A man as straight as a pine or bamboo walked steadily down from the high platform. He stood in front of Caiyu, slightly lowering his head to look at her. His eyes were cold, like those of a Buddha looking down with mercy.
The garden fell into complete silence.
Caiyu lowered her head uneasily, feeling his gaze fixed on her.
After a long while, Song Yinghuai's voice rang out above her head. "You fell twice. Did you hurt your foot?"
As soon as his words fell, everyone's faces showed shock.
It was the first time the prince had shown concern for a woman since he started practicing Buddhism!
Caiyu was extremely frightened. "Thank you, Your Highness, for your inquiry. It's my fault. My foot is indeed injured."
Song Yinghuai instructed Ji Ming. "Tell the doctor in the mansion to check her injury."
Ji Ming was stunned for a moment, then quickly responded and took the order.
All the other women showed looks of jealousy and hatred on their faces. What kind of seductress was Caiyu? Even after falling and getting disfigured, why did the prince still notice her?
Nanny Yu was overjoyed when she saw this.
But Caiyu felt dizzy.
She guessed that Song Yinghuai must be suspicious of her, so he was sending someone to check on her.
She forced herself to stay calm and said reluctantly, "I'm just a lowly servant. I don't dare to trouble Your Highness."
Song Yinghuai slightly curled his lips, as if with a hint of playfulness. His voice was as clear as jade, captivating people's hearts.
"All sentient beings are equal, without any superiority or inferiority."
Caiyu felt a tightness in her chest and lowered her head silently.
The doctor from the prince's mansion soon arrived.
Caiyu thought she would have to have her trouser leg rolled up in full view of everyone, so her face turned pale.
The maids in the garden showed gloating expressions, while the servants with ulterior motives tried hard to hide their strange looks but still stared directly at this side.
Unexpectedly, Song Yinghuai just glanced at them lightly and told Caiyu to go up to the pavilion on the high platform. The guards of the prince's mansion stood with their hands behind their backs, facing outwards to form a human wall, blocking everyone's view.
Caiyu sat in front of the beautiful railing in the pavilion, her heart trembling slightly.
She didn't expect that the man who was like a wolf last night would still care about the reputation of a lowly servant even when suspecting her. It was really rare.
No wonder the maids like Luhe showed infatuated looks, and no wonder the noble ladies in Yanjing City still flocked to him even though they knew he had become a Buddhist.
The doctor asked her to take off her silk socks and roll up her trouser leg to her knee. There were long scratches on both sides, swollen and red.
"You fell quite hard, miss," the doctor said. "I'll prescribe some ointments to reduce swelling and disperse stasis. Apply them on time these days, and the swelling will go away soon."
Song Yinghuai turned around. He originally wanted to check the injury, but his eyes couldn't help but fall on her feet.
Her legs were gracefully shaped, with smooth skin. Her ankles were slender, and the insteps were slightly raised. At this moment, because of nervousness and shyness, her ten toes, like tender lotus roots, curled up slightly, looking even more adorable.
If these feet were held in his big palm, how soft and warm they would be.
Song Yinghuai's eyes darkened. He reached out and gently twirled the Buddhist beads on his left wrist to calm himself down. When he looked again, his eyes were clear.
He had been staring at her feet for quite a long time. Caiyu felt extremely uncomfortable and finally couldn't bear it anymore. She weakly called out, pleadingly, "Your Highness."
The doctor's hand that was writing the prescription trembled.
Goodness!
If he were ten years younger, how could he resist such a call?
But Song Yinghuai's expression was as calm as usual, as if he had just been looking at an ordinary object.
"Since she's injured so badly, the head nanny shouldn't assign any tasks to her these days. Let her recuperate well."
Nanny Yu forced herself to suppress the smile on her lips and agreed.
Song Yinghuai didn't say anything else and just left directly.
It wasn't until his tall figure completely disappeared that Caiyu slumped down, half leaning on the lacquered wooden railing.
Obviously, Song Yinghuai hadn't done anything and had hardly said a few words, but she had a feeling of surviving a disaster.
Nanny Yu leaned close to her ear and said, "Miss Caiyu, this is a great thing!"
A great thing?
Caiyu forced a bitter smile.
