Ever since she had the idea of leaving the imperial palace, Helian Chacha had begun to pay attention to those who often went in and out of the imperial palace. But what really annoyed her was that she could barely have contacts with those people.
They were either merchants who handled the supply of the imperial kitchen, or family members of officials who were invited to visit the imperial palace.
First, she could exclude those family members of officials as they were bonded with the emperor directly by benefits, so if she asked them to take her out, she would probably get caught by the imperial guardians before she could make it to the palace gate.
Asking the merchants for help might be an option, but she needed to find a reliable one. If she chose the wrong person and betook the wrong step, death would very possibly be her final reward.
Therefore, in regards to choosing the right person, she had to be as cautious as possible.
Hence, after careful checking for around 2 weeks in the imperial kitchen, she finally picked up an old man who looked kind-hearted with grey hair.
Just as what Helian Chacha had seen in dramas and novels, this old man would very possibly be the one who helped her get out of the imperial palace. She calculated the time carefully and found that the old man came to the palace to deliver the vegetables and fruits between 5 and 7 in the evening and would normally leave the palace within 2 hours.
That timing was just at dusk and she could hide in the old man’s cart when the night came. With the help of the darkness of the night, she could make it with up to 80% chance of success.
Today, she hid behind the tree next to the imperial palace and stared at that old man who was walking from afar. The moment she was about to say hi to him, her shoulder was tapped by someone all of a sudden.
“Damn!” She turned around immediately and found Chu Jianmo standing right behind her. He was wearing a white robe and looked quite stunned as his hand was still up after the tapping.
He waved his hand at Helian Chacha with embarrassment, “Miss Lin, long time no see.”
“Oh, ehm… long time no see.” Helian Chacha just wanted to dig a hole to hide.
Why would Chu Jianmo show up here? Why? He must have thought she was a rude person, and she tried so hard to manage an image as a gentle lady was now totally ruined.
“I was not in the capital in the past few days, and I heard that His Majesty has taken you into the harem when I came back. I thought it was just a rumor…” He looked at Helian Chacha for a while and put on a bitter smile, “It seems that I shall not call you Miss Lin anymore, but Miss Shiao.”
Helian Chacha got nervous immediately when she saw his bitter smile, so she explained in a hurry, “Mr. Chu, please don’t get it wrong. Although I am the concubine of His Majesty, we still have not…we haven’t…done it.”
After all the stuttering, she finally said that out with her teeth clenched.
Once Chu Jianmo heard this, his eyes were brightened all of a sudden, “For real?”
He felt quite weird after asking that question, “But why haven’t you done it yet?”
Helian Chacha opened her mouth but didn’t say anything at all as she just looked Chu Jianmo in the eyes, “Can I tell you about it?”
He grabbed her shoulders and said very firmly, “No matter what happens, I will be on your side. Trust me, okay?”
Helian Chacha hesitated for a while and decided to trust him at last, “Then let’s find a better place to talk about it.”
The two of them walked along the path for a while and came to the imperial garden in the end.
No one was in the imperial garden for the moment, so they went to the pavilion and sat down, listening to the wind blowing the flower bushes.
Helian Chacha finally spoke after a long pause, “Actually… His Majesty made me his concubine just to save me from the Empress Dowager. And, to be honest, I am very grateful for that. I was just a little eunuch back then and he did so much for me. I know I can’t really repay him for his kindness, but…”
“You don’t love him?” Chu Jianmo said that for her.
Hearing that, she looked a bit guilty but she nodded regardless of that.
Chu Jianmo sighed sadly, “You can never force someone to love you, so you don’t need to feel so guilty.”
Guilty? Maybe she was a bit guilty. But she couldn’t make herself love someone so easily. She could only say that she was not able to understand the romance of Ye Shengxuan, and Ye Shengxuan might not really understand how she felt at the moment either.
If things remained like this longer, it would just be a matter of time for Ye Shengxuan to get sick of her.
And it’s better to make her decision earlier than waiting for that day to come.
“Mr. Chu, I think I want to go out of this palace.” She stared at Chu Jianmo and said eagerly.
Chu Jianmo opened his eyes wide and looked her in the eyes. He then smiled a bit and said, “Then you can tell His Majesty tomorrow that I am going to spend a day out of the palace with you. I know well about this Chang’an City, and I’m sure you will never want to come back after our adventure.”
“I am saying, I want to leave the imperial palace forever.” Without hiding it anymore, she said it seriously, “I don’t belong here. Can you take me away?”
Chu Jianmo looked at her with a rather complicated feeling.
After a while of silence between the two of them, Chu Jianmo spoke up again slowly, “There is no fancy clothes or nice food outside the imperial palace, not to say a bunch of servants. Are you sure about that?”
“I used to be a servant, and now I get some privileges because of His Majesty’s caring. But I know they don’t belong to me. And someday they will all be gone just like the attention of His Majesty to me, so why do I bother if I’ll lose them now?”
