Welcoming Spring
In the end, Shen Wenqiu did not follow Jiang Heng. He listened to Jiang Heng's words and stayed to study at Zhaoming Hall.
With his companion prince absent, he felt somewhat awkward being alone in Zhaoming Hall.
He was occasionally subjected to sarcastic remarks from the other princes.
“Even our own princes aren’t coming, so what’s he doing here as a mere companion? Is he trying to freeload off our princes’ classes?” The Sixth Prince was already holding a grudge after being scolded by Shen Wenqiu that day, so when he saw that Shen Wenqiu had come to Zhaoming Hall alone, he naturally wouldn’t say a kind word to him.
Shen Wenqiu ignored the Sixth Prince's words and stayed alone in Zhaoming Hall, as it was not worth getting into a conflict with these princes.
Besides, these are just a few idle words; just listen to them, it's no big deal.
If he ignores them, they'll probably get even angrier.
Upon hearing the Sixth Prince's voice, the Fifth Prince turned around and glanced at Shen Wenqiu, then sneered, "Sixth Brother, Jiang Heng's study companion hasn't shown any interest in you at all, so you're the only one sulking."
The Sixth Prince glared at the Fifth Prince, feeling utterly humiliated. He gritted his teeth and said, "You're so high and mighty, you won't hold it against him? That scoundrel Jiang Heng stole our jobs, he humiliated us to our faces, and you still swallow this insult!"
Shen Wenqiu remained silent, burying his head in tidying up his writing materials, preparing for the Grand Tutor's upcoming lesson.
He really didn't have time to deal with these boring princes. Not only did he have to attend the lectures himself, but he also had to copy down the content of the Grand Tutor's lectures. After Jiang Heng returned, he would give him the copied content and explain to him what the Grand Tutor had taught.
Seeing that Shen Wenqiu didn't even lift an eyelid, the princes stopped trying to embarrass themselves and instead occasionally rolled their eyes or muttered a few unpleasant words, and that was it.
In the days that followed, Shen Wenqiu carried his book box back and forth between Zhaoming Hall and Zhaolin Palace.
Day after day.
But today was different. On the way back from Zhaoming Hall, Shen Wenqiu heard arguing coming from the palace road. When he went closer, he saw that a eunuch was scolding a palace maid who was dressed in tattered clothes.
"Eunuch, what happened?" Shen Wenqiu saw that the palace maid was beaten so pitifully that he couldn't help but walk over and ask.
The old man turned around, saw that it was Shen Wenqiu, smiled and said, "So it is Young Master Shen."
Shen Wenqiu is a prince's study companion. Although the Ninth Prince is not favored, he has now taken on the Crown Prince's duties and gone out. They do not know what the situation will be like in the future, so they are much more cautious in their attitude towards Shen Wenqiu, their study companion, than before.
The eunuch glared at the palace maid and explained with a look of disgust, "This palace maid was hiding here slacking off. I saw her and I'm scolding her now."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenqiu glanced at the broom lying beside the palace maid, lowered her eyes and chuckled, saying, "Slacking off? She looks more like she's cleaning the palace path."
The eunuch was taken aback, chuckled twice, pulled Shen Wenqiu over, and whispered, "Young Master Shen, you don't know this, but this palace maid used to be in the palace of the disgraced concubine Mu Yan. She was there to vent everyone's anger every day. What the reason was is not important at all."
Shen Wenqiu never expected that the reason for bullying someone would be so ridiculous. He also never expected that the pitiful palace maid in front of him was someone who used to serve Mu Yan.
He suddenly thought of Jiang Heng, whom he hadn't seen for many days, and wondered if this palace maid had seen Jiang Heng when he was a child. Now that they were meeting again, would they bring up the old stories?
In the past, Shen Wenqiu, fearing that he might make a mistake and lose his life, probably wouldn't have dared to deal with this matter directly.
But when he thought of Jiang Heng, and remembered that this palace maid was from the former Yaoyue Palace, he wanted to save her.
