Unrepentant

Chapter 14:ZNY had hung herself in her room

The third and fourth prince continued having their people watch Lin Si Ze and the first prince attentively while also competing against each other. They both vowed to prove that the other was the one to kill the second prince——naturally, the two of them held suspicions toward Lin Si Ze as well, but it was a widely known fact that Lin Si Ze could be said to be completely powerless within the palace. In addition, the only personal servant by his side was a small palace maid who seemingly looked as weak as a bird. Looking at all this, did it look like he had such capability.

This person who completely lacked any threat, however, was actually a better alternative compared to the other 'brothers' who brimmed with threat, so Lin Si Ze's treatment unceasingly improved.

First, they moved from the cold, remote Bai Fu Palace to De Ze Palace, which originally was the second prince's residence. The second prince used to be the most spoiled of the princes, so De Ze Palace naturally had the best environment. The attached garden was grander than the one at Bai Fu Palace, and the side halls were also several in number. The indoor aesthetics were a dazzling sight. Although most of the rare precious stones followed the second prince to his resting place, the remaining gems were enough to leave others dumbstruck.

Normally, since the second prince's corpse was not yet cold, how could Lin Si Ze be allowed to move in? Who knew what the emperor was thinking in the end, however, as in spire of Shu guifei's opposition, he simply allowed Lin Si Ze to move in. Gu Hong Jian, in regards to this, held only one opinion—happiness.

Since they moved from the cold Bai Fu Palace to the enormous, heated De Ze Palace that glittered with golden light, and because she always followed Lin Si Ze, she immediately ascended to the position of Head Palace Maid. As proper, the best side hall was given to her, and the others were given to the new palace maids and palace eunuchs bestowed by the emperor—who all had to call Gu Hong Jian by the title Gu zhangshi.1

Having previously looked upon the world from the lowest rung of society, Gu Hong Jian felt delighted with her higher authority upon suddenly gaining a whole group of little brothers and sisters as her subordinates.

Of course, since the most important standards of living have improved notably, she no longer needed to go to the imperial kitchen and steal food. Every day, someone would deliver food. Gu Hong Jian would meet the servant with a blank face and send them off to Lin Si Ze's room. Afterward, she would take advantage of the lack of people to sneak into the room to eat first. Furthermore, there was certainly a lavish meal inside, with the dishes being extremely rich. This caused Gu Hong Jian to not be able to stop eating even while she continuously badmouthed the imperial household, who indeed lived too decadent.

Lin Si Ze was extremely busy, to where he did not even return to eat the majority of the time. Gu Hong Jian also never waited for him. Thus, although their relationship still appeared to be the same as always, it had subtly changed a bit.

Part of this change came from Gu Hong Jian's heart. Since she knew Lin Si Ze held such ardent feelings for Zuo Ning Yan in his heart while she was simply a 'friend,' her heart had significantly grown colder. She simply didn't want to be in such a position, but she didn't know what she should do——should she try her best to defeat Zuo Ning Yan, or should she ignore this, as it was of no concern to her, and let nature take its course?

Honestly speaking, even if she wanted to defeat Zuo Ning Yan, she had no way of doing so. Zuo Ning Yan could not be hacked to pieces like firewood. She was the irreplaceable woman in Lin Si Ze's heart.

She could probably defeat everyone in De Ze Palace, but she not harm a single hair on Zuo Ning Yan's head.

Another part of this change came from Lin Si Ze's immense change in status. Who knew how many eyes were fixated on him; Gu Hong Jian could no longer have the previous, boundaryless casual relationship she had with Lin Si Ze. Although this type of relationship was still possible in private, there were other servants, so they needed to assume the appearance of a typical master-servant relationship. After all, even those small palace maids and palace eunuchs gifted to Lin Si Ze could have been sent by others to monitor him.