"What filthy thing is this?" A'ke did not understand at first and even curiously brought it to her nose for another sniff.
"I told you not to smell it!" Seeing her daughter's foolish action, Chen Yuanyuan was both angry and anxious. She hurriedly grabbed her hand, leaned close to her ear, and whispered an explanation. "It's a man's... thing..."
"Ah!" A'ke instantly pulled her hand away from her nose as though she had been burned.
"Don't shout!" Chen Yuanyuan hurriedly covered her daughter's mouth.
"Mmph!" A'ke's peach-blossom eyes widened as she flailed about in panic. She mumbled indistinctly, "Your hand... it's covered in that... that smell..."
Chen Yuanyuan was startled. Only then did she remember that she had spat something into her palm to inspect it. She quickly let go, and A'ke hurriedly wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
"Don't blame Mother, A'ke. What happened today cannot be known by anyone, or you will have no place in this imperial harem." Seeing how distressed her daughter was, Chen Yuanyuan hurriedly consoled her.
A'ke gradually understood what had happened to her. Her pretty face turned deathly pale. "My pure body was taken from me so muddleheadedly?"
She had once proudly declared that her future husband had to be a peerless hero, one capable of bringing peace to the realm with his pen and winning glory as a general with his sword. Though she had now married a eunuch emperor, she had still carefully protected that beautiful, dazzling dream in her heart. But now that she had become a fallen woman, even if such a peerless hero truly appeared, how could she possibly be worthy of him?
The thing she had always cherished so carefully had shattered in an instant. A'ke felt all hope turn to ashes, and she burst into tears.