Chapter 86 - 85: His Highness Feels Compassion for His Lady
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Shen Yinning glanced at the red coral bracelet on her wrist.
Out of sorts and sulking?
Lu Ying had been moody and irritable all day—was he sulking about her?
The glitter in her Dan Feng eyes shimmered faintly; suddenly, she understood.
The next morning.
Lu Ying was having breakfast in the Drooping Flower Pavilion. When Shen Yinning arrived, Bai Shuangshuang was already attending him.
Bai Shuangshuang chuckled and said, "Mistress Shen, we all serve His Highness here. How can you wake up later than His Highness? The Shen Family has been confiscated; you’re no longer the privileged eldest lady of old. You should acknowledge your current status. Stop acting against principle by keeping His Highness waiting, and definitely don’t anger him."
"The dogs standing guard and the roosters crowing rise early, indeed," Shen Yinning said as she elegantly took her seat. "But I’m neither a dog nor a rooster. I wanted to sleep a bit longer to preserve my youthful complexion—surely, that’s not a crime, is it? Sister Bai, you were a maid, after all. You’ve spent your life serving others, and now that you’ve become an attendant in the Eastern Palace, you still can’t break your habit of waking early to serve. Look at those dark circles under your eyes—you look five years older already."
The young maiden was quick-witted and sharp-tongued.
Bai Shuangshuang instinctively touched her own eyes, only then realizing that Shen Yinning was covertly mocking her for her lowly origins, comparing her to dogs and chickens. Immediately, shame and anger surged within her.