This body was far too delicate. Standing under the blazing sun for over half an hour left Jing Xin drenched in sweat, her pale cheeks flushed a deep, almost bleeding red.
Cang Ji stepped out and said, “Your Highness, please return. His Majesty said he has tasted every kind of pastry under the heavens.”
These were Qi Shen’s exact words, deliberately passed on by him. He was still holding a grudge over how she had so decisively ended Prince Zhou’s life. Cang Ji, unwilling to offend either side, quickly added with a flattering tone, “The imperial kitchen can prepare anything. Your Highness need not trouble yourself.”
Jing Xin let out a soft laugh. “Tell His Majesty this: this pastry is something only I can make in this world. He truly has never tasted it before.”
Her smile faded as she returned to Tangcui Palace, her face turning cold.
Fine! If that was how it was, then so be it. He could simply never eat it again.
She went straight into the inner chamber to change clothes and ordered hot water for a bath. The summer heat was unbearable, and she could not wait until nightfall to wash off the sweat.
Four palace maids were attending her inside the hall. Chang Huan hurried to the small kitchen to replace the ice in the food box.
The young rough-duty maid Yu Zhu looked innocent and tender, but her movements were practiced as she handed over the ice.
Both of them caught a faint, sweet milky aroma.
Last night when the pastries were shared, none had been given to Yu Zhu. She had only heard the others praise the desserts made by their mistress.
She swallowed hard. “Chang Huan sister, what do these cream puffs taste like?”
Chang Huan felt embarrassed to admit she had never tried them either. When the oven had first been opened, the fragrance alone had made everyone’s mouths water. There were only ten pieces in total. Jing Xin had eaten one, then taken the remaining nine to Ziyan Palace.
Chang Huan lowered her head and carefully checked them, her eyes full of longing, even poking one lightly with her finger.
“Distribute them to everyone,” Jing Xin’s voice suddenly came from behind.
Both of them jumped in shock and hurriedly bowed.
Chang Huan stammered, “Your Highness, this servant did not steal any, I only—”
Jing Xin smiled faintly and instructed her to share them out. There would not be enough for everyone, so she told Chang Huan to allocate them fairly.
Yu Zhu received the first piece. She held it in both hands, overwhelmed with joy and fear, and quickly thanked Jing Xin.
Just as Jing Xin turned to leave, her gaze landed on the girl’s ear-length hair. She smiled slightly. “Your short hair is quite distinctive.”
The moment those words fell, Yu Zhu’s eyes widened in terror. She dropped to her knees with a thud. “Your Highness, please spare me—”
The cream puff rolled from her hands onto the ground, stained with dust. She panicked further, unsure whether to pick it up, tears falling uncontrollably.
“What crime have you committed?” Jing Xin frowned. “I did not blame you. Get up.”
But Yu Zhu did not dare move.
Chang Huan hesitated before speaking softly, “Your Highness, do you not remember? Yu Zhu’s hair… was cut by you.”
Jing Xin had no memory of it.
Yu Zhu was only thirteen. She had once worn beautiful coiffed hair and was skilled with her hands, often helping Jing Xin with her hair. But because she was too small to reach properly one day and accidentally pulled too hard, causing Jing Xin pain, the original owner flew into a rage. She grabbed scissors from the dressing table and cut Yu Zhu’s hair to ear length, then ordered her to receive a hundred strokes of the rod. By the fortieth strike, the girl was already half-dead and bloodied, and Chang Huan had begged for mercy before she barely survived.
Under the blazing summer sun, Jing Xin felt a chill run through her entire body after hearing this.
Just how cruel had the original owner been? How many terrible things had she done?
She turned and walked toward the small kitchen.
Chang Huan hurriedly tried to stop her. “Your Highness, the kitchen is unclean. If you need anything, just instruct us—”
“You think I’m going to punish her?” Jing Xin interrupted sharply.
Chang Huan immediately knelt in fear.
“Stand up,” Jing Xin ordered. “Stop kneeling at every turn.”
Though Chang Huan had served her for two years, she still could not read her intentions.
At the kitchen entrance, Yu Zhu sat on a low stool by the stove, carefully wiping the dust off the fallen cream puff. After taking a bite, her eyes lit up instantly. She then devoured two more bites before slowing down, eating reluctantly as if unable to bear finishing it. Even the cream on her fingers was licked clean with a silly, satisfied smile.
She lingered over the last bite, still smiling as she stood to fetch water.
Jing Xin noticed her walking slightly with a limp, likely from the punishment she had once received.
Only then did Yu Zhu see her. Her smile vanished instantly as she dropped to her knees again, trembling.
This time, cream smeared from her palm in her panic.
“Your Highness… this servant was wrong… I should not have eaten it, I should not have ruined your pastry…”
Jing Xin told her to stand, but Yu Zhu refused.
So Jing Xin crouched down, her tone calm and gentle. “This was a reward I gave you. It is yours. I will not interfere with what you do with it.”
“Has your injury healed?”
Yu Zhu froze, then nodded frantically.
Jing Xin sighed inwardly and helped her up.
“Chang Huan, bring me a pair of scissors.”
The moment Yu Zhu heard the word “scissors,” she began trembling.
There was a large pair of kitchen scissors nearby. Jing Xin took them, and under everyone’s shocked gaze, she cut off a strand of her own hair.
Black strands fell to the ground. Yu Zhu stared at her in terror, trembling uncontrollably.
