After picking up the White Cut Black Prince

Inside Chengde Hall.

Mrs. Song had never thought that her son would go directly to find someone. Her heart sank even more. Could it be that the two of them really fell in love with each other over time? Otherwise, how could that woman dare to be so arrogant because of her favor?

Song Yusheng was her proudest child. Because of him, Madam Song was the one who could hold her head high even among the ladies of wealthy families.

In the eyes of Madam Song, Song Yusheng's preference for Wen Chu was undoubtedly like a pig eating away at one's own cabbage!
"Oh my God! How could this happen! I raised this child with so much hardship, and she is still unmarried at the age of 22, but how could she fall in love with such a thing? For her, I just came back home and chased her out! What a sin!"

Her personal nanny, Nanny Xing, advised, "Don't worry, Madam. The prince has never worried you since he was seven years old. She is just a girl, not to mention the savior of the prince. If you really like her, you can bring her into the house to be a maid. The prince is old now and doesn't like women. It's a bit worrying that he doesn't have a maid in his room. If you can really take her in, it would be good."

The two ladies had already left, leaving only Song Liqing in the main room. She was eating snacks on the side, but after hearing what Aunt Xing said, she sneered, "Madam, what you said is very interesting. At this moment, I think it's not whether my brother wants to take the girl into the room, but whether Sister Chu is willing."

Aunt Xing was silenced by this, and Madam Song beside her raised her voice and said, "She doesn't want to? How could she not want this opportunity that so many people in Kyoto would love to have! I chased her away, but he went after her?! For the sake of a woman, he has lost sight of his mother, me."

How could Madam Song feel at ease? Wen Chu offended her and was driven out of the house, and her son chased him out eagerly. Isn't this a slap in her face?

Song Liqing didn't argue with her mother. In her eyes, her brother was the best. Even if a fairy from heaven came down to marry him, she wouldn't be satisfied. In her heart, she had already lit a stick of incense for her future sister-in-law, hoping that she could withstand her mother's torture in the future.

Song Liqing had a lot on his mind.

On the one hand, the mother looked down on those of low social status, but on the other hand, those of high social status were somewhat arrogant, like her second aunt, who looked down on everyone. But at least her second uncle doted on her, unlike her third uncle who favored his concubine over his wife. If the future sister-in-law and the mother did not get along, it would be difficult for her brother to be caught in the middle. Thinking of this, she silently lit another candle for her brother in her heart.

If there is a fierce mother in the family, both the husband and wife will be unlucky!
She was making up bad things about her mother in her mind when she heard some noise outside the door.

The doorman quickly entered the room and reported, "The prince has returned with that woman, and he took her directly back to Yuhui Hall."

"Really, this is outrageous!"

She turned to Aunt Xing and said, "Go, go and ask the prince what he really meant. Why did he go looking for someone himself after I drove her away?"

Unlike Madam Song who was angry, Song Liqing's eyes were filled with joy when she heard that someone had returned.

However, the next second, the doorman's words were like a bucket of cold water poured down.

He said, "Madam, please don't send anyone to ask. The prince asked me to tell you that since that woman has displeased the Madam, she must be punished. From now on, she will be a slave in Yuhui Hall."

What the hell, how did I become a maid?

Not only Song Liqing didn't react, but Mrs. Song didn't react either.

She seemed so affectionate and loving, why has she been demoted to a maid now?
Aunt Xing was the first to say, "Madam, our prince has you in his heart. Wen Chu offended you, and he went back to capture her to vent his anger on you, Madam!"

No matter what Song Yusheng wanted, this statement made people feel relieved, so Madam Song did not pursue the matter any further.

"In that case, let him be." She paused and said to Song Liqing, "In a few days, it will be your grandmother's sixtieth birthday. Your brother's colleagues may come back then. You should take a good look and see if there is anyone you like. You are already of age, so you should worry about these things. Don't end up like your brother, dragging things on and on, and still not getting married. The young master of the neighboring marquis's house got married at the age of eighteen, and now he is twenty-one, and his children can call him dad."

