Villainous Crown Prince (14)
Song Xuyi woke up and found herself in Wu Country.
She realized she was lying in a very empty room with only a table and a bed, no other furniture in sight. Through the paper-covered windows, she could hear cries coming from outside the room…
An old woman stood by the bed, looking at her with a complex gaze.
As Song Xuyi woke up, the old woman cleared her throat to get her attention and then impatiently tossed a set of palace maid clothes at her.
“Hurry up and change into these clothes, the prince’s flowers and grass are waiting for you to serve!” the old woman said, her expression changing. She then warned sternly, “You must understand your own position. You are a prisoner of war from an enemy country. Don’t think that just because you’re in the Eastern Palace and have a little charm, you can aspire to climb the ranks. The Crown Prince, as a noble of the royal family, is not someone you can dream of being with.”
Following that, the old woman also taught Song Xuyi some of the rules in the palace. Overall, what the old woman said was not much different from the rules in the Lishui Palace.
Song Xuyi listened absentmindedly and quickly analyzed the current situation.
Her planned agreement with the royal family had been exposed by the crown prince. The crown prince shifted the blame for the assassin incident to the Lishui Kingdom and detained the envoy sent by the emperor.
The high-ranking officials of the envoy were kept under guard at the post station while the rest of the presented dancers and musicians were taken into the palace to serve as palace maids.
During the allocation of palace maids, one of the crown prince’s close attendants selected Song Xuyi to go to the Eastern Palace to take care of the flowers and plants. The old woman who was teaching Song Xuyi the rules was sent by this attendant.
Song Xuyi lowered her head, appearing respectful and obedient, but her emotions sank to the bottom of the valley in that moment:
Song Xuyi had feigned illness with her grandfather and snuck into the envoy’s team.
It had been two more days since then, and she estimated that the royal family must have already found out about her infiltration into the envoy group. Song Xuyi could hardly imagine how Wang Mian would feel upon learning about her capture…
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However, now was not the time to dwell on these thoughts.
The old woman noticed Song Xuyi’s submissive demeanor, different from the flirtatious and alluring dancers, and soon ceased her harsh words towards Song Xuyi. She urged Song Xuyi to change into the palace maid clothes and then led her out the door.
Unlike the intricate and luxurious Lishui Palace, which featured scenic spots every five steps and pavilions every ten steps, the Wu Country Palace was built with a majestic and grandiose style. Walking through, one could see high tiled walls against a backdrop of blue skies and white clouds, exuding a sense of magnificence and grandeur.
However, the atmosphere inside the Wu Country Palace was incredibly oppressive. As they walked, everyone had solemn expressions, heads lowered, and faces devoid of smiles.
Thinking of the rumors about the Emperor of Wu Country’s cruelty towards servants and his excessive indulgence, Song Xuyi felt a sudden pang in her heart and, like everyone else, she lowered her head.
But it seemed that the more one feared something, the more likely it was to happen. Passing by a palace, a beautiful young woman suddenly hurriedly pushed open the door and walked out.
The young woman was wearing heavy makeup, with revealing clothing clinging to her body. Her fair skin was covered in red marks, and her face was flushed. She seemed to be avoiding someone, and when she saw Song Xuyi next to the old woman, her eyes lit up, and she immediately reached out to grab Song Xuyi’s hand—
“The girl looks so lively and spirited, come play a game with us! If you can make His Majesty happy, who knows, he might even bestow a noble title upon you…”
Through the partially open door, Song Xuyi caught sight of some extremely disturbing scenes inside.
Song Xuyi had heard about the Emperor of Wu Country’s debauchery and the rumors of extravagant parties, but she never imagined such scenes could occur in broad daylight.
Feeling a wave of nausea, Song Xuyi subtly avoided the woman’s touch.
The woman’s expression immediately changed upon seeing this, her eyebrows furrowing as if she were about to erupt. The old woman discreetly stepped forward, pushing away the woman’s hand. “Noble Lady Xu, this is a war captive of Wu Country. It has been arranged for her to serve in the Crown Prince’s palace…”
Upon hearing the words “Crown Prince,” the woman’s face stiffened, fear flashing in her eyes as she took a few steps back.
As the situation seemed to have reached a resolution, another person emerged from the room—
This was a man in his fifties, with a large belly, cloudy eyes, and layers of fat on his face. He immediately embraced Noble Lady Xu, who had retreated to the doorway, and roamed his hands over her. His gaze then casually drifted towards Song Xuyi, and his eyes widened: “Where did this little beauty come from?”
It wasn’t that Song Xuyi was exceptionally stunning, but rather her pure and clean demeanor stood out starkly in the palace, a rare quality among those who frequented the imperial court. This naturally drew the attention of individuals like him.
The man’s gaze was sticky and greedy, like a giant python slithering on the ground, eager to devour its prey whole.
Song Xuyi looked at the man in bright yellow attire, feeling a chill in her heart, and instinctively tightened the hairpin hidden in her sleeve.
“I pay my respects to Your Majesty!”
Seeing the Emperor’s gaze fixed on Song Xuyi, the old woman beside her subtly furrowed her brow.
“Your Majesty, this person was to be sent to the Crown Prince’s palace and unintentionally disturbed Your Majesty’s peace on the way. We hope Your Majesty can forgive this transgression!” The old woman gave Song Xuyi a nudge, indicating for her to step forward and pay her respects.
