An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

Leaving the Great Buddha Hall, Madam Zhou led the way, carrying a hexagonal palace lantern. The lampshade was delicately painted with plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. The candlelight filtered through the thin silk, casting dappled shadows on the ground. They strolled slowly along the bluestone path, passing through the back garden, awash with peonies. The night breeze carried wafts of floral fragrance, mingling with the sandalwood scent of the temple.

After passing through rockery and flowing water, and through several moon-shaped gates, Madam Zhou led Jing Chunxi to the front hall of the Cining Palace. The main hall of the Cining Palace loomed majestically in the night, its soaring eaves and angled corners reaching toward the heavens. The yellow glazed tiles shone softly in the moonlight, creating a striking contrast with the vermilion pillars. The white marble platform in front of the hall was broad and smooth, each step intricately carved with cloud and dragon patterns. The dragon scales loomed in the moonlight, as if they would soar into the sky at any moment.

The main hall's vermilion doors were tightly closed, their gilded brass nails neatly arranged in rows, gleaming in the light of palace lanterns. Nanny Zhou produced a brass key and unlocked a small side door. With a creaking sound, the scene within the hall slowly unfolded before Jing Chunxi's eyes.

Tall golden pillars reached the hall's summit, their coiled golden dragons vivid in the candlelight. The golden bricks paved the floor, a mirror-like surface, reflecting the flickering candlelight within. Above the central throne hung a golden plaque inscribed with the words "Ci Ning Palace," its calligraphy imposing and majestic. The entire hall was spacious and solemn, its every detail evoking the nobility of its former occupant.

Jing Chunxi stood at the palace's entrance, not immediately entering. She gazed up at this hall, witness to countless past events of the imperial court, and suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable emotion. Every brick and tile, every artifact, was the product of the painstaking efforts of countless craftsmen, bearing the weight of countless lives' joys and sorrows. And now, all this prosperity had vanished, leaving only an empty palace, quietly telling of its past glory under the moonlight.

Just as Madam Zhou was about to lead her inside, Jing Chunxi gently shook her head. The young girl's face showed neither fear nor yearning, only a transcendent calm. "The prince should be back soon," her voice was remarkably clear in the empty hall. "Let's go back and wait for him."

Nanny Zhou glanced at Jing Chunxi with a hint of surprise, then nodded in understanding. It was truly rare for a young lady so young to maintain such a calm demeanor in the presence of this magnificent palace. The old nanny's approval deepened. She picked up the palace lantern and led Jing Chunxi back through the path on the other side of the main hall. The moonlight cast a shadow on their backs, stretching them very long...

Walking slowly along the palace road paved with bluestone slabs, Jing Chunxi's eyes swept across the palace walls on both sides that were as red as tears, and suddenly she asked softly: "Madam, do you have any relatives at home? In the future... will you be allowed to live out your life in the palace?" As soon as she said this, she secretly regretted it.

In the moonlight, she saw that Madam Zhou's hunched back had obviously stiffened, and her calloused hands were tightly gripping the handle of the palace lantern.

The palace lanterns swayed slightly in the night breeze, lengthening and shortening their shadows. After a long moment, Nanny Zhou's hoarse voice echoed through the silent palace passage: "I entered the Cui residence at the age of seven and served as a maidservant to the Empress Dowager."

Her gaze pierced through the palace walls, as if glimpsing the distant past. "On the day of the Empress's wedding, this old servant followed the bridal sedan chair, carrying the dowry and watching the sixteen-year-old Empress wearing the phoenix crown and walking into the deep palace..."

Nanny Zhou's pace gradually slowed, her bony fingers unconsciously stroking the faded paintings on the palace lanterns. "Watching the Empress give birth to His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan, and then watching the Crown Prince take his first steps in the Cining Palace..."

Her voice suddenly became very soft. "Every blade of grass and every tree in this palace is engraved with the memories of this old slave's life. Leaving the palace? Where can I go?"

Moonlight shone on Madam Zhou's silvery hair. Her calm tone, devoid of sadness, brought uncontrollable tears to Jing Chunxi's eyes. This old woman had spent her life embodying the meaning of a loyal servant, yet for doing so, she had been forever imprisoned within these red walls.

Jing Chunxi's throat tightened and he wanted to say something, but found that any words seemed pale at this moment.

"Mammy," she finally spoke with a sob, "when the prince comes back, we will definitely come to see you often. Prince Yan... His Highness Prince Yan will also come back." She noticed that when the word "Prince Yan" was mentioned, a glimmer of light flashed in Mammy Zhou's turbid eyes.

Yes, this old man not only served the Queen Mother all his life, but also watched the prince grow up, get married and have children, but now they are so far away.

Nanny Zhou suddenly stopped and turned around. The dim light from the palace lanterns shone on her wrinkled face, and her eyes, which had seen so much of life, held a hint of curiosity and relief. "Good child..."

She stretched out her hand tremblingly and gently patted the back of Jing Chunxi's hand, "It's just that this old slave's body..."

She lowered her head and coughed twice, afraid that she would not be able to wait..."

"Madam, you must take care of yourself!" Jing Chunxi interrupted her anxiously, holding the old woman's skinny wrist tightly with both hands. "If anything happens to you, the Crown Prince and Prince Yan will be so sad! They...they are always thinking about you."

Back in the side room in the backyard, Madam Zhou trembled as she took out her treasured pre-rain Longjing tea. Jing Chunxi watched her hunched over the tea table, busy as she worked. Suddenly, she turned away and, concealing herself with her sleeve, replaced the clear water in the teapot with the clear well water in the room.

The candlelight flickered on the water's surface, and she silently prayed that the miraculous well water would allow the loyal old servant to live longer. She also thought that when she went out later, she would check out the well and see where she should add some ingredients there.

This was the courtyard where Xu Zize had run and played as a child, and where Prince Yan had learned to speak. Nanny Zhou was probably one of the few people in the palace who had truly loved them.

Jing Chunxi looked at the moonlight outside the window and thought that no matter what, she must let this old woman live to see the safe return of the prince she had been thinking about.