Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Crown Prince was very satisfied with Shen Chengyun.

I couldn’t blame him; Shen Chengyun only showed that spiteful face of hers when she was dealing with me.

At all other times, she possessed a harmless-looking countenance-elegant, opulent, dignified, and gentle. In the words of a fortune teller: “One look at this lady’s features and you know she was born for a life of wealth and honor.”

I was different. I had a sharp, seed-shaped chin, skin so pale it looked bloodless, and irises a few shades lighter than everyone else’s, resembling those glass beads sold at the market for a handful of silver.

Back then, in order to please the First Madam and Shen Chengyun, how did that fortune teller describe my features?

Oh, I remember now.

He said, “She has the face of a short-lived vixen.”

After he said that, the First Madam and Shen Chengyun both smiled with satisfaction.

And I, barely ten years old at the time, was filled with tears of grievance.

Now, times have changed. I am no longer that little girl who could only grit her teeth and endure her tears.

After finishing my duties attending to Shen Chengyun’s grooming, I quietly studied myself in the bronze mirror.

Short-lived-perhaps.

But a vixen-at least in my life up until now, that evaluation did me a great injustice.

Since I’ve already been burdened with this false reputation, I might as well make it a reality.

The Crown Prince enjoyed peace and quiet. His favorite pastimes were reading and practicing calligraphy; he often spent entire afternoons alone in his study.

Shen Chengyun never went there. Back at the manor, she used to say that looking at things with too many words gave her a headache.

That afternoon, Shen Chengyun reclined on a cooling couch for a nap. She always napped after a meal, but this time, I had added a little bit of herb to the incense burner in her palace.

Once burned to ash, it would be impossible to detect any issues. The ingredients weren’t anything special either-just some herbs to soothe the nerves.

Amidst the curling smoke, Shen Chengyun would sleep a bit more soundly, a bit more deeply, and a bit longer than usual.

Not by much, perhaps only half an hour.

But for me, it was enough.

Carrying a bowl of mung bean and lotus seed soup, I went to the Crown Prince’s study.

The study was nestled deep within the lush greenery. Outside the window was a bamboo grove, and the pale ink-colored shadows of the bamboo reflected against the snow-white walls. The shadows swayed with the wind, making one’s heart stir along with them.

I held the soup and performed the proper salutations.

“The Crown Princess sent me to deliver soup to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The attendant asked no questions and let me straight in.

I carried the soup and came up behind the Crown Prince.

He was practicing his calligraphy, the ink spreading across the Xuan paper in bold, wet strokes.

“As graceful as a startled swan, as supple as a swimming dragon.”

It was hard to imagine that a man as refined and scholarly as him would write such a spirited, wild cursive script.

He finished writing and turned around, startled to see me.

“This servant has intruded,” I said, quickly kneeling.

“No matter,” he said, waving his hand.

He liked saying “no matter.” He was gentle, good-tempered, and lacked any air of superiority.

He was exactly what I had hoped for in a husband.

“Your Highness was practicing your writing. This servant was dazed by the sight and forgot to announce myself.”

“Your family’s upbringing is quite good. Do even the maids have private tutors to teach them how to read and write?”

A pang of pain surged through my heart. I didn’t know if it was resentment toward my father or toward my mother, whose identity I didn’t even know.

I suppressed the pain and said softly, “This servant is not only literate but also knows a thing or two about calligraphy.”

“Oh?”

The Crown Prince grew interested. He simply handed me the wolf-hair brush, which was soaked in ink.

“Let me see.”

“This servant does not know how to write poetry or prose.”

“No need. Just write whatever you like.”

“Then this servant… will write what I am most familiar with.”

I took the brush and, facing the snow-white paper, began to write gently in a formal Tang-style regular script.

“Coptis, gardenia, phellodendron, honeysuckle…”

The Crown Prince watched with great interest at first, but gradually, he realized something, and his expression changed.

I wrote calmly, one character after another, my heart filled with a bloody sense of gratification.

I knew what I was doing. I was hanging the lives of my entire family on the tip of my brush, betting on a gamble with unknown odds of success.

But so what?

You don’t care about me…

So I don’t care about you either.

When I finished writing, the study was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The Crown Prince stood beside me. I could hear his rapid breathing.

I had filled an entire sheet of Xuan paper, and the content was very simple.

It was the prescription that had saved him.

Of course, if it were only that, there could be other explanations. For instance, as Shen Chengyun’s maid, I might have seen the prescription and happened to memorize it…

But I knew that the original prescription had been presented to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince loved calligraphy. He was extremely sensitive to handwriting. He could clearly perceive that I and the person who wrote that prescription were one and the same.

Then combine that with the fact that he had heard my voice that day.

And combine it with the fact that someone who can write such a Tang-style regular script must practice often, yet Shen Chengyun never entered the study and didn’t even have a single callus from holding a brush on her hand.

All the clues that would usually be ignored were now linked together…

I didn’t believe the Crown Prince wouldn’t notice.

A silence followed, a long, heavy silence.

“What… is your name?”

After an unknown amount of time, I heard the Crown Prince ask me in a low voice.

“Ruoruo.”

“Ruoruo,” the Crown Prince repeated softly. “Are you a maid from the Shen family?”

