My Darling, Coax Me.

CHAPTER 19: Bold. 

　　Yun Ling seemed not to hear his mockery.

　　“This servant is busy taking over the Six Bureaus, all for Your Highness, so that I can better control the affairs of the inner palace and put Your Highness at ease. Though I've been tied up with learning the inner workings, I've been thinking of Your Highness constantly.”

　　“Your Highness happens to be instructing me today, how about that?” She also seemed not to understand his implication.

　　Looking at the person at the desk who showed no reaction, Yun Ling secretly bit her lip. Amidst the fearful gazes of the palace servants, without waiting to be summoned, she walked forward on her own.

　　She called out, “This servant just encountered something I didn't understand in the Shanggong Bureau, and I hope Your Highness will give me guidance.”

　　“What,” Xie Jue said with annoyance, “Do you take me for your free tutor?”

　　“This servant wouldn't dare,” Yun Ling said, walking towards Xie Jue while simultaneously pondering how to bring up the matter without angering him. The dim, hazy candlelight obscured her vision, and she didn't notice the pool of untended tea and the fallen brush at her feet.

　　As she reached his side, before she could speak, she accidentally stepped on the round brush, her foot slipped, and her body swayed, losing its balance. She struggled to regain her footing but stumbled forward. Closing her eyes in fear, she imagined her knee bruising terribly in the fall.

　　After a long moment of fear, she belatedly realized she hadn't felt the pain of a fall.

　　Then, she felt warm breath against her ear, and a hands gripping her arms tightly…

　　Startled, she opened her eyes and saw a pair of arms, hers clasped tightly around his. Not only was she holding the Crown Prince's arms, but her entire upper body was slumped against his chest.

　　“……”

　　“It's over,” she thought.

　　Fearful of getting hurt, she instinctively collapsed onto him.

　　Yun Ling silently berated herself. What kind of person was he, that she would dare to touch his body without permission?

　　She had known before arriving that Xiao Xiangzi had angered him by poorly serving tea. She hadn't expected the young eunuch to be so clumsy, that the remnants of spilled tea still lay on the floor.

　　A cold, sarcastic voice came from above. “What's this? In just half a month at the Shanggong Bureau, you've already learned how to throw yourself into someone's arms?”

　　“……”

　　She merely stumbled, how could that be considered throwing herself into his arms?

　　Yun Ling pursed her lips. “Is that how Your Highness sees me?”

　　“How else am I supposed to think?” Xie Jue scoffed, his voice dripping with coldness. “How much longer do you intend to stay like this? Let go.”

　　Yun Ling always knew the man before her was tyrannical and unpredictable. She carefully weighed his current mood, considering what punishment he would mete out next.

　　Certain fragments flashed through her mind.

　　Life and death, coercion, intimidation, and threats—all were his methods.

　　That day, however, he had suddenly... bitten her. At the time, she'd simply thought he was emotionally unstable and having an episode after avenging his mother. But afterward, he hadn't pursued the matter further.

　　Although he despised her for being a mere palace maid, in truth, she had almost lost her virginity to him; she'd been kissed already, so this one time didn't matter much.

　　Thinking this, Yun Ling decided not to hurry and get up. Tilting her head up, she looked directly into his narrow, phoenix-like eyes. “Then, Your Highness, think whatever you like.”

　　Xie Jue's lips tightened. His arms was pinned beneath her, and his breath filled with the faint, subtle, sweet scent of her.

　　A storm seemed to brew in the depths of his dark, fathomless eyes. Closing his eyes, Xie Jue's thin lips parted slightly, his voice husky.

　　“Audacious.”

　　The palace servants nearby were terrified, and a swathe of them knelt down.

　　——

　　Yun Ling was indeed bold this time.

　　No one knew how long it lasted, until a young eunuch carrying pastries broke the almost suffocating tension in the room.

　　Yun Ling got up from him, took the pastries from the young eunuch, and offered them to him personally. “This is an almond cake that I had the kitchen staff modify, Your Highness. It's soft, chewy, and sweet—the most delicious kind. Please, try some.”

　　Xie Jue's brow twitched, but he ultimately took a bite, neither accepting nor rejecting it. “You certainly expend your efforts in unexpected places.”