“I thought all the palace maids from Yaoyue Palace had either died or left the palace. It turns out there are still some here.” Shen Wenqiu glanced at the palace maid and smiled at the eunuch.
"That's mostly the case, but there are also a few less important palace maids who sweep and clean the courtyard, like her, who stayed behind." As the eunuch spoke, he glanced at the palace maid before looking at Shen Wenqiu.
“I see that your father-in-law has already vented his anger. In that case, let her continue sweeping.” Shen Wenqiu interrupted as her father-in-law was about to speak, “I heard the commotion from afar. If it disturbs any distinguished guests passing by…”
Upon hearing this, the father-in-law also felt that it made a lot of sense.
Disturbing someone important can be a big deal or a small deal, depending on whether they pursue the matter.
But the difference between pursuing it and not pursuing it is huge, and no one wants to gamble for an unimportant palace maid.
The old man broke out in a cold sweat, smiled at Shen Wenqiu, and quickly said, "Young Master Shen is absolutely right. In that case, we'll be leaving now."
Shen Wenqiu smiled and nodded, saying, "Take care, sir."
After the eunuch led his entourage away, Shen Wenqiu stepped forward to help the palace maid up. He frowned and looked her up and down. Seeing that there was nothing seriously wrong, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Keep your distance from them and try not to be their punching bag."
The palace maid shook her head with a wry smile and said, "There's no escaping it. Most of the people who survived in Your Highness's palace were bullied by them in the same way. Even if we didn't see them that day, they would still come looking for us. Then they would say we deliberately hid, and the punishment would be even more severe."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenqiu frowned. He wanted to say that this was wrong, but in a place where imperial power was supreme, such a phenomenon must have been approved by the emperor.
As a mere companion to an unfavored prince, without any official rank or title, what right did he have to stand up and say that this was wrong?
The root of all evil is that emperor. If he were gone and a good prince like Jiang Heng had ascended the throne, everything would probably be very different.
Shen Wenqiu was startled when he even dared to have this thought in his mind.
How could he have such thoughts? He even thought about Jiang Heng's ascension to the throne.
The main character of this book is Crown Prince Jiang Yunyan!
If Jiang Heng gets in Jiang Yunyan's way, the protagonist, his fate might not be much better than that of this palace maid.
Perhaps it will be even worse, after all, Jiang Heng is a prince.
Shen Wenqiu quickly suppressed the thought in her heart, looked up at the palace maid, and asked, "What is your name?"
Meeting Shen Wenqiu's gaze, the palace maid smiled and replied, "My name is Yingchun, which was given to me by Your Highness."
Did Mu Yan change her name?
It seems that even the palace maids who sweep the courtyard must have had a good relationship with Mu Yan.
Shen Wenqiu nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Miss Yingchun seems to have a good relationship with Her Majesty?"
When Yingchun saw Shen Wenqiu asking about Mu Yan, she was delighted and about to speak, but suddenly her spirits plummeted.
She looked around nervously, her brows furrowed with panic. Seeing that no one was around, she turned apologetically to Shen Wenqiu and said, "Young Master Shen, please don't be offended. Her Majesty's name is a taboo in the palace. No one is allowed to mention it. If anyone does, they may not only lose their life, but they may also suffer some kind of retribution or torment before they die."
Shen Wenqiu knew that Mu Yan's name should not be mentioned in the palace, but he did not know that it was so serious.
Perhaps because the protagonist of the original book is Jiang Yunyan, there isn't much focus on this kind of thing.
However, Mu Yan's name is not allowed to be mentioned, but Jiang Heng has already been released from Yaoyue Palace, so mentioning him should be fine, right?
Shen Wenqiu pondered for a moment, then looked at Yingchun and asked, "What about the Ninth Prince? Are you familiar with him, Miss Yingchun?"
When Yingchun heard the words "Ninth Prince," her eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic as she said, "The Ninth Prince? He's our Empress's own son, so of course we know him well!"
