“Oh, so what did Consort Wu need to speak to me about?” Shen Yanshui’s tone was flat, sounding a little perfunctory, but if one wanted to point out where exactly she’d overstepped or been discourteous, no one could quite manage it.
Wu Chenghui’s brow creased faintly, and she gave a haughty, cold snort. “In a few days it’ll be the Duanyang Festival. Every year on Duanyang, His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress lead the outer court and inner palace to Jinling Pool to watch the dragon boat races. I hear it’s quite the spectacle.”
As she spoke, she glanced sideways at her, unable to hide the smugness in her voice. “Every year the Crown Princess brings two people along with her. Just yesterday Her Highness the Crown Princess specifically mentioned it to me. Such a pity — it seems little sister won’t have that good fortune this year.”
Hearing this, Shen Yanshui couldn’t help but raise her brows, but before she had a chance to speak, she suddenly heard a familiar, all-too-recognizable bird call—
“Shut up, noisy noisy!”
Wu Chenghui’s face dropped instantly, furious as she pointed at the little beast flying above her head that dared to scold and berate her: “Insolence!”
She whipped around and snapped furiously at the palace maids and eunuchs serving nearby: “Useless things! What are you all standing there for?! Get that little beast down for me, now!”
“Help—! Help—!” The bird’s cry, unusually piercing, kept ringing out, and in an instant there was chaos of flying feathers and leaping bodies!
“Scared the young master to death! Danger, danger! Fly, fly!”
Shen Yanshui: “……” Whoever raised this little parrot probably has a bit of a chatterbox streak.
She’d originally thought about helping the little thing out, but seeing how the parrot flew both high and fast, she set her mind at ease — though the little creature was clearly quite the troublemaker.
“Someone, help! Ugly thing’s killing the bird, gaak! Killing the bird, gaak! Save the bird’s life! Save the bird’s life!”
Wu Chenghui was so furious she nearly lost her composure. “Use rocks! Knock that little beast down for me!”
One of the palace maids couldn’t help but lean in worriedly and murmur by her ear: “Mistress, this parrot clearly has an owner. If we really injure it…”
No one who could serve at a master’s side in the palace was truly a fool — these little beasts, if they’d landed with the right master, could be worth far more than the lives of maids and eunuchs like themselves. Who would really dare to strike a killing blow?
Wu Chenghui reluctantly took her attendant’s words to heart, but still furrowed her brow out of instinct, her chest aching with suppressed anger as she said, “Forget it…”
“Splat.” Something warm landed on her forehead.
Shen Yanshui watched with her own eyes as that small clump of indescribably foul-smelling droppings landed right on Wu Chenghui’s forehead, watching her raise a bewildered hand — and then get a whole handful of…
“Ahh—!” The moment Wu Chenghui realized what had just landed on her forehead, she completely lost it and screamed!
“Kill that little beast for me! Kill it!” Her expression twisted, unbearable, as she scrubbed frantically at her forehead with her handkerchief!
“M-mistress…” None of the maids and eunuchs had expected such a coincidence, and faced with a mistress who was clearly on the verge of losing her mind with rage, the three of them panicked, unsure whether to act.
“Crack!” Wu Chenghui slapped the maid standing in front of her clean across the face. “What are you all standing around for?! If that little beast isn’t dead by the end of today, I’ll have the Crown Princess send every one of you off to the Palace Discipline Office!”
Shen Yanshui had just furrowed her brow, and before she could make a move, she suddenly heard footsteps drawing closer and closer.
“Who are you sending to the Palace Discipline Office?”
The person who appeared wore a dark robe embroidered with subtle cloud-and-thunder silver patterns, a jade coronet on his head and a leather belt at his waist, his voice low and cold, radiating a chill from the inside out that made people feel awed just looking at him from a distance.
Who else could it be but the Crown Prince?
In an instant, the whole ground was covered with kneeling figures.
“Scared the young master, gaak! Scared the young master, gaak! Ten thousand blessings to Your Highness, ten thousand blessings and golden peace to Your Highness!” The little parrot landed straight on his shoulder, still squawking away. · Black Lotus Novel Chapters | BlackLotusNovel
Cui Yu’s brow furrowed instinctively.
Shen Yanshui bowed in greeting: “This concubine greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. Ten thousand peace to Your Highness.” She wasn’t sure whether he’d simply happened to arrive, or had already been watching from the shadows for a while — her heart couldn’t help but tighten slightly.
She never expected that this foul-mouthed little parrot would turn out to belong to the Crown Prince…
Wu Chenghui’s face flushed red, then went pale, then flushed red again, a smear of black still clinging to her forehead, her once begonia-like lovely features now thoroughly dimmed, looking a complete mess.
