Nanny Qin pressed the porcelain vial directly into her palm, slowly curling her fingers around it. "With His Highness's favor and Her Majesty's support, a concubine's position can still be yours."
Yun Kui was too stunned to speak: "A concubine?"
Nanny Qin smiled. "If you win this gamble, it's a lifetime of wealth and honor. Even if you lose, Her Majesty will remember your service to the Crown Prince and show leniency, allowing you to continue serving. A concubine to the Crown Prince—need I say more about the future prospects?"
Yun Kui clutched the object in her hand, hesitating. "Then... what does Her Majesty need me to do?"
"Her Majesty truly didn’t misjudge you," Nanny Qin chuckled. "Since you asked, I’ll be frank. The Crown Prince is not Her Majesty’s own son, and his aloof, indifferent nature has led to misunderstandings over the years. Her Majesty merely hopes for an intermediary to help mend their relationship. You’re clever—surely you’ll be able to speak on Her Majesty’s behalf in the future, won’t you?"
...
Nanny Qin returned to the palace hall, where the Empress was using bronze tongs to stir the incense ashes in the burner.
"She took the vial?"
Nanny Qin smiled. "The girl was so overwhelmed by this sudden fortune that she could hardly believe it. Her Majesty’s words convinced her she’s about to rise from a sparrow to a phoenix."
The Empress sighed. "I wonder if she’ll succeed."
After years of scheming, even the Empress felt a trace of weariness.
Nanny Qin quickly reassured her. "Your Majesty has a keen eye for talent. This girl was chosen for a reason. The Crown Prince has always been unapproachable, yet she served him for two consecutive nights—she must have some skill. She likely knows her lowly status means the Crown Prince only sees her as a diversion, otherwise why would he have her test his food for poison? Now that Your Majesty has given her a chance to ascend, she’ll surely cling to this opportunity. Just wait—good news should come within days."
The Empress sighed faintly. "Let’s hope so."
Nanny Qin added, "In my opinion, the abortifacient is unnecessary. The Crown Prince avoids women, and his health is already hanging by a thread—how could he possibly bed anyone?"
The Empress murmured, "Better safe than sorry. Whether they’ve lain together is their own claim—who knows what happens behind closed doors? The Crown Prince himself is the only heir. If he hadn’t been too young back then, the throne would never have..."
Her gaze sharpened abruptly. "This empire belongs to His Majesty, and in time, it will pass to the Second and Sixth Princes. After all my years of planning, how can I allow an outsider to sit securely as heir? And I will not permit his bastard to covet the throne!"
Nanny Qin hastily agreed. "Your Majesty is ever prudent."
...
Yun Kui returned to the Cheng Guang Palace with a troubled heart, Nanny Qin’s final warning echoing in her mind—
"Remember, in this palace, it is not the Crown Prince who can protect you, but Her Majesty."
The Empress wanted her to use a secret drug to win the Crown Prince’s favor—this was absurd, far beyond her capabilities.
With the Crown Prince’s vigilance and the guards like Qin Ge watching him closely, she had no chance to slip anything into his food or drink.
If caught, would the Empress truly shield her? The Crown Prince despised those who schemed for favor—she might be dead before word even reached the Empress.
The maid who had once drugged him with an aphrodisiac was a grim precedent.
But refusal meant defying the Empress’s decree.
Lost in thought, Yun Kui felt a dull ache in her abdomen. Rubbing it absently, she noted it wasn’t her usual time of the month, nor were there any signs of bleeding. She considered lying down, but a soft knock interrupted her.
Opening the door, she found an unfamiliar palace maid holding a redwood box and a small black lacquered case inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
"Do not be alarmed, miss. I come bearing my master’s message."
The maid entered and opened both containers. "If you apply this lip rouge before serving the Crown Prince tonight, no matter what happens, my master will ensure your safety. These banknotes are but a token of goodwill. Succeed, and greater rewards await."
Yun Kui glimpsed the thick stack of banknotes inside the box. Unfamiliar with such sums and unable to read the denominations clearly, she could only tell it was substantial.
Her palms grew damp. "May I ask who your master is...?"
The maid evaded the question. "No need to know. Simply act, and you’ll be richly compensated."
Before Yun Kui could recover from her shock, the maid had vanished.
She opened the box properly and saw the banknotes were all fifty-tael denominations—twenty in total!
Breathe. Just breathe...
This was nothing. She could handle it...
Her head spun, her body light with disbelief.
Next, she opened the lip rouge—a vibrant red with a faint pearlescent sheen. Instinctively, she reached to test the color but froze mid-motion.
The maid had said to wear this while serving the Crown Prince...
Yun Kui recalled Cai Ju poisoning the Crown Prince’s meal with arsenic, and the handkerchief laced with aphrodisiac from that night. Was this lip rouge also tainted?
Panic set in.
As she untangled her thoughts, realization dawned—she’d been recruited.
