Chapter 12 Tonight you will sleep in the same bed as me.
Yun Kui had already gone to bed, but she didn't expect to be summoned again.
If it were any other master, she wouldn't have to live in such fear, but this is the Crown Prince, and she never knows when he might fall ill, so she has to worry about her life all the time.
With a sigh, she quickly dressed and headed to Chengguang Hall.
When Cao Yuanlu saw her coming, he handed her a tray with medicinal wine and gauze, saying, "His Highness has a knife wound on his arm. Please go in and change his dressing."
Yun Kui was surprised, but dared not ask any more questions. Having witnessed Cao Yuanlu's ruthlessness during the day, she was still terrified and obediently agreed.
Cao Yuanlu said in a gentle tone, "Don't be afraid, young lady. Our prince is not a man-eating tiger. As long as you have no bad intentions, how could his prince kill innocent people indiscriminately?"
Yun Kui muttered to herself, "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
If the Crown Prince is truly a good person, why is he so feared, and why are so many people trying to assassinate him to uphold justice? Besides, rumors are circulating that he massacred seven cities in Northern Wei; weren't those innocent civilians who died unjustly?
Cao Yuanlu touched his nose guiltily, "A headache can indeed hurt someone. If you see His Highness suddenly feeling irritable, just come and call me."
Yun Kui pursed her lips. Why did she feel that the Crown Prince was irritable all the time?
"This servant understands, thank you for reminding me, Eunuch."
Cao Yuanlu lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness's new arm injury was not inflicted by anyone else. It was Your Highness who cut himself with a dagger last night because he was afraid of losing control and hurting someone."
Yun Kui: "..."
That sounds even scarier.
Cao Yuanlu thought of something and coughed twice, saying, "His Highness has never favored a woman before. He is currently still recovering from his injuries and should not engage in sexual activity. However, if he really wants to, please cooperate as much as possible and do not make His Highness suffer too much, lest his wounds reopen."
This means letting her take the initiative.
But...aren't there rumors that the Crown Prince is lecherous and indiscriminate in his relationships with both men and women? Yet he has never favored anyone.
Yun Kui thought for a moment, then told the truth: "To be honest, Your Highness did not touch me last night..."
Cao Yuanlu was not surprised. When he applied medicine to the Crown Prince this morning, he did not find any traces of sexual intercourse on the bed. He roughly understood that His Highness would rather hurt himself than be controlled by aphrodisiacs and fall into the trap of outsiders.
But being summoned again today... it can't just be a casual chat, can it?
He looked at Yun Kui encouragingly: "Please go in, young lady. Don't keep His Highness waiting."
Yun Kui nodded, took the medicine inside, and was glared at by the guard on duty in the corridor.
Yun Kui: ...
The accountant overheard her conversation with Cao Yuanlu and learned that she had not served the emperor the previous night.
With such beauty before him, the Crown Prince remained unmoved. It seems she's not all that impressive after all; perhaps she was the one he banished from Chengguang Palace...
But why did the Crown Prince summon her again tonight?
"Miss Lianrui, you are not needed in the palace tonight. Go back and rest early."
While pondering this, he suddenly heard Eunuch Cao give an order, and the accountant quickly composed himself, cupping his hands in response.
When Yun Kui entered the hall, she saw the Crown Prince dressed in a dark black undergarment, sitting on a couch drinking tea.
She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed respectfully. "Eunuch Cao sent me to apply medicine to Your Highness."
The crown prince stared at her and gave a faint reply.
The girl slowly approached, and the light fragrance of grass and flowers wafted out, as if the sky had cleared after days of rain, and the sunflowers in the grass, still covered with water droplets, were raising their heads to bask in the sunlight.
The prince's brows gradually relaxed as he watched her carefully unwrap the bandages, circle by circle. When she saw his battered forearm, her lips parted slightly, and her fair face showed a look of fear.
He tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, and after a long while, said casually, "There are still doubts about the Caiju case. I need you to tell me everything you know in detail."
Yun Kui didn't expect that this matter would not end there. The Crown Prince summoned her to the palace not to change her medicine, but to interrogate her.
But... what else is there to say? This person is far too suspicious.
She secretly clenched the gauze in her hand. "It was indeed what I saw with my own eyes. I was worried about Your Highness's safety and cried out in a moment of panic."
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. "Are you worried about me?"
Yun Kui's mind raced, her gaze sweeping over the prince's slender waist, and inappropriately recalling the clearly defined abdominal muscles that had been exposed when the prince was shirtless.
The Crown Prince's face turned pale. He returned to the original topic, his dark eyes filled with inquiry. "Regarding Caiju, I want to hear the truth."
Yun Kui said urgently, "Even if I had ten lives, I wouldn't dare to deceive Your Highness."
"Help! What truth does he want to hear?! The truth is I saw Caiju's little movements and instinctively pointed it out. What is he suspecting?!"
"If I had known this would happen, I should have kept quiet!"
"Although I did see Caiju poisoning me in my dream, what can I say? The Crown Prince doesn't even believe the truth, so how can he believe that I saw Caiju's dream?"
The crown prince heard her thoughts and his phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
It really was a dream.
He hadn't misheard; the girl truly did have the ability to peer into dreams.
The Crown Prince could hear what others were thinking, so even the most bizarre and strange things were nothing to him; he just needed to find a way to get information out of her.
He pondered for a moment, then deliberately asked, "I've heard that you can dream of the future?"
Yun Kui was so startled that her fingertips trembled, and the scissors in her hand fell to the carpet with a "clatter".
Cold sweat poured down her forehead, and she quickly knelt down. "Your Highness, please forgive me, this servant does not have such ability!"
