Chapter 050: Seizing Opportunities

Previously, although Empress Dowager Xiao had a somewhat indifferent attitude towards everyone, which made them fearful, it was nothing compared to her current furious expression.

No one expected that presenting a jade ruyi would cause such anger.

The attendants below, not knowing what had happened, were anxious and did not dare to speak.

Eunuch Liu, who had presented the jade ruyi, felt a chill down his spine and immediately knelt down, shouting, “Empress Dowager, please calm your anger! Empress Dowager, please calm your anger!”

He was right in front of the steps.

Empress Dowager Xiao kicked him and called for her attendants, shouting, “Seize this traitor! Take him to the Department of Punishments for interrogation!”

Eunuch Liu’s face changed drastically.

Although he had presented the jade ruyi, he had no idea of the hidden message behind it. Hearing Empress Dowager Xiao’s cold shout, he was so frightened that he repeatedly banged his head on the ground, crying, “Injustice! I am innocent! I was only following orders to present the jade ruyi. I don’t know what angered the Empress Dowager. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager. I am innocent!”

Shen Zhiyi and Xiao Shu, sitting beside Empress Dowager Xiao, had only vaguely seen some writing on the back of the jade ruyi but did not see clearly what it was. Faced with this sudden change, they did not dare to ask.

Empress Zheng was also startled.

She knew that although Empress Dowager Xiao’s temper was not good and could be harsh, such a reaction indicated a major issue, especially since she called Eunuch Liu a “traitor,” suggesting the matter was serious.

Although the jade ruyi was broken, some larger pieces remained.

Empress Zheng did not speak but walked down from the hall, picked up a piece of the broken jade, and saw the characters “Righteous Child” on it, her face changing drastically, almost as much as Empress Dowager Xiao’s.

The attendants had already restrained Eunuch Liu.

Empress Zheng glanced at the trembling girls standing below and suppressed her shock, saying to them, “You may leave now.”

Empress Dowager Xiao, with a livid face, did not say much this time.

Everyone knew that this was a serious matter, not something the newly appointed attendants should know about. Hearing Empress Zheng’s words, they quickly bowed and left.

Xiao Shu also got up and bowed to Empress Dowager Xiao before leaving.

Shen Zhiyi was still sitting there in a daze.

Xiao Shu pulled her up and took her out of Kunning Palace.

As Jiang Xuening walked out of the palace gate, the cold wind of early winter made her realize she was drenched in cold sweat.

This was the infamous “Ruyi Case” from her previous life.

The jade ruyi presented to Empress Dowager Xiao by the Imperial Household Department had treasonous words engraved on it, directly targeting the emperor. This incident led to a bloody purge, implicating many in the palace and noble families, resulting in executions and confiscations. Although the Yongyi Marquis’s family was not directly involved, the timing was suspiciously close, raising doubts.

Thinking of the Yongyi Marquis’s family and Yan Lin, and recalling the events of her previous life, Jiang Xuening felt a surge of anxiety and clenched her hands hidden in her sleeves to calm herself.

What is meant to come will always come.

In such times, one must not lose their composure but rather do what needs to be done amidst the chaos. Who knows if a small effort might not save the day?

Shen Zhiyi, still somewhat confused, was pulled out by Xiao Shu and asked, “What happened?”

Xiao Shu lowered her gaze and did not speak.

Shen Zhiyi looked up and saw Jiang Xuening standing at the edge of the crowd. She walked over and asked with concern, “Ningning, are you alright? Your face is so pale.”

Jiang Xuening thought of Zheng Bao, who had been kneeling at the gate of Kunning Palace earlier. Her eyes flickered slightly, and she thought, “There is no other way.” She forced a smile, looking somewhat scared, and said softly, “It frightened me a bit.”

Shen Zhiyi was also scared.

But she thought of herself as the princess who had promised to protect Jiang Xuening, so she immediately put on a facade of calmness, saying, “It’s nothing, nothing. Isn’t this princess here with you?”

Holding Jiang Xuening’s slender fingers, she felt that her fingertips were icy cold.

Jiang Xuening just looked at her without speaking.

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly over her beautiful eyes, like a fawn struck by an arrow on a snowy plain, fragile and pitiful. Her fingers clutched Shen Zhiyi’s hand.

In that moment, Shen Zhiyi felt strongly that her friend, who once smiled brightly and placed cherry blossom petals at the corner of her eyes, now desperately needed and relied on her.

They were supposed to return to their respective quarters after leaving Kunning Palace.

Shen Zhiyi’s Mingfeng Palace and Jiang Xuening’s Yangzhi Zhai were in different directions, so they would part ways at the gate of Kunning Palace.

But now, she felt she couldn’t just leave.

Shen Zhiyi held her hand, smiled brightly as if nothing had happened, and led her towards Yangzhi Zhai, saying, “You are so timid. This princess will accompany you back.”

