Eunuch Liu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt that either he was seeing things, or he had gone mad.
When the Little Crown Prince was born, how old could Candidate Maid Shen possibly have been? How could two people look so similar? It was definitely his mind playing tricks on him.
Seeing that the Little Crown Prince was still unwilling to drink his medicine, Eunuch Liu tried to persuade him with painstaking earnestness, “Your Highness, please take care of your body. You mustn’t make light of your own health.”
The Little Crown Prince did not say a word, turning his head to look at Shen Ying. Seeing her gaze fixed straight on the medicine before her, he also turned his head to look at the medicine before himself.
Seeing Shen Ying and the Little Crown Prince getting along harmoniously, Jin Dou frantically absorbed the energy emanating from the Little Crown Prince. Having restored a bit of energy at this moment, it started getting lively again.
“Host, hurry up and drink it. As a mother, you have to set an example for your child. Don’t go corrupting the child. Hurry, close your eyes and chug it in one gulp.”
Shen Ying rolled her eyes at it.
She had pretty much realized that this Jin Dou had only two states: one was looking as if it might pass away at any moment, and the other was being full of spirit, though the second it opened its mouth, it made one really want to beat it up.
Turning her head, she saw the Little Crown Prince staring at the medicine with a face full of resistance. Thinking back to how he pulled on her sleeve and eagerly called her Mother, Shen Ying took a deep breath, picked up the medicine, and chugged it down in one go.
It indeed tasted very bitter when drinking it, but unexpectedly, after finishing it, there was actually a slight lingering sweetness in her mouth.
Despite this, Shen Ying was still not very pleased, muttering under her breath, “This medicine doesn’t taste good at all. I guess I really have to take care of my body; I don’t want to drink this stuff when I get sick.”
Over on the other side, the Little Crown Prince widened his eyes, watching Shen Ying drink every last drop of the medicine in one breath, and no longer resisted from that point on.
Seeing that the Little Crown Prince was about to drink his medicine, Eunuch Liu hurriedly picked it up, intending to feed him. He was rejected by the Little Crown Prince, who picked up the bowl himself to drink. After finishing, his little face scrunched up like a bitter gourd.
Seeing that he had finished drinking, Eunuch Liu immediately handed over a piece of maltose.
After the Little Crown Prince took a bite, he hurriedly broke off a piece and offered it to Shen Ying’s lips, saying unclearly as he chewed on the maltose, “Mother, eat this and it won’t be bitter anymore.”
The maltose tasted exceptionally sweet, instantly dispersing the remaining bitter flavor in her mouth.
Chewing on the maltose, Shen Ying looked at the Little Crown Prince, who was staring at her with wide eyes, and for a moment she actually did not know what to do.
Whenever she thought about how this child had jumped down without a second thought to save her earlier, an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.
Stroking the Little Crown Prince’s little face, Shen Ying remained silent.
She did not know how to open her mouth to speak.
That hesitating expression, however, caused the Little Crown Prince to misunderstand, “Mother, are you unhappy?”
“I’m not exactly unhappy.”
Shen Ying was also too lazy to correct the Little Crown Prince’s address for her anymore. This child was easy to talk to in other aspects, but for some unknown reason, he insisted on believing she was his mother.
Even after telling him several times, he did not take it in at all.
Holding Shen Ying’s hand, the Little Crown Prince frowned and looked at her for a moment before saying, “Mother, how about we go out of the palace to play? I don’t have to attend lessons with the Grand Tutor today, so I have time to accompany Mother to play.”
This time, Shen Ying actually understood what the Little Crown Prince meant by going out of the palace.
She had not expected that one day she would actually need a little child to coax her, and Shen Ying felt quite embarrassed about it.
It made her look rather useless, not even as good as a young child.
Jin Dou popped up again without tact, “Host, you sure have self-awareness.”
“I don’t want to see you right now! Get out of my sight!” Shen Ying said to Jin Dou without the slightest politeness.
For some unknown reason, Jin Dou was unusually tactful this time and stopped making a sound.
