“Strip.”
It was night, and the room was brilliantly lit.
A quiet fragrance rose from the gilded bronze incense burner carved with lotuses in the corner, making the room feel tranquil and comfortable.
It also made the woman’s voice sound all the more jarring.
Kan’er’s face instantly drained of color, turning ash-gray.
“Crown… Crown Princess, this servant…”
“If your master tells you to strip, then strip! Why all the nonsense!”
Nanny Pang scolded harshly.
“If it weren’t for that face of yours being somewhat useful, this stroke of luck to serve His Highness would never have fallen to you! Don’t stand there acting like you’re being wronged when you’re getting a bargain! Hurry up and strip!”
Nanny Pang was nearly fifty years old, with a long face, eyes that showed too much white, and two deep wrinkles sagging from her nose to the corners of her mouth.
She was the head maid of Jiarong Tang and the Crown Princess’s wet nurse; she held a unique position of prestige within the Donggong.
Kan’er, meanwhile, was merely a low-ranking general-duty maid.
During this past year, Kan’er had suffered greatly in the rear courtyards.
Facing Nanny Pang’s mean and ferocious old face now, her body shook almost reflexively.
She didn’t dare delay any longer.
Even less did she dare to ask why she had to be inspected again when they had already checked her body half a month ago.
As piece after piece of clothing fell away.
The beautiful scenery that Kan’er usually kept tightly wrapped was now completely exposed to the air.
What met the eyes was a vision of lustrous, snowy white.
A thin back and slender shoulders, a willow waist, and perky buttocks.
Her two straight legs looked as if they were coated in a layer of honeyed fat, shimmering with a pinkish, translucent glow under the dim yellow candlelight.
She was truly as fresh and tender as a young scallion.
Even though Nanny Pang had seen what lay beneath Kan’er’s clothes before, she couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly.
In their Dajing Dynasty, women had considered thinness to be the standard of beauty ever since the time of the High Ancestor.
Among the servants.
Not to mention the older wives and crones.
But looking at the young maids.
They were all a row of thin, stick-like figures; some couldn’t even see their own toes without bowing their heads.
Yet this Kan’er was different.
Her hips were hips and her waist was a waist.
Even those loose skirts couldn’t hide that rounded, perky curve; when a gust of wind blew, the fabric at her waist would dip in significantly!
And then there was her chest.
It was so full that no matter how hard Kan’er tried to bind it with cloth daily, she couldn’t hide those high, swelling arcs.
With every step she took, they swayed and bounced.
It was simply so seductive it was unsightly!
“Seductress.”
Nanny Pang loathed her from the bottom of her heart and didn’t hide it in her voice.
Kan’er bit her lip hard to keep herself from crying.
The Crown Princess leaned against the heated brick bed by the window, her lips curling slightly.
“Walk a few steps so I can see.”
She was born with the face of a Guanyin—a round face, narrow eyes, and a dignified, elegant bearing. When she spoke, her voice was as gentle and soft as a spring breeze.
She maintained the air of a kind mistress of the house.
Yet the words she spoke were sharper than a knife, forcing a girl who had just reached adulthood to walk back and forth naked in front of others.
But could Kan’er say “no”?
She closed her eyes and took a difficult step forward.
The Crown Princess watched with great interest.
But then, thinking about how this wench was going to serve the Crown Prince tonight—an opportunity she herself had spent so much effort pleading for—the Crown Princess’s smile vanished.
If she hadn’t been caught in that incident by the Crown Prince a year ago, if she hadn’t been loathed by him, she would have long since given birth to his legitimate son.
Why would she be forced to let this wench take her place in his bed now!
To bear his child for her!
“Stop.”
The Crown Princess pushed aside her bolster.
Seeing her about to rise, Nanny Pang hurried forward to support her.
Kan’er stopped, clutching her hands and looking at the approaching woman in trepidation, her thick eyelashes trembling uncontrollably.
The Crown Princess arrived in front of Kan’er, her gaze sweeping quickly over the other girl’s gorgeous yet youthful and timid features.
The disgust in her eyes deepened.
She raised her hand and delivered a slap!
Kan’er was startled and instinctively wanted to kneel and beg for mercy, but for some reason, her movements suddenly paused, and she took the slap squarely.
Slap!
A crisp, loud sound.
“If I see you swaying and sashaying like that while walking again, I wouldn’t mind having someone break your legs!”
Ignoring the pain on her face, Kan’er hurriedly knelt and said, “This servant knows her mistake. I will strictly follow the Crown Princess’s teachings.”