　　His tone held little emotion.

　　Grand Eunuch An lowered his head, thinking to himself that the palace rumors couldn't be dismissed after all.

　　Just now, he had feared Yun Shanggong would be punished, never expecting His Highness the Crown Prince to actually calm down so quickly.

　　He wasn't a fool; he immediately grasped certain implications.

　　Yun Ling offered another cup of chrysanthemum-infused tea to cleanse the palate. “I don't have many hobbies, Your Highness. When I'm bored, I like to eat sweet pastries, so I've done a little research in that area.”

　　Xie Jue set down his teacup. “Bored about what?”

　　He didn't ask about the pastries, but about the reason for her boredom.

　　Yun Ling blinked. “It's boredom stemming from some puzzling matters.”

　　“Even if Your Highness hadn't summoned me today, I would have come anyway.”

　　“To be honest, Your Highness, though I'm not very clever, after taking over the Six Bureaus and investigating the accounts, I've discovered some deep-seated problems. Someone like Li Dianbu, the Chief Accountant who's only holding a position without doing any work, I punished and that's the end of it. But beyond that, there's overstaffing in various parts of the palace. For example, the cleaning staff should have eight people, but there are twelve, which is quite redundant. These palace maids haven't done anything wrong, so I've been wondering whether I should release a batch of palace maids early and reduce this excess personnel. But I'm not sure what to do, so I came to ask Your Highness.”

　　“The national treasury is empty, and the palace is still overstaffed?” Xie Jue let out a cold laugh. “Cut. Cut from every palace!”

　　“Yes, Your Highness.”

　　Xie Jue suddenly looked up. “That's what's been bothering you?”

　　It's just a small matter.

　　She may appear gentle and weak, but she's far from being someone without her own opinions and ideas.

　　“Of course, it's more than that,” Yun Ling sighed softly. “This is something that will offend people, and I'm sure to be resented by the various Ladies-in-waiting. How could I not worry?”

　　“You even dare to punish the palace officials,” Xie Jue's lips curled into a slight smile. “I've given you the supreme authority to manage the Harem. Are you afraid of a group of concubines without real power?”

　　Yun Ling seemed reassured, and bowed. “I understand, Your Highness.”

　　Xie Jue stopped looking at her, and stood up to leave. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped. “I'm going to Jiangzhou for a while. Keep a tight rein on the palace while I'm gone.”

　　Yun Ling was taken aback. He's going to Jiangzhou himself?

　　Then she quickly followed，

　　“I will not disappoint you. I will await Your Highness's return in the palace.”

________________

Glossary:

• Shanggong Bureau (Inner Palace/Harem Bureau): The highest authority among the female officials in the inner palace. It managed the concubines, palace maids, ceremonies, and the daily operations of the imperial harem. Think of it as the “Ministry of Palace Affairs.”

• Six Bureaus: Specialized divisions within the Shanggong Bureau, each responsible for a specific area of palace management:

• 尚衣局 (Shàngyī Jú): Bureau of Clothing – Clothes for the imperial family and staff.

• 尚食局 (Shàngshí Jú): Bureau of Food – Meals and kitchens.

• 尚寝局 (Shàngqǐn Jú): Bureau of Bedding – Sleeping chambers, linens, personal items.

• 尚仪局 (Shàngyí Jú): Bureau of Etiquette – Ceremonies, etiquette, royal banquets.

• 尚宫局 (Shànggōng Jú): Bureau of Palace – Administration, personnel, logistics.

• 尚药局 (Shàngyào Jú): Bureau of Medicine – Medical supplies, treatments, and health of the imperial family.

Together, these six formed the backbone of palace management under the Shanggong Bureau.

• Eunuch Bureau: A separate system from the Shanggong Bureau. Eunuchs handled duties such as palace security, delivering imperial edicts, managing secret documents, and serving the emperor directly. They had their own ranks, training, and promotions, independent of the female officials.

Relationship: The Shanggong Bureau and the Eunuch Bureau coexisted, each holding influence within the palace. While both were crucial to palace operations, they did not officially oversee one another.

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