“You could say that,” I said softly. “My name is Shen Ruoruo.”

I placed a heavy emphasis on the name “Shen.”

The Crown Prince fell silent; he understood.

“Mung bean and lotus seed soup… not bad.” He picked up the porcelain bowl I had placed on the table.

“Yes. Mung beans are sweet and cooling by nature, entering the heart and stomach meridians. Lotus seeds are sweet and astringent, neutral in nature, and return to the spleen, kidney, and heart meridians.”

“Combining the two clears heat and detoxifies. It is most suitable for Your Highness’s constitution.” Half an hour later, I returned to the courtyard. Shen Chengyun had just woken up and was rubbing her eyes as she looked at me.

“Where did you go?” she asked irritably.

“I brewed some mung bean soup.” I raised the bowl in my hand. “Would Miss like a taste?”

“Who would drink such rubbish?” Shen Chengyun said impatiently. “Go get some chilled watermelon.”

The impatient look on her face lasted only a fleeting moment, for behind me, the Crown Prince entered the courtyard.

Shen Chengyun’s face changed as fast as flipping a page, turning soft and gentle in an instant. “Your Highness, you’ve come! I was just feeling the afternoon heat after my nap. We have some watermelon chilled in well water; let’s have some together.”

I lowered my head to go fetch the watermelon, hearing the Crown Prince speak coolly to Shen Chengyun behind me.

“Haven’t you been complaining about an upset stomach lately? Why are you still craving cold food?”

“Oh… I just woke up, my head is still a bit foggy. How could I have forgotten?”

I heard Shen Chengyun’s awkward response.

That evening, Shen Chengyun lit the candles early, waiting for the Crown Prince to come to bed.

But even by midnight, he had not arrived. An attendant came by to say that the Crown Prince had been reading late into the night and had fallen asleep in the study.

Shen Chengyun went to sleep in disappointment.

I couldn’t sleep, so I walked alone to the carp pond in the garden to watch the moon.

As I watched, a figure appeared beside me.

It was the Crown Prince.

“You are very bold,” he said softly.

I shook my head.

“Actually, I am very cowardly. From childhood until now, I have never fought for anything for myself,” I said in a quiet voice.

“Then why make an exception this time?”

“Because I like Your Highness.”

I turned my head to meet his gaze, speaking calmly and with certainty. “I have liked Your Highness since the first moment I saw you.” For a silent and reserved person like me, there had never been such a direct and passionate moment. The Crown Prince was momentarily stunned. After a long silence, he lowered his head and looked at the fish playing in the carp pond.

“Do you know who my mother is?”

“The Empress.”

“That was only after I turned twelve.” The Crown Prince shook his head with a smile.

“Before I was twelve, my mother was the lowest-ranking maid in the Palace Laundry Bureau. I grew up with her there. My Imperial Father had completely forgotten about the two of us.”

“Later, my mother passed away. I was alone in the palace, and I can’t even remember clearly how I managed to survive back then.”

“That year, the First Prince died of illness. In her grief, the Empress realized she had no biological son to help her contend with the Imperial Noble Consort.”

“By a twist of fate, she heard of my existence.”

I kept my head down. Such royal secrets were not for my ears; listening to them carried the risk of execution.

“And so, at the age of twelve, I became the Empress’s legitimate son. It was as if everyone’s memories had been scrubbed clean; I was treated as if I had grown up in the Empress’s palace all along. It seems I am the only one tortured by those past memories.”

The Crown Prince turned his head to look at me, his voice soft. “To have no status, to be unacknowledged… the hardship, the grievances, wanting nothing more than a peaceful corner where one isn’t bullied, wanting only to protect the bit of ordinary happiness one deserves… yet even such a small wish cannot be fulfilled.”

“I understand that feeling.”

I hadn’t cried.

At least, not since I could remember. No matter how much my father, the First Madam, or Shen Chengyun bullied me, I would hold it in until my eyes were bloodshot, refusing to actually weep.

But at this moment, a searing tear fell heavily from my eye, hitting the soil as if it were about to burn a hole right through it.

The Crown Prince slowly placed his hand on my head, a gesture like comforting a young girl.

Then he picked me up and carried me toward the room.

It was a night with a cool breeze. The gauze curtains were lifted by the wind from the window, reflecting the silhouettes on the bed.

He stroked my chin with his hand. His fingertips were slightly cool, like soft jade.

“Such a sharp little face,” he whispered.

My face felt as hot as fire. In my intense nervousness, I began to babble nonsense. “The fortune teller said… I look like a fox spirit.”

The Crown Prince laughed.

“Where would one find a fox spirit like this?”

I followed his lead and took stock of myself-sitting stiffly on the bed, so formal I was practically trembling. Indeed, I didn’t have a shred of the enchanting allure a fox spirit should have.

Smiling, the Crown Prince took my hand and guided me to undo the sash of his nightclothes.

Long breaths became hurried, and my vision blurred. The single burning red candle smeared into a haze before my eyes. Looking at the sea of red, I thought with relief-This is good. Does this count as entering the bridal chamber?

He held me, his chest pressed tight against my back.

“Ruoruo…”

“I will not fail you.”

The next day, I was proclaimed the Crown Prince’s Secondary Consort.