Chapter 40 The Slave Theory "Why is your face so swollen?" The room...
"Why is your face so swollen?" Cheng Qianyue personally applied ointment to Ruoyun's face. Actually, she had heard Lin Quan'an say yesterday evening that Ruoyun had left Xiefang Palace, probably to go to Yuqing Palace to apologize to Jingshun. At that time, she felt that Ruoyun had come to her senses.
To her surprise, when she saw Ruoyun the next day who had come to apologize, she was shocked. What happened to her face? Why was it so purple and red, and even had blood streaks?
Cheng Qianyue hurriedly asked someone to bring a small stool for Ruoyun to sit on under the kang (heated brick bed), and then ordered someone to bring reed ointment to apply it to her herself. She had initially suspected that Jing Shun had hit her, but then she thought that couldn't be the case, and later she guessed that Ruoyun might have slapped herself.
As expected, Ruoyun tearfully recounted the whole story, "I was blinded by greed and had to beat myself several times to wake up. Princess, I truly know I was wrong. I hate myself for being so weak and causing you trouble."
Hearing this, Cheng Qianyue breathed a long sigh of relief: "It's best that you've come to your senses." She was actually reluctant to let Ruoyun go. After applying the medicine, she continued to instruct her: "Take good care of your face these next few days. If you need anything, have someone do it for you first. Don't leave the west courtyard until you're better. Also, remember to apply aloe vera cream several times a day. Don't let your face get scarred."
It wasn't unusual for palace maids to be scolded and punished, but the most common methods were slapping their hands or forcing them to kneel; there was no reason to hit their faces. If Ruoyun were to go out with that face, her reputation in the public eye would be completely ruined.
Ruoyun, holding the ointment in her hands, nodded gratefully and agreed. Before leaving the room, she nodded to Lin Quan'an, who was guarding inside the curtain. The little eunuch beside her quickly lifted the curtain to block the wind, and Lin Quan'an glanced into the inner room before following Ruoyun out.
As Ruoyun walked down the steps after leaving the house, she said in a deep voice, "Thank you for this." In fact, Lin Quan'an had reminded her earlier that she was like a thin candle in Xian'an Palace, but now her aura was brighter than a torch. However, she hadn't taken him seriously at the time.
To avoid catching a chill, Lin Quan'an smiled slightly and said in a low voice, "We are old acquaintances of the princess, we can't be without even this much affection."
Ruoyun turned around and looked him up and down for a moment. "But I'm also wondering, how come you don't have any pride at all?" Actually, what she wanted to ask was, how come you are so good at understanding the princess's thoughts?
Lin Quan'an sighed and replied, "I've crawled back from the brink of death, so naturally I've become more composed after suffering so much."
That's true. Ruoyun nodded and said, "Now I've finally seen the light. From now on, I'll dedicate myself wholeheartedly to Princess Gege." As she said this, she smiled contentedly.
After Ruoyun entered the side room, Lin Quan'an returned to the main room's doorway to stand guard. Actually, he hadn't finished speaking.
Ruoyun is different from him. When Ruoyun is over twenty and older, she might be able to ask for a favor to leave the palace and get married. But after he was cut off and entered the palace, he had no other hope but to rise above others. A person without hope can only focus on scheming against his master. Otherwise, how can he serve as a servant, become a confidant, and rise above others?
He had been serving Princess Cheng for over half a year, and he dared to say no one knew her better than him. Princess Cheng was law-abiding, kind-hearted, and sentimental, so she definitely liked those who were law-abiding, kind-hearted, and good people!
Lin Quan'an thought to himself: He is loyal, kind, and good at handling affairs. Why should the princess not trust him? As long as the princess trusts him, she will use him, and he will have a very respectable and dignified life!
Somehow, the news that Ruoyun had been beaten reached Yinreng's ears. Well, actually, there was no need for it to spread; he could tell just by looking at her when he came over, and Yinreng even thought she had made great progress.
Cheng Qianyue found it quite speechless. Seriously, putting aside whether Ruoyun was punished by her, even if she was, didn't he think she was ruthless?
But they really didn't think so. Yinreng was still lecturing her, saying, "Servants are inexhaustible. If they do something wrong, just give them a beating, and they'll know what to do next time."
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but shiver: "How could they do this?" This is too simplistic and brutal.
Seeing the panic on her face, Yinreng stopped talking, sighed and said, "That's right, you're pregnant and can't bear to hear about fighting and killing. If you can't bear it next time, report it to Yuqing Palace and I'll deal with it for you."
Cheng Qianyue said, "Master, I think I've managed things quite well. Besides, servants are people too, not objects that you can just cut off wherever they're not standing out. It's just a matter of putting in a little effort to train them, it doesn't take much work."
She counted on her fingers as she explained her theory to him: "We have to give subordinates a chance to correct their mistakes. As the saying goes, once is never twice, twice is never a third time. The first time, we should give them a warning, then punish them, and if they do it again, we should kick them out."
Yinreng laughed, laughing at her for being too kind, and for telling the servants something like "one, two, three".
