Concubine
Zhao Chunfang shouted almost simultaneously with Liu Ju, only to find her voice drowned out by another male voice. Crown Prince Liu Ju trotted in front of Qing Ping.
"How can the Crown Prince be so flustered?" As soon as Liu Che saw him, he knew he was going to plead for the palace maid. But she was just a palace maid, and yet she was running around the palace without any regard for her manners right in front of him. Being soft-hearted isn't a bad thing, but it depends on the person. As the crown prince, he has a country to govern. Being soft-hearted and indecisive will make it difficult for him to handle major responsibilities in the future.
"I wonder what mistake this maid made?"
"She bumped into the lady."
"I believe she did make a mistake, but it's not punishable by death. Queen Mother has been fasting and praying for the well-being of the Emperor and the Han Dynasty recently. If she knew that Madam had killed her maid for such a trivial matter, it would damage Madam's fortune and would also make her sad. I beg the Emperor to forgive this maid."
"The Crown Prince is truly filial," Zhao Chunfang sneered. "It's just that the Queen believes in God, but I don't. Did Your Majesty obtain the Han Dynasty by praying to the gods?"
Liu Ju said coldly, "Yes, the Han Dynasty was built by my father's diligent efforts and the bloody battles fought by Generals Wei and Huo."
Zhao Chunfang was choked. Liu Che frowned and waved his hand. "Forget it. Since you have already brought up your mother, I will naturally forgive you."
Liu Che and Zhao Chunfang left the imperial garden, and Liu Ju ordered people to bring a stretcher and put Qingping on it.
Qingping was saved and was very grateful. "I thank your majesty for saving my life. I will repay you with a token of gratitude."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "You don't need to repay me, this is just a thank you for helping me feed those rabbits."
Qingping was stunned. She and the prince had probably never met before. She quickly thought of the rabbits in the imperial garden. "Are those the rabbits raised by His Highness?"
"These are the bunnies born to a female rabbit I raised before. The Eastern Palace couldn't accommodate them, so I had to release them. Fortunately, you are always taking care of them."
Because of Suo Lian'er, he had banished the surviving rabbits from the Eastern Palace, only daring to bring them food when no one was looking. For the past half month, he'd noticed a maid from Changxin Palace frequently going to the same place he went, looking for rabbits. At first, he'd thought she was someone from his mother's palace sent to spy on him, but then he realized she was just an ordinary maid, who, when bored, would play with the rabbits, swing on the swings, and sometimes chase them around, enjoying themselves immensely. He'd often watched her from a distance, and today, as he passed by, he heard the sounds of a beating and hurried over.
This little palace maid was kind-hearted and carefree, and she did not deserve to die because of the jealous Madam Zhao.
Qingping didn't know why the huge East Palace couldn't accommodate a few rabbits, but she didn't ask much. Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was kind-hearted, he was the heir apparent after all. There was a clear dividing line between them. The other party could cross it, but she had to be extremely respectful.
"I... didn't know that was His Highness's..." Qingping was afraid that he would misunderstand his intentions, so he hurriedly clarified.
"I know." Liu Ju couldn't help laughing when he saw Qingping looking embarrassed.
The sedan chair wasn't carried directly to Changxin Palace, but instead stopped at the Eastern Palace. She lay anxiously in the unfamiliar room. Liu Ju brought her some ointment to apply. The palace attendants all said the Crown Prince was an extremely generous man, combining the best qualities of His Majesty and the Empress. He had the Empress's gentle eyes, but His Majesty's strong features and sharp angles. Gray-blue sunlight streamed through the window onto his face. He lowered his gaze, took her hand, and gently applied the ointment to her palm.
He carefully observed the girl's reaction. The moment the cool ointment touched her palm, she subconsciously flinched. She frowned, but endured it, as if she didn't dare resist due to his status. His mouth twitched slightly. After applying the ointment to her left hand, he prepared to apply the ointment to her right hand. Her right palm seemed to be wrapped in a piece of cloth. He was about to untie it when she seemed startled and said, "Your Highness..."
"How can I apply the medicine if I don't untie it? It will be bad if it sticks to my skin."
"I didn't hit this hand." Qingping said, "Your Highness, this hand of mine was injured before, and the scar... is very ugly."
"I'm not afraid."
"But I'm afraid. It's made me look at it with fear many times before."
Liu Ju paused in his dismantling at her earnest gaze. He held the end of the green silk cloth and looked at Qingping. "You're afraid because others are afraid of it. They're afraid of the unknown, so they attack and hurt you. Your body and hair are a gift from your parents; it's part of you. You're not afraid of it; you're afraid of the gazes of others."
Qingping said nothing, watching Liu Ju slowly untie the tightly wrapped cloth strips, and the copper coin mark suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Liu Ju was actually a little surprised. He was prepared to see some horrible scar and comfort the poor girl, but it was just a birthmark. However, this birthmark was somewhat similar to the copper coin mark on his cousin Changqing's body.
"This birthmark is very beautiful. My cousin has one like this, but his is on his arm."
The prince's cousin must be a royal relative. She doesn't know those important figures, but she is also grateful to His Royal Highness the Prince.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness."
