Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Life in the cold palace wasn’t peaceful every day.
Some people had too much time on their hands and were always lingering by the gates, craning their necks to see just how stupid the Fifth Prince had become.
Fortunately, guards stood watch at the entrance, so they couldn’t get in.
Otherwise, those bootlicking snobs would probably have made the Fifth Prince crawl on the ground and bark like a dog.
And speak of the devil-someone outside was barking right now.
“They all say the Fifth Prince has gone stupid. If we give him meat and tell him to bark like a dog, do you think he’ll do it?”
“Who knows? Call him out and see.”
Hearing that made my blood boil.
I carried out a basin of dirty water and splashed it straight at the man.
He shouted in fury, “You wretched slut! How dare you splash me! Do you know who I am?”
Of course I did.
I recognized him at a glance. Back when we were outside the imperial prison, this man had been the most engrossed spectator of all.
Heh. When he watched the Fifth Prince and me in bed, he had been so excited his whole face turned red.
Who exactly was the beast here?
I pretended to be aggrieved, putting on a pitiful yet seductive expression as I said sweetly, “Oh, young master, it was my fault. I didn’t see you there.”
I stepped out and tugged at my handkerchief as if to wipe his face.
That shameless bastard took the chance to try to touch my hand.
I immediately retreated back inside the gate.
His hand closed on empty air, and he actually looked a little disappointed.
From the way I saw it, he hadn’t come to laugh at the Fifth Prince at all. He had clearly come looking for me!
He even tried to barge in and grab me.
The guards blocked him with icy expressions.
Someone beside him tugged at him. “If the Empress finds out we came here, she’ll definitely scold us. Don’t make trouble. Let’s go.”
I leaned against the gate and said reluctantly, “Young master, won’t you leave me a token? Come by and chat with me again when you have time~”
And he actually pulled off a jade pendant and tossed it to me from afar.
Curious, I asked the guard, “Who was that? Why is he so arrogant?”
Expressionless, the guard said, “The Empress’s nephew, Qi Zhen.”
The Empress he spoke of was the former Noble Consort.
A few days ago, the Noble Consort had been conferred the title of Empress, and it had been a grand affair.
Even here in our remote, neglected palace, we could hear the ceremonial music playing in unison.
I heard everyone received rewards. Even the sour-faced eunuch who delivered our meals was beaming that day.
Sigh. If you ask me, this palace isn’t all that different from our Tianxiang Pavilion.
Everyone has to use every trick in the book to win a man’s favor and coax silver out of his pockets.
Beaming with delight, I carried the jade pendant back into the room.
The Fifth Prince was sitting at the table, carving a wooden figurine.
I sat in his lap and asked him, “Silly, take a look. What words are written on this?”
The Fifth Prince turned his face away and refused to look.
He even wouldn’t let me hug him, gently pushing me away.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and giggled. “Are you jealous? It was just an act. I only wanted to swindle a little something from him. Look, after just a few words, he gave me a jade pendant.”
The Fifth Prince pressed his lips together and said, “Ah Yao, that’s not good.”
His expression was very serious.
He did not approve of what I had done.
If he were still the clear-minded Fifth Prince from before, he would surely have scolded me for having no sense of shame.
Even after turning foolish, his heart remained pure and upright.
Someone like me had slept beside him for a few nights and somehow lost all sense of my place, thinking I could be heart to heart with him.
The stupid one had been me all along.
After living in this palace for more than three months, I had become fairly familiar with the palace maids and eunuchs who delivered our meals.
Even with the guards at the gate, I could occasionally exchange a few words.
From their mouths, I could faintly piece together an image of the Fifth Prince.
He was born noble, brilliant beyond compare, a true gentleman of refined character.
The Fifth Prince was perfect.
Even if he had gone mad, even if he had become a fool.
The palace maids and eunuchs still did not want to say a single bad word about him.
One palace maid even wiped her tears and said softly, “If one must name a flaw in the Fifth Prince, it would be that he was too kind. In this palace, kind people do not live long.”
He would even pity a suffering sparrow.
He had raised the wages of the palace servants and reduced cruel punishments.
In court affairs, he was flawless in every respect, praised by all.
Skilled in both scholarship and martial arts, a genius blessed by heaven-and yet he had fallen to this state.
I heard that when he was three, a great master had once wanted to bring him into the Buddhist order.
He had even traveled the world before. He was someone with true compassion in his heart.
I lowered my head and toyed with that fine jade pendant.
I thought to myself, for someone like him, even if he had fallen into ruin now,
there would come a day when he made his comeback.
I had to make plans for myself early.
I certainly couldn’t wait until he rose to wealth and honor again, only to end up as a worthless abandoned woman.