Jun Yang walked up to Yao Yao.
"Isn’t it almost the New Year?" Yao Yao whispered in Jun Yang’s ear, "By then, with so many people around, we can lure Princess Anle into a dark room and lock her inside, then fill that room with lots of rats."
All little girls are afraid of rats, that’s without a doubt.
"Once Princess Anle is trapped in a dark room full of rats, she’ll surely be scared to death." Yao Yao sneered, "Even if she’s lucky enough to survive the fright, she will be gnawed all over by the rats and eventually die of plague."
While in Jiangnan, Yao Yao saw her mother use this thod to punish a servant who betrayed and stole from them. The servant died from fright and had a very miserable death!
She rembered it vividly.
And now she hated Jun Ning deeply, to the point of wanting her dead. Unfortunately, due to her young age, she couldn’t think of any better way, so she could only use her mother’s old thod.
"It’s indeed a good idea." After hearing this, a treacherous glint appeared in Jun Yang’s eyes.
But—
"It’s easy to create a dark room full of rats and easy to lure Princess Anle there, but what if we get discovered?" Jun Yang worried, "With the Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager’s affection for Princess Anle, they... they won’t spare us."
Jun Yang may be bad, but she only dared to do childish mischief, like playing house.
She wouldn’t dare to do such a life-threatening thing!
She feared for her life too.
Yao Yao, however, was different. Having spent her childhood with matchmakers in the streets, she had seen everything and even witnessed her mother execute so malicious thods.
When it ca to acting on them again, she wasn’t afraid.
But Jun Yang’s words weren’t entirely unreasonable. What if they were found out?
Then their lives would definitely be in danger.
She still wished to beco the only honored princess of the Eastern Chu Kingdom and marry the son of the National Guardian General.
If they were to lose their lives, they would lose everything.
"I can help find a scapegoat." Prince Xiao Yao suddenly spoke up.
Although Prince Xiao Yao was known since childhood for indulging in wine and won, not studying or practicing martial arts, appearing to be a wastrel, being a mber of the Imperial Family, especially a Prince, ant he was still sowhat stronger than ordinary people.
For example, he had grown up practicing martial arts, which made his hearing far sharper than the average person, allowing him to overhear Yao Yao’s whisper to Jun Yang.
Yao Yao didn’t ask Prince Xiao Yao how he heard her, but she excitedly asked, "Royal Uncle, can you really help find a scapegoat?"
"I can!"
"Finding a scapegoat is easy; it’s no big challenge. I can handle it."
"As for the dark room and rats, it’s simple. Every once in a while, the palace organizes a thorough rodent cleanup. As long as you randomly choose a dark room and place so bait to lure rats there, I can manage that too."
"But when it cos to luring Princess Anle into the dark room, you will have to do it. After today’s incident, Princess Anle will probably avoid like the plague."
Prince Xiao Yao bore a grudge from being slapped today and from seeing Jun Yang beaten like that; he wouldn’t let either go easily.
He harbored resentnt inside, waiting for an outlet to vent.
Now this was a good opportunity, one he couldn’t afford to miss.
Yao Yao, being a child, originally had low expectations for Prince Xiao Yao’s thods. However, after hearing her plan, he suddenly saw hope.
This plan from Yao Yao was typical of how issues were handled in the streets and alleys — very cruel and bloody. It was sothing a child couldn’t have thought of on her own; she must have learned it from her mother, who was once a songstress and then an Oiran.
Cruel it might be, but very practical within the palace.
When the ti cos, if Princess Anle truly gets bitten to death by rats in that dark room or contracts plague, claiming she got there from playful curiosity wouldn’t be questioned.
Even if a few would have doubts, none would inexplicably suspect Prince Xiao Yao.
This thod was indeed killing without a trace!
"I’ll take care of luring Princess Anle over, I can do it," Yao Yao assured.
Jun Yang excitedly added, "I’ll go with you then!" She wanted to witness the mont herself.
Prince Xiao Yao’s lips curled into a smile, "Alright, then it’s settled."
With still nearly half a month until New Year, they had plenty of ti to prepare ticulously, ensuring no one could spot any flaws.
...
anwhile, on Jun Ning’s side.
Emperor Yongning, holding Jun Ning, arrived at Cining Palace to have lunch with Qiong Hua and Ah Yu.
The family hadn’t gathered like this for a al in a long ti, and from the mont they sat down, the air was filled with joy.
The Empress Dowager took Jun Ning from the Emperor’s embrace, holding her and asked, "Ah Ning, did you miss your Grand Empress Dowager while at the National Guardian General Mansion?" Not waiting for Jun Ning to answer, the Empress Dowager continued, "Even if you didn’t, your Grand Empress Dowager missed you."
Saying this, the Empress Dowager kissed Jun Ning’s little face. Her eyes, weathered by ti, were filled with warmth.
Jun Ning turned her face to plant a kiss on the Empress Dowager and obediently said, "I missed you, Grand Empress Dowager."
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager smiled happily, "So my love wasn’t in vain."
"Co over, let mother hold you and allow the Empress Dowager to have lunch." Qiong Hua extended her hand towards Jun Ning.
Jun Ning was about to go over, but the Empress Dowager was unwilling to let go. Even though Jun Ning might interrupt her al, she insisted on holding her.
Seeing this, Emperor Yongning gave Qiong Hua a look, signaling her to simply indulge the Empress Dowager.
After the al, Jun Ning was supposed to accompany Qiong Hua to the Cold Palace to look for a pair of shoes she had hidden there for over a year. But the Empress Dowager kept her.
During Jun Ning’s ti at the National Guardian General Mansion, the Empress Dowager had been busy too, making several outfits for her.
Two sets were all green, and two all red, each adorned with exquisite patterns, looking very beautiful.
The green ones were ant for everyday wear, while the red ones were for New Year’s Eve and birthdays.
The Empress Dowager had planned it well.
However, a young girl at this age grows quickly, so it was necessary to try them on to see if they fit.
When the Empress Dowager took Jun Ning to try on the clothes, Jun Ning was originally cheerful, chattering continuously until she suddenly saw a rat darting by the wardrobe not far away...
It was a pitch-black rat, not very large, but it moved extrely swiftly, and its fur looked quite frightening.
Jun Ning was so scared that she clung tightly to the Empress Dowager’s clothes, bouncing up and down, trying to jump to keep her feet off the ground, exclaiming, "Grand Empress Dowager, it’s bad, a rat, a rat, there’s a rat..."
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