Chapter 69 - 68: The Servant is Willing to Prolong the Royal Line for Your Highness

Words : 1510 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 69: Chapter 68: The Servant is Willing to Prolong the Royal Line for Your HighnessLu Ying said, "You and Qing Liu have both been my Hidden Guards since childhood. I’ll give you a choice now: continue as a Hidden Guard, or become a concubine?" Rui Zhu’s breathing quickened. What’s so good about being a Hidden Guard, constantly embroiled in fights and unable to dress up properly? Compared to the shadowy existence of a Hidden Guard, naturally, being a concubine to the Crown Prince was far better! She had always admired the Crown Prince and thought that once he ascended the throne, she might even secure the position of a Noble Consort someday. Without a moment’s hesitation, she kowtowed heavily: "This servant is willing to serve His Highness, to bear heirs for him!" Lu Ying’s gaze darkened further: "If that’s the case, I’ll hand you over to the Crown Princess Consort." He lost all appetite for the meal and left with a flick of his sleeve. Rui Zhu knelt on the ground, breathing gently as though surviving a calamity, but a glimmer of joy and excitement sparkled in her eyes. Shen Yunxi bit her lip with jealousy, and, waiting until Lu Ying’s footsteps faded completely from the corridor, cursed, "Insolent wench! I’ll teach you a lesson about etiquette! Someone, beat her for me!" Lian Ye led several old serving maids who immediately stormed forward and began beating Rui Zhu. Though Rui Zhu was skilled in martial arts, she dared not strike back against Shen Yunxi’s maids and could only struggle and plead for mercy. In the neighboring room, a dim light flickered. Shen Yinning sat poised under the light, a wisp of heat rising from the aromatic tea before her. She listened to the shouting, beating, and begging from the adjacent room, the corners of her delicate lips curling into a beautiful arc. After roughly two incense sticks’ time, the commotion finally began to quiet down. Wei Yu quietly entered to report: "Madam, the Crown Princess Consort has returned to the palace. Rui Zhu is gravely injured and still lying in the adjoining room." Shen Yinning walked to the Flower Draped Hall and, as she stepped over the threshold, saw Rui Zhu lying on the ground, covered in blood and bruises. Elegantly, she seated herself: "Sister Rui Zhu." Rui Zhu barely opened her swollen eyes, her tone venomous: "You... dared to harm me!" "They say blessings and calamities go hand in hand. While I harmed you, didn’t you also get your wish to become His Highness’s concubine? Isn’t that far better than being an unacknowledged shadow by his side?" "That may be true, but the Crown Princess Consort despises me now! I fear, under her control, I’ll have no good days ahead!" Shen Yinning smiled faintly: "She despises you because you dared to seduce His Highness privately, breaking her greatest taboo. The Eastern Palace is ultimately her domain, so your only path forward is to cater to her preferences, flatter her, and show her that you have no ambition of vying for His Highness’s favor." "I’ve already shown her enough respect. What more can I do to please her?" "Sister Rui Zhu, didn’t you once claim that the Crown Princess Consort is the most noble, graceful, and kind-hearted? Then why don’t you abolish your martial skills yourself? After all, the one thing you surpass her in is the martial arts you honed through life-threatening experiences with His Highness. If she sees you willingly discard your martial skills, she’ll surely understand your sincerity in not contending with her for favor, and she won’t trouble you anymore." Rui Zhu’s eyes widened in disbelief: "Abolish my martial arts?! Do you know how painstakingly I trained to master this? Do you know how many nights I toiled tirelessly to rise above the many Hidden Guards and stand by His Highness? And now you want me to abolish them?!" The candlelight flickered. Shen Yinning’s radiant face was half-lit, her voice seductive and enchanting: "Sister Rui Zhu... Can’t bear to give it up?" "No... no!" Rui Zhu’s face twisted into a nearly deranged expression, her breathing growing rapid. "For His Highness, of course I can bear it! For him, I’ll give up anything! Isn’t it just martial arts honed over more than ten years? I’ll give it up right now!" As soon as she finished speaking, she abruptly raised her hand and struck the top of her own head. As a mouthful of blood sprayed out, she collapsed limply to the ground, her