Chapter 38: What Did You Dream of Me?

At this moment, the room door was knocked upon.

Nan Xueyin heard the voice of Cui Mama from outside: "Miss Doukou, let Linglang and me come in to help you wash and dress."

Nan Xueyin knew what she was thinking.

Cui Mama had spent a long time in the palace, so naturally, she was a bit more shrewd. She had noticed the Crown Prince's unique partiality for this little palace maid, and thus, she had begun to curry favor and pledge her loyalty early on.

She thought that once the little palace maid became a Lady or a favored Consort in the future, she would be able to reap some benefits.

Nan Xueyin got up and unlocked the door. Standing outside were Cui Mama and Linglang, both smiling ingratiatingly at her.

"Come in, both of you."

Nan Xueyin sat before the vanity. The many pieces of jewelry the Crown Prince had bought for her yesterday had not yet been put away, scattered across the tabletop.

Through the mirror, Nan Xueyin saw Linglang's face full of envy, staring fixedly at the jewelry on the table, almost drooling.

Nan Xueyin's thoughts shifted slightly; she picked up a jade hairpin and handed it over.

Linglang was startled, "This..."

Nan Xueyin said calmly: "We entered the palace around the same time and came to the Eastern Palace together, but I've noticed you haven't added much jewelry. This piece suits you well; I'm giving it to you."

Linglang certainly wanted to accept it, but having learned to be a bit smarter in the few months since entering the palace, she first glanced at Cui Mama.

Nan Xueyin added: "These were given to me by the Crown Prince, and he will give me more in the future. But I only have one head and cannot wear so much jewelry, so just take this one."

The implication of these words was actually that she was currently in favor and would have more favor in the future; she was using this hairpin to buy people's hearts.

Linglang didn't quite understand, but Cui Mama understood immediately and said with a smile: "Since Miss Doukou is giving it to you, just accept it."

Having received her permission, Linglang finally let out a breath and took the jade hairpin.

Holding it in her palm, the more she looked at it, the more she liked it.

Nan Xueyin withdrew her gaze.

When she arrived at the Crown Prince's room, he had just gotten up and was sitting on the edge of the bed with no expression on his face.

Nan Xueyin called out softly: "Your Highness."

Seeing her, Xiao Youlan was clearly a bit happier, "Why have you come over so early?"

Nan Xueyin smiled with her eyes, knelt before the bed, and prepared to put Xiao Youlan's shoes on for him.

Xiao Youlan leaned down, caught her hands, and said in a low voice: "Your injury hasn't healed yet."

Nan Xueyin looked up, "This does not hinder this servant from serving Your Highness."

Xiao Youlan pinched her fingers, "It is me."

"How is Your Highness?"

"My heart aches." Xiao Youlan's voice was very low, yet exceptionally gentle.

After speaking, he let go of her and put on his own shoes and socks.

Nan Xueyin remained kneeling on the floor, so Xiao Youlan reached out to pull her up.

Looking at this clean, beautiful hand, Nan Xueyin suddenly remembered that dream.

She held Xiao Youlan's hand and stood up, saying: "Your Highness, last night this servant had a dream, and I dreamt of you."

Xiao Youlan raised his eyebrows and asked: "Dreamt of me doing what?"

"I dreamt that Your Highness took this servant to watch fireworks again. We watched them on the grass, and after watching, Your Highness kissed this servant," Nan Xueyin said.

In any case, it was her dream; no one could question it no matter how much nonsense she spoke.

Xiao Youlan was stunned for a moment.

"In the dream, Your Highness did not kiss my shoulder, nor did you kiss my eyes," Nan Xueyin stood before him, tying his belt, her voice light and soft, "Your Highness kissed this servant's lips and even said you wanted to have a son with me. This servant said, 'But we are on the grass,' and Your Highness said, 'No one will see.' You had your personal guards clear everyone away within ten miles, and tonight no matter what we do..."

Xiao Youlan suddenly covered her mouth with his hand.

Nan Xueyin looked up and saw that his earlobes were bright red.

The pure-hearted Crown Prince was shy again.

He stared at her for a long while and whispered: "Even if they were cleared away, we couldn't be on the grass. There is mud, and there might be insects and snakes."

Nan Xueyin tilted her head.

"Besides, I prefer a daughter."

As he spoke, Xiao Youlan became even shyer.

He gathered his courage and leaned down to kiss her, aiming for her lips, but because he was covering her mouth, the kiss landed only on the back of his own hand.

Yet, even just from this, Xiao Youlan was already blushing to the roots of his hair.

He dared not look at Nan Xueyin's eyes again; he let her go and strode away.

From Nan Xueyin's angle, she saw his earlobes were so red they looked as if they could drip blood.