She had been very upset these days because of Song Yusheng's disappearance, so she handed the matter of Mrs. Song's birthday to the lady from the second house.

When the eldest lady mentioned Song Yusheng's marriage, she frowned again.

A few days ago, she was still burning incense and praying to Buddha, saying that she would not ask for anything else as long as her son came back. But as soon as Song Yusheng returned home, she started to worry about his marriage again.

Song Liqing was almost getting calluses from listening to these nagging words. She listened with a bitter face, but let them go in one ear and out the other, not taking them to heart.

She retorted, "Mother, find me a sister-in-law first, and then I'll look for one. My brother hasn't even gotten married yet, and you're so anxious to marry me off."

These words made Mrs. Song speechless again.

*
It was already late at night when we returned to Yuhuitang.

Yuhui Hall is very large. Walking through the hallway, there is a screen inlaid with rosewood and marble. Stepping into the courtyard, the upper rooms are all decorated with carved beams and painted rafters. The courtyard is filled with all kinds of rare treasures and stones, every blade of grass, every tree, every flower and every stone, fully displaying the aristocratic atmosphere.

Under the moonlight, the courtyard looks even more complex and elegant.

Even though Song Yusheng had been missing for several months and his life or death was unknown, there were still people cleaning the yard every day, just as it was when Song Yusheng left.

Qiu Xue knew that Song Yusheng would be back today, and had been waiting in the yard.

Qiu Xue is also Song Yusheng's secret guard. Unlike the other three, she is a woman.

There were lanterns hanging under the corridor. When Qiu Xue saw Song Yusheng coming in, she quickly came up to him from under the corridor.

"Master," she called.

Song Yusheng nodded slightly, as if to agree.

Chunfeng and Dongyue followed behind Song Yusheng, and Qiuxue discovered that there was a strange woman who she had never seen before.

Although she was confused in her heart, she did not show it on her face.

She heard Song Yusheng say to her: "Take the person to the back room."

The back room is where the maids live.
Qiu Xue understood that this person was actually a maid.

He said to Wen Chu, "Come and help me dress tomorrow. If I don't see you tomorrow morning, you can go and get the board."

Wen Chu cursed Song Yusheng a thousand times in her heart. With such a big yard, there was no maid to help her get dressed? But when she was in Zhaojia Village, she was used to getting up early.

Moreover, whenever Song Yusheng was bedridden, she was the one who helped him put on his clothes.

Now that he has recovered from his injury and returned home, he keeps talking about killing her, or even beating her with a stick. He is truly ungrateful and has a wicked heart.

Wen Chu's mind was in a state of confusion, but he put on a smile and immediately responded, "Okay!"

A man who can bend and stretch can be a husband.

Chunfeng and Dongyue originally thought that Wen Chu was not an honest person. After all, she ran around and made a fuss. Would they be willing to let her be a maid?
It seems that I have underestimated this guy.
Wen Chu followed Qiu Xue and left this place and went to the back room.

Song Yusheng entered the main room, followed by Chunfeng and Dongyue. The room was dark, and the maid saw the prince coming back, so she tiptoed in and lit the lamp.

Song Yusheng sat down on the chair and said, "Xia Hua is dead. From among the secret guards below, you three can pick one to take his place."

The spring breeze should be.

Song Yusheng felt a little tired and rubbed his temples. Qiu Xue came back soon after sending the person there.

Song Yusheng looked at Qiu Xue and suddenly asked, "Are those princes doing well recently?"

The princes he mentioned were the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, and even the Fourth Prince.

Why he said this was not sudden. Emperor Linghui's temperament changed drastically after the rebellion of Prince Li a few years ago. In the past, he was just lazy, unwilling to attend court in the morning, unwilling to do things, and even too lazy to read memorials. As a result, now he is incompetent, practicing elixirs, and playing tricks.

This change is even worse than before. After all, even though he was incompetent and lazy before, he did not do anything bad. But now he has made the court a mess and filled it with foul smells.