If she hadn't taken out the sleeping drug to knock Song Yinghuai out last night, she would have believed Nanny Yu's words.
But at this moment, she had no idea whether Song Yinghuai had noticed any flaws.
"Your Highness, are you just going to take one look at that servant girl and be done with it?" Zhu Xiao asked persistently.
Song Yinghuai looked straight ahead, rubbing the Buddhist beads on his wrist. He casually retorted, "Do I need to take another look?"
"No," Zhu Xiao scratched his head. "Then did Your Highness notice anything?"
Song Yinghuai slowed down his steps slightly and said, "Her legs are swollen but there are no bruises yet. The wounds are new. She wasn't injured last night."
Zhu Xiao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly became angry. "That girl dared to lie? Why did she lie?"
"Probably out of fear."
Song Yinghuai spat out a few words from his thin lips. Caiyu's swollen lips appeared in his mind, overlapping with the sweet red lips he had bitten last night.
Zhu Xiao immediately put away his angry look and scratched his head embarrassedly. "You're right. Little girls are timid. Hehe!"
Zhu Xiao thought for a moment and then said, "But Your Highness, you've already seen that girl's feet. If you don't take her in, what will happen to her in the future?"
Zhang Ce glared at him. "You know that if the prince breaks his vow, it will cost him his life. Why are you coming up with such a stupid idea?"
Zhu Xiao said, "Alas, it's worth dying under the peony flower. I don't believe that the Eastern Depot has the ability to spy on our Prince Yan's Mansion!"
"You!" Zhang Ce wished he could take off his boots and stuff them into Zhu Xiao's mouth.
Zhu Xiao shouted at the eaves, black tiles, meditation rooms, and flowers and trees all around.
"You bastards from the Eastern Depot! If you have the guts, show yourselves. I'll cut off your heads and use them as urinals! Hahaha!"
The sparse shadows swayed slightly all around, as if a gentle breeze had passed by.
"I think Zhu Xiao's suggestion is quite good," Song Yinghuai suddenly said, with a half - smile on his lips.
The two fierce generals of the Yan Army turned their heads in unison. "What?"
Caiyu was still in a daze when Nanny Yu informed her to move to a new room.
Nanny Yu leaned close to her ear, unable to hide her joy. "Our master was right about you. In the past six years, countless beautiful women have been sent to the Yan area, but only you have succeeded."
Caiyu could hear the pounding of her own heart.
Although she thought Song Yinghuai was suspicious of her, being promoted to a senior maid would give her the opportunity to be by Song Yinghuai's side all the time. How could she fail to achieve her goal?
The news that Song Yinghuai was going to take in a senior maid reached the ears of the old princess, Consort Yao, immediately.
A senior maid was the prince's personal servant. It was also the first time in six years that the prince had agreed to have a maid serve him personally. The old princess must screen the candidate for her son.
Caiyu was quickly summoned to the Wanxiang Hall.
Consort Yao's original name was Yao Wenzhu. She was a concubine who served the emperor and was given the title of Dun.
Later, when Song Yinghuai returned to his fief, as his biological mother, she voluntarily accompanied him.
"I heard that you lost a string of Buddhist beads a few days ago. Have you found them?"
Consort Yao's tone was gentle, with a hint of concern.
Song Yinghuai was holding a string of green sandalwood Buddhist beads between his fingers today. When he heard Consort Yao's question, he didn't look up but slowly rotated each bead one by one. He said coldly,
"Not yet."
She asked about something that was lost a few days ago only today, which showed that she wasn't really concerned about the lost item.
"It doesn't matter if you lost it. I'll go to the Great Baoen Temple another day and pray for you to get another string," Consort Yao said.
Song Yinghuai didn't comment. "Everything is predestined. If it's meant to be yours, it will be yours eventually. If not, don't force it. Mother, don't worry about it. It's okay that it's lost."
Consort Yao was his mother. Although they weren't close since childhood, she still knew him quite well. If he were really so calm, why did he take in that maid?
Just as Caiyu stepped outside the Wanxiang Hall, she happened to hear Consort Yao's gentle voice.
"You're devoting yourself to Buddhism. You shouldn't keep a woman by your side. After all, you're still young and energetic..."