“Your Highness…” Wu Chenghui’s tears suddenly rolled down like a string of beads snapped loose, her voice trembling, sounding rather pitiful.
But Cui Yu remained utterly unmoved, not stirred in the slightest, his gaze on her carrying a hint of impatience.
Wu Chenghui, her face flushed, bit her lip and said, “This concubine begs Your Highness’s forgiveness — I didn’t know this parrot was yours. Just now it was because, because…”
She truly could not bring herself to say, in front of the Crown Prince, that the bird had taken a dump on her forehead. In the end, furious, she began to cry again. “Your Highness, this concubine truly didn’t mean it. That bird offended me first, and I merely lost my composure for a moment.”
“Bad person! Bad person!” the parrot kept squawking.
Cui Yu’s brow furrowed suddenly, and he said flatly, “Shut up, noisy.”
Shen Yanshui: “……” Ah, there it is. Clearly picked that up from its owner.
But this time, the parrot didn’t squawk back cheekily. It paced back and forth on his shoulder and fell silent.
It looked quite experienced at this.
Cui Yu glanced at the maid kneeling nearby, one side of her face already swelling red, his brow twitching faintly.
He had been walking along the corridor outside Yaofang Garden when he suddenly heard the familiar bird cry of “help—” and that was why he’d come over. He glanced once at Wu Chenghui’s forehead, rubbed raw and reddened, then looked away, saying in a low voice, “Help your mistress back.”
Wu Chenghui suddenly relaxed. His Highness hadn’t punished her — he still had a place for her in his heart!
Still, she didn’t want to appear before the Crown Prince looking like this. Her eyes faintly red, her voice soft and delicate, sounding thoroughly pitiable: “Your Highness sees clearly. This concubine takes her leave~”
But seeing that the Crown Prince wasn’t even looking at her, her feelings turned rather complicated for a moment — she wasn’t sure if she felt some inexplicable relief, or a touch of disappointment.
Once everyone had finally left, Cui Yu noticed that Shen Yanshui was still bowed in greeting, not yet risen. He glanced at her, then reached out, took hold of her forearm, and personally helped her up.
Warmth met his hand — through a layer of smooth, light fabric, it felt as if his whole palm were filled with softness and delicacy, as though she were boneless with tenderness.
Shen Yanshui tilted her head slightly to look up at his face, smiling as she said, “Thank you, Your Highness.” Her voice was crisp and pleasant to the ear.
Shen Yanshui took the moment to clasp his hand in hers, then stepped back and said with a smile, “Did Your Highness notice? This is a new dress this concubine made — using the shimmering brocade Your Highness gifted me. This is the first time I’ve worn such fine fabric. It’s so comfortable and pretty — doesn’t it look good?”
As she spoke, she turned slightly to the side, letting him get a good look.
In the instant their palms touched, Cui Yu felt a flicker of unfamiliar discomfort, and just as he thought to withdraw his hand, he caught sight of the bright smile on her face, hesitated a moment, and in the end did not pull away after all.
Listening to her voice, full of delight, he looked her over carefully, up and down. The sunlight was pleasant today, falling softly over her, and as she moved, the fabric shimmered with flowing light, her slender, supple waist turning with graceful, lush elegance. His throat tightened faintly for a moment, and his voice came out a touch lower, “Mm. Not bad.”
“Not bad, pretty! Pretty!” the little parrot suddenly flew from his shoulder and landed on the pearl hairpin atop her head.
Dongyi’s heart lurched at once! Terrified the parrot might do the same thing to their mistress… that would truly be the end of them!
Cui Yu reached toward it, expressionless. “Come here.”
“Ten thousand blessings to Your Highness! Golden peace to Your Highness!” The little parrot hopped abruptly onto another wooden hairpin, its evasive posture plain to see — stubborn and cowardly all at once.
Cui Yu’s brow furrowed.
Shen Yanshui said, “Your Highness, why not let this concubine try?”
Cui Yu lowered his eyes and caught the smiling glint in hers; seeing she wasn’t afraid at all, he gave a small “Mm” in response.
Shielded by her sleeve, Shen Yanshui reached out and plucked another apricot blossom bud — though this time she infused it with less of her ability. What ended up resting in her palm was a half-opened pink apricot blossom. “Your Highness, what’s its name?”
Cui Yu paused for a moment, saying nothing.
“My name is Xiaocui! My name is Xiaocui! Big and pretty, big and pretty, my name is Xiaocui!”
“Pfft!” Shen Yanshui couldn’t help herself, thoroughly amused by the painfully rustic name — ‘Xiaocui’ — so wildly at odds with the identity of the Crown Prince standing before her. No wonder the man had looked so tight-lipped just a moment ago.
Cui Yu: “……”
