Chapter 37: Tea Spilled, Your Chest…

Zhao Rongzhang’s gaze drifted back to him, to his eyes.

Little Mute remained as indifferent as ever, seemingly unfazed by her body. Whatever the task was, he did it. After untying all the knots, he gently lifted her shoulders and stripped off her clothes.

“When I was drinking tea, you insisted on releasing it yourself. I didn’t want to waste it, but the tea spilled, and that’s why your chest got wet.”

Little Mute pressed one of her shoulders against his chest and slid the sleeve off her other arm. Zhao Rongzhang naturally wrapped that bare arm around his neck and said disdainfully, “It’s because you’re too lewd.”

Guan Xuan fell silent, picked her up, took a few steps, and gently placed her into the warm water.

The Princess didn’t care whether he believed her or not—what she said was the truth. Leaning against the bathtub, she, with a clear conscience, comfortably enjoyed his service.

When the bath was nearly finished, the Princess glared at him, her breathing quickening as she angrily scolded, “What kind of water are you using to bathe me?”

Guan Xuan felt a tightness in his chest at her crude words. Lifting his eyelashes, he could indeed see the Princess’s pink skin submerged in the murky water that contained him. The sight was unbearable to behold.

The Princess said irritably, “Forget it, let it be. It might help suppress the heat toxin.”

Guan Xuan’s thoughts were in disarray as he carried her out.

After the bath, they ate. Once Zhao Rongzhang had eaten her fill, she had Little Mute finish the rest. Half of the meal consisted of local delicacies, and the other half featured flavors from the capital—whoever arranged it had put thought into it.

Opening the door, she found several people waiting respectfully downstairs. As Zhao Rongzhang approached, the leading man stepped aside and invited her, “My master has been awaiting your esteemed presence for some time. May we humbly request that you meet with my master?”

“Where shall we meet?”

“It is not convenient to speak openly here, as there are many ears. We hope you will understand.”

Zhao Rongzhang remained silent for a moment before following them out of the Inn’s main gate, where an ornate sedan chair awaited. Inside the sedan, the four corners were adorned with visibly exquisite and thoughtful details. The incense used had a long-lasting fragrance that blended seamlessly with the floral scent, as if naturally intertwined. The source of the floral aroma was a vase of trumpet vines placed on the sedan’s small table.

Zhao Rongzhang picked up one of the flowers and examined it thoughtfully. It was July, the peak blooming season for trumpet vines.

The journey was smooth. Zhao Rongzhang lifted the curtain and asked the man accompanying them outside, “How did you find me? Did an informant report it, or did you receive news from elsewhere?”

“Reporting to your esteemed self, the news of Princess Yingrong’s abduction has spread far and wide. As we were close to the incident site, we have been searching for you in secret for some time. Moreover, your distinguished bearing is extraordinary and quite eye-catching. Rumors about you…”

Zhao Rongzhang thought for a moment. “Did you hear about my visit to the medical clinic, or did you see me at the brothel?”

“We heard about both.”

Zhao Rongzhang glanced at the scenery outside before lowering the curtain. Just as she had thought—she was completely unfamiliar with the ways of the common people, so how could her actions possibly escape the notice of those watching?

The sedan entered a scenic villa, winding past the second gate before coming to a steady stop. As Zhao Rongzhang stepped out of the sedan, a group of people knelt in unison before her. The leader was a woman: “This commoner pays her respects to the Princess.”

She had become the Princess once again.

However, this princess status was bestowed by her Mother Consort, not her Emperor Father. In the imperial family, she was the Emperor’s princess—they acknowledged her because she was the Emperor’s daughter. Here, the people revered her as princess because she was the Mother Consort’s daughter.

Zhao Rongzhang helped the woman to her feet. The woman raised her face with a radiant smile. Zhao Rongzhang’s pupils contracted slightly, but the woman calmly said, “Your Highness must be surprised—how do I look so much like Official Ming Luo?”

The woman before her bore an almost identical resemblance to Ming Luo, differing only in voice, demeanor, and style of dress. Ming Luo was steady in temperament, gentle yet sometimes overly rigid, always wearing the same few official robes embroidered with orchids or bamboo, and disdaining any hairpins or jewelry—serious and plain. This woman was different: her dress was a bright pale yellow, her earrings and hairpins a vivid pink, every movement exuding liveliness.

“I am her twin sister.”

Zhao Rongzhang followed her inside.

Ming Luo had appeared by Zhao Rongzhang’s side when she was very young. Before becoming her servant, she had first become her elder sister, friend, and teacher. Ming Luo rarely spoke of her own background, and Zhao Rongzhang seldom inquired. She had been too self-centered, once believing that others’ pasts and backgrounds were unimportant—that she should be the most important presence in everyone’s heart. Especially those around her, especially Ming Luo—they should be even more so.

“Is Ming Luo your elder sister?”

“No, I was born half an hour before A-Luo. But for twin sisters, age isn’t important. My surname is Su—Your Highness may call me Su Shuang’an.”

“Shuang’an is your name? Does it mean wishing both you and your sister safety?”

“Yes. My mother was illiterate, so the name lacks subtlety—please forgive its simplicity, Your Highness.”

