Page 6

Xiao Jinyan put down the teacup in his hand, and his gaze swept over the gathering of concubines, his voice clear and cold, “In order for your wishes to come true soon, all of you go to the Buddha Hall to recite scriptures for an hour.”

Reciting scriptures for an hour was the same as kneeling for an hour—who could endure that?

Chun Xi couldn’t help but curse indignantly, was the Crown Prince insane?

And now they had to go to the Buddha Hall to recite scriptures?

She glanced at Shen Fengyi, the Empress’s niece, so what?

Wasn’t she still required to go to the Buddha Hall to recite scriptures with them?

Without changing his expression, Xiao Jinyan spoke, “Today, I went to greet the Empress, and she happened to be missing seeing Fengyi for a few days.

You should go and greet her.”

Shen Fengyi’s heart leapt with joy; the Crown Prince was looking out for her.

She happily bowed and thanked him, “Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness.

I will go and greet my aunt right away.”

After Xiao Jinyan left, the young mistresses slowly walked out of the sleeping palace.

Chun Xi ground her teeth in anger, so what if she was the Empress’s niece?

What was so great about that?

“His Highness is really good to Sister Fengyi, specially reminding her to visit the Empress.

With this, she won’t have to go to the Buddha Hall to recite scriptures,” Fengyi said with a light laugh, holding Fengyi’s arm.

“Of course, Sister Fengyi is gentle and amiable, the most favored by His Highness,” Xu Chenghui also said flatteringly.

Chun Xi adjusted her golden hairpin and scoffed disdainfully, each one like a sycophant, truly shameless!

Shen Chuwei slowly trailed behind, completely unaware that reciting scriptures meant having to kneel.

“Miss, please wait a moment.” Eunuch Liu hurried up to her.

Shen Chuwei stopped and looked around—seeing nobody else, she pointed to her own nose and asked, “Are you calling me, Eunuch Liu?”

“It is indeed Miss Shen.” Eunuch Liu smiled and nodded.

“His Highness has asked you to wait for him in the Side Hall.”

Having served Xiao Jinyan since he was young, Eunuch Liu’s status naturally exceeded that of an ordinary eunuch, and his reference to Shen Chuwei as ‘Miss’ was merely a gesture of courtesy.

Shen Chuwei nodded and replied, “Then please lead the way, Eunuch Liu.”

“Miss, this way please.”

Eunuch Liu walked ahead, leading the way.

Chun Xi was brimming with excitement, her mistress had finally caught the Crown Prince’s eye, all thanks to her outfit for the day.

When she proudly looked toward Shen Chuwei’s now barren hair…

Where were the chosen pearl flowers and golden hairpin?

After Shen Chuwei followed Eunuch Liu to the Side Hall, he said, “Please wait here for a moment, Miss.

His Highness will be here shortly.”

He then left, leaving just the mistress and servant in the vast Side Hall.

On the round table in the Side Hall were three plates of pastries and a pot of tea.

Shen Chuwei thought they were specially prepared for her by the Crown Prince and was about to sit down, lifting her skirt.

Chun Xi jumped in fright and hurriedly pulled her up, whispering a reminder, “Miss, this is the Crown Prince’s sleeping palace, and you cannot sit down without His Highness’s permission.

If His Highness sees you, you could be charged with a grave disrespect.”

Shen Chuwei felt a little helpless—palace rules were such that one could lose their head if not careful.

Chun Xi took the opportunity to whisper when nobody was around, “Miss, where are your pearl flower and golden hairpin?”

Shen Chuwei smiled and said, “The wind was a bit strong today, and they just ran off with it.”

Chun Xi was full of questions—was it windy today?

Meanwhile, in the study,

The parchment slips that were meant to have met their end in the flames were now piling up on the dark wood desk.

Xiao Jinyan could guess the wishes of the other concubines even without looking; they were nothing more than desires to become the Crown Princess, to quickly receive favor, serve in bed, and give birth to a royal heir, to raise their status by virtue of their children.

