I took my brother’s place to enter the Secret Guard camp, with the understanding that it would only be for one day. But that very night, the Crown Prince was attacked by assassins. Since I don’t know martial arts, I had no choice but to stay close and protect him, literally “close protection.” The Crown Prince frowned and gave me a suspicious look, his eyes lingering on my chest. Nervously, I explained:

“Um… I didn’t eat enough today, so I took two steamed buns from the canteen.”

He looked insulted. “Who do you think you’re fooling? Aren’t you supposed to be a female Secret Guard?”

Wait… female Secret Guards exist?

You should know, I had already signed up and could even earn two extra steamed buns!

Lost in thought, I stepped away from the Crown Prince. By then, the assassins had been driven off by other Secret Guards.

I reached into my clothes and pulled out two white steamed buns. Luckily, they were only a bit squashed, not broken.

The Crown Prince and the other guards stared in disbelief.

“Are those really steamed buns?”

“Bold Qing Jiu, disguising yourself as a man to deceive the Crown Prince!”

The leader of the Secret Guard shouted. My body trembled, and I immediately knelt down.

“I-I’m not Qing Jiu…”

“What?” The situation just got worse.

Swish, swish, swish, several steel knives pressed against my neck.

“Tell me, who are you? How dare you sneak into the Crown Prince’s Secret Guard camp? Are you here to assassinate him?”

I trembled even more.

“It’s a misunderstanding! Qing Jiu is my brother, and I’m his sister, Xiao Cao…”

The leader stepped forward, lifted my chin, and scrutinized me for a long moment. To replace someone right under his nose without anyone noticing was a serious dereliction of duty.

With a grim face, he asked, “Where is Qing Jiu?”

“My brother… he has diarrhea and couldn’t come, so he asked me to substitute for one day.”

My brother and I are fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, and we look very much alike.

His real name isn’t even Qing Jiu; it’s Shizhu.

That year, famine struck our hometown, and our parents died one after another. Only my brother and I begged our way into the capital.

We were so hungry back then, barely holding on.

With no other options, he planned to enter the palace as a eunuch to make a living. But he accidentally went to the wrong gate when signing up.

Every day, he returned to the broken temple where we hid, beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, stuffing half a steamed bun into my hands.

“Damn it! Didn’t they say the palace was a place to enjoy a good life? Why do I get beaten every day just for eating a steamed bun?”

Later, we learned that the place he went to was the Secret Guard camp.

The camp had a rule. Only the last person standing after a fight could stay and officially join the palace roster, which meant they could eat white steamed buns every day.

My brother was raised on hunger. Whenever he heard there was food, he risked his life for it!

His injuries gradually healed, his martial arts improved, and his excitement grew.

“Xiao Cao’er, wait and see! I’ll make sure you get steamed buns every day!”

Finally, one day, my brother came running back holding a shiny Secret Guard badge.

For the first time, he took out four steamed buns from his pocket for me.

I was deeply touched, eating while looking at him with admiration.

“Brother, you’re amazing! You didn’t even eat the buns yourself and saved them all for me!”

But his gaze grew evasive, and I sensed something was wrong.

Sure enough, not long after, his face twisted in pain as he clutched his stomach, running to the latrine five times in a row.

Under my questioning, he stammered that on his first official day, he finally experienced the camp’s meals.

Oily braised pork, fragrant chicken legs, and golden scrambled eggs.

He devoured five bowls in one sitting but only brought back four steamed buns for me.

Unfortunately, his stomach, used to coarse cornmeal, couldn’t handle so much grease at once, leaving him weak from diarrhea.

Serves you right! I kicked my brother lying on the straw hard. Who told you to eat it all yourself?

Such a miserable life, unable to enjoy any blessings!

He grabbed my leg tightly.

“Xiao Cao’er, today is my first day on duty. I can’t be absent. If the boss finds out, I’ll be kicked out of the camp!”

He begged earnestly and promised to save all the braised pork for me next time. Only then did I reluctantly agree.

Before leaving, I stuffed the two leftover steamed buns into my clothes, determined not to leave any for the guy who ate all the food himself!

The camp was divided into the Blue Camp and the Red Camp. My brother was assigned to the Blue Camp, with the code name Qing Jiu.

I put on his clothes, which were two sizes too big, rolled up my sleeves and pant legs, tightened my waist, darkened my eyebrows with charcoal, and under the cover of night, I easily passed as him.

Who would have thought that on my very first day on duty, I’d encounter an assassin?

Lacking my brother’s martial arts skills, I relied only on the instincts I’d honed from years of begging. I spread my arms and legs wide, tightly shielding the Crown Prince, almost suffocating him.

After I confessed everything, the leader of the Secret Guard snarled through clenched teeth:

“Qing… Nine!”

This month’s performance bonus was lost again, and I might even be suspended without pay.

Meanwhile, my brother, squatting far away in the broken temple’s latrine, let out a loud sneeze.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince looked at me thoughtfully.

“Do they really look that alike?”

Everyone exchanged glances and nodded. Otherwise, no one would have noticed the switch all night.

The next day, instead of being punished, I was made an unofficial member of the Secret Guard camp.

To distinguish me from official members, I wasn’t given a number. My code name was “Qing Cao,” and my task was to serve the Crown Prince closely.

In other words, I became the Crown Prince’s personal maid, dressed in fine silks and satins, enjoying delicious food and commanding others around.

What a windfall!

Every time my brother lay on the beam watching me openly enjoy all this without training hard, getting beaten up, or hiding in the shadows for hours, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

I told you from the start. Serving nobles as a eunuch is more promising than being a Secret Guard!

A single wrong door led to a lifetime of misery!

What’s even more outrageous is that within the Crown Prince’s residence, there were three thousand pampered maids and beautiful concubines, yet every time he went out, the Crown Prince only wanted me to accompany him, sharing the same carriage and sitting together at the banquet table.

Before long, I became somewhat familiar in the circles of princes and nobles in the capital. Everyone knew the Crown Prince had a favored maid named Qing Cao.

Moreover, whenever I was around, the Crown Prince specifically requested that my brother secretly protect him, which led to my brother having an exceptionally high attendance rate and outstanding performance, once even becoming the top performer in the Blue Camp.