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Song Xuyi reluctantly took one step forward and half-bowed to pay her respects, but to her surprise, the Emperor’s face lit up with a smile. He took a step forward and reached out as if to grab Song Xuyi’s arm—
The hand extended by the Emperor was oily and swollen, making one feel nauseous. Song Xuyi sidestepped to avoid it, only to find that Noble Lady Xu had somehow maneuvered behind her, now smiling wickedly as she reached out to grab her.
Song Xuyi pursed her lips. She had never been in such a situation before, but she was not afraid either. After all, the combat experience she had accumulated from a different world was still fresh in her mind. Song Xuyi lowered her head slightly, preparing to seize the Emperor with the hairpin at the right moment…
A sharp sound of an arrow cutting through the air—
A scream rang out behind her, and Noble Lady Xu staggered back, clutching her arm. Her face contorted in pain. She had intended to continue crying out, but upon seeing the person ahead, she retreated in fear, swallowing her cries.
“My Emperor Father is old and confused, his mind is unclear. If he behaves outrageously, that’s one thing! But how can you allow him to act recklessly?”
The Crown Prince was playing with a small golden bow, walking out calmly from the side door.
This time, he was not wearing a mask. Perhaps due to minimal exposure to the sun, the Crown Prince’s face that was exposed to the outside world carried a sickly pale complexion. However, this did not diminish his exquisite features at all. Instead, it added a unique beauty to him, giving him a somewhat sinister and distinctive charm.
This face made Song Xuyi feel both familiar and unfamiliar:
At first glance, this face bore a striking resemblance to Nie Qianyu, except for the lack of a beautiful red mole at the corner of the Crown Prince’s eye. The rest of the features were almost indistinguishable from Nie Qianyu’s. However, the expression on the Crown Prince’s face was extremely unfamiliar. His eyes were dark and cold, his demeanor arrogant and noble. This was a look Song Xuyi had never seen on Nie Qianyu before. Nie Qianyu always carried a heavy burden and tended to diminish her presence as much as possible. She would never exude the aura of fear and chilliness like the Crown Prince did, even when smiling.
Could it really not be Nie Qianyu?
When the Crown Prince appeared, the surrounding people knelt down in a dense crowd.
Song Xuyi had originally not wanted to kneel, but the old woman kicked her knees, causing Song Xuyi to bend with knee pain and reluctantly kneel down…
The only one standing was the Emperor, breathing heavily.
The Emperor was provoked by the Crown Prince’s words, his face instantly flushed with anger. Pointing at the Crown Prince, he shouted, “I am perfectly clear-headed! The biggest regret of my life was listening to the advice of that foolish Empress you locked in the Cold Palace, allowing you, this ambitious rebel of a son, to become the Crown Prince! I wish I could strangle you, you rebellious son…”
The people around dared not make a sound, their heads almost touching the ground. The Crown Prince, however, showed no reaction, seemingly unaffected by the Emperor’s insults. He waved his hand towards the back, and his attendants promptly came forward, ushering the continuously cursing Emperor and the silent Noble Lady Xu back into the courtyard.
As expected, the Emperor of Wu Country had indeed been sidelined by the Crown Prince, just as the rumors had suggested.
“Lower your head quickly, you don’t want to die!”
The old woman beside her saw Song Xuyi, surprisingly, lifting her head and staring intently at the Crown Prince. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest from fear. She promptly pushed Song Xuyi’s head down. It was well known that the Crown Prince detested being stared at by others!
A pair of black boots came to a halt in front of Song Xuyi. Her heart thudded heavily as she heard the Crown Prince’s voice above her: “Nanny Hu, what are you doing here?”
The nanny behind Song Xuyi was taken aback. She hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to remember her name. She quickly and deferentially replied, “This servant was just about to bring the new palace maid into the palace…”
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Song Xuyi felt an intense and oppressive gaze pass over her head, followed by a nonchalant voice: “I happen to need a female attendant. She seems sensible enough. Let her come and serve in my inner chamber!”
The old woman gasped, then lowered her voice even further: “I will obey the Crown Prince’s orders.”
Song Xuyi was led to another room that appeared to be much better in environment. She was arranged to serve the Crown Prince that evening. The old woman’s demeanor softened significantly as she kindly taught Song Xuyi the rules.
The system sighed in Song Xuyi’s mind, “Those two palace maids whispering in the corner mentioned that you won’t live long. None of the maids who served the Crown Prince before could last more than a month…”
“System,” Song Xuyi whispered softly, lowering her head, “Is the Crown Prince Qianyu?”
Song Xuyi suddenly remembered that the system had the ability to sense antagonists, and instead of speculating continuously on her own, she decided to directly ask the system.
“She… she is Nie Qianyu,” the system had long wanted to tell Song Xuyi that the Crown Prince was Nie Qianyu, but every time the words reached its throat, the system swallowed them back countless times – it was afraid of hurting Song Xuyi.
This time, it was Song Xuyi who brought it up first. The system fell silent for a moment before sighing heavily, “Xuyi, you need to be more open-minded. This ungrateful little villain is not worth our sympathy. Since she pretends not to know you, we can think of other ways. There’s no need to beg her to help us complete our mission…”
Song Xuyi responded with a soft “Hmm” to the system, but a hint of doubt surged in her heart: Was Nie Qianyu’s performance all an act?
……
While Song Xuyi was in confusion, nightfall quickly approached.
Following the solemn-faced old woman, Song Xuyi entered Nie Qianyu’s sleeping quarters…
The author has something to say:
Happy National Day~~
We finally have power today, but… due to the pandemic, I can’t go back home~┭┮﹏┭┮
LP: Re-translated on April 19, 2024