Crown Princess insists on peeking into Dianxia’s private affairs, please send someone to seek Dianxia’s permission or simply punish me now. I only ask to keep my body intact.”
As she finished speaking, teardrops fell from her lashes.
Kan’er kowtowed with utmost reverence, her trembling upper body prostrate on the ground, presenting a picture of complete submission to punishment.
This scene.
Would make anyone who saw it feel the master was being excessively cruel, and the poor servant had no choice but to accept her tragic fate.
Granny Pang was stunned.
The maids Shuangyun and Shuangyun were equally shocked.
This servant who hadn’t dared to make a sound in their mistress’s presence before—how could she utter such words?!
Zheng Mingzhi was also momentarily taken aback.
After the surprise came uncontrollable fury.
“Very well, very well…”
She laughed in extreme anger.
“What an eloquent servant! I never knew you had such a sharp tongue, even daring to threaten me now. After just one night serving Dianxia, you dare put on such airs. Do you truly believe I can’t do anything to you?!”
“This servant wouldn’t dare.”
“I think you dare quite enough!”
Zheng Mingzhi slammed her palm on the small table by the kang, grabbing a teacup to hurl at Kan’er’s head.
Though Kan’er knelt with bowed head.
In reality, she had been watching Zheng Shi’s movements through her peripheral vision, reflected in the gilded pearl-inlaid bronze mirror behind and to the side.
Quick as lightning.
Just as the other was about to throw the teacup and Kan’er prepared to dodge, Granny Pang rushed forward and stopped her.
“You mustn’t, mistress, you mustn’t!”
Zheng Mingzhi was furious, her chest heaving violently.
“Mustn’t? Why mustn’t? This wretched servant has clearly shown she holds me in no regard! How can I tolerate this any longer!”
Kan’er felt somewhat at a loss for words.
Zheng Shi had been married into the Eastern Palace for less than two years now, and in terms of cunning and depth of strategy, she couldn’t compare to her future self years later.
It was true that she had used the Crown Prince’s authority to provoke the other party, but the problem was that what she said was also factual.
Once the intimate matters of the Crown Prince or the Emperor were leaked, it would be deemed a desecration of imperial authority, constituting a grave offense of disrespect.
By ordering her to remove her clothes in an attempt to spy on what the Crown Prince had done the previous night, Zheng Shi had committed a major taboo.
Yet Zheng Shi remained unaware.
But there was no hurry.
If Zheng Shi hadn’t realized it, someone would help her understand.
“Master, please calm your anger. You must calm down first.”
Granny Pang continuously tried to soothe Zheng Mingzhi, while Shuangyue came over to take the teacup from her mistress’s hand.
“Master, you still need to go to Kunhe Palace to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress. You mustn’t let this little wretch delay your schedule.”
Granny Pang kept giving Zheng Mingzhi meaningful looks.
Then she turned to Kan’er and scolded angrily:
“Her Highness the Crown Princess is merciful and won’t hold today’s matter against you. But if you dare disobey your master’s orders like this again, I’ll skin you alive! Why are you still standing there? Get out!”
Her words sounded sweeter than singing.
Kan’er sneered inwardly but promptly made her exit outwardly.
Zheng Mingzhi watched the swaying bead curtain, ultimately unable to contain her anger. She grabbed the rose cakes from the kang table and threw them toward the doorway.
“Look at her insolent attitude! She acts like a mouse seeing a cat when she meets me, but in reality she doesn’t take me seriously at all! Just because she’s gained some recognition from Dianxia, she thinks I dare not do anything to her! How dare that damned lowly slave!”
Granny Pang patted her chest to help calm her.
“These lowborn creatures are always like this – once they catch a noble’s eye, they want to announce it to the whole world. Master, you shouldn’t waste your anger on such people, lest you harm your health.”
“But that cheap hussy did say one thing right.”
Zheng Mingzhi glared at her.
Granny Pang: “This servant isn’t speaking up for that little wretch, but since His Highness didn’t drive her out last night, she does indeed count as His Highness’s person now. It wouldn’t be difficult to strip her of that status, but the key point is that His Highness has touched that seductive body of hers. Matters concerning His Highness’s private affairs truly aren’t something we can casually inspect. If I may say, her not undressing was actually for the best. Otherwise, if this matter reached His Highness’s ears, it might reflect poorly on you.”
Zheng Mingzhi sneered.
“So I should thank her now?”
“This servant certainly doesn’t mean that.”
Granny Pang smiled reassuringly.
“What I meant was, regardless of how His Highness treated her yesterday, you actually don’t need to take it to heart. She’s nothing more than a plaything we sent to serve His Highness. With His Highness’s status and temperament, aside from Her Majesty the Empress, when have you ever seen him care about any woman? Having someone send that little wretch back might have just been His Highness’s casual remark. You really shouldn’t trouble yourself over this matter.”
Zheng Mingzhi gradually calmed down.
She also belatedly realized that what she had done earlier was somewhat inappropriate.
But having been proud and arrogant since childhood, how could she admit her mistake? Especially when the one who had made her lose composure was a lowly servant.
“So according to you, should I just let her earlier defiance slide?”
What else did you want to do?
Granny Pang thought to herself, while putting on a thoughtful expression.
“Your meaning is…”
Zheng Mingzhi gritted her teeth.
“I want her to understand – once a slave, always a slave!”