Xue Qingzhi lounged against soft pillows, idly toying with the yielding waist of the person in her arms. At the edge of the raised bed knelt four youths holding fruit platters, all clad in glaring white snow-colored gauze robes.
Ye Zhen—
No, Ye Lang.
He pressed his lips together, staring at the faint interest in Xue Qingzhi’s eyes, wondering where exactly he had fallen short. He had used every trick he knew to please this exalted Second Princess, yet she still wasn’t satisfied.
For instance, right now, Xue Qingzhi pinched his noticeably slimmer waist and shot him a disdainful glance. “Not slim enough.”
Then she turned to Qingdai and ordered, “Tomorrow, cut off his meals for the day.”
Ye Lang trembled and pressed closer into her embrace, coquettishly pleading in a small voice, “But… but this slave has already lost so much weight these past few days. Won’t Princess take pity on this slave?”
The youth’s voice was soft and warm, like a little kitten, cloyingly rubbing against her ear. But Xue Qingzhi found it utterly irritating and coldly pushed Ye Lang farther away.
Wu Lang had never acted like this before.
Whenever she ordered him to fast and slim his waist before serving her, the boy would always lower his eyes meekly and numbly obey her excessive demands. Even when he was so starved his vision blurred and he lacked the strength to climb onto the bed, he never uttered a single plea for mercy.
Recalling Wu Lang’s aloof and ethereal face, Xue Qingzhi irritably furrowed her brows as she glanced down at Ye Lang, who was sprawled across her body, fawning and acting spoiled. She casually twisted a fold of flesh on his chest and said coldly, “Make sure you wear the gift This Palace rewarded you with properly before you come serve me again.”
Ye Lang sniffled, looking even more aggrieved. The silver stud felt ice-cold as it pierced his tender skin, the pain bringing tears streaming from his eyes. He had thought wearing it just once would suffice, but Xue Qingzhi actually wanted him to keep it on every single day.
“Princess…” Ye Lang tried to beg for mercy.
The family head had told him that with his looks, no woman could resist when he put on a cute act like this. But his behavior had clearly enraged Xue Qingzhi. Before he could react, a stinging slap landed across his face.
Ye Lang was stunned. His eyes suddenly reddened, and tears began to fall in streams. The youth knelt in her lap, his cheeks flushed bright red, crying so pitifully: “Woo… it hurts so much…”
At this point, Xue Qingzhi had exhausted her last shred of patience. She kicked him off the bed, snatched up a handkerchief, and wiped disgustedly at the tears that had splattered onto her collar. In a fury, she ordered Ye Lang to get out.
The several young men kneeling nearby also suffered the fallout. The fruit platters in their hands crashed to the floor, and they scrambled in terror to clean up the mess before fleeing the room without daring to look back.
Xue Qingzhi forced down a sip of tea to calm her nerves. With a sullen expression, she ordered a servant to summon Ah Xiao to attend her. Ah Xiao might talk a bit too much, but at least his mouth was sweet and he always knew how to coax her into a better mood.
To her surprise, Ah Xiao never arrived—instead, the Emperor showed up first.
“His Majesty has arrived!”
Li Fuzhong’s voice rang out from beyond the hall.
Xue Qingzhi hurriedly straightened her clothes and yanked down the bed curtains in a panic, blocking the unsightly stains on the bedding.
“Your child greets Father Emperor,” she said obediently with a curtsy. Moments later, the Emperor’s aged, rough hand helped her to her feet.
“Father Emperor, what brings you here to visit your child today?”
As she instructed Qingdai to serve tea, Xue Qingzhi affectionately took the Emperor’s arm and guided him to an armchair.
The Emperor chuckled. “I just came from visiting your Consort Mother. Since I had some free time, I stopped by to see you on the way.”
He paused, his voice growing a touch more somber. “Your Consort Mother has been deeply worried about matters in Lang Province lately. She’s lost quite a bit of weight.”
Xue Qingzhi blinked. “Lang Province?”
She spent her days secluded in Ninghua Palace, oblivious to matters outside, and her servants only reported cheerful, uplifting news. As such, she had no idea about the severe drought plaguing Lang Province.
Seeing the blank look on Xue Qingzhi’s face actually put the Emperor’s mind at ease. His Qingzhi simply hadn’t known about the disaster in Lang Province, which was why she hadn’t offered any advice. If she put her mind to it, she would surely outshine Jiang Yuanruo’s daughter by a hundredfold.
With a sigh, the Emperor continued, “This natural disaster has truly brought suffering to the people of Lang Province. Your Consort Mother’s palace sent a considerable sum of silver there, and I opened the national treasury to allocate relief funds as well. But with heaven refusing to send rain, dragging on like this isn’t a long-term solution. I wonder if Qingzhi has any good ideas to help Us out?”
