Chapter 99 : Request for Help from the East Palace

No longer alone.

When Xue Qingyin heard these words, she paused for a moment.

It felt as though something had hit her nose, a sour and stuffy sensation rushing to her forehead.

Without thinking, she instinctively rushed forward and hugged King Xuan’s waist when he stood up.

She whispered, “Hm, Your Highness is no longer alone.”

The latter part of the sentence was deliberately spoken for the Crown Prince to hear.

The Crown Prince had said some unkind words earlier. Did she feel irritated by them? Xue Qingyin didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.

King Xuan stood still, allowing her to hug him for a moment. He gazed at the direction of the spirit tablet, his eyes deep and somber, as if trying to look past the thin wooden tablet to see the late Empress from years ago.

His indifference gradually softened.

Finally, he reached out and gently brushed Xue Qingyin’s hair.

The Crown Prince, watching them, didn’t lash out again.

Instead, his gaze darkened even further.

“Stop it,” King Xuan said.

At that moment, Xue Qingyin had finished her prayers and placed the incense offering in its proper place.

She turned and asked, “Aunt, what kind of food does she like? Should we bring something to eat?”

King Xuan had already made preparations.

He clapped his hands lightly, and soon a palace servant stepped forward, holding several paper bundles. No one knew what was inside, but they were offered at the spirit tablet.

King Xuan then took Xue Qingyin’s hand and led her out.

The Crown Prince didn’t say anything harsh again but only frowned in disgust as he watched them leave. “Throw it out,” he ordered.

The palace servant hesitated, “But… this is something King Xuan offered to the late Empress.”

The Crown Prince’s face darkened, “Do I need to repeat myself?”

The servant dared not argue further and hurriedly took the items, slipping out of the door to find a place to dispose of them.

The Crown Prince sneered and mocked, “Does King Xuan really think the late Empress liked these things? It’s just a reminder to him of the old bond.”

Not far from the palace, Xue Qingyin suddenly shivered.

Someone was following them.

The person moved cautiously, as if unsure.

She quickly tugged on King Xuan’s sleeve.

But he caught her hand.

She wasn’t trying to tease him!

Xue Qingyin glared at him and whispered, “Someone’s following us…”

“Don’t mind it. Every time I come to the East Palace, I encounter this person. There was once when I ordered them caught. Turns out, she’s a fool,” King Xuan said without turning around.

As soon as he finished speaking, the person behind them sped up, running towards them, only to be quickly tackled to the ground by a eunuch from behind King Xuan.

The person ended up sprawled at Xue Qingyin’s feet.

Xue Qingyin jumped in surprise and turned to see that it was a young palace maid, no older than twelve or thirteen.

Her clothes were dirty, but her face was clean. She was holding something tightly in her hands and desperately offering it to Xue Qingyin.

The eunuch beside them frowned, raising a fist as if to strike the maid’s hand.

Xue Qingyin stopped him, “Wait.”

She glanced at the item in the maid’s hands and frowned, “Is this what His Highness offered to the late Empress? Was it thrown out and she picked it up?”

Xue Qingyin felt a bit unhappy inside.

How could they just throw something out right after they left?

The Crown Prince had just said that King Xuan had sworn to the late Empress. The implication was that King Xuan had promised to take care of the Crown Prince…

If the Crown Prince wanted King Xuan to fulfill that promise, shouldn’t he at least act like a decent person?

“She’s really a fool, picked up something and rushed after us,” Xue Qingyin said, taking the paper bundle from the maid’s hands.

She even patted the young girl on the head.

The maid’s eyes widened, then she rubbed her cheek against Xue Qingyin’s palm, suddenly dropping to all fours and barking like a dog.

Xue Qingyin was dumbfounded.

Then her expression darkened as she angrily asked, “Who taught her that?”

Teaching someone to bark like a dog—wasn’t that insulting?

King Xuan looked at the eunuch beside them and coldly asked, “Didn’t you hear her? Who taught her that?”

The inner servant shivered and immediately said, “I don’t know, miss! This, this little palace maid is just a fool; who knows where she learned that?”

Xue Qingyin frowned. She had intended to reward the girl, but such a young girl, with no means of self-protection, would be harmed rather than helped by it.

However, she couldn’t think of a better way to help the girl live a better life in the palace.

She turned to look at King Xuan.

Surely he must have a solution?

King Xuan glanced at the little palace maid and said indifferently, “Send her back to her post.”

The inner servant sighed in relief and quickly agreed.

King Xuan led Xue Qingyin out, and it wasn’t until they left the East Palace’s grounds that he spoke, “She’s not a fool.”

Xue Qingyin quickly realized, “Because her face is too clean?”

“No, because she knows how to judge the situation.”

“Ah?”

“In the past, whenever I saw her, she never picked up anything for me, nor did she act like a dog in front of me.” King Xuan paused, calmly stating a fact, “Because she knows I am frightening.”

“Today, with you around, she dared to do these things,” King Xuan added.

Xue Qingyin involuntarily raised her hand to touch her face. “Do I look that easy to talk to?”

King Xuan was silent for a moment before saying, “You look very beautiful.”

Xue Qingyin’s eyes widened as she suddenly turned to look at him.

She thought, how can someone say such romantic words with a straight face?

Xue Qingyin fiddled with the paper bundle in her hand and asked, “What’s inside?”

” Fat fruit. According to the late Empress, there used to be two fat trees growing along the outer wall of her maternal family’s house, and the fruits were Fat fruit. She often sneaked them with my birth mother when she was young.”

But Xue Qingyin lowered her head and said, “It’s not fruit… look.”

She spread her palm for King Xuan to see.

He looked down.

The fat fruit had been replaced, and inside was a small spherical sachet, with a crumpled note stuck on it.

The note read, “Please deliver this to the Lin family in the east of the city; there will be a generous reward.”

“Who would send a letter like this, hiding it so carefully?” Xue Qingyin immediately became alert. “Could it be a trap, trying to make us fall into it?”

King Xuan found her rather cute. He nonchalantly raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek.

Xue Qingyin froze.

“Your hair’s fallen,” King Xuan remarked.

“Oh.” Xue Qingyin quickly raised her hand to fix her loose hair, but after a while, she still couldn’t catch it.

King Xuan pursed his lips, finding her even more endearing.

He pretended to make a gesture in the air, saying, “There, it’s tucked behind your ear now.”

Xue Qingyin nodded, no longer concerned about her loose hair.

King Xuan took the spherical sachet in his hand. “You’ll know the secret once you open it.”

“What if it’s poison?” Xue Qingyin’s mind was filled with the palace intrigue plots she had read in novels.

“It’s not,” King Xuan replied. “There are several hollowed-out sections to release fragrance, so nothing else would fit. A wax pill fits perfectly inside.”

But even so, when he was about to break the sachet, he still raised his hand to shield Xue Qingyin, signaling her to step back.

There was a soft click, and the mechanism inside the sachet released, revealing its contents.

Xue Qingyin leaned in to take a look and saw that it was very similar to a silver incense sachet she had seen in a museum, decorated with grape and bird patterns!

As King Xuan had said, where the fragrance was supposed to be, a wax pill was inserted instead.

King Xuan quickly crushed the wax pill and revealed an even smaller piece of paper inside.

Xue Qingyin, full of curiosity, leaned in closely to see.

She was almost pressed against King Xuan’s arm.

The tiny piece of paper had “Save me” written in tiny script.

It was then crossed out with ink.

There was no further text.

Seeing this, Xue Qingyin felt uncomfortable.

It was like a deep, gnawing unease.

Thinking of the pitiful scene of the little palace maid imitating a dog today, her heart hurt even more.