Princess Wanping was deeply engrossed in the fantasies she had woven for herself, unable to extricate herself. Granny Liao dared not shatter her daydreams, fearing that her mistress might act rashly and harm herself.
Besides, the Princess was exaltedly noble and beautiful—who wouldn’t want to marry her? Perhaps Lu Yuan did harbor so feelings for the Princess, but considering he had killed her brother, who was born of the sa mother, and imprisoned her father, who doted on her the most, there was indeed no way the two could ever be together.
Granny Liao sighed; even she found it far-fetched.
At this mont, ng Qianqian had no idea what the mistress and servant pair were pondering. Otherwise, she surely would have quipped, "You royal family folks are truly out of your minds."
The Empress bestowed ng Qianqian with a box of jewelry, an antique inkstone slab, and a box of exquisite and tasty pastries. The inkstone was ant for Lu Yuan, and the pastries were for Bao Shu.
"Tan’er, I have sothing for you too."
"I have sothing too?"
Tan’er widened her eyes in surprise.
Soon, a young palace maid entered holding two glistening candied fruit skewers. Unlike those sold on the streets, these were skewered with a variety of fruits, topped with lifelike sugar sculptures of birds.
Tan’er’s eyes lit up with a green glow!
She cheerfully accepted the candied fruits, clutching one skewer in each hand. "Your Majesty, the Empress, I like you! I like you way more than any Imperial Concubine, any Princess—you’re the best!"
The Empress smiled.
Lastly, the Empress gifted Ban Xia a silk pouch adorned with golden thread and Dongzhu pearls, a piece that was clearly extraordinary.
ng Qianqian couldn’t help but praise the Empress’s thoughtfulness and ticulousness.
Since eting her maternal family was rare for the Empress, ng Qianqian refrained from imposing further.
"Your Majesty, the Empress, I take my leave for now. I shall visit the palace to pay my respects another day."
She then bid farewell to Lady Wang and Wang Rou. Their families lived rather close, so eting again wouldn’t be difficult or urgent.
The two watched as ng Qianqian departed.
A mother knows her daughter best, and Lady Wang chuckled playfully when she noticed her daughter’s inability to look away. "Well? Didn’t I and your sister Yan’er tell you the truth?"
Wang Rou nodded softly. "Sister ng is an interesting person. Yan’er said that Sister Lin is also fond of her and has gone out with her before."
They had grown up together, yet Wang Rou and Zhou Nanyan still hadn’t managed to persuade Lin Xiaoru to go outside.
"Alas, if only you had a brother, I would truly want to bring her into the Wang Family as part of the household."
At this point, Lady Wang couldn’t help but complain, "It’s all Wang Daniu’s fault!"
anwhile, back at the Ministry of Rites inspecting matters related to the Emperor and Empress’s marriage ceremony, Imperial Censor Wang suddenly sneezed out of the blue.
Outside Kunning Palace, ng Qianqian didn’t leave imdiately but halted her steps.
Tan’er, holding her candied fruit skewers, hopped excitedly ahead but soon realized ng Qianqian wasn’t catching up. Turning back, she asked, "Sister, why don’t you move forward?"
ng Qianqian’s expression turned cautious as her gaze swept to the side. She replied evenly, "Soone’s here."
Tan’er’s hopping stopped abruptly as she surveyed her surroundings warily. "Looks like there’s a rat!"
With a flick of her wrist, a silver needle materialized between ng Qianqian’s fingers. Listening closely to the sound of the wind, she suddenly twisted and flicked it toward the eaves of Kunning Palace.
"So, hiding here all along! Little Quan, help hold these!"
Tan’er handed her candied fruit skewers to Xiao Quan before leaping onto the rooftop in pursuit of the suspicious figure.
Xiao Quan stared dumbfounded.
"No need to alarm the Empress," ng Qianqian instructed.
The individual had entered Kunning Palace alongside Princess Wanping, but after the Princess left, he exited the main hall, likely planning to retreat.
Clearly, he wasn’t targeting the Empress.
"Understood, madam," Xiao Quan replied.
Tan’er searched the rooftops but found no trace of the silver needle, indicating that it must’ve hit its mark on the suspect’s body.
However, as Tan’er pursued her quarry, she unexpectedly lost sight of him.
Standing beneath another palace’s eaves, Tan’er frowned and planted her hands on her hips. "Gone? Even after being hit with Sister’s silver needle, he can still run this well? I don’t buy it! I’ll search every corner of the Imperial Palace until I catch him!"
