If she was right, he was going to say, “Do you want to know why this prince is here?”
“Quickly go and do your work,” a clear and melodious voice escaped from between his lips. He didn’t even glance at her once.
Su Xi-er was taken aback, but quickly returned to normal. Have I guessed incorrectly, or is he pretending? Only if he has too much time would he come to the Palace Side Quarters to watch me scrub the chamber pots.
“Prince Hao, why are you here?” Since he isn’t telling me, I’ll ask then.
Pei Qianhao’s pair of eyes sized her up from top to bottom. She’s so gaunt and tiny. How did she get the strength to knock me out? If I don’t play some tricks, when would she admit to anything?
Pei Qianhao was quite confident in his own intuition. It must be her.
“There’s naturally a reason for you to appear here, Prince Hao. This servant will go and work.” When Su Xi-er saw that he didn’t respond, she spoke respectfully before she walked towards the wooden cabin.
Pei Qianhao watched her place all the chamber pots onto the bamboo board before she pulled the coarse rope and hauled it towards the side of the well.
She has such a delicate body yet, she is able to drag such a heavy load, even if her speed is a little slow.
“Where’s the fat palace maid who was with you? Why didn’t she come and help you?” Pei Qianhao couldn’t help but ask.
Su Xi-er stopped what she was doing and raised her head to look at him. “She’s called Ruo Yuan, not fat palace maid.”
“She’s originally round and fat,” Pei Qianhao coldly refuted.
“Prince Hao, she was taken away by the imperial guards this morning,” Su Xi-er went straight to the point. Since he has taken the initiative to mention Ruo Yuan, I will seize the opportunity to ask.
Pei Qianhao raised his eyebrow. “She’s a fat palace maid from the Palace Side Quarters with no usefulness at all. Which palace’s imperial guards would capture her?”
Su Xi-er was a little surprised. Judging from his tone, he isn’t the one who commanded the imperial guards to take Ruo Yuan away? If it wasn’t him, then who would it be?
Displeased with the doubt contained within her gaze, he walked over and pinched her chin, his eyes slightly narrowed. His voice was filled with oppression, “You suspect this prince?”
“Just like you said, Prince Hao, Ruo Yuan is just an ordinary palace maid in the Palace Side Quarters. This servant also doesn’t understand, why would someone take her away?”
Pei Qianhao lowered his head and stared fixedly at her eyes, only able to see a completely calm expression.
Damn it, what kind of expression is this!
“If this prince had done it, this prince would admit to it. You have a lot of nerve now.” His voice was deep and low. His hand continuously stroked her chin before finally reaching her lips.
Su Xi-er didn’t evade. “She is this servant’s good friend, someone very important. No matter how timid a person is, they would also become more daring when it’s related to someone important. Prince Hao, don’t tell me that there has never been a time when you desperately wanted to protect someone with all your might?”
The hand wandering on her lips abruptly stopped. Desperately protect someone with all my might? There has never been someone like that.
“She is your subordinate. When did she become your good friend?”
“Prince Hao, she and I are both palace maids in the Palace Side Quarters with equal status.
How can you say that she is my subordinate?” The ones who were close to her right now were Hong Li and Ruo Yuan.
Hong Li is an intelligent collaborator, while Ruo Yuan’s sincerity is more similar to Lü Liu.
“You’re that worried about her?” Pei Qianhao raised the corner of his mouth, lowering his face until his lips pressed close to her, but was short of kissing her, his breath scorching hot as it landed on her face.
“This servant wants to know who exactly has taken her away. That’s all,” Su Xi-er slowly replied.
Su Xi-er raised her head and asked, “What condition?”
“If it was you who knocked this prince out, I can even sentence you to death.” His face was wreathed in a devilish and wanton smile as he spoke the cruellest words.
“Prince Hao, if there’s no evidence, please don’t malign this servant.” I definitely can’t admit to the fact that I had knocked him out.
“This prince was just sounding you out. I didn’t say that it’s you.” Pei Qianhao looked at her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Could you directly tell this servant what the condition it is?” Su Xi-er asked straightforwardly.
She was very clear about her current strength. She wouldn’t be able to investigate Ruo Yuan’s destination just by relying on herself, but it was a different matter for the man in front of her.
Pei Qianhao coldly answered, “This condition is very simple. Take the initiative to kiss this prince and kiss until this prince is satisfied.”
This condition… Su Xi-er’s heart leapt suddenly. I have never initiated a kiss, yet he brought up such a request.
Has he really taken a fancy to a palace maid scrubbing chamber pots in the Palace Side Quarters?
“This prince will count until three. One, two…”
Su Xi-er pursed her lips. She saw Lü Liu’s shadow on Ruo Yuan. Lü Liu’s fate had always been a knot in her heart that she couldn’t untie.
When she heard that he was about to count until three, she immediately stood on her toes and used her hands to loop behind his neck. She raised her head and pressed her soft lips on his.
The faint scent of medicinal herbs mixed with the body fragrance of a woman wafted into Pei Qianhao’s nose. The expression in his eyes started to become more profound, but he stayed completely motionless, allowing her to take the initiative.
She had experienced kissing someone before: twice in her previous lifetime, and once in this lifetime. Recalling his actions when he kissed her from the encounter that night in the woods beside the Palace Side Quarters, she opened her mouth and pushed against his jaw.
The fragrance of a woman became stronger in Pei Qianhao’s nose, prompting him to embrace her tightly.
Under the bright moonlight, the two were tightly entangled.
As soon as she finished kissing, Su Xi-er was unable to catch her breath. She patted her chest and started to calm her breathing.
Pei Qianhao found it funny as she looked at her. “Do you need more practice in the future?”
Su Xi-er raised her head to look at him. His actions were fiery just now, but he had instantly calmed down, his eyes endlessly dark. A man like this should be the most heartless, right? To him, all women are just like the 72 concubines in the Beauty Palace ー mere playthings. For what purpose were these women taken in by him?
“You have already accomplished my request. This prince will help you to investigate,” Pei Qianhao informed her coldly.
Su Xi-er bowed. “Many thanks to Prince Hao.”
“You’re actually very well-behaved and understand the rules well.” Pei Qianhao chuckled. Finally, he flung his sleeves and left.
Hidden at a secret place, Wu Ling had witnessed the whole incident from beginning to end. I am finding His Highness’ thoughts harder and harder to understand. Outsiders all say that His Highness likes beauty very much, and that the 72 concubines in the Beauty Palace are all beauties who are the cream of the crop.
But only I, Wu Ling, know that after these beauties enter the place, they will be grass widows. Prince Hao has never stayed in the Beauty Palace. Since that’s the case, why does he want to keep those women?
Upon seeing that Prince Hao was walking towards his direction, Wu Ling immediately appeared. “Prince Hao, why don’t you take Su Xi-er into the Beauty Palace?”
“I’m not keeping her,” Pei Qianhao replied coldly.
“Prince Hao, since you don’t go to the Beauty Palace, why do you want to keep those women?”
“Shutting them in an ornate prison and watching them ripping each other apart while being full of themselves, isn’t that very interesting?”
Wu Ling jolted in shock and looked at Prince Hao’s composed expression. So it turns out that he truly thinks of the women in the Beauty Palace as little more than cage animals tearing each other to shreds, watching their conflicts like an audience enjoying a show.
“A fat palace maid from the Palace Side Quarters, Ruo Yuan, was taken away by the imperial guards. Go and check who took her away.” Pei Qianhao walked into the distance.
Wu Ling was stunned again. That fat palace maid from last night?
