Chapter 8 - Emperor’s Appearance

The moment Mu Huai finished speaking, the little eunuch immediately knelt down with his forehead touching the ground. His skinny body couldn’t stop trembling.

Rong Xi also hurriedly got down from the bed and knelt on the ground.

Mu Huai’s wheelchair had already stopped in front of her bed. He blinked, his cold eyes sweeping across the shivering eunuch as he spoke in a heavy voice, “Get out.”

The little eunuch looked like he received a big treasure as he speedily left Rong Xi’s room.

Rong Xi had her head down. These past few days she had been fussed about so much that she was skinnier than before.

Seeing her condition, Mu Huai couldn’t help but take another glance at her as he spoke in a somewhat calm voice, “Get up, continue eating.”

“Yes…”

Rong Xi knit her eyebrows. Mu Huai seemed to have the intention of personally making sure she ate. What was originally a reward seemed to have turned into a punishment instead.

Rong Xi felt bitter but did not dare to speak out. She could only harden her skin and forcefully shove the precious food into her mouth. Under Mu Huai’s watch, she swallowed the food down with much difficulty.

In the past, Rong Xi had gone through starvation before, she even cried due to hunger.

She never imagined that there would be a day where a table full of exotic delicacies would be placed in front of her, yet she wanted to cry because she had to eat them.

Mu Huai’s dark face watched as Rong Xi resembled a kitten eating food.

He thought that no wonder that day when he held her, he had felt so uncomfortable. This woman’s appetite was really too small.

Mu Huai was extremely close to Rong Xi. Rong Xi couldn’t help but secretly take glances at him every so often out of the corner of her eyes. This person clearly had the looks of orchids and jade trees1, but why was the aura surrounding him so aggressive and overbearing?

Mu Huai’s pair of eyes were exquisite and profound. They were slightly long and narrow, the gaze on the cold side. What was originally a pair of very good looking eyes, because of the slightly upturned corners of the eyes, made him look more mature than his actual age.

He had the appearance of an emperor.

It was a shame that Mu Huai’s legs were crippled.

Thinking of this, Rong Xi felt some regret and unconsciously glanced at Mu Huai. Mu Huai saw that Rong Xi looked at him so he looked back at her with a cold gaze and pointed his chin at the dishes, motioning her to continue eating.

Rong Xi already felt extremely full, so her speed of eating had slowed down by a lot. She already foresaw her tragic ending, perhaps tomorrow the gossip being passed around by the eunuchs and palace maids in Yongxi Palace will be–

This violent-tempered Fourth Prince tortured another palace maid to death, and that palace maid’s corpse was carried out of Quyun Palace.

How did she die?

From being stuffed with food.

Thankfully, Shun Fu came just in time and saved Rong Xi from her predicament.

Shun Fu continuously tried to persuade Mu Huai, “Your Highness, Miss Rong’s nutrition deficiency cannot be compensated in just one day. Girls always have small appetites, they can’t eat like this.”

Mu Huai ruminated over this.

He didn’t mean to purposefully make things difficult for Rong Xi, he just didn’t feel happy when he saw her giving the food he rewarded her to the eunuch. After staying silent for a few moments, he finally let Rong Xi off.

Shun Fu saw Rong Xi’s face looking like she had just overcome a great calamity and turned to speak to her, “His Highness rewarded you with so many dishes is because he cares about your body and wanted you to recover quicker.”

Rong Xi nodded in Mu Huai’s direction as she replied, “This slave thanks Your Highness for the food.”

Mu Huai heard her soft and tender voice thanking him but he let out a sneer, his hands already on the wooden wheels of his wheelchair.

Before leaving, Rong Xi was looking at Mu Huai’s back when she heard him use a cold voice on purpose as he commanded, “Quickly recover from your illness. When the time comes, don’t be so weak as to not have the strength to even grind ink.”

Hearing this, Shun Fu gave Rong Xi a helpless smile.

The two people were both clear in their hearts, although Mu Huai’s words were always sharp and unforgiving, it was just a habit.

Shun Fu brought Rong Xi some jujube and ginger water, telling her to drink it every day so as to adjust her body so that there won’t be any lingering illnesses.

Rong Xi thanked Shun Fu, feeling warm inside.

In this Quyun Palace, Shun Fu was akin to an elder. She was grateful for his care and teaching; it was why she could adjust so quickly to this new environment.

******

The next morning.

The autumn rain seemed to never stop in Yongxi Palace. The chilly rain fell all night. The clouds today were thick and dense, making people feel depressed.

Rong Xi kept having an ominous feeling, and she did not sleep well last night.

Through the wooden window, she could faintly hear the cries of a little eunuch outside. Rong Xi’s heart suddenly panicked and she rushed out of her room to ask what was happening when she saw a few burly eunuchs enter Shun Fu’s room.

When they came back out, they were carrying Shun Fu.

Rong Xi’s breath hitched. An indescribable sense of grief spread through her heart.

Shun Fu died.

Rong Xi originally thought that his body would become healthy again and he would live for a few more years, but he left this world so suddenly that for a moment she couldn’t accept it.

Mu Huai was pushed out of Shun Fu’s room by the bodyguards. His lips were bloodless and his face was as heavy and dark as always, unable to let anyone see what he’s feeling. His back was as straight as always, no trace of grief could be seen on his face.

But as Rong Xi looked at Mu Huai, she increasingly felt that he was especially lonely and despondent at this moment.

Due to Emperor Mu Zhen’s birthday in a few days, the death of a senior eunuch in the palace naturally wasn’t that big of an event.

Rong Xi dragged her body that hadn’t recovered fully and walked with Mu Huai and the burly eunuchs on the palace’s back roads, sending Shun Fu’s body out through Yongxi Forbidden City’s back Gongchen Gate.

Gongchen Gate was lined with towering cypress trees, their branches sparsely filled with leaves. The deep green colors from the summer had already slowly faded away to a pale yellow.

The turrets on the walls surrounding the Forbidden City were as towering as always. The guards stationed there were looking out into the far distance.

Mu Huai didn’t speak as he watched Shun Fu’s coffin get carried out through Gongchen Gate. He was also someone who had just recovered from a big illness, so his breathing was a little erratic.

The autumn day became colder and colder. Mu Huai didn’t wear many clothes either. Rong Xi knew that she was just a lowly servant, and it wasn’t her place to pity Mu Huai. But the more he didn’t show his feelings, the more she felt compassion for him.

Seeing a leaf stick to Mu Huai’s clothes, Rong Xi knelt down on the wet stone ground and carefully picked the leaf out. Rong Xi’s voice was soft as always but her tone was much more somber as she spoke to Mu Huai, “Your Highness, this slave will definitely take good care of you in the future, will definitely become the most capable person by your side…”

“…As long as Your Highness doesn’t detest, this slave will accompany Your Highness.”

Mu Huai’s mood was unpredictable. Hearing Rong Xi say this, he turned to look at her. He reached out his right hand and crooked his index finger, placing it underneath her chin, making her look up at him.

Rong Xi slightly panicked, not daring to meet his eyes.

Mu Huai ordered, “Look at me.”

Rong Xi could only obey, meeting his dark obsidian eyes, her heartbeat quickened.

Mu Huai’s voice was low as he contemplated, “Since you’ve followed this master, being my servant naturally means your death is tied to mine. Unless one day I don’t want you anymore, otherwise don’t even think about leaving my side in this life. If you want to leave, it will be like Shun Fu, leaving this Forbidden City as a dead body…”

Mu Huai paused and observed Rong Xi’s expression before asking, “As such, do you still want to stay by my side and be my servant?”