Yun Kui had a rough night, tormented until nearly dawn before she finally drifted into a shallow sleep.
Normally, by this hour, the palace maids would already be rising to wash and prepare for the day, but she was so exhausted she couldn’t even lift a finger. Her eyelids felt like lead, and at some point during the night, she had given up resisting when he pulled her into his arms.
When the Crown Prince rose in the morning, she vaguely registered the movement. Fortunately, he showed some mercy, instructing the servants not to disturb her rest. Relieved, she curled deeper into the bedding and let sleep reclaim her.
Some time later, she felt a tickling sensation at her ear, as if something damp was slowly tracing its curve. Instinctively, she hunched her shoulders and buried her face further into the pillow.
Then came a teasing, feather-light touch along her neck. Still half-asleep, she reached up to scratch—only for her fingers to brush against something cold and unyielding. She traced its shape, then gave it an experimental pinch.
The man finally lifted his chin, which she had been mindlessly pawing at. "Still not getting up?"
Yun Kui curled into herself, the lingering ache between her legs making movement unappealing. "Your Highness, forgive this useless servant for failing to endure your... formidable prowess."
The Crown Prince felt a vein throb at his temple.
Logically, after such intimacy, she ought to be clinging to him sweetly—or at least scrambling to rise in mortification for oversleeping past noon. She should be hurrying to clean up and resume her duties.
Instead, she lay there like a limp doll, barely mustering the energy to react even when prodded. Not even the Crown Prince himself warranted her effort to feign enthusiasm.
He pinched her earlobe, deliberating before speaking. "For your role in uncovering Marquis of Ningde’s crimes of defiling the imperial harem and falsifying the royal lineage, you deserve the highest credit. Add to that your... service last night. Name your reward."
"Service? That mess last night counts as service?"
Though resentment simmered in her chest from how brutally she’d been handled, the mention of merit still made her conscience twinge.
"Should I ask for more gold?"
"Or jewels? The Crown Prince’s gifts wouldn’t be the gaudy trinkets sold in market stalls. Who knows—he might carelessly toss me a pearl worth cities. I’d be set for life!"
The Crown Prince frowned. "All you care about is wealth and baubles?"
Yun Kui: "I—huh??"
She hadn’t said a word!
His lips curled in a humorless smile. "Don’t you want to play the spoiled favorite? Demand a title from me?"
In twenty years, he’d never once considered taking a wife, nor even kept a concubine. Yet here he was, having bedded this audacious, scheming little maid.
Though the experience had been... less than harmonious, she was still his first. He wasn’t stingy with titles—they were just empty honors. If she behaved, he might even indulge her with some benefits.
As for appointing a Crown Princess? There was no hurry.
The Eastern Palace was a den of wolves. With so many schemes afoot, now wasn’t the time for sentiment. The Household Administration kept urging him to wed and sire heirs, but how could he guarantee his own survival, let alone a child’s? Any offspring might end up as wretched as he had been.
Once he uncovered the truth, reclaimed his power, and stabilized the empire, then he could think about marriage.
Just then, the girl’s muttering reached him again.
"Is he... offering to make me a consort?"
"No thanks. I’d rather not paint a target on my back for the future Crown Princess to eliminate."
"A bedchamber maid might be lowly, but at least we’re not registered in the imperial records. Means I can pack up and leave whenever. Once His Highness tires of me, if the Crown Princess wants me gone, I’ll scamper off with my savings before they even ask! With enough gold, I could hire handsome guards, take in a husband, and live like a lady of leisure."
Having settled on her plan, Yun Kui quickly said, "Your Highness, I—"
Her words died as she met the Crown Prince’s pitch-black gaze. A shiver ran down her spine. "Your Highness?"
"He just asked what title I wanted—why does he look like that now?"
"Was it a test? To see if I’d overreach and beg for nobility?"
"Heavens above, I swear I don’t want to be a consort!"
She offered him her most ingratiating smile. "Your Highness, this servant wouldn’t dare."
His expression didn’t soften. If anything, his lips pressed into a tighter line, eyes glacially cold.
Panicking, Yun Kui raised a hand as if taking an oath. "I’ll remember my place! No delusions of grandeur!"
The Crown Prince studied her careless demeanor, then said icily, "Good. Very good."
Yun Kui ventured timidly, "If Your Highness insists on rewarding me... may I make a bold request? Please don’t be angry."
His face might as well have been carved from frost. "Speak."
"I... I serve in fear under Your Highness’s gaze. If someday I err, and you or the future Crown Princess wish to punish me..." She swallowed. "I beg for this grace: if you no longer want me, just exile me far from the palace. I swear I’ll vanish without a trace, never to trouble you again."
The Crown Prince laughed, the sound devoid of warmth.