Logically speaking, the Second Prince and the Third Prince have both reached the age to be crowned kings, and they should leave Kyoto for their respective fiefdoms, but Emperor Linghui has been reluctant to issue an edict and has kept them in Kyoto.

There were many speculations in the court. No one knew what Emperor Linghui meant by this. Could it be that he wanted to change the crown prince? As more and more people thought about this, the second and third princes could not sit still and began to have thoughts that they should not have.

Now, because of Emperor Linghui's actions, several princes have been making moves behind the scenes, seemingly wanting to compete with the crown prince for the throne. As a result, factional fighting continues, and Emperor Linghui has been sitting behind the scenes from beginning to end, watching the princes fight and sometimes, when the fight becomes intense, he will jump out to add fuel to the fire.

Qiu Xue replied, "Yes. Some time ago, the Crown Prince's party impeached the Second Prince for taking a ninth concubine, accusing him of being unbecoming. After the Emperor read the memorial, he promoted the man to a higher position. The Second Prince was frightened and confused, and stayed up all night. He went directly to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to plead guilty. He waited outside the palace for a whole hour. Everyone thought that the Emperor was furious and would definitely scold the Second Prince severely, but they saw Fang Xiu, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, who took out a gold ingot on the Emperor's order, put it on a tray and gave it to the Second Prince as a reward, and also conveyed the Emperor's oral order: Only a good man will marry a ninth wife."

On the one hand, he promoted the official position of the person who submitted the memorial, which made the Second Prince tremble with fear and everyone speculated, but on the other hand, he left the Second Prince with this sentence. Both sides were made uneasy by him, but in the end, the matter was raised high and then lightly put down.

Over the years, Emperor Linghui has used such means to arouse their attention.

In the final analysis, it was nothing more than a few princes fighting for the throne, while Emperor Linghui just watched them fight from the side.

Qiu Xue added, "That Dali Temple Minister is also not quiet. He has been doing a lot of tricks behind the scenes when the master is not around. He always wants to find someone to take the position of Dali Temple Left Junior Minister when the master is not around. If it weren't for the Duke watching from behind, he might have succeeded."

Song Yusheng chuckled, "This man is nothing to be afraid of. Since we can't use the emperor's hand to remove him this time, we have to find another opportunity. The Grand Tutor died of corruption that year, and he was the one who finally suppressed the crime. But I remember that when the Qinji Palace collapsed, the Minister of Works who supervised the construction was arrested and taken to the Censorate, and later transferred to the Dali Temple. In the end, he was acquitted. He was the one who handled this case in the past, right? Go and check. I don't want to talk about the past again, but he insisted on pressing me step by step. When there is no way to retreat, don't blame me."

Qiu Xue retreated after receiving the order. Chun Feng stepped forward and asked, "The master asked me to investigate Wen Chu's whereabouts, but because of that incident, I haven't had time to investigate yet. Can the master ask me to send someone to ask again?"

It doesn't matter. At this point, Song Yusheng no longer plans to use Huai He to exchange for the resignation of the Dali Temple Minister. He plans to do it himself.

Moreover, even if Wen Chu is really Huai He, so what? Send her to the palace?
He said, "No need to check, just leave it at that, there is no need to mention this matter any further."

*
The back room of Yuhui Hall is more spacious than other places. Even the maids do not have to live in the same room. Everyone lives in a separate room.

Apart from anything else, the place where the maids lived was much better than Wen Chu's previous cabin.

The cabin was very shabby, cold in the winter and stuffy in the summer, it leaked when it rained and was drafty from time to time. In short, it was not good in every way.

But, that was the house where Wen Chu and Old Man Wen had lived together for five or six years. Even though it was shabby, Wen Chu lived happily there because Old Man Wen was there.

After Old Man Wen died, Wen Chu no longer had much attachment to the house, so after selling Song Yusheng without hesitation, she left the place without looking back.

