Chapter 224: In for a Penny, In for a Pound
The Emperor: "Someone, go and bring 'Miss A'jiao' from the Eastern Palace to me."
After a while, a palace attendant came to report: There was no one in the Eastern Palace named "A'jiao."
The Emperor: "King A'xi'er, perhaps you remembered incorrectly?"
A'xi'er: "I'm not mistaken. She told me herself her name was A'jiao."
The Emperor: "Could it be she is not from the Eastern Palace?"
A'xi'er: "This King saw her enter the Eastern Palace with my own two eyes."
The Emperor: "Someone, bring the name registry of the inner palace attendants. Go through every palace and see if this Miss A'jiao exists."
A palace attendant acknowledged the order and was about to go investigate, but was stopped by The Crown Prince. "Wait."
He lazily fiddled with the beaded bracelet on his wrist, his voice full of disdain. "That 'Miss A'jiao' is presumably a proper and innocent young woman. Men and women should not be intimate. She didn't want to go against King A'xi'er's wishes, but she also didn't want to sully her own reputation, so she lied and said her name was A'jiao. Since it was a lie, even if you turn the entire inner palace upside down, you may not be able to find this 'Miss A'jiao'."
A'xi'er: "Impossible! She wouldn't lie to me!"
The Crown Prince: "King A'xi'er, don't be anxious. The customs of the Central Plains and the Turkic lands are different. The young women of the Central Plains are modest and reserved. Since there has never been a 'Miss A'jiao' in the Eastern Palace, why must King A'xi'er insist and ruin a young lady's reputation?"
Only then did the Emperor understand. It was probably just as The Crown Prince had said. But he also didn't want to anger King A'xi'er, so he mediated, "No matter. Let's look first. Go quickly, fetch the registries."
Soon, the name registries for the entire inner palace were brought and flipped through.
Just as The Crown Prince had guessed, there was no palace attendant named A'jiao in the inner palace.
The Emperor, all smiles, consoled A'xi'er, promising that A'xi'er could pick any of the other palace maids. He could even pick one right here and take her with him!
A'xi'er had only seen Sun Jiaojiao when her face was swollen. How could he remember her specific appearance?
He was left feeling disheartened and lost his enthusiasm for finding the person. He simply let the matter drop.
Some were happy, some were worried.
The Crown Prince was deeply jealous over this matter. When they returned to the Eastern Palace, The Crown Prince and Sun Jiaojiao had a rare, huge fight. Perhaps because nothing had really happened with A'xi'er, Sun Jiaojiao felt particularly wronged. After The Crown Prince said a few harsh words, she found it hard to listen and ran out.
She hadn't been to the inner palace many times and wasn't familiar with it. As she ran, she somehow ended up at the hall where King A'xi'er was staying. By sheer coincidence, she once again ran right into King A'xi'er.
A'xi'er didn't recognize Sun Jiaojiao's face, but he recognized her scent.
"Miss A'jiao?" A'xi'er was pleasantly surprised.
Sun Jiaojiao was steadied by his strong, powerful arms, and her legs almost went weak.
The thought that The Crown Prince had wrongly accused her because of this man made Sun Jiaojiao feel exceptionally wronged. She thought to herself, I'm already taking the blame, so in for a penny, in for a pound! It's a waste not to sleep with him. She threw caution to the wind, looked at A'xi'er with the pitiful eyes of a small deer, and called out plaintively, "Your Majesty..."
This one call made A'xi'er's heart race, and his whole being melted.
"Miss A'jiao, aren't you from the Eastern Palace?" A'xi'er had lived a life of riding and killing. He had no experience interacting with girls. He had a thousand questions in his heart but didn't know where to start. After a long moment, a question that sounded a bit silly popped out.
"No."
"No wonder they couldn't find you in the Eastern Palace. May I ask which palace Miss A'jiao serves in?"
"A'jiao cannot tell Your Majesty."
"Why?"
Sun Jiaojiao let out a long, mournful sigh and even squeezed out a few tears. "Everything is ordained by fate; we have no control. A'jiao has too many things that are hard to speak of. Your Majesty, please don't ask."
How could A'xi'er bear to see a woman cry?
He immediately reached out his hand to wipe away Sun Jiaojiao's tears.
That prominent, large nose was right in front of her. Sun Jiaojiao couldn't help but gently rise onto her tiptoes, lean in, and kiss A'xi'er's cool lips.
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