“May Your Majesty investigate! This humble girl has never enchanted the Crown Prince!”
The corners of Ming Yueni’s eyes were flushed red, and the water in her grieving eyes rippled. She bit her lip and cried out at the injustice. “This humble girl already has someone in her heart! I would never be half-hearted!”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Bei Chenyuan’s expression grew even colder. The gaze he leveled at Ming Yueni was as sharp as a frigid blade!
Seeing this, Fu Lai and Yin Guo couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. This beauty, they feared, was about to meet her end.
“Your Majesty!”
Ming Yueni moved a step forward while still kneeling. Her watery, beautiful eyes boldly looked up at the Emperor sitting upon the dragon throne. On her lovely, fragile face, the pallor was gradually replaced by a crimson blush, exuding a sense of bashful charm.
“This humble girl has admired Your Majesty for a long time!”
“Ah?” Fu Lai cried out in shock. Yin Guo’s eyes widened to the size of saucers!
Bei Chenyuan was stunned for a moment, his brow furrowing deeply. Absurd! Does she think sweet words can bewitch a sovereign’s heart?
Just as Bei Chenyuan was about to lose his temper, he saw Ming Yueni gazing at him with eyes full of fervor and innocence. When she spoke, her voice was soft, delicate, and sweet to the point of being seductive.
“Living within the inner chambers of my household, I have often heard of Your Majesty’s brilliance and martial prowess! Only because of you can the Yan Kingdom enjoy peace and prosperity! Your Majesty is the guardian god of the Yan Kingdom!”
“Deep in my heart, I have long held this admiration. Entering the palace is the blessing of three lifetimes, for I have received Your Majesty’s life-saving grace!”
“I am well aware of my lowly status, and I am willing to serve as a slave or a maid just to attend to Your Majesty.”
Word by word, her voice was soft yet resonant. Her peach blossom eyes were bright and burning, mixed with a hint of watery grievance.
In her heart, there was only the Emperor! How could the Crown Prince even be mentioned in the same breath as His Majesty?
Looking at Ming Yueni, Bei Chenyuan’s heart stirred slightly. His furrowed brow smoothed out, and the coldness in his eyes dissipated somewhat. He stepped down from the dragon throne.
Condescending to reach out, he used two fingers to lift Ming Yueni’s chin. His eyes were deep and sharp, his tone impossible to read. “You are willing to be a maid?”
“Yes! I am willing!” Ming Yueni answered without a moment’s hesitation. She looked directly into the Emperor’s eyes; her gaze was three parts bold and seven parts bashful and nervous.
“I shall grant your wish. Yin Guo, discipline her well.”
Bei Chenyuan’s gaze was dark and somber. He let go of her chin and turned to leave, his sleeves fluttering.
“We respectfully see off Your Majesty!”
No one saw that as Bei Chenyuan walked out of the hall, he surreptitiously rubbed his fingertips twice—such soft, tender skin. A “disaster” like her could never be let out to enchant the Crown Prince! He had to keep her right under his eyes to watch her.
Inside the hall, Ming Yueni remained kneeling in her respectful posture. No one saw the cleverness and liveliness in her eyes as she lowered her head.
She knew nothing of love. But as long as she treated the Emperor like a god, acting out “admiration” was no difficulty at all. Judging by the Emperor’s reaction, she had been very successful!
Yin Guo called out to her, “Lady… you should get up.”
Ming Yueni looked up and saw the complex mix of sighs and thoughts in Yin Guo’s eyes. She continued her act. “Sister Yin Guo, please just call me by my name.”
Ming Yueni stood up and looked at Yin Guo with an affectionate, reliant gaze. “In the future, I will be in your care, Sister Yin Guo.”
“You… why go through this trouble?” Yin Guo sighed in confusion. Why give up being a lady of the Duke’s Mansion to become a slave in the palace?
Ming Yueni pursed her lips in a shy smile and said softly, “To be able to serve His Majesty is the blessing of my lifetimes.”
“You… follow me.” Yin Guo shook her head and turned to lead the way.
After following her for a while, Ming Yueni realized they had returned to the room where she had first woken up. Yin Guo instructed her, “Rest well for now and let your wounds heal. I’ll have to think carefully about what you can do while staying in the Chen Palace.”
