Walking up, Kesi dropped into a low curtsy as the other servants had done earlier, and her joints cracked under the pressure.
The Emperor scrutinized Kesi from top to bottom, his gaze ultimately stopping on her aged face.
Her legs began to slightly shake as she held the uncomfortable position.
"So you're Nanny Rong?"
Kesi nodded while still trying to keep her head hung down low, feeling her neck muscles tense in anticipation. "Yes, Your Majesty. Your Humble Servant goes by that name."
There was a pause.
"You've been in the palace for quite a while, have you not?"
She nodded again, trying to anticipate the answer to his next question before he asked it. "Your Humble Servant has been in the palace for as long as she could remember." She cocked her head as if in deep thought.
The current body was 74 years old. And according to the Empress, she had entered the palace when she was young. Quickly racking her brain, Kesi replied with a longing look on her face. "It surely has been countless decades, if not more than half a century."
Her leg wound throbbed in pain, and black spots danced at the edge of her vision. Gritting her teeth, she forced her body to stay still. However, her aged body had other plans for her.
Just as her injured leg gave out, she felt a small body by her side, catching her from falling. Almost casually, Mu Luming leaned against her, his small arms wrapping around her waist.
From the outside, it looked like he was being clingy and trying to solicit a hug. But Kesi knew better. She could see his knees buckle as his tiny feet dug into the floor. His tiny body supported the entirety of her body weight.
Sure, she was a bag of bones at this point, but she was still too heavy to rest herself entirely against a tiny child. Clenching her jaws, she tried to prop herself upright again.
"Emperor," Mu Luming's voice was slightly shaky, and each word seemed to be squeezed out of the gaps of his teeth. "Nanny Rong has been teaching me well. Her years of experience within the palace are providing valuable pieces of information for me. I appreciate the Empress very much for offering a chance for me to meet her."
He looked up, offering a bright smile, a single bead of sweat sliding down the sides of his cheeks.
As much as she didn't want to move, Kesi knew she couldn't stay in this position any longer. From this position, the wound on Mu Luming's arm was being crushed, and the newly inflicted gash on his palms was already seeping crimson blood again.
Taking in a deep breath, she finally forced herself to stand up again as she bit back the waves of pain from her own leg. She could only imagine Mu Luming's pain at the moment. Mentally, she apologized to him.
From the outside, although the weight had completely shifted, the two of them resumed their small embrace.
Regaining her composure, Kesi offered a small smile as she brushed Mu Luming off to the side and broke their contact. "The Crown Prince is an intelligent child and has been adapting to the palace quite nicely. Your Humble Servant will do her best to make sure he grows up to a worthy heir of the empire."
Somehow, as she said those words, she couldn't help but believe herself. She really wanted him to survive.
In response, the Emperor only cast a long look at Mu Luming's arms.
"What happened?" His voice boomed, a hint of frustration laced into his usual calm tone.
Unknowingly, scarlet blood had been seeping through Mu Luming's reopened wound, straining his light blue sleeves.
Hearing no response, the Emperor repeated, this time with more fury. "What happened!"
Mu Luming tried to cover up the blood stain and hide the gruesome liquid on his hands as well, but the crimson seemed to only permeate even further.
Kesi cast a fleeting glance at her own robes. She had more layers on her skirt, and luckily, there were no signs of blood on herself.
Almost glaring, the Emperor looked straight at Kesi. On the side, the Empress looked as if she was enjoying an interesting show.
Trying to not flinch from her own wounds, Kesi dipped her head. "The Crown Prince had these wounds when he arrived in the Eastern Palace."
At first, her plan was to downplay the entire event and spin it as a careless unreported accident.
But suddenly, Kesi had a better idea.
It didn't seem like the Emperor had no care for his son, and it was better to make some things clear now as a warning for the others in the garden that could try to harm Mu Luming. If the Emperor had any care for his son at all, he must do something about the issue. And even if he didn't, he couldn't make it publicly noticeable to maintain his own reputation.
"Your Humble Servant had a day's break yesterday. Interestingly, I had come across the wounded Crown Prince on the streets. And he was being chased after by a group of killers. Luckily, since the stars shone down on him and blessed him, he escaped with a mere wound on his arm."
Sure, she conveniently omitted a few details, but the recounting was still largely true.
It was no big deal or difference anyway. All she had cut was the fact that she had saved this little street rat, pretended to be his sister, and…
And his touch would make her become young again…
Kesi blinked, looking at her hands again.
In the heat of the moment, she had somehow the most important thing. Mu Luming had touched her in the middle of an entire garden of concubines, the Empress, and the Emperor. But none of them screamed in surprise. None of them cried out about her turning young.
In fact, even she herself temporarily forgot about it.
Never once did she feel the energy course through her that she felt before in response to Mu Luming's touch.
And from the start to finish of their contact, her hands were the exact same wrinkled ones as she had first seen them.