The Crown Prince went to the morning court, and Nan Xueyin went to prepare breakfast.

"Today I plan to stew an old duck soup for His Highness; this kind of old soup must be simmered over a slow fire for several hours."

Nan Xueyin pointed to one of them, "Mu Cheng, you once served in the Imperial Kitchen, so you shall watch over the old duck soup from start to finish."

This Mu Cheng, besides being transferred from the Imperial Kitchen, had one other trait: he and Feihong were similar in stature and build.

Nan Xueyin intended to use him to test the Crown Prince first.

If Xiao Youlan mistook him for Feihong, it would prove that he truly could not distinguish a person's appearance.

"If you start stewing it now, it should be ready before lunch. If you feel it is about done, come find me," Nan Xueyin said, "Generally, I am serving in His Highness's room."

"Yes."

To Nan Xueyin's surprise, she did not know what had happened today, but when Xiao Youlan returned from the court, his expression was grave, and he was followed by several men dressed as court officials.

Nan Xueyin waited outside the study and heard the indignant voices of those men.

"... To commit such an atrocious act, even a thousand cuts would not be enough!"

"In this vast Ye Dynasty, who knows how many such parasites there are, scraping the fat and blood of the people, causing the commoners to suffer unspeakably! They must be punished severely without leniency!"

"Sounds like they caught a corrupt official?"

But an older one shook his head, "This matter must be considered carefully! This person's official rank is not considered very high, yet he was able to embezzle such a vast amount of property. One would think there is a more formidable power behind him; what has been uncovered now is merely a drop in the ocean. We still need to select someone capable to interrogate him thoroughly, preferably to fish out the big fish behind him."

During their conversation, they had already reached the door of the study. Seeing Nan Xueyin, the few people walking with them guessed her identity and stopped their discussion in unison.

"Your Highness." Nan Xueyin curtsied.

Facing her, Xiao Youlan's expression softened, and he said, "I have some matters to attend to; I will accompany you later."

Nan Xueyin looked at him: "You haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

Xiao Youlan smiled, "I will eat later."

Who would have thought that once they entered the study, they would stay for the entire morning, and no one had gone in since.

As lunchtime approached, Mu Cheng came looking for her, so Nan Xueyin put her plans for the day on hold and went to the small kitchen to check on the old duck soup.

Unexpectedly, Feihong was there too.

He was full of worry, saying to the others: "At this hour, the Crown Prince is still in the study discussing matters. The Prince didn't even eat breakfast today; if he doesn't eat lunch either and gets hungry enough to fall ill, no one can bear the responsibility for that!"

Seeing Nan Xueyin, Feihong looked as if he had seen a straw to save his life, "Miss Doukou, the Prince's constitution cannot withstand such hunger!"

Nan Xueyin was puzzled: "You are his personal attendant, why don't you go in and ask?"

Feihong looked troubled, "How could I dare! The Prince dislikes being disturbed the most when he is discussing official business."

Nan Xueyin was even more puzzled, "Then you want me to go and disturb the Prince?"

Feihong scratched his head, "The Prince likes you, doesn't he? He even always sends Official Shu away on errands for your sake..."

Nan Xueyin:?

No wonder she hadn't seen Shu Yu these past few days; it turned out he had been sent away again.

Feihong added: "Miss Doukou, this clearly shows the Crown Prince's affection for you. Tell me, since the Prince likes you so much, can you just watch him go hungry!"

Nan Xueyin found it amusing. Did he think she was some naive little girl to be fooled? He was merely worried about being scolded himself, so he pushed the burden onto her to shoulder.

However, Nan Xueyin felt it was not unfeasible.

She soon had a new plan and nodded: "That's right, the Prince treats me so well, I cannot let the Prince go hungry."

Feihong breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll go check how the old duck soup is stewing first," Nan Xueyin said, "Feihong, go fetch a basin of water. The Prince has been busy all morning; if he is to eat lunch, he must wash his hands clean first."

Feihong gave an approving "Ay," "Miss Doukou is indeed thoughtful!"

Saying this, he went to prepare the water.

Nan Xueyin then went over to check the old duck soup.

Actually, it was almost ready, but she needed to buy some time, so she said to Mu Cheng: "Let it stew for another cup of tea's time."

Mu Cheng agreed.

Once Feihong had prepared the clear water, Nan Xueyin also took a pot of hot water, and the two went toward the study together.

The sound of discussion in the room was no longer as intense as it was at the beginning; Nan Xueyin estimated that they were about finished talking.

She said to Feihong: "You wait for me outside; go in only after those officials have left."

Feihong was more than happy to do so.

Taking advantage of the gap while everyone in the study was quiet, Nan Xueyin carried the hot water and walked inside.