Chapter 348 Why don't I atone for my sins by serving the Crown Prince?
Unlike before, Chu Yanluo no longer wore her long hair loose; probably because of the scars on her scalp, she styled it into a flying fairy bun.
There were no gold or silver ornaments on her hair, only a lifelike white snow lotus flower.
Looking at Chu Yanluo with her hair styled in a bun, Xiao Qingyuan thought she looked even better and had a more aloof air than when her hair was down.
Huayi, seeing Xiao Qingyuan staring intently at Chu Yanluo, cried while clinging to his other arm, "Your Highness, Huayi is unjustly killed! I treated Chundie and Xiachan like my own sisters. I was more heartbroken than anyone else when they were in trouble. Is Aunt Chu trying to force me to my death by making such malicious accusations?"
When Xiao Qingyuan heard her crying again, he immediately came to his senses: "Huayi, don't cry. You're pregnant. Be careful not to hurt yourself by crying."
"But Consort Chu... begs the Prince to clear Huayi's name!"
As Huayi spoke, she released his arm and knelt down.
The force of kneeling produced a muffled "thud".
What are you doing?
Xiao Qingyuan couldn't care less about Chu Yanluo now. He shook off Chu Yanluo's hand and quickly helped Huayi up: "Don't you care about your knees? Kneeling so firmly, are you stupid? Quickly let me see if you're hurt?"
With tears streaming down her face, Hua Yi said with unwavering determination, "Hua Yi is of lowly birth and is not afraid of getting hurt. Hua Yi is only afraid of being wronged, and even more afraid that the young master will listen to slander and misunderstand Hua Yi."
Xiao Qingyuan turned to look at Chu Yanluo: "You know perfectly well that Huayi is pregnant, yet you still come here to spout nonsense? The two maids, one dead and one ill, are simply too weak themselves. What does that have to do with Huayi?"
“I know better than anyone how kind Huayi is! Have you forgotten that when you fell ill, I didn’t have the money to hire a royal physician for you, and it was Huayi who used her own money to hire one for you!”
Chu Yanlu cursed Huayi in her heart for being a hypocrite, but on the surface she appeared to be agreeable: "Yes, Your Highness is right to reprimand me. Yanlu has misunderstood Miss Huayi."
"Yes, it's good that you know."
“Your Highness, why don’t I atone for my sins by serving you in place of Huayi? She is pregnant, and it’s not appropriate for her to continue serving you. Otherwise, if she were to have a miscarriage, the child would be lost, which would be a great loss.”
Xiao Qingyuan hesitated as he looked at Huayi. He had also felt the inconvenience these past two days, especially when he was holding Huayi and couldn't do anything, which made him feel a bit stifled.
For the first time, he felt that assigning him only one maidservant was far too few; he should have several more, just like Yuan Zheng had.
Seeing his hesitation, Hua Su felt a pang of anxiety and immediately said, "Didn't Aunt Chu already bring this up? The young master has already refused, why are you bringing it up again? The young master has already confined you to your quarters, you shouldn't have come out, go back now!"
In the past, Chu Yanluo would have cursed Huayi, asking what right a maid had to tell her what her master was right to do, and then slapped her twice.
But after suffering so many losses at the hands of Huayi, she learned her lesson.
She smiled as kindly as could be: "Huayi, don't always try to get rid of me. I'm only doing this because I care about the young master, and even more so because I care about you. That's why I volunteered, even at the risk of being scolded by the young master."
“You are a maid, and I am a concubine. We are essentially the same, both serving the young master. When you are not available, I will serve you, and when I am not available, you will serve me. It’s good to help each other!”
"You don't look too well, and you've lost a lot of weight. I heard you can't eat? Don't worry, I can make all sorts of delicious snacks. I'll definitely make them for you later, and I promise you and the baby will grow up healthy and plump."
Hua Yi clenched her fingers, wishing she could crush Chu Yanluo's face.
Who would dare eat anything made by Chu Yanluo? She might have added abortifacients to it, deliberately causing her to miscarry!
Now that she is pregnant with Xiao Qingyuan's first child, she has become a thorn in the side of Shen Wantang and Chu Yanluo. The two of them are taking turns trying to kill her and her child!
All she could do was hold onto Xiao Qingyuan's heart tightly. As long as Xiao Qingyuan's heart was with her, she had nothing to fear! She would not lose to anyone!
"Your Highness."
Hua Yi spoke softly, her embrace of Xiao Qingyuan filled with dependence and trust: "Hua Yi is just a maid, how could I dare to trouble Aunt Chu to serve me? You can go out and buy two more diligent maids. Hua Yi is incompetent, and I'm afraid I won't be able to do everything myself in the days to come."
Xiao Qingyuan nodded: "You're right. It's really not fair to have Aunt Chu serve you. I'll just buy two more maids!"
Mo Ji, who was standing nearby, suddenly spoke up to remind him, "Master, it's the end of the year, and the price of maids has gone up. Even a slightly decent one costs five taels of silver. You don't have the money!"
"Shut up!"
Xiao Qingyuan's face darkened: "Do I need you to tell me if I don't have money? Aren't I already trying to find ways to earn money?!"
Upon hearing that he wanted to earn money, Chu Yanluo immediately said, "Young Master, if you want to earn money, I have a way!"
Xiao Qingyuan glanced at her: "What can you do? Last time I lent Yuan Zheng and Gu Qianhan 20,000 taels, and you lost it all. You still have the nerve to say you have a way to make money?"
"I really do have it this time!"
As Chu Yanluo spoke, she pointed to her face: "Hasn't Your Highness noticed that the scars on my face are almost gone?"
"So what if it is?"
"Oh dear, Your Highness doesn't understand. Women love beauty the most and hate having scars on their bodies the most. I have a secret recipe for removing scars. The scar removal cream I made myself is very effective. If I could cooperate with a big pharmacy, I would definitely make a fortune!"
Xiao Qingyuan's heart skipped a beat: "Really? You really made a scar removal cream? Can this stuff really make money?"
"How could I lie to the young master? I've personally tested this ointment; it works quickly and has no side effects. As long as it's put out to sell, it'll definitely be snapped up!"
How much silver can one serving sell for?
"Silver? Young Master, you underestimate my scar-removing ointment. We need to sell it for gold! One tube of ointment will sell for ten taels of gold. In less than a month, Young Master will earn tens of thousands of taels of gold. At that time, you can buy whatever you want, let alone buy maids!"
As Chu Yanluo spoke, she grabbed Xiao Qingyuan's arm and snatched him from Huayi's hands: "Let Huayi rest for a while first, Your Highness. Let's go to my courtyard to talk in detail. I can't tell anyone else about this secret recipe. I'm only telling Your Highness."
Upon hearing that he could earn ten thousand taels of gold, Xiao Qingyuan lost all interest in Huayi and followed Chu Yanluo outside.
Huayi called to him from behind, but he just waved his hand absentmindedly: "Go back and lie down, I'll be right back."
After he finished speaking, he followed Chu Yanluo outside.
Chu Yanluo almost burst out laughing. She turned to look at Huayi and saw that even her usually gentle mask couldn't hold back anymore, revealing a hint of gloom.
She gave Huayi a provocative smile, then took Xiao Qingyuan's arm and walked away.
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