Chapter 20 If His Highness doesn't come, consider it a holiday
"Your Highness, this is freshly caught shad, it's incredibly delicious, please try some." The Crown Princess carefully served him the food, her voice so gentle it could melt your heart.
Xiao Jingzhan took a bite without any appetite; without her by his side, the food tasted like nothing at all.
After the meal, palace maids prepared water for washing. The Crown Princess's cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling with desire, and she hinted, "Your Highness, it's late. Shall I help you to rest?"
Xiao Jingzhan raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping calmly over her expectant face, his voice icy cold: "Crown Princess, you only need to remember to behave yourself. Your dignity and honor will not be diminished by me in the slightest. But if you harbor any improper thoughts, or overstep your bounds..."
He paused, and the sharp light in his phoenix eyes made the Crown Princess stiffen. "The consequences are not something you can bear."
The color drained from the Crown Princess's face instantly, her nails digging deep into her palms as she managed to maintain a smile: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty understands."
In the end, Xiao Jingzhan stayed in the main hall of Changchun Palace, but on a soft couch temporarily set up by the palace servants, facing the Crown Princess's phoenix couch from afar.
The candles in the hall went out, plunging the room into darkness and silence. Xiao Jingzhan lay on the cold couch, the unfamiliar incense lingering around his nose, feeling utterly uncomfortable.
He turned over, facing the direction of the Glazed Pavilion, his mind filled with Su Jingyu's image—her sweet smile, her soft and smooth body, her unconscious dependence on him when she was fast asleep…
"You heartless little thing..." he cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth, yet filled with endless longing and resentment. "I'm here unable to eat or sleep, while you're probably already fast asleep, aren't you?"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more he thought about it... the more intensely he wanted to get up immediately, rush back to the Crystal Pavilion, drag that heartless little woman out of bed, and interrogate her fiercely, punish her! But his pride as a chosen one and his ridiculous self-esteem made him forcibly restrain himself.
That night, red candles burned brightly throughout Changchun Palace, symbolizing the glory of the principal wife, but they could not warm the coldness in the heart of the woman on the bed.
Before dawn the next day, Xiao Jingzhan got up. He coldly instructed the uneasy He Yong: "At three-quarters past Mao hour, according to regulations, 'call for water'."
He Yong's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood his master's meaning—this was to be done for outsiders, especially for the Liuli Pavilion! He quickly bowed and said, "This servant understands."
Thus, at the third quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM), the sound of Changchun Palace calling for water, as per custom, was perfectly timed and spread, becoming the starting point for a new wave of rumors about the Eastern Palace. Only the confidants of Changchun Palace knew that the water was nothing more than ordinary hot water used by His Highness to wash his face.
Watching Xiao Jingzhan leave without looking back, the Crown Princess slumped down in front of her dressing table. Looking at her exquisitely made-up but still haggard reflection in the mirror, she finally couldn't hold back her tears and wept bitterly. Granny Sun sighed helplessly beside her.
They all understood that although His Highness had come that night, his heart had never set foot in Changchun Palace.
All the jubilation was nothing but a self-deceiving illusion, a mirage. And what His Highness truly longed for was always the person who lived in the Crystal Pavilion.
One day, two days, three days... a full seven days.
On the surface, everything in the Liuli Pavilion seemed normal. Although His Highness the Crown Prince had not set foot there, his allowances and expenses were still the same as those of the Eastern Palace, and the Imperial Household Department even sent more fresh fruits and exquisite trinkets than before.
The head eunuch, He Yong, would personally come to pay his respects and inquire about their needs every day, with an extremely respectful attitude. The head palace maids, Yun Shu and Jin Shu, served them even more diligently, daring not to be negligent in the slightest.
However, the subtle changes were still perceptible. When the Crown Princess Li was out for a walk, the faint, cold smile on her lips and the probing, gloating looks from the other concubines cast a shadow over the hearts of the palace servants in Liuli Pavilion, as if they were mocking Su Jingyu for falling out of favor.
But Su Jingyu, who was at the center of the storm, surprisingly... relaxed after experiencing the initial two days of disappointment and anxiety.
That day, when the Crown Prince stormed off, her heart ached, and she secretly shed tears that night. But then she thought about it again. Although her words were the "standard answer" of this era, weren't they also a kind of hurt to Xiao Jingzhan, who was deeply in love with her? She understood that he was angry that she didn't love him enough.
But what was she supposed to do? Cry and wail to stop him from taking a concubine and having children? That would really push him into a fire pit.
"If I can't figure it out, then I won't think about it anymore," Su Jingyu muttered to herself in the bronze mirror. She wasn't one to dwell on things; deep down, her modern soul retained a carefree spirit of self-indulgence. Since His Highness wasn't coming, she might as well take a vacation!
As a result, the style of Liuli Pavilion began to go astray.
She no longer needed to dress up meticulously every day to wait for the Crown Prince's arrival. Instead, she simply wore her most comfortable clothes, went makeup-free, and swung on the swing in the courtyard, reading storybooks, spending the whole afternoon doing so.
She directed the young eunuchs to build a grape trellis under the eaves and personally watered the grapes with the sacred spring water, hoping to enjoy sweet grapes in the summer. She also rummaged through the storeroom for spices and herbs, and with the help of her memory and the sacred spring water, enthusiastically prepared various fragrant balms, floral dews, and refreshing drinks. She successfully made desserts similar to "ice jelly," "snow skin mooncakes," and "sour plum soup," which she distributed to everyone in the Liuli Pavilion. The young palace maids' eyes lit up when they ate them.
That afternoon, she even moved a small couch under the crabapple tree, and with the breeze and the fragrance of flowers, she slept soundly with a rosy cheek, looking incredibly content.
All of this was reported in detail by the shadow guards hidden in the shadows to Crown Prince Xiao Jingzhan's desk.
The atmosphere in the East Palace study was so subdued it felt like ice.
Xiao Jingzhan looked at the latest note in his hand: "...For lunch, I had two bowls of green rice, a dish of goose breast, and half a bowl of ham and bamboo shoot soup...In the afternoon, I took a short nap under the crabapple tree for an hour. After waking up, I drank a bowl of homemade plum juice, which I described as 'refreshing'...I played shuttlecock with the palace maid Yunshu in the courtyard for a quarter of an hour, with constant laughter..."
With a "crack," the fine wolf-hair brush broke in two in his hand.
He Yong and Lu Chen, who were standing to the side, wished they could bury their heads in their chests and dare not breathe.
For the past seven days, His Highness the Crown Prince has not set foot in the Liuli Pavilion. Heaven knows how those who serve him closely have managed to endure it! The oppressive atmosphere surrounding His Highness has grown lower day by day, and his methods of handling state affairs have become so ruthless that they are chilling.
And the source of all this—that master of the Glazed Pavilion—is actually... living such a comfortable life?! Eating well, sleeping well, and having fun! It's as if His Highness's departure has had no effect on her whatsoever!
Xiao Jingzhan's chest heaved violently, an indescribable anger and...resentment almost overwhelming him! He thought she would be sad, would reflect on her actions, would at least...show a little bit of disappointment! But what did she do?! He wasn't here, and she seemed even more at ease?!
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