But now, after arriving at the back room, an unprecedented feeling of emptiness suddenly jumped into her heart, and she suddenly remembered the wooden house. She thought, she shouldn't belong here, even if her life was like a floating duckweed, wandering around, lonely and helpless, she shouldn't belong here.

She was able to escape from that purgatory-like place back then, and she will definitely be able to escape from here in the future.

She thought of Qi Ziyuan, her childhood friend.

The first time Wen Chu saw him was in Kunning Palace. At that time, she was only eight years old, and Qi Ziyuan was only twelve years old.

Wen Chu was practicing calligraphy in De Ming Palace that day, but he just couldn't write well. Concubine De was always good-tempered, but she was extremely angry that time. Wen Chu could still write simple characters like "one" and "two" somewhat decently, but when it came to characters like "Li" and "Zhao" with some curved strokes, his writing looked like a dog's crawling.

Concubine De slapped her on the palm several times and scolded her, "You little rascal, can you calm down? I have been teaching you for several days, why are you still writing so crookedly? You just want to go out and play all day, and you have been spoiled by your father, the emperor, and your mother, the queen, into being a bad person!"

Wen Chu covered his slapped hand with tears in his eyes, but he still argued, "I have calmed down, but it is my mother who has not. I just wrote it a little crookedly, and my mother is so angry, is it that serious?"

She was only eight years old, with a delicate and pretty face. Her voice was childish, but this made Concubine De furious. Her eyes widened. "Oh my God! Defu, Demeng! Listen to what she said! It's just a little crooked. Look, if we ask Xiao Hei at the door of our palace to write with a pen, he can write better than this! Is it that serious? You still ask me if it's serious or not? I have to beat you today!"

Defu and Demeng are the senior palace maids beside Wen Chu.

De Fu and De Meng covered their mouths and laughed. While comforting Concubine De, they covered for Wen Chu and told her to run outside.

By the time Defei had calmed down, Wen Chu had already fled to Kunning Palace, where the Queen was taking refuge.

The Zhaowu generals were all military commanders for generations, but Empress Xiaoyi didn't look like a girl from a military commander's family. She was an extremely kind woman, and she was also very gentle and lovely. If Concubine De was gentle, she was charming in her gentleness, but Empress Xiaoyi was born to be a queen, and she was dignified in her gentleness.

Qi Ziyuan had just recovered from a serious illness at that time, and was summoned to the palace by Empress Xiaoyi to visit her. He was chatting with the empress, but suddenly he heard crying coming from the palace gate.

"Mother, mother, help me, my mother wants to beat me to death."

Hear his voice before he sees him.

Qi Ziyuan had never seen anyone in the palace so disrespectful, and when he heard the person calling her mother, he guessed that it was a princess. But he clearly remembered that none of the concubines who were princesses got along well with his family, so how could they be so close to his aunt, the queen?

Finally, he saw the person coming.

The child was quite pretty, and crying like this made him even more pitiful. He did not recognize who this person was, and he had no idea who this person was.

Wen Chu had been holding back her tears the whole way, and as soon as she arrived at Kunning Palace, she burst into tears. She had never expected that there would be someone else in the palace, so she had to save some face and immediately swallowed her tears. She looked like a dumb person eating bitter herbs.

Empress Xiaoyi was so amused by Wen Chu that she smiled and pulled him into her arms. She asked, "What's wrong? Who bullied our Xiaoxi?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't asked. Once she asked, Wen Chu couldn't hold it back any longer. She cried intermittently, "I was just practicing calligraphy in the palace. Mother said that I was playful and couldn't calm down. She also said that my handwriting was uglier than Xiao Hei's."

Qi Ziyuan was a little curious, "Who is Xiao Hei?"

Wen Chu answered every question, "Xiao Hei is a little black dog raised by De Ming Palace."

Qi Ziyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Wen Chu cried even louder.

Qi Ziyuan said hurriedly: "I didn't mean it."
He had been living in the frontier with his father and brothers for many years. His brothers and sisters in the mansion were older than him. He had never seen such a lovely girl, and he felt embarrassed to see her crying like this.

