The Royal’s Little Lady

Merry Christmas!!! Surprise bonus updates coming today. Let’s see how Princess ZhaoYang pays for her actions!

Gu Sui’er didn’t understand how he would do that.

 

She knew that the one who wanted to harm her was none other than His Majesty, the Emperor’s daughter, Princess ZhaoYang.

 

The most honorable person under the sun was the Emperor and his daughter was the most respectable girl in the world.

 

How could he let the most distinguished girl pay for her misdeeds?

 

Gu Sui’er recalled how, not long ago, this Princess ZhaoYang had almost hit her with a whip in the GuiYuan and how nothing happened to her after that. She also recalled how the Old Madam said that the matter was over now.

 

She wanted to forget it but she was still scared ah. Princess ZhaoYang still wanted her to die ah.

 

The Old Madam was an extraordinary person; she was the Emperor’s Aunt. However, the Old Madam might not side with her against the Princess no matter how much she loved her.

 

There were far too many people the Old Madam wanted to dote on. Her own granddaughters and her Imperial nephew’s, the Emperor’s, daughter were all her blood-related family.

 

In fact, she probably appeared at the end of her list.

 

Now that Princess ZhaoYang almost killed her, would she apologize to her? Who else could let Princess ZhaoYang do that?

 

So, when Gu Sui’er heard his words, she didn’t reply. She believed it was impossible. Perhaps, Xiao Heng was merely consoling her.

 

Nevertheless, he didn’t seem to be someone who would comfort others.

 

However, something she absolutely didn’t expect happened. At this very moment, she heard loud voices and footsteps coming from outside.

 

There seemed to be a lot of people talking in the courtyard.

 

Gu Sui’er was somewhat startled. She looked at Xiao Heng in confusion; not understanding what was going on outside.

 

Suddenly, Nanny An entered the room with a pale face. She looked at Xiao Heng with a panic-stricken face: “Third Master, a group of guards from the Imperial Palace are in the courtyard outside. I heard… I heard that His Majesty is here! Th-this… What’s to be done now?!”

 

H-his Majesty?

 

The little baby in Gu Sui’er’s belly seemed to be greatly stimulated as it suddenly kicked her.

 

She wanted to get up. She didn’t dare to lie down anymore.

 

She knew that even if she had a missing arm or leg, she had to get up when the Emperor appeared.

 

Xiao Heng swept a glance at her and appeased her quickly: “You don’t have to move, just lie down.”

 

Ah… Is this alright…

 

Gu Sui’er couldn’t figure it out.

 

Meanwhile, Xiao Heng instructed Nanny An: “Young Mistress has caught a cold and is in poor health. She must rest well now.”

 

Nanny An’s face was filled with apprehension and confusion. Nevertheless, she hurriedly nodded her head when she heard these words: “Yes yes, third Master. This old servant understands!”

 

Xiao Heng went out.

 

After a while, the Old Madam, the Madam, and the others came in with an unknown lady.

 

This lady looked quite graceful. She was dressed in luxurious clothes and wore a phoenix hairpin on her head. She was covered all over with pearls and green jade, making her look extremely honorable as she entered.

 

Gu Sui’er lay on the bed behind the canopy and wondered about her identity in her heart. However, she quickly closed her eyes. She couldn’t possibly continue staring at this noble lady as she walked in, right?

 

Xiao Heng didn’t let her get up. She was uneasy about lying there so she decided to feign sleeping.

 

As the group of people walked close, a burst of sweet fragrance enveloped Gu Sui’er even through the barrier of the embroidered canopy.

 

This fragrance made her uncomfortable. Since she conceived, she had become unable to stand awfully strong scents.

 

She had almost sneezed but fortunately, she was able to suppress it by desperately using her nails to dig into the palm of her hand.

 

“Imperial Aunt, is she that girl from the countryside?” The graceful and dignified lady asked.

 

“Yes, her name is Sui’er. She is from a village at the foot of XuShan. I don’t know if it was an ill-fated thing but she unknowingly became pregnant with Ah Heng’s flesh and blood. Ah Heng is already nineteen. He will be coming of age next year but no suitable girls have been found for him yet. Now, I am afraid his marriage will be delayed even more. I know that although this child would not be his main wife-born child, it was, after all, Ah Heng’s flesh and blood. She had bad health before. After nourishing her body for these months, she can give birth to one or two more offsprings.”

 

The Old Madam looked at the figure ‘sleeping’ quietly on the bed. When her eyes stopped on her thin and weak little face, she sighed: “I didn’t expect that I was actually negligent. I was unable to understand ZhaoYang’s feelings and made her feel wronged.”

