The Virtuous Concubine

The maidservant beside her also knelt down hurriedly and begged for mercy: "Eunuch, please forgive her this time. She really didn't mean it. We won't dare to do it again."

Chen Xin was unmoved, his face became even gloomier: "Do you want me to say it a second time?"

The two maids left in tears. Fortunately, they could help each other. If both of them were tortured, or only one of them was tortured, they would probably not survive.

Chen Xin looked at their receding backs and shook his head. He was saving them, but these ignorant girls didn't appreciate it. If the prince really came to punish them, it wouldn't be just twenty lashes.

Since I have punished him first, the prince will probably not bother to care.

But there was no time to sigh. Chen Xin did not dare to delay for even a second and hurried back to the prince to personally help him bathe.

The prince closed his eyes and heard Chen Xin's footsteps. He asked him, "What did you do just now?"

Chen Xin hurriedly bowed his head, his eyes full of awe: "Your Highness, I just heard that someone who didn't know the rules jumped in front of Your Highness, so I went to punish him." His voice was steady, as if he was just dealing with a trivial matter.

The prince hummed, closed his eyes again, and said no more words, as if he had put the matter behind him.

More than half an hour had passed since the bath. Chen Xin was afraid of the palace maids who were aroused by love, so she simply asked the young eunuch to come over and help dry the prince's hair.

The prince's braids were still very long, and if he didn't dry his hair in time, he would definitely have a headache. Concubine De Zhao felt sorry for the prince, so she brought over the hair drying tool she had researched, added charcoal to it, and smoked it for a while, which was much faster than drying it with a wipe.

So it’s pretty easy to do.

Although Chen Xin found it very useful, he still had to say in his heart that Concubine De Zhao had a good plan.

This way, every time the prince bathed and dried his hair, he would think of her.

Although she is not here, she is always with him. How can the prince resist her? He must be obsessed with her.

Thinking of their previous encounter, Chen Xin still felt a lingering fear. Now the prince was reluctant to get close to other women, and the excuse of Concubine Wenxi's mourning had already been used. It would be difficult to convince the emperor with other excuses.

By then... will Imperial Concubine De Zhao really have to come and ask in person?

The prince's hair was almost done. He stood up and put on his clothes, then asked Chen Xin casually, "The emperor said he would go to the Nanyuan Palace to take a bath in a few days. Did he mention who he would bring with him?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xin quickly put away the dry hair items, then took out an exquisite turquoise collar from a brocade box beside her and handed it to the prince: "Your Highness, Eunuch Liang said that the emperor seems to only plan to bring a few young concubines and noble ladies this time. As for the prince..."

The prince raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes, and his tone was calm but with some certainty: "I guess I can't go."

Seeing the prince's reaction, Chen Xin quickly agreed, "Your Highness is wise. The emperor intends to let you supervise the country and handle military and national affairs. As for the princes, he should bring the eldest, third, fourth and fifth princes, as well as Princess Wenxian. The ninth and tenth princes are also clamoring to go, but the emperor has not agreed yet."

The prince held the turquoise collar in his hand, fiddling with it with his slender fingers, indicating its position, and said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to me whether we go to the Nanyuan Palace or not. In the end, the three cobblers, eighty, ninety, and ten, should go with us. Why isn't Yinzuo among them?"

Chen Xin whispered, "According to Lord Suo'etu's information, the Seventh Prince should have been assigned as an imperial envoy to Jiangnan, and will be leaving soon."

A trace of doubt flashed in the prince's eyes: "Imperial Envoy to Jiangnan? How did this mission suddenly fall on Yinzuo? Didn't he just come back? How could Dezhao be willing to let him go? Did Suo Etu tell me the reason?"

Chen Xin shook his head: "Your Highness, Lord Suo did not mention it. He just told Your Highness to focus on supervising the country and he will take care of these trivial matters."

The prince snorted lightly, his tone full of sarcasm: "He is good at talking, but now the emperor's attitude towards me is very different from the past." There was a hint of helplessness and loneliness in his words.

At this point, the prince paused, as if he suddenly thought of something, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes, and muttered to himself: "So, the Yonghe Palace is almost empty?"

His heart suddenly burst into joy. Does this mean that he can finally find a chance to meet Malu?

Chen Xin, who was standing next to him, heard what the prince said, so how could he not understand what he meant? He secretly complained in his heart, two ancestors!

Chen Xin gritted his teeth and said carefully: "Your Highness, this matter still needs to be considered carefully. Although the Seventh Prince is about to leave the Yonghe Palace, there are other spies. If the news leaks out..."

The prince frowned and interrupted him impatiently: "I know my limits, and I don't need you to teach me. Stop talking!"

Chen Xin quickly lowered his head and slapped himself twice: "Yes, Your Highness."

The prince was now completely obsessed with the idea of ​​meeting Malu, and he began to plan in his mind. What kind of excuse should he find to enter Yonghe Palace without arousing suspicion?

Is it to discuss the Seventh Prince's departure from the capital, or to find some other reason?

After the crown prince had packed up completely, his ceremonial guards were already prepared. Today he was going to have dinner with Kangxi.

It was already dark, and the prince's guard of honor walked straight through the Longfu Gate and went into the Qianqing Palace.

The Qianqing Palace was Kangxi's bedroom. No one else was qualified to ride in a carriage or sedan chair there. Even the most favored concubine or powerful minister had to walk.

Except the prince.

The prince sat in the sedan chair, but his mind was still on Yonghe Palace and Malu. He knew that he had to accompany his father to dinner tonight, but he was eager to come up with a way to see Malu as soon as possible.

Through the gap in the curtain of the sedan chair, he looked at the familiar palace walls and palace roads outside, and secretly made up his mind that he would find a chance to see her no matter what.

When the guard of honor approached the Qianqing Palace, Liang Jiugong was already waiting in front of the palace gate. Seeing the prince's guard of honor, he hurriedly went up to them and said in a sharp voice: "Your Highness, the Emperor has been waiting for a long time, Your Highness, please come into the palace quickly."

The prince nodded slightly, straightened his robe, got off the sedan chair, and followed Liang Jiugong into the Qianqing Palace.

The palace was brightly lit with candles. Kangxi was sitting at the table. When he saw the prince come in, he exempted him from the ceremony without waiting for the prince to perform the ceremony.

The prince was used to it, and asked loudly, "Father, Liang Jiugong came to say that you were going to the Nanyuan Palace, why didn't you bring your son with you?"

Seeing his son acting like a spoiled child with him, Kangxi smiled and said, "I will definitely find someone I can trust to supervise the country when I go out this time. You have a heavy responsibility, so you should be serious. How can you just think about having fun?"