Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Shengsheng Zhou nearly died of fright.
Heaven only knew why the heroine–who was supposed to encounter an injustice in the imperial garden and leap gallantly to the victim’s defense–had appeared in this godforsaken corner instead.
In the original plot, Zhiyu Jiang entered the palace for the first time and happened upon a young palace maid being bullied. She rescued the girl from the vicious servants and delivered the declaration that became the central theme of the entire novel:
*All people are equal.*
Weiqing Song and Fusheng Duan were conveniently standing nearby. They overheard her and immediately developed an intense interest in the heroine.
The instant A-Pang warned Shengsheng that the heroine was headed this way, Shengsheng had assigned herself a role at lightning speed:
The bullied palace maid.
Perfect. She could keep the plot moving and spare herself a guilty conscience at the same time.
Wait a moment…
As she floundered in the water, Shengsheng abruptly remembered something.
If the heroine was here, then Weiqing Song…
Zhiyu Jiang looked at Shengsheng in the lake. After one second of deliberation, she decided that rescuing the girl could wait.
Scolding the villain came first.
What if the mud at the water’s edge splashed onto her dress? That would look awful.
“How could you do such a thing?” Zhiyu’s lovely face was full of reproach, righteous fire blazing in her dark eyes. “What did she do to deserve this abuse?”
The wily matron studied her. Once the initial shock passed, she quickly regained her composure.
One careful appraisal of the girl’s clothes was enough for the matron to reach a conclusion.
“Which household do you belong to? What makes you think you have any right to meddle in palace affairs?” She looked Zhiyu up and down, not even bothering to hide her contempt when she saw the plain hairpin in the girl’s hair.
What ill-mannered concubine-born daughter had wandered in here?
Shengsheng’s arms were almost ready to fall off, yet the heroine still had not delivered her famous line about equality.
Honestly, pretending to drown in water that barely reached her waist was not dangerous, but it was exhausting.
Left with no choice, she called out, “Matron, I may be a palace maid of ‘lowly’ birth, but I am still a person!”
*The brave heroine fears no difficulties! I practically handed you the line!*
Understanding dawned on Zhiyu. She pointed at the matron’s bark-like face and declared, “Every person has value. No one is born nobler than another. All people are equal! What right do you have to decide whether someone lives or dies?”
Shengsheng’s entire body relaxed.
At last. She had said it.
Shengsheng was about to signal the matron to pull her ashore when approaching footsteps ruined the plan.
“Silence, all of you!”
That familiar, overbearing voice rang through the clearing.
Shengsheng glanced over and almost laughed.
Why, if it wasn’t her old friend, Sister Shenglan.
Which meant Weiqing Song really was nearby.
At the sight of her niece, the matron nearly burst into tears. She opened her mouth, only for Shenglan to avert her eyes in disgust.
“The Noble Consort is receiving honored guests here, yet you cause a clamor and disgrace the entire Zhu Kingdom!”
She directed the rebuke at Shengsheng, who had dragged herself ashore and now stood dripping from head to toe.
Inside the pavilion, the matron took one look at the two men and felt her knees go weak.
The man seated in the center had lustrous features and wore a jade crown above a sky-blue silk robe patterned with qilin medallions. If she was not mistaken, he was the current Crown Prince of the Zhen Kingdom and its future emperor–Weiqing Song.
The string of qilin-eye bodhi beads turning constantly through his fingers had once inspired a fashion craze among the young gentlemen of the Zhu Kingdom.
The other man lounged with his head propped on one hand. Naturally, he was the Noble Consort whom their emperor cherished above all else.
As Shengsheng looked at Weiqing Song, a familiar introduction began playing automatically in her mind–
*He is the current Crown Prince of the Zhen Kingdom, the perfect gentleman in the eyes of the world and the man of countless women’s dreams. Yet he loves only the lovely woman before him. One kiss from her, and he would surrender both his kingdom and his life! And then there’s him, and him, and him…*
Weiqing Song’s thoughts ground to a halt.
Kiss whom? Give his kingdom and his life to whom?
The habitual smile on his lips stiffened.
Who was speaking?
He observed the faces around him without betraying a thing, then quickly mastered himself. His lowered lashes concealed the look in his eyes.
Into the strange, oppressive silence stepped one brave soul.
“I did nothing wrong.” Zhiyu Jiang broke the stalemate. Kneeling on the ground, she boldly met Weiqing’s gaze.
“Where did this ill-mannered girl come from?” Fusheng Duan arched a brow and gave her a dismissive glance.
The instant his eyes touched her, Zhiyu went pale. Even so, she trembled without lowering her head.
*Who else could she be? Your future wife.*
Shengsheng Zhou kept her head down and rolled her eyes freely, confident that no one could see her expression.
Fusheng glanced at Shengsheng, who knelt on the ground looking as if she had sprouted from the lake, then looked away again.
Weiqing, however, turned his attention toward the fascinating little palace maid.
So it was her.
And the woman before them must be the heroine she had mentioned.
“State your name.” Fusheng’s gaze returned to Zhiyu, full of distaste.
She pressed her lips together beneath the open dislike in his eyes.
Had this woman realized that she had come here to seduce the emperor?
“Zhiyu Jiang. My father is the Ever-Victorious General, Dehuai Jiang.” Her steady voice rang through the pavilion.
“Strange. I seem to recall that General Jiang’s daughter is named Rou Jiang.” Fusheng narrowed his eyes, his voice soft and low.
The answer was simple.
Zhiyu was merely a concubine-born daughter unfit to appear in respectable company.
Her lips trembled. “I am his concubine-born daughter.”
As far as she was concerned, there was nothing shameful about it.
Shengsheng shifted.
Oh no.
No one present knew Fusheng Duan from the ends of his hair to the tips of his heels as well as Shengsheng did.
He wanted to kill Zhiyu.
The heroine!
*What the hell? Why does Fusheng Duan want to kill the heroine? In the original, wasn’t he supposed to decide at first sight that this pure, unique woman belonged in a cage, where she could see and think of no one but him?*
A-Pang flew out and sat on Shengsheng’s head, thinking hard.
[Exactly! You have to do something, Host. If the heroine dies, this world will collapse! Fusheng Duan doesn’t have to love her, but he cannot kill her!]
Weiqing Song was reeling as well.
The heroine? As in the female protagonist of a storybook?
If she died, the world would collapse?
Weiqing revered Buddhist teachings but remained firmly convinced that the material world was all there was. For the first time in his life, he understood what it meant to have one’s entire worldview shattered.
He forced himself to calm down almost at once. Until he uncovered the truth, panic and confusion would serve no purpose.
“Who are you?” he asked, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze. “How did you end up in such a state?”
After waiting and receiving no answer, Shengsheng finally realized he was speaking to her.
She raised her head. Wet strands of hair clung to her face, and the soaking had left her small features deathly pale.
“In answer to Your Highness, this servant works at the Palace Labor Bureau.”
Before the last word left her mouth, Fusheng spoke from directly ahead.
“Well, Tail? A few days scrubbing chamber pots, and you have already forgotten who your master is?”