Xue Qingzhi knew full well that the Emperor was testing her. She nervously clenched her hands.
The Emperor patted her shoulder affectionately. “Whatever comes to mind, Qingzhi, speak freely and without fear.”
Xue Qingzhi bit her lip and racked her brain for what felt like ages before finally coming up with an idea she thought was rather decent.
“Your child has heard that Lang Province suffered a major drought many years ago. Clearly, it’s a place prone to frequent natural disasters—not a good location at all. Why not issue an order for the people of Lang Province to relocate elsewhere? That way, Father Emperor would never have to worry about it again.”
The Emperor’s brows furrowed deeply upon hearing this.
How could his Qingzhi come up with such a foolish notion? Lang Province had a massive population— which province or county could accommodate them all? Moreover, Lang Province occupied a vital strategic pass in the interior. If it were abandoned, refugees would swarm within half a month, leading to unimaginable consequences.
Frowning, the Emperor turned to Li Fuzhong at his side and asked in a lowered voice, “Who is responsible for teaching the Second Princess’s lessons?”
Li Fuzhong replied at once, “In reply to Your Majesty, it’s the same as with the Eldest Princess—Prime Minister Lin.”
Prime Minister Lin had been tasked with instructing both princesses and had poured his heart into it. But Xue Qingzhi always found excuses about feeling unwell to keep him waiting outside the palace for one or two hours at a time. Over time, feeling he had lost face, Prime Minister Lin stopped coming altogether.
The Emperor’s face darkened, attributing it all to Prime Minister Lin’s negligence.
Qingzhi was his and Consort Jiang’s daughter—she couldn’t possibly be that dim-witted. It must be that Prime Minister Lin hadn’t taught her properly, turning her into what she was now.
“Father Emperor, did your child… say something wrong?” Xue Qingzhi asked uneasily.
“How could that be?” The Emperor turned back to her, smoothing out his brows. “Qingzhi answered very well. Come with Us to the treasury later and pick out a few pieces of jewelry you like.”
Only then did Xue Qingzhi’s eyes crinkle in delight. “Thank you, Father Emperor!”
As noon approached, a servant from the small kitchen arrived outside the hall and respectfully inquired whether Xue Yunyi wished to be served lunch.
Xue Yunyi set down her brush, rubbed her aching wrist, and nodded casually.
The palace maids sprang into action at once.
As she tidied the brushes and ink on her desk, Mo Ying stormed in, fuming with indignation as if she had suffered some great injustice.
Xue Yunyi couldn’t help but ask, “Who bullied you?”
“No one bullied this servant,” Mo Ying said with a pout. “You haven’t heard? The whole palace is buzzing that the Second Princess offered His Majesty a brilliant plan for the Lang Province drought. He was so pleased that he opened the treasury and rewarded her with that set of Red Agate Head Ornaments left behind by the Yongshu Empress of the Former Dynasty.”
“This servant doesn’t believe the Second Princess could come up with any brilliant plan. His Majesty must be biased toward her and said it on purpose to boost her reputation!” Unable to let it go, Mo Ying muttered under her breath.
“This Palace thought something major had happened,” Xue Yunyi replied calmly. “In the future, don’t bother inquiring about such things. Whether others are punished or rewarded has nothing to do with us.”
“But…”
“This Palace is hungry.” Xue Yunyi lifted her gaze and looked at Mo Ying steadily.
Mo Ying had no choice but to swallow her grievances and wheel Xue Yunyi out to the outer chamber for the meal.
The small kitchen had prepared excellent dishes that day. There were perfectly fresh white-boiled shrimp and a bowl of deer meat stew, simmered until meltingly tender and fragrant—easy to eat and nourishing to the body.
Remembering Wu Lang’s persistently slender frame, Xue Yunyi paused with her chopsticks and instructed the maid serving the dishes to ladle a bowl and send it to him.
The maid carefully carried the full bowl of deer meat stew. She had just pushed open the hall doors when she collided headlong with Liu Yin, who was rushing up the stone steps.
Xue Yunyi frowned involuntarily. “What has you in such a panic?”
Liu Yin wiped the sweat from her brow and stammered, “Just now, the eldest young master of the Wu Family came seeking an audience, saying he was here to apologize to Your Highness. This servant politely asked him to wait outside until Your Highness finished lunch before announcing him. But in the time it took this servant to hang up a piece of clothing, he barged into the side chamber where Wu Lang is staying. I don’t know what he said, but he… he even beat Wu Lang.”
Liu Yin swallowed hard, her voice growing quieter and quieter. “This servant was negligent and failed to watch over Wu Lang properly. Please punish this servant, Your Highness.”