She is indeed very beautiful. If she removes that coarse palace attire and changes into a silk gauze dress, she will definitely attract the gazes of countless people.
The more Pei Yaran recognised this, the more uneasy she felt. She was afraid that Pei Qianhao’s attitude towards Su Xi-er was not one of temporary interest, but of long term interest that could be maintained endlessly.
When Pei Yaran thought of this possibility, she felt as if her heart was once again gripped with pain.
“Empress Dowager, while this servant will now go to move the flower pots, I would also suggest we have the imperial guards move the larger ones. With how heavy they are, this servant is afraid that I wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility for damaging them.” Su Xi-er’s tone was flat, and her expression was deferential.
Pei Yaran looked at those eyes of hers. If Su Xi-er doesn’t have that pair of eyes, she would lose much of her brilliance.
“Others are not allowed to help you. This Empress Dowager has appointed you to move them.”
“This servant heard that pines are planted in the large flower pots and moved to the Compassionate Peace Palace by the order of Prince Hao. If this servant damages them, it would really…”
Pei Yaran cut her off, “Prince Hao has never asked or showed an interest in the Compassionate Peace Palace’s plant pots. Why would he order people to send pines over?”
Su Xi-er immediately answered, “Empress Dowager, Beimin’s pines are massive and not suited to be planted in a flower pot. Although this is possible with some types of pines, they are not present in Beimin.”
“How does a palace maid scrubbing chamber pots know about this?” Pei Yaran’s eyes were filled with confusion. Where did Su Xi-er hear this from?
“Empress Dowager, it was Old Maidservant Liu who taught this servant when she was free. As for how I know about them being sent by Prince Hao, the answer lies with the fact that they are foreign. Had these pines been brought in by normal means, they would have gone through the Imperial Object Department and reported to you, Empress Dowager.” Su Xi-er paused and observed the changes in Pei Yaran’s expression.
She didn’t know who had sent these pines, but her conjecture was Prince Hao. Furthermore, she could tell from one glance that they were unique to Nanzhao. Other nations would only have large pines, the types that can grow into gigantic towering trees that reach the sky.
Pei Yaran’s scrunched up her eyebrows and tried to recall carefully. The Imperial Object Department didn’t report to me. But I am also aware that Beimin doesn’t have this type of pine.
After contemplating over and over again, there was only one possibility ーPrince Hao had ordered people to send it over. I must go and ask. If it was really him who ordered people to send these to the Compassionate Peace Palace, he is still at least trying.
Pei Yaran had been chilled to the bone by Pei Qianhao’s callousness, but the feeling had somewhat alleviated with this discovery.
Her tone had eased slightly when she spoke again. “If you can’t move them, let the imperial guards help you. Move the rest yourself.”
“Yes, this servant will get to it now.” Su Xi-er then turned around to leave. What she told the Empress Dowager just now had only been her own speculation. What she didn’t know however, was that this was actually almost spot on!
It was indeed Pei Qianhao who had ordered people to purchase these in Nanzhao and send them to the Compassionate Peace Palace. If Pei Qianhao knew that she had managed to determine all this with so little information, he would have definitely complimented her for being intelligent.
~~~
The flower pots in the backyard of the Compassionate Peace Palace were still a complete mess. Su Xi-er shouted for two imperial guards and claimed that it was the Empress Dowager’s verbal edict to have them move the large flower pots over to the parterre.
The two imperial guards immediately did as they were instructed. With their thick arms and huge strength, they finished moving them very quickly. When they saw that Su Xi-er still had to move so many small flower pots despite her small physique, they involuntarily became soft-hearted.
“Let us help you.”
“Hardly anyone comes to the backyard. No one will know if we quickly finish moving them for you.” Right afterwards, the two imperial bodyguards began to help. With their assistance, the task was finished relatively quickly.
“Thank you, imperial guard Brothers.”
The two imperial guards felt embarrassed and one of them asked, “Which palace are you from? I haven’t seen you before in the Compassionate Peace Palace before.”
“I am not from the Compassionate Peace Palace. I was previously in the Palace Side Quarters and currently reside in the Laundry Service Bureau.”
The imperial guards quivered. “Could it be that you are Su Xi-er?”
They had caught wind of some gossip while on duty, hearing that Prince Hao paid this woman quite a bit of attention.
Su Xi-er nodded. “I am.”
“So it’s actually you! That’s strange. You are so beautiful, and Prince Hao has also been pretty good to you so far. Why hasn’t he taken you into the Beauty Palace?”
These two are imperial guards from the Compassionate Peace Palace. Maybe what I say will enter the Empress Dowager’s ears.
How convenient; I can take advantage of this chance to emphasise that I have no relationship with Pei Qianhao.
“You shouldn’t listen to all the rumours that you hear. Prince Hao’s position is far and away from my own; I would only be seeking a tragic end if I tried to form connections with him. Prince Hao himself doesn’t even have any interest in me either.”
“Ah? I heard the Laundry Service Bureau’s palace maids say that Prince Hao only allows you to wash his clothes. How can he possibly have no interest in you?”
Su Xi-er felt that even men would develop a penchant for gossip when they were in the imperial palace.
“He really has no interest in me. If he really did, I should be in the Beauty Palace by now. That sort of speculative hearsay is just a result of people having loose tongues, resulting in many people misunderstanding me. I just focus on doing my job correctly.” Su Xi-er then smiled at them.
That smile was enough to warm people’s hearts. In the eyes of the two imperial guards, Su Xi-er was a beautiful scenery.
They immediately felt embarrassed and scratched the back of their heads.
Su Xi-er urged them, “Well then, you two should quickly go back to your duty in keeping guard.”
The two imperial guards nodded and immediately left.
No one knew that Pei Yaran was standing in one corner and had heard their whole conversation.
She had originally come to look at those pines, but inadvertently stumbled upon this scene. She found out from Su Xi-er’s mouth that Prince Hao had no interest in her at all. It was just that the others were spreading false rumours that had snowballed into such a huge debacle.
However, the imperial guard from the Prince Hao Residence had clearly come to the Compassionate Peace Palace to convey Prince Hao’s verbal edict today. Who exactly is spouting nonsense?
With these thoughts rifling through her mind, Pei Yaran walked out from the corner of the yard.
When Su Xi-er noticed her, she immediately bowed, “This servant pays her respects to the Empress Dowager.”
“Speak the truth, what is your relationship with Prince Hao?”
Su Xi-er revealed an astonished expression. “This servant doesn’t have the least bit of relationship with Prince Hao.”
Now that they had gotten to this point, Pei Yaran didn’t plan on hiding anything and directly stated, “Just a moment ago, an imperial guard from the Prince Hao Residence came to the Compassionate Peace Palace and conveyed some words to this Empress Dowager. He said that only you are allowed to wash Prince Hao’s clothes, and that this Empress Dowager is not to make things difficult for you.”
So that imperial guard had actually told Pei Yaran something like that. What on earth does Pei Qianhao want to do? He’s causing me to become the target of everyone.
Since it’s like this, I can only counter every move I run into. I can only bank on the fact that there are some things Pei Yaran will definitely not mention to Pei Qianhao.
Hence, Su Xi-er replied, “Empress Dowager, you have misunderstood. Prince Hao is doing this to target this servant. Not because he is interested in this servant.”
“Misunderstood? What has this Empress Dowager misunderstood? Say it clearly.” Pei Yaran sized her up carefully, not missing a single change in expression.
Why would I have misunderstood her? Everything is clearly laid out in front of me.
