Chapter 1704 -1697: Isn’t Your Highness My Husband?

She would never skimp on food, clothing, or daily life for Lin Yu, but as a maid, whatever duties were assigned to her, she had to complete them.

Lin Yu squatted back by the well and quietly resumed washing the clothes.

Even the garments worn by the servants in the prince’s mansion were expensive. She couldn’t scrub them like her own clothes; she could only wash them slowly and carefully.

It was just a few pieces of clothing, yet she worked until dusk, long after the sky had darkened, before finishing her task.

Returning to her little courtyard, Lin Yu felt her grievances continuing to pile up in her heart!

In her room, there were two dishes and a soup—refined, delicious food. Yet as she ate, there was no joy in the flavors.

She stared at the plate of roasted goose in front of her. Zhao Mama had said that the chefs in the prince’s mansion were the finest in Jiang Du City, and the aroma was indeed enticing.

But when Lin Yu tasted it, all she could feel was bitterness.

She hastily gulped down a few bites, then stepped into the courtyard and began practicing her martial arts.

These past days, only when she moved through her forms, sweating from exertion, did Lin Yu feel even a semblance of freedom and relief.

“Lin Yu, your moves are quite impressive!”

Ye Hongru’s voice echoed in her ears.

“General Ye!”

Lin Yu hurriedly turned her head, thinking Ye Hongru was behind her.

But she froze, realizing there was no Ye Hongru behind her.

What lay behind her was simply air, and what filled her mind were mere fantasies.

The carefree days of the past were lost forever. Having entered the prince’s mansion and become a concubine, nothing would ever be the same.

Just yesterday, she had simply wanted to step outside, but Zhao Mama had stopped her, reprimanding her and explaining that she couldn’t frequently show herself in public.

The life of a concubine was truly suffocating!

Lin Yu, swallowing the bitter anguish in her heart, retreated to her room.

After nightfall, Zhao Mama arrived to summon her, saying the prince required her presence in his chamber.

It was Lin Yu’s first time being called to attend to him in this way, and she couldn’t help feeling both excited and nervous.

Zhao Mama explained how she should conduct herself during this intimate duty, leaving Lin Yu blushing furiously. After washing herself and changing into nightwear, she proceeded to Chu Jinling’s chamber, shy and delicate like a newborn.

Chu Jinling was like the celestial moon. Back when she was crawling in the muck, she’d never dared even to dream of him.

But now, she was actually able to serve him, to be by his side!

Lin Yu felt as though, for once, her being—a mere handful of dirt—was illuminated by moonlight.

Filled with excitement, she entered the chamber, intending to adopt a charming, girlish tone to call out, “Your Highness.”

Yet just as she opened her mouth, Chu Jinling’s cold voice rang out from behind an ornate jade screen, “I am weary tonight. Wait outside, kneeling.”

Lin Yu froze.

No further sound came from within, and she dared not enter without permission.

Following Chu Jinling’s instructions, she could only kneel outside.

As Lin Yu knelt down, a flicker of resistance burned in her heart, mingling with the growing bitterness within her.

Especially through that entire night—while Chu Jinling slept peacefully—she knelt there silently outdoors.

The following morning, Chu Jinling rose under the service of others and, upon dressing, finally noticed Lin Yu still kneeling outside.

As if only then remembering her existence, he said indifferently, “Last night I was tired. You worked hard—go rest now.”

“Your Highness… Why? Why, though?” Lin Yu couldn’t understand. After all the preparation she had done, why had she ended up kneeling the night away to no avail!

She had accomplished nothing!

She hadn’t even become his woman, and instead had suffered a night of humiliation and cold neglect.

Chu Jinling looked at her with an oddly puzzled gaze, “Do you not understand? This is simply the duty of a concubine. Even the Princess and the secondary consorts—if I am unwilling—must wait outside just like you.

The only difference is that the Princess and secondary consorts need not kneel.”

Chu Jinling’s words were utterly merciless, making it clear that he had no affection for Lin Yu.

The little pride Lin Yu had carried in her heart was shattered completely by his words that morning.

Her body crumbled to the side, trembling from the freezing cold. “Why…”

None of this was how she had imagined!

Doing the menial labor of a servant was one thing, but why, when she was summoned to attend to her husband, could he treat her this way?

Chu Jinling ordered Zhao Mama to take her away; upon Zhao Mama’s arrival, she saw Lin Yu kneeling like a fool on the ground and hurriedly pulled her up.

“Are you still not leaving? Do you want to stay here and provoke Your Highness’s irritation?”

“I won’t leave! I need to ask Your Highness clearly!” Lin Yu bit her lip fiercely. “If he doesn’t like me, why did he bring me back? Why does he treat me like this?”

She was defiant!

She was unwilling to yield!

“Have you lost your mind? You’re merely a concubine—how dare you argue with the prince?

If Your Highness favors you, he may spoil you;

If Your Highness doesn’t, killing you wouldn’t amount to much!”

“But he is my husband! How can he treat me like this? Is the status of women in Jiang Du City truly so low, so insignificant, as worthless as dogs?” Lin Yu’s bright eyes brimmed with confusion.

Zhao Mama regarded her as if she were a fool, calling people over to drag Lin Yu away as she lectured her, “You think you know the rules, but you don’t! How ignorant you are!”

The prince is your husband? You dare utter such words?

Only the Princess may rightly claim to be the prince’s wife!

Secondary consorts and anyone beneath them are not proper mistresses and, naturally, are subject to whatever pleases the prince, however he chooses to entertain himself!

What qualifications do you have to demand anything from the prince?

Without formal betrothal documents, without an imperial edict granting marriage, how dare you call the prince your husband?

Wake up! Stop dreaming!”

Lin Yu remained silent for a long time. After being dragged back, her knees, sore from a night of kneeling, could no longer bear weight, and she was confined to her bed.

That entire day, Lin Yu didn’t eat, her spirit weighed down with despair.

By dusk, Chu Jinling returned and summoned Zhao Mama to inquire about Lin Yu’s condition.

“Did you tell her everything I instructed you to say?” Chu Jinling, cradling the book he had just written, asked impassively.

Zhao Mama nodded. “Your Highness, the old servant conveyed your message word for word. But Your Highness… Lin Yu has not eaten all day. Shall we summon the mansion doctors to examine her?”

“That’s unnecessary.” Chu Jinling’s demeanor was utterly cold, showing no trace of fondness for Lin Yu.

Zhao Mama was even more bewildered, utterly unable to decipher Chu Jinling’s thoughts.

By all logic, this had been the first woman he’d brought into the mansion in two years—wasn’t she supposed to be cherished?

She even somewhat resembled General Lin; shouldn’t there at least be some sentiment or affection?

Yet judging by the prince’s attitude, she seemed even less important than an ordinary maid.

“Let her understand what the life of a concubine in the prince’s mansion entails. And forbid her from practicing martial arts in the courtyard. I dislike seeing such behavior.” After issuing his orders, Chu Jinling dismissed Zhao Mama.

Zhao Mama, despite her perplexity, dared not question further and naturally carried out Chu Jinling’s commands as instructed.

Imprisoned in the mansion, Lin Yu had neither worry about her sustenance nor want for clothing, yet every movement she made was constricted—even practicing martial arts became a forbidden luxury.

Eventually, Lin Yu couldn’t hold it in any longer. She broke down in inconsolable sobs.

Word of Lin Yu’s circumstances within the mansion quietly spread beyond its walls, reaching even Ye Hongru at Wangjiang Tower. In his heart, he was pained, yet there was nothing he could do anymore.

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