Lu Mingyuan didn't give it much thought and nodded slightly.
Everything was understood without a word.
After the salute, Zhou Pingfu returned to his retinue and continued his patrol through the palace.
Lu Mingyuan then returned to Qingzhu Hall, not paying much mind to the small interlude.
'I wonder how powerful a force they'll become in the future.'
.....
「Qingzhu Hall.」
The oil lamp cast a faint yellow glow, and moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the corners of the great hall and making it feel exceptionally desolate.
As Lu Mingyuan lay in bed, several lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[Gua Cheng, Great Fortune.]
[Acquired Mortal White Fate Grid - Martial Artist, Refinement Level 50%]
[Mortal White Life Chart (Martial Artist): A valiant Martial Artist is a bulwark to dukes and marquises. A million corpses may lie across a thousand mountains and rivers, but the nation's fate is secured through Martial might. A mere Martial Artist, with a heart devoted to the Martial Dao, can display its redness to the heavens.]
[Unlocked Life Chart Trait - Red Heart (Basic Level)]
"Red Heart (Basic Level): Single-minded and unyielding. The progress of your Martial Dao cultivation is doubled."
Lu Mingyuan's eyes lit up, his face breaking into a wide grin. A fire ignited in his heart.
'This Fate Grid is perfect for me!'
'It's a huge help. An absolutely massive help.'
He had been worrying that his Martial Dao cultivation was progressing too slowly. Now, with the boost from the "Martial Artist" Fate Grid, his cultivation speed would definitely rise to a whole new level!
'Maybe I can even break through to the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm this month!'
Lu Mingyuan's heart soared with excitement.
"Your Highness, it's time to wash up and rest."
Zi Yun walked obediently into the room, carrying a wooden basin filled with hot water. She wore a purple palace dress that traced her graceful, charming figure. If one didn't look at her face, she was truly a great beauty.
"Oh, alright."
After a month in the Cold Palace, Lu Mingyuan had gradually grown accustomed to being served.
He only had to extend his leg, and someone would be there to wash his feet.
Lu Mingyuan's gaze shifted downward and he inadvertently noticed something wrapped around Zi Yun's collarbone area—something like a bandage.
"What's that wrapped around your chest?"
he asked directly.
Zi Yun glanced down at her collar, her cheeks flushing slightly. "It's a chest binding."
"You bind your chest?"
Lu Mingyuan asked in surprise.
Zi Yun nodded. "Yes. If I don't, it's inconvenient to move around. When practicing martial arts, the elders in the palace all taught us to do this."
Lu Mingyuan was well aware of how harmful chest binding could be. Out of genuine concern, he said seriously,
"I order you: starting tonight, you are not to bind your chest anymore."
Although Zi Yun didn't understand, she still replied, "As you command."
After his feet were washed, Lu Mingyuan prepared to sleep.
But he noticed that Zi Yun hadn't left. She was standing uncertainly by the bed, hesitating.
"Why are you still standing there?"
Lu Mingyuan asked, puzzled.
Zi Yun's face—one half pure and lovely, the other marred by a burn on her forehead—was filled with conflict. She bit her lip and said, "There has always been another duty that palace maids are required to fulfill. But Your Highness has not asked this servant to perform... that sort of thing for a whole month, so this servant feels uneasy about it."
This was the first Lu Mingyuan had heard of such a rule. He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and said, "What's there to feel uneasy about? This Prince is not in the mood."
Hearing this, Zi Yun trembled. In an aggrieved tone, she said, "I know Your Highness thinks I'm sullied, that I'm not beautiful, and that I'll always belong to the Fifth Prince. That's why you've never been willing to trust this servant. But this servant is truly and sincerely devoted to you. Besides, the Fifth Prince found me hideous and never touched me. This servant is still a virgin, and the palace sand on my arm is proof."
Lu Mingyuan narrowed his eyes. His "Recognizing People" ability slowly activated, and he saw Zi Yun's true thoughts at a glance.