Empress Xiaoyi said, "Rongyin is always exaggerating like this. Good child, don't cry. Your mother is lying to you. Besides, how can Xiaohei pick up a pen to write?"

"Mother said that Xiao Hei writes with his mouth."

Qi Ziyuan laughed again.

Empress Xiaoyi coaxed her patiently and said, "It's just writing, it's not a big deal." This was certainly not a big deal for the empress, but for Wen Chu, an eight-year-old child, it was a huge matter.

The Queen continued, "Wait, when your brother comes back from Wenhua Palace today, I'll ask him to teach you how to write, okay? He's always reluctant to scold you, isn't he?"

Wen Chu couldn't help nodding. She said, "Then I must practice writing the best characters today and go back to secretly surprise my mother!"

Of course, Wen Chu still didn't write a good handwriting that day, because Qi Ziyuan saw her crying and feeling unhappy, so he kindly took her out to play. It was the first time Wen Chu met someone like Qi Ziyuan. He was like a ray of sunshine, shining into Wen Chu's world.

Wen Chu finally returned to the palace like a thief, but his mother was not angry at all. She just asked, "Did you go out and make new friends today?"

Wen Chu nodded.

De Fei asked again, "Are you having fun?"

Wen Chu nodded again.

In the end, Concubine De said nothing, sighed, and just touched her head.

Wen Chu had been sitting in the carriage for many days and was already extremely tired. She was lying on the bed thinking about the past and she didn't know when she fell asleep in a daze.

The next day, before dawn, Wen Chu seemed to hear someone knocking on her door in her sleep.

The sound became louder and louder, Wen Chu became more awake, and was frightened.

She vaguely saw through the partition window that it was still dark outside. Why was someone knocking on her door at this time?
She didn't dare to delay any longer, so she picked up a long gown and put it on, then hurried to the door and opened it.

The person outside was dressed as a maid. She was very pretty, with a small, fair face.

Wen Chu looked at her in confusion and asked, "This girl is not sleeping in the middle of the night. Is there something wrong?"

The man looked a little surprised and said, "You don't have to call me Miss, just call me Chenxiang. Besides, are you confused after sleeping? What do you mean it's the middle of the night? It's already the 11th hour, and the prince has already gotten up. He didn't see you, so he asked me to call you. Didn't Sister Qiuxue tell you yesterday that he always gets up at this time?"

Qiuxue had previously learned from the letter sent back by Chunfeng that Song Yusheng was rescued and brought home by Wen Chu. She naturally thought that since they had lived together for so long, Wen Chu should know when he left, so she did not mention the matter.

The girl named Chenxiang was a maid who used to be with Song Yusheng in Yuhui Hall. She only found out last night that a new maid had come, and Qiuxue asked her to take care of her in the future.

But who knew that Wen Chu had not been seen since early in the morning. Chenxiang thought that Wen Chu might not have gotten up yet, so she hurried over to knock on the door, but the previous knock did not wake her up, and she was afraid of delaying the time, so she went to help Song Yusheng get up first. Song Yusheng did not see Wen Chu, and his face looked a little ugly, so he asked Chenxiang to call her.

This is not Chenxiang’s first trip now.

Wen Chu was shocked and said, "What the hell? Getting up now?! You're getting up before daybreak. Is your young master going to become an immortal?"

How come when I was in Zhaojia Village before, I didn't know that Song Yusheng could get up so early? Could it be that the bed in Zhaojia Village could make him sleep more soundly? But when I returned to the Duke's Mansion, I couldn't lie down even before dawn.

Chenxiang was shocked to hear Wen Chu speak so harshly. Where did this girl come from? Why did she speak so vulgarly and harshly?

She said, "The prince has always gotten up at this time. He usually gets up at 3 p.m., practices swordplay for half an hour, cleans himself up and has breakfast, and then it's almost 1 p.m. when he has to go to the government office to work. It's always been this time for so many years, it has never changed. I thought Sister Qiuxue told you yesterday, so I didn't tell you again. Do you really not know or did you oversleep?"