“Thank you, Sister Yin Guo.” Ming Yueni’s voice was sweet, and her smile was even sweeter.
Yin Guo gave her one last deep look, half-reminding and half-warning her: “Do not go wandering around in private.” With that, she turned and left.
Only after watching her leave did Ming Yueni silently enter the room and close the door. The moment the door shut, her expression shifted instantly. Holding onto the wall, she walked to a stool with weak legs and sat down, letting out a long sigh of relief.
That was close!
If the Emperor hadn’t kept her and she had been returned to Ming Yuelan, what awaited her would have been a fate worse than death. Yin Guo didn’t know the truth. At the Duke’s Mansion, was Ming Yueni even a “lady”? She was no different from a servant, to be beaten and insulted by Ming Yuelan at will. If she dared to resist, her mother and brother would suffer!
She had sought out and begged the Duke—at the thought, Ming Yueni’s eyes filled with bone-deep resentment. Her biological father didn’t care about their lives at all. In her past life, if the Duke had said even a single word, her mother wouldn’t have been sold and her brother wouldn’t have died so miserably!
Ming Yueni’s heart was completely cold. She walked to the mirror and touched her own face. In her past life, she was timid and submissive, which made her easy to bully. In this life, she would make full use of her advantages.
“From today on, His Majesty is my beloved,” Ming Yueni whispered to the mirror. Her eyes were alluring, and her face was bashfully flushed.
Ming Yueni stayed in the Chen Palace for three days. She stayed indoors and was obedient and well-behaved, which allowed Yin Guo, who had been somewhat wary and suspicious, to breathe a sigh of relief.
Yin Guo found Fu Lai. “Eunuch Fu, Ming Yueni is quite obedient. How do you think I should arrange things for her?”
Fu Lai narrowed his eyes and said, “Let her go before His Majesty to serve tea.”
“Will that work?”
“Yin Guo, you and I are both veterans by His Majesty’s side; we’ve served him for over ten years. Have you ever seen His Majesty take the initiative to keep any woman in the Chen Palace?”
Yin Guo shook her head. Even the four high-ranking consorts of the harem had never spent a night in the Chen Palace. Ming Yueni was the first!
Seeing her pondering, Fu Lai lowered his high-pitched voice and continued, “His Majesty is indifferent to women and has no heirs to this day, which is why that one in the Eastern Palace can act so arrogantly. If His Majesty could…” Fu Lai looked toward the direction of Ming Yueni’s room and stopped there. “Let’s give it a try!”
Yin Guo understood and nodded repeatedly in agreement. When she returned, she called Ming Yueni and taught her the rules of serving tea. Ming Yueni studied seriously and was very obedient, which made Yin Guo like her even more.
That day, Ming Yueni changed into the attire of a low-ranking palace maid and followed Yin Guo into the forbidden grounds of the Imperial Study.
“After the court session, His Majesty will drink a cup of tea before handling government affairs.”
Ming Yueni kept Yin Guo’s previous instructions in mind. Her steps were light. She stepped forward, set down the teacup, and then quietly retreated to stand in the back. She performed the task perfectly. Once she stood still, she stole a glance at the man behind the desk.
Bei Chenyuan’s stature was grand; sitting there, he was as majestic and upright as a mountain, possessing a natural authority. One usually wouldn’t dare look directly at the imperial majesty, but Ming Yueni was in a favorable position to appreciate the Emperor’s exceptionally handsome and noble face from the side.
Ming Yueni took only one look before lowering her head. She stared at her embroidered shoes, her mind wondering—Why is the Emperor heirless? Does he have a hidden illness? Should I target his heart… or his body?
Ming Yueni didn’t know that from the moment she entered, Bei Chenyuan knew she was there. He didn’t lift his head, nor did he move his gaze from the memorials. But her light footsteps and the slender, pale fingers that briefly entered his vision as she set down the jade teacup… they were like a kitten’s paw, scratching at his heart.
Hiding in the back and stealing looks at me. Does she really like me that much?
Bei Chenyuan’s eyes darkened. With a cold face, he picked up the teacup. Before the fragrance of the tea reached him, a faint, lingering scent of peach blossoms drifted by.
“Come here.” Bei Chenyuan stared coldly at Ming Yueni. “Who gave you permission to come?”