Chapter 36
Chapter 36
“Your Highness… how can that count as a gift?” Shengsheng Zhou smiled awkwardly. “At most, you would be returning it to its original owner.”
*Don’t make me kneel and beg. Please don’t.*
Weiqing Song ignored her and changed the subject.
“We share a certain fate. Now that you are stranded far from home–and I found you pleasing when we met before–I happen to lack a personal palace maid.”
Shengsheng forced her smile wider.
“Your Highness, this servant has explained many times that the Noble Consort did not drive her from the palace. Miss Jiang and this servant were traveling from the Yong Kingdom back to the Zhu Kingdom when assassins attacked. That is why we were forced to seek refuge in the Zhen Kingdom.”
“I see.”
Surprise and understanding appeared on Weiqing’s face.
Shengsheng quietly relaxed.
Then he continued.
“You accidentally discovered one of the Noble Consort’s great secrets. He banished you to the Yong Kingdom. On the journey back, assassins sent by him pursued you, and after narrowly escaping death, you arrived in Zhen.”
“Correct?”
His sincere eyes shone in the lamplight.
Shengsheng drew a deep breath.
She truly wanted to kneel.
She had indeed discovered Fusheng Duan’s secret. But why was this man capable of inventing so much?
*Do you have a grudge against Fusheng Duan? How many storybooks must you read every day to create a drama like this?*
She was tired.
Let it be.
*The way we met differs from the original novel, but at least I found him. I was still wondering how to stay beside Weiqing Song. This is the perfect opportunity.*
“If Your Highness requires it, this servant will accept. But eventually, I must return to the Zhu Kingdom.”
The word *novel* made Weiqing thoughtful.
Zhiyu Jiang, on the other hand, immediately protested when she heard Shengsheng would become his maid.
“Don’t go! He’s a bad man!”
She wrapped both arms around Shengsheng, her beautiful face full of worry, as though Shengsheng were leaping into a pit of fire.
Weiqing did not object to the judgment.
Most people praised the Crown Prince as a gentleman of humility who would one day become a wise ruler. Perhaps only Weiqing himself knew the truth of his nature.
Shengsheng patted Zhiyu’s hand and gave her a benevolent smile.
“The Crown Prince is rich.”
Zhiyu froze.
Rich meant delicious food.
“Then he must be a good man! Shengsheng should serve His Highness carefully. Xiaoyu will help!”
Her expression was completely serious.
Shengsheng nodded with equal solemnity.
Weiqing stared at them.
Since when had wealth become the measure of virtue?
The mention of money reminded Shengsheng of something at the worst possible moment.
*That bastard Siran Ming… He never paid my wages, did he?*
Her pupils contracted.
Pain cut through her heart.
She had believed she and Siran had finally gone their separate ways.
Apparently, the bond between them remained unresolved.
He had not paid her.
Six months.
Six full months of wages.
“Your Highness, this servant suddenly remembered an important matter.”
Her face had gone gray.
Startled by the intensity of her obsession with wages, Weiqing invited her to continue.
“There is still unfinished business in the Yong Kingdom. May this servant return and take up her new post afterward?”
She truly intended to travel back and collect the debt?
Weiqing saw the determination in her eyes and abruptly found Siran hateful as well.
How could anyone withhold the wages of a working woman who relied upon honest labor?
After repeated persuasion from Weiqing and Zhiyu, Shengsheng finally abandoned her plan to return to Yong and demand payment.
She also became an enthusiastic supporter of Weiqing’s plan to send the strip torn from Siran’s sleeve as a birthday gift.
At a lavish birthday banquet attended by all his officials, Siran Ming received a gift box from the Crown Prince of the Zhen Kingdom.
Weiqing Song had specifically requested that the emperor open it with his own hands.
Inside lay an obviously laundered strip of cloth.
Siran’s face, dark ever since a certain woman departed, turned the color of a scorched pot.
“Sheng. Sheng. Zhou.”
He forced each syllable through clenched teeth, a vein jumping at his temple.
But he also realized something else.
Shengsheng had gone to the Zhen Kingdom.
And she had become involved with Weiqing Song.
***
Even when Shengsheng Zhou had been sentenced to scrub chamber pots at the Palace Labor Bureau, she had not suffered such exhaustion.
Feeling her hand tremble, she looked helplessly toward the man reading a storybook beside her.
“Your Highness, must I truly copy every one of these Buddhist scriptures?”
Weiqing sat perfectly upright beside the desk. He held a book and raised his teacup with elegant grace.
Had Shengsheng not learned his habits over the past several days, she might have mistaken the volume for a revered classic.
Who would suspect that the Crown Prince, second only to one person in the entire Zhen Kingdom, was secretly addicted to fiction?
Shengsheng’s earlier guess had been correct.
The man read at least three storybooks a day. No wonder he could invent such elaborate nonsense.
“They are prayers for my younger sister. Naturally, you must copy them all.”
Weiqing answered carelessly without lifting his eyes from the page.
His younger sister was the youngest daughter of Zhen’s reigning emperor and his most beloved child. Sadly, she had been born with profound intellectual disabilities.
The royal family’s decision to have Weiqing study at a Buddhist monastery was partly connected to her condition.
Shengsheng, however, saw no sign that Weiqing personally revered Buddhism.
What was that saying again?
Ah, yes.
*Who says living among Buddhists means your heart must face the Buddha?*
She imitated Weiqing’s voice in her thoughts.
His fingers stopped mid-page.
“I just remembered another scripture that needs copying. Xiaohong, do not forget it.”
A beautiful smile appeared on his lips.
His words made Shengsheng’s vision go black.
Another one?
She had assumed serving Weiqing would resemble serving Siran: carry tea, grind ink, and little else.
Who could have guessed this man was a hypocrite in private?
Was there truly no state business anywhere in the enormous Zhen Kingdom that required his attention?
As Shengsheng copied in mounting irritation, a girl’s bell-like laughter sounded outside.
Zhiyu Jiang entered in a white dress, carrying a swallow-shaped kite.
“Shengsheng! Your Highness! Look, a kite!”
The dignified Crown Prince had seen every treasure imaginable. A toy like this naturally failed to interest him.
He waved lazily, sending Zhiyu toward Shengsheng as though diverting a pet.
Weiqing had lost all interest in the amnesiac heroine. Even before she lost her memories, he could not understand how his original-novel self had fallen in love with a woman who possessed nothing beyond beauty.
Shengsheng showed far more enthusiasm.
“It’s beautiful. Who gave it to you?”
Zhiyu pointed outside.
“That older sister.”
Following her gesture, an elegantly dressed, dignified woman entered.
“Your Highness.”
At the sound of her voice, Weiqing’s hand paused.
Without haste, he placed his storybook facedown on the desk.
Shengsheng’s sharp eyes caught something peculiar.
He looked guilty.