Gu Youning was awakened by the sound of the night watch drum.
She opened her eyes and looked around groggily, still heavy with sleep. A plain gauze canopy, thin as a cicada’s wing, swayed gently overhead. Through its translucent folds, she could vaguely make out a red sandalwood display cabinet inlaid with gold, a pear-wood writing desk, and several inkstones. Beside them stood a celadon vase with a sprig of bamboo slanting from its mouth, simple and elegant.
This was not her bedroom.
Her thoughts were a muddle. She wondered if she was dreaming when, suddenly, she felt the brocade quilt over her legs shift.
She looked up—and her eyes collided with another pair.
They were pale in color, but the gaze within them was unnervingly cold.
A man was lying inches away from her.
And he was looking at her, too.
Her soul nearly fled her body. She was so frightened that she almost screamed.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the man before her in terror. He had strong, handsome brows drawn into a frown, his expression hard as ice. Yet his black hair was slightly disheveled, spilling loosely around his shoulders, and there was still a faint, ambiguous flush lingering at the corners of his brows.
Covering her trembling lips, she felt her mind go completely blank.
Then, all at once, she realized what was wrong.
Her body went rigid as her trembling gaze slowly traveled downward.
He… he was in the same bed as her.
And they were sharing the same brocade quilt!
Ah——!
Gu Youning’s heart was screaming.
At the same time, everything that had happened before came rushing back into her mind.
She remembered.
Today was the Flower Festival. Prince Duan’s residence was hosting a banquet and had invited female relatives and guests to attend. With so many women present, there weren’t enough servants in the front hall, so Gu Youning had been temporarily summoned to help with the chores.
During the banquet, several female guests had worn flowers in their hair, admired the blossoms, and drank and made merry. Lady Dowager had been in high spirits and, on a whim, rewarded the maids and serving women with Hundred Flowers Wine.
Gu Youning and several married women from the residence had received half a pot between them.
Hundred Flowers Wine was a fine, sweet wine specially made for the imperial court. It was rarely available to ordinary people. The women divided it among themselves, each having a small cup.
Gu Youning was not accustomed to drinking. Even sweet wine made her wary of getting drunk. But the other women insisted that she drink, as though refusing would mean she looked down on them. Unable to refuse any longer, she reluctantly took two small sips.
Who could have known that not long after the wine went down, her head began to spin and her feet felt unsteady?
Afraid that she might behave improperly while drunk and offend some noble person, bringing disaster upon herself, she hurriedly asked to leave. She had intended to go to the kitchen, where her mother worked, and ask for some tea to sober up. At the same time, she could hide away and avoid making a spectacle of herself.
But she had stumbled so badly that she could no longer even tell which way she was going.
After that, she had staggered along blindly and somehow arrived at a certain place.
And then—
Gu Youning’s head throbbed terribly. Her mind was hazy, and only scattered fragments remained.
She had stumbled into a room and somehow fallen into a bed draped with a brocade canopy.
There had happened to be a man resting inside.
And then—
When Gu Youning’s thoughts reached that point, her heart turned ice-cold.
She lifted her eyes in despair and tremblingly looked at the man before her.
He was none other than Prince Duan, Liu Kanyuan.
Gu Youning had been born a household slave of Prince Duan’s residence. Since childhood, she had gone in and out of the rear courtyard, helping her parents with sweeping, cleaning, mending, and other such tasks. When she turned seventeen, the household had arranged a marriage for her, pairing her with Sun Feng’an, the son of the residence’s chief steward.
In other words, her entire family were household slaves of Prince Duan’s residence.
And now, she had somehow become involved with Prince Duan himself.
What kind of situation was this?
She was a married woman—the wife of a household slave—and she had climbed into her master’s bed just like that?
It was utterly absurd.
She had actually done such a thing!
At that moment, Liu Kanyuan spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.
“Which household’s maid are you?”
Maid?
Gu Youning’s body trembled.
Then she suddenly realized something.
Although her husband, Sun Feng’an, had always been on duty in Prince Duan’s courtyard, the prince evidently had never seen her before. He did not know that she was Sun Feng’an’s wife.
With her hair disheveled, he could not tell whether she was married or not. He had simply assumed she was one of the residence’s maids.
A maid.
A maid…
She clutched the brocade quilt tightly, as though a drowning person had suddenly grasped a lifeline.
She could pretend to be a maid and bluff her way through this. She could escape this disaster.
For a man of Prince Duan’s status, sleeping with a maid was hardly anything worth remembering. He might well forget about it afterward.
With trembling hands, she half-kneeled on the bed and answered fearfully, “Your Highness, this servant is merely a rough maid responsible for sweeping and cleaning in the rear courtyard. I was called to the front hall today for the Flower Festival to lend a hand. I never expected that I would—”
She faltered halfway through, her embarrassment tying her tongue in knots. Unable to think of a better way to put it, she forced herself to continue through her tears.
“I never expected that I would lose my senses for a moment and offend Your Highness. This servant deserves to die ten thousand deaths.”
