Chapter 4 "You, come here."...
In the past few days, the Empress sent many people from the Imperial Household Department to the Eastern Palace, but without exception, they were all rejected by the Crown Prince. There were even two spies that she had intended to place by the Crown Prince's side, who were said to have been dragged out and dealt with for being indecent in front of the Crown Prince.
The Empress was furious, but also somewhat frightened.
Could it be that the Crown Prince discovered something?
That shouldn't be the case.
She asked herself if she had been dutiful and responsible all these years, at least in appearances, and no one dared to say a bad word about it.
The two palace maids sent there were also sent very discreetly.
Well, the most important thing right now is to fool those old ministers from the previous dynasty and let them know that she, as the empress dowager, has done everything she could. As for the outcome, it's not something she can control.
It's a pity that those useless guys sent out earlier couldn't even get close to the Crown Prince, and they ended up like this.
Thinking of this, the Empress felt a headache coming on.
It was Qin, the old nanny beside her, who came up with a suggestion: "In my opinion, the palace maid who served medicine last time was bold and clever, and she was also very beautiful. After all that trouble, the Crown Prince still spared her life, which shows that she is quite fortunate. Perhaps... she can be used by Your Highness."
This reminder made the Empress recall that pretty and charming face, and her heart stirred.
"Go, bring the person to me."
...
Yun Kui was a very self-aware person, and she intuitively felt that the Empress's special summons of such a lowly ant as her must be something extraordinary.
Even if she had served the medicine well and had already been rewarded, this time it was probably still related to the Crown Prince.
really.
The Empress sat on the golden peony-patterned couch. When she saw her arrive, she put down the tea in her hand and smiled gently: "Last time in Chengguang Hall, if it weren't for your merit in serving the medicine, the Crown Prince wouldn't have woken up so quickly."
Upon hearing the words "Crown Prince," Yun Kui's temples throbbed with anger, and she could only grit her teeth and reply, "This servant's skills are mere trifles and not worth mentioning."
The Empress looked down at her, a smile playing on her lips. She had seen plenty of women like this before—ambitious to climb the social ladder and greedy for money. Such people were the easiest to manipulate.
"Get up first."
Yun Kui stood up as instructed, "Thank you, Your Highness."
The Empress looked her up and down and smiled with satisfaction: "Indeed, you are a beauty. I think you are a bold and meticulous girl. It is really a waste for you to work in the kitchen. The Crown Prince is still ill, and the palace servants below are useless. They can't even feed him medicine. That's why I thought of you."
Yun Kui's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the Empress wanted her to go to Chengguang Palace to serve the Crown Prince medicine?
The Empress stated her purpose: "I intend to promote you to a palace maid who will serve the Crown Prince in bed. What do you say?"
"Serve...serve in bed?" Yun Kui was shocked, and for a moment thought she had misheard.
The Empress chuckled softly: "What, you're unwilling?"
Yun Kui's back was covered in cold sweat, and she could barely speak: "This servant is incompetent. I can only do odd jobs in the kitchen. I... I don't know how to serve the emperor."
She longed for a place to belong, but she understood the saying that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, especially since the other party was the crown prince who killed without hesitation. This was simply... sending herself to her death.
The Empress said, "With your looks, serving medicine is a waste of your talents. As for bedroom matters, I will send someone to teach you. Once you become the Crown Prince's bedmate, your future will be limitless."
Although the Empress appeared kind, Yun Kui sensed an undeniable authority in her voice.
She wanted to try again, "I'm afraid His Highness the Crown Prince will find me clumsy and won't like me..."
Seeing her hesitate, the Empress became somewhat displeased. Qin Mama, noticing her mistress's changed expression, stepped forward with a stern face and said, "That is the Eastern Palace, an honor that everyone desires but cannot attain. Her Majesty is willing to elevate you; this is a blessing you have accumulated over eight lifetimes. Why don't you quickly express your gratitude!"
Thinking to himself, when he was serving her medicine that day, this girl was trying her best, but now she's acting all coy and hesitant.
Yun Kui could not refuse, so she had no choice but to kneel down and thank him.
Before her stood the Empress, the mother of the nation, not some ordinary head maid with whom she could consult. Now that the Empress had approached her, there was no turning back.
The thing I've been worrying about day and night has finally happened in the most terrifying way.
The thought of that ruthless and bloodthirsty Crown Prince, and the corpses dragged out of Chengguang Palace, sent a chill down her spine.
