readytorunbook Chapter 407 The Princess's Maid (11)
Chapter 407 The Princess's Maid (11)
Looking at Qi Ning's somewhat resentful appearance, Yue Zeyuan finally relented after a moment.
"Fine, she's just a servant girl. You can keep her if you want."
"really?"
Qi Ning raised her eyes, a hint of surprise in them, as if she hadn't expected Yue Zeyuan to agree.
Yue Zeyuan nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Yulan quickly pointed at Yun Jing, who was kneeling on the ground: "Why don't you hurry up and express your gratitude?"
Yun Jing was naturally extremely unwilling. How could she, a princess, be reduced to a servant and have to serve her former maid?
But she had no choice now; if she didn't agree, she would only face death.
Yun Jing lowered her head, concealing the murderous intent in her eyes, and kowtowed again: "This servant thanks Your Majesty and the Princess."
Qi Ning smiled with satisfaction.
At this moment, Yue Zeyuan suddenly remembered something else.
He pointed at Yun Jing and asked Qi Ning, "What did you say this servant girl's name was?"
"Ning'er."
"Which Ning?"
“Ning means peace and tranquility.”
"Wouldn't that offend your title of princess?"
Yue Zeyuan's expression revealed a hint of dissatisfaction.
"How dare a mere servant girl offend her master's title with her name? Does your Chu Kingdom not even distinguish between superiors and inferiors?"
Qi Ning was slightly taken aback; she hadn't expected Yue Zeyuan to notice such a small matter.
"As I told you, this servant was temporarily assigned to my side by the Third Princess of Chu to accompany me on my marriage alliance. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but that's what she was originally called, and I'm too lazy to change it."
How could a princess of a nation make such a mistake? It was clearly intentional.
Yue Zeyuan remembered that at first, the Chu Kingdom intended to send the third princess of Chu to marry into the royal family, but later it was changed to the orphaned daughter of the King of Yun.
It's easy to see that the reason behind the replacement must be the Third Princess of Chu. It must be that the Third Princess of Chu and Yun Jing have a grudge, so she not only made Yun Jing take her place in the marriage, but also specially sent a maid who offended her title.
If that's the case, this maidservant was probably used for more than just offending her; she was definitely used to monitor her every move.
If Yue Zeyuan could guess the entanglement behind this, he didn't believe Qi Ning couldn't.
He said nothing else, only, "Change this servant girl's name."
A servant's name is given by her master, so naturally she can change it whenever she wants.
Yue Zeyuan glanced at Yulan standing to the side and casually said, "Let's call her Yutao."
Jade Peach?
Yu Tao tried to escape.
Yue Zeyuan's casual choice of name is actually quite fitting.
Qi Ning almost couldn't help but laugh.
"That's good, let's call it Jade Peach."
She looked at Yun Jing kneeling below: "Yu Tao, His Majesty personally bestowed a name upon you, why don't you thank him?"
Yun Jing was already resentful of being treated as a slave, and now the Emperor of Yue had bestowed upon her such a name; she was so angry she wanted to grind her teeth to powder.
After a while, she bent down and kowtowed for the third time that day, gritting her teeth as she thanked His Majesty: "This servant, Yu Tao, thanks Your Majesty for bestowing upon me this name."
If she weren't currently at the mercy of others, Yun Jing would never have suffered this loss.
After recognizing the name, she hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Princess, I wonder what happened to the person who was with me. Please forgive him, Your Majesty and Princess."
The person she was referring to was naturally Shen Yixiao.
Yun Jing endured these humiliations partly for Shen Yixiao's sake.
No matter what, Shen Yixiao's current situation is all because of her.
Qi Ning knew that as long as Yun Jing wasn't forced to choose between Shen Yixiao and Chu Hanfeng, and since Yun Jing still had some feelings for Shen Yixiao, it was normal for her to plead for him.
"Oh? Who is it?" Qi Ning pretended not to know.
"You don't know?" Yue Zeyuan asked her.
Qi Ning shook her head.
If she said she knew, wouldn't that be tantamount to telling Yue Zeyuan that another man had been to Yaohua Palace that night before he arrived?
