Clouds churned across the sky, and pale golden morning light broke through the layers of cloud, spilling down as the Great Yong palace was wrapped in a blaze of dazzling radiance.
Throughout the palace, the various halls had already begun their new day, and every courtyard of the Eastern Palace had its own stirrings of activity, yet Lianxin Courtyard remained wrapped in silence.
The doors of the West Side Hall stayed shut, its occupant confined within, and the servants attending her grew ever more silent and cautious.
Chunping couldn’t help but glance at the sky. It was almost past breakfast time, but there was still no sign of the Crown Prince or her mistress waking. She couldn’t help but look over at Eunuch Zheng, whose expression remained placid and unbothered.
She asked respectfully, “Eunuch Zheng, it’s nearly past mealtime. What do you think we should—?”
Zheng Yuande kept his composure. “Wait.” Last night, His Highness and this young mistress of his had carried on until well past midnight—he’d lost count of how many times he’d been shocked by now.
Dark circles had formed under his eyes from the sleepless night. His master hadn’t rested, so naturally, neither could he.
Today was also a rest day… He’d wait another quarter hour. If there was still no sound from within, he truly couldn’t delay any longer—he couldn’t let His Highness’s stomach suffer for it.
Seeing that he wasn’t in a hurry, Chunping relaxed as well.
Shen Yanshui had actually been awake for a little while now, but her body felt soft and languid, and she didn’t want to move at all, so she kept lying there with her eyes closed. But as she lay there, she gradually began to feel hungry…
Cui Yu had also woken quite early, but with the person in his arms, for some reason, he found himself unusually reluctant to rise as he normally would. He thought that last night had gotten a bit too out of hand, and that he really shouldn’t indulge himself so recklessly again in the future.
But since it had already happened, there was no rush to get up right away, so he drifted back into another light doze.
When he woke again, he heard someone calling to him by his ear, their voice carrying a faint, plaintive lilt, as if summoning back a wandering soul.
“Your Highness? Your Highness? Time to get up~” Shen Yanshui’s voice was very soft as she tilted her head slightly and murmured close to his ear.
Seeing him finally open his eyes, Shen Yanshui immediately looked at him with a face full of smiles.
And so, the first thing Cui Yu saw upon opening his eyes was her face, radiant with an especially bright and dazzling smile.
Then, in the very next moment, came a muffled “growl~ growl~” sound from beneath the covers.
Cui Yu: “…”
Seeing the way he was looking at her, Shen Yanshui said with a quiet but righteous indignation, “Last night wore this concubine out completely. Isn’t Your Highness tired at all?”
Even with her abilities, she’d ended up like this—she refused to believe he wasn’t tired in the slightest, especially since he was the one who’d exerted far more effort.
“Not tired.” Cui Yu’s tone was calm and utterly certain.
Shen Yanshui: “…” Heh. Men. No matter what happened, they always had some mouth to prop up their pride with.
She said sweetly, smiling, “This concubine knows Your Highness is full of vigor and robust health, of course you wouldn’t be tired. It’s just that it’s nearly the Hour of Chen (TN: around 7–9 AM) now, so it’s time to get up and eat.”
Cui Yu gave a low hum of acknowledgment.
Seeing this, Shen Yanshui immediately smiled and pulled the bell by the bed. black lotus novel Novel Chapters | Black Lotus Novel
Outside, Zheng Yuande, who had been about to go in and rouse them, heard the stir within and immediately waved his hand. A line of eunuchs and palace maids filed in, carrying the washing and dressing supplies that had long been prepared.
Each of them had attendants to help with dressing and washing, and soon everything was in order. After they had finished breakfast together, Cui Yu finally prepared to take his leave.
Just before leaving, though, he suddenly turned his head to look at her. Seeing the puzzlement in her clear, bright eyes, he said in a low voice, “The day after tomorrow, we leave early for Jinming Pond. Behave yourself and stay proper that day—don’t go acting recklessly again.”
Shen Yanshui’s eyes brightened as she looked at him, smiling warmly. “Yes, thank you, Your Highness!”