Wen Chu thought of what Song Yusheng said yesterday. If she was late, she would go and get the board herself. She said with a sad face, "It's unfair, Miss Chenxiang! I really didn't know this."

When Song Yusheng lived with her in the same room before, she had never noticed him getting up so early. She thought getting up at 12:00 a.m. was enough, but who knew he had to get up at 12:00 a.m.? Isn't there no morning court now? Why is he making things so difficult for himself? No, that's not right. This time he's making things difficult for her as well!
She had apparently missed the time for him to get up, so she didn't dare delay any longer. In less than half a cup of tea, she had dressed and washed up.

When she went to the main house, Song Yusheng was already practicing sword in the yard.

The man was dressed in a dark suit and holding a long sword. His movements were graceful and sharp. His dark clothes seemed to rustle in the wind, his black hair fluttered in the wind, and the sword flashed, emitting a deadly light.

Wen Chu did not dare to speak, and just stood in the corridor with Chenxiang, quiet and honest. From what Chenxiang said just now, Song Yusheng seemed to want to practice sword for half an hour.

She got up too early today, and slept too late yesterday. She was so sleepy that she fell asleep just standing there. Her head was like a chicken pecking at rice, nodding from time to time. In the end, she couldn't open her eyes and saw Song Yusheng practicing sword in the yard.

She thought, just close her eyes for a while, it won’t be a problem, Song Yusheng was practicing sword there and couldn’t see her.

After an unknown amount of time, Wen Chu felt Chenxiang nudging her with his elbow.

She woke up a little, and everything in front of her was completely shrouded in darkness.

When she looked up, she found Song Yusheng already standing in front of her. There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and his complexion did not look very well.

I just heard him sneer, "You can sleep while standing, how can you be so capable?"

When Wen Chu heard Song Yusheng's harsh words, her mind instantly returned to normal. She lowered her head and dared not talk back, just waiting for Song Yusheng's decision.

Half an hour later, the sky was already turning pale, and the entire courtyard seemed to be covered with a layer of white mist, making it seem less real.

After a while, Song Yusheng walked into the house. Wen Chu thought that he was not going to cause trouble for her, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She said that Song Yusheng was not such an unreasonable person, thinking that everyone would be like him and get up at 12:00. Besides, no one told her this, so she couldn't be blamed for this.

As Wen Chu was thinking this, he heard Song Yusheng's voice. He asked, "What are you doing standing there?"

She quickly followed.

Song Yusheng walked into the room and sat on the chair, while Wen Chu followed closely beside Chenxiang.

Chen Xiang poured him a cup of tea, and Song Yusheng took it and drank it. He put the cup on the table and asked, "What did I say to you last night?"

Wen Chu stood not far from him, lowered his head and said, "Let me help you get up. If it's late, go get the board yourself."

Song Yusheng sat on the chair, his hands resting on both sides of the chair. He said, "It's hard for you to remember it. I thought you would forget it completely after just one night's sleep."

Wen Chu argued, "Oh, that's not true. You never told me that you would get up at 3 p.m., and when I lived with you before, I never saw you get up at 3 p.m.! So how could I have thought that you would get up so early at home?"

Wen Chu thought Song Yusheng wouldn't mind it, but he suddenly became sarcastic. But she really couldn't be blamed for it.

Chenxiang was stunned when she heard this. They lived together in the past? What kind of relationship was this? If so, how could Wenchu ​​be her maid? Besides, it was hard to imagine that Wenchu ​​and the prince lived together. It was not that Wenchu ​​was ugly. In terms of appearance, they were a good match. But in Chenxiang's eyes, the prince had always been like a banished immortal, floating like an isolated person. She could never imagine that the prince lived with Wenchu.
Song Yusheng heard Wen Chu was still quibbling, so he asked, "You said that when I lived with you, I never got up at 3:00 pm?"

Wen Chu couldn't stop nodding.

"I'm almost dead, do you think I can still get up?"