The Crown Princess looked down at her humble posture, and the frustration clogging her chest finally eased.
“That’s more like it,” she said softly.
“Don’t forget the original purpose of you serving His Highness, and who gave you the chance to get close to him. If you think you can stop listening to me just because you’ve served His Highness, or if you regret it later and don’t want to raise the child in Jiarong Tang, then you are mistaken. You are of lowly birth, your family is all dead, and you have no one in the palace to speak for you. You were born to be a servant.”
“Crushing you would be as easy as crushing an ant.”
“Do you remember?”
“Yes, this servant remembers,” Kan’er replied respectfully with her head bowed, her long eyelashes hiding the flash of calm clarity in her eyes.
The Crown Princess waved her hand, signaling Nanny Pang to take her away to bathe.
A little over a year ago, when Kan’er was assigned to work at Jiarong Tang, it was the very day of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s grand wedding.
Since she held the position of a second-class maid, responsible for serving tea, waiting at the door to relay messages, and lifting curtains, Kan’er and another second-class maid had been assigned a decent room for two in the rear rows of the palace.
But as Kan’er was later demoted to general duties in the back, her room changed from a two-person room to an eight-person room.
It wasn’t until a month ago that the Crown Princess sent someone to bring her to the front courtyard, saying she would give her a chance to serve the Crown Prince.
That very night.
Kan’er was transferred to work in the front tea room, and her living quarters were changed to a small side room next to it.
Upon reaching her quarters, Kan’er entered and lit a lamp.
Nanny Pang summoned two coarse-work maids to fetch water.
Once Kan’er was in the bathtub, Nanny Pang walked in with a stern face and set down a set of newly made maid’s robes.
“Wash well, and wash thoroughly, lest you offend His Highness’s eyes!”
With that, she closed the door and left.
The room fell silent.
On the cypress table not far from the tub, a bean-sized flame burned quietly inside a lampshade painted with green pines and cicadas.
Suddenly.
There was a ripple of water.
Kan’er reached out and pulled a palm-sized bronze mirror from a small cubby under the table, holding it up before her.
A “hibiscus face” appeared clearly in the mirror.
It was undeniably a gorgeous and seductive appearance, yet her brow held a hint of delicate, rain-drenched timidity.
In particular, the two faint finger marks on the right side of her face made this hibiscus face look all the more pitiful and heart-wrenching.
The Crown Princess was left-handed and used it habitually.
Ordinarily.
The Crown Princess was from the Shun Guogong Mansion and had been pampered since childhood; her grip wasn’t very strong, and she wouldn’t easily leave marks on someone’s face.
Knowing this, she had dared to strike Kan’er at this time.
She didn’t know that Kan’er’s skin was exceptionally delicate.
It was also fortunate that she had a constitution that bruised easily but also healed easily without leaving scars; otherwise, she would be covered in them.
Kan’er stepped out of the tub, held a garment in front of her, and quietly went to the window to peek through the crack.
No one was guarding the door.
She bolted the window and returned to the tub. Then, looking in the mirror, she raised her left hand and gestured a few times against the two finger marks.
Then.
Slap, slap, slap!
Crisp but not overly loud slaps.
Kan’er only stopped when a few wisps of blood began to seep from the finger marks.
In the mirror.
Her eyes were calm and steady, showing not a hint of panic or fear.
However, a few tears brimmed in her eyes, and the upturned corners of her lids were flushed a faint crimson, making her look like a perfect little wretch.
This was also one of the things that made Kan’er feel helpless when she realized she had been reborn.
Because she discovered that this current body, having endured all sorts of hardships, had already carved a fear of these noble masters into its very bones.
And she could not perfectly control certain instinctive reactions of this body.
Yes, reborn.
Kan’er was someone who had lived a previous life.
On this day in her last life, she had also been sent by the Crown Princess, Lady Zheng, to serve the Crown Prince. The difference was that in her last life, she hadn’t received this slap.
It wasn’t because she was brave enough to dodge it.
On the contrary.
Because her fear of Lady Zheng had been at its peak back then, she had knelt to beg for mercy as soon as she saw the other woman raise her hand.
That kneel had naturally avoided the strike.
It had also allowed Lady Zheng to calm down.
Later…
Kan’er let out a breath and put the mirror back on the table. Then she closed her eyes and plunged into the water with a splash.
Half an hour later.
Nanny Pang came to knock on the door.
“His Highness is in the side hall. Follow me once you’ve tidied up.”