 

However, what could have made her feel wronged? The Old Madam had a way with her words, so her remark was anything but what it sounded like.

 

The lady standing beside the Old Madam understood it but she ignored the implied meaning and sighed: “I had reprimanded and punished ZhaoYang about what happened last time. The Emperor was even more furious and forbade her from leaving the Palace. I thought she had turned over a new leaf after that. When she wanted to come over to the Marquis Mansion, I thought that it would also relieve her boredom. Who would have thought that such things would happen! This girl is really an expert at stirring up trouble. She doesn’t care about the severity of her actions.”

 

As she said, she looked down at the woman lying behind the embroidered canopy with a big bulge. A pregnant woman with such a big belly would usually give birth in one or two months.

 

“If something had really happened, how could I have apologized to Imperial Aunt ah! The Emperor would have also felt uncomfortable because of it.”

 

The Old Madam smiled and said: “What is the Empress saying? What would you apologize for? It’s just that Ah Heng, this child, has always been honest and sincere. Although this girl is from a humble countryside family, she is pregnant with his own flesh and blood after all. Moreover, this is Ah Heng’s first child. The feeling of going to be a father inevitably makes him temperamental and worry-prone. And it seems that this time, he is really upset. He turned a deaf ear to my words. I really couldn’t do anything about it ah!”

 

After she said this, she sighed again: “This child has been like this since he was young. I am old now. Even if I want to, I am unable to supervise him anymore.”

 

Both of them spoke eloquently. 

 

Gu Sui’er was only pretending to sleep. So she could hear them loud and clear. From their words, she realized that the lady the Old Madam was talking with was the Empress.

 

The Empress was the Emperor’s wife and the mother of Princess ZhaoYang.

 

The two people talked for a long while before Her Majesty, the Empress finally bestowed a lot of good stuff to her. She said that it was helpful in providing nourishment to both Gu Sui’er and her unborn child.

 

“These things are good for the body, it’ll help her in giving birth to the child.” Her Majesty, the Empress said.

 

“That’s right ah, if there were really any unexpected mishaps, I’m afraid that Ah Heng, this silly boy would take things too hard.” The Old Madam echoed.

 

As they were talking, the door opened and someone walked in. Then, a girl’s loud voice cried out willfully: “Mother Empress, I won’t! Why should I ah!”

 

Gu Sui’er’s hands unconsciously clenched the quilt tightly.

 

This was Princess ZhaoYang’s voice. She was here again.

 

The Empress sneered when she heard it: “Even if you don’t want to do it, you have to do it. This is your Father Emperor’s Imperial decree. Come over and humbly apologize to this young lady.”

 

Gu Sui’er couldn’t help being surprised when she heard this.

 

A princess was told to ask for her forgiveness? She really did not expect it. In fact, if the former could stay far away from her and not hurt her, she would be content with the situation.

 

Hence, she opened her eyes.

 

When she did so, she didn’t forget to pretend to have just woken up. She yawned and blinked her eyes groggily: “Old Madam, why are you here?”

 

Nanny An seemed to realize that her Young Mistress didn’t have any intention of noticing the Empress and her soul almost flew away in fear. She hurriedly introduced her, why she came to see her, and even explained that she should kneel and greet her.

 

Gu Sui’er had just been feigning a daze, so she was about to get up after hearing Nanny An’s words.

 

“You are pregnant and you fell into the water. You should lie down now. You are exempt from kowtowing.”

 

Of course, Gu Sui’er knew that these words were nothing but perfunctory and didn’t pay any heed to the words.

 

Regardless, her belly was really big. Generally, she could only get up with the help of Nanny An. Now, not only was she in a hurry but she also had to get up by herself. It took her quite the effort to even prop her body up with her slender arms.

 

The two Young Madams couldn’t bear to look at her anymore.

 

She had a big belly, bigger than most pregnant women. However, she had a weak body. With such narrow shoulders and thin arms, how could she get up by herself!

 

The two Young Madams simultaneously decided to go forward and help Gu Sui’er.

 

But at this moment, Xiao Heng entered the room.

 

Xiao Heng walked up to her and directly pressed Gu Sui’er down, instructing her not to move.

 

After that, he lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, speaking to the Empress in a respectful tone: “Your Majesty, this humble official implores you to permit him to greet you in her place.”

 

The Empress glanced at her and said with a smile: “What permission, just forget it and get up quickly.”

