Chapter 1
“Who does Wei Qingzhi think she is? Any woman I set my eyes on comes willingly to my bed.”
The lunatic prince pinched my chin and forced me to look up at him. “Le Yao, if I take you as mine, would that make you happy?”
“???” Take your workplace harassment and get lost!
I thrashed desperately. A small portrait slipped from his robes-the very likeness Fourth Miss Wei had cut out and hung from a tree as a prayer charm.
The man released me as if someone had pressed his power button.
The effect was so immediate that I wanted to recruit Wei Qingzhi for sedative research.
“I lost my senses…”
“How could any of you vulgar creatures compare to my Qingzhi?”
Excuse me, sir? Why drag the rest of us into this?
He said, “Clean this up. I warn you-do not entertain thoughts you have no right to entertain.”
I was a maid in Prince Li’s residence. His Highness, Prince Li, was Great Zhou’s God of War, accomplished in both letters and arms, and commonly known as the Wicked Prince. They said he had the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix, and was the most handsome man in the capital.
Basically, if a character trait could keep the emperor awake at night, he had it. As his employee, I was forever wondering whether his madness would kill me first, or whether the emperor would execute my entire clan first.
The pay was miserable. The benefits did not exist. And no matter where I tried to change jobs, people would suspect me of being a spy planted by the Wicked Prince.
My life was a racetrack, and Grim Reapers from rival teams were sprinting down it.
Like right now, when the prince’s cousin-an honored guest at the residence-glared at me.
“Le Yao, I heard His Highness touched you yesterday?”
I said, “No, Your Highness. He merely bumped into this servant.”
Princess Qingyun: “?”
Unwilling to give up, she asked, “I also heard he flew into a terrible rage?”
He flew into a terrible rage every day. She was throwing herself at this man even though they were close relatives. I did not dare imagine what their children’s genes would look like.
“Your Highness, the prince was angry with Fourth Miss Wei.”
Wei Qingzhi Brand Sedative worked its magic again. Princess Qingyun immediately smiled at me as if we were comrades.
“Tell me everything. Spare no detail.”
I returned to the servants’ quarters with my arms full of rewards. My roommate, Qingping, watched me anxiously.
“Le Yao, getting too close to that lady is dangerous.”
She looked at me with deep concern. “You could give me some of those rewards. Then I can share the danger with you.”
…A wolf in front of me, pursuers behind me!
After giving her three beaded hair ornaments, we lay side by side, both too restless to close our eyes.
“Le Yao, how much more do you need before you can buy your freedom?”
“Four taels. You?”
“About the same.”
Qingping sighed softly. “Our lives are so cheap, but our freedom costs so much.”
Outside, the night had congealed into darkness. I reached over and held Qingping’s hand.