Exile her? So she can hire guards and take a husband—exactly as she fantasized?
"Rest assured," he said, voice arctic, "if that day comes, I’ll handle it officially. You won’t slip away unpunished."
Yun Kui: "..."
"Vile man! Can’t even pretend to be decent after taking my virtue!"
......
The New Year’s Eve banquet had exposed the scandal of Marquis of Ningde’s heir, Xie Huaichuan, fathering a child with Concubine Yu. Emperor Chunming’s fury shook the palace. He ordered Lu Qi, Commander of the Imperial Guards, to investigate in secret, while Concubine Yu’s maids were tortured for confessions—all of which aligned with Zhu Wu’s testimony.
The mother and son he’d doted on for years: one had betrayed him in adultery, the other wasn’t even his blood. Only the thinnest thread of restraint kept Emperor Chunming from exterminating both the Ningde and Yu clans immediately.
To protect the royal dignity, every servant who witnessed the disgrace in the side hall that night had been silenced—except those the Crown Prince took away.
In over twenty years on the throne, Emperor Chunming prided himself on diligence and benevolence. Yet to many elder ministers, he remained merely a placeholder, expected to yield to the Crown Prince at any moment.
No matter how many accused the Crown Prince, his supporters—loyalists of the late Emperor Jingyou—stood firm. Meanwhile, the slightest flaw in Emperor Chunming’s rule became ammunition for their critiques.
Thus, whether in self-cultivation, household management, or governance, the Emperor allowed no missteps that might give them leverage.
Yet Xie Huaichuan and Concubine Yu’s depravity had not only humiliated him but exposed his failure as a ruler to maintain order in his own harem. This shame could never become public.
When he’d uttered "silence them" in the Crown Prince’s presence, it was both a warning and a line drawn. If the Crown Prince pushed further, forcing the scandal into the open, Emperor Chunming would strike first—regardless of consequences.
In recent years, the Marquis of Ningde’s household had abused their status as imperial relatives, seizing vast lands and extorting wealth from the people. Emperor Chunming turned a blind eye, as they shared a common enemy—the Crown Prince. The Marquis had also secretly carried out many unsavory tasks for the Emperor. But this time, Emperor Chunming was furious beyond reason. Casting aside all pretense of mercy, he ordered the Imperial Guards to list ten major crimes against the Marquis, leading to the confiscation of his property and his imprisonment.
Dealing solely with the Marquis of Ningde would draw too much attention, so Emperor Chunming seized the opportunity to purge other corrupt officials as well. The Yu family was naturally among those targeted.
The officials who had toasted with the Emperor during the New Year’s Eve banquet could never have imagined that before the holiday break even ended, they would be met with imperial edicts stripping them of their positions and confiscating their homes.
From the very beginning, Emperor Chunming had known about the verbal engagement between Concubine Yu and Xie Huaichuan, though it had dissolved without consequence—Xie Huaichuan married another, and Concubine Yu entered the palace. The Emperor had never pursued the matter, yet now he discovered that the two had never let go of their old feelings, deceiving him and even bearing a child in secret! The adulterous pair had the audacity to die together in front of him! Destroying their families was too lenient a punishment!
As for the Ninth Prince, once doted upon by the Emperor, he now only inspired hatred.
The Emperor had no shortage of heirs. This child’s very existence was a mistake—a humiliation that tarnished his imperial dignity!
For now, Emperor Chunming could only imprison him, waiting for the storm surrounding the Marquis of Ningde to pass before deciding his fate.
Despite the Emperor’s efforts to suppress the scandal, fabricating charges to cover up the disgrace, word of the affair between the Marquis’ heir and Concubine Yu still spread like wildfire. It reached not only the Empress’ ears but also became gossip among the imperial harem.
Overnight, the once-mighty Marquis of Ningde collapsed. The Empress, still under house arrest, and Prince Chen were both stunned.
The Empress was filled with terror and regret. She had never imagined her nephew would still harbor feelings for Concubine Yu, committing such an unforgivable crime. A man of such intelligence had met his downfall because of love. Had she known, she would never have persuaded him to marry another.
Still confined, the Empress repeatedly sought an audience with Emperor Chunming, but to no avail. She understood that this scandal had deeply wounded the imperial family’s dignity—the ten charges were merely a cover. The Emperor intended to wipe out the Marquis’ entire bloodline!
Having been married to him for over twenty years, the Empress knew his temperament better than anyone. Were it not for her status as Empress and the children she bore him, Emperor Chunming might not have spared even her this time!
With her maternal clan’s support gone, the only way for Prince Chen to regain the Emperor’s favor was to eliminate the Crown Prince—the Emperor’s greatest thorn.
