Chapter 7 I wonder if I can get a kiss before I die...
The crown prince gripped her hand and coldly uttered two words: "Insolence."
From the moment the dressing was changed, the prince regained some consciousness, and as the stinging sensation of the saline solution soaking into the wound came, his mind gradually cleared.
He didn't open his eyes at first because her movements were quite delicate, much better than those clumsy eunuchs. Judging from her inner thoughts, she posed no immediate threat to him, so he let her do as she pleased.
Unexpectedly, this girl had a head full of lewd jokes and even dared to...
He took a deep breath and finally remembered what she had said in her heart on the day she regained consciousness—chest muscles.
—I want to see your pecs, can I?
The crown prince's feelings were unusually complicated.
He lived for more than twenty years, and only the old people who served him said that his eyebrows and eyes resembled those of Empress Huigong. No one ever talked about anything else.
Since he was able to hear his inner voice and saw through the hypocrisy and treacherous intentions of many people, no palace maid dared to speak ill of his appearance in her heart.
It wasn't that he wasn't handsome enough, but rather that his reputation for violence was so great that anyone who saw him for the first time was immediately intimidated by his ruthless aura and dared not look at him a second time.
Even if Emperor Chunming and the Empress were here, they would have to be mentally prepared before making eye contact with him.
This little girl was the first person to dare to look him up so brazenly.
Not only that, she even developed inappropriate and intimate feelings for him, she was incredibly audacious!
When Yun Kui met his gaze, the blood in her body instantly froze.
The hand he was gripping trembled violently, and the porcelain bottle slipped from his grasp, falling with a "thud" onto the prince's abs, rolling down the clearly defined cleavage until it was stopped between the prince's legs...
Their gazes, unusually, followed the trajectory of the rolling porcelain vase and stopped at an extremely awkward position.
When people are nervous and fearful, they are prone to panic and become flustered. In a moment of impulsiveness, Yun Kui, for some unknown reason, hurriedly reached out and took the porcelain bottle back from the prince.
Of course, it's also inevitable that you'll encounter places you shouldn't.
As the warm touch brushed against the back of her hand, Yun Kui felt her blood rush to her head, reaching the very top of her head.
"Help! What did I touch?!"
She glanced at it instinctively, but quickly looked away when she realized something was wrong. She then looked up at the Crown Prince and saw that his eyes were as cold as ice and his brows were filled with a fierce aura.
In a panic, she was about to kneel down and beg for forgiveness when she realized that her hands were still held captive by the man and she could not move them.
She was able to break free from the Crown Prince last time because she used all her strength and took advantage of the Crown Prince's blindfolded state to catch him off guard.
But today, there is no such luck.
Yun Kui's heart pounded like a drum, her face turned deathly pale, and she stammered, "This servant...this servant was changing His Highness's dressing, and I offended His Highness, please forgive me..."
Aunt Wei was too far away to see clearly when the porcelain bottle fell, but she knew that the Crown Prince woke up while his dressing was being changed and seemed to be angry again.
Although Yun Kui was someone she had personally pushed forward, she had at least carefully taught her for a few days and was also the Empress's person. It would be a pity if she were executed by the Crown Prince, so she tried to step forward and say a few words on her behalf: "Your Highness, you are awake? This girl is indeed here to change your dressing and bathe you. If she has not served you properly, this servant will punish her."
The Crown Prince twirled his thumb ring, his tone calm: "It seems I've been away for too long; the Eastern Palace is now actually run by Aunt Wei?"
Aunt Wei's face turned deathly pale, and she hurriedly knelt down, "This servant deserves to die, this servant had no such intention!"
The palace servants behind him also knelt down.
The crown prince closed his eyes, clearly running out of patience: "Get out, all of you."
No one dared to delay for a moment, and hurriedly crawled away to take their leave. The imperial physicians, in order to save their own lives, also fled the scene of the storm.
The most awkward situation was for Yun Kui, who was trapped by the Crown Prince and had no choice but to stay put, constantly worried that the guillotine would fall on her neck.
The crown prince pursed his thin lips and stared at her intently for a while before letting go.
Yun Kui escaped control and was so frightened that she quickly knelt down on the ground.
The Crown Prince, however, did not rush to punish him. He withdrew his gaze and ordered his personal guard, Qin Ge, "Go and fetch Yuanlu for me."
