Chapter 21 Rumors and Gossip Lately, Lin Quan'an has become the target of Cheng Qianyue's gossip...
Recently, Lin Quan'an has become a favorite of Cheng Qianyue, mainly because he is both sensible and diligent.
If Yinreng came to the West Side Hall, he would never approach him. But if Cheng Qianyue returned from the main hall or the study, Lin Quan'an would always stand at the door with his hands at his sides and a smile to welcome her in. Not only that, he also took charge of the tea room, preparing tea morning, noon, and night, just waiting for her to have tea and bringing it up. Then, while she was drinking tea, he would quietly talk about what he had done, such as how many times he had wiped the cabinets or how many ornaments he had tidied up.
Cheng Qianyue repeatedly told him not to rush into work, and he agreed readily in person, but continued to do so the next day. His reason was quite convincing: "This servant has been learning how to serve masters since I was a child, and it's ingrained in my bones. Your Highness is kind and told me to rest, but this servant really can't rest. But don't worry, the cleaning work is easy, this servant won't get tired."
Since they were being so eager, Cheng Qianyue had nothing else to say. However, she couldn't help but worry when she saw Lin Quan'an's pale face. His face was so weak and white. She was afraid that one day he would tilt his head back and fall to the ground unconscious. If that happened, wouldn't her efforts to save him have been in vain? So she asked Ruoyun to save him a couple more good dishes when they ate.
Ruoyun replied with a smile, "Don't worry, Princess, he won't faint or get sick again. If he does, he can forget about serving the master for the rest of his life. This boy just wants to show off in front of you, Princess."
All right.
Cheng Qianyue felt that her thinking might be different from theirs. If she had a choice, she would never want to serve others. Not only was it exhausting and mentally taxing, but if she did a good job, all was well, but if she did a bad job, she might get scolded and punished. Why bother? But some people felt that serving their masters was an honor. In their eyes, being trusted and given orders by their masters was a matter of face.
Cheng Qianyue wanted to adapt to the local customs and environment, so she entrusted the task of serving meals to Lin Quan'an. Although she might not eat every meal, having the task delegated to her was a significant responsibility. Sure enough, Lin Quan'an excitedly pledged his loyalty, saying, "This servant will certainly do his job well."
Then, that very day, she received a shocking revelation from him.
That evening, Lin Quan'an returned from outside and knelt at her feet as he reported back. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Princess, this servant has heard some rumors from outside."
Cheng Qianyue didn't take it seriously at first, but Ruoyun occasionally overheard some gossip while walking outside, and sometimes she would secretly tell her about it. She asked with a smile, "What did you hear?" Was it that the princes living in the East and West Sixth Palaces were arguing, or that some concubine in the harem was giving the princes and princesses some food?
Lin Quan'an raised his head shakily, revealing a face full of fear, anxiety, and lingering shock. Cheng Qianyue's smile vanished at the sight of him, and then she heard him say, "This servant has heard rumors circulating in our palace, some about you and the Second Master."
Cheng Qianyue: !!!
Lin Quan'an was entrusted with an important task in the morning, and went to the Prince's kitchen at noon. He was a new face, and after entering the kitchen, a young eunuch led him to the food preparation area, where more than a dozen food boxes were placed. The head of the kitchen asked him kindly, "Which prince are you serving?"
Lin Quan'an answered truthfully, "This servant is from Consort Cheng's household in Xian'an Palace. This servant's name is Lin Quan'an." As soon as he said this, the eyes of all the eunuchs and maids in the room fell on him, some with curiosity, some with amusement, and even some with disgust.
The head cook coughed lightly, his expression unchanged, and pointed to the third food box on the long table, saying, "That's Princess Cheng's meal. Take it back with you."
Lin Quan'an suppressed his doubts and said yes, then picked up the food box and went out. He then felt that the kitchen helpers who were idle in the kitchens on both sides were secretly looking at him.
By evening, he had prepared the silver and, while returning the food box, pried open the mouth of a young eunuch, learning a few things from him.
