Chapter 46
Jiang Jiang tiptoed into the bedroom. Under the candlelight, the little princess was sleeping soundly, with shallow dimples on her pink cheeks.
She couldn't help but smile and carefully tucked the corner of the quilt for the little princess.
She could never have imagined such a scene when she first entered the palace.
I remember that half a year ago, when she was chosen by Concubine Shu to be the little princess's personal maid, Concubine Shu specially called her to the main hall.
A trembling young eunuch knelt in the center of the hall. Concubine Shu was nonchalantly fiddling with his armor. Jinxiu, the senior palace maid beside Concubine Shu, spoke up, "Give him thirty lashes of the cane. After that, send him to the Huntangsi (the lowest level of the palace, where you'll do the menial cleaning work)!"
The young eunuch burst into tears and knelt down to beg for mercy, but was still dragged out by the palace servants.
The dull thud of the board hitting his flesh and the shrill screams made Jiang Jiang's legs go weak.
Only then did Concubine Shu look up at her and said, "Serve the princess well and you will be rewarded."
As she spoke, she picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea without saying anything else.
Jinxiu looked at Jiang Jiang with a cold gaze, "If you have any ulterior motives that would harm Her Majesty and the Princess..." As she spoke, she glanced meaningfully outside the palace.
After returning home, the eunuch's shrill voice seemed to still echo in her ears, and the twelve-year-old Jiang Jiang was so scared that she couldn't sleep at night.
Despite this, she had dark circles under her eyes and worked diligently during the day, fearing that she would lose her life if she was not careful.
But fortunately, the young master she served was an innocent child.
The little princess never put on airs, and would even secretly share the snacks sent from the imperial kitchen with her.
"Hmm..." The little princess turned over in her sleep and kicked the quilt away.
Jiang Jiang stopped thinking and hurried forward, only to see the little princess lying on her back with her skirt rolled up to her belly.
She couldn't help laughing, and gently helped the princess pull up her clothes and covered her with the quilt.
The flickering candlelight illuminated the little princess's tender face.
Jiang Jiang couldn't help but think of her younger sister at home, who should be around the same age too.
My heart suddenly felt sour.
If her hometown had not been so poor, her parents would not have sold her into the palace.
Before leaving, her mother gave her half a piece of coarse bread with tears in her eyes, and left resolutely.
"Jiang Jiang..." The little princess's confused voice sounded.
Jiang Jiang quickly calmed down, knelt in front of the bed and said, "Princess, do you want to go to the bathroom? I'll go get the toilet right away!"
The little princess sat up in a daze and was helped by Jiang Jiang to walk behind the screen.
After the problem was solved, the little princess soon fell asleep again.
Jiang Jiang tiptoed to the bed not far away and continued to keep watch.
She stared at the palace lanterns in the corridor in a daze, and still couldn't understand why the princess chose her, the oldest among a row of palace maids, when Concubine Shu asked her to choose from them.
There are older palace maids who can obviously take better care of the princess.
But if they wanted to choose a palace maid of similar age for the little princess, she was six years older than the little princess.
The night passed slowly.
In the early morning light, Jiang Jiang patted her face to wake herself up a little, went out and arranged for the palace servants outside to prepare warm water for washing and breakfast.
Not long after, Jiang Jiang gently woke up the little princess.
The little princess rubbed her eyes and sat up. When she saw the pastries on the table, her eyes lit up, but then her face fell again.
Because today is the day to learn chess.
"Your Highness, the Queen arranged for someone to make your favorite snacks especially for you early in the morning!" Jiang Jiang said with a smile.
The little princess sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Jiang Jiang to help her wash up before she sat at the table with her cheeks puffed out and obediently picked up a small piece of food to eat.
Jiang Jiang found it funny. Although the young master hated playing chess, he never disobeyed the orders of Concubine Shu, and never even made a fuss.
"I don't want to go..." The little princess slowly finished her cake and complained with a wrinkled nose, "Father likes black pieces, so Mother asked me to specialize in black pieces. But black pieces have the first move, so the pressure is too great..."
Jiang Jiang didn't know how to play chess, so she could only wash her hands while softly comforting her, "The princess is an excellent chess player, even the emperor praised her."
This is indeed true.
Although the little princess is young, her chess skills far exceed those of her peers under the guidance of a famous teacher hired by Concubine Shu's mother's family at a high price.
