Chapter 100 : It’s All Up to Her

“Is she seeking help from someone outside? It shouldn’t be that little palace maid.” Xue Qingyin spoke, her brows nearly knitting together.

King Xuan responded, “Yes, the person she’s seeking help from must have an impressive identity. Otherwise, no one could easily reach into the Eastern Palace to rescue someone.”

Xue Qingyin nodded, “The little palace maid probably doesn’t know such powerful figures.” She lowered her voice, “It will depend on which wives and concubines around the crown prince are of notable backgrounds.”

King Xuan paused for a moment and then said, “The crown prince once sought to marry the daughter of the Xiao family from Huainan. He said, ‘I wish to have one person, to grow old together without regret.’ Afterward, he dismissed all his concubines and rooms, formally betrothed the Xiao family daughter as his crown princess. That caused quite a stir.”

Xue Qingyin was stunned.

So, now, the only person around the crown prince left is that crown princess.

The one seeking help… must be her!

Hearing the words “I wish to have one person, to grow old together without regret,” how ironic it was.

Xue Qingyin couldn’t speak for a long time.

Her feelings of dislike for the crown prince only grew stronger.

Someone like the crown prince didn’t deserve a wife!

King Xuan tied a small, delicate fragrance pouch, placing the spherical incense bag inside, then fastened it around Xue Qingyin’s waist.

The two of them then went to accompany the emperor for the meal.

The emperor, knowing they had visited the Eastern Palace today to meet King Xuan, sighed and said, “Others only know King Xuan as cold and indifferent, but I know how much he values loyalty. It’s just a pity that the crown prince has been plagued by illness these past few years, and his temperament has become strange. Did he lose his temper with you again today?”

It sounded as though the emperor didn’t have much affection for the crown prince, even hinting that he didn’t want King Xuan to get too close to him.

But the emperor felt reassured by King Xuan’s loyalty.

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, this situation is quite complex.

King Xuan replied, “The crown prince is the eldest. If he takes out his anger on me, it’s not a big deal.” His lips pressed tightly together.

The emperor casually asked, “Did the crown prince make things difficult for Qingyin today?”

King Xuan fell silent.

The emperor sighed, “As the eldest and a legitimate son, how can he be so muddled in his actions?”

This was clearly a rebuke of the crown prince.

Then, the emperor’s eyes flashed with sharp insight.

King Xuan was usually impervious, like a cold, stubborn piece of metal. After the death of the late empress, the crown prince had been his only concern. But in recent years, the relationship between the crown prince and him had become distant.

Now, there was also Xue Qingyin—his companion, beautiful and delicate, with a gentle, charming demeanor. King Xuan found himself becoming emotionally attached.

Now, it was clear: anyone who made things difficult for Xue Qingyin was more intolerable to King Xuan than if they targeted him directly.

King Xuan held immense power, and the emperor didn’t want to reward him anymore.

But rewarding a woman was much easier.

What harm could a woman cause?

As his thoughts turned, Emperor Liang De softly addressed Xue Qingyin, “Did the crown prince frighten you today?”

Xue Qingyin timidly nodded.

“You, your body is just too weak,” Emperor Liang De pondered for a moment and said, “I grant you the Seven-Star Sword, to ward off evil spirits and prevent disturbances. I will also give you a palanquin, so you can use it for walking around the palace in the future.”

Xue Qingyin quickly bowed and thanked him.

In a side hall of the Eastern Palace, a eunuch roughly shoved a small palace maid inside and coldly said, “I ask the Crown Princess to carefully manage her subordinates and not let them offend the noble ones.”

The small palace maid fell to the ground, turned her head, and even started barking like a dog, pretending to bite at the eunuch’s shoe.

Infuriated, the eunuch kicked the small palace maid in the side of the face.

The small palace maid seemed to feel no pain, and just smiled foolishly.

The eunuch cursed, “Damn it! What kind of thing dares to pick a fight? If the Crown Prince gets angry one day, he might break your legs, and let’s see if you still dare to run around!”

With that, he slammed the door shut from the outside, not caring about what the Crown Princess inside might think.

What would someone sicker than the Crown Prince even think? The eunuch thought to himself.

He turned to leave, glancing up at the sky in this corner of the Eastern Palace, feeling hopeless for the future.

The Emperor was still in his prime, but the Crown Prince might not survive long enough to take the throne.

The eunuch’s footsteps gradually faded away.

The small palace maid sat dazed for a while, then quickly got up and ran to the bedside.

The person in the bed sat up, propped on the edge.

She was emaciated, with veins bulging on the backs of her hands as she clutched the bed frame.

She touched the small palace maid’s face and asked, “Did it hurt?”

The small palace maid shook her head, showing no sign of madness.

“Why… are you so late today? Did King Xuan… come again?” the Crown Princess asked in a hoarse voice.

Her lungs seemed in bad shape, and her speech was accompanied by the sound of strained breathing.

The small palace maid nodded.

“You still don’t dare to talk to him, right? Caution… is the right choice. King Xuan’s entanglement with the Crown Prince is too deep. We… cannot trust him,” the Crown Princess said, taking a deep breath.

But the small palace maid replied, “I gave the things to King Xuan’s wife.”

The Crown Princess was stunned.

“Your health cannot wait any longer. The news must be sent to Huai Nan, but it will take at least a month or two. If we delay any further…” The small palace maid wiped away her tears, her throat choking as she couldn’t continue.

The Crown Princess nodded and gently patted her head. “Alright, I understand. You did the right thing.”

“Maybe King Xuan will give the things to the Crown Prince, or maybe his wife will take them and throw them away…” the small palace maid murmured.

“If that happens, then it will be my fate,” the Crown Princess said calmly.

“It would have been better if you hadn’t married, if you could have stayed in Yangzhou,” the small palace maid said. She had never seen the scenery of Yangzhou, only heard the Crown Princess speak of it, but in her heart, she longed for it. She imagined it must be better than the Eastern Palace.

The Crown Princess shook her head. “Regret is useless.”

The small palace maid wiped away her unshed tears. “If… I mean, if you return the tiger talisman you stole from the Crown Prince, will everything… get better?”

“It won’t,” the Crown Princess said firmly.

Her tone was steady and resolute, “I will never return it, even if I die. He betrayed me, so I will hold onto his weakness. My Xiao family was once a family of great scholars, can I have no backbone?”

After saying this, she patted the small palace maid’s head again. “But it’s hard on you.”

The small palace maid replied, “I’m not afraid of hardship, anyway, I was born a person destined for hardship.”

The Crown Princess spoke in a hoarse voice, “If King Xuan’s wife is willing to help me, even if my body can’t last and I die, I will give her the military seal and write to my clan, asking them to help King Xuan seize the throne. In exchange, I will have them find a way to get you out of the palace and take you to Yangzhou. You can stay there. Didn’t you say you like it there?”

Unable to hold back any longer, the small palace maid collapsed into the Crown Princess’s embrace, silently sobbing.