Shen Ying had not forgotten her own situation. She vaguely recalled that when the original body entered the palace, the palace momo had mentioned that once inside the palace, one could no longer go outside.
Even when the other Candidate Maids gathered together to talk, they had mentioned this issue as well.
“Can I go out of the palace?”
“Of course you can.”
The Little Crown Prince’s eyes shone brightly as he looked at Shen Ying; similarly, Shen Ying’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the Little Crown Prince.
Ever since she arrived here, she had not yet seen what the outside looked like.
Although the Imperial Palace was vast, there were few people around, making it feel extremely empty.
Staying here all day long became uninteresting over time. If she could leave the palace, it would naturally be for the best.
Seeing that Shen Ying became happy, the Little Crown Prince also grew happy along with her.
He hurriedly instructed Eunuch Liu to go and make arrangements.
However, the Crown Prince was young after all. How could Eunuch Liu dare to take it upon himself to arrange for the Crown Prince to leave the palace? He inevitably had to go seek help from his Master.
“The Crown Prince wants to leave the palace? Was it instigated by that Candidate Maid Shen?” Da Fu glanced sideways at Eunuch Liu.
It had only been a few days, and that Candidate Maid Shen sure knew how to cause a stir.
What on earth did she want to do?
Initially, Da Fu had thought Candidate Maid Shen wanted to use the Little Crown Prince to get close to His Majesty, but now it seemed that was not the case.
For a time, Da Fu was a bit uncertain about what angle that Candidate Maid Shen was working from.
Eunuch Liu had a bitter expression on his face. Ever since knowing that Candidate Maid Shen, the Crown Prince had been exceptionally attentive—asking how Candidate Maid Shen was doing before going to sleep at night.
Upon waking up in the morning, he would ask again where Candidate Maid Shen was.
Looking at the Crown Prince’s manner, it seemed he wished he could cling to Candidate Maid Shen’s side every moment of the day.
“No, it was the Crown Prince himself who brought up taking Candidate Maid Shen out of the palace.”
Da Fu frowned.
“Master, can we actually go or not?”
Da Fu was also baffled. What kind of ability did that Candidate Maid Shen possess to make the Little Crown Prince treat her with such close affection?
Could it be because of the name Shen Ying?
Even until now, Da Fu had not managed to remember where on earth he had heard the name Shen Ying.
“Wait here. I will go ask His Majesty.”
Da Fu entered Xuanzheng Hall and stepped forward to report the affairs of the Eastern Palace.
“Yun’er wants to take that Shen… that woman out of the palace?” The vermilion brush in Pei Lin’s hand paused, yet he did not raise his head.
“Yes. According to Liu Zhen, the Crown Prince seems quite expectant. However, as for palace concubines leaving the palace, unless it is to visit family, it is afraid that it would violate regulations at any other time.”
Pei Lin put down his brush and rubbed his temples.
He thought of the name Shen Ying again, followed immediately by a vision of blood-red; those scenes that made his heart ache with regret crashed wildly around in his head.
His head hurt as if it were about to split open.
The imperial physicians said this was an illness.
The sorcerers said this was an inner demon.
Pei Lin let out a cold sneer, only wanting to say: What do those people know!
“Your Majesty!” Seeing that the situation was not right, Da Fu hurriedly walked over.
Taking out a porcelain bottle from who knows where, he poured out a pill and handed it over, “Your Majesty, please take one after all. Even if you do not care for your own body, you must consider the Crown Prince; His Highness is still young.”
Pei Lin finally opened his mouth to swallow the pill. The bitter taste spread from the tip of his tongue, doing nothing to relieve his headache in the slightest.
He held his breath and slowly regulated his breathing; only then did the blood-red before his eyes disperse, and the headache lessened somewhat accordingly.
Exhaling a long breath slowly, Pei Lin opened his mouth and said, “Since Yun’er wants to go, let him go. Dispatch more people to follow secretly. Also, have Kun One go keep an eye on that woman.”