As she spoke, she hurriedly kowtowed.
The brocade quilt was scattered across the bed, cushioning her forehead so that even when she struck it hard, it did not hurt.
Even so, she put everything she had into the gesture, as though she truly intended to beg forgiveness with her life.
Yet the Prince above her said nothing.
Gu Youning could feel him scrutinizing her. The gaze of a man in power was like a knife, as though it might cut her open and see straight through her.
She was terrified.
Even so, she gathered her courage and said in a trembling voice, “Your Highness, this servant… this servant will take her leave.”
Liu Kanyuan frowned and impassively studied the woman before him.
Her hair was disheveled, her skin as white as snow, and a delicate flush colored her cheeks. She was alluring, yet there was something pitiful about her as well.
A woman like this was undeniably beautiful, but he would never have taken notice of her ordinarily.
He was the legitimate grandson of the late emperor, with imperial blood flowing through his veins. Within this princely residence, he was the unquestioned master, holding absolute authority over life and death.
She was nothing more than a lowly maid.
Had this happened on any ordinary day, he would not even have spared her a second glance. Even though he had inexplicably ended up having such a reckless encounter with her today, there was no need for him to say much. A little silver would be enough to send her on her way.
Yet she had not given her name or revealed where she came from. Clearly, she had no intention of clinging to him for favor. Instead, she was voluntarily asking to leave.
Liu Kanyuan pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long while before finally withdrawing his gaze.
“Go.”
His voice was still slightly hoarse, but otherwise calm and indifferent.
Hearing those words, Gu Youning felt as though she had just been granted a reprieve from death.
She hurriedly kowtowed again in thanks, then scrambled to get up and leave the bed.
But just as she was about to climb down, she suddenly realized that her clothes were in disarray, barely covering her body.
The situation was unbearably humiliating.
Her face burned. She hastily gathered her clothes together, doing her best to cover herself. Only then did she attempt to climb down again.
But suddenly, something tugged at her waist, nearly sending her tumbling headfirst off the bed.
She scrambled back up and blindly grabbed hold of the bed for support, staring around in confusion.
Her sash was caught beneath the brocade quilt.
So she was basically a ball with a rope tied around it!
The thought was so humiliating and ridiculous that she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a crack in the ground and disappear.
But at a moment like this, she had no choice but to gather her courage. Carefully, she reached out and tugged at the sash.
It wouldn’t budge.
One end of the sash had somehow become tangled in the brocade quilt, and the quilt itself was pinned beneath Prince Duan’s long legs.
If she wanted to pull it free, she would have to tug the quilt out from underneath him.
How could she possibly dare?
He was practically a living god!
With tears in her eyes, she helplessly gripped the piece of fabric and looked up at the man above her.
His black hair had fallen loose from his temples, cascading over his broad shoulders. His eyes were half-lidded with indifference, and he seemed completely oblivious to her predicament.
As expected, he really was a living god.
Gu Youning certainly did not want to exchange another word with Liu Kanyuan. She desperately wanted to flee, to hide somewhere and pretend this entire incident had never happened.
But—
She looked at the sash around her waist in despair.
If she simply untied it now, her clothes would come undone even further. Besides, the act of loosening her garments in front of him was even more mortifying.
She had no choice but to summon her courage and ask in a small, tentative voice, “Could Your Highness move a little? My sash… it’s trapped beneath you.”
After she said this, Liu Kanyuan acted as though he had not heard her.
He did not move at all.
Gu Youning was at a loss.
Should she simply untie the sash?
She slowly raised a trembling hand.
But just then, Liu Kanyuan shifted slightly.
The sash loosened.
Gu Youning’s heart leapt with joy. She hurriedly pulled at it.
She did not dare raise her eyes. Holding her breath, she carefully began drawing the sash free.
As the long, soft sash slowly slid out from beneath the brocade quilt, she could clearly feel the friction as it passed through. At the same time, she could feel Prince Duan’s heavy gaze settle on her face.
He was studying her.
There was something about that gaze she could not quite put into words.
His eyes were like fire, burning her cheeks until they were hot, making her heart pound wildly.
She wanted nothing more than to cover her face and run.
But all she could do was endure it, tears welling in her eyes as she trembled and carefully tugged.
She had never realized her sash was so long.
She was nearly out of breath from holding it.
Finally, the end of the sash slipped free from the brocade quilt. Caught off guard, she lost her balance and staggered a step.
She hurriedly wrapped the sash back around herself, hastily shoved her feet into her shoes, clutched the front of her clothes, and rushed toward the door.
She practically stumbled and crawled her way out.
She could vaguely feel Prince Duan’s gaze following her from behind.
Perhaps he was watching her—the disheveled, humiliated state she was in after what had happened.
But she could not care about any of that anymore.
She pushed open the door and ran out beneath the covered corridor. She did not dare dash straight outside, however, and cautiously peered around first.
Spring rain pattered steadily down.
