Chapter 1 — I Only Waited for Father, Yet the Court Called Me a Temptress

During the Doan Ngo banquet at the royal palace, the Emperor suddenly summoned his father to the heavenly palace to discuss political matters, and I sat in my father's place in the row reserved for the Regent, obediently waiting for him to return. The female official who was standing in the palace, bestowing rewards on behalf of her father, suddenly raised her hand and pointed straight at me, laughing coldly.

"The royal palace has just issued new rules, strictly prohibiting maids from seducing their masters!"

"This kind of vixen pretending to be stupid, pretending to be a child like this, already a dozen years old and still wearing a pastel peach colored dress, don't you find it disgusting?"

"You still dare to sit in the Royal Family's position. Aren't you dreaming of climbing into our Royal Family's bed? You're not even looking to see if you're worthy or not!"

Throughout the main hall, the ladies covered their mouths with their hands and giggled, scaring me so much that my eyes turned red.

"Bao Bao is not a fox, Bao Bao is just waiting for his father..."

Unexpectedly, she grabbed my bun and pulled me straight in front of the palace.

"Let's pretend again! Today, I will clean up the gate on behalf of the Royal Family, so that this bunch of mean people who only know about climbing high will miss their lives!"

Then she waved her hand and slapped me, causing me to fall to the ground. At that moment, his father came running. I lay face down on the yellow tile floor, bursting into tears.

"Father... Bao Bao is in so much pain... She said Bao Bao wants to climb into your bed..."

The noble ladies who had just been laughing and talking in the palace suddenly fell silent, so quiet that even the sound of jade cups gently touching each other became deafening. My father bent down and picked me up from the yellow tile floor. His movements suddenly stopped, his fingertips lightly touched the red, swollen half of my face.

"Who hit?"

The voice is not loud. But everyone in the main hall knelt down at the same time. Khuong Nhuoc Phu reacted the fastest, kneeling right in the front row.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty, I did not know that she was the one you brought into the palace."

She raised her head, tears immediately rolling down her eyes.

"The slave obeyed orders and gave her a reward. Seeing her dressed casually and sitting alone in the Royal Family's position, when asked her name, she only knew how to talk nonsense, saying that Bao Bao was waiting for her father."

"The slave thought it was some palace servant who was pretending to be crazy, afraid of tarnishing the reputation of the Royal family, so he had the courage to teach her."

As soon as the words ended, someone at the party quietly chimed in.

"Indeed, she couldn't say clearly who she was."

"Dressing like that and sitting in the Regent's seat, it's hard to blame Lady Khuong for misunderstanding."

"The palace's banquet is the most important, and the female officials are only taking responsibility."

Those words are like needles, one by one, piercing my ears. I clutched my father's shirt tightly, crying until I couldn't breathe.

"Bao Bao said... Bao Bao said he was waiting for his father."

"She refused to listen. She even pulled Bao Bao's hair and scolded Bao Bao for being dirty."

My father hugged my face and pressed it to his chest. The human hand is shaking. On the high chair, Emperor Tieu Hoai Canh put down his wine cup and frowned slightly.

"Uncle Wang, I'm afraid there's a misunderstanding. Miss Jiang has only been in the Thuong Nghi Department for three months, so it's inevitable that she won't recognize someone from the Wang Palace."

Parents looked up.

"If you don't realize it, can you publicly humiliate and slap someone in front of everyone?"

Tieu Hoai Canh was speechless for a moment. Concubine Y, sitting next to him, slowly spoke:

"Please, Prince Regent, calm down. Today is the Doan Ngo banquet in the palace, the ancestors and the officials are all present. If you make a big deal just because of a woman whose identity is unknown, it won't be good if it spreads out."

Identity unknown. As soon as those four words were uttered, Khuong Nhuoc Phu immediately felt like she had grabbed a blade of grass to save her life.

"That's right! Your Highness, this servant dares to ask a question. If she is truly a noble of the Royal Palace, why hasn't anyone spread the word? Why isn't she wearing the Princess' jade badge? Why is her mouth full of childish words and her gestures just like those of a child?"

She knelt down and took two steps forward, slamming her head hard on the ground.

"This slave would rather be punished than stand by and watch someone take advantage of pretending to be stupid to cling to the Royal Family!"

The eyes of the entire main hall were once again focused on him. I reflexively reached out and touched my side. That place was empty. The white jade tablet that was always worn at my waist had disappeared. Before entering the palace, my father personally tied it up for me. Father also saw it, his eyes suddenly cold as ice.

"Where is the jade card?"

I panicked and searched through the sleeves, scent bag, and then the hem of the dress.

"Yes... Bao Bao has a jade card."

The tip of the finger touched a broken piece of string. The edge of the wire was cut flat, obviously cut by a sharp object.