“It’s a lovely name. Your surnames are different?”

Shuang’an recounted the entire story of her and Ming Luo’s origins. Only after crossing the courtyard and reaching the main hall, where Shuang’an led her to sit in the pavilion before the lotus pond, did she finish. The pavilion was open on all sides to the breeze, filled with the fragrance of lotus, exceptionally pleasant.

“…Not long after news of Consort Ling’s passing arrived, my mother took to her bed for several days and followed her. Of the sworn sisters who shared origins with Consort Ling, only Aunt Tan, far away in Jiangnan, remains.” As she spoke, Shuang’an poured tea for the princess.

Before Consort Ling entered the palace, she had been one of the peerless flower servants cultivated by several high officials. Twelve flower servants, each named after one of the twelve flowers, such as Su Tan, Xiang He, and Ling Xiao. Flower servants were trained to serve the nobility of the realm, required to master bedchamber seduction arts. To aid their training, someone refined a pill of passion poison, capable of making even the most unyielding woman bend and beg for intimacy. The harder the bones, the more they were fed. The one named Ling Xiao was even poisoned through to her marrow. Thus, the daughter she bore carried the heaviest fetal toxin.

Zhao Rongzhang sipped her tea amid the lotus fragrance. The origin of the fetal toxin within her had never been a secret—everyone knew of Consort Ling’s disgrace and “filth.” Between her Mother Consort and the Emperor, had this poison played a decisive role? The lofty Emperor enjoyed watching this proud-boned flower servant named Ling Xiao bow and fawn over him, which was why he favored her exclusively for years, drawing the scorn of court officials. Was it for her face, for her body of drug-infused bones, that he doted on her so?

“My father is the county magistrate of Futian County under Hongfu Prefecture. This is the villa where my mother and I have long resided; he seldom comes here. Regarding news of Princess Yingrong, he is doing his utmost to suppress it. In a few days, the Princess will be able to see him.”

Zhao Rongzhang was still pondering the earlier question.

She took the initiative to speak of Ming Luo to Shuang’an: “Ming Luo is eight years older than me, yet I always find myself thinking of her as a sister eighteen years my senior, or a teacher twenty-eight years older than me. She is immensely knowledgeable, worldly-wise, meticulous in her actions, and never makes mistakes. Now that she is being detained by the Grand Empress Dowager, although her life is not in danger, she will inevitably be subjected to interrogation and persuasion. What are your plans for her?”

“From my personal perspective, she is my sister, and I must save her; from the Princess’s perspective, she is your most important right-hand, and we must save her.”

Zhao Rongzhang then spoke of their mothers: “Does Aunt Xianghe think Mother Consort’s way of dying was too foolish? She sent her own daughter to Mother Consort’s side, yet Mother Consort gave her such an end.”

In Zhao Rongzhang’s view, Mother Consort’s death was humiliating. She could never forgive why she had to give birth to a Zhao Zhu.

Hearing the Princess refer to her mother in this way, Shuang’an’s eyes grew warm for a moment. She smiled and shook her head: “As long as the Noble Consort herself had no regrets, why should we lament on her behalf?”

Zhao Rongzhang remained silent.

Shuang’an asked about her plans.

Zhao Rongzhang said casually, “Take one step at a time. First, ensure survival.”

Shuang’an had no objections.

After tea, Shuang’an led her into the inner room of the courtyard to rest. Zhao Rongzhang finally slept a full night’s sleep for the first time in days. When she awoke, the sun was setting in the west. Shuang’an had someone bring food. Seizing a moment when no one else was around, Shuang’an lowered her voice and tentatively asked, “Should we not call ‘that one’ out to be fed?”

“That one” referred to Little Mute.

“No need.” He can get food himself.

“Your Highness, everyone inside and outside this villa has been carefully selected by my mother. Here, it is absolutely safe.”

Zhao Rongzhang moved her chopsticks unhurriedly: “No need. He cannot be seen by outsiders.”

A maid outside the pavilion scattered fish food into the pond. Fish swarmed over, opening their mouths wide to compete for the food.

In recent days, Little Mute’s face had appeared before the world more and more frequently. The statement “cannot be seen by outsiders” was, in truth, no longer entirely valid.

But she simply did not want him to come out, did not want him to appear before acquaintances, did not want them to see his face. He was her privately kept thing, hers alone.

Although she verbally rejected the suggestion of calling Little Mute out to eat, Zhao Rongzhang still had a few dishes left behind and added a new cup of chilled poria cocos honey water.

As darkness fell, Zhao Rongzhang added, “Take one of the packets of medicine I brought when I arrived, boil half of it, and bring it to me later.”

Shuang’an acknowledged and left.

After dismissing the others, Zhao Rongzhang called Little Mute out to eat. Little Mute held a rib and bit into it, neither fast nor slow, his expression focused. He did everything this way, solely focused on the task at hand. Zhao Rongzhang suddenly felt irritated. But then she thought, it was only when he was clear-headed that he could put on such a dumb cat face to annoy her. Once she pinned him to the ground and stripped him, he would cry.

At noon on the road, he must have heard about her going to the brothel to find a male prostitute.