Xue Qingzhi narrowed her eyes slightly.
It had been several days since she last saw him, and her little slave had changed quite a bit.
The youth stood by the tree in his white robes cinched with a jade belt, clear and upright as a pine. His handsome face bore no trace of his former injuries; instead, it had taken on a delicate pallor like fine porcelain, perfect for pinching and toying with. If a few bright red palm prints were added, the fun would be exquisite beyond words.
Xue Qingzhi’s lips curved faintly. In her heart, she remarked that her imperial sister truly didn’t know how to enjoy herself.
Looking at the youth’s figure, his once skeletal thinness had filled out considerably. His robes no longer hung loosely but hugged his naturally tall and elegant form just right.
Vibrant clouds streaked the horizon, and the lingering sunset filtered through the magnolia branches swaying in the breeze, casting dappled light and fragrant breezes over the youth.
He was peerlessly handsome, one of a kind in the world.
In a daze, she seemed to see once more the dashing youth in that bookshop on the long street, standing quietly by the window rack, holding an old volume.
The long window was half-open, sunlight streaming in to illuminate the motes of dust floating around him. They swirled and fell with his breaths in the air.
She became entranced watching him.
She had said she would buy every book in the shop as a gift for him, if only he would agree to accompany her boating on the lake for half a day.
As soon as she spoke, the bookshop owner leaned against the door with a smile, while the customers gathered in twos and threes, whispering. This lavish noble lady was spending a fortune on thousands of volumes just to win a smile from her beloved—it was sure to become a famous tale in the capital.
She had been delighted to hear it, laughing until her eyes curved. Who would have thought Wu Lang would refuse so bluntly, not even sparing her a glance? He returned the book and hurried out as if fleeing from her.
The shop fell silent for a moment. All those earlier jests turned into a resounding slap across her face.
She was the most noble princess of the Southern Frontier. Even the emperor rarely refused her—how dare Wu Lang?
She laughed in fury. Back at the palace, she smashed every priceless porcelain cup in her chambers and burned every book in Ninghua Palace.
Fortunately, the Wu family knew better and promptly sent Wu Lang to apologize to her.
The fear in the youth’s eyes then was no different from now.
Xue Qingzhi slowly curved her lips into a smile.
She had come today under the pretext of visiting the sick, specifically to find Wu Lang. The pretty little slaves Wu Hanyu had sent were tolerable in looks, but their temperaments were utterly disobedient. After just a few punishments, they wailed and begged for mercy, giving her headaches all day. After pondering for days, she decided to take Wu Lang back—after all, one always handled familiar tools best.
She hadn’t seen him in the bedchamber earlier and couldn’t bring herself to ask Xue Yunyi outright, so she’d been frustrated. Unexpectedly, he had walked right into her.
Xue Qingzhi watched with keen interest as fear filled the youth’s eyes—the look of a runaway slave caught by his owner, collapsing into despair.
She descended the stone steps leisurely, approaching Wu Lang step by step.
“Have you forgotten even the basic etiquette?” she asked with a lazy smile. Seeing him still standing rigidly, her gaze suddenly chilled. “Don’t you know to greet This Palace and pay respects?”
Wu Lang’s body went rigid, cold sweat soaking his clothes. A gentle evening breeze blew, sending chills down his back. Finally, he lowered his head, knelt on one knee, and rasped, “Greetings to the Second Princess. May the Second Princess be well.”
Xue Qingzhi was the Second Princess, after all. In terms of rank, he should salute her. He didn’t want to break protocol and cause more trouble for the Eldest Princess.
Xue Qingzhi let out two cold laughs.
Look at that—just a few days with Xue Yunyi, and he no longer referred to himself as “this slave.” Now he called her “Second Princess.”
“What should you call This Palace?” Xue Qingzhi reminded him patiently for once.
Her little slave had run wild outside for so long; forgetting the household rules was understandable. She was happy to grant him a bit of leniency.
Wu Lang kept his eyes downcast, silent.
The air grew taut and still.
His silence finally infuriated Xue Qingzhi. She laughed coldly several times, then bent down in rage and delivered a crisp, resounding slap.
“Do you need This Palace to remind you of your identity?”