Qin Ge immediately accepted the order and went to carry it out.
Cao Yuanlu was originally the chief steward of Chengguang Hall, who served the late Empress and later the Crown Prince for many years. Due to a mistake during the Qianyuantai sacrificial ceremony in February of this year, he was punished by being sent to the Imperial Horse Administration to pull horses and stirrups.
The Crown Prince wanted the person, so how could the Imperial Horse Administration refuse to release him?
Cao Yuanlu was quickly brought back, and kneeling before the Crown Prince with tears of joy, he said, "This old servant greets Your Highness! Your Highness has finally returned!"
The Crown Prince glanced at him coldly: "What have you been doing while I was away, that you've fallen so low as to work as a footstool at the Imperial Stables?"
Cao Yuanlu wiped away his tears, knowing the Crown Prince disliked rambling, so he cut to the chase and said, "...This year's sacrificial ceremony is being overseen by His Highness Prince Chen. Prince Chen said that I have presided over many sacrificial ceremonies with you and am very experienced, so he asked me to come and help. I never expected that all the prepared cattle, sheep, chickens, and dogs would die of illness overnight. His Majesty was furious, and that's why His Highness Prince Chen punished me by sending me to the Imperial Stables..."
Prince Chen is the Empress's eldest son and the second son among the princes. In the past, Emperor Chunming and the Crown Prince would preside over the sacrificial rites. With the Crown Prince absent, it was an opportunity for the other princes to gain experience.
The Crown Prince asked, "Has the cause been found out?"
Cao Yuanlu said helplessly, "The transportation and feeding of the livestock were indeed handled entirely by this servant, and this servant cannot escape responsibility..."
Qin Ge said urgently, "It must be Prince Chen who plotted to harm you!"
The crown prince glanced at him, and Qin Ge immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "This subordinate will go and investigate immediately."
The Crown Prince glanced at Yuan Lu again, "What are you still standing there for? Change my dressing."
But then a sobbing sound rang in my ears.
"Help... Someone please save Little Sunflower..."
Cao Yuanlu followed the Crown Prince's gaze and saw a little maid kneeling in the hall, sniffling softly, her eyes red and on the verge of tears.
He had served the Crown Prince for many years and knew his master better than anyone else. He knew that the Crown Prince had limited patience and would deal with anyone he was dissatisfied with on the spot, or tell them to get out of Chengguang Hall.
At this moment, His Highness's disgust was clear and undisguised, yet he said nothing about how to deal with her. It was truly strange that this little girl was still safely in the palace.
Cao Yuanlu tentatively asked, "Who is this girl?"
Yun Kui finally heard someone mention her name, and quickly looked up, her almond-shaped eyes brimming with tears, "This servant is here to help His Highness the Crown Prince change his dressing..."
Cao Yuanlu glanced at Yun Kui, then at the Crown Prince. He had just returned and didn't know the background of this palace maid, but he knew that if she were a spy sent from outside, His Highness should have snapped her neck. How could he allow her to cry and wail in the palace?
Could it be that he was attracted by her beauty?
No way, His Highness isn't the type to be obsessed with beautiful women.
The Crown Prince said coldly, "Heavy makeup and a foul stench."
Yun Kui subconsciously touched her face. Her makeup was only slightly more elaborate than usual, and compared to the beauties of Lan Yue Pavilion, she was far from being dressed up carefully.
She smelled her own scent again. She had used perfume, but Aunt Wei had already told her that His Highness the Crown Prince did not like strong fragrances, so she had prepared light and fresh scents for them. Was that not allowed?
Cao Yuanlu understood the Crown Prince's meaning and instructed Yun Kui, "Hurry back to bathe and change into clean clothes to serve me."
Yun Kui was stunned. She... she had just escaped with her life?
Seeing that the Crown Prince had not spoken, Cao Yuanlu took it upon himself to say, "Hurry up and leave!"
Yun Kui quickly kowtowed and happily went downstairs.
Cao Yuanlu turned his head and met the Crown Prince's gloomy phoenix eyes, and trembled with fright: "Your Highness?"
The crown prince stared coldly at him, "Who gave you permission to act on your own?"
The familiar Crown Prince is back. Cao Yuanlu quickly smiled and said, "This servant sees that you have no intention of punishing her."
The Crown Prince sneered, "You've become even more capable in the years since I last saw you. It seems that my decision to remove you from the Imperial Stables was unnecessary."
