“Our lord likes the core very much . Throughout her childhood, she could never pa.s.s it up . Other precious drinks she cared for so little,” Bing’er explained to her .

Qinglian smiled as she heard this . “Really? Then I should make more next year . The taste is better if we have dewdrops to brew the tea . But we should wait until next summer . ”

“Great! I will follow you to gather the lotuses next year,”Bing’er said, applauding with excitement .

“Though the core of the lotus tastes bitter, it can cleanse the heart and make me feel comfortable . It would’ve been hard to leave it behind, so thank you for giving me this precious gift that you carefully selected, one by one . ”I nodded to Qinglian .

“My pleasure and honor, sister!”She somehow felt shy upon hearing my praise .

“My pleasure and honor, sister!”She somehow felt shy upon hearing my praise .

 My heart was melting from her kindness and obedience . I did not know why she was sent here when she was found out to have a conflicted birth character . But there was also the matter that we shared the same man, and I couldn’t do anything about that .

When I was thinking how to treat her suitably, she started to say something but ceased suddenly .

“You want to tell me something? Go ahead . ”

“I should go now, sister, or the prince’s old illness will come back . ”

“What old illness?”I was surprised by this strange claim .

“What old illness?”I was surprised by this strange claim .

“I am sorry; I am forbidden to tell you, sister,”Qinglian muttered .

“Really?”I had to show no special interest .

She performed a half-bow to salute me and left, leaving me to flounder in confusion and doubt .

“Mingzhu!”I yelled with intentional anger .

She ran to me hurriedly, saying,“My lady . ”

“Tell me the truth, or I will send you to the wash house . ”She ran to me hurriedly, saying,“My lady . ”

“Tell me the truth, or I will send you to the wash house . ”

She panicked when she heard the punishment and bowed down before me .

“What old illness was Qinglian speaking of? Why do you have so many secrets to hide from me?”

“Old illness . . . old illness . . . ” Mingzhu was hesitating .

“Tell me or you won’t see me tomorrow morning . ”I put on a false expression of coldness .

The fire in this room warmed all of us, but I could still feel my fingers were cool . But Mingzhu was so afraid that her forehead was sweating . “I am sorry, my lady, but I was forbidden from telling . ”

Chapter 6 “Sister, I am so sorry that I forgot this important thing . ”She took out a box, and said, “This is the core of s.e.m.e.n nelumbinis; I dried it to make tea . I heard from Nanny Li in the kitchen that sister enjoys this tea, so I came to deliver some of it . ” “Thank you, Qinglian,” I said with true gratefulness, and pa.s.sed the box to Bing’er . “Take this for me . ” Bing’er opened the box to take a look, and was surprised . “My lady, this is better than those we brought . ” “Sister, I picked them from the pool and chose the best to dry . It was also the previous queen’s favorite, but now she .  So I feel very happy that I have someone else to serve . ” “Our lord likes the core very much . Throughout her childhood, she could never pa.s.s it up . Other precious drinks she cared for so little,” Bing’er explained to her . Qinglian smiled as she heard this . “Really? Then I should make more next year . The taste is better if we have dewdrops to brew the tea . But we should wait until next summer . ” “Great! I will follow you to gather the lotuses next year,”Bing’er said, applauding with excitement .   “Though the core of the lotus tastes bitter, it can cleanse the heart and make me feel comfortable . It would’ve been hard to leave it behind, so thank you for giving me this precious gift that you carefully selected, one by one . ”I nodded to Qinglian . “My pleasure and honor, sister!”She somehow felt shy upon hearing my praise .  My heart was melting from her kindness and obedience . I did not know why she was sent here when she was found out to have a conflicted birth character . But there was also the matter that we shared the same man, and I couldn’t do anything about that . When I was thinking how to treat her suitably, she started to say something but ceased suddenly . “You want to tell me something? Go ahead . ” “I should go now, sister, or the prince’s old illness will come back . ” “What old illness?”I was surprised by this strange claim . “I am sorry; I am forbidden to tell you, sister,”Qinglian muttered . “Really?”I had to show no special interest . She performed a half-bow to salute me and left, leaving me to flounder in confusion and doubt . “Mingzhu!”I yelled with intentional anger . She ran to me hurriedly, saying,“My lady . ” “Tell me the truth, or I will send you to the wash house . ” She panicked when she heard the punishment and bowed down before me . “What old illness was Qinglian speaking of? Why do you have so many secrets to hide from me?” “Old illness . old illness . ” Mingzhu was hesitating . “Tell me or you won’t see me tomorrow morning . ”I put on a false expression of coldness . The fire in this room warmed all of us, but I could still feel my fingers were cool . But Mingzhu was so afraid that her forehead was sweating . “I am sorry, my lady, but I was forbidden from telling . ”