Rumors about Xian'an Palace have been circulating throughout the palace lately!
One account says that the Second Prince was arrogant and dissolute, and was dissatisfied with his treatment after losing his position as Crown Prince and entering Xian'an Palace. Among them, Consort Cheng, who had just entered to serve him, paid extra to have the cook in the prince's residence prepare special meals in order to please him, and thus became the Second Prince's favorite.
It is also said that Consort Cheng was not favored at first. Although she was bestowed by the Emperor, the Second Prince did not like her. It is said that she was even scolded by the Second Prince on the day she entered the palace. However, she successfully turned her life around by using her seductive charm to please him.
It was also said that the Second Prince's temperament had drastically changed; besides women, he also enjoyed harassing eunuchs. The eunuchs previously sent away from Xian'an Palace were there because they hadn't served him well. Among them was a man surnamed Lin, who was beaten for refusing to serve. Later, upon hearing that he was being bullied outside, he lowered his head and voluntarily came to serve him. He has now entered Xian'an Palace and is serving Consort Cheng!
Of course, he didn't say the last point so bluntly. Instead, he said, "Whatever the master likes, we servants have to give it to him. How can we refuse? Now that you've figured things out and come back, you'll definitely reap the rewards. What is Consort Cheng? Only those who are favored by the master count." He pretended to give a thumbs up. "I bet you won't be serving Consort Cheng for long. You'll soon become a favorite of the prince."
Lin Quan'an trembled uncontrollably as he listened to the flattery. He was partly angry and partly terrified. A servant who insults his master deserves to suffer greatly, if not death! He didn't even know how he got back to Xian'an Palace, but when he saw the brightly lit candles in the west wing, he had only one thought.
He couldn't rely on anyone else; his only lifeline was Princess Cheng in the house!
As Cheng Qianyue listened to Lin Quan'an sobbing and recounting the rumors circulating outside, her heart sank. When the gossip concerned other people, she could still find it amusing, but when the subject of the gossip was herself, and it was all bad talk, all she felt was fear.
These ramblings were three parts truth and seven parts falsehood, but that's precisely why it's so hard to distinguish between them. But regardless of whether one can tell the difference or not, her reputation is now ruined, because she was indeed the one who ordered the extra food. She did something outrageous and even dragged the Second Prince into a reputation for extravagance and indulgence.
Just thinking about it made Cheng Qianyue feel like she was falling into an abyss.
She swore to God that she had no ulterior motives; she just wanted to make the Second Prince happy so that everyone could be better off. Who knew things would turn out like that? But the higher-ups didn't care about her true feelings. As long as the Emperor believed it was her fault, she would only have one way out: death.
Lin Quan'an continued with a mournful face, "There are also those who slander the Crown Prince and the eunuchs." He didn't dare to say that he was one of the eunuchs who were slandered. "They said that the eunuchs who were driven out of Xian'an Palace had all served the Second Prince, but they didn't have the talent to serve him well, so the Second Prince punished them and eventually drove them out."
Cheng Qianyue immediately knew that this "serving" was not the same as the other kind of service, and her heart skipped a beat. If this was a eunuch who had been driven out, wasn't the one beside her the one? If that meant her West Side Palace had definitely become a den of iniquity in other people's mouths. Thinking this, she couldn't sit still. Had this news reached the Second Prince yet? If not, could she keep it a secret? If it had, what could she do?
Finally, she realized that the truth would eventually come out, and she couldn't just sit there doing nothing; she had to fight for a chance to defend herself.
Cheng Qianyue suddenly stood up and then ran straight towards the main hall.
Inside the main hall, Cheng Qianyue cried like a fool. However, even though she was crying, she didn't forget to speak. She was almost ready to tear her heart out and confess her feelings. She sobbed and said, word by word, "This servant never expected them to bring this up. This servant is not some treacherous concubine or minister. This servant just wants to serve Your Highness well."