It was difficult for him to even raise his hand. He was lying in bed in a daze half of the time out of the twelve hours of the day, and he even got up at the hour of Yin. He was lucky to be alive.

Wen Chu was stunned on the spot, this seemed to be really the case.
Song Yusheng had been recovering from his illness. At first, he was kept alive by a few bowls of porridge and a few red dates. Not to mention getting up at 3 p.m., he was dying and couldn't even get out of bed. Later, even though his condition was not that serious, he was in the countryside and there were no good medicinal herbs to nourish his body, so naturally his vitality was not as good as before.

She knew she was in the wrong, so she praised dryly, "It's said that the Duke's Mansion takes care of people. As soon as the prince came back, he became energetic and could get up early."

Song Yusheng looked at her coldly and said, "Why flatter me now? It's useless." He said to Chenxiang, "Go get the ruler."

Chenxiang knew that Song Yusheng always kept his word. Since he said he wanted to beat Wen Chu, there was no way he could escape. She quickly came here with a ruler.

Wen Chu felt that Song Yusheng was being unreasonable. Seeing the ruler being taken away, she quickly retracted her hand and said, "But this is not my fault. No one ever told me that you got up at 3 a.m., and you yourself never told me. What right do you have to hit me?"

Her father wouldn't let him be so unreasonable. Isn't there something wrong with him?

Seeing that she was still unwilling to admit her mistakes, Song Yusheng frowned and said, "If you do something wrong, you must admit it. How did you learn to be so stubborn? No one told you, but you didn't ask yourself? Should you serve me, or should I serve you?"

The sky was getting brighter and brighter. Song Yusheng still had to go to the palace today, so he didn't say anything more to Wen Chu. He stood up and said only two words, "Stretch out your hand."

Wen Chu knew that Song Yusheng was determined to beat her. He was clearly seeking revenge on her. If he wanted to beat her, he should have beaten her. Why would he make excuses? Seeing Song Yusheng's indifferent face, Wen Chu could only extend her palm away.

There were scratches on the white palm, caused by Dongyue hitting Wen Chu's calf yesterday and then falling.

Song Yusheng obviously saw it too. He was stunned for a moment, then said mercilessly: "You deliberately let me see your hand was broken, and you want me to stop hitting you?"

Wen Chu looked up at Song Yusheng and said, "Just hit me. Why do you think so badly of me? The prince is so impartial, why should I do these tricks in front of you?"

After she finished speaking, she stretched out her left hand and spread out her palm. It was also bruised, even more severely than her right hand. There was a large red mark that was a bit dazzling. She fell hard yesterday and both her hands were bruised, even on her knees.

Seeing that she was still retorting, Song Yusheng sneered. Although he put down the ruler, he said, "Okay, since your hand is injured, I can't hit you anymore. It was originally twenty strokes, so I will hit you after you recover. Since you talked back just now, I will add ten more strokes. A total of thirty, I will help you remember it well."

Wen Chu didn't care whether she would be beaten in the future or not. She would talk about the future later. If she didn't beat him now, she would win now. And Song Yusheng said that, so as long as her hand was not good, he would never beat her. If that was the case, she would just let her hand stay bad and she would never be beaten.

She didn't say anything else, and withdrew her hand as if she had survived a disaster. Song Yusheng stood there, as if waiting for something. Chenxiang tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "You should say thank you for the gift, Prince."

Everything from the master was a gift. Even if he beat her to pieces, skinned her and pulled out her tendons, it was still a gift from her. Moreover, now that she was in this situation, he spared her punishment for now because she was injured, which was even more worthy of gratitude.

Wen Chu bowed his head and said obediently: "Thank you for your gift, Your Highness."

Song Yusheng's temper did not improve because of this. He looked at Wen Chu and said, "Come here." After that, he strode towards the clean room.

Chenxiang was a little confused. In the past, when the prince was being cleansed, he never asked them to go in, so why did he ask Wen Chu to go in this time?

Although she didn't understand, she still pushed the stunned Wen Chu and said, "The prince is calling you, so hurry up and follow him. Remember to be quick and don't make the prince angry."

