Qīng’ér was unaware of Nianyao’s inner thoughts.
She could only watch as Nianyao left the side chamber.
Nianyao walked with slow steps, as if trying to stretch out the time.
Yet she had never realized that the path from the side chamber to the front courtyard was so short.
As soon as she stood at the doorway, she heard a cool, detached male voice from inside.
“Imperial Grandmother, there is no need.”
It was the Crown Prince’s voice.
Suppressing the inexplicable ache in her heart, Nianyao carried the freshly brewed tea into the inner hall.
The hall was lavishly decorated; not to mention the furnishings, all of which were antiques of considerable age.
Even the cushion behind the Empress Dowager was made of dark blue satin, embroidered with intricate patterns, exuding extraordinary grandeur.
The Empress Dowager, in her fifties, lightly closed her eyes, seemingly deeply dissatisfied with Pei Jinyan’s earlier response.
She pinched the sandalwood prayer beads in her hand, lifted her eyelids, and looked at the man dressed in black robes sitting below.
The Empress Dowager sighed, “Jinyan. This year, you will soon be twenty. Not to mention that the Emperor has not bestowed a Crown Princess upon you, even I, your Imperial Grandmother, am so worried that I cannot sleep at night.”
After speaking, she even reached out to press the corners of her eyes.
Nianyao quietly placed a cup of tea on the table beside Pei Jinyan.
She had entered the hall with her head bowed low, making no sound. Yet her figure was graceful; even the plainest palace attire seemed to accentuate her delicate curves on her, making it hard to look away.
Whether Nianyao saw it correctly or not, a flash of cold ferocity passed through Pei Jinyan’s eyes.
It was vastly different from last night.
The violent storm and the man’s scorching, lingering gaze that had traced every inch of her body.
With just that glance, Nianyao lowered her head.
And at that very moment, Pei Jinyan casually looked up, his peripheral gaze sweeping over the timid little maid beside him, trembling like a quail.
Her fingers were slender, her skin fair and translucent, her delicate fingertips clutching her clothes tightly. Her face was unseen, presenting a timid and cowardly appearance.
His gaze paused slightly, a flicker of contemplation flashing in his eyes, but the faint pain in his head reminded him to withdraw it in time.
No one in the entire hall noticed this.
“Most women in the palace are dull, Imperial Grandmother. Your well-being is what matters most.”
After serving, Nianyao stood to the side.
Yet, even without looking up, she sensed that today’s atmosphere seemed somewhat unusual compared to usual.
Even she felt deeply uncomfortable.
After leaving that room, Nianyao had naturally gone to bathe. However, there was no hot water, and the cold water felt piercingly icy against her skin.
She tried hard to erase the marks left by that man on her body.
Only to leave behind increasingly vivid, crimson traces.
Now, even the slightest movement of her body caused intense pain.
Just as Nianyao was lost in thought, her arm was sharply bumped by someone beside her.
She turned her head in confusion.
Then, a voice rang out.
“Yunrou, Nianyao, come forward.”
Nianyao’s heart tightened, and even as she lifted her head, her delicate, lotus-like face bore a trace of faint panic.
Yet, since it was the Empress Dowager’s command, how could a lowly maid dare to disobey.
Nianyao lowered her fair head and walked forward with proper decorum.
But just as she was about to stand still, her body was roughly jostled.
Even without looking up, Nianyao knew it must have been Yunrou’s doing.
Nianyao tried her best to steady herself, preventing herself from falling.
Yunrou and Nianyao knelt one after the other before the Empress Dowager.
“This servant greets Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, greets His Highness the Crown Prince.”
The woman’s voice was clear and crisp, like an oriole on the eaves.
The Empress Dowager glanced over and saw two graceful figures.
Yunrou’s beauty was somewhat bold, strikingly gorgeous.