Her response was somewhat cold, a hint of arrogance even as she tried to be warm. Unlike the other maids who greeted him with admiration and gratitude, he felt a strange familiarity. In fact, rushing to her rescue today was already somewhat baffling. He knew his father disliked him, and he also knew of his fondness for Madam Zhao. If he stepped forward to speak on her behalf, both would dislike him. He didn't know why he did it. Perhaps the tenderness with which she petted the rabbit was similar to that of the deceased Suo Lian'er, or perhaps it was something else.
Anyway, he ordered the palace servants to apply the remaining medicine to her wounds, then found a eunuch from another palace to escort her to the gate of Changxin Palace. This made Qingping feel a little puzzled. The prince was clearly a filial son, yet he seemed unwilling to be involved with Changxin Palace, even going through so much trouble to find someone to escort her back.
She trudged back to her own bedroom, holding onto the wall. She asked someone to swap shifts with her and took a few days off sick. When her roommates questioned her, she simply said she'd offended Madam Zhao and been punished. They all sympathized with her and discussed Madam Zhao's misdeeds. Lying in bed, unable to do anything, she listened with great amusement.
They say it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone, but she didn't dare lie down for that long. On the seventh day, she got up early and, enduring the excruciating pain, walked like a snail to the flower garden in Changsheng Palace. She paid a eunuch to fetch water for her. Just as she bent down to water the flowers, she saw the head maid Lingyue approaching.
She immediately apologized to her, "It's all my fault that I caused trouble and delayed these days. I hope Sister Lingyue will forgive me."
Ling Yue seemed surprised and delighted to see her. "I knew you were injured, so how come you got out of bed so quickly? Being beaten with a stick is no small matter. If you don't recover well, you'll have a chronic illness."
"It's okay, I'm feeling much better now. I wouldn't dare delay the Queen's work," she thought. She knew it was no small matter, but there was nothing she could do. Could she really just lie down for half a month and incur everyone's disdain? You know, if you're stuck with a job for a long time, even money won't stop the resentment. But a senior maid like Lingyue naturally couldn't understand their difficulties.
Ling Yue smiled when she heard this and said, "Flowers and plants are trivial matters, but your health is more important."
Qingping thought, health is important, but it also depends on whose health it is. What on earth was Lingyue trying to say to her after spending so much time chatting with her today?
"It's not convenient for you to always do this heavy work. How about this? Starting tomorrow, you will go to the Queen's inner palace to work, serving the Queen's writing and copying scriptures for her. It will be much easier."
She was delighted at first when she heard this, but then became a little worried. She and Ling Yue really didn't have much contact, so why would he help her like this?
"Sister Lingyue's kindness shouldn't be declined, but I just offended Madam Zhao. I'm clumsy and not very smart, and I can barely read. If I serve Her Majesty, I'm afraid of angering her and getting beaten again. I'd rather be more at ease doing the stupid chores here."
Ling Yue said: "You don't have to worry about that. It was the Queen's intention to ask you to go."
Qingping's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, and she became even more nervous. Why would the Queen ask her to do something out of the blue? "Queen?"
"You didn't receive this beating entirely for your recklessness. Madam Zhao is jealous and dislikes the people in Changxin Palace. Your composure has brought honor to the Empress. The Empress likes you very much."
Qingping grew increasingly uneasy at the praise. Neither humble nor overbearing? She smiled bitterly. Was that really her? She only had a bit of backbone when she knew she was doomed. Besides, that wasn't being humble, it was just throwing herself into a desperate struggle.
"Sister, I..."
"If the Queen herself sends this message, don't refuse. I'll take you with me tomorrow. Don't be afraid."
On her first day of duty, she followed Lingyue closely, like a chick following a larger bird. The task was simple indeed. The empress loved copying scriptures, and she spent most of the day in her study. She followed Lingyue, laying out the paper and grinding the ink. When she was tired, she would rest. Even her sleeping area had been upgraded to a private room.
The Queen was kind and tolerant, just like the Crown Prince. Whenever she saw that the Queen looked tired, she would put away her things and take a nap on the couch or drink tea. Whenever this happened, she could find a place to lie down for a while and rest her feet.
After some time, she began to chat with her, tell interesting stories, and talk about the happy things in her youth. She said that she was very similar to herself, coming from a humble background, her parents died early, and she and her second brother raised her younger siblings and suffered a lot, so she felt close to her when she saw her.
She gradually relaxed, listened to her talk about Buddhism, and learned from her how to make incense, write, and paint...
It was indeed as Ling Yue said, the Queen liked her very much, and this love even seemed to surpass Ling Yue who had been with her for a long time.
Until one day, her love became so strong that she began to panic.
The queen planned to marry her to the prince as a concubine.
"Empress, I have nothing in common with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I'm afraid I'm not up to the task."
The Queen looked at her with a loving gaze. "You are meticulous and cautious in your work, even better than the Crown Prince's two concubines. What is so high that you can't reach her? If I say you can do it, then you definitely can."
"Or perhaps you have someone else in your heart, so you don't want to marry the prince?"
Having an affair with a palace maid is a serious crime. She hurriedly said, "I didn't do that. I just..."
She racked her brains to think of a reason to refuse, but the queen's cold eyes made her completely sober up. The sugar-coated bullets of the past few days almost made her faint, but at this moment she knew that this was not a negotiation, but an order that could not be refused.
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