Shen Ying and the young crown prince were conversing back and forth. Golden Bean originally did not want to pay them any mind, but seeing how the two were talking about entirely different things yet managed to chat so enthusiastically, it couldn’t hold back anymore. “When the little tyrant said ‘exiting the bow,’ he meant going to the toilet. When you said ‘exiting the palace,’ you meant leaving the Imperial Palace. You two are talking complete nonsense to each other, yet you somehow managed to hit it off.”
How could Shen Ying know how ancient people spoke? If not for Golden Bean, she might not even understand a word these people said.
She herself felt that the cadence of their speech was a bit strange, but when the words came out of her own mouth, there was a sense of natural rightness to it.
Now that she was being mocked by Golden Bean, Shen Ying felt thoroughly unconvinced.
“Can you blame me? It’s not like I know how to speak ancient language. If anyone is to blame, it’s you.”
Golden Bean lost its energy, having no desire to bicker with Shen Ying. It lay back down, flattening itself out like a pancake.
It was too hard—it really was too hard for it.
Shen Ying didn’t understand why Golden Bean was acting like this. She truly couldn’t understand them, but this really couldn’t be blamed on her. She even knew foreign languages; if she spoke a foreign language, this ancient person definitely wouldn’t understand what she was saying either.
This Golden Bean was truly annoying.
If Golden Bean hadn’t brought her to this place, none of this would have happened at all.
Shen Ying ignored Golden Bean and turned to look at the thing the young crown prince was showing her. Once she saw it clearly, she was startled.
“This… isn’t this a flush toilet? There’s actually a flush toilet here?” Shen Ying’s expression grew even more shocked.
“Mother, do you know how to use this?” The young crown prince looked at Shen Ying with sparkling eyes.
Overcome with shock, Shen Ying didn’t notice how the young crown prince addressed her. She nodded and said, “Of course I do.”
There was no mistake about it; this was definitely a flush toilet.
Shen Ying pondered for a moment, and suddenly, a stroke of inspiration struck her. She didn’t look for Golden Bean, but turned directly to the young crown prince. “Is there glass or soap here? Or any guns or anything like that?”
When she used to pass the time, she had read some time-travel novels. Since she had only read them to pass the time, she naturally hadn’t bothered to remember the details, only vaguely recalling that time-travelers would invent all kinds of things.
She felt that it wasn’t necessarily just an author’s setting; it was also possible that before her, there had been other time-travelers.
After gesturing and explaining to the young crown prince at length, it turned out he had no idea. Asking him was as good as asking nothing.
When she asked Golden Bean again, it simply ignored her.
Shen Ying sighed and went to take a bath instead.
Nothing in the world was bigger than taking a bath. Regardless of whether someone had time-traveled here before, no one was going to stop her from bathing.
The maidservants of the Eastern Palace brought her a change of clothes and towels for drying off.
Seeing them standing there without leaving, Shen Ying asked in confusion, “What are you doing here?”
“We servants are here to attend to Candidate Shen’s bath.”
“No, no, no, there’s no need. No need to trouble yourselves.” Shen Ying hurriedly waved her hands in refusal.
Although Shen Ying had domestic helpers at home back then, she had never had anyone serve her so intimately. At most, the auntie would help her fill the bathtub. Her bathroom back home had an automatic massage tub, so there was no need for anyone to help her wash.
Besides, Shen Ying was not used to being watched while bathing.
Wait… Shen Ying asked Golden Bean in suspicion, “I’m taking a bath, you won’t peek, right?”
Golden Bean snorted. “I’m just a cat.”
“That still won’t do.”
Golden Bean flicked its tail and hummed, “Rest assured, I can’t see images that are inappropriate for minors.”
Shen Ying stared at Golden Bean for a moment. Seeing it lying there playing dead again, she remained very vigilant in her heart.
In the end, those palace maids went outside. Shen Ying adjusted the water temperature herself. She wasn’t truly useless; after trying out the shower, she felt completely refreshed in both mind and body.
Although the conditions were average, being able to take a proper shower was already quite good for Shen Ying. In truth, she preferred soaking in a bath, but under the current circumstances, being able to take a shower was enough to satisfy her.
She sighed internally, marveling at how after just a few days of being here, she had truly lowered her standards by quite a bit.
She comforted herself, realizing that when under someone else’s roof, one had to bow one’s head.
She did not forget to quietly steal a glance at Golden Bean. The spot where Golden Bean had been was now pitch black, with nothing visible. She called out twice, but no one answered, and only then did she put her mind at ease.
Shen Ying thoroughly enjoyed her bath, washing her body carefully, feeling utterly comfortable from head to toe.
There were also scented balms and the like prepared in the room. Although Shen Ying had never used these specific ones before, she smelled them and found the scent slightly familiar, realizing how they should be used.
After applying a bit to her face and body, she put on her clothes and walked outward, wiping her hair with a towel as she went.
The young crown prince sat on a small stool, sitting upright and proper. His lips were pursed, and his brows were furrowed like a little old man’s as his gaze stared fixedly toward the washroom.
Eunuch Liu was muttering off to the side, but the young crown prince didn’t hear a single word.