Chenxiang didn't know where Wen Chu came from, but she could see that Song Yusheng treated her differently. Seeing that she didn't seem to be very smart, he felt comfortable giving her some advice.

Wen Chu looked at her and said softly, "Thank you, Miss Chenxiang."

Seeing how affectionate she was, Chenxiang knew that this person must be easy to get along with, but he didn't know what her relationship with the prince was.

Water had been placed in the purification room. When one entered, it was filled with mist and hot air, with a faint scent of sandalwood.

When Wen Chu arrived, he found that Song Yusheng had not yet taken off his clothes. He was standing in front of the shelf where things were placed, and no one knew what he was waiting for.

Wen Chu walked closer and asked, "Are you waiting for me to take off your clothes?"

Since he asked me to come in, doesn't that mean I should help him cleanse himself?

Song Yusheng sneered: "Why, do you want to help me take it off so much?"

The words they spoke were somewhat romantic, but their tones were more blunt than the other. Especially Song Yusheng, his words were full of sarcasm.

Song Yusheng didn't expect Wen Chu to ask this question as the first thing he did when he came in. Wen Chu didn't expect Song Yusheng to reply like this. Her face instantly turned red, and she felt resentful. She lost some of her temper and asked, "Then why did you ask me to come in?"

Everything was hazy, and Wen Chu's face looked even more delicate and fair in the white mist. Perhaps because she was in a hurry to get up in the morning, her hair was messy.

Song Yusheng has always been a very upright person, because he was taught to be so since he was a child. He is still young and energetic. Over the years, he gets up at the hour of Yin to practice martial arts and calligraphy. He is so hardworking behind people's backs, and he is also meticulous in front of people, with a smile on his face, and he never reveals any clues. Everyone who sees him says that he is a very good person, and everyone praises him.

He was such a person, and the maids and servants in Yuhui Hall were also like this. Wen Chu was really not someone who could be content to be a maid. But it didn't matter, there was still a long time to come, and he was not in a hurry. As long as she stopped having those thoughts that she shouldn't have, he could turn a blind eye.

He said calmly: "Stretch out your hand."

Wen Chu looked up at him, "Didn't we agree not to fight?"

Song Yu laughed angrily. The ruler wasn't even in here, so what could he use to hit her? He said, "Since I said I won't hit you this time, I won't do it again."

"Then why are you reaching out?"

Song Yusheng looked at her coldly with a white mist in his eyes. Wen Chu made him feel uneasy, so he didn't dare to say anything and just stretched out his hand honestly.

Seeing that she had behaved herself, Song Yusheng took a bottle of medicine from the shelf behind him, opened the bottle, grabbed Wen Chu's wrist and pulled her forward.

Wen Chu understood what he was going to do.

Sure enough, the next moment, she felt a sharp pain in her hand, and Song Yusheng directly sprinkled the medicine on her hand.

Wen Chu said: "Isn't it just a little scratch? Is it necessary to use medicine?"

Song Yusheng said, "Do you think I don't know what you are thinking? You are thinking that if the injury on your hand doesn't heal, you can avoid the board forever."

Wen Chu did think so, and she didn't expect him to expose her directly. She changed the subject and asked, "Why did you put medicine in the bathing area?"

She didn't understand why medicine was always kept in this clean room.
Seeing her asking, Song Yusheng just said, "It's convenient."

He was often injured when he was young. At that time, he found it troublesome to take off his clothes to apply medicine. Later, he simply put the medicine in the bathroom and applied it directly after taking a bath, which saved trouble.

Later, when I grew up, it became a habit.

He took some gauze from the shelf and wrapped it around her hand. His movements were not gentle and it caused Wen Chu some pain. However, under the pressure of Song Yusheng's power, Wen Chu did not dare to say anything and could only express her dissatisfaction by grimacing.

Song Yusheng noticed her, looked up at her, and said calmly, "Why is your face twitching?"

(End of this chapter)