Chu Jianmo held his chin and kept silent for a while, “I can help you, but I need you to do one thing first.”
“Just tell me.”
“If you want to leave the imperial palace, you need to steal the passing token from His Majesty. You have been working in the palace for a long time, so I believe you know how that token works.”
Helian Chacha didn’t hesitate at all, “Alright, I’ll go get it.”
Chu Jianmo nodded seriously, “I will go back to prepare something and we should meet in the morning the day after tomorrow. You take the token to get out of the palace and we can leave the capital city together.”
Right after he had said that, a cold voice came from the entrance of the imperial garden,
“My dear, what are you doing here?”
The two of them were both shocked when seeing Ye Shengxuan, and they answered at the same time, “Good day, Your Majesty.”
Ye Shengxuan felt not so happy about their cohesion, “It’s already so late. How come Mr. Chu is still in the palace?”
Looking right in the cold eyes of Ye Shengxuan, Chu Jianmo didn’t fear him at all.
“I was just about to leave, and I didn’t know you were coming, Your Majesty.” Then he smiled and bowed to Ye Shengxuan, “I am leaving now, Your Majesty.”
He left the imperial garden right away.
“Did you have dinner?” After Chu Jianmo had left, Ye Shengxuan changed his attitude immediately.
“I did.” Helian Chacha replied.
Ye Shengxuan glanced at her thoughtfully, “Then have a walk with me. It helps us digest.”
At that moment, Helian Chacha didn’t really have the choice to refuse him, so she nodded and started to walk with Ye Shengxuan in the imperial garden while enjoying the beautiful scenery around.
However, Helian Chacha regretted right away.
This imperial garden was just so small, and Ye Shengxuan took her for more than 20 circles walking without saying a word. He just looked around in his cold eyes and no one could tell if he was happy or mad at the moment.
Soon, the moon was up high in the sky. Helian Chacha could barely feel her legs and she had no tears left to cry.
Suddenly, Ye Shengxuan stopped, “Yuan’er.”
It took Helian Chacha a few seconds to realize that he was calling her, so she answered immediately, “Yes, Your Majesty?”
Ye Shengxuan turned around and looked at her with his complicated eyes, “You…”
He still couldn’t continue to say more even after a long while.
Helian Chacha was very curious, “What’s wrong with me?”
“What do you think…” It seemed that he had made a big decision, yet his face still looked so cold, “What do you think of Chu Jianmo?”
Ever since she had the idea of leaving the imperial palace, Helian Chacha had begun to pay attention to those who often went in and out of the imperial palace. But what really annoyed her was that she could barely have contacts with those people.
They were either merchants who handled the supply of the imperial kitchen, or family members of officials who were invited to visit the imperial palace.
First, she could exclude those family members of officials as they were bonded with the emperor directly by benefits, so if she asked them to take her out, she would probably get caught by the imperial guardians before she could make it to the palace gate.
Asking the merchants for help might be an option, but she needed to find a reliable one. If she chose the wrong person and betook the wrong step, death would very possibly be her final reward.
Therefore, in regards to choosing the right person, she had to be as cautious as possible.
Hence, after careful checking for around 2 weeks in the imperial kitchen, she finally picked up an old man who looked kind-hearted with grey hair.
Just as what Helian Chacha had seen in dramas and novels, this old man would very possibly be the one who helped her get out of the imperial palace. She calculated the time carefully and found that the old man came to the palace to deliver the vegetables and fruits between 5 and 7 in the evening and would normally leave the palace within 2 hours.
That timing was just at dusk and she could hide in the old man’s cart when the night came. With the help of the darkness of the night, she could make it with up to 80% chance of success.
Today, she hid behind the tree next to the imperial palace and stared at that old man who was walking from afar. The moment she was about to say hi to him, her shoulder was tapped by someone all of a sudden.
“Damn!” She turned around immediately and found Chu Jianmo standing right behind her. He was wearing a white robe and looked quite stunned as his hand was still up after the tapping.
He waved his hand at Helian Chacha with embarrassment, “Miss Lin, long time no see.”
“Oh, ehm… long time no see.” Helian Chacha just wanted to dig a hole to hide.
Why would Chu Jianmo show up here? Why? He must have thought she was a rude person, and she tried so hard to manage an image as a gentle lady was now totally ruined.
“I was not in the capital in the past few days, and I heard that His Majesty has taken you into the harem when I came back. I thought it was just a rumor…” He looked at Helian Chacha for a while and put on a bitter smile, “It seems that I shall not call you Miss Lin anymore, but Miss Shiao.”
Helian Chacha got nervous immediately when she saw his bitter smile, so she explained in a hurry, “Mr. Chu, please don’t get it wrong. Although I am the concubine of His Majesty, we still have not…we haven’t…done it.”
After all the stuttering, she finally said that out with her teeth clenched.
