“Thank you.” Su Xi-er thanked him as she passed the hairpin to him, taking a step back to size him up carefully.
His skin was fair to the point that it was a little abnormal. His slender and long eyes tilted upwards slightly. There was no lustre in them at all and they were calm with no ripples of emotion. Who exactly is this person? He suddenly appeared, saved me, then asked me for the hairpin.
“Which palace are you from?” The man sat down on a chair at the side, his gaze sweeping over the dinner on the table.
“This servant is from the Palace Side Quarters.”
“Why would a palace maid from the Palace Side Quarters be here?” The man spoke slowly with an air of indifference.
“Prince Hao is investigating the matter of a palace maid who had ambushed him in the woods beside the Palace Side Quarters. This servant, and another who has already been killed, were brought here as suspects.”
Her words caused the man to chuckle. “I see, so that’s how it is. The grand Prince Hao was actually ambushed by a woman. That’s an odd affair.”
“Do you know who the man in black just now was?” Su Xi-er raised her head to look at him. With how he and the man in black were poised for battle just now, it seemed that they were at least acquaintances from their expressions.
“I have never known that there was such a person in the imperial palace.”
The man’s answer caused Su Xi-er to be disappointed. He also doesn’t know who the man in black was.
“You still plan to stay here? Are you not afraid of the former Empress’ ghost?”
Su Xi-er smiled faintly. Speaking of ghost, my body is already long gone. Isn’t the one dwelling in this body a soul? However, from the looks of this man, he is definitely related to the former Empress. When she was still Ning Rulan, she had heard that Beimin’s former Empress gave birth to one son who was ranked number three among his siblings.
Could it be that the man before me is the former Empress’ sole child? His face is so pale. Is he ill?
“You’re the first one who dares to stare at me like this. Why? Are you not scared?”
Su Xi-er shook her head. “You saved me so why should I be scared of you?”
“Interesting.” The man then stood up from the chair and casually walked about in the hall, pausing from time to time to touch the old objects.
As he walked around, Su Xi-er noticed a pendant suspended from his waist. Three words were written on it. At the top was ‘Situ’ while at the bottom was ‘three’. ‘Situ’ is the surname of Beimin’s imperial clan. ‘Three’ means he is ranked third among his siblings.
This man is the former Empress’ son!
The young Empress Dowager dominates the imperial harem while the Pei Family and the Xie Family control the affairs of the state. Generally speaking, the imperial princes should be banished far away. Why would this man appear in the imperial palace?
“On the account that I saved you, take a cloth and wipe the dust here away.”
Su Xi-er nodded. The Third Imperial Prince was missing his Mother Empress. She understood that feeling.
“What’s your name?”
Su Xi-er held a cloth in her hand and wiped the dust as she answered, “This servant is called Su Xi-er.”
“Su Xi-er. Palace maid from the Palace Side Quarters…” He mumbled to himself. Then, he looked at the moon outside the window.
The night was especially quiet now, with the wind having died down. All there was to provide light was the brightly shining moon.
“Su Xi-er, no matter where you are, as long as you are in the imperial palace, you will only have one end ー death. Are you scared?”
When faced with his sudden question, she became dazed for a split second. Death. Am I scared? I am already someone who has died once. It’s just that compared to my previous lifetime, I treasure this one even more.
“Just now, when you and the man in black were facing each other, I’m positive that I caught a glint of fierceness in your eyes. However, you have since changed to a gentle and weak appearance,” the man continued.
“This servant is naturally scared of death. The reason I was fierce just now is because I recognised I didn’t have long to live. When a person is on the verge of death, they will always be a little different.” Su Xi-er lowered her head and slowly justified.
“Always be a little different…” His voice trailed off. In the end, his expression became distant, as if he was immersed in his memories.
“Third Imperial Prince, this servant has finished wiping.”
Situ Li’s expression changed. “Why do you know my identity?”
Su Xi-er pointed at the pendant suspended from his waist. “There are words carved on it.”
