Shen Chao lowered her head, quickly dismissing this terrifying thought.
Even if the Crown Prince resembled a cat, he was the kind that toyed with a little mouse like her!
Shen Chao bowed her head to embroider, pouring all her attention into the needlework. After the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, clusters of golden osmanthus flowers were completed.
She changed threads to work on the lining of the sachet when a pale finger pressed down on the satin.
Shen Chao looked up at Xiao Yanli as he said, "Here, embroider your name."
Her heart gave a violent jolt. She wanted to say something but knew any refusal would be futile. So she changed needles and threads, swiftly embroidering a swallow right under Xiao Yanli’s watchful eyes.
"Swallows herald spring," Shen Chao forced herself to explain.
Xiao Yanli looked at her with a faint, mocking smile, then suddenly raised his hand to press down on Shen Chao’s left shoulder, standing up and moving behind her.
"Sister’s embroidery skills are remarkable. Could you embroider such intricate patterns on skin?"
Under his touch, Shen Chao trembled like a sieve, filled with immense regret for her earlier attempt at cleverness.
"Answer me," Xiao Yanli’s tone was icy, colder than this early autumn night.
"Skin isn’t like fabric; it leaves needle marks. This servant… this servant cannot embroider on it…"
As Shen Chao replied, Xiao Yanli’s hand slid down from her left shoulder, covering her left hand. He held her hand as if fondling a piece of fabric.
A woman’s hand was soft and boneless, perhaps because he was too terrifying—her hand had no strength at all, allowing him to knead and twist it as he pleased.
Xiao Yanli found it amusing. Clearly terrified to death, yet she still dared to play tricks in front of him, overestimating herself, as if deliberately testing his limits.
"What a pity. Not long ago, I obtained a fine piece of skin. Slightly younger than you, around fifteen or sixteen." As he spoke, he withdrew his hand, lightly brushing his finger against Shen Chao’s cheek.
Shen Chao instinctively recoiled, tears welling in her eyes from fright at his words.
"The texture is as smooth and tender as your skin. I had thought to embroider beautiful patterns on it. What a shame."
With that, he lifted Shen Chao’s chin, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze.
"Don’t play petty tricks. You wouldn’t want to be turned into a human skin drum by me, would you?"
Shen Chao could no longer contain her fear of Xiao Yanli. The will to survive made her lunge toward the door, scrambling and stumbling out in a panic.
Her frantic, chaotic escape drew a bored "tsk" from Xiao Yanli.
Only then did Fu Hai dare to come out and drape an outer robe over his master, inwardly noting that the skin was clearly from an old ox that had died of old age. Xiao Yanli had seen the servants chewing on the oxhide and, out of curiosity, asked for a piece. How had he made it sound so horrifying?
"Master, why didn’t you explain properly to Caichun? Look how frightened she is," he said as he went to close the palace door.
"She was already afraid of me. A little scare might help build her courage." With that, Xiao Yanli yawned and walked to the bed.
Fu Hai hurriedly blew out the candles and silently retreated.
It was true that Xiao Yanli slept poorly—he detested any noise while sleeping.
Meanwhile, after running out, Shen Chao clung to the grass and retched for a long time.
The thought of Xiao Yanli killing a teenage girl and skinning her made her stomach churn violently.
She must never fall into Xiao Yanli’s hands!
She had to think of a way, think of a way!
If she had already pledged her life to someone else, wouldn’t Xiao Yanli find her disgusting and refuse to even look at her again?
Climb into the Emperor’s bed?
Even without Xiao Yanli lifting a finger, the Empress would crush her first.
What about the other princes?
They all reside in their own princely mansions, and whenever they enter the rear palace, they are surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids. If she dared approach them to speak even a single word, within moments, the entire palace would be buzzing with rumors about her shamelessness.
In the rear palace, aside from the princes, there were only eunuchs and the imperial guards.
The former wouldn’t work—who knows, Fu Hai might find out the moment she made a move.
That left only the imperial guards.
Thinking this far, Shen Chao recalled a person—a rather suitable candidate.
Having been frozen for half the night in the autumn chill and suffering a great fright, Shen Chao inevitably fell into a high fever.
She did have the privilege to visit the Imperial Hospital for treatment, but she was too ill to rise from her bed. She begged Zhixia to take leave on her behalf and fetch medicine, while she lay in a daze, unaware of the passing days.
Zhixia only agreed to run errands for her because Shen Chao had been generous with her money, but deep down, she found Shen Chao an ill omen.
What if Shen Chao passed her illness onto her and delayed her duties, ruining her own prospects?
Thus, while Shen Chao lay delirious with fever, Zhixia packed her clothes and went to squeeze in with a familiar female official.
Such was the cold-heartedness of people in the rear palace.
Shen Chao broke into a cold sweat, and in her haze, someone wiped her with a cloth and forced a bowl of bitter medicine down her throat.
But her fever weighed heavily on her eyelids, and when she awoke, the room was empty. Her blurry gaze swept around the chamber, landing on a delicate porcelain jar, no larger than a palm, placed on the square table.
She froze for a moment, then dragged her weak legs over and opened the jar. A rich osmanthus fragrance, tinged with a hint of sweetness, wafted out—strong enough to reach her even through her stuffy nose.
It was the osmanthus honey made by her younger sister and mother!
Eagerly, she scooped a spoonful into her mouth. The sweetness enveloped the panic and grievances she had endured for days, and Shen Chao couldn’t hold back her tears.
She had to leave the palace, to see her mother and sister!
“Disgusting.”
Xiao Yanli pushed the cup away in distaste. Osmanthus blossoms still floated on the surface of the tea, and an overwhelming sweetness lingered in his mouth.
Fu Hai stepped forward to collect the small jar of osmanthus honey, chuckling, “This servant will keep it and give it to Caichun when she comes to the Eastern Palace.”
Xiao Yanli glanced at him but said nothing.
Fu Hai felt that ever since his master was rejected by Caichun, he had become even more unpredictable in his moods—though, truth be told, he had always been temperamental.
He didn’t understand what his master saw in Caichun, but if his master fancied her, so be it.
In his view, for a girl of Caichun’s age to enter the Eastern Palace would be a stroke of fortune. Refusing his master was nothing short of ingratitude!
Playing a trick on her to vent some frustration was one thing, but wasn’t his master going a bit too far now?
First, sending a medical attendant to care for her, then dispatching a shadow guard to steal osmanthus honey from the Huaicheng Marquis Estate.
Xiao Yanli drank several cups of tea to wash away the cloying sweetness before rising and heading out.
Perhaps Shen Chao’s prayers had worked—recently, his three tutors had been piling on the assignments.
Fu Hai scurried after him, only to be stopped by a young eunuch as soon as they stepped outside.
“Eunuch Fu Hai, there’s something!”
Seeing the eunuch’s shifty eyes, Fu Hai raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“You told us to keep an eye on the Phoenix Palace, right? Today, while sweeping the palace pathways, I saw a woman dressed as a female official from the Phoenix Palace hand a small porcelain bottle to a patrolling guard.” As he spoke, he caught sight of the small porcelain bottle in Fu Hai’s arms and exclaimed, “It looked exactly like yours!”
Fu Hai broke out in a cold sweat. Oh my god, so Caichun had rejected his master because she was secretly in love with someone else!