 

Xiao Heng had already knelt down. So when he heard this, he promptly greeted her and got up.

 

Gu Sui’er looked at Xiao Heng in confusion.

 

From what the Old Madam and the Empress said, it seemed that all of this was caused by Xiao Heng. Did he persuade them to come?

 

But she didn’t want it ah. She bit her lip and looked at him, shaking her head gently.

 

His face was devoid of any expression. It was still icy as before.

 

But perhaps Gu Sui’er was already used to him being like this because she actually felt him to be especially approachable.

 

Even if his profound eyes had no warmth in them, she didn’t feel afraid or nervous anymore.

 

In contrast, she felt that the smiling Empress in front of him was even scarier.

 

Looking at him, she unexpectedly felt relieved.

 

With him here, she was sure that he would protect her and their little tadpole at any cost.

 

No matter who these people were and what they wanted to do, she was not afraid anymore.

 

The fearless Gu Sui’er let go of her worries suddenly. She sat on the bed and watched everything silently as if she was an outsider.

 

The Empress, the Old Madam, and Princess ZhaoYang.

 

She remembered the days of her childhood. At that time, when the rich people in the town married, they set up stages for plays, and the other people would also hurry to watch it together at night.

 

On the stage, there were men and women, an Emperor, Empress, and Princesses. All of them would wear gorgeous and brightly-colored clothes as they spoke to each other.

 

Everything was just like before.

 

She clutched her belly and sat calmly on the bed. Her lips were pursed as she watched them in silence.

 

From the side, Xiao Heng looked at Gu Sui’er and was somewhat startled for a split second.

 

At this moment, she was staring at him blankly; as if he was all her hope.

 

She was delicate, pure, ignorant, and still unfamiliar with the people and things here. Soon after she entered this mansion all alone, she was drawn in a skirmish with the Imperial family and had nobody to rely on.

 

Xiao Heng lowered his eyes. After a pause, he raised his hand and touched hers, implying that she did not need to be afraid.

 

However, she raised her head and smiled at him softly. It was as if she was trying to comfort him.

 

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. He turned around and looked at the Empress silently.

 

“ZhaoYang, apologize to Gu-shi1Shi [氏] – This term literally means ‘clan/family’ and is used to refer to married women. It is joined to the woman’s maiden surname. Like, if this woman is from the A family and marries into the B family, she would be referred to as ‘A-shi’. quickly.”

 

At this moment, the Empress suddenly stated this in a strict voice.

 

Princess ZhaoYang’s eyes flushed immediately. She glanced at Gu Sui’er on the bed with objection.

 

“She’s just pretending! I think she’s perfectly fine. She deliberately didn’t come down to greet Mother Empress!” Princess ZhaoYang yelled in dissatisfaction: “She’s merely a Concubine and yet she has the audacity to let Xiao Heng kowtow in her place? Does she think she is his main wife?!”

 

Gu Sui’er felt somewhat guilty. Indeed, she was fine. But her belly was too big and inconvenienced her movements. If someone had assisted her, she could have even strolled two times in the courtyard at this moment.

 

So she lowered her head and didn’t utter a word.

 

When the Empress heard this, her expression immediately turned solemn: “ZhaoYang, what nonsense are you spouting? You are too ignorant! Gu-shi is pregnant and you actually pushed her into the water on such a cold day. In case something unfortunate happened, could you have afforded the consequences?”

 

When Princess ZhaoYang heard this, she raised her face and asked, “She’s just an ordinary rural woman. I didn’t do it on purpose. She just couldn’t stand properly and fell into the water. Could it be that I, a grand and majestic Princess, have to take the blame?  Or is it that whenever any palace maid falls into the water, I have to go and ask for their forgiveness?”

 

The Empress felt exasperated but she sternly said: “She is carrying Ah Heng’s child in her belly. If something happened to it, how could you have apologized to Ah Heng!”

 

Princess ZhaoYang didn’t comprehend the depth of her question and she blurted out without thinking: “Isn’t it just about a child? I can also give birth to one for Xiao Heng ah!”

 

As soon as she said this, everyone was dumbfounded. Not even the Empress knew what to say.

 

Nanny An and the other maids were so shocked that they couldn’t close their mouths.

 

Th-this is not what a noble person should say… in a public place. How could she talk like this as someone who’s not even married??

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1Shi [氏] – This term literally means ‘clan/family’ and is used to refer to married women. It is joined to the woman’s maiden surname. Like, if this woman is from the A family and marries into the B family, she would be referred to as ‘A-shi’.