NFBE Chapter 100 Years in the Palace 8
Chapter 100 Years in the Palace 8
"Eh?"
"If Your Highness Qi wishes to see me, you can simply go to Lanshu Palace. Why wait here? Did Your Highness anticipate that I would come here?"
"The Imperial Concubine... has changed a lot."
Jing Yizhi did not answer her, but instead said something completely unrelated.
Liu Xingxing looked puzzled. Were they very familiar with each other before?
A concubine in the imperial harem and a prince from afar, they probably don't know each other well...
Otherwise, Chu Chun would have told her long ago, and she wouldn't have just acted like they were complete strangers. She only saved him because he was Jing Yanzhi's younger brother.
Liu Xingxing walked closer to him and stood beside him, seemingly also admiring the beautiful sunset: "I wonder which aspect of change Your Highness is referring to?"
Jing Yizhi glanced at the woman who always seemed so fierce but now had a calm expression. She had indeed changed a lot. He couldn't imagine that such a calm expression would appear on her face. Those shocking rumors might not be true.
At the very least, the person in the rumors would never have had the good intentions to save someone's life.
"A few days ago, I was on a mission when it was Your Highness who saved me?"
"No, it was Chuchun, who was by my side, who saved Your Highness. Didn't Your Highness already know this? Otherwise, why would Your Highness have come to see me in this special way?"
Liu Xingxing quickly denied it, afraid of being associated with this "life-saving grace".
Looking at the shimmering lake, Jing Yizhi was not in a hurry to refute anything. Instead, he said slowly, "I was indeed seriously injured that day, but it's not to the point that I don't remember whether there was one or two people passing by."
Liu Xingxing said indifferently, "Oh, then it was probably Chu Chun and the other maids who saved His Highness. I wasn't there at the time, so how would I know?"
Jing Yizhi turned his head and looked at her a few more times, then said with amusement, "Does Your Highness really not want to have anything to do with me?"
She was afraid that it would be even more difficult to explain if she brought a maid to the outskirts of the city. Besides, was it really a good thing for a concubine like her to be associated with a prince?
Yesterday, Jing Yanzhi rushed to see her and probed her again, just to find out if she was with Chu Chun that day. If she admits it now, the lie she made up yesterday will automatically fall apart. What would be the point of her lie then? In addition, she would be accused of deceiving the emperor, which would be a serious crime.
Of course, they would never admit to this, even if it meant their death.
"This matter has nothing to do with me. How can I possibly have anything to do with His Highness? It was just that my maidservant was meddling in something, and it just so happened that it was His Highness who was saved."
Jing Yizhi didn't press the matter further: "Forget it, since Your Majesty doesn't want to acknowledge it, why should I bother? It's just that I left in a hurry that day and didn't get a chance to thank Miss Chuchun. I only found out after making some inquiries that Miss Chuchun was actually someone from Your Majesty's side."
"I haven't seen her around lately. Has Her Majesty arranged another task for Miss Chuchun?"
"Oh, Chu Chun hasn't been feeling well since she came back. She told me yesterday, and I gave her a day off. If she's still not feeling well by tomorrow, I'll give her two more days off. After all, she's been serving me for a long time."
"Unfortunately, I was actually planning to thank her in person today. That's why I sent someone to bring her some trendy trinkets, hoping she might like them if she were here. Prosperous."
Jing Yi called out to the people he had brought with him.
The servant named Xingwang immediately stepped forward with a box and respectfully handed it to Jing Yizhi.
After taking it, Jing Yizhi handed it to Liu Baiyi, saying, "In that case, please ask Your Highness to pass it on."
Liu Xingxing smiled and gestured to the people in her direction. Qiao'er, with great insight, stepped forward and took the box from Jing Yizhi's hands with both hands, then bowed and returned to her original position.
"Then I, on behalf of Chuchun, thank Your Highness Prince Qi."
As long as they're not here to demand someone's return, everything is negotiable.
Jing Yizhi smiled slightly, glanced at the horizon, and then said, "It's getting late, and the goods have been delivered, so I won't bother you any longer. The sky is high and the wind is cold, and the road at night is difficult to travel. Your Majesty is not well, so you should return to the palace as soon as possible."
Is this a veiled way of saying that she's physically unwell and has poor eyesight? Right?
It wasn't even dark yet, and she was already complaining about how difficult it was to walk at night. How could she possibly fall on such a wide road?
Liu Xingxing smiled and politely performed a palace salute: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I will take my leave now. Please make yourself at home, Your Highness."