Yet Nianyao, though carrying an air of timidity and not particularly noble or transcendent, possessed a unique quality that could stir an inexplicable sense of pity in anyone who saw her—be it men or women.
Her entire frame was slender and delicate; even the waist outlined by her palace attire seemed as if it could be easily encircled by a single hand.
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager slightly furrowed her brows.
She was aware of Nianyao’s background. Placing the daughter of Prime Minister Jiang by her grandson’s side was something she truly did not favor.
However, her appearance was simply too striking.
Her grandson was already eighteen. At this age, even commoners should be marrying and having children, yet he still had no one close to attend to him.
Even the Empress Dowager felt she had wronged the late, gentle and virtuous former Empress.
The Empress Dowager sighed inwardly, then turned to look at her grandson, who was dignified and imposing, and who had been fighting alongside the Southern Garrison Army on the battlefield since the age of thirteen.
Her gaze softened slightly: “Yan’er, come take a look. Do you fancy either of these? Why not take them both back to the Eastern Palace, so they can take good care of you.”
As soon as the Empress Dowager spoke, everyone’s eyes fell upon Pei Jinyan.
He wore a form-fitting black robe, with a python pattern embroidered in gold thread that exuded an imposing aura. A white jade ring hung at his waist, and his entire presence radiated the oppressive air of nobility.
Though his sitting posture appeared casual, his figure stood tall and straight like a pine tree.
Pei Jinyan lifted his eyelids. He had a pair of peach-blossom eyes, which were inherently the most captivating. Yet, if one met his gaze, they could glimpse beneath those dark pupils something akin to layers of mist swirling over snow-capped mountains.
It was so cold that a single glance sent a chill down one’s spine.
Thus, even when he spoke, no one dared to look at him.
“This prince chooses…”
Nianyao’s body tensed, sweat nearly dripping from her forehead.
However, before Pei Jinyan could finish his words, a sharp, high-pitched voice of a eunuch announced from outside the hall.
“This servant greets Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. May I ask if His Highness the Crown Prince is present?”
Pei Jinyan’s gaze lightly touched upon the graceful figure of the young maid, but he withdrew it in the blink of an eye, unnoticed by anyone.
Under everyone’s astonished gazes, he abruptly stood up, cupped his hands toward the Empress Dowager seated in the main position, and said,
“Father seeks this son. Your son takes his leave.”
The Empress Dowager stood frozen for a moment, momentarily thinking it was yet another act by her dear grandson to avoid her bestowing women upon him.
But the voice of the eunuch outside was indeed from the Xuande Hall.
Her son, the Emperor, naturally would not cover for his own son.
A trace of helplessness flashed in the Empress Dowager’s eyes: “Very well, very well. Since the Emperor seeks you, you should go quickly.”
She waved her hand, and even when looking at the two beautiful maids kneeling below, not a ripple stirred in her eyes.
After Pei Jinyan left, the Empress Dowager had no desire to stay either.
Two elderly maids hurried forward to support her. The Empress Dowager sighed softly.
“You may all return.”
This was naturally directed at Yunrou and Nianyao.
But having finally seen the Crown Prince and received the Empress Dowager’s golden words, Yunrou was unwilling to give up.
She knelt forward a few steps, her voice tinged with a sob: “Your Majesty the Empress Dowager…”
Before she could even reach the hem of the Empress Dowager’s skirt, maids came to shoo her away.
“Get away, you clumsy oaf! How dare you touch Her Highness’s robes!”
Yunrou had always considered herself superior to the other maids. Being scolded like this today left her face alternating between pale and flushed, her expression instantly crumbling.
After the Empress Dowager departed, Yunrou, unable to swallow her anger, seized Nianyao’s arm before she could leave.
She raised her hand to strike Nianyao’s jade-like face.
“You wretched wench! If not for you, I would have already entered the Eastern Palace! And you dared lie to me earlier, saying the Crown Prince had arrived—now I’ll slap that pretty face of yours to ruin!”