Cheng Qianyue felt that his superior mentality was truly deeply ingrained. In fact, since Yinreng had been with her, his temper had improved considerably. Although he would occasionally scold or punish people, it never resulted in serious injury. She had thought that Yinreng had changed his nature, but she hadn't expected that he still didn't treat people like human beings from the bottom of his heart.
That's not good.
Before, she only dared to secretly plead for leniency for her subordinates, not daring to openly say that he was wrong. But now that she was pregnant with his child, she became bolder and pretended to be angry, saying, "What you did was really scary. To save their lives, they only fawn over you. They can't possibly take out their anger on others outside. Wouldn't that make you offend people?"
Her voice lowered, "Actually, I just think it would be great if you could learn from me." She shrank back a little, tugging at Yinreng's sleeve, "If I do something wrong, could you give me a chance to correct it?"
Yinreng suddenly realized. Oh, so she had underestimated herself, which was why she had transferred her affections to the servants below her. He pulled her into his arms, comforting her like a child, and said in a deep voice, "You are different from them."
Cheng Qianyue muttered, "Why is it different?"
Yinreng then said, "You are my princess, the mother of my unborn child, how can you be like them?" He threw out a series of examples and asked her, "Am I not spoiling you enough, not giving you enough face? How can you think like this?" He really trampled his feelings into the mud.
Cheng Qianyue was so open and honest with him because she knew he was good to her. If he had been abusive and verbally abusive towards her, she wouldn't have told him these things.
“I know you’ve always been good to me. No one has ever treated me better than you, except for my family.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the forehead. But before Yinreng could even enjoy the kiss, she continued, “But I still think I’m right.”
Yinreng was so angry he laughed. Whether he was being stubborn or not, he was determined to correct her point of view.
Cheng Qianyue was getting annoyed by his words, and coupled with the saying that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years, she said the stupidest thing she had said since entering the palace: "I don't know where you learned all this. It can't be that the Emperor treats you this way, so you treat your servants like this."
She froze as soon as the words left her mouth, then realized something was wrong. Sure enough, Yinreng paused for a second, then his expression immediately changed.
A deep depression and anger erupted like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, leaving Cheng Qianyue speechless. She quickly got off his lap and stammered as she tried to make amends: "I misspoke, please don't take it to heart."
Yinreng frowned and said sternly, "You are really taking advantage of my tolerance to be so presumptuous. Who am I? I am the Emperor's son, the Crown Prince of the Qing Dynasty. How dare you compare me to a servant!"
Cheng Qianyue knew she had spoken too harshly, and that Yinreng, being so proud and arrogant, would certainly not accept it. She quickly agreed, saying, "Yes, you're right, I was talking nonsense. You are the Emperor's son, how could the Emperor treat you like a servant?"
But the more she tried to explain, the worse it got.
Yinreng stood up abruptly, and as soon as he did, Cheng Qianyue knelt down, clutching her belly. Seeing her like this, Yinreng pointed at her for a long time. Finally, his gaze fell on Cheng Qianyue's protruding belly, he snorted coldly, and then turned and left.
Cheng Qianyue only dared to get up after he left. Ruoyun and the others standing at the door scrambled to their feet and carefully helped her to sit on the couch.
Cheng Qianyue bit her lip, her hand unconsciously resting on her stomach. She wondered if she had fallen out of favor.
If so, what will happen to her and her child in the future?
Yinreng stormed out of Xiefang Palace, and as he rounded the arrow pavilion, he kicked a snowman that someone had built, breaking it in half. His anger didn't subside even after he returned to Yuqing Palace; it burned within him, leaving him no peace.
Cheng Jia is really too outrageous!
Yinreng thought angrily.
How dare she say such rebellious things in front of him? If she weren't pregnant, he would have punished her severely!
Just then, Chen He directed Jing Shun and others to bring hot water and handkerchiefs. The Crown Prince had just returned from outside and forgot his hat; his head must be freezing cold now.
Yinreng wiped his face with a hot towel and rubbed his hair a couple of times, but he was still angry. He slammed the towel down, splashing water from the basin everywhere.
Oh dear, now look what's happened! Every single servant in the room has to kneel down.
Yinreng thought he was seeing things; for a moment, he seemed to see himself kneeling. The eunuchs in the room kneeling before him were exactly the same as when he knelt before the Emperor in court. In an instant, he was filled with rage and shame, wishing he could kill them all. But a faint thought told him: killing them would be the same as killing himself.
He suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe, clenched his fists, and said sharply, "Get out of here, all of you!"
After everyone in the room had left, he suddenly sat down on the couch. He thought, how could this be? He was the emperor's most beloved son, the legitimate heir of the Qing Dynasty, the crown prince established in his infancy, and the future master of this land.
He is the master, how could he be a servant?
But the more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. An indescribable unease, like the deep darkness of night, clung to him like a leech.
If he was the emperor's most beloved son, then why did the emperor kill Suo'etu before, why did he support Prince Zhi to fight against him, and why did he depose him from his position as crown prince?
Yinreng felt his head start to hurt.
He was the emperor's son, and he was the emperor's servant. The two sentences clashed and fought in his mind, as if arguing over who was right and who was wrong.
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