Da Fu immediately voiced his assent.
Afterward, he went out to instruct Eunuch Liu for a bit.
As for having the secret guard Kun One keep an eye on Candidate Maid Shen, Da Fu instantly had a stroke of realization, still feeling that it might be Candidate Maid Shen who instigated the Crown Prince to leave the palace, and perhaps she intended to meet up with someone.
The previous suspicion that Candidate Maid Shen was a spy surfaced once again at this moment.
As he thought about it, Da Fu felt again that this Candidate Maid Shen’s behavior was overly strange. Would someone truly be so reassured as to send out such a stupid spy?
While Da Fu was pondering, Eunuch Liu had already returned to the Eastern Palace to instruct people to prepare the carriage. The Crown Prince did not wish to make a scene, so naturally, it was not the Crown Prince’s grand procession, though the carriage was still luxurious enough.
The Little Crown Prince was dressed in a pale yellow silk round-collar robe. The pattern on the clothing appeared extremely low-key—no longer dragon motifs, but auspicious patterns of good fortune—looking just like a young gentleman from a wealthy family.
Shen Ying thought to herself that they were indeed a wealthy family, and not just ordinary wealthy, but the kind with an actual royal throne to inherit at home.
Even Shen Ying had changed into a set of clothes along with him. Her upper body featured a pale yellow silk patterned low-collar short-sleeved blouse, paired with a thin, light drop-collar shirt inside, while her lower body was a slate-blue high-waisted skirt with flowers embroidered at the hem.
As Shen Ying walked, the embroidered flowers on it flickered faintly in and out of view.
Xuerong styled her hair in a matching hairdo. A pale yellow ribbon was used to tie the Little Crown Prince’s hair, and Xuerong also used a pale yellow ribbon as decoration in her hair, with pearls adorned at the tail end of the ribbon.
This type of hair ribbon had a specialized name, called a xujin.
Shen Ying looked at herself in the bronze mirror. Watching the Little Crown Prince lean over, his little face appearing in the bronze mirror as well, she could not help but smile.
After getting into the carriage, Shen Ying felt that everything was a novelty.
The interior of the carriage was extremely spacious and exceptionally comfortable; had she not remembered that she was beautifully dressed up right now, she would have wanted to find a place to lie down.
Inside the carriage were also quite a few compartments. Eunuch Liu composedly brought out a small stove to start brewing tea, then brought out several plates of pastries to place on the tea table before resuming brewing the tea.
The procedure was quite elaborate, involving roasting, crushing, and sifting.
Watching Eunuch Liu place tea leaves into the teapot, Shen Ying did not have much of a reaction. Her father was very fond of drinking tea and knew all kinds of tea varieties like the back of his hand; she had been subtly influenced by him through long exposure to different teas and drinking methods.
Brewing tea was nothing unusual, but watching Eunuch Liu add ginger, green onions, salt, and other seasonings into it, the surprise on Shen Ying’s face could not be concealed at all.
Those who knew would say he was brewing tea; those who did not might think he was mixing some kind of sauce.
Perhaps her surprised expression was overly obvious, for Eunuch Liu glanced at her several times, seemingly unable to understand why the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who was supposed to manage ceremonial music and sacrifices, had a daughter who appeared so ignorant and unrefined.
It was merely brewing tea; what was there to be surprised about?
Having brewed the tea, Eunuch Liu poured a cup and handed it to the Crown Prince. Just as he was preparing to pour one for Shen Ying, the Little Crown Prince himself held the tea cup and presented it over, “Mother, drink tea.”
Shen Ying extended a single finger and silently pushed the tea back.
“Jin Dou, is this really brewing tea? It’s not a deliberate prank on me, is it?”
Jin Dou licked its own paw, “It’s not. This was originally written based on an ancient background anyway. People in ancient times drank tea exactly like this.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe it, then forget it.”
Shen Ying did not want to believe Jin Dou, yet seeing the Little Crown Prince, Pei Yun, pick up the tea and take a sip, there was no strange expression on his face at all.