She cried uncontrollably, her body convulsing uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face until she saw double. "Now I'm afraid people outside already think the west wing of Xian'an Palace is a den of demons. Master, what should we do now? This servant, this servant..." she choked out, she didn't want to die.
But whether she lives or dies is not something she can control. If she really has to die, she hopes that, given her honesty and sincerity, she can have two requests. First, she doesn't want to implicate her family. Second, she doesn't want to die at night; she wants to die in the sunshine, and she doesn't want a torturous death—ideally, a clean cut.
Seeing Cheng Qianyue crying so hard she could barely breathe, as if she were about to faint at any moment, Yinreng's thoughts shifted from his business to her.
Why does she get so scared over the slightest thing? It's both laughable and endearing, he thought. He was used to seeing her silly and cheerful, so seeing her cry so sadly was a bit of a surprise, but mostly he thought she looked prettier when she was smiling.
"What's the big deal? Why are you crying?" he said with a smile. When he was deposed as crown prince, the imperial edict was much harsher, saying he was born to bring misfortune to his mother, that he formed cliques for personal gain, that he disrespected the emperor and plotted rebellion, and that he had no compassion for his brothers. Compared to that, the words "arrogant and extravagant" seemed mild.
Cheng Qianyue sobbed as she wiped her tears with a handkerchief. She was terrified, but this man didn't seem to care about them at all. Seriously, when did he become so composed?
Seeing her looking at him while tears streamed down her face, Yinreng almost laughed. He ordered someone to bring in water and said, "That's how it is in the palace. A small matter can be blown out of proportion by word of mouth. But don't worry, this won't affect you." The people behind this are mainly after him; this little princess is just a gimmick, a collateral damage. To some extent, he was quite pleased; the fact that he was being targeted proved that he was still someone worth targeting.
Really? Cheng Qianyue stared intently at him.
Yinreng enjoyed her dependent gaze and immediately reassured her, "The Emperor is wise, how could he easily believe rumors? Besides, you are a princess appointed by the Emperor and ordered to serve the Prince's daily life. If they dare to say that you are bewitching the Emperor, wouldn't that be a slap in the Emperor's face?"
That sounded quite reasonable, and after he said that, Cheng Qianyue wasn't so scared anymore, but she still asked again and again, "Really?"
"Of course." Yinreng said easily, "Don't worry, just serve me the same way you used to."
Cheng Qianyue's worries lessened to about 80%, and she said in a deep voice, "I'm relieved to hear you say that, Your Highness. I was originally thinking of asking Your Highness to help me submit a memorial to the Emperor to apologize." This was the plan she had come up with to save herself in her desperation!
"Apologize?" Yinreng raised an eyebrow, then lowered his eyes and smiled, "You can write memorials?"
"No, I still won't," Cheng Qianyue shook her head like a rattle-drum.
"Then I'll write it for you," Yinreng said, reaching out to touch her face. He just looked at her, then his smile broadened.
Cheng Qianyue was incredibly grateful to him, wondering why he was so happy. When she washed her face behind the screen, she accidentally saw herself in the mirror and realized that she had cried too much and her makeup was ruined by her tears. At this moment, the white marks on her face looked like tangled spider webs.
Cheng Qianyue: Ugh, how embarrassing! No wonder he was laughing so happily just now!
After she finished washing her face, Yinreng took her hand and led her to the west side hall, where he had someone change her into her pajamas, wash up, and put her to bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, patted her hand, and said, "Sleep, I'll watch you sleep."
Cheng Qianyue, preoccupied with her own thoughts, pretended to close her eyes. After a while, she didn't know if she was exhausted from crying or what, but even with someone watching her, she fell asleep.
After Yinreng finished sleeping, he walked out of the west wing with his hands behind his back. As soon as he came out, he saw a person kneeling in the shadow of a pillar outside. He glanced at Lin Quan'an, as if the person didn't exist, and walked away without saying a word.
Lin Quan'an collapsed to the ground, wondering if he had been given a second chance at life.
A note from the author:
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