Jing Yizhi nodded, which was considered as consent, but he didn't look at her. Instead, he half-closed his eyes and stared at the lake as if he was thinking about something, just like when he saw her earlier.
Liu Xingxing took one last look at the person who looked only two or three parts similar to Jing Yanzhi before slowly leaving the place with her large group of womb women.
They're clearly brothers, so why do they look so different? And I always feel like I've seen him somewhere before, but I can't quite place it. I've had this feeling ever since I saved him.
He's still handsome, after all, he has the genes of a royal family. He stands out in a crowd. I wonder if he takes after his father and mother respectively?
After all, there was no Empress Dowager in this palace, otherwise she really wanted to see with her own eyes what it was like to have a face that looked exactly like Yan Zhi's.
Seeing that Liu Baiyi and her entourage had left, Xingwang stepped forward and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, so the hairpins and jewelry you sent me to make were for that Miss Chuchun? Will they be able to reach her?"
"I've heard that Consort Liu is no good. You'd be better off finding Miss Chuchun yourself and delivering it to her personally. Giving away such a valuable gift so easily, Your Highness, are you perhaps..."
Jing Yizhi glanced in the direction Liu Baiyi had left, and smiled enigmatically: "Did you really think that I was going to give this to that person?"
How could a mere maidservant dare to accept something so valuable?
"what?"
Xingwang scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.
Jing Yi patted Xingwang on the head, not intending to explain further: "Let's go, let's leave the palace."
"Eh."
……
"All of you may leave. Qiao'er, go and summon Chu Chun."
"Yes, ma'am."
Everyone withdrew, and Liu Xingxing noticed the box on the table, so she opened it to take a look.
The lacquered wooden box had three layers. One layer contained a plate of very delicate pastries, another layer contained several bracelets with good quality, and the last layer contained some intricate jewelry and hairpins that looked specially made. Even her makeup box might not have such styles.
"Holy crap! That kid wouldn't actually have a crush on Chu Zhe, would he?"
They've given away so many nice things! This whole box of stuff is enough to buy three early springs! Are they really going to buy her?!
Looking at the plate of pastries, Liu Xingxing found the silver needle she usually used for tasting dishes and pricked each one. Finding nothing unusual, she picked one up and took a bite, and surprisingly, it suited her taste.
"Your Majesty, are you looking for me?"
At that moment, early spring was rushing over from outside.
Liu Xingxing took a bite of the pastry slowly and pointed to the things on the table: "Here, Prince Qi asked me to bring these to you. They are all from Prince Qi."
Chu Chun glanced at the things laid out on the table and was immediately terrified, kneeling down with a thud: "Your Majesty, these things are too precious, this servant would never dare to accept them."
"Kneeling to me is useless; this is what the King of Qi wants to give you."
Chu Chun's eyes immediately filled with tears, and she kowtowed sharply: "Your Majesty, don't you want this servant anymore?"
She mistakenly thought this was the money to buy her, which is why she was so anxious that tears streamed down her face.
"Alright, alright, I didn't sell it to you. I never expected that Prince Qi would give you something so valuable. Are you really not going to reconsider going to him?"
Although Liu Xingxing was quite comfortable using her, that couldn't stop her from seeking happiness.
"This servant will not go anywhere! This servant only wants to serve Your Highness for the rest of my life! This servant..."
"Alright, alright, I know you're loyal. I've said this several times already. Okay, we'll return these things when Prince Qi comes to the palace again another day. But that plate of pastries won't last long, so you can take it and eat it. It'll be a good way to repay Prince Qi's kindness."
"But……"
"What, you're afraid to eat it?"
Chu Chun replied timidly, "No, it's just that this servant is afraid that I can't handle such delicacies sent by His Highness Prince Qi. Your Highness, please eat them."
"Well, you're practically his savior, and you've taken care of him for two days. It's no big deal for you to eat a plate of his snacks. Just take it. If you're worried about it being poisoned, test it with a silver needle before you eat it."
Chu Chun panicked again: "How could this be? This servant is, is..."
Liu Xingxing chuckled and waved the pastry she was almost finished with: "Alright, I was just teasing you. Here, I've eaten it, it's not poisonous, so you can eat it without worry. We can't break the rules of etiquette. Even if you have to return those pieces of jewelry, you should pick out one as a way of showing appreciation."
"Yes, Your Majesty, whatever you say is law. This servant will follow Your Majesty's arrangements."
"Only after the items are returned will this matter be truly settled, and we should never mention it again."