Chapter 16: Reporting to the Authorities

Seeing his anger, Liu Cui Xi shrank her neck in fear but still mustered the courage to say, “Your Highness, if you release my daughter, I am willing to accept any punishment!”

“My daughter is my lifeblood!” Rong Zhao’s eyes darkened. Just as he was about to speak, hurried footsteps sounded behind him.

He turned and met Sheng Mingyue’s anxious and helpless gaze.

“Your Highness…” Sheng Mingyue glanced at Liu Cui Xi outside, crying and wailing loudly, then back at Rong Zhao, her almond-shaped eyes red and swollen. “I’ve troubled you again…”

“Why has the benefactor come out?” Rong Zhao furrowed his long brows, his tone serious. “You’re hurt; there’s no need for you to come out. Leave the matter outside to me.”

Sheng Mingyue wiped the tears from her eyes and took a few quick steps beside him, whispering, “Your Highness, you don’t understand her. She’s always been shameless, willing to do anything to achieve her goal. Beating her is useless.”

Liu Cui Xi’s eyes flashed with hatred when she saw her, but she quickly suppressed it and continued to weep, “Daughter, your mother has finally found you. Come home with me!”

Sheng Mingyue’s eyes reddened, her shoulders trembling slightly as she sobbed softly, “You once said my younger brother couldn’t marry without a dowry and sold me to the palace as a servant for five taels of silver. Now that I live a peaceful life, why do you come looking for me again?”

Liu Cui Xi paused, her gaze momentarily turning fierce before she covered her face and wept bitterly. “You don’t understand a mother’s hardships. I don’t blame you, but you are flesh from my body—I cannot neglect you!”

“Now that you’re trapped in the prince’s mansion, even if I break my head, I must beg the prince to release you.”

Sheng Mingyue’s face flushed, her lips pressed tightly, voice low and firm. “I am a servant here in the mansion and live comfortably. If I go back with you, who knows when I might be sold again? I only have one life—I cannot gamble with it.”

“Daughter, do you still resent me? If you let me kneel, will you come home with me?” Liu Cui Xi pounded her chest dramatically, feigning grief but showing no sign of yielding.

“How can a daughter’s heart be so cruel? No need to mention others—that’s her own mother!”

“Since when does a mother kneel before her child?”

“I think that girl is just vain. She resists going home so much, probably already climbing into a nobleman’s bed, waiting to become a concubine!”

The crowd began murmuring among themselves, exactly as Liu Cui Xi hoped.

Liu Cui Xi glanced upward, a faint smile curling her lips, her eyes gleaming with pride.

“You must be out of your mind!” The woman who had just been scolded by Liu Cui Xi snapped, raising her voice, “Look at how scared the girl is—she’d rather be a servant forever than go home. Clearly, that family can’t accommodate her.”

“Moreover, who forces their own daughter by kneeling? That woman is no good!”

The woman’s voice carried loudly enough for all to hear. Liu Cui Xi’s face darkened abruptly; she scrambled to her feet and lunged toward the woman, ready to fight.

“You shameless wretch! I told you to shut up!” Liu Cui Xi’s face twisted with rage, as though she wanted to tear the woman apart. “You talk nonsense—who gave you a mouth?”

The woman fought back, grabbing Liu Cui Xi’s hair and pulling her outward, shouting, “Everyone look! This shrew is furious because I hit a nerve!”

Sheng Mingyue pressed her lips tightly and whispered, “Your Highness, should we report this to the authorities?”

Rong Zhao frowned deeply, glancing sideways at Yun Lai. The latter immediately understood and quietly slipped away. Soon after, he returned with several soldiers.

“How dare you cause a disturbance in front of the Prince of Jing’an’s mansion and disrespect a nobleman!” The lead officer pointed at the stunned Liu Cui Xi, his voice grave. “Take her away and interrogate her severely. Find out who ordered her to come here!”

Liu Cui Xi froze, staring at the officer approaching her, trembling and waving her hands in denial. “Officer, it’s a misunderstanding… all a misunderstanding! I came looking for my daughter…”

“Enough nonsense. Take her away!”

Ignoring her protests, one soldier grabbed her by the arm and dragged her outside the crowd.

“I really am not… Sheng Mingyue… Sheng Mingyue! You wicked girl!” Liu Cui Xi cursed as she was pulled away, “Sheng Mingyue, I will never let you go!”

“See? I told you she came here to cause trouble!” The woman raised her chin proudly. “But you fools all agreed with her and almost ruined that girl!”

The others exchanged glances, looking embarrassed, and quietly dispersed.

With the crowd gone, Rong Zhao’s brows relaxed. He looked at the young woman beside him and said softly, “Benefactor, you may go.”

“Understood.” Sheng Mingyue nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a familiar figure but when she looked again, it had vanished.

She frowned slightly, blaming her imagination.

—

The Eastern Palace

The hall was elegantly and luxuriously furnished, unchanged from five years ago when he had left, needing only a light sweep to be inhabitable.

On the rosewood carved Luohan bed, Rong Yan was dozing, with palace maids kneeling on either side, massaging his shoulders and legs.

“Your Highness, the items you requested have arrived.”

A palace maid carefully placed a bowl of soup on the small table, fearful that one careless move might cost her her head.

Rong Yan opened his eyes a slit, glanced at the bowl’s contents, stirred with the white spoon, and took a wonton into his mouth.

“Pah!” The moment the wonton touched his tongue, his expression darkened. He spat it onto the palace maid and, dissatisfied, grabbed the bowl and smashed it against her. “Useless! You don’t even know how to make a bowl of wontons. What good are you?”

The warm soup spilled over her, and the maid felt deeply wronged. She covered her wounded forehead and sobbed quietly, “Your Highness, this is the fifth bowl from the imperial kitchen. The broth and filling were changed per your request…”

“Shut up!” Rong Yan glared fiercely, as if looking past her at someone else. “A bunch of incompetents—get out of here!”

The maid wiped her tears roughly, hastily cleaned up the mess, and withdrew.

Lying on the Luohan bed, hands clasped behind his head, Rong Yan stared blankly at the beams overhead.

His stomach was aching again…

In the past, at this moment, there was always someone bringing him a steaming bowl of wontons, urging him to eat more.

Even in Foshan, that person had found countless ways to prepare special dishes and cheer him up…

The image of Sheng Mingyue appeared in his mind. Rong Yan sneered, snapping out of his reverie. “Just a bowl of wontons. Now, I can have anything I want…”

“Lowly people can only make lowly food.”

He gritted his teeth as he said the last words.

“Your Highness.” Jin Song entered discreetly, dismissing others, and pulled out three letters from his bosom, whispering, “Miss Yun has written again. Would Your Highness like to see them?”