Last month, when the Emperor visited Concubine Shu's palace, the little princess was able to play two games of chess with her father without losing. The Emperor was so pleased that he rewarded her with a box of fine pearls on the spot and even let her stay overnight in Concubine Shu's palace.
"So what!" On the way to Concubine Shu's palace, the little princess murmured, "I am in the royal family, I have no choice..."
She once asked some ministers' children at a banquet, and they all occasionally played some of their favorite games, such as flying kites and hide-and-seek.
But the emperor liked calm children. In order to please the emperor, Concubine Shu asked the little princess to do anything that required her to act arrogantly, and she was not allowed to play those games.
Jiang Jiang's heart tightened, and he quickly looked around to make sure no one heard these outrageous words.
When she arrived outside the Shufei Palace, the little princess had already straightened her back and instantly turned back into the well-behaved royal lady with a proper smile on her face, as if the complaint just now had never happened.
This kind of drama happens several times a month.
The little princess was well-behaved and sensible in front of Concubine Shu, but her true colors showed when she returned to her own palace. She often lay on the desk and refused to practice calligraphy.
Whenever this happened, Jiang Jiang would tell her some interesting stories about the countryside to make her happy.
“…Then the fisherman took the two water birds that were snatching the fish but were unwilling to eat it back home!” Jiang Jiang gestured with her hands and feet, making the little princess giggle and forget about practicing calligraphy.
"Hahaha, these two water birds are so stupid!"
Gradually, Jiang Jiang discovered that the little princess especially liked listening to these folk stories.
Sometimes she would deliberately stop talking in the middle of her story, and the little princess would anxiously pull at her sleeve, "What happened next? What happened next?"
Those sparkling eyes reminded Jiang Jiang of her little sister pestering her for candy.
…
The days go by.
When she was old enough to go to school, Jiang Jiang followed the little princess to Zishan Hall (where the princes and princesses took classes) to listen to the lectures of the tutor.
This is a huge blessing for her.
How could a daughter from a poor family have the opportunity to learn to read? Now she can learn from the little princess, which makes her very happy.
She listened so eagerly that she didn't even notice the little princess secretly kicking her under the table.
"Jiang Jiang!" the little princess complained angrily on the way home from school. "I just called you and you were completely distracted. Okay, tell me what the Master meant by 'zhihuzheye' today!"
The little princess was originally angry and wanted to embarrass Jiang Jiang, but she didn't expect Jiang Jiang to be stunned for a moment and actually tell it out loud.
This made the little princess feel embarrassed, and she snorted coldly and ignored Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang didn't know what was wrong with the princess, so he had to admit his mistakes repeatedly.
When the little princess was tested the next day, she couldn't answer the questions and was hit on the palm of her hand with a ruler by the tutor.
After returning to the palace, Jiang Jiang held the red little hand with heartache and applied medicine. She couldn't help but explain what the tutor had said in her own words.
"Ah, is that so?" The little princess' eyes lit up, and then she became happy, "Jiang Jiang! You explain it much more clearly than the master!"
From then on, the little princess depended on Jiang Jiang.
The Taifu assigned him homework only after Jiang Jiang had explained it to him once before he would learn it.
Jiang Jiang was trembling with fear, afraid that someone would discover this disrespectful act.
But seeing the little princess's progress day by day, she couldn't help but feel gratified.
The days passed peacefully, and the little princess was already nine years old.
Over the years, Jiang Jiang almost forgot about the dangers in the palace until one day.
The princess forgot to bring her books to class, so she asked Jiang Jiang to go back and get them while she waited in the imperial garden.
Jiang Jiang ran back to the palace and walked out carefully with the books the princess needed.
She lowered her head and walked lightly, thinking that the tutor was teaching chess today, which was exactly what the princess hated the most.
Thinking of the princess's unhappy pout and complaint, his eyebrows curled up unconsciously.
Just as I passed the ear room and was about to turn, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps in front of me.
Before Jiang Jiang could even look up, a figure in indigo eunuch's uniform suddenly bumped into him.
"Ah!" Jiang Jiang screamed and fell backwards.
Before she could react, she heard a crisp sound in her ears.
Looking up, Jiang Jiang's face turned pale instantly.
The brocade box in the young eunuch's hand fell open, and the dazzling glass cup inside fell out and shattered all over the floor.
The glass cup was crystal clear and reflected colorful light under the sunlight. It was obviously a treasure bestowed by the emperor.
