Consort of a Thousand Faces

Su Xi-er glanced at the imperial guards and shook her head. “The Empress Dowager instructed that the rest must be moved by me alone.”

 

“Hardly anyone comes to the backyard. No one will know if we quickly finish moving them for you.” Right afterwards, the two imperial bodyguards began to help. With their assistance, the task was finished relatively quickly.

 

“Thank you, imperial guard Brothers.”

 

The two imperial guards felt embarrassed and one of them asked, “Which palace are you from? I haven’t seen you before in the Compassionate Peace Palace before.”

 

“I am not from the Compassionate Peace Palace. I was previously in the Palace Side Quarters and currently reside in the Laundry Service Bureau.”

 

The imperial guards quivered. “Could it be that you are Su Xi-er?”

 

They had caught wind of some gossip while on duty, hearing that Prince Hao paid this woman quite a bit of attention.

 

Su Xi-er nodded. “I am.”

 

“So it’s actually you! That’s strange. You are so beautiful, and Prince Hao has also been pretty good to you so far. Why hasn’t he taken you into the Beauty Palace?”

 

These two are imperial guards from the Compassionate Peace Palace. Maybe what I say will enter the Empress Dowager’s ears.

 

How convenient; I can take advantage of this chance to emphasise that I have no relationship with Pei Qianhao.

 

“You shouldn’t listen to all the rumours that you hear. Prince Hao’s position is far and away from my own; I would only be seeking a tragic end if I tried to form connections with him. Prince Hao himself doesn’t even have any interest in me either.”

 

“Ah? I heard the Laundry Service Bureau’s palace maids say that Prince Hao only allows you to wash his clothes. How can he possibly have no interest in you?”

 

Su Xi-er felt that even men would develop a penchant for gossip when they were in the imperial palace.

 

“He really has no interest in me. If he really did, I should be in the Beauty Palace by now. That sort of speculative hearsay is just a result of people having loose tongues, resulting in many people misunderstanding me. I just focus on doing my job correctly.” Su Xi-er then smiled at them.

 

That smile was enough to warm people’s hearts. In the eyes of the two imperial guards, Su Xi-er was a beautiful scenery.

 

They immediately felt embarrassed and scratched the back of their heads.

 

Su Xi-er urged them, “Well then, you two should quickly go back to your duty in keeping guard.” 

 

The two imperial guards nodded and immediately left.

 

No one knew that Pei Yaran was standing in one corner and had heard their whole conversation.

 

She had originally come to look at those pines, but inadvertently stumbled upon this scene. She found out from Su Xi-er’s mouth that Prince Hao had no interest in her at all. It was just that the others were spreading false rumours that had snowballed into such a huge debacle. 

 

However, the imperial guard from the Prince Hao Residence had clearly come to the Compassionate Peace Palace to convey Prince Hao’s verbal edict today. Who exactly is spouting nonsense?

 

With these thoughts rifling through her mind, Pei Yaran walked out from the corner of the yard.

 

When Su Xi-er noticed her, she immediately bowed, “This servant pays her respects to the Empress Dowager.”

 

“Speak the truth, what is your relationship with Prince Hao?”

 

Su Xi-er revealed an astonished expression. “This servant doesn’t have the least bit of relationship with Prince Hao.”

 

Now that they had gotten to this point, Pei Yaran didn’t plan on hiding anything and directly stated, “Just a moment ago, an imperial guard from the Prince Hao Residence came to the Compassionate Peace Palace and conveyed some words to this Empress Dowager. He said that only you are allowed to wash Prince Hao’s clothes, and that this Empress Dowager is not to make things difficult for you.”

 

So that imperial guard had actually told Pei Yaran something like that. What on earth does Pei Qianhao want to do? He’s causing me to become the target of everyone.

 

Since it’s like this, I can only counter every move I run into. I can only bank on the fact that there are some things Pei Yaran will definitely not mention to Pei Qianhao.

 

Hence, Su Xi-er replied, “Empress Dowager, you have misunderstood. Prince Hao is doing this to target this servant. Not because he is interested in this servant.”

 

“Misunderstood? What has this Empress Dowager misunderstood? Say it clearly.” Pei Yaran sized her up carefully, not missing a single change in expression.

 

Why would I have misunderstood her? Everything is clearly laid out in front of me.