FID – Chapter 1051

Chapter 1051 – My Fate, It’s Like Bitter Herbs

Walking at the front was a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, wearing a deep purple robe with a tied waist sash. His posture was upright and commanding, his features handsome. When bumped into, he didn’t seem angry, only offering a faint, almost teasing smile as he looked at them.

Behind him followed several other men in similarly fine clothes, though each lagged slightly behind him, indicating their status was lower than the lead man’s.

Liu Yusheng discreetly observed them and immediately knew they were all noble-born.

Furthermore, the fact that they could move freely in the palace suggested they were likely members of the imperial family or related aristocracy.

“I-I’m sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Qian Lan had just come to her senses and hurriedly apologized.

“You are from the Saintess Tribe?” the man in purple asked.

“How did you know?” Qian Lan asked blankly.

The man smiled openly. “In the palace, anyone daring to claim this Prince’s attention naturally isn’t a palace servant. Judging by your appearance, you’re also not a consort or concubine. The Saintess Tribe entered the palace yesterday, so this Prince guessed you must be one of them.”

“We are indeed from the Saintess Tribe. We apologize for the offense just now, and beg your forgiveness, Your Highness,” Liu Yusheng spoke up, her eyes briefly narrowing as she looked at the bright-red faces of Qian Lan and Qian Xue. Her words also served to snap the two girls back to composure.

She knew the Saintess Tribe girls were born and raised in the village, rarely venturing beyond its gates. Their innocence and naivety were understandable, but they were a little too naive.

Hearing Liu Yusheng’s voice, Qian Lan and Qian Xue both realized their earlier clumsiness. Their faces flushed so deeply it seemed the color might drip from their skin; even with their veils, the redness spread to the corners of their eyes and the edges of their brows.

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, they lowered their heads and instinctively tried to hide behind Liu Yusheng.

The man’s gaze naturally fell on Liu Yusheng, and when it met her calm, composed eyes visible outside the veil, a spark of interest flashed in his own.

“Since you are from the Saintess Tribe, you are distinguished guests of the Xiliang Imperial Palace. You may move freely throughout the palace. There’s no need for restraint,” the man said with a faint smile, nodding slightly to Liu Yusheng as he passed by them.

Once he left, Qian Lan finally relaxed, patting her chest and exhaling, “That really scared me! I didn’t expect to bump into a prince.”

The man had called himself ‘this Prince,’ and Big Sister Qian Mei had also taught them to call him ‘Your Highness,’ so there was no doubt—he truly was a prince. “I didn’t expect the prince to look like this. He’s even more handsome than the men in our village,” Qian Lan murmured.

“Qian Lan, don’t talk nonsense!” Qian Xue quickly scolded her in a low voice. “A girl shouldn’t speak recklessly like that. It makes people think you have no self-respect!”

Liu Yusheng also cautioned, “Indeed, you can’t speak carelessly. This is the Imperial Palace, and there are people everywhere. If what you say is overheard and spreads, all the women of the Saintess Tribe will be laughed at.”

She wasn’t exaggerating, but Qian Lan tended to think too simply; she needed to understand the seriousness of the consequences before she would act cautiously.

With admonitions from her two clan sisters, Qian Lan finally restrained her impulsiveness and no longer rushed about recklessly.

Unknowingly, the morning passed, and the three of them had nearly toured the entire rear palace.

They walked through the imperial gardens, admired the splendid halls scattered throughout the palace, and eventually, utterly exhausted, they rested against a rockery beside one of the halls.

“The palace is really huge. We spent the entire morning, and we still haven’t finished walking it all,” Qian Lan sighed, letting her legs dangle.

“We’ve only been walking through the rear palace this morning. In front of it, there are the emperor’s residence, palaces for receiving guests, the emperor’s audience hall for court meetings, and so on,” Liu Yusheng explained with a smile.

Qian Lan and Qian Xue’s eyes widened, their mouths forming small circles. “That big? There must be at least a thousand people living in the palace! More than in our entire village!”

Their whole village, counting young and old, didn’t even reach a thousand people.

Liu Yusheng smiled but didn’t continue her lecture. She had already said too much.

She was currently playing the role of Qian Mei, a modest young woman who, like them, grew up in the Saintess Village. She hadn’t seen the outside world, yet knew far more than they did. Revealing too much could easily arouse suspicion.

Fortunately, these two girls were simple-minded; if it had been Elder Qian Fang instead, she wouldn’t have dared speak so freely.

“Hey, there’s a lake over there and boats by the shore!” Her shaken awe forgotten, Qian Lan looked around, spotted the nearby lake, and became excited again. “Sister Qian Xue, Sister Qian Mei, let’s go boating!”

“You two go ahead. I’m a bit tired. I’ll rest here for a while,” Liu Yusheng declined.

Watching the two girls run off, she turned to study the nearby hall—when suddenly something tapped her head. Not hard, not painful. A small pebble rolled down from her hair.

She arched a brow and looked behind her. No one.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smile tugging at her lips as she pretended not to notice.

Sure enough, when she didn’t react, a second pebble soon flew her way.

“If you keep sneaking around, believe it or not, I’ll poison you,” she warned without even turning her head, using his favorite catchphrase.

From a corner behind her, a faint, sulky voice drifted out. “How did you know it was me?”

“Who else could be this childish?”

“How is it only me? There’s also that big Honglian! You hit him with a stone before. Why don’t you think he’s waiting to take revenge now that you’re alone?”

“He’s not as childish as you.”

The voice grew closer, and the one labeled childish suddenly appeared behind Liu Yusheng, grinning. “Yes, yes, I’m childish. I’ve only been away for a while, and my status has already dropped. I guess my life is just as bitter as goldthreads.”

“Stop joking. What are you doing here?” Liu Yusheng was half annoyed, half amused.

The palace was full of eyes and ears, yet he, a mere guard, strolled out freely. Has he no duty at this hour?

“What do you mean, what am I doing here? I’m a palace guard. If not here, then where?” Actually, he had spotted her earlier and followed from a distance, waiting until she was alone to show up, so the other two girls wouldn’t suspect anything.

“And Fu Yang?” She dared not say Feng Qingbai’s name outright, afraid someone might hear.

“He’s keeping watch over the old eunuch.”

“He guards during the day, so you take the night shift?”

The man nodded, giving Liu Yusheng a knowing look. “Do you know why I do the night watch? Because your man dragged me out.”

Liu Yusheng cleared her throat, pretending not to understand someone’s tattling. “You watch at night, and don’t sleep during the day? Be careful of sudden death.”

“…” Her mouth has turned sharp. Before marrying Feng Qingbai, Lucky Nannan didn’t speak like this. She must be influenced by his bad habits. He muttered, “I slept during the night watch.”

“…” Liu Yusheng wanted to give him a ‘good job’ expression but couldn’t.

This guy had guts. He actually slept on duty. Was he not afraid of getting caught?

“That old thing—could he even afford to have me keep watch for him? It will only take these few days. After that, he won’t be able to stir anything at all.”

“What kind of medicine did you give him?”