Even if the man was a maid who came to meet her, it wouldn't do Qi Ning any good if this news got out.
"I don't know. Didn't Yu Tao escape by climbing out the window all by herself? No wonder you were able to escape the palace. It turns out someone was there to help you. Who else was with you? Tell me."
Yun Jing had to admire Qi Ning's ability to tell a string of lies.
She thought to herself, "I really underestimated Ning'er before."
If I had known, I should have killed her no matter what before I left that night.
Yun Jing took a deep breath. She couldn't possibly reveal Shen Yixiao's true identity, so she could only say, "He is my childhood sweetheart and brother. He was a guard in the wedding procession. He was implicated because I tried to escape. I beg Your Majesty and the princess to forgive him."
“If he loses his life because of me, then I will have no face to live on.”
Yun Jing's next sentence carried a hidden meaning; it was a threat to Qi Ning.
It means that if Shen Yixiao dies, she doesn't plan to live either, and before she dies, she wants to drag Qi Ning down with her.
Qi Ning sneered inwardly. Now Yun Jing knew how to threaten her, but in the original story, Shen Yixiao was killed by Chu Hanfeng for her sake, and she didn't follow Shen Yixiao in a suicide pact. She still forgave Chu Hanfeng.
Why didn't she want to drag Chu Hanfeng down with her to be buried with Shen Yixiao in the original storyline, but now she wants to drag her down with Shen Yixiao?
She probably just wanted to threaten her; Qi Ning didn't believe she would really die for Shen Yixiao.
However, it's hard to say whether Yun Jing can drag her down with her, but she can certainly expose her identity.
Qi Ning certainly didn't want Yun Jing to expose her identity for the time being.
She lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then said to Yue Zeyuan, "In my opinion, what childhood sweetheart brother? That man is Yu Tao's lover. They ran away together because they wanted to elope."
"What, you're not only pleading for your servant, but also for your servant's lover?" Yue Zeyuan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Qi Ning snorted: "That's not what I meant. I was just asking. Does he have to kill me?"
Yue Zeyuan picked up a teacup from the coffee table, took a slow sip, and said in a low voice, "He has committed a capital offense."
That's right. Stealing someone from the emperor's harem is a capital offense.
From their back-and-forth conversation, Yun Jing could tell that they both wanted to kill Shen Yixiao.
She was so anxious that she tried to move forward, but was held back by the palace servants behind her. She still cried out urgently, "Your Majesty, Princess, I beg you, please spare his life! He is truly innocent!"
Yue Zeyuan slammed his teacup down: "These are your Chu slaves, they have no manners."
Qi Ning observed Yue Zeyuan's expression and tried to guess what he was thinking.
Then, she said coldly to Yun Jing, "His Majesty didn't say he was going to kill him. What are you shouting about? If you keep making a scene, you'll be executed too."
Qi Ning looked at Yun Jing, signaling with her eyes to stop making a scene.
Yun Jing then calmed down for the time being.
She wondered to herself, what does Ning'er mean by this?
"His Majesty didn't say he wanted to kill him," does that mean Yue Zeyuan won't kill Shen Yixiao?
"But……"
Yun Jing was still a little worried and wanted to say something more, but Qi Ning interrupted her directly.
"Alright, Yulan, take her downstairs. Punish her if she deserves it, and teach her some manners."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Yulan curtsied in response.
Yulan had long been fed up with Yutao. She was truly a treacherous servant, utterly devoid of loyalty and utterly ignorant of hierarchy.
If she continues to cause trouble like this, His Majesty will be enraged, and everyone in the palace will be implicated.
Eunuch Xu couldn't stand it any longer either. He quickly ordered, "Quickly, drag this servant away, give her a beating, and teach her some manners."
The two men gestured to the palace servants to cover Yun Jing's mouth and forcibly dragged her away, finally bringing peace to the hall.
Qi Ning watched as Yun Jing was dragged away. Turning around, she saw Yue Zeyuan looking at her with a half-smile.
How do you know I won't kill him?
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