Tan’er resud her chase.
anwhile, on the other side, ng Qianqian rembered Bao Shu, who was in the Imperial Garden picking flowers. Worried about potential danger, she rushed to retrieve the little one.
The little one was utterly captivated by the blooming flowers, plucking one after another as if determined to ravage the entire garden.
She herself resembled a little golden tiger cub who had transford into a mud-streaked child with grass bits all over her.
ng Qianqian observed the garden, which was nearly stripped bare, and asked with a pained expression, "Are all these flowers... the Empress’s?"
Xiao Quan replied awkwardly, "Only the ones on the eastern side; the rest were planted by the Imperial Concubine’s people."
Consort Li truly was an innocent victim here—she’d been preparing for a flower-viewing banquet in several days, even going so far as to relocate most of the Empress’s peonies for the occasion. But Bao Shu’s half-day tour of the Imperial Garden had transford her beautifully cultivated rainbow of blooms into two handfuls of dusty soil.
One single flower remained.
"Don’t pluck it!" ng Qianqian cried.
Too late.
Treasure Piggy clutched the flower in her hands with an utterly innocent look.
ng Qianqian’s lips twitched. This... she’d leave it for Lu Yuan to handle...
Xiao Quan, tasked by the Empress to escort ng Qianqian out of the palace, followed along as ng Qianqian decided to head to Taihe Palace to inform Lu Yuan about Princess Wanping and the suspicious figure.
The palace attendants at Taihe Palace didn’t recognize ng Qianqian.
So, she raised the grimy little potato of a child in her arms, successfully leveraging her presence.
Bao Shu, knowing the way, headed to the annex room after failing to find Lu Yuan in the front hall.
Upon approaching the door, ng Qianqian spotted Steward Cen.
"Steward Cen?"
ng Qianqian exclaid in surprise. Wasn’t he posted by the palace gates to wait for her?
"M-Madam?"
Steward Cen looked more startled than ng Qianqian.
Feeling puzzled, ng Qianqian recalled that he’d ntioned she could find Lu Yuan here, but now his reaction seed excessively shocked.
Glancing at him, then at the tightly shut door, she asked, "Is the Grand Commander... indisposed?"
Steward Cen opened his mouth but said nothing.
In the annex room, "indisposed" could an only one thing.
Understanding dawned upon ng Qianqian. "I see. Please, let the Grand Commander continue. I’ll just head back to the residence."
"No, no, no! Madam, you’ve misunderstood! The Grand Commander isn’t entertaining anyone!"
Steward Cen was on the verge of a breakdown.
Scratch that—this misunderstanding was imnse!
Bao Shu wriggled her tiny body out of ng Qianqian’s arm, prepared to wreak havoc. With her chubby fists, she pounded on the door ferociously!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The door flung open.
Caught off-balance, Bao Shu tumbled forward inside.
ng Qianqian reacted swiftly, pulling the little one back just in ti. "Phew, close call!"
Steward Cen heaved a sigh of relief as he looked toward Lu Yuan seated by the windowsill.
"Madam, let take Miss Bao Shu for a face rinse." Steward Cen promptly offered.
"No, not going," Bao Shu objected, only to be overruled.
With Bao Shu in tow, the steward swiftly fled the scene.
ng Qianqian stepped inside.
Lu Yuan was dressed in his purple officer’s robe, his expression cold and composed, exuding an aura of bold unconstraint.
Before him lay a disorganized heap of official reports, scattered across the table as if soone had tumbled in through the window and crashed onto the desks.
Given his usual ticulousness, it was uncertain when his work table had beco this chaotic.
He was intently reviewing one of the reports, his deanor wholly absorbed in focus.
ng Qianqian eyed him for a mont before questioning, "Grand Commander, are you feeling sick? You’re sweating profusely and your face looks exceptionally flushed."
Lu Yuan replied nonchalantly, "It’s hot."
ng Qianqian tilted her head in confusion. "Hot? It actually feels rather cool. When I ca in, I even felt a bit chilly."
Lu Yuan stated blandly, "An abundance of kidney energy breeds a vigorous internal heat, hence I often feel warr."
Could it be that Lady Du had overdone it with her nourishing soups... ng Qianqian added, "Grand Commander."
Lu Yuan glared at her, "What now?"
"Do you usually read reports upside down?" ng Qianqian pointed at him reviewing the file so earnestly, with his text flipped the wrong way round, "Your report—is upside down."
A thoroughly embarrassed Lu Yuan: "..."
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