Accord de Mu Yucheng

Chapitre 71

When they arrived at the Yangchi Palace, it was already lunchtime, and several palace maids were standing outside the hall carrying the food.

I leaned closer, tugged at the hem of a palace maid's robe, and whispered, "Why didn't you send it in?"

The palace maid sighed, "Even if they go in, they'll be kicked out."

Sure enough, a high-ranking palace maid was kicked out. She looked furious, and the maid beside me quickly bowed to her, saying, "Aunt Qiu, please don't be angry."

Aunt Qiu glared at her and said irritably, "I can't handle this mess."

Aunt Qiu turned her gaze to me and asked disdainfully, "Who sent you?"

I quickly bowed and said, "Replying to Aunt, it was the Seventh Prince who sent me." As I spoke, I lowered my head and adopted a humble posture.

Her eyes darted around quickly, and she handed the food plate in front of me, gesturing with her lips, "Go, take the food in."

I took the food tray and, steeling myself, walked toward the inner palace.

"Didn't I say I didn't want to eat—" The words were accompanied by a teacup flying through the air. I quickly turned to the side, and the teacup smashed against a pillar.

I sighed, took a few steps forward, then stopped, afraid that if I went any further, I would meet the same fate as that teacup.

Sitting in the hall was a man of foreign ethnicity, around forty or fifty years old. He was a Liao envoy whom I had met once in Yangzhou. He was dressed in military uniform, with furrowed brows and a ferocious expression.

Standing beside him was Yelü Mengshuo, who had changed out of his white robes. He held the horse-drinking saber at his waist, his face colder than ice. Even with such a cold face, he was as handsome as Xiao Xuan in my memory.

“Go tell your Prince Dai that we are paying homage to the Emperor of the Central Plains. Where is the Emperor?” the envoy said indignantly.

I stepped forward, and Yelü Mengshuo tightened his grip on the knife.

I took the opportunity of glaring at him to steal a few more glances.

She walked a few steps to the table and laid out the food one by one... She then called over the maid behind her to set out all the chopsticks, bowls, and plates.

"Take it away." The envoy turned his head to the side, his face becoming even more ferocious.

“Sir—” I smiled slightly, “Judging from your complexion, you have been experiencing unbearable cramping pain in your lower abdomen within three fingers’ width late at night recently, often waking up in pain from your dreams. The nights in the Central Plains are damp, and you already have a cold stomach. If you don’t eat, I fear your illness will become difficult to cure.”

The envoy hesitated, but finally snorted, "Don't talk nonsense—so what if I die?"

I sighed and sat down at the dining table amidst their astonished gazes. "Your death is a real tragedy for us servants. We might even be beheaded by that dog of a prince for failing to take proper care of us."

He was stunned, and his stiff body relaxed a little.

"You 'Dog Prince'?" He chuckled. "Just for those three words, your life is probably—"

"It doesn't matter if I die. As long as these three words make the men happy, have a good meal, and stay healthy, and we sisters can live well because of them, then it's worth it even if I die." I pretended to be innocent, but secretly watched his expression.

His expression softened, but Yelü beside him remained wary, giving me a cold glance, which I quickly averted.

I smiled immediately, picked up my chopsticks, ate a few bites of the food on the table, poured myself a glass of wine, and drank it down happily.

"What is this—" the envoy asked, puzzled.

"Sir, are you afraid the wine and food are poisoned? I'm going to die eventually... Just let me try it."

A faint smile finally appeared on his lips, and he said cheerfully, "Good—this straightforwardness is like that of women from our Great Liao Dynasty, unlike you Central Plains people who are so hesitant and timid."

He walked over, and I quickly stood up and gave him my seat.

He sat down, took a big gulp of wine, tasted a bite of food, laughed heartily, and waved to the guard, inviting him to eat with him.

I smiled with relief, bowed, and withdrew.

The envoy stopped me abruptly. "Are you here specifically to serve us?"

"If you don't kick me out, I'll take you."

The envoy nodded and waved for me to leave.

After lunch, I prepared a hangover soup, asked the maids who were left behind where the gentlemen lived, and then carried the soup inside.

"My lord—I've brought you some hangover soup." I said, pushing open the door, only to see Yelü taking off his outer robe.

When he saw me come in, he was stunned, his eyes froze, and he suddenly grabbed a knife from the side, guarding himself.

I gave an awkward smile. "Don't misunderstand, sir—I meant to bring that gentleman some hangover soup."

He took a deep breath and said in a cold voice, "The envoy is asleep next door. Put the soup down, and I will give it to him when he wakes up."