Only after Cui Yu had left and disappeared from sight did Shen Yanshui rise and return to the inner room.
Chunping brought over a cup of warm tea, unable to hide her pleasure. Though His Highness had asked her mistress before whether she wanted to go see the Jinming Pond gathering for the Duanyang Festival, it hadn’t been set in stone until now—but with His Highness bringing it up himself, it was finally confirmed.
It was just that His Highness’s final words before leaving were rather strange.
Though her mistress seemed to have a fair bit of boldness in front of His Highness, she was always quite proper in front of the Crown Princess, and had never been one to stir up trouble, let alone act recklessly. Surely her mistress hadn’t done anything too out of line?
As she was pondering this, she heard Xia’an ask, puzzled, “Mistress, what did His Highness mean by that, at the end?”
During the meal, His Highness had clearly seemed to be in a good mood, but the tone of his final words had left them feeling strangely uneasy.
Shen Yanshui smiled faintly but said nothing for a moment.
On the surface, it sounded like he was telling her to be careful and not act too boldly, lest she cause trouble.
But in truth, wasn’t the Crown Prince also hinting—or perhaps warning her—to stay within her proper bounds and not get entangled with Noble Consort Lan and the others?
Whatever. Let him think what he wanted.
She gave a light laugh and said, “Don’t overthink it. His Highness probably just saw that this would be my first time attending such a grand royal banquet, and worried I might accidentally cause some trouble, so he gave me a reminder. As long as we behave ourselves properly, even if something happens, it’ll have nothing to do with us.”
The whole way back to Changqing Hall, Zheng Yuande’s heart hung uneasy in his chest. The moment he returned and saw His Highness had just sat down, he immediately dropped to his knees to beg for punishment, the plump, dumpling-like flesh of his pale face trembling as he did.
His voice cracked as he said, “Your Highness, this servant knows his fault. Please, punish me as you see fit.”
Cui Yu shot him an indifferent, cold glance, noting the dark circles under his eyes, and gave a cold snort. “I’ll let it go this time. If there’s a next time…”
Zheng Yuande immediately seized the opening to express his gratitude. “Thank you, Your Highness! Rest assured, there won’t be a next time. If there is, this servant will go take thirty strikes of the board himself.”
Cui Yu’s expression remained calm. “Go find out who leaked word to Liu Fengyi.”
Zheng Yuande’s heart lurched. He didn’t dare keep playing the pitiful, ingratiating servant in front of his master any longer, and immediately went out to begin his investigation.
He already had his suspicions in mind.
The Eastern Palace appeared lax on the surface but was tightly controlled underneath, and as for the people within Changqing Hall—he knew exactly what each of them was made of.
It was only because His Highness hadn’t given any particular instructions before that those few had been left alone, still behaving themselves for the most part. He never imagined they’d nearly trip him up like this!
Zheng Yuande’s resolve hardened at once.
It didn’t take long before he came hurrying back, bent low and stepping lightly, into the study to report cautiously, “Your Highness, this servant has ferreted out the culprit. It’s one of the Crown Princess’s people… this servant isn’t sure how to proceed.”
Hearing this, Cui Yu’s expression showed no surprise—he’d already suspected as much—but his face remained far from pleased, his voice colder still. “Was it the Crown Princess’s doing?”
Zheng Yuande flinched and said cautiously, “That shouldn’t be the case. That servant just confessed everything—she said it was because she’d recently formed a ‘food partner’ pairing with a palace maid serving in the Crown Princess’s palace, and being short on silver, she let herself be tempted by the silver Liu Fengyi offered, and leaked the news ahead of time.”
What His Highness ate, what he used—how could that possibly be leaked out so casually?
Cui Yu’s expression eased slightly, his voice calm. “Handle it according to palace rules.”
Zheng Yuande hastened to reply, “Yes.”
“Also—confine Liu Fengyi to her quarters for half a year.”
Zheng Yuande respectfully acknowledged the order, though inwardly he couldn’t help but think: serves her right!
Given that Liu Fengyi had dared to bribe someone serving in His Highness’s own palace, this punishment was hardly unjust in the slightest.