The maid’s master had offered a thousand taels to use her against the Crown Prince. After all, she was the only maid allowed near him.
As for why poison the lip rouge... they must have assumed the Crown Prince would kiss her at night, ingesting the toxin and dying.
If true, this was even more cunning than the aphrodisiac-laced handkerchief.
And a thousand taels!
If she were a proper assassin, she’d be eager to proceed.
She should have asked about the rules—if she failed or had no chance to act, would they demand the money back? Surely someone who could casually offer a thousand taels wouldn’t be so petty.
Success was unlikely, though.
First, the Crown Prince detested bright cosmetics and heavy fragrances. She’d probably be dismissed the moment she entered.
Second, he would never kiss her. He’d resisted even under the influence of an aphrodisiac—sober, it was unthinkable.
Unless...
She could force a kiss while he was unconscious.
Yun Kui’s cheeks warmed at the unbidden memory of the Crown Prince’s pale, soft lips.
The pallor was visible, but she knew their softness from accidentally brushing them while feeding him medicine through a sheep’s intestine casing.
She’d even glimpsed his pink, moist tongue.
She rarely noticed men’s lips—unless they left a lasting impression.
For instance, her cousin's lips—she could hardly recall his face now, but she remembered how he used to stick out his tongue as a child. His mouth was always dry and cracked, with peeling skin and frequent blisters, his tongue coated thickly. The image of him playfully wagging his tongue at her as a child was truly unforgettable.
But the Crown Prince's lips were different. They were a soft, pale pink, thin and clean, undeniably alluring—they looked like they’d feel tender to the touch.
There was just one drawback.
The drawback was that she couldn’t taste them.
Yun Kui ran her fingers over the thick stack of banknotes again. So many, so thick, so delightful.
A thousand taels of silver had left her dizzy, even making her forget the earlier discomfort in her lower abdomen. But as soon as her head cleared, the pain came rushing back like a tide.
On her way to the privy, she was still pondering what to do with the money when she ran into a pale, slender young eunuch in the corridor. He pulled her behind a rockery without a word and pressed a small bottle into her hand.
"My master requests that you slip this into the Crown Prince’s food at the first opportunity. Once the deed is done, my master will arrange for you to leave the palace to avoid repercussions and reward you with a thousand taels of gold and a hundred acres of fertile land."
"Ah, I can’t—"
Before she could refuse, the eunuch had already vanished.
Yun Kui: "..."
What a lucky day—everyone seemed to be offering her money to take the Crown Prince’s life!
She had to admit, the terms were tempting, perfectly tailored to her weaknesses. But the real question was—did they really think assassinating the Crown Prince was that easy?
Step one: Enter the Hall of Radiant Light.
Step two: Poison the Crown Prince.
Step three: The Crown Prince succumbs, and she escapes to live a life of luxury.
Even she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that could happen.
The only likely outcome was failure, and her fate would mirror that of the palace maid who’d tried to drug him—or Cai Ju. Before anyone could intervene, the Crown Prince would have her torn limb from limb and fed to the dogs.
Yun Kui exhaled slowly.
Last time, greed for ten taels of gold had taught her a harsh lesson. This time, she wouldn’t be so stupid.
Though mountains of gold and silver were undeniably tempting, and she was hardly the type to resist riches.
If she ever got rich, she’d indulge more than anyone.
In the end, she settled on a compromise: if she ever sensed the Crown Prince meant to kill her, she’d be ready. Whether with poisoned lip rouge, venom, or even the secret drug the Empress had given her—she’d drag him down to hell with her.
After visiting the privy, Yun Kui checked her undergarments and found no trace of menstrual blood. The pain wasn’t severe either, so she dismissed it.
Glancing at the sky, she prepared to head to the Hall of Radiant Light for the meal tasting, but Deshun, Cao Yuanlu’s apprentice, arrived with a message: the Crown Prince had fallen unconscious, so her services weren’t needed at noon.
Yun Kui was relieved. A break was exactly what she wanted.
The morning had been exhausting—first the visit to the Empress’s palace, then back-to-back offers of wealth. Her head still spun as if she were dreaming.
For dinner, she nibbled at the leftovers the Crown Prince had previously gifted her. Even as scraps, these dishes were the finest in the world, far superior to the rations given to palace maids.
But her appetite was poor today. She finished with a bowl of hot soup, and the warmth finally eased the lingering ache in her belly.
Just as she thought she wouldn’t have to serve at the Hall of Radiant Light that night, Aunt Wei came to summon her, even offering a rare smile. "The Crown Prince will be taking a medicinal bath at the Hot Spring Palace tonight. Prepare yourself—you’ll accompany him."
Fortunes had turned. Who would’ve thought this girl would become the Crown Prince’s favored maid? Aunt Wei naturally treated her with courtesy now.
Yun Kui nodded, but her mind fixated on the words "medicinal bath."
Did that mean… she’d get to see everything?