She had put full force into that slap. In the past, Wu Lang’s frail body couldn’t have withstood it and would have collapsed. But now, he stood unmoved, merely turning his face slightly. A few strands of dark hair fell loose, accentuating the palm print on that half of his face, making it all the more alluring.
Xue Qingzhi was momentarily stunned.
Wu Lang felt the familiar burn on his cheek. This face had been healed with countless precious ointments from the Eldest Princess, tended with so much care—now ruined again by Xue Qingzhi. At that thought, a surge of courage welled up from somewhere, and for the first time, he dared retort.
“Second Princess… this is Azure Cypress Palace. You—you have no right to do this.”
Xue Qingzhi’s eyes widened in shock, then she laughed. Without hesitation, she kicked him hard in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground. She cursed relentlessly, “What are you to speak to This Palace like that? Forgotten how you used to kneel before This Palace, begging for favors like the wretch you are? Don’t think my imperial sister taking you in for a few days gives you any backing. How could she keep trash like you around? Dream on. Come back with This Palace obediently. If you please me, I might spare you a few days of punishment and let you return to the bedchamber early to serve.”
The stone path held last night’s cold rain. Half of Wu Lang’s body soaked through, his wrist scraping against the hard bricks and drawing a glaring streak of blood. But he paid it no mind, staring fixedly at the Blue-Glazed Gilded Candy Box that had tumbled from his sleeve.
The candy box had spilled open. The lid rolled down the steps with a clatter, most of the powdered sugar inside scattering and melting into the water, forming a filthy puddle of muck.
His eyelashes trembled. Struggling to prop himself up, he crawled toward the candy box without hesitation.
It was a gift from Her Highness.
It couldn’t get dirty.
His knees splashed through the rain puddle, bone-chilling cold seeping in and tugging at his old injuries with excruciating pain. Wu Lang swayed but gritted his teeth and endured, stretching his arm to reach the dainty little box.
A brocade-embroidered shoe slammed down on his hand.
“This Palace is speaking to you—can’t you hear?”
Seeing him ignore her completely to pick up that muddy broken box, Xue Qingzhi’s eyes blazed red with fury. She ground her heel viciously, over and over, crushing his pale hand until it was a uniform red.
His knuckles cracked like pitiful whimpers. The youth’s slender fingers trembled in agony, pinned immovably under her sole.
Yet the hand that should have fought desperately for freedom defied its instinct to flee pain. It didn’t struggle at all—instead, it curled protectively around the candy box, clutching it tight as Xue Qingzhi vented her rage by trampling and abusing it.
The more he acted this way, the angrier she grew. Ignoring Qingdai’s attempts to dissuade her, she gathered her strength and stomped fiercely on the hand gripping the box. Wu Lang’s face beaded with sweat from the pain, but he refused to let go. Enraged, she spat two more curses and kicked the fallen lid far away.
“You filthy cur—where do you get the nerve to ignore This Palace? Don’t forget, This Palace is your true master!”
Before she finished speaking, the youth, heedless of his disheveled state, scrambled to retrieve the lid. He cradled it tenderly, wiping it meticulously with his sleeve again and again, as if it were a priceless treasure.
Xue Qingzhi nearly fainted from rage, her body swaying backward. Fortunately, Qingdai quickly steadied her.
“Wretched beast.” Her last shred of patience gone, she clutched her forehead and bellowed, “Get over here now and return with This Palace to Ninghua Palace!”
“Your younger sister has quite the temper. Daring to make such a scene in This Palace’s own residence.”
A clear, melodious voice came from behind her. Even the breeze around them seemed to hush.
Xue Qingzhi caught her breath and frowned toward the sound.
Xue Yunyi sat in the wheelchair, a long-furred embroidered thin blanket draped over her knees. The blue-and-white tassels at the edges swayed lightly in the wind, matching the color of her skirt.
Mo Ying pushed the wheelchair to a stop under the eaves. Xue Yunyi covered her mouth and coughed a few times, her gaze falling on the drenched, wretched youth at the base of the steps.
She had heard the commotion outside from the bedchamber earlier. Worried, she had insisted Mo Ying help her up despite still being ill.
Unfortunately, she was too late.
The youth she had so carefully nurtured was ruined again by Xue Qingzhi.
Xue Yunyi’s gaze darkened, her tone cooling as well.