Once Chu Jianmo heard this, his eyes were brightened all of a sudden, “For real?”
He felt quite weird after asking that question, “But why haven’t you done it yet?”
Helian Chacha opened her mouth but didn’t say anything at all as she just looked Chu Jianmo in the eyes, “Can I tell you about it?”
He grabbed her shoulders and said very firmly, “No matter what happens, I will be on your side. Trust me, okay?”
Helian Chacha hesitated for a while and decided to trust him at last, “Then let’s find a better place to talk about it.”
The two of them walked along the path for a while and came to the imperial garden in the end.
No one was in the imperial garden for the moment, so they went to the pavilion and sat down, listening to the wind blowing the flower bushes.
Helian Chacha finally spoke after a long pause, “Actually… His Majesty made me his concubine just to save me from the Empress Dowager. And, to be honest, I am very grateful for that. I was just a little eunuch back then and he did so much for me. I know I can’t really repay him for his kindness, but…”
“You don’t love him?” Chu Jianmo said that for her.
Hearing that, she looked a bit guilty but she nodded regardless of that.
Chu Jianmo sighed sadly, “You can never force someone to love you, so you don’t need to feel so guilty.”
Guilty? Maybe she was a bit guilty. But she couldn’t make herself love someone so easily. She could only say that she was not able to understand the romance of Ye Shengxuan, and Ye Shengxuan might not really understand how she felt at the moment either.
If things remained like this longer, it would just be a matter of time for Ye Shengxuan to get sick of her.
And it’s better to make her decision earlier than waiting for that day to come.
“Mr. Chu, I think I want to go out of this palace.” She stared at Chu Jianmo and said eagerly.
Chu Jianmo opened his eyes wide and looked her in the eyes. He then smiled a bit and said, “Then you can tell His Majesty tomorrow that I am going to spend a day out of the palace with you. I know well about this Chang’an City, and I’m sure you will never want to come back after our adventure.”
“I am saying, I want to leave the imperial palace forever.” Without hiding it anymore, she said it seriously, “I don’t belong here. Can you take me away?”
Chu Jianmo looked at her with a rather complicated feeling.
After a while of silence between the two of them, Chu Jianmo spoke up again slowly, “There is no fancy clothes or nice food outside the imperial palace, not to say a bunch of servants. Are you sure about that?”
“I used to be a servant, and now I get some privileges because of His Majesty’s caring. But I know they don’t belong to me. And someday they will all be gone just like the attention of His Majesty to me, so why do I bother if I’ll lose them now?”
Chu Jianmo held his chin and kept silent for a while, “I can help you, but I need you to do one thing first.”
“Just tell me.”
“If you want to leave the imperial palace, you need to steal the passing token from His Majesty. You have been working in the palace for a long time, so I believe you know how that token works.”
Helian Chacha didn’t hesitate at all, “Alright, I’ll go get it.”
Chu Jianmo nodded seriously, “I will go back to prepare something and we should meet in the morning the day after tomorrow. You take the token to get out of the palace and we can leave the capital city together.”
Right after he had said that, a cold voice came from the entrance of the imperial garden,
“My dear, what are you doing here?”
The two of them were both shocked when seeing Ye Shengxuan, and they answered at the same time, “Good day, Your Majesty.”
Ye Shengxuan felt not so happy about their cohesion, “It’s already so late. How come Mr. Chu is still in the palace?”
Looking right in the cold eyes of Ye Shengxuan, Chu Jianmo didn’t fear him at all.
“I was just about to leave, and I didn’t know you were coming, Your Majesty.” Then he smiled and bowed to Ye Shengxuan, “I am leaving now, Your Majesty.”
He left the imperial garden right away.
“Did you have dinner?” After Chu Jianmo had left, Ye Shengxuan changed his attitude immediately.
“I did.” Helian Chacha replied.
Ye Shengxuan glanced at her thoughtfully, “Then have a walk with me. It helps us digest.”
At that moment, Helian Chacha didn’t really have the choice to refuse him, so she nodded and started to walk with Ye Shengxuan in the imperial garden while enjoying the beautiful scenery around.
However, Helian Chacha regretted right away.
This imperial garden was just so small, and Ye Shengxuan took her for more than 20 circles walking without saying a word. He just looked around in his cold eyes and no one could tell if he was happy or mad at the moment.
Soon, the moon was up high in the sky. Helian Chacha could barely feel her legs and she had no tears left to cry.
Suddenly, Ye Shengxuan stopped, “Yuan’er.”
It took Helian Chacha a few seconds to realize that he was calling her, so she answered immediately, “Yes, Your Majesty?”
Ye Shengxuan turned around and looked at her with his complicated eyes, “You…”
He still couldn’t continue to say more even after a long while.
Helian Chacha was very curious, “What’s wrong with me?”
“What do you think…” It seemed that he had made a big decision, yet his face still looked so cold, “What do you think of Chu Jianmo?”
