Four Seasons Brocade – CH 178

Chapter 178 ☆、

When princes were fourteen or fifteen and began to understand things, it was customary in the palace to assign their head maids to serve them closely. This was to prevent the princes from being too young and inexperienced, indulging in sexual activity and depleting their vital energy, ultimately leading to pediatric consumption and hindering their future offspring.

Xun Mei was once the most prominent head maid by Chu Mao’s side, and she was also beautiful. Nanny Hao assigned her to guide the Fourth Prince. At that time, which of the Prince’s maids did not envy her? Xun Mei was both shy and sweet. Knowing that the Fourth Prince was clean, she specially bathed and washed his hair carefully that day, scrubbing until her skin was red.

Xun Mei shyly removed her clothes, revealing her fair, dove-like body to the air. She trembled involuntarily, exuding a unique youthful charm. Xun Mei’s figure was naturally excellent; her breasts were firm and pert, and her buttocks were large. Otherwise, Nanny Hao would not have chosen her to serve the Fourth Prince.

Xun Mei shyly moved closer to the Fourth Prince, taking his hand and placing it on her full, round breasts. She could not help but sigh. It was the first time someone had touched her most private place, and this person was the one she had been longing for. How could she feel uncomfortable sighing like this?

Xun Mei felt the Fourth Prince’s hand curiously kneading her breasts. Her heart tingled, and she grew bolder. She reached out to help him undress, but he grabbed her hand.

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Xun Mei quickly withdrew her hand. The palace maids responsible for guiding her had also learned from the matrons beforehand. Some of these matrons had probably never been touched by a man in their lives, but that did not stop them from being experts in this field.

Xun Mei knew her responsibility: to let the Fourth Prince know the wonders of womanhood, to show him what made women different from men, and to teach him about matters between men and women—not for her own enjoyment.

Xun Mei already knew from the matrons that a woman’s first time was extremely painful, especially with a man who knew nothing about it. So she secretly gave her some ointment, telling her to apply it herself first so she would not suffer unbearable pain later.

Xun Mei timidly climbed onto the bed from the foot of the bed, lying on the silver-red brocade quilt. Trying to suppress her shame, she slightly parted her legs, then slightly more, looking pleadingly at the Fourth Prince, saying, “Your Highness.”

Xun Mei took the Fourth Prince’s hand and placed it under her pubic hair. “Your Highness,” Xun Mei’s eyes were almost overflowing with tears.

To everyone’s surprise, the Fourth Prince abruptly stood up, grabbed the blanket, and vigorously wiped his hands several times before turning to leave.

Xun Mei, no longer caring about her composure or shyness, hurriedly scrambled off the bed, naked, and knelt. “Your Highness, this servant… this servant has cleansed herself.” Xun Mei thought the Fourth Prince was bothered by this.

The next moment, a cold voice came from above: “Put on your clothes.”

Xun Mei looked up in astonishment. The Fourth Prince’s face still held undisguised disgust. He was about to walk out again when Xun Mei panicked, forgetting all about rank. “Your Highness, you cannot leave!”

Xun Mei kowtowed, saying, “Your Highness, the Empress and the Consort Xiang have sent people to watch over you.”

Xun Mei had been by Chu Mao’s side for several years and naturally knew how difficult his situation in the palace was. Empress Tian and Consort Xiang’s methods of harming people were endless. They had not managed to kill the Fourth Prince when he was young, but now that he was older, the opportunities were fewer. So they were finding ways to send people to try to lead the Fourth Prince astray.

Over the years, those two women sent many seductive women, and Xun Mei was most relieved that none of them succeeded. Now, Xun Mei, residing in Prince Qi’s mansion, recalled an exceptionally beautiful palace maid. If it were not for the strict rules in the palace that prevented people from freely applying makeup and adhering to dress regulations, she could probably have been just as stunning as the current Fourth Prince’s wife. However, she too failed, which benefited the Fifth Prince.

At the time, the Fifth Prince was only twelve years old, yet he already knew how to defile a girl’s body. Even the Sixth Prince, under the strict control of Consort Xiang, was said to enjoy eating rouge on girls’ lips. Only the Fourth Prince was not even allowed to be served by palace maids.

The men of the Chu royal family, whose ancestors came from the northern grasslands and lived a life of war and conquest, were taller and stronger than ordinary men, and their desires were also more intense. Not to mention the founding Emperor, even the current Emperor, in his youth, could have sex with several women in one night, and the several uncles of the current generation of princes who were still alive were also tireless in their pursuit of women. In the Chu royal bloodline, there had never been a rare exception like the Fourth Prince Chu Mao, who was still a virgin at fifteen.

Empress Tian and Consort Xiang, having listened to someone’s advice and recalling the Fourth Prince’s difficult childhood, suspected that he might be impotent in matters of love. This led them to assign palace maids to guide Chu Mao in matters of love. Otherwise, why would they, as mothers and consorts, have thought of sending someone to serve Chu Mao personally?

Rather than let Empress Tian and her entourage find a legitimate reason to spy on the Fourth Prince, Nanny Hao decisively assigned the task to Xun Mei. Normally, instructing princes on matters of the heart was handled by senior palace maids of similar age, so Empress Tian and her entourage had no choice but to acquiesce.

But who would have thought that the Fourth Prince would not even touch her? Xun Mei looked at the Fourth Prince with tears streaming down her face. Before today, her master had always spoken to her gently.

Chu Mao did not speak but walked to the bedside. Xun Mei’s heart leaped with joy, but the next moment she saw him pick up a jade-handled silver-flower cleaver from the kang table, intending to cut his finger.

