Chapter 23

So hot, so hot.

It felt as if I had had an extremely sensual dream, someone was holding me and kissing me, their voice hoarse as they called me “Qiuhe.”

But the face in the dream was suited for the Four Books and Five Classics, not for romance and passion.

“Zhang Qiuhe!” The roar blended with the voice in my dream, and I suddenly opened my eyes.

Yin Jiuqing slammed his fist into the brocade quilt, his voice trembling with anger: “Do you have to be like this? Do you have to degrade yourself so much?”

My head felt like it was splitting as I opened my eyes, and this was the scene before me. I stared at Yin Jiuqing, so close, and at my own body covered in red marks, not a stitch of clothing on me-I was instantly bewildered.

Looking around, the room was unfamiliar, the furnishings unfamiliar. What on earth had happened?

Last night I drank a little, and then, and then… it was Zhang Jincan!

“Why do you keep doing this over and over again? Are you really this low?” Yin Jiuqing’s emotions teetered on the edge of rage, even his breathing was uneven: “Do you even understand what self-respect is? How many times are you going to do this?”

So he thought I was up to my old tricks again.

“It wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me.” I opened my mouth, but even my defense sounded weak.

What happened, how did Zhang Jincan get me here-I knew nothing. How did things suddenly end up like this?

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, it’s time to get up-” A palace maid pushed open the door, the wooden basin of water in her hands fell to the floor, and a piercing scream rang out: “Ah-”

In less than a quarter of an hour, I was muddle-headed and forced to kneel on the ground.

Yin Jiuqing knelt in front of me, his cheek turned by a slap from the Empress: “Outrageous! How dare you commit such a disgraceful act? Do you want the court officials to point at your spine and curse you? As the Crown Prince, lacking in virtue, you dare to consort with a lowly maid without a matchmaker during the selection of the Crown Princess? Are you so sure of your position as Crown Prince?”

The more she spoke, the angrier the Empress became. She smashed the teacup at hand, squinting as she scrutinized me, her sharp, cold gaze stabbing into me like knives.

She came before me with a dark face, and suddenly kicked me hard in the chest: “Wretched maid, how dare you seduce the Crown Prince like this.”

Yin Jiuqing knelt forward two steps, just enough to shield me, his head bowed low, and forced out words from his throat, each one difficult: “Empress Dowager, I have admired Qiuhe for a long time. In a moment of joy, I lost control.”

“Useless! You can’t even wait a moment? I told you, once the Crown Princess is decided, you can have whoever you want, I won’t stop you. But you can’t even wait a little while? You have to let the future Crown Princess suffer such humiliation? How did I give birth to such a useless son.”

Another resounding slap.

Yin Jiuqing lowered his head: “Empress Dowager, now that things have come to this, I will give Qiuhe a proper status.”

“You must be out of your mind.” The Empress suddenly smashed another cup.

I don’t know how much time passed before the Empress composed herself and said heavily: “The palace maids who learned of this matter this morning are to be executed on the spot. Crown Prince, remember, it was you who caused these seven deaths. From now on, every day, you must repent for the mistake you made today.”

With that, she turned and left without looking back. When she reached the door, she turned again and said angrily: “Get this disgraceful thing out of here, don’t let me see her again. Send Cancan home as well, I never want to see that useless person again. Does she think I can’t do without her?”

“It wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me this time.” My chest ached faintly from the kick, and I knelt behind Yin Jiuqing, my face burning: “It was Zhang Jincan who harmed me, it really wasn’t me this time.”

“It was my rashness, I wrongly accused you.” Yin Jiuqing pinched his brow and said, “Someone from Qingzhi Palace sent over a pot of wine, saying it was brought from your home.”

Zhang Jincan would actually do such a thing-who could have imagined it?

The red mark from the slap was still clear on his face, but he simply stood up and straightened his robes, saying, “Come, I’ll take you and Cancan home.”