Jiang Jiang and the young eunuch froze at the same time.
Jiang Jiang felt a chill running up from the soles of his feet, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
She recognized this kind of glass cup. It was a rare tribute from the Western Regions, and there were only three or five of them in the entire harem.
According to palace rules, damaging imperial gifts would result in severe punishment.
"What happened?" A sharp shout came from the end of the corridor.
Jiang Jiang looked up and saw Jinxiu, the senior palace maid beside Concubine Shu, walking towards her.
Jinxiu saw the broken glass cup and was stunned for a moment. She looked at Jiang Jiang and the young eunuch and her pupils shrank.
Jinxiu sent someone to bring the two of them before Concubine Shu.
Concubine Shu was wearing a crimson palace dress today, with golden hairpins swaying on her head. Her face was pretty but a bit fierce.
Jiang Jiang and the young eunuch immediately knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed against the cold stone slabs.
"What's going on?" Concubine Shu's tone was low and her voice was very oppressive.
Jiang Jiang could hear the sound of her heart beating violently, as if it was about to burst out of her chest.
Jiang Jiang was about to explain when the young eunuch next to him spoke up quickly.
"Reporting to Her Majesty!" the young eunuch suddenly spoke, his voice shrill and tearful, "It was this palace maid who was blind. I was carrying your favorite glass cup to be cleaned when she suddenly rushed out and knocked me over!"
Jiang Jiang looked up suddenly, unable to believe his ears.
"No! Please understand, Your Majesty, I was walking normally, it was this eunuch who ran too fast..."
"Shut up!" Jinxiu yelled, "How dare you quibble in front of the Empress!"
Jiang Jiang looked at Jinxiu in disbelief, but she never expected to see Jinxiu and the little eunuch secretly exchanged glances.
Jiang Jiang's heart sank to the bottom.
She had heard gossip from the palace servants before, saying that a handsome young eunuch in Concubine Shu's palace had been courting Concubine Shu's first-class maid, Jinxiu, and that their relationship was ambiguous. She had never expected that this eunuch was the one...
"Your Majesty!" Jinse leaned close to Concubine Shu's ear, deliberately speaking so that everyone around could hear. "This palace servant damaged the gift given by the Emperor. If you don't punish her severely, I'm afraid it will damage Your Majesty's dignity!"
Concubine Shu's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and the anger in her eyes grew stronger.
She glanced at Jiang Jiang coldly, as if she was looking at an ant.
"Come here!" Concubine Shu opened her red lips slightly, her voice flat, as if she was talking about the weather today, "Drag him away and beat him to death!"
Jiang Jiang collapsed to the ground as if struck by lightning.
She couldn't believe what she heard!
She opened her mouth to beg for mercy, but found her throat was too dry to make a sound.
Two burly eunuchs stepped forward and held her arms.
Jiang Jiang finally woke up from her dream and struggled to cry out, "Your Majesty, please have mercy! I am wronged! Please, Your Majesty, have mercy!"
But, how can there be any mercy?
Her voice echoed in the empty palace corridor, but no one responded.
The princess was still in the imperial garden at the moment and had no idea about all this.
I'm afraid the princess won't be able to wait for her arrival...
As Jiang Jiang was being dragged along, her eyes turned red and tears flowed unconsciously.
She remembered the warning given by the maid when she entered the palace, "In this deep palace, the nobles are the heavens. If the nobles don't like you, then your life is worth less than grass!"
She was still young at that time and didn't quite understand it, but now she truly understands its meaning.
No one cares about the life of a low-ranking palace maid.
The board fell on her body again and again. She felt so painful that her eyes went black and suppressed screams came out of her throat.
Her nails dug into her palms, but she felt no relief.
My consciousness began to drift, and the little princess's face appeared in my mind.
Those big eyes that always sparkled with curiosity would unconsciously widen slightly when listening to her tell stories.
That pink little mouth would pout in grievance when she couldn't recite a poem.
Jiang Jiang suddenly became worried. If she died, who would explain the teachings of the Grand Tutor to the princess? Who would tell her those folk tales at night?
As soon as this thought came to mind, Jiang Jiang laughed at himself.
Blood foam overflowed from the corners of his mouth, with a smell of rust.
She was really delusional. How could a lowly slave be worthy of worrying about a princess of wealth and status?
I'm afraid that in a few days, the princess will forget that there was a palace maid named Jiang Jiang.
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