“Your Highness, my little Highness! What is your noble status? She is merely a candidate, how could she be allowed to…”
Eunuch Liu was nagging and offering earnest advice, but the moment the young crown prince saw Shen Ying come out, he stood up abruptly. His head bumped directly into Eunuch Liu’s mouth; Eunuch Liu groaned in pain, lost his footing, and fell flat on his back.
The young crown prince paid it no mind and jogged over to Shen Ying. When he was almost in front of her, he stopped in his tracks, looking a bit uneasy.
“Mother,” he called out.
Shen Ying froze for a moment, suddenly remembering that the little crown prince seemed to have called her mother several times earlier.
But she wasn’t the little crown prince’s mother.
Shen Ying slowly shook her head at the young crown prince. “I’m not your mama—no, I mean, I am not your mother.”
She thought that perhaps the child was too young to tell the difference and had mistaken her for his birth mother.
Unfortunately, she was not.
She did not want this misunderstanding to continue; it was better to explain it clearly to the child. According to Golden Bean, she was here to complete a task, and when the time came, she would definitely leave. If she impersonated the young crown prince’s birth mother, wouldn’t the child lose his mother all over again when she finished her task and departed?
Therefore, Shen Ying did not intend to let the young crown prince think she was his mother, nor could she allow him to keep making this mistake.
The young crown prince’s eyes suddenly turned red. He pouted his little mouth, looking aggrieved, and reached out his small hand to clutch Shen Ying’s skirt, looking up at her wistfully. “Did Yun’er do something wrong? Is that why Mother doesn’t like Yun’er?”
As he spoke, tears instantly fell. Shen Ying felt momentarily at a loss. She had seen children before, but she really didn’t know how to coax them.
As the young crown prince cried, he paused for a moment. “Is it because Yun’er’s snake scared Mother last time?”
Thinking of the young crown prince’s pet snake, Shen Ying suddenly realized that she was currently in the crown prince’s Eastern Palace. That meant that the snake was right here! The young crown prince was extremely fond of his pet little black snake, and even though it had been sent away, there was no guaranteeing that this wasn’t a place the little black snake had slithered over.
This realization instantly made Shen Ying’s scalp go numb.
At the thought of a snake having slithered around, she was so frightened that her legs felt weak.
“Mother, what’s wrong?” The young crown prince didn’t know what had happened to Shen Ying, only seeing that her complexion looked rather pale.
“N-Nothing.” Shen Ying avoided the young crown prince’s hand, her gaze sweeping over his wrist once more. After confirming there was no snake on it, she finally relaxed.
She comforted herself internally that it had already been sent away, so it was fine—it was definitely fine.
Though she said so, Shen Ying still felt creeped out, especially since it was late at night. What if something came darting out?
“Um, I have to leave first. Next time… next time I’ll play with you again, okay? Goodbye… ah, no, I mean… farewell.”
Shen Ying ran off without hesitation. Once outside, she realized Xuerong hadn’t kept up, so she waved her hand to signal Xuerong to follow.
Only under Xuerong’s guidance could Shen Ying return smoothly. If she had walked by herself, she would likely have lost her way again.
Seeing Shen Ying run away as if escaping, the young crown prince immediately panicked and chased after her.
“Mother! Mother!”
How could his short little legs outrun Shen Ying? In the blink of an eye, she was nowhere to be seen, and he even fell to the ground because he ran too fast.
Just as the servants behind were preparing to run over and help the young crown prince up, they saw a figure walking from up ahead. Their faces instantly turned pale with fright, and they dropped to their knees with a thud, pressing their foreheads against the ground, not daring to breathe too loudly.
The young crown prince was stubbornly preparing to climb up and continue chasing after her when he looked up and saw a pair of black boots embroidered with gold thread. Raising his eyes further, he saw a dark-patterned brocade robe of deep black, its hem trimmed with gold-woven dragon motifs.
Although he couldn’t see the face, in the entire Imperial Palace, no one besides himself was allowed to dress like this except his Imperial Father.
The young crown prince, who was about to climb up, knelt back down and respectfully offered his greetings. “Son pays respects to Father.”
Pei Lin did not speak. Behind him, Da Fu carefully stole a glance at Pei Lin’s expression, then immediately stepped forward to help the young crown prince up.
Da Fu cheerfully dusted off the dirt from the young crown prince’s clothes and said, “It is already late at night. Why is Your Highness the Crown Prince still not resting?”
The young crown prince remained silent, his chubby little face bunched up into a frown. After Da Fu helped him up, he stood there without saying a word.
Pei Lin glanced at him, then swept his gaze over the servants on the ground before saying, “Rise.”
Hearing Pei Lin speak, those people hesitantly climbed to their feet. Just a moment ago, they had been terrified that His Majesty would blame them for failing to take proper care, causing the Crown Prince to take a fall.
Watching Pei Lin walk toward the house, Da Fu glanced at the Crown Prince, who was still standing where he was, his dark eyes looking toward the direction His Majesty had come from.
Perhaps realizing that the young crown prince hadn’t followed, Pei Lin stopped in his tracks, though he didn’t turn around.
Da Fu quickly walked over, leaning down to whisper, “My little master, what are you looking at? His Majesty is waiting for you to head over.”
The young crown prince stole a glance in Pei Lin’s direction and paid it no mind. Looking up at Da Fu, he grabbed the hem of his robe and asked wistfully, “Ah Fu, when you came over just now, did you see anyone leaving from here?”