“Since when does my younger sister get to discipline the people by This Palace’s side?”
Xue Qingzhi narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “Imperial Sister has a short memory. Wu Lang was mine to begin with. These days, I simply left him out in the cold to teach him a lesson and make him behave.”
Her eyes swept over the cloud brocade spring shirt on the youth, and she clicked her tongue mockingly. “Imperial Sister is too kind-hearted, dressing trash like him in such fine clothes.”
“Is it This Palace with the poor memory, or is my younger sister the confused one? You abandoned him first, leaving him at Ninghua Palace’s gate to fend for himself. And now you have the gall to demand him back from me?”
Xue Yunyi let out a faint laugh. “This Palace’s residence isn’t Father Emperor’s storehouse, where you can take whatever you please.”
“You…”
Xue Qingzhi’s eyes widened in shock, leaving her speechless for a moment. She had never expected Xue Yunyi, who was usually too lazy to quibble over such trivial matters, to suddenly deny her face today—all for the sake of that wretch Wu Lang.
She shot Wu Lang a vicious glare.
What a foxy little vixen!
“…My memory must be playing tricks on me, Imperial Sister. Don’t hold it against me.”
Xue Qingzhi gritted her teeth and swallowed her anger for the time being. Since she had laid eyes on Wu Lang today, she was determined to take him back with her. Being too aggressive would only make things more difficult.
“Since that’s the case, how about this? I notice you could use someone pleasing at your side to attend you. Bai Wu and Qing Yu here are my newest acquisitions—handsome lads with gentle dispositions. Most importantly, they’re utterly pristine.”
Xue Qingzhi casually selected two strikingly handsome young men with jade-like features from among her accompanying attendants and smiled as she made her offer. “Trading these two for that one Wu Lang? It’s a steal for you, Imperial Sister, no matter how you look at it.”
Bai Wu and Qing Yu stepped forward timidly and bowed to Xue Yunyi.
“What do you say? They only arrived in the palace from Hidden Spring Tower yesterday. They’ve never served anyone before. I guarantee they’re spotless.”
Xue Qingzhi kept pressing her case. “If they don’t suit your tastes, Imperial Sister, I’ll pick a few more pure ones and send them over. There’s no need to let a filthy slut like this come between us sisters.”
At her words, the young man who had been kneeling quietly with his head bowed suddenly lifted his face.
Pristine.
He pressed his lips together, silently repeating the word in his mind.
These past days, he had been lost in the tender dream that the Eldest Princess had bestowed upon him, nearly forgetting who he truly was. Now, Xue Qingzhi’s casual remarks had effortlessly dragged those nightmare memories he had desperately tried to bury back to the surface.
Yes, he was a filthy, ruined thing.
That most intimate place of his had been toyed with until it could scarcely close anymore. Besides the jade phallus, he had been forced to take in all manner of vile things.
Though the Eldest Princess never said so outright, she must despise him deep down, mustn’t she?
Otherwise, why keep him in that remote side chamber, never permitting him to serve her?
Moisture gathered unbidden in his dark eyes. He clutched the sugar box tightly, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Xue Yunyi’s face.
The Eldest Princess was appraising Bai Wu and Qing Yu standing before her.
Wu Lang curled his lips in a bitter, self-mocking smile.
So, he was to be discarded after all…
He held no resentment toward the Eldest Princess. Toward her, he felt only gratitude.
Yet his mind involuntarily drifted back to that kiss, laced with the scent of medicinal herbs.
It had been the happiest moment of his life—
There would be no more after this.
A sour ache rose in his throat, sharp as if he had swallowed vinegar.
The Eldest Princess turned her face toward him then, her gaze meeting his.
Heat flooded his eyes in an instant. Clear teardrops welled at the corners, trembling as if a mere breath of wind would send them spilling down.
He waited for the Eldest Princess to voice her agreement to Xue Qingzhi’s proposal—for her to take those two untainted young men back to her chambers. As for him, he would return to that dank punishment cell, to the pitch-black isolation chamber, where he would don shackles and chains once more and face Xue Qingzhi’s wrath.
But in the next moment, right there before everyone, the Eldest Princess called out to him in a voice soft and intimate—more tender than he had ever dared dream.
“Ah Lang, come here.”