On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Xiuzhu was taken aback by his reaction and was dumbfounded.

What's going on?

Did I say something wrong? Or... does the prince look down on me?

Overwhelmed by a sense of humiliation and loss, Xiuzhu's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Oh no, the prince must be disgusted with me.

Indeed, what am I? Just a lowly maidservant, and one serving the princess at that. The prince has beauties like Yang Mi and Yang Yifei serving him; how could he possibly be interested in me?

I was just being delusional.

Thinking of this, Xiuzhu knelt down with a "plop," and said in a tearful voice, "Your Highness, it was this servant who was ignorant and spoke nonsense. Please forgive me! This servant... this servant will never dare to do it again!"

Lin Yi was completely bewildered when he saw Xiuzhu kneeling on the ground, crying her eyes out.

What is all this about?

"Alright, stop crying, get up."

Xiuzhu dared not get up, kneeling on the ground and shaking her head repeatedly: "Your Highness, this servant is guilty, this servant should not have had such delusional thoughts..."

"I told you to get up!" Lin Yi's voice turned cold.

Xiuzhu trembled with fright and dared not cry anymore. She quickly got up from the ground, lowered her head and stood aside like a child who had done something wrong.

Lin Yi looked at her like this, shook his head, and pointed to the stool opposite him.

"Please sit down."

"Huh?" Xiuzhu was stunned for a moment, somewhat incredulous.

In her memory, servants always spoke to their masters standing or kneeling; there was no reason for them to sit.

"Your Highness, this servant dares not."

"I don't like to say things twice," Lin Yi said, sounding a little impatient.

"Yes..." Xiuzhu dared not disobey again. She carefully walked to the stool and sat down, her body straight and her hands nervously placed on her knees.

She looked like she was trying to become a model worker.

Lin Yi didn't say anything more. He took a sip of tea and said, "I released you not because I lust after your body."

Xiuzhu lowered her head even further.

Although I had already guessed it, hearing it with my own ears still made me feel extremely ashamed.

Lin Yi continued, "I'm keeping you alive because I have something more important for you to do."

"What's more important?" Xiuzhu looked up from the ground.

She thought to herself, what could be more important than serving the prince?

Looking into her clear yet foolish eyes, Lin Yi knew that this girl hadn't figured things out yet, so he simply cut to the chase.

"I need you to keep an eye on Luo Qingyu."

"what……"

Xiuzhu's first reaction was resistance.

Although he had sold the princess outright in the dungeon to survive, it was a choice he had no other option but to make in a life-or-death situation.

But now the prince is actually asking her to become a spy and betray the young lady who has treated her well since childhood.

This was something she found emotionally difficult to accept.

"Your Highness...this servant..." She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to say it.

To say you don't want to?

What if the prince gets angry and throws me back into the dungeon?

Just thinking about the cold, damp environment of the dungeon and those two ghost-like old women made Xiuzhu shudder.

She didn't want to go back, not even if it meant death.

Besides, what I did wasn't exactly betrayal, was it? Although the young lady treated me well, that was based on my complete obedience to her and my unwavering loyalty.

This time, he confessed in the dungeon, betraying her and the Fourth Prince. If she finds out, given her proud nature, she will never let him off the hook.

On one side is the regent, who is capricious but at least gave himself a way out.

On the other side is a seemingly gentle but actually ruthless princess who can barely protect herself.

Do I even need to think about how to choose?

Miss, I'm sorry.

I don't want to go down the same dark path with you anymore.

Xiuzhu's expression changed several times, finally appearing as if she had made up her mind: "Your Highness, this servant understands!"

Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction.

Children can be taught.

"Very well, I enjoy dealing with intelligent people." He paused, then continued, "As you know, your young lady and I are now irreconcilable. Her remaining in the palace will always be a scourge to me."

"The reason I spared her life was not out of consideration for our marital bond, but because she is still of use to me."

"Her father is an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a sixth-rank official, and he has some connections in the court. I released her to see who she can contact."

Xiuzhu felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this.

It turns out that the prince never intended to let the young lady go from the beginning. Lifting her confinement this time was just a trap.

This thought... is so deep, so terrifying.

I was so blind before. How could I have thought that someone like Nangong Jin could defeat the prince?

It's like the light of a firefly, yet it dares to rival the brilliance of the moon.

"Now, I've put her in charge of the household's purchasing affairs, and she leaves the manor every day," Lin Yi said. "What I want you to do is stay by her side and report back to me every single day, no detail missing: where she went, who she met, and what she said. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" Xiuzhu answered without hesitation, "This servant will keep a close eye on the Princess and will not miss any clues!"

To show her determination, she knelt on the ground again and kowtowed forcefully.

"Very good." Lin Yi stood up from his chair. "As long as you handle this matter well, I guarantee you will live a life of luxury in the palace, and no one will dare to bully you again."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Xiuzhu was overjoyed and kowtowed again.

I guessed right.

From this day forward, I belong to the prince.

Even though he was just an informant, a spy, he was still one of the prince's men!

As long as she can cling to the Prince's protection, what is there for her to fear? To hell with princesses and young ladies!

From the moment I emerged from the dungeon, I, Bai Xiuzhu, was no longer a maidservant of the Luo family!

I want to live for myself!

Lin Yi smiled with satisfaction as he looked at her excited expression.

Actually, comforting Bai Xiuzhu was a spur-of-the-moment decision, because in the original book, this girl was not a bad person.

She had simply been a maid for too long, lacking her own opinions and blindly obeying her master, daring not to disobey. Even when the male protagonist of the original novel, Nangong Jin, slept with her while drunk, she did not resist or struggle, simply accepting it as her fate.

Unfortunately, this woman later died in childbirth, and the baby also perished. Moreover, while she was giving birth, Nangong Jin was having an affair with another woman, making him the worst kind of scumbag.

As expected, a wish-fulfillment novel is just that—a wish-fulfillment novel. Aside from learning how to become a scumbag, you don't learn anything truly valuable.

On the other hand, simply promising benefits wouldn't be enough to win Xiuzhu's heart completely; we needed to add something extra.