There was collective gasp as everyone watched Ruby tumble to the floor with no attempt to help her.

The screen crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

All the maids immediately bowed their heads, they knew the danger they would be in if they dared to look at her majesty’s guest.

Empress Shen Lihua who had been cut off mid sentence looked enraged at the interruption. Even more now that the identity of her guest had been exposed to the maids.

Ruby didn’t need to be told that she was in huge trouble, not even bowing to the ground and offering her life like she did earlier would get her out the unfortunate turn of events.

She tried to sneak a look at the guest, but they’d covered half of their face with a black veil. But they were wearing fighting armor.

"Your majesty..." Ruby managed to get on her knees, wincing from where her fingers were still pressed against the floor.

At this point she’d be more surprised if they weren’t broken.

"This servant begs for your forgiveness. It was not my intention to disturb you, I’d merely lost my balance when putting down the tray."

Ruby said a quick prayer to the heavens.

"Who let you into my residence?" Empress Shen Lihua’s voice was cold, sending a shiver through Ruby.

The head maid immediately rushed to Ruby’s side, her knees dropping to the hard ground. "Your majesty, she was to serve you tea. I beg your forgiveness, we did not mean to cause you any trouble."

There was no immediate response which made Ruby slightly raise her head.

To her surprise the guest was already gone, the only sign the empress had been with someone was the teacup at the other end of the table.

"Raise your heads." Empress Shen Lihua sipped her tea slowly. "Is this how you train the maids? You don’t teach them respect and diligence?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The head maid shook her head frantically. "This will never happen again, your majesty."

"How can I be sure you’ll keep your word?" She ordered one of her personal maids to pour her more tea. "Words can be very deceiving, you know. What if you scare my guest away..." her gaze drifted to Ruby. "again."

"I’ll punish her accordingly to make sure she never repeats this mistake."

Ruby could see the tremble in the head maid’s hands. She would’ve laughed if she wasn’t so scared herself. Any moment and she might piss her pants

"Punish..." the empress twirled the contents of her tea cup. "What punishment could possibly be enough for the shame she just caused me. Do you think her life is worth much?"

The head maid opened her mouth to respond but no words came out.

"What’s your name?" the empress asked Ruby.

"Ru Yi. I work in the Eastern palace." She fiddled with her fingers in her lap, she couldn’t even straighten them out.

"Oh..." The empress’s face lit up with realization as she looked properly at Ruby. "You’re the one threatening to tear down the kingdom in order to satisfy your own selfish needs."

Wait...what?

What selfish needs?

The empress clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in a disapproving gesture. "How was a lowly woman allowed into the palace? Are the gates opened to anyone who wishes to enter?"

What did she just call me?...

"I’m not a prostitute!" Ruby couldn’t contain the anger that raced through her. "I’d never sell my body to anyone!"

Everyone was horrified.

The head maid immediately pushed Ruby’s head to the ground, bruising her in the process. "Apologize to the empress so she may spare your life!"

Why should she apologize to someone verbally abusing her. Did they have no basic human decency?

"Ru Yi! Do it now!"

That name seemed to wash over Ruby. She closed her eyes and tried to take in deep breaths. She had to remember she was Ru Yi now, and her goal was to make sure she survived.

She had to.

There was no other choice.

"She must not be apologetic in the least. Maybe this will teach her a lesson." The empress raised her hand to strike Ru Yi’s cheek, but someone held her hand before it could make an impact.

"Mother..." It was the crown prince, Zhao Chen. "You must not waste your good strength on a maid like this."

He pulled her hand back and rubbed it in an endearing manner. "You must conserve your strength for matters that are worth your attention."

Shen Lihua gave him a tight smile.

It would be considered a direct question of the authority the throne held if she were to challenge the crown prince.

The fact she was his mother did not matter when it came to royal affairs.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Shen Lihua asked instead, tearing her gaze away from Ru Yi.

She knew the real reason the prince had intercepted.

The maid was the one the crown prince really loved. She’d heard her personal maids speaking about it.

She’d brushed it off as mere gossip, but seeing the way he looked at the maid—he really was in love with her. And that was a huge problem for the empress.

"I’m merely checking in on my mother, the great empress of Tiancheng!" he looked at Ru Yi who was still on the floor.

He wanted to rush her and carry her off the floor.

Beautiful delicate knees like hers should not be on the floor.

"It seems you’ve been disturbed greatly by the maids," he continued, "I’ll help you to your chambers. You need to rest often, so your beauty will keep shining forever."

Shen Lihua knew what the crown prince was doing but she let him whisk her away. At least he hadn’t walked in on her guest.

But that lowly maid might’ve seen their face. She’d have to keep eyes on her.

Ru Yi sighed in relief when the crown prince and the empress left. She struggled to stand on her feet.

"The empress might’ve let you go but you’ll still receive punishment for your dismeanor. See me in the courtyard after you serve dinner."

With that everyone walked out.

Ru Yi stood there for a while, she couldn’t live like this. All she’d gotten from this encounter was the empress meeting someone in secret.

She needed something more solid for the princess.

Instead of following the other maids, she took a turn into a dark hallway. There was a single door at the end.

As she approached the door, she started to hear muffled voices. They were hiding something behind it.

She was about to turn the wooden handle on the door when she felt a strong hand clasp her shoulder.

There was a hot breath on her ear. "Found you."