The moon rises above the willow branches, the pearl curtain sways gently.
Underneath the golden roof, the dancer’s skirts whirl, at the top of the grand hall, the Old Emperor sits crookedly, his eyes squinting murkily and his hand restlessly moving on the leg of the Noble Consort.
On the other side, the Empress pretends not to see anything, focusing on enjoying the dance and music.
Neither the Eldest Prince nor the Second Prince would miss this chance to win people over; after toasting the Old Emperor, they keep exchanging cups with the courtiers and princes.
Su Zhiruan sits behind a rockery beside the grand hall, playing with the gun brought from another world.
It’s small and exquisite, but can kill with one shot.
But her plan is not to find the ti to kill, rather—sit back and watch the tigers fight.
After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere inside the grand hall relaxed significantly, the Old Emperor chose a dancer to his liking, suddenly feeling restless and impatient to leave the hall, "The birthday banquet organized by the Noble Consort is excellent, beauties and wine are to my liking."
"Thank you, Emperor," the Noble Consort smiled, pushed the Old Emperor’s hand away, pointed teasingly at the dancer standing obediently ahead, "Since Your Majesty praises the beauties and wine prepared by , why not enjoy both with the beauty, allowing not to disturb Your Majesty’s elegance."
The Old Emperor was satisfied, as he stood up, his eyes already glued to the dancer, eager to imdiately head to her embrace.
The mont he left, the banquet grew even more lively; the Emperor has grown old and yet not appointed the Crown Prince, if they pledge allegiance early, they might beco pillars in the future.
The Third Prince mingled among the crowd, trying to talk with the courtiers for support, but after so ti, he found those gathered around him to be of low rank, feeling frustrated, he drank several cups in a row before handing the cup to his attendant and drunkenly walked out.
The attendant wanted to follow him, but the Third Prince waved his hand, not looking back, "No need to follow, I’ll go for a walk."
"Your Highness, it would be better if I—" The attendant hadn’t finished speaking but saw that the Third Prince was already nowhere to be found.
The palace was lively tonight, with only the adjacent Imperial Garden remaining sowhat quiet, the Third Prince staggered around aimlessly.
As he turned a corner towards the Koi Pond, a force nearly knocked him off his feet, the Third Prince frowned and held onto a nearby rockery to stabilize himself, "Which lacking eyes dares to bump into , you wretched servant, tired of living!"
He cursed angrily, expecting the rash Palace Maid to kneel and beg for forgiveness imdiately, but she only slightly bowed, such a small action, yet the hazy mind of the Third Prince felt it sohow familiar.
The night breeze rose, as the chill in the air brushed against him, the Third Prince instantly sobered up, pupils widening, he stepped back, pointed at the woman in front of him and exclaid, "Ja, Jialan?!"
"Are you human or ghost?" The Third Prince sobered completely, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, only to see Su Zhiruan standing there properly again, "Stay away! If anything happens to today, I’ll make sure you can’t live nor die."
"If elder brother believes I am a ghost seeking revenge, how can you say you’ll make unable to live nor die?" Su Zhiruan laughed, leisurely spinning the gun in her hand, "Jialan has awaited Third elder brother for a long ti, ca here today also to give a hand to elder brother."
"You?" The Third Prince looked Su Zhiruan up and down, clearly not believing her.
Su Zhiruan glanced around, her tone indifferent, "Jialan sincerely wishes to assist elder brother, may I have a word."
With nothing around him, the Third Prince also wanted to know what Su Zhiruan could do to help him, pondering for a mont before saying, "To Shuhua Courtyard."
Shuhua Courtyard, also known as Prince Academy.
A couple of turns beyond the Imperial Garden and it’s there.
Today is the full month celebration of Prince Shiyi, the entire palace gathered at the banquet, even the palace guards who were rewarded went out for a drink.
After arriving at the Academy, Su Zhiruan easily found the flint and lit the candles.
As she moved, the hem of her clothes stirred the air, casting vague shadows of flickering candlelight on the windows.
Su Zhiruan approached the Third Prince, saluted, and in her palms was the gun—
"What is this?" The Third Prince frowned, taking the gun from her hands.
"Jialan encountered such a treasure on the way to the diplomatic marriage, painstakingly brought it back to offer it to elder brother." Su Zhiruan had her speech prepared, "In the past, Jialan suffered in the harem, yet elder brother never troubled ."
Everyone loves pleasant words, especially soone like the Third Prince, anxious and opportunistic.
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