"You're terrified, but not of me. What are you afraid of?"
"This servant is afraid of leaving Qingzhu Hall... of leaving Your Highness."
Zi Yun's eyes reddened as she answered honestly.
"Hahaha."
Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan laughed. "You must be joking."
In truth, however, he could see her expression clearly. She wasn't lying.
Zi Yun's voice was frail. "This servant feels that Your Highness isn't actually like the rumors say—that you are not the lecherous gambler people claim you are. In private, you are actually an extremely loyal and honorable person."
"What do you mean, you 'feel'? Are your feelings of any use?"
Lu Mingyuan said, his face expressionless.
"This servant knows her fault."
Zi Yun immediately knelt, her expression terrified. She didn't even dare to wipe away her tears.
Lu Mingyuan watched her, silent.
'I can't believe I overlooked such a detail.'
'The palace maid of the Capital City's number one wastrel is still a virgin. Could there be a bigger flaw in my disguise than that?'
'A miscalculation.'
Lu Mingyuan rubbed his furrowed brow, then patted the spot on the bed beside him. He said to Zi Yun,
"Come sit here."
Zi Yun obediently and demurely walked over. She smoothed her skirt before sitting down, her virtuous and gentle temperament on full display.
Lu Mingyuan studied her face. She had delicate eyebrows, almond eyes, skin as white as snow, and an incomparably charming melon-seed-shaped face with moist, red lips. Such a kind-hearted woman, yet her face was ruined.
But honestly, the scar on her face wasn't as large as he'd imagined. It ran from her right cheek to her forehead, no bigger than half a palm. Once you got used to it, it wasn't so bad.
But the first glance would definitely startle someone.
"Where did you get that scar?"
Lu Mingyuan asked.
Zi Yun explained, "When I was sixteen, I was burned in a fire while trying to save treasured paintings and calligraphy from the palace collection."
"Where is your family from? What do they do? Why did you enter the palace?"
Lu Mingyuan continued his questioning.
Zi Yun blinked her beautiful eyes and answered honestly, "My family is from Danzhou in the south. My ancestors were fishermen. I entered the palace so my younger brother could afford to study. I can earn a lot of silver here to send home every month."
Lu Mingyuan nodded lightly. He now had a basic understanding.
'A foolish older sister, sold into the palace by her family for the sake of her younger brother.'
As far as he knew, the Great Yan Empire recruited a large number of palace maids and eunuchs from all over the land every year.
These palace maids were consumables, their livelihoods dependent on their youth.
If they didn't make any progress in the palace or secure a key position, they would be replaced every ten or twenty years. After growing old, they would be married off to some commoner. This was the fate of most aging palace maids.
The wealthy gentry and nobility would never sell their daughters into the palace. If their daughters were to enter, it would be through the imperial concubine selections.
Only the poor would sell their daughters into the palace in exchange for a hefty sum of silver.
The strong scent of a man filled Zi Yun's nose. They were only inches apart. Gazing at the handsome man before her, she felt a sense of happiness she hadn't experienced in a long time.
After a series of cruel tests, she had finally managed to enter the palace, only to be faced with the cruel and heartless Fifth Prince.
Every day, she had to face all sorts of people in the palace, never able to hold her head high.
But since coming to Qingzhu Hall, that had all changed.
Peaceful days had actually fallen upon her.
She could hardly believe it.
She had thought the Sixth Prince would be just like the Fifth Prince, but after all this time, she had seen a different side to him.
"Lie down."
A deep, magnetic voice sounded.
Hearing this, Zi Yun's eyelashes trembled slightly. She obediently did as she was told and felt her clothes gradually being removed.
"Hmph. Tonight, I'll let you know just how capable This Prince is!"
The lamp was blown out. On this snowy winter night, Qingzhu Hall, which had always been cold and cheerless, was now exceptionally warm.
...