Jing Xin looked at her gently. “Your body and hair are inherited from your parents. Cutting your hair before was my wrongdoing. You must have heard about the lightning incident the other day, how I resolved to change my ways. This is my apology to you. Can you forgive me?”
Yu Zhu stared blankly.
Chang Huan was also stunned. She had thought the lightning incident was just a fabrication, but it now seemed real. Jing Xin’s temperament had indeed changed drastically these past days.
“Quickly thank Your Highness,” Chang Huan reminded her.
Yu Zhu hurriedly bowed, still uneasy. Cream still stained her hands, and she awkwardly hid them in her sleeves.
“Do you like the pastry?” Jing Xin asked with a smile.
“Yes… yes, I like it very much.”
“Then from now on, whenever I make it, I will always save one for you. Alright?”
Tears rolled down Yu Zhu’s face as she nodded.
Jing Xin noticed her rough, injured hands. “Then tidy yourself up and come back to help me with my hair again.”
She thought of her younger sister.
She was not an only child. She had a younger sister, Jing Ning, raised like a little princess at home. If this were the modern world, girls like Yu Zhu would not be living such miserable, slave-like lives at thirteen or fourteen.
She had to apologize.
Not only to cleanse her own image, but also to save Qi Shen. And seeing Yu Zhu reminded her painfully of her sister.
Besides, the original owner’s downfall in the novel was entirely self-inflicted.
If Qi Shen truly had not spared her, the first people to trample her would likely be the very servants of Tangcui Palace.
Jing Xin ordered Chang Huan to summon an imperial physician to treat Yu Zhu’s leg. Fortunately, it could still heal. If delayed another two months, she would have been crippled for life.
Just as she prepared to rest, Shou Quan arrived to report that Wen Boyuan and Guan Zong wished to see her regarding the matter of dismantling the national temples.
Jing Xin leaned lazily against the beauty couch and yawned. “Tell them I am of limited influence. I will invite the Grand Chancellor later. Have them gather all the ministers they can. Wait for my news.”
Shou Quan hesitated. “Your Highness, would that not escalate the matter further?”
“Go,” she said, closing her eyes.
A faint smile curved her lips as she already pictured the outcome.
After her nap, she learned that Qin Wuheng had been invited, and Wen Boyuan and Guan Zong had gathered ten officials willing to submit a joint petition.
Jing Xin smiled and allowed Yu Zhu to dress her.
“Then ask the Grand Chancellor to move to Canglan Pavilion. The ministers will wait in the side chamber. Without my order, none may leave.”
Canglan Pavilion stood within Rongjing Garden, a place used by the imperial harem to receive guests and officials. Since Qi Shen had only Jing Xin in his harem and rarely interfered in her affairs, it was easy for officials to come and go.
Jing Xin brewed tea and waited for Qin Wuheng.
Qin Wuheng arrived late and bowed slightly. “May I ask why Your Highness summoned me?”
“Please sit. The tea is just right,” she said, then looked at him with a worried expression. “I ask Your Excellency to persuade His Majesty regarding the plan to demolish the City God Temple. My words carry little weight in his eyes.”
Qin Wuheng glanced at her indifferently. “Your Highness overstates things.”
“Your Excellency is the only one His Majesty trusts most,” she said earnestly. “Please, I beg you.”
“I have said before, Your Highness is overstepping,” Qin Wuheng replied flatly. “His Majesty has his reasons. I serve only to obey orders.”
His tone carried faint ridicule.
Jing Xin lowered her gaze, eyes reddening. “I… only wish to change for the better. I read a few folk stories and learned how suffering the people are…”
Qin Wuheng cut her off. “A few stories are not enough to prove suffering. It is only a small temple.”
“But it has protected the realm—”
“That which protects the realm are imperial temples,” he interrupted. “Your Highness should not interfere in state affairs.”
He turned to leave.
In panic, Jing Xin suddenly dropped to her knees. “No! This is an offense against the gods!”
Tears streamed down her face as she recounted historical miracles tied to the temple, her voice breaking with urgency.
Qin Wuheng finally showed a flicker of shock, then coldly shook off her grip and left without looking back.
Chang Huan rushed forward to help her up. “Your Highness, your wrist is bleeding!”
From the side chamber, twelve officials emerged. Wen Boyuan and Guan Zong were among them.
All were furious after hearing Qin Wuheng’s refusal.
Yet Jing Xin, still tearful, softly excused him, carefully framing everything to protect herself while earning their sympathy.
The ministers were deeply moved.
Before leaving, Wen Boyuan looked at her with emotion. “Your Highness should not have knelt to him. He does not deserve it.”
Back in Tangcui Palace, Chang Huan applied medicine to her wrist.
Yu Zhu, hearing everything, finally felt her fear of Jing Xin dissolve completely. She now saw her as a kind and compassionate woman.
Jing Xin, however, knew she had deliberately injured herself and knelt as part of her act. If kneeling could save her life and turn Qi Shen’s perception around, it was nothing.
As a seasoned reader of this kind of novel, she knew Qin Wuheng’s nature well.
He appeared upright and loyal in court, yet behind Qi Shen he played the manipulative “understanding confidant,” subtly guiding and controlling outcomes while maintaining a flawless image.
To deal with a green tea schemer, one had to be even more skilled at it.
And today, she performed perfectly.
Now she had one more trap prepared for Qi Shen.