There was no one beneath the courtyard eaves.
Only then did she breathe a little easier.
Ignoring the rain, she hurried outside.
Inside the room, Liu Kanyuan remained seated on the bed, his lips slightly pursed as he gazed through the gauze-covered window lattice.
Only a single horn-shaped lantern hung beneath the eaves. In its dim, yellow light, he could vaguely make out a slender figure.
She staggered a few steps before disappearing into the depths of the rain.
Gone.
He lowered his head and looked at his hand.
It still retained some of her warmth.
He had been extraordinarily uninhibited just now.
He had never before allowed himself such abandon, and the unfamiliar indulgence had left him intoxicated.
Yet that very intoxication also left him somewhat at a loss.
Now she had run away, vanishing without a trace, like a damp dream on a rainy night.
After a long while, his gaze fell upon the brocade quilt beside him.
On its plain woven surface lay a single fine, soft strand of hair.
It was hers.
After Jingzhe, the spring rains came one after another, and the chill of early spring lingered in the air.
Gu Youning had been hurriedly summoned to the front hall that morning and had not dressed warmly. After everything that had just happened, her clothes were still disheveled, and the cold wind made her shiver violently.
But she had no time to think about anything else.
She was terrified that someone might see her in such a state. If anyone discovered what had happened, her reputation would be ruined.
Her husband treated her fairly well, but her parents-in-law were not easy to get along with. Her younger sister-in-law, Sun Yue, was even more particular and critical.
No matter who found out about what had happened today, Gu Youning did not dare imagine the consequences.
For a young married woman like her, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
She hurried through the courtyard, carefully taking in her surroundings until she recognized the place.
This was a small side courtyard behind the front hall, where guests visiting the residence could temporarily rest. Prince Duan also frequently received guests here.
As for the room she had just come from, it was a small private study that Prince Duan had set up within this courtyard.
Now she understood what had happened.
She must have stumbled out of the front hall in a drunken haze, taken the wrong path, and somehow barged into Prince Duan’s study.
He had happened to be resting there.
And she had offended him.
She was so mortified she could have cried.
She felt that she deserved to die ten thousand deaths.
Yet she thought that if she could simply leave this place and make her way to the kitchen where her mother worked, perhaps she could somehow conceal what had happened today.
Clutching her thin clothes tightly around herself, she kept close to the wall as she hurried along the corridor.
She had barely gone a few steps when she heard a commotion ahead.
Someone was coming.
She panicked and hurriedly glanced around.
There was a clump of flowering shrubs beside her. Without another thought, she plunged straight into them.
After several consecutive days of drizzle, the sky and earth were both damp. The branches and flowers were naturally soaked with rain.
Water brushed across Gu Youning’s face.
There was nothing she could do but grit her teeth and endure it, not daring to make a sound.
The footsteps drew closer.
Then she saw a group of people approaching, carrying lanterns and holding umbrellas.
Gu Youning held her breath and clutched the trembling, rain-soaked branches as she peered out.
At a glance, she recognized the woman at the head of the group.
It was Madam Jiang.
Madam Jiang was one of Prince Duan’s secondary consorts.
Gu Youning was puzzled.
At this hour, Madam Jiang should have been in the front hall entertaining the female guests. Why had she come here?
Then she heard one of the maids say, “Madam, how could this have happened? I clearly saw Sun Feng’an’s wife come this way. She drank that wine, so where else could she have gone?”
Gu Youning grew even more suspicious.
Sun Feng’an’s wife.
That maid was talking about her!
Then, suddenly, a man’s voice came from nearby.
“I’ve been waiting in the passageway up ahead this whole time. I didn’t see a trace of her!”
Gu Youning was even more startled upon hearing that voice.
There was a man waiting here?
Waiting for her?
Then she heard Madam Jiang say, “His Highness has yet to complete his three-year mourning period. Everything in the residence must be handled with the utmost caution. Now that something like this has happened, if word gets out, I’m afraid His Highness will not be lenient. Hurry and find her. We must not allow this to cause trouble.”
Mourning period?
Hearing those words, Gu Youning suddenly remembered something.
According to the rites of the Great Zhao dynasty, when a close member of the imperial clan died, banquets and entertainments were forbidden for one year, marital relations were prohibited, and marriages could not be arranged.
But Prince Duan had personally requested to observe a full three years of mourning for his father. He had vowed to eat only plain food, live a solitary life, and abstain from women in order to fulfill his filial devotion.
In other words, ever since the former Prince Duan had passed away, this prince had been forbidden from having sexual relations for twenty-seven months.
Naturally, he was even less likely to allow a maid into his bed!
And yet she had climbed into his bed…
Her heart went cold.
At that moment, Madam Jiang and her group hurried away in that direction.
But Gu Youning’s entire body had already gone limp. She collapsed into the rain-soaked ground, unable to move.
Cold raindrops trickled down her cheeks.
She stared blankly with wide eyes.
Gradually, she began to understand what had happened.
And with that realization came an even deeper despair.