Of course I knew he was next door, but he just wanted to see you a few more times. I put down the soup, bowed, and was about to leave when I couldn't help but turn back while holding onto the door and said, "Actually, you are more suited to wearing silk shirts."

He narrowed his eyes coldly. "You may leave."

I nodded hastily and withdrew. I guess I'm getting old; I can't tell them apart anymore. They're clearly completely different people.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Favor

The night was deep outside the window, and the window of the opposite side hall was wide open. I shook my head and smiled, thinking of instructing the maids to close the window of the side hall frequently tomorrow. But then I inadvertently heard a woman's heavy breathing across the hall. Through that window, I saw the imperial court robes, adorned with golden tigers and leopards, gleaming amidst the golden palace's splendor. However, this precious robe was now carelessly tossed aside. I then remembered what Lu Li had said during the day; he truly was a man of his word.

"Your Highness, the bed is over there!" Yao Shuhuan's seductive voice rang out.

"Is that so?" Only he could give such a nonchalant response.

The rear hall and the side hall faced each other through windows, which opened directly opposite each other, allowing anyone on the other side to see what they were doing. I smiled dismissively and watched with amusement.

Two intertwined figures finally moved to the bed by the window, simultaneously coming into my view. It was clear enough that the woman's upper garment had been torn open, revealing a bright red undergarment. The man's hands roamed over the woman's body; his eyes were calm, devoid of excitement or lust. Why was he so calm? Had he already grown accustomed to it?

The woman's soft, gentle murmurs escaped, flowing out of the window and scattering among the plum blossoms, swirling away.

I shook my head, and a small hand gently pulled up my clothes. Looking down, I saw Siliang, still sleepy-eyed.

"Auntie, it's so noisy."

I quickly covered her eyes, "Go, go back to bed and cover your ears to sleep."

Just as I was about to close the window, the man suddenly looked up, saw me by the opposite window, and his calm gaze fell upon me. The body on top of Yao Shuhuan stiffened abruptly. There was no panic, no embarrassment; his deep eyes simply stared fixedly at me, perhaps wondering why I was leaning against the window so late at night, watching their lovemaking with a hint of a smile. He tried to understand me in that instant, but I… wouldn't give him that chance. I looked at him and smiled faintly, a smile that seemed to tell him, Lu Li, you will never understand me…

Gently close the window and escort Siliang back to the inner room.

I casually picked up a zither. I opened the palace doors wide, facing the opposite pavilion. I sat down before the zither, my fingers lightly and casually plucking the strings. I'm not good at playing the zither, but at this moment, I've suddenly found myself in this leisurely mood. The night is still, yet I want to see through the surging wind outside, to understand the true nature of its movement.

The palace doors opposite slowly opened. Lu Li, dressed neatly, stood outside, staring intently at me inside. He seemed to want to say something but ultimately remained silent. He turned and left. Yao Shuhuan, disheveled, couldn't catch up. She leaned against the door, also gazing at me. The difference was, however, a hint of resentment flickered in her eyes.

He went to bed late at night and woke up very late in the morning. He didn't serve tea until dawn. At his sandalwood desk, incense and candles were burning. He was intently writing.

I slowly brewed tea for him. The delicate aroma of tea rose quietly. I was somewhat absent-minded.

I don't know how much time passed. He raised his head, slowly put down his pen, dismissed the palace servants, and gazed at me.

“Last night—” he hesitated, then stopped.

The tea had gone cold, so I gently pushed it towards him. "This was brewed with plum leaf dew this morning; it's good for your health."

He suddenly grabbed my hand, squeezing it so hard it hurt, his voice colder than ever before.

You upset me last night.

Gazing at him, there was no resentment, only sorrow. "You're not angry at me, you're angry that I saw what happened yesterday, you're angry that I see you as a licentious person."

"Shut up." His voice was soft but firm.

"There are some things that you understand even if I keep quiet."

"Do you care?" He said those four words with a firm and resounding tone.

I pried his tightly clenched hand away. "Then you'd better tell me, do I even have the right to care?"

A dampness crept in, and my eyes welled up with tears without me even realizing it. It turned out that I cared about that position far more than I had imagined, which was why I was so bothered by Yao Shuhuan, and by her taking my former seat.

He took a deep breath, his eyes unfathomable, as if filled with wounds. "If you care..."

"What else can you do? I know you only did what you could and what you should have done. What else can you do? Can you really abandon everything for me? I'm afraid you can't afford to." She forced a smile. "I was asking for too much. I kept telling myself not to think about certain things, but I couldn't control myself. The Rong Zhaozhi of the past could be magnanimous, but now I don't even have the right to be magnanimous. How can I care?"