The Crown Prince fiddled with the black jade ring on his finger and said casually, "You probably don't know that there are eighteen cruel tortures in the Eastern Palace's interrogation room, including skinning, dismembering, and burning in the sky. Each of these tortures will make you deeply regret not telling the truth sooner."
When the topic of torture came up, a slight smile appeared on his lips. His unhurried pace made it sound like he was having a casual chat, yet it exuded a chilling and terrifying aura that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Has the Crown Prince discovered something? But I've never mentioned my ability to enter dreams to anyone. How did the Crown Prince find out?"
"Could it be that he let it slip to Dan Gui one of those days?"
She was trembling all over, and her face was extremely pale. "If I tell you, could Your Highness please have mercy and forgive me for concealing the truth?"
The Crown Prince said calmly, "Tell me first."
Yun Kui swallowed hard and said honestly, "This servant did indeed dream of Caiju poisoning me last night, but this servant does not have the ability to foresee the future. This servant can only occasionally see other people's dreams. Last night, I just happened to meet Caiju under the corridor, and at night I saw her secretly poisoning me in my dream. This servant suddenly remembered this matter during the day, which is why I paid extra attention to Caiju's every move... What this servant said is all true, and I would never dare to deceive Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will investigate clearly!"
When the Crown Prince saw her swear to the heavens and compared it with her true feelings, he knew that what she said was true.
He asked, "Can I enter your dreams?"
Indeed, compared to his mind-reading ability, his ability to enter dreams is quite bizarre.
Yun Kui nodded, but fearing that the Crown Prince might want to use her little tricks for his own purposes, she quickly added, "I only stumbled upon Caiju's secret by accident. Normally, I could only watch the people around me have their little squabbles and wouldn't get any useful information."
The Crown Prince's gaze was sharp: "You only met Caiju once, yet you were able to enter her dreams. Now that you serve in Chengguang Palace every day, wouldn't you also be able to enter my dreams?"
Yun Kui nervously clenched her fingers.
"Can I say that? I even dreamt that you were going to strangle me."
But she absolutely must not give the Crown Prince this warning, otherwise he might really kill her to silence her.
Crown Prince: ...
Dreams are fleeting and chaotic, and are often forgotten as soon as one turns over.
Did he ever dream of strangling her? But the night she fed him medicine with sheep intestines, he did have murderous thoughts and wished he could tear her to pieces.
Yun Kui hesitated for a moment, but still didn't dare to tell the truth. "This servant's skills are insignificant and not worth mentioning. Your Highness is the most noble person in the world. How could this servant dare to offend you..."
The Crown Prince naturally didn't believe it. "You will stay in the palace tonight. I want to see if you can enter my dreams. If you are talking nonsense and spreading rumors, I will not let you off easily."
Yun Kui defended herself: "...This servant has never mentioned this matter to anyone, and has not spread rumors."
Crown Prince: "You've misled me."
Yun Kui: "..."
"Can't you understand human language? I already said you can't enter! It's not like you can just go into someone else's dream; it's very difficult, okay?"
The crown prince ignored him and, with his eyes downcast, ordered, "Continue bandaging."
Yun Kui wanted to cry but had no tears. She gritted her teeth and cleaned him up. She was angry and didn't know how to control the force when she wiped the wound with the towel. She heard the man breathe heavily.
Looking up and meeting those cold, fierce black eyes, she felt a little flustered. Seeing that he didn't continue to lash out, but just stared at her coldly, she said aggrievedly, "Your Highness, please forgive me," and continued cleaning.
The wounds on her arm were crisscrossed, each one a gruesome mess of flesh and blood. Yun Kui felt the hairs on her body stand on end, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Any injury that appeared on her body would probably cause her excruciating pain.
She was also beaten; she was beaten by her cousin before entering the palace, and she was also beaten by the head maid after entering the palace.
However, her aunt cherished her face, and while her cousin could vent his anger on her, he absolutely could not damage her, lest it affect her future marriage prospects.
As for the palace, the punishment of being flogged is always done with restraint. As long as one does not commit a serious mistake, one will not be flogged easily, nor will one leave an unsightly scar, for fear of offending the masters' eyes.
She had never seen anyone in her life hurt her like this, especially a crown prince, someone who should be living a life of luxury.
In fact, she had the privilege of seeing several princes from afar.
The second prince, also known as Prince Chen, is elegant and noble. The fourth prince, born to the imperial concubine, is dashing and debonair. The ninth prince is only five years old, fair-skinned, strong, and fierce. He loves to ride palace maids like horses.
Although the nine sons of the dragon are different, they are all radiant and noble beyond compare. But the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace is filled with bloodshed every day. It is not like the palace of the crown prince, but more like the palace of the King of Hell...
They, like little sunflowers, need to face the sun to thrive; how could they live in the gloomy underworld?
While bandaging her wounds, Yun Kui muttered to herself, completely unaware of the Crown Prince's extremely gloomy expression.
After the wound was treated, when he looked up to reply, the man's expression had returned to normal, as indifferent as ever.
The prince gazed at her for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How can I enter your dream?"
Upon hearing that things had taken a turn for the better, Yun Kui hurriedly said, "It needs to be someone I've seen in person before, but I've seen countless people during the day, so it depends on fate which person appears in my dreams. Besides, this person must be someone I think about day and night, someone who keeps me tossing and turning in bed..."
She embellished the story, trying to make it sound incredibly difficult, hoping to persuade the Crown Prince to give up his probing of her.
However, the Crown Prince remained unmoved, pondered for a moment, and said, "Tonight you will sleep in the same bed with me, and you will report back when you wake up tomorrow."
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