Su Tiyue: ...
That being said, it was indeed her first time being bathed by a eunuch. Moreover, this man was no ordinary eunuch; he was the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Director of the Eastern Depot.
Feeling embarrassed is one thing, but being afraid of him is another.
Unable to argue with him, Su Tiyue could only nod slightly and force herself to remain calm, saying, "Then I will trouble you to take charge of the seal."
She stopped struggling and resisting, and silently took off her outer garment with her back to him, untied the ties of her inner garment, stripped off her clothes, and then quickly immersed herself in the water.
Seeing her so shy and adorable, Xiao Heye smiled inexplicably.
He smirked, walked to the edge of the bathtub, reached out and took the silver hairpin off, placing it on a wooden shelf beside him.
Xiao Heye tidied her slightly disheveled hair and skillfully tied it into a bun. In between, he glanced at the silver hairpin.
Xiao Heye's guess was correct.
The silver hairpin on Su Tiyue's head was sharp and pointed, its shape perfectly matching the wound on Prince Rong's body, and there were still some bloodstains left on it...
If Xiao Heye and Li Xun hadn't caught them, and Su Tiyue and that little palace maid had escaped, and Prince Rong had died without cause in the incense hall of the South Garden... with no one to testify, then his position as the Grand Master would have been extremely precarious.
He bent down, wet the cotton towel in his hand, wrung it out until it was half dry, and carefully wiped the wound on her back.
"hiss--"
As soon as the cotton towel touched the wound, Su Tiyue's body trembled slightly, and she couldn't help but make a sound.
"Your Majesty, please bear with it. The wound needs to be cleaned thoroughly so that it can heal faster after the medicine is applied," he said in a low voice. As he spoke, his movements became much gentler.
"Mmm." Su Tiyue bit her lip, trying her best not to make a sound. No matter how painful it was, she had to endure it. Otherwise, how long would it take to wash? Su Tiyue didn't want to stay in this awful place for even a second longer.
"Your Majesty, could you please tell me about what happened tonight from the beginning?"
Since Xiao Heye had agreed to help her, he needed to know the whole story.
Su Tiyue took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time. After calming her flustered emotions, she began to recount the events in detail.
"His Majesty held a banquet in the Bright Hall today to celebrate the investiture of Consort Ji. During the banquet, I drank a few extra cups of fruit wine. On the way back to the Brocade Palace in the evening, I caught a chill from the wind, and the wine was quite strong. So Liu Wan helped me into the Incense Hall, thinking that I would rest there for a while and return to the palace after I sobered up."
"Unexpectedly, we ran into the drunken Prince Rong in the incense hall. At first, he wanted to drink with me, but when I refused, he became angry and tried to treat me rudely..."
“Prince Rong blocked the doorway, preventing Liu Wan and me from leaving the incense hall. Then the three of us started fighting. After knocking Liu Wan unconscious, Prince Rong even tried to assault me… I wasn’t fully conscious at the time, and I might have hit him a little too hard, pushing him down and slamming him against the table. He bled a lot from his forehead, and I was terrified.”
Hearing this, Xiao Heye sneered and circled the edge of the bathtub to stand in front of her. He gently and carefully wiped the blood from between Su Tiyue's fingers, his tone somewhat frivolous: "Your Majesty, this is ganging up on us. You're two against one? And you're beating up a completely drunk Prince Rong?"
Su Tiyue: ...
"It was clearly him who bullied others first. Prince Rong is licentious and shameless, and has no respect for elders. Although I am not favored, I am still one of the Emperor's concubines. Chief Secretary Xiao, if this matter is really investigated, I also have a defense."
"Yes, this servant thinks Your Highness is right. Your Highness is of noble birth and should not be easily touched by others." Xiao Heye smiled and said:
"And then what?"
"Later, he went berserk, swinging his sword wildly. I was forced into a corner, and that's why..." Su Tiyue turned her head to look at the hairpin, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness. She looked so pitiful, as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment: "That's why I caused such a disaster."
Perhaps she was too scared, too terrified, and too hateful... or perhaps the wine was truly intoxicating and harmful. When she came to her senses, she discovered that Prince Rong had been stabbed to death by her with that silver hairpin.
Later, it was the scene when Xiao Heye and Li Xun stumbled upon it.
Perhaps Xiao Heye's guess was correct; Prince Rong was guilty, but not guilty enough to warrant death.
Su Tiyue also harbored resentment, but she dared not voice it.
The thought of her younger sister Nianyue dying tragically and mysteriously in the Rong Prince's mansion filled her with hatred for the Prince, a hatred so intense it made her grit her teeth.
In Yong'an City, everyone knows that Su Sui, the Minister of Revenue, has two daughters who are as beautiful as celestial beings and possess both talent and beauty. One married the Emperor, and the other married a prince. They all say that this is a stroke of good fortune from the Su family's ancestors, a blessing from their past lives.
What's so good about becoming a concubine in the palace? The current emperor is incompetent, cruel, and corrupt, and everyone knows that he is promiscuous in the harem.
Prince Rong, being the Emperor's fourth brother, was naturally no better off. When Su Nianyue died, Prince Rong's residence offered only a simple explanation: she was in poor health, had contracted a strange illness that was incurable...
Su Tiyue choked up several times, tears wetting her thick, long eyelashes. When she thought of Nianyue... she couldn't say a word.
Seeing her like this, Xiao Heye did not press further. "I understand. Your Majesty, rest assured, leave the rest to this servant."
Xiao Heye's expression was calm, as if he were listening to something trivial and insignificant. He leaned over, one hand on the edge of the bathtub, wiping away the blood and tears from her face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