This is the pendant Imperial Father gave me. The words on it were personally carved by Imperial Father. Back then, Imperial Father had doted on me greatly, and favoured Mother Empress.
“Third Imperial Prince, you have just returned to the imperial palace so Prince Hao specially arranged a banquet to entertain you. Why did you run here?” A charming and gentle voice of a woman could be heard.
Su Xi-er recognised the voice as soon as she heard it. This voice…is He Ying! On top of that, Prince Hao had left just now because there is a banquet in the palace.
“I didn’t expect that the Empress Dowager’s and Prince Hao’s relationship had improved. Prince Hao is holding the banquet, but it’s the Empress Dowager’s head palace maid who comes to inform me.” Situ’s words were mild, but He Ying’s expression had changed.
“The Empress Dowager and Prince Hao are brother and sister. Their relationship naturally isn’t something that others can compare to. Third Imperial Prince, you should quickly follow this servant and head there. It won’t be good if Prince Hao gets impatient from waiting.”
Situ Li waved his hand. “There’s no rush. This imperial prince still has something I still haven’t finished handling.”
He then turned around and looked at Su Xi-er. “Return to the Palace Side Quarters now. From now on, nobody will touch you as long as I’m in the imperial palace.”
Su Xi-er was bewildered. Why is he helping me?
“Don’t thank me. We’re simply fellow travellers on the same path.”
As Su Xi-er watched his departing figure, she was even more baffled. What did he mean? Why would he and I be fellow travellers on the same path? In what way are we alike?
Su Xi-er saw him speaking a few words to He Ying. After that, He Ying cast a gaze filled with underlying meaning before the two of them left.
I can go back to the Palace Side Quarters now? Can the Third Imperial Prince’s power compare to Prince Hao’s?
“Palace maid from the Palace Side Quarters. The matter has already been investigated clearly. You can go now.” The palace maid who previously sent her dinner appeared at the door and informed her loudly.
Su Xi-er didn’t think further about the Third Imperial Prince and Prince Hao, instead proceeding out of the room quickly.
The palace maid walked in front of her and led her all the way back to the Palace Side Quarters.
“You didn’t eat the dinner given to you. Are you waiting to return to the Palace Side Quarters to eat your stinky steamed bun?” After arriving at the gates of the Palace Side Quarters, the palace maid spoke with disdain as she sent a dirty look towards her.
“I have troubled you in sending me back to the Palace Side Quarters. Old Maidservant Zhao likes entertaining people the most. Why don’t you go in with me?” Su Xi-er carried a smile in her eyes and spoke in a gentle tone.
“Pah! I won’t go. I take orders from Imperial Bodyguard Wu!” When this palace maid mentioned Imperial Bodyguard Wu, her face was red with happiness.
When Su Xi-er saw how the maid was acting, she only felt that the latter was too young and immature. In the imperial palace, the greatest taboo is revealing the identity of one’s own master. It’s evident that this palace maid harbours those kinds of thoughts, not even accounting for the fact that her loud mouth cannot stop talking like a trumpet.
“Su Xi-er!” A few palace maids happened to pass by while carrying wooden basins. When they saw Su Xi-er standing at the palace entrance, they involuntarily widened their mouths.
She has returned, but Mu Tao has not. Could it be that the one who ambushed Prince Hao was Mu Tao?
“A bunch of boorish servant girls.”
Everyone heard this sentence and shifted their gaze to the palace maid beside Su Xi-er. Who on earth is this palace maid clad in a cyan palace dress? She actually directly berated them. Although we’re servant girls from the Palace Side Quarters, this woman in cyan clothes is also merely a palace maid.
Su Xi-er replied smilingly, “She’s Imperial Bodyguard Wu’s subordinate.”
Her indifferent explanation caused a few palace maids to be frightened instead. “Don’t tell me that she is…Miss Qing?”
Su Xi-er noticed that their expressions were even more deferential than when they met He Xiangyu. This woman isn’t an ordinary palace maid? She also has an appellation like He Ying?