He was only interested in the wish of Shen Chuwei, curious about what she was thinking.

Xiao Jinyan saw two notes, one of which belonged to Chun Xi, wishing to quickly receive favor, give birth to a royal heir, and secure the position of Crown Princess.

A look of disgust flickered through his cool eyes, and he immediately crumpled them into balls and tossed them into the waste bin.

Lu Zhaoyan was also helping to look for Shen Chuwei’s wish note and accidentally saw the desires of the other young ladies, which made him feel quite embarrassed.

As someone without the ability to read minds, he used to envy Xiao Jinyan, but now he suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for him.

All the women wanted to monopolize his affection, wanted to bear him sons, wanted to become the Crown Princess, wanted to…

The more Xiao Jinyan read, the more furrowed his brows became, until he saw one especially unusual wish, which made his brow relax.

On the top of the note was the person’s birthdate and time, and below it was the wish.

The wish was that the Imperial Kitchen could send a fresh bass to Xiyun Pavilion for dinner; it didn’t need to be too big, just three taels would be perfect.

At the end was a sweet smiling face.

He stared at the smiling face for a while before taking out the sachet and comparing the image on it to the smile on the paper, finding the smile on the paper to be even sweeter and more comfortable to look at.

He couldn’t help but smile.

Who would make a wish for a fish?

“Found it.”

When Lu Zhaoyan looked up, Xiao Jinyan handed him the note.

Curious, he glanced at it for a moment, and seeing the first line, he couldn’t help but let out a light laugh.

“Your Highness, this Shen Fengyi is quite amusing,” Lu Zhaoyan commented.

Xiao Jinyan gave Lu Zhaoyan a cold look, “Don’t forget the important task at hand.”

“This servant understands,” Lu Zhaoyan replied, suppressing his smile as he took the birthdate and time to prepare the charm water.

It wasn’t long before the charm water was ready.

Lu Zhaoyan brought it over to Xiao Jinyan, who trusted him deeply, having grown up together since childhood.

After drinking the charm water, Xiao Jinyan said, “I will go and try it.”

He then hurried off without delay.

Lu Zhaoyan held the empty bowl, watching Xiao Jinyan’s hastily retreating figure, and mused leisurely, “I wonder if this method will work?”

The Side Hall was quiet.

Shen Chuwei’s clear, bright eyes were fixed on the mung bean cakes, date paste cakes, and osmanthus cakes on the round table, and she licked her lips.

She had been woken up early by Chun Xi to get dressed and had been hustled over to deliver the sachet to Xiao Jinyan before she had her fill at breakfast.

By now, she was so hungry that she felt empty inside.

Seeing pastries but not being able to eat them was simply torture.

At this moment, the shrill voice of Eunuch Liu came through the doorway: “The Crown Prince has arrived.”

Xiao Jinyan stepped in, still dressed in the same moon-white gold-embroidered robe, layered over a cold white inner garment, both complementing his dignified and aloof bearing.

Shen Chuwei curtseyed in greeting, “Wishing Your Highness peace and prosperity.”

Xiao Jinyan approached the throne and lifted his robe to sit down.

“You may rise,” he said.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Shen Chuwei responded, standing to the side with her head bowed and eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes, obediently waiting for Xiao Jinyan to speak.

Xiao Jinyan lifted his gaze to look at Shen Chuwei and asked indifferently, “I wronged you last time, do you hold any grudge?

Shen Chuwei, fearful the Crown Prince wouldn’t believe her, shook her head like a rattle drum.

“No, no, Your Highness is clear-sighted.

You did not punish your servant but instead rewarded me.

I was too happy to even think of having a grudge,” she said.

Xiao Jinyan scoffed inwardly—no grudge?

He questioned further, “Xiyun Pavilion is quite remote; do you think I am unfair?”

Shen Chuwei kept shaking her head, “No, no, Xiyun Pavilion might be a little remote, but your servant enjoys living there very much.”

Who wouldn’t love a life free from disturbance?