“Your Highness!” Xun Mei rushed over, crying, “Your Highness, Empress Tian and the Imperial Concubine will definitely have someone examine me afterwards.”

Standing by the window, recalling the past, Xun Mei shivered, clutching her arms. She still remembered the Fourth Prince’s icy gaze; he refused to touch her. However, what happened later brought Xun Mei some comfort. He did not want to touch her, and he did not want to touch any other woman either. For Xun Mei, that was enough.

Xun Mei did not want to recall the pain of her fingernails piercing her body, but it was all worth it, she told herself. If she had not done this, she would have forever lost the right to stay by his side. A head maid whom the Fourth Prince did not want to touch would have no face to manage palace affairs anymore.

As Xun Mei had predicted, she remained by the Fourth Prince’s side, still his most trusted head maid. Later, she went to Prince Qi’s mansion and became his chambermaid as she wished.

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Now, Xun Mei was no longer the beautiful young woman of sixteen. She looked coldly at You Yi-niang’s room. That woman was probably even more pitiful than she was. A toad trying to eat swan meat—truly courting death.

Inside Yulan Hall, Ah Wu frowned as she sipped her jujube, goji berry, and honey tea. She recalled Zi-Shan’s words—that her complexion was poor and she needed to replenish her blood. Ah Wu still preferred a cup of mint tea first thing in the morning to refresh herself.

However, Ah Wu’s slight frown caused the two concubines and four chambermaids sitting below to perk up. The one who had not come was You Yi-niang. You Yundan had sent a maid early that morning, saying she was not feeling well and did not want to pass on her illness to the Princess, so she dared not come to pay her respects.

This was truly taking advantage of the Prince’s favor! The Prince Qi had spent the night in her room, and now she dared to use that excuse not to pay her respects this morning. He Peizhen looked at Ah Wu, wanting to see how this habitually pretentious Princess Qi would react. However, He Peizhen was also secretly pleased. The Fourth Prince had not even stayed in Rong Xuan’s room but had gone to You Yi-niang’s. Although He Peizhen disliked You Yi-niang, she hated this Princess Qi even more.

“Why did You Yi-niang not come to pay her respects to the Princess today?” He Peizhen gestured with her chin towards Xu Yi-niang. The two were inseparable, so naturally she had to ask her.

Xu Yi-niang quickly stood up and replied, “I heard that You Yi-niang is ill.”

“Ill? I think she’s just being spoiled. Even Lady Tao did not feign illness to avoid paying her respects. What kind of logic is that?” He Peizhen said coldly. Anyone who did not know better would think she was the Princess Consort herself.

Tao Siyao glanced at He Peizhen. This woman had not learned her lesson after her trip to the estate and still dared to bring her up. However, she did not have time to pay her any attention at the moment.

Ah Wu thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps she was tired from serving His Highness yesterday. There’s nothing here that needs her to serve. How about this: from now on, if His Highness goes to someone’s room the night before, she does not need to come to my place to pay her respects the next day. It’s tiring to have to get up in the middle of the night to serve His Highness to change clothes, have breakfast, and attend court. She should get some more sleep to rest up. Our mansion is not a place to mistreat people.”

After the women who had come to watch the commotion left, Ah Wu decisively put down her jujube tea. “Give me some mint tea,” she said, then looked at Zi-Shan and asked, “Does my complexion look better now?”

There was no such thing as a quick fix, but Zi-Shan dared not say more and could only nod.

Zi-Shan handed the brewed mint tea to Ah Wu. “Your Highness, were you not being too kind to You Yi-niang when you said that?”

“These people are all hoping I will deal with You Yi-niang. I do not want to be their scapegoat.” Ah Wu gently blew away the mint leaves floating on the water. Besides, You Yi-niang was no threat.

This was something Ah Wu had suddenly thought of late last night. Although You Yi-niang was beautiful, she had ash behind her ears. How could His Highness Prince Qi possibly spend the night in her room? There must be another reason, but Ah Wu could not guess it.

In the afternoon, someone from Willow Tree Alley came, saying that Rong Yin and Tang Yin’s wedding would be moved to the seventh month.

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“Why the sudden change?” Ah Wu was practicing calligraphy in Fengbu Ning Studio.

“Your Highness, it was Second Master who came back and said that His Majesty plans to go on an autumn hunt this year, scheduled for the eighth month. Second Master will be accompanying the Emperor and will not be in the capital in the ninth month. Madam and Madam Tang discussed choosing a new date, but none of the later dates were auspicious, so they chose a better date in the seventh month.” The person who came was Lady Cui’s maid, Nanny He.

Ah Wu nodded, but in her heart, she thought that the idea of ​​later dates being inauspicious was probably because Rong Yin was eager to marry Tang Yin, which was why he had suggested choosing a date in the seventh month. Ah Wu also hoped that Tang Yin would enter the family soon, so she thought it was a good idea.

“Go back and tell Madam I understand,” Ah Wu said. “Nanny He, I heard you have a grandson. I have not congratulated you yet. I’ve already asked Zi-Shan to prepare a gift. Since you are here today, you can take it back with you.”

Nanny He quickly accepted with a smile and kowtowed to Ah Wu. In her heart, she thought, “This young lady is quite formidable. Not only did she know everything when she was a girl, but now that she’s married, she knows everything about Willow Alley, even that I have a grandson.”

Although Nanny He was somewhat surprised, she also felt that this young lady was very good at handling people and appreciated her kindness. Of course, she knew that she could only help Lady Cui even more when she returned home, because nothing escaped this young lady’s eyes.