IDWBE -Chapter 298 Schemes

“Your servant knows her fault.”

The two of them repeated the same words again, offering no defense.

They had grown up in the palace since childhood. There were some things they had long seen through clearly—trying to reason with one’s masters was like scratching an itch inside a coffin: courting death without knowing it.

Even when facing this “kind” Noble Consort Yuan, it was no different.

“If I remember correctly, you two entered the Seventh Rank long ago?”

Noble Consort Yuan almost blurted out in anger: You can’t even handle an ordinary man who can’t truss a chicken?

She was anxious about her son’s marriage.

But with the current messy situation, there was no solution.

She couldn’t casually choose a principal consort.

However, a secondary consort—that was possible.

After all, the palace had never lacked imperial concubines who had once been palace maids.

Letting these two girls become attendant concubines was nothing extraordinary.

The premise was that they must not bear children.

Otherwise, it would break protocol.

All mothers under heaven shared the same wish—to see their sons have heirs as early as possible.

“We dare not.”

The two replied in unison once more.

There were rules in the palace for how servants answered their masters. So they didn’t even need to think before responding.

As the palace matrons often summarized: No matter what the master says, admitting fault is always correct. If you don’t know what to do or say, simply reply that you dare not.

Learn these rules, and you can survive the palace without fear.

“You still have things you dare not do?”

Noble Consort Yuan snorted coldly. “All these years in Sanhe, without the matrons restraining you, who knows how carefree and happy you’ve been.”

“Your Ladyship,” Seeing that the consort was pressing step by step, Mingyue knew this ordeal couldn’t be avoided. Gritting her teeth, she spoke bravely, “Zixia and I have not dared take a single step beyond propriety at His Highness’s side. We beg Your Ladyship to see clearly.”

From the moment they began serving Prince He, they had understood their fate. They might not necessarily have the chance to become secondary consorts, but becoming bedchamber maids was inevitable.

Every day, they waited anxiously.

But they had never imagined that Prince He was no ordinary man!

He had always said he would find good husbands and marry them off.

Until now, the two of them were still virgins.

Of course, that prince—who claimed to “pass through a sea of flowers without a single petal sticking to him”—wasn’t much better off.

“Xiao Xizi.”

Noble Consort Yuan’s sharp eyes immediately spotted Xiao Xizi peeking at the doorway.

“Your Ladyship.”

Seeing her displeased expression, Xiao Xizi dropped to his knees with a thud.

“What is it? Did your prince send you to see whether these two girls are dead yet?” she asked coldly.

“Your Ladyship, this servant has always attended at your side.”

Xiao Xizi instantly detected the trap hidden in her words.

Mingyue and Zixia let out quiet sighs of relief.

Everyone knew Noble Consort Yuan had a petty temper.

They were certain Prince He had inherited it from her.

Mother and son—neither was truly magnanimous.

“It’s rare you still remember that,” Noble Consort Yuan said lightly. “I haven’t seen your shadow for many days.”

“This servant knows his fault.”

Xiao Xizi shrank his neck and dared not say another word.

Originally, he had indeed served at Noble Consort Yuan’s side.

But after growing used to serving Prince He, he truly didn’t wish to return.

Compared carefully, Prince He had far fewer matters—life was clearly easier there.

There wasn’t much going on with Noble Consort Yuan either, but the other concubines in the harem excelled at making trouble out of nothing.

After glancing at him, Noble Consort Yuan said irritably, “Enough. Take them away. Lest he comes himself. In this freezing weather, he shouldn’t be running around.”

How could she not understand her own son?

If she made things too difficult for the two girls, he would immediately show up.

There was no need to create distance between mother and son over such a trivial matter.

“This servant takes his leave.”

After signaling to Mingyue and Zixia, Xiao Xizi bowed and withdrew lightly.

The two women rose, gave Noble Consort Yuan a respectful curtsey, and cautiously followed Xiao Xizi out.

Lin Yi wasn’t afraid of the cold. He stood directly in the garden corridor, occasionally tossing snowballs into the lotus pond. Hearing footsteps, he turned and said to Mingyue and Zixia, who were about to kneel:

“No need for all these formalities.”

“Long live Your Highness, long live, long live!”

They still knelt in the snow and kowtowed.

Helpless, Lin Yi waited for them to rise before smiling.

“The old lady didn’t make things hard for you, did she?”

Mingyue replied, “Thunder and rain alike are all Her Ladyship’s grace.”

“Alright, in the future, stay away from her when there’s nothing necessary,”

Lin Yi said with a smile. “But since you two slipped over here secretly, who’s managing the Sanhe School?”

“Your Highness, Sister Mingyue and I missed you, so we came,”

Zixia said with a grin. “Lord Xie Zan is looking after Sanhe School. Nothing will go wrong.”

“That’s good.”

Lin Yi nodded. “You’ve traveled a long way and were kept busy by Her Ladyship for quite some time—you must be tired. Go find a place to rest. From now on, you and Xiao Xizi will manage affairs in the residence together.”

As for Hong Ying, under normal circumstances Lin Yi didn’t even see his shadow, so he had little expectation of him.

“Yes.”

The two withdrew directly.

Seeing Xiao Xizi still standing there, Lin Yi said irritably, “What are you waiting for? They’ve just arrived and can’t tell east from west. Hurry and arrange things for them.”

Xiao Xizi hurried after them.

Looking around, Mingyue smiled. “This place is even better than the residence in Ankang City.”

Xiao Xizi lowered his voice. “Miss, you may not know—this used to be the Prince of Wu’s residence. He overstepped the regulations. After our prince had him escorted to Ankang City, His Majesty, in furious rage, had him executed.”

“The Prince of Wu…”

Zixia snorted coldly. “Even in the palace, I heard of his reputation. Utterly wicked. He deserved his fate.”

“When he was escorted out of Jinling City,” Xiao Xizi said with a smile, “people threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at him. He had no popular support at all. Everyone praised our prince’s wisdom.”

After following Xiao Xizi through several turns along the corridor, Mingyue finally couldn’t help asking, “Where does His Highness reside?”

Xiao Xizi turned and pointed. “His Highness stays in the rear courtyard wing rooms. You two ladies should stay in the front courtyard—the rooms there are larger and more spacious.”

Mingyue smiled. “Better to stay closer to His Highness. It will be more convenient to serve him. Don’t you think?”

Xiao Xizi smiled. “You may not know—the wing rooms there haven’t been fully cleaned since we moved in.”

Mingyue shook her head. “Just lead the way. We have hands and feet. We can tidy up ourselves.”

Seeing this, Xiao Xizi could only sigh helplessly and lead them back the way they came.