But Emperor Chunming, consumed by rage, had no intention of granting the Empress an audience to plead for her family.
He was furious that the Crown Prince had leaked the scandal. In just a few days, whispers had spread through both the court and the harem.
He could silence the servants who witnessed the events in the palace that day, but he could never stifle the murmurs of the masses.
One day, Emperor Chunming summoned Lu Qi, the commander of the Imperial Guards.
The usually composed and mild-mannered Emperor now burned with fury, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "The Crown Prince can no longer be tolerated. I have indulged him for far too long."
Lu Qi, whose face had been disfigured by burns in his youth, always wore a half-mask of bronze. The twisted scars on the other half of his face only added to his fearsome aura.
Few had ever seen his true face. Even high-ranking officials spoke of him in hushed tones, knowing only that he had once saved Emperor Chunming’s life, earning him the position of Imperial Guard commander and the Emperor’s unwavering trust.
Emperor Chunming’s expression darkened. "He has already begun investigating you. If you do not kill him, he will eventually uncover the truth of what happened all those years ago. You have lain in wait by my side for twenty years—was it not for the day when the Crown Prince would fall, allowing you to rise in rank, shed your mask, and live openly under your true name? This time, there must be no mistakes."
Lu Qi clenched his jaw and bowed. "This humble servant obeys Your Majesty’s command."
……
For the first time in her life, Yun Kui went more than ten days without seeing the Crown Prince.
The Chongming Hall was constantly filled with officials discussing state affairs. She had vaguely heard about the recent wave of confiscations and arrests, including the downfall of the Marquis of Ningde—likely connected to the Marquis’ heir.
But these matters of court had nothing to do with her. Valuing her life, she wouldn’t dare breathe a word of what she knew.
The Crown Prince’s absence could mean many things—perhaps he was swamped with duties, perhaps he had taken a new favorite, perhaps he believed she overstepped by aspiring to be more than a servant and was teaching her a lesson, or perhaps he was selecting a Crown Princess and didn’t want rumors of him favoring a lowly bedchamber maid to tarnish his prospects.
Yun Kui took it all in stride. Being paid without working—what luck!
But one day, as she passed through the corridors, she overheard maids whispering behind her back, saying she had enjoyed only a brief moment of favor before being cast aside. A strange emptiness settled in her chest.
What exactly did she feel empty about? The fleeting riches and glory? Not quite.
She had always been content, never coveting what wasn’t hers. A single gold ingot could bring her joy for days.
But at night, curled alone under cold sheets, shivering, she finally understood the source of that hollowness—
The pleasures of the flesh she had enjoyed for two months were gone.
No more firm abs to grope in the dead of night, no broad chest to nuzzle against, no powerful arms to cradle her—just a stiff, lifeless pillow.
Anyone would feel the loss.
Thinking back to New Year’s Eve, it hadn’t been entirely unpleasant.
There had been moments so intense they left her mind blank, her scalp tingling… moments she… missed.
Perhaps she hadn’t been blameless either. As a bedchamber maid, serving the Crown Prince was her duty. Yet she had failed in her role, even daring to criticize her master. What lord would want such a servant?
If given another chance, she would rededicate herself to serving His Highness with utmost devotion!
Before long, the Lantern Festival arrived.
With the Crown Prince having ignored Yun Kui for so long, Cao Yuanlu grew anxious.
By all accounts, a man who had tasted pleasure would naturally crave it nightly—especially a young, vigorous prince like His Highness. Abstinence was the anomaly.
"Did he not enjoy it?"
"But Yun Kui eases His Highness’ headaches. Even if he no longer favors her, keeping her nearby would be wise."
"Or… could there be some physical issue? Does His Highness refuse to face her because of—"
The Crown Prince, reviewing documents at his desk, frowned upon hearing his attendant’s thoughts.
That heartless girl would rather leave the palace than stay in the Eastern Palace. Was he, the Crown Prince, supposed to grovel before a mere maid?
Cao Yuanlu ventured cautiously, "Today is the Lantern Festival. Will Your Highness still not summon Yun Kui?"
Had it really been half a month already?
The Crown Prince rubbed his temples.
Cao Yuanlu immediately said, "Is Your Highness’ headache acting up? This servant will fetch Yun Kui at once!"
Before the Crown Prince could stop him, Cao Yuanlu had already hurried out.
A moment later, the little maid with her hair styled in hanging loops and dressed in a silver-red crabapple-patterned jacket and skirt—clearly having taken care with her appearance—entered the hall with bowed head. She curtsied slowly and said in a soft voice, "This humble servant greets Your Highness."
Yet the Crown Prince distinctly heard the sound of her heart sharpening a blade.
"I'm ready! Let's go again anytime!"
Snuggling with the little ones.
