Yan Xijun rolled her eyes at him. Since he knew it was tiring, yet he still summoned those many 'ladies' to attend to him in bed tonight. He really deserved it.

  She walked over, half-knelt on the carpet and gently patted his leg.

  Chu Yiceng closed his eyes contentedly and began to enjoy himself comfortably. A faint sigh of relief escaped from his heart, still feeling comfortable with her by his side serving him.

  Yan Xijun looked at him enjoying himself like this, thinking that when she was the mistress, she could also enjoy such treatment. Now, however, she had fallen to being his maid. Just thinking about it made her a bit indignant. Wasn't it just repaying kindness? Why did he have to make her repay kindness in this way?

  She strengthened her grip and gave him a heavy punch, causing Chu Yicheng to open his eyes in pain. "Do you want to murder me?" she shouted angrily.

  "How dare I." Yan Xikun stopped his actions and looked at him: "Your Highness, I have a request to make of you."

  "What's wrong?" Chu Yicheng glanced at her and asked lazily.

  "I'm afraid I won't be able to serve you, Your Majesty. Would it be possible for me not to be your personal maid?"

  "Oh. You don't want to be a personal maid, huh? Do you want to be my 'servant' concubine instead?" Chu Yicheng said with a playful tone, staring at her.

  "I don't want to. I'm not interested in either of them." Yan Xijun shook her head and said, "Apart from these two, you can ask me to do anything, and I'll be willing."

  Chu Yicheng slammed his cup of tea and said firmly, "I'll tell you something else too. Besides these two options, you have no other choice."

  "Can't we discuss this?" Yan Xijun looked at him pitifully.

  "Yes, quickly, which one are you willing to choose?" Chu Yicheng sat up and leaned towards her, 'forcing' her to ask.

  Is there a need to choose? Of course, I would rather be a maid than become his concubine. I am already the emperor's woman, how can I serve another man?

  "Whatever. I'll just be your servant then." Yan Xijun pouted and hurriedly helped him massage his leg again.

  In the blink of an eye, time has passed quickly. Before you know it, it's already November. Yan Xijun has also been in the border for almost two months now.

  The climate in the border areas is colder than in Beijing. It also snows earlier than in Beijing. Now, it has already started to fall 'snowflakes'.

  It snows almost every day. Yan Xijun is afraid of the cold. Except for serving Chu Yicheng, she mostly stays indoors and doesn't go out. She lazily snuggles up in bed with a warm stove and reads books to pass the time.

  While Chu Yichen often went to the military camp on such cold days, he went even more frequently than before. He knew Yan Xijun was afraid of the cold, so he didn't bring her along.

  It could be due to the cold weather. The border is peaceful and quiet, with no other countries coming to invade. The soldiers in the barracks have nothing to do all day, so they just practice their drills every now and then.

  That evening, Yan Xijun had finished dinner and saw that Chu Yicheng had not returned from the military camp yet. Outside, it was already dark. She went back to her own room, suddenly saw the ancient zither on the desk, and had an idea. She picked up the zither and headed towards the nearest six-sided pavilion.

  The snow unexpectedly stopped falling. But a thick layer of ice and snow had still accumulated on the ground. She carefully carried her zither, walking in that direction.

  This zither was bestowed upon her by Chu Yicheng. It was specially made to alleviate her boredom. However, she had never played it once. She was afraid of arousing his suspicion about her true identity, so she didn't dare play it.

  Tonight, he hasn't come back yet and ran to the pavilion again. Even if he plays a tune in the pavilion, he probably won't hear it anyway.

  Yan Xijun was dressed heavily from head to toe. Coming out, she didn't feel cold anymore.

  She placed the zither on the stone table. After tuning it up, the strings produced a clear and pleasant sound that was long and lingering. It really was a good zither.

  Since it's a good zither, Yan Xijun played the first piece "High Mountain and Flowing Water" with joy in her heart. The ancient zither matches the ancient music, truly a perfect match.

  Beautiful music gradually flowed from her fingertips. Although it had been several months since she last played the piano, this piece was not unfamiliar to her. When she was young, her mother often made her practice this famous piece that had been passed down. So at this moment, her fingers flew, picking and pressing, playing with ease.

  Yan Xijun played the guqin with great seriousness. She seemed to have merged with the guqin as one. Her focused expression did not allow anyone to ignore her.

  Mrs. Rong and her maid, Xi'er, were walking from a distance when they suddenly heard the pleasant sound of the guqin. She slightly furrowed her brow, thinking to herself: Who is playing the guqin? The people in the mansion aren't very skilled at playing "High Mountain and Flowing Water". Who could be playing it so skillfully?

  Xi'er also detected the anomaly. She said to her mistress, "Madam, it seems that the sound of the qin is coming from the pavilion in front. Why don't we go and take a look at who is making this strange noise."

  "Hmm, I suppose you want to see who's showing off their skills in the pavilion at night, not sleeping and coming here to sell your music talents. You're actually trying to catch the king's attention." Madame Rong sneered, "Unfortunately for you, you've run into me. Tonight, I'll let you have a good time."

  "Yes. The 'maids' in this mansion are all wanton and cheap, trying to catch the king's attention, and wanting to climb up to the queen's position."

  Xi'er saw her master and heard the two words "Wang Fei" (princess), her face changed instantly. She hastily spoke to appease: "Madam, it's just a pity for those people's efforts. No matter how hard they try, they can't get the position of Wang Fei. Because Madam is the future Wang Fei, this is something everyone knows."

  "Xǐ ér, your words are quite to my liking." Madame Rong smiled happily. The face that was previously shrouded in gloom now radiated sunshine. She laughed and said: "How can those people compare with me? They don't even see how much favor the prince has shown me. Among all his concubines, I am the one he treats most specially."

  Xi'er echoed her words: "Yes, yes. The king treats his wife just like he would treat a concubine. So the queen is not Mrs. Wang."

  The two of them walked and chatted. They soon arrived at the pavilion. Mrs. Rong gazed at the back of the person playing the zither, which looked very familiar to her. But for a moment, she couldn't think of who it was.

  Instead, Xi'er, who was being supported by her, recognized the person standing with their back to them at a glance. As soon as she saw that thickly dressed figure, she knew who it was. Because in the entire palace, only that person was most afraid of the cold.

  Xi Er exclaimed: "Madam, isn't that Wang Ye's personal maid, Yan Gong Nang? How can she play this tune?"

  "Ah, I see. So it's that cheap girl." As soon as she heard it was her, Mrs. Rong's anger flared up. She let go of Xi'er's hand and stormed towards Yan Xiu Jun. "Tonight, I will teach her a good lesson. Let's see if she dares to seduce the prince again."

  Mrs. Rong strode forward and without saying a word, grabbed the guqin and smashed it against the stone pillar. With a loud crash, the ancient zither fell to the ground, shattered into several cracks.

  The sudden change left Yan Xikun stunned. She looked up to see Mrs. Rong's furious gaze upon her. She hastily stood up, bowed and said: "Mrs. Rong, what is the meaning of this?"

  "Why are you playing the zither at midnight, you little wretch? Who do you think you're enticing?" Lady Rong pointed at the broken guqin and questioned her.