face pale as a sheet of paper. Muttering "His Highness" repeatedly, her eyes shone with a fiery love before she fainted completely. Haitang murmured quietly: "Madam, she seems to have passed out." Shen Yinning let out a soft scoff: "Had she not been willing to abolish her martial arts, I might have respected her for valuing herself. But for a man, she so easily abandoned something she spent half her life mastering. This proves she’s a fool. She won’t survive long under Shen Yunxi’s hand. Let’s go." The mistress and servant pair stepped out of the Flower Draped Hall, and Haitang voiced her concern again: "If His Highness finds out that everything tonight was orchestrated by you, will he blame you?" "He won’t," Shen Yinning said confidently. "Rui Zhu’s first mistake was harboring feelings for him; her second mistake was recklessly claiming responsibility for an affair between me and His Highness; her third mistake was choosing the option His Highness detests most out of his two choices. To him, Rui Zhu is already a discarded piece. What does it matter what role I played in her fall?" Haitang, full of admiration, said, "Madam, your calculations are impeccable! But I do think His Highness handed Rui Zhu to the Crown Princess Consort out of a petty revenge for you. After all, Rui Zhu once slapped you and cursed your late parents..." Shen Yinning scoffed lightly: "After returning to the capital, the most crucial lesson I learned by his side is not to overestimate my own importance. To him, I’m not significant enough for him to avenge me." By now, it was late autumn, and a bitterly cold wind had arisen. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Shen Yinning lowered her lashes, thinking of how Lu Ying had adored Shen Yunxi since they were young. An odd emotion stirred within her. Like withered lotus leaves in a pond, or autumn flowers fallen in the chill winds. Stifled, restless. The next day, the mistress and servant pair returned to Lotus Lane. Shen Yinning, realizing she hadn’t shown herself at the Gao Family for over half a month, decided she needed to visit the front courtyard. Who would’ve guessed that as soon as she arrived, she saw a long line of scholars in the courtyard, all wearing wide robes and large belts. Haitang was puzzled: "What’s going on here?" Yin Shanshan’s maid, Hongxing, stepped out from the threshold, calling, "Number thirty-one! Who’s number thirty-one? It’s your turn!" A scholar raised his hand, shouting, "Here!" and strutted into the room after Hongxing. Shen Yinning arched an eyebrow: "Let’s go see what’s happening." Inside the study, Yin Shanshan sat behind a desk, wearing a stern expression. She interrogated seriously, "What’s your name?" "Madam, my name is Ying Boxue!" "How old are you?" "I’m forty-two!" "What books have you read, what accolades have you earned? How many years of experience do you have in early childhood education? What are your views on exam-oriented education and the imperial examination system? Have you heard of quality-based education? And how do you plan to enlighten Hong’er and Hui’er?" While Yin Shanshan conducted her rigorous questioning, she glanced sideways and spotted Shen Yinning. With a look of disdain, she snapped, "I’m conducting interviews for a tutor for Hong’er and Hui’er. What are you doing here? Don’t even think of causing trouble!" A tutor interview? Haitang, baffled, whispered to Shen Yinning, "Madam, before you left for Shen Garden, didn’t you write recommendation letters for the two young masters? Could it be that Old Master Yu refused to accept them as students, and that’s why Lady Yin is finding a new tutor?" Shen Yinning took a seat: "The teacher dotes on me the most. If he knew Hong’er and Hui’er were personally recommended by me, there’s no way he wouldn’t accept them." A half-hour later, Yin Shanshan finally finished interviewing all the candidates. "You may all return and await further notice. My husband and I need to discuss who to select. We’ll inform you in three days." After the scholars left, Gao Zheng and his mother entered the courtyard with the two boys. Yin Shanshan smiled and said, "Mother, husband, here are the documents of all the applicants. I’ve already scored them; please take a look." Shen Yinning asked, "Gao Zheng, where’s the recommendation letter I gave you?" Gao Zheng paused, glanced at Yin Shanshan, then replied slowly, "I threw it away."

Chapter 69 - 68: The Servant is Willing to Prolong the Royal Line for Your Highness

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