He turned his head away from me, his body stiff as he tried to walk out of the hall, but after only a few steps, he suddenly collapsed...

I walked out of the hall from beside him, pulled the door shut, and felt a cold wind blow in. I sorted out my slightly chaotic thoughts and looked at Eunuch Liu, who was waiting outside, and said expressionlessly, "Eunuch, go and see, the prince has fainted."

As soon as he finished speaking, two or three palace servants rushed into the hall. I watched coldly as he simply fainted.

Lu Li leaned against the soft couch, looking exhausted.

I knelt to the side, and Granny Jia, who was waiting nearby, glared at me and said resentfully, "How can you be so muddle-headed? Don't you know that the Prince has been staying up all night for days and has forbidden himself from having any women or getting angry? How have you been serving him?"

I cleared my throat, remaining calm and composed: "Granny was wrong—"

As soon as I said that, everyone stared at me with wide eyes.

"It was not my intention to anger Your Highness. Moreover, I only did what I truly cared about Your Highness's health," I said directly before the old women could scold me. The old women looked embarrassed and all turned to Lu Li, waiting for him to punish me. However, Lu Li leaned against the headboard, simply smiling faintly, coughing a few times, and saying nothing.

I sighed and continued, "As for matters like abstaining from women, this servant naturally wouldn't dare to make decisions for Your Highness. However, Your Highness insisted on sleeping with the Princess last night, and this servant knew I couldn't dissuade you, so I played the zither late into the night, which aroused Your Highness's interest, and he left in a huff. That's why he got angry with me today. No matter what, this servant was only thinking of Your Highness..." I didn't continue, otherwise it would be too blatant. In short, I placed most of the blame on Lu Li, part on Yao Shuhuan, and took the rest for myself, not caring about it.

The old woman glanced at Yao Shuhuan, but dared not say anything because of Yao's high status. She could only look at Lu Li and wait for his decision.

Lu Li suppressed his laughter, kept looking at me, and nodded slightly, "What this little girl said... is indeed the truth. It was my carelessness, and I can't blame anyone else."

Perhaps because the events of last night were mentioned, Yao Shuhuan's expression changed, and she turned her head to look at Lu Li.

Lu Li understood what Yao Shi meant, and his eyes immediately turned cold. He said indifferently, "However—you, this servant, said something you shouldn't have, so you can't escape punishment."

I glanced at him, intending to embarrass him.

"I—punish you." He frowned slightly, deep in thought.

Yao Shuhuan stepped forward, took Lu Li's hand, and said in a sweet voice, "I heard that she is serving in the Yangchi Palace now. It just so happens that some of the servants in the washroom there are sick, so let's punish her to go and add some more people."

Lu Li was taken aback, neither objecting nor agreeing.

"After all, they are people from Chaoyang Palace. This doesn't seem quite right." Several of the matrons hesitated as well.

“Your Highness—” the woman then pulled Lu Li, “No matter what, I am now the Acting Princess Consort, so it is only reasonable for me to punish the two maids on behalf of my father. My father often says that if the servants cannot cure them, it is the master’s fault.”

It's time for her to bring up her father.

Lu Li could tell from her words, and with a smile, he pulled Yao Shuhuan into his arms. "Alright. It's up to you."

Scrubbing the toilet... Yao Shuhuan, you better stand firm, otherwise my punishment for you will be much more than just scrubbing the toilet.

Sitting blankly by the dirty pool in the back hall, someone squatted down beside me and reached out to take a brush from the pool. I turned around and saw it was Xiaoyu. She hadn't moved with Consort Lin. She didn't look at me, but just smiled, "You delicate person, how could you have done this before? Let me help you."

"How come you heard about my embarrassing incident?" I clumsily picked up a toilet bowl, holding my breath. Xiaoyu saw my comical appearance and couldn't help but laugh. But then she stopped and sighed, muttering softly, "My master and I were punished like this before."

"Your master?"

“It was my former master.” Xiaoyu glanced at me and smiled. “I have been following my master since I was thirteen. That year, my mother passed away, but my father was lingering in brothels and refused to return to his hometown for the funeral. After my mother’s burial, he brought women into the family again.”

"So you ran away from home?"

"Yes, I encountered thugs on my way to the capital. It was my mistress who rescued me. She was about to marry into the capital at the time. From then on, I followed her into the Pang family mansion and watched her being bullied by the concubines. In the end, her family's power was destroyed, and we were punished by the concubines in the mansion to do the job of cleaning toilets. We did this for a year."