She became a god

The maids in the Crown Princess's residence all knew that His Highness's beloved was ill again.

It's no wonder she would do this; Her Highness was just made Crown Princess three months ago, and she has already married one principal husband and two concubines.

She was the only disgraced official, nameless and without status, whose only advantage was the prince's favor.

But since ancient times, the emperor's favor has been hard to bear; beauty fades before favor ends, so do not blame the east wind, but lament your own fate.

Today marks the seventeenth day since Qi Zhanying failed to arrive, and Ye Qingzhou is finding it difficult to even obtain a basket of silver thread charcoal.

Tsk tsk, no wonder the empresses in palace dramas fight to the death.

Even if you don't fight for the emperor or for pride, you still have to bow your head for the sake of making a living.

However, Ye Qingzhou had no intention of backing down. After thinking it over, she decided that it was better to end this relationship as soon as possible.

To avoid Qi Zhanying being too strict, which would increase the difficulty of her faking her death.

No sooner had I mentioned Qi Zhanying than he actually arrived.

More than half a month had passed since they last met, and Qi Zhanying's majesty had become even more pronounced, with every gesture exuding the demeanor of a king.

She frowned. "Why is it so cold here?"

As the year draws to a close, heavy snow and cold winds are blowing, and charcoal fires are burning throughout the mansion for warmth.

Seeing that Ye Qingzhou did not reply, the maid touched her hands, which were red from the cold, and boldly complained.

“In the past, His Highness was considerate of the young lady’s delicate health and reserved all the silver charcoal in the manor for her use. A few days ago, the silver charcoal ran out, and I went to get more, but the steward said there was no silver charcoal and only gave me a basket of coarse charcoal.”

"Actually, coarse charcoal can be used, but our girls are not in good health and can't stand the strong smell of smoke, so we put it in a corner and let it burn for a while before it goes out."

"Unexpectedly, the young lady still suffered from a cough, so we called the royal physician, which also alarmed His Highness."

Ye Qingzhou glanced at the maid and thought, "Good girl, good eloquence. So the little expert in palace intrigue is right beside me."

"From now on, you girls should contact Steward Wang directly for any matters concerning you."

Qi Zhanying knew this was a power struggle within the inner quarters. She couldn't touch those men for the time being, but she also couldn't bear to see Shuixian suffer.

The maid was overjoyed and went to ask the steward for silver charcoal.

Qi Zhanying placed Ye Qingzhou's cold hand into her own. "Xian'er, you've been wronged, why didn't you come to me?"

Ye Qingzhou really wanted to say, "Can't you stay away for more than half a month?"

But she held back, saying, "It's nothing. My cough was better the day before yesterday, but I was afraid it wasn't fully cured, so I took a few more doses of medicine. Why should Your Highness worry about it?"

Qi Zhanying knew that Shui Xian harbored resentment, but she was powerless to vouch for her at the moment.

With more men in the household, people's hearts became restless, and open and covert struggles naturally increased.

Qi Zhanying could protect Shuixian under his wings, but he couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't suffer any injustice.

Qi Zhanying actually despised the scheming of the men in the inner quarters, but she knew she had to continue the relationship, otherwise the endless cycle of women's struggles and infighting in the inner quarters that had lasted for thousands of years would be repeated with her.

These days, she has been unsure how to treat the daffodils, so she rarely goes to see them.

This time, after only seventeen days apart, someone bullied Narcissus.

Will Qi Zhanying give up on narcissus on the 17th?

They underestimated her sincerity.

"Xian'er, do you like listening to music?"

Qi Zhanying was eager to mend their relationship, and Ye Qingzhou still needed Qi Zhanying to complete his mission, so he naturally had no choice but to comply.

"I like beautiful music."

"At today's palace banquet, two entertainers from Jianghuai County played the zither and flute together, attracting butterflies to dance. There was also a dancer from Pingcheng whose graceful movements won applause from the entire audience."

"They all sound wonderful."

"If you like, I'll invite them all to my house to perform for you."

"Thank you, Ah Ying." Ye Qingzhou smiled sincerely.

Watching beautiful women sing and dance is always a pleasure.

Besides, she needed to verify her suspicions.

Seeing her smile, Qi Zhanying felt a little happier. "Xian'er, would you like to go out for a walk?"

There were so many surprises today that Ye Qingzhou could hardly believe it.

"Today? Can I really leave the manor?"

Seeing her delighted expression, Qi Zhanying couldn't help but regret her decision to keep her from going out.

"Of course, you can leave the manor whenever you want."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingzhou was overjoyed; she wanted to be free!

He happily hugged Qi Zhanying and thanked her, "Aying, you're so good to me!"

Qi Zhanying stroked her hair, "But every time you leave the manor, you must send someone to inform me, and you must also bring a team of guards from the manor."

"Alright." Shui Xian has no power, influence, or martial arts skills, so it's definitely safer for her to travel with guards!

Qi Zhanying pulled her outside, saying, "Today I'll take you to Zhaixinglou to eat Eight Treasure Duck."

The servants behind him hurriedly handed over two cloaks. Qi Zhanying fastened them for her first, and then fastened his own.

Such a heartwarming scene between the two was naturally an eyesore to others.

But they didn't care. They tasted the delicacies of Zhaixinglou, sampled the new tea from the Tea Master, tried the ornaments of Liulige, and picked winter plum blossoms from the roadside trees.

Amidst the laughter, Qi Zhanying felt that they were just a slightly special young couple.

The two chatted and laughed as they arrived at the East Market, where a woman was performing a sword dance.

Her sword light was dazzling, as brilliant as the sun exploding when Hou Yi shot down nine suns with his arrow.

Her dance moves were graceful and agile, like a celestial being descending to earth on a dragon.

When she danced, her swordplay was as powerful as thunder, captivating all who watched; when she finished, she was as calm as the stillness of the ocean waves.

With a single strike, everyone from all directions cheered.

Many onlookers spontaneously gave tips, and the spot where the woman was standing was covered with copper coins, silver coins, and even a gold ingot.

This gold ingot was thrown by Qi Zhanying, who was impressed by the woman's swordsmanship and felt a sense of appreciation for her talent.

The accompanying guards understood the Crown Princess's intention, so after everyone had dispersed, they invited the woman to a private room for a drink.

The woman had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and looked quite spirited. She didn't react much after hearing the invitation.

She simply put the money away and left with the guards without asking any questions.

It was as if she knew everything.

As soon as she entered the private room, Qi Zhanying poured her a glass of wine. "My name is Chen Ying. May I ask your name, young lady, and where you are from? I would like to make friends with you."

“Xiling Jing. An abandoned baby at the foot of Xiling Mountain, she was adopted by the head of a theatrical troupe and learned some skills. After the head of the troupe died, the troupe disbanded, and I made a living by performing.”

"It would be a real pity if Sister Xiling, with her sharp and fierce swordsmanship, were to use it for performing."

"I only know how to wield a sword." After saying that, Xi Lingjing took the wine that Qi Zhanying handed her and drank it all in one gulp.

“If you don’t mind, my dear sister, could you come to my residence as a guest master and teach my clumsy guards swordsmanship every three days? I’m willing to pay you a monthly salary of one hundred taels of silver, including room and board, and I’ll also provide you with two maids to take care of your daily life. Apart from teaching, you can arrange your own time.”

This was a very good offer, but Xiling Jing refused.

"I don't know how to teach."

Ye Qingzhou couldn't help but chuckle.

What a fine example of Wenxi Chun, who only learns but doesn't teach!