After Fu Liu left, Song Xibai also dismissed Ju Qing.
Ten minutes later, Zhao Fen arrived openly at the East Hall.
Upon entering the room, Zhao Fen immediately knelt down.
"Please, Your Majesty, help me!"
As she spoke, she began to kowtow repeatedly.
Song Xibai was startled and hurriedly told Fuliu to close the door.
"Let's talk this out. What are you doing?"
Song Xibai found it very distasteful that the person immediately knelt down and kowtowed, acting as if they wouldn't get up until the other person agreed.
Fu Liu chimed in, "Sister Zhao Fen, get up quickly! If you need our Master Xi's help, you need to explain what it is!"
Zhao Fen was helped up by Fu Liu, but her face was deathly pale.
She hesitated for a long time before gritting her teeth and explaining her purpose.
“Previously, when Miss Dingxiang examined me, she must have noticed… noticed…” She hesitated for a long time before continuing, “that I had been pregnant before.”
Upon hearing this, Song Xibai didn't react, but Fu Liu was so shocked that her eyes widened.
"Sister Zhao Fen, you..."
Zhao Fen gave a bitter smile: "I kept this a secret from my former disciplinarian and disciplinary aunt. I thought that only heaven and earth knew, and no one else would know, but I never expected..."
Song Xibai remained silent for a long time before speaking, but the question she asked was unexpected.
Who is the child's father?
When she first heard about this from Dingxiang, her first guess was the emperor.
But upon further reflection, it seems unlikely. Palace maids who are favored by the emperor are recorded, so there's no way anyone would be missed. Moreover, if a palace maid becomes pregnant, her status changes drastically. At the very least, she becomes a concubine, and if she successfully gives birth to a child, her rank can rise by one or two levels, transforming her from a servant into a mistress. Who would deliberately conceal such a thing?
Therefore, there is only one possibility: the child is not the emperor's.
But the women in the palace, whether they were concubines or palace maids, were nominally the emperor's women. Who would dare to touch them?
After much thought, Song Xibai couldn't help but direct her suspicions towards the other princes.
The crown prince is infertile, so it couldn't be him. But there are quite a few other adult princes in the palace!
Song Xibai's mind was filled with speculation, and she looked at Zhao Fen with a hint of doubt.
Zhao Fen took a deep breath, lowered her head, and began to speak in a low voice.
"Twelve years ago, I was originally sweeping in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Later, I was transferred to the small tea room to prepare the fire. At that time, the Emperor was diligent in his duties and often stayed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation until midnight. By chance, I met a guard... He was the Emperor's personal bodyguard. He did not appear during the day, but when he was hungry at night, he would come to the small tea room to find food. I was being punished by my aunt and was picking beans in the small tea room when I bumped into him."
Zhao's fans were lost in memories.
"The guard was young, only two years older than me, and quite talkative. We chatted for a bit and found out we were from the same hometown, so we instinctively became much closer. He was young and often got hungry at night, so I would often secretly hide some food for him to take with him. Before long, we became..."
Song Xibai listened with great emotion.
Feelings in youth are always pure and passionate.
Life in the palace was lonely and unbearable. Zhao Fen was about 13 or 14 years old at the time and was often bullied. Naturally, she developed feelings for this fellow villager.
This is easy to understand.
When a lone man and woman meet late at night, it's easy for things to escalate to the point of being inappropriate.
Afterwards, the young guard promised Zhao Fen that he would marry her, and Zhao Fen believed him.
But a few days later, the emperor went on a southern tour, and the young guard had to leave the palace with him. Before leaving, he gave Zhao Fen a jade pendant as a token, saying that he had already informed the emperor that they would get married after the southern tour.
Unexpectedly, Zhao's fans waited for three months.
A month after the emperor set off on his southern tour, Zhao Fen discovered that her period had not come.
She could hardly believe it, and two more months passed in fear and anxiety, but what she received was not her lover's proposal.
Instead...
News of his death.
Upon hearing this, Song Xibai suddenly felt a chill run through her body.
"He...is dead?"
Song Xibai had considered all sorts of possibilities, but this was the one thing she never expected.
I thought it would be some story about a scumbag husband abandoning a palace maid to marry into a wealthier family...
Zhao Fen's brows furrowed with grief.
“I once wanted to go with him, but I have a family. In the palace, it is a serious crime for a palace maid to commit suicide, which would implicate her family. But in the palace, it is impossible to give birth to a child in secret. In the end, I had no choice but to be ruthless and kill the child.”
She was trembling as she said this.
“I am a sinner, and I will probably go to hell to suffer torture after I die. But my family doesn’t know this… If this is discovered, it doesn’t matter if I die, but my parents, my brother and my two sisters’ families will all be implicated.”
She tried hard not to tremble.
"Therefore, this servant begs Your Highness to keep this secret!"
She kowtowed again, this time with great force.
Song Xibai remained silent.
Fu Liu, standing to the side, was already crying and covering her mouth.
Who would have thought that Zhao Fen, a palace maid who usually seemed so gentle, had such a tragic past?
Zhao Fen pressed her forehead against the ground, and a low voice came out.
"I'm so sorry to the child, and I'm so sorry to Erlang. That was his only child, but I... I..."
Song Xibai closed her eyes.
"I will keep this a secret for you."
Zhao Fen suddenly raised her head, her face filled with disbelief.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
She bowed down again.
Song Xibai sighed: "Fuliu, you too, this matter must not be spread."
Fu Liu nodded, wiped away her tears, and took the initiative to help Zhao Fen up and lead her aside.
"Sister Zhao Fen, you should tidy yourself up before going out, so that no one will notice."
Song Xibai's eyes were half-closed.
In reality, very few people knew about this; only myself, Dingxiang, and Fuliu knew.
Dingxiang would definitely not speak carelessly, and Fuliu's character seems reliable for now, so she wouldn't spread rumors.
Let's leave this secret here for now!
Song Xibai made a decision quickly.
When Zhao Fen finished washing her face and returned to Song Xibai, she had regained her usual composure.
"This servant knows that this request has put Your Highness in a difficult position. If Your Highness needs anything in the future, this servant will certainly do it for you!"
Song Xibai waved her hand: "There's nothing I need you to do for me. Just do your job."
She and the Crown Princess don't have any conflicts at the moment, so she doesn't need Zhao's fans to help her with anything.
Zhao Fen gratefully withdrew.
At this time, Song Xibai was unaware that Zhao Fen's secret would not be kept hidden for long.
In fact, she may become an extremely important bargaining chip in the Crown Prince's hands in the future.
However, at this time, she was just a minor palace maid in the Eastern Palace.
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