Shen Wenqiu didn't ask any further questions immediately. He only observed Yingchun's expression and discerned from her demeanor how Jiang Heng interacted with the people in Yaoyue Palace when he was a child.
It is conceivable that the master and servant had an excellent relationship. Even after such a great upheaval, and even when Mu Yan and her son were persecuted by the emperor, causing the servants to suffer the same injustice, they still remembered the good relationship they had with him and did not hold a grudge.
"Could you tell me about the Ninth Prince's childhood?" Shen Wenqiu asked, her smile turning shy, and she became somewhat reserved for a moment.
"You... why are you asking about the Ninth Prince?" Yingchun became wary, looking Shen Wenqiu up and down, as if she would immediately take action if Shen Wenqiu did anything to harm Jiang Heng.
Looking at Yingchun's appearance, Shen Wenqiu found it amusing, shook his head, and explained to her, "I haven't introduced myself yet, which caused the young lady to misunderstand."
Yingchun remained wary, frowning as she asked, "Who are you?"
Shen Wenqiu replied with a smile, "My name is Shen Wenqiu, and I am the study companion of the Ninth Prince."
Yingchun was stunned. She looked Shen Wenqiu up and down in disbelief, then covered her face with her hands, feeling a little excited.
Shen Wenqiu, unsure of what Yingchun was so excited about, asked hesitantly, "What's wrong?"
Yingchun threw down the broom, grabbed Shen Wenqiu's hand, and was so excited that she could hardly speak. After stammering for a long time, she finally said, "Young Master is actually our Ninth Prince's study companion? What a coincidence! Speaking of which, I can barely be considered to have been saved by the Ninth Prince today."
Shen Wenqiu smiled and nodded, not delving into what was wrong with what he said, and simply said, "That's right, Miss Yingchun was saved by our Ninth Prince today."
Upon hearing Shen Wenqiu's words, Yingchun burst into tears and laughter. She covered her mouth to keep her voice down so as not to disturb passersby.
However, she was still very excited when Jiang Heng was mentioned. It took her a long time to calm down. Looking at Shen Wenqiu, she said seriously, "If Your Highness were still alive, you would be very happy to hear that the Ninth Prince has gone to school and has such a good study companion as you."
Hearing this, Shen Wenqiu couldn't help but feel a little sad.
He easily empathizes with others, and he can't help but put himself in Jiang Heng's position and imagine how he would feel.
“Now that Your Highness has taken on a mission to provide disaster relief, Your Majesty will surely be even happier if Your Highness knew,” Shen Wenqiu added, letting Yingchun hold his hand tightly with joy.
"That's wonderful! It's a pity that Her Majesty has nowhere to offer sacrifices, and the palace doesn't allow burning paper money, so she doesn't even have the chance to eat or drink any offerings. Otherwise, I would definitely tell Her Majesty this good news." Yingchun nodded with tears in her eyes, and then brought up Jiang Heng's childhood, "Our Ninth Prince was well-behaved from a young age, and he was also very cute and adorable. At that time, Her Majesty was the most favored concubine in the palace. During festivals, the Ninth Prince would dress up like a beautiful porcelain doll, and he spoke so sweetly that everyone loved him."
This was the first time Shen Wenqiu had heard Jiang Heng described in this way, and he couldn't help but recall the first time he met Jiang Heng.
He was fairly tall, but extremely thin and frail, with hardly any flesh on his body.
Her hair was also slightly dry and yellow due to a long-term poor diet.
This is completely different from the Ninth Prince that Yingchun mentioned.
It's also the Emperor's fault for causing such a calamity, turning a perfectly healthy child into what he is today.
Shen Wenqiu felt as if her heart was being pricked by needles, a sharp, stabbing pain.
When he thought of Jiang Heng, he found it hard to regard this world as a fictional world.
This is a living, breathing person.
That happened.
Shen Wenqiu felt heartbroken just thinking about it.
He also clearly realized this.
He felt sorry for Jiang Heng; he cared about this Ninth Prince.
He couldn't just see him as a superior who needed companionship while studying; he saw him more as... a friend.
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