His Highness the Crown Prince dreams of strangling her to death. If she enters Chengguang Palace, she'll probably be walking in upright and coming out horizontally within half a day.
Being able to peek into dreams is considered supernatural and should not be told to outsiders. Others will only think she is talking nonsense to save her life, and may even beat her up as a monster.
She returned to the kitchen in a daze, where the head maid had already received instructions that she no longer needed to stay in the dormitory-style rooms; she now had a new place to live.
Yun Kui thought to herself: ...There's no need to rush to move.
Her mind may have moved before she even moved to her new place.
Dan Gui held her hand and said with tears in her eyes, "Don't worry, I will burn more paper money for you in the future, so that you won't suffer in the underworld."
Yun Kui felt like crying even more.
She hadn't even had a chance to warm up those ten taels of gold yet!
For the first time in my life, I had a clear understanding of the saying "you can make money but not live to enjoy it."
Although the palace maids who served the crown prince were of the lowest rank, they were still female officials with official titles. They lived in the side hall behind Chengguang Hall along with the master of ceremonies, the gatekeeper, and the head of the tent. The four of them were mainly responsible for trivial matters such as making the bed, washing and changing clothes in the crown prince's bedroom. Although they had different titles, they all knew in their hearts that they were concubines in the crown prince's room, waiting for the crown prince's favor at any time.
In any other time, this would have been an opportunity for these lowly palace maids to rise to prominence and become phoenixes. Being so close to the emperor, if they were to give birth to children, they would enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor.
But with such a crown prince, the Eastern Palace is no different from the King of Hell's palace.
Yun Kui was on the verge of tears.
The three palace maids with her were all from Lan Yue Pavilion. The Master of Ceremonies was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, the Master of the Gate was skilled in playing the pipa, and the Master of the Tent was good at dancing. Only she... had a pretty face but was useless.
But it is obvious that in front of the Crown Prince, even the most beautiful appearance is of no use.
The palace maids who were dragged out of Chengguang Hall were all exceptionally beautiful, but His Highness the Crown Prince showed no mercy when it came to killing.
In the afternoon, Granny Qin brought people to teach them manners.
The so-called rules are nothing more than matters concerning the inside and outside of Chengguang Hall.
Of course, with the Crown Prince seriously injured, the most important thing right now is to take care of him.
Aunt Wei specially invited female doctors to teach them how to bandage and apply medicine, how to feed them water and food, and even personally demonstrated all the chores such as serving tea and water, making beds and folding blankets, planting flowers and plants, and burning incense and candles, so that they could learn to do them one by one until they were satisfied.
"You must be calm, steady in your hands, and upright in your demeanor. His Highness the Crown Prince prefers quiet, so you must not make any noise while serving in the palace. There must be no disturbance or commotion. There must not be a speck of dust on the bed, the table, or the curtains..."
Yun Kui folded the quilt more than twenty times, complaining inwardly that she couldn't fold it anymore.
Is it possible that she didn't even live long enough to be able to make the Crown Prince's bed?
She was very likely to be dragged out and beaten to death because her left foot stepped into Chengguang Hall first.
So what's the point of learning these rules?
But Yun Kui is a dutiful slacker. Even if she is unwilling, she will not jump out to resist. She is the kind of slacker who is neither ambitious nor at the bottom. So she is still well-behaved in front of her aunt, like a puppet with a dead heart, numbly repeating the same actions over and over again.
After all, these could very well be the last days of her life, so even if they were tiring, they were still worth cherishing.
After several days, all four of them were exhausted.
The palace maid in charge of the accounts finally couldn't help but ask, "Aunt Wei, when can we go and serve the Crown Prince?"
Aunt Wei, who teaches etiquette, glanced at her and said, "What's the rush? The most important things haven't been learned yet."
So, the four of them ended up with a picture book.
Aunt Wei said, "The previous rules were just to ensure your safety in front of His Highness the Crown Prince. What follows are the secret techniques for winning the Crown Prince's favor in the bedroom."
The four of them curiously opened the picture book, only to find that what Aunt Wei had shown them was actually a fire-avoidance diagram.
The master of ceremonies and the master of ceremonies were both shy. When they saw the picture of the two lovers in the album, they were so frightened that they quickly closed the album. Even the usually outgoing master of ceremonies blushed with embarrassment.
Seeing that everyone was shy, Yun Kui didn't want to show that she was actually very interested, so she pretended to close the picture book.