Cao Yuanlu smiled apologetically and begged for mercy, saying, "Your Highness needs a maidservant to serve you closely, so why don't you keep her here?"
The crown prince remained silent, so Cao Yuanlu boldly stepped forward, took the towel and medicine bottle from the tray, and continued to change the crown prince's dressings and bandages.
Seeing the crisscrossing wounds on the Crown Prince's body, Cao Yuanlu couldn't help but tear up: "Your Highness has been fighting battles in the south and north, but these people only think about killing you all. They don't even think about who gave them their current status..."
The Crown Prince said, "If you utter another word, get back to your horse-raising saddle."
Cao Yuanlu shut his mouth, reached out to check the wounds that Yun Kui had bandaged earlier, and couldn't help but praise, "That little girl did a good job, she treated the wounds very well..."
The prince recalled her filthy and despicable thoughts, closed his eyes, and clenched his teeth.
After treating the prince's wounds, it was already late afternoon.
Cao Yuanlu's forehead was beaded with sweat. He sighed and said, "The imperial physicians in the palace are utterly useless, and we don't know who's behind them, plotting against His Highness. Right now, we can only wait for Physician He to arrive from the northern frontier. His Highness's condition cannot be delayed any longer..."
Most ordinary people would die on the spot if they were hit by a poisoned arrow. The prince managed to cut open his flesh in time and release the poisoned blood, which prevented the poison from entering his heart. But that was all.
There are still residual toxic blood circulating throughout the body, and it could become uncontrollable at any time, with unimaginable consequences.
He Bailing was the Crown Prince's military doctor. This time, he did not return to the capital with the Crown Prince, but stayed in the northern region to treat the people.
No one expected that the Crown Prince would be assassinated on his way. His guards had already set out to find him at top speed, but the northern border was thousands of miles away and they could not reach the capital in a short time. They could only endure this period of time.
...
Yun Kui returned to the side hall and washed herself from head to toe to make sure there was no lingering odor on her body before lying back down on the bed with a sigh of relief.
She had just inquired with someone and learned that the eunuch in the palace today was named Cao Yuanlu, and that he had been taking care of the Crown Prince since birth.
He seems to have a pretty good impression of himself?
Yun Kui pondered to herself, "Since he can plead for her in front of the Crown Prince, his words must carry considerable weight."
In contrast, Aunt Wei was scolded like a grandson by the Crown Prince with just one sentence, which shows the difference in their status.
Since that's the case, she will follow Eunuch Cao from now on. As long as she doesn't make any mistakes, Eunuch Cao will surely be able to protect her life in front of the Crown Prince, which will make it easier for her to move around in the Eastern Palace in the future.
Thinking about this, I felt much more at ease. The fact that she survived several near-death experiences in the Eastern Palace shows that she must be protected by the gods!
Of course, all of this is based on the premise that—
She did not go to Chengguang Hall in the evening to serve him because of Cao Gonggong's words, "Change into clean clothes and come serve me," nor did she see the bloody scene before her.
A palace maid in a pale yellow dress, covered in blood, lay on the ground convulsing, clutching a dagger tightly in her hand.
The prince leaned slightly forward in front of her, easily snatched the dagger from her hand, and then slowly slit the maid's throat.
Ignoring all the screams and trembling, ignoring the warm blood gushing from her neck, all his movements seemed excessively effortless, even elegant.
This was the first time Yun Kui had witnessed the Crown Prince committing murder with her own eyes, and her legs went weak, causing her to kneel down.
The sound of this kneeling echoed clearly in the silent and cold Chengguang Hall with a "thump".
The prince's eyes were bloodshot, and his murderous aura had not yet faded. He walked step by step toward the panicked girl in front of the palace gate, his deep, hoarse voice like that of a demon from hell.
"She tried to assassinate me, but unfortunately, she died at my hands."
Yun Kui: ...You really don't need to explain to me.
The crown prince lowered his eyes and stared at her, his dark eyes devoid of any warmth. "Raise your head and tell me what you're thinking."
Yun Kui trembled as she raised her head and met the Crown Prince's handsome face, which was almost demonic.
She knew she was going to die.
Although it was very inappropriate, I still couldn't help but think in a dirty mind.
"Your lips are so soft."
"I wonder if I can kiss you before I die."
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