Aunt Wei said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is over twenty years old and still single. You were all carefully selected from the palace, so you must serve His Highness well and strive to win his favor. His Highness is now seriously injured and has many difficulties in moving around, so you need to study the art of the bedroom diligently and take the initiative to share his burdens. Do you understand?"
The four of them nodded in unison.
When no one was around at night, Yun Kui hid under the covers, took out the booklet, and read it with great interest.
In fact, she was no stranger to bedroom matters. Although the ability to enter dreams did not provide any real help in her life, it did open a new and exciting door for her—she could occasionally see some vivid and erotic scenes in her dreams.
The main characters in her dreams are mostly people she knows. Aunt Bizan and the commander of the honor guard are frequent visitors in her dreams. There are also some people whose backs she can only see because of the position, and hear some muffled sounds.
I later learned that this was what is known as a wet dream.
Out of politeness, even in her dreams, she didn't deliberately get close, but just watched cautiously, and gradually gained a better understanding of love between men and women.
However, since she worked in the inner palace, she usually came into contact with palace maids and eunuchs. The officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the guards of the outer palace who dealt with their kitchens did not necessarily have erotic dreams often, so she did not have many erotic dreams that she could observe up close.
The little eunuch's dream was nothing special, and she despised those fat, bloated men.
Because I haven't seen it often, I felt a little restless.
As she flipped through the fire-avoidance diagrams at night, the postures in the paintings overlapped with the images she had seen in her mind. Only then did she understand what "dragons turning," "mandarin ducks in harmony," and "flipping butterflies" meant... In short, the mysteries were endless, and there was no greater bliss in the world than this.
As I flipped through the pages, I felt a little sad again.
No matter how much she longs for it, it's useless; she'll soon be unable to experience the joys of life.
Aunt Wei was such a kind person. She gave her this book before she died, which allowed her to spend a short but pleasant night. However, His Highness the Crown Prince is probably not fortunate enough to enjoy the skills he has learned. Perhaps he can go and seduce a few handsome male ghosts when he enters the King of Hell's palace.
I wonder if there's any difference between happiness for humans and ghosts.
Sigh, I feel like crying...
The next morning, Aunt Wei personally led people to dress them up and then led them into Chengguang Hall.
Upon entering the hall, a strong stench of blood assaulted the nostrils, and everyone held their breath in unison.
Yun Kui kept her head down the whole way, staring only at the tips of her shoes, her palms sweating profusely.
Once Aunt Wei stood still in the hall, Yun Kui was as tense as a taut string, not daring to breathe.
Aunt Wei bowed respectfully to the man on the couch and then said, "These are four beauties specially selected by the Imperial Household Department for Your Highness. From now on, they will serve Your Highness."
Yun Kui and the other three quickly knelt down and greeted the Crown Prince in unison.
The person on the bed did not respond, and the only sound in the hall was the burning of the candlelight.
The prince sipped his tea, his dark eyelashes half-closed, his deep-set eyes shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
Seeing that he didn't even look at her properly, Aunt Wei felt a little embarrassed. Remembering Qin Mama's instructions earlier, she smiled and said, "Your Highness, these maids are all very clever, especially this one named Yun Kui. When you were unconscious and couldn't take your medicine, it was this girl who came up with the solution..."
Yun Kui: ...
No, you think I've lived too long?
It feels like, in order to please the beast in the cage, you specially prepare a piece of fresh meat, and fawn over it by throwing it into the beast's mouth, saying, "Try it, this piece is the best!"
The prince fiddled with the black jade thumb ring on his thumb before lazily lifting his eyelids. "Oh, really?"
"Yes, yes." Aunt Wei hurriedly instructed, "Yun Kui, why don't you raise your head and let His Highness see you?"
This time, he couldn't pretend to be dead anymore.
Yun Kui stiffly moved her neck, finally resignedly raising her head and meeting those dark, inky eyes.
That one glance sent a chill down my spine.
Or perhaps due to extreme tension and fear, her mind was almost blank at that moment.
The prince sat on the edge of the bed, a sinister light gleaming in his eyes, like a ferocious beast eyeing its prey, and raised a finger toward her.
"You, come here."
His voice was devoid of any emotion, yet its deep, husky quality evoked a chilling and eerie feeling.
Yun Kui crawled numbly, her legs trembling. She had rehearsed begging for mercy hundreds of times in her mind, but she was too nervous to utter a single word.
"No way, I've never heard anyone say His Highness the Crown Prince is this handsome!"
Hearing her thoughts, the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes.
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