She then told the others, “Let’s go.”

Everyone followed them.

Along the way, Shen Zhiyi kept talking to Jiang Xuening about interesting stories from the palace. Sometimes she got stuck and had to call on Xiao Shu and Chen Shuyi to continue.

Xiao Shu remained calm and composed.

Chen Shuyi, who had a grudge against Jiang Xuening, couldn’t refuse the princess’s request and had to awkwardly tell jokes to Jiang Xuening.

Jiang Xuening felt that if it weren’t for the seriousness of today’s events, she would have laughed out loud.

However, she now felt disgusted with herself.

In her previous life, she had only flattered men, but now she found herself manipulating a sweet and gentle girl. She felt she was becoming more and more unscrupulous and despicable.

Shen Zhiyi was completely unaware of this.

The group walked towards Yangzhi Zhai.

On their way there, they had avoided the direction of Kunning Palace, but on their way back, they naturally took the shortest route, which passed by Kunning Palace.

From the moment Jiang Xuening could see the walls of Kunning Palace in the distance, her heart was in her throat, silently praying she would make it in time.

As she turned the corner of the palace wall, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest—

The palace path ahead was silent.

The sound of slaps she had heard earlier was gone.

At that moment, Jiang Xuening almost thought she had missed her chance.

Fortunately, as she turned onto the palace path, she saw the figure kneeling at the palace gate.

Zheng Bao was still there!

But before she could breathe a sigh of relief and smile, she looked up and saw another figure standing in front of the palace gate.

Dressed in a python robe with a jade belt at his waist, tall and elegant, who else could it be but Prince Linzi, Shen Jie? At this moment, he was looking at the kneeling Zheng Bao, about to say something to the palace attendants.

Jiang Xuening’s eyelid twitched. She couldn’t let Shen Jie save Zheng Bao just like that. Thinking quickly, she deliberately tripped herself by stepping on her skirt, losing her balance and letting out a low cry as she fell to her knees.

Her reaction was minimal.

Shen Zhiyi, who was walking beside her and telling her jokes, panicked and shouted, “Ningning!”

Prince Linzi, who was about to ask why the young eunuch was being punished, heard the noise and immediately turned his head. He saw the attendants and quickly recognized the fallen Jiang Xuening.

This interruption would make anyone forget what they were originally going to do. Prince Linzi was no exception.

He quickly walked over but, due to the presence of other attendants, did not get too close. He said gently, “Although the palace paths are old, they were repaired last year. How did Miss Jiang manage to trip?”

The attendants, who had encountered Prince Linzi during their last visit to the palace, knew his identity and bowed as he approached, saying, “Greetings, Your Highness Prince Linzi.”

Seeing him approach, Jiang Xuening felt more at ease.

Thinking that in their previous life they were a couple who were both close and distant, and that she had died for him, she felt it was only fair to take this opportunity from him in this life. She considered it compensation for her efforts and her life.

After all, he was Prince Linzi and would not lack a Zheng Bao when he became emperor.

But she desperately needed him.

With this thought, Jiang Xuening felt less guilty about seizing the opportunity and quickly said, “Your Highness, I just visited the Empress Dowager. Her presence was overwhelming, and I was so distracted that I tripped, making a fool of myself.”

Xiao Shu watched her quietly.

Shen Zhiyi helped her up and, hearing her words, pouted at Prince Linzi, saying, “Brother, you weren’t there just now. Mother was terrifying.”

Although Prince Linzi was humble and gentle by nature, he had grown up in the palace and was well aware of its intrigues. Hearing their words, he knew something must have happened at Kunning Palace. He frowned slightly and asked, “What happened?”

Shen Zhiyi replied, “It was just a jade ruyi. I don’t even know how to explain it…”

She wanted to explain clearly but didn’t know where to start, resulting in a confusing explanation.

Shen Jie was left bewildered.

In the end, Xiao Shu succinctly said, “Eunuch Liu from the Imperial Household Department, under the emperor’s orders, presented a jade ruyi from Qinghai. However, it seems there were treasonous words engraved on the back, which angered Aunt. The Empress is currently dealing with the matter in Kunning Palace.”

Shen Jie looked up at her.

Shen Zhiyi, hearing Xiao Shu’s concise explanation, quickly nodded and said, “Yes, that’s it. Brother, you should go and see.”

Shen Jie had originally intended to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Xiao. After a brief pause, he said, “I’ll go and see.” With that, he completely forgot about the young eunuch.

As he walked towards Kunning Palace, he passed by the attendants and saw Jiang Xuening, who had just fallen and was now standing, rubbing her knee. He couldn’t help but laugh and teased, “Tripping on flat ground, Miss Jiang, you should watch your step. Otherwise, you might get hurt before you can treat me to that apology drink, and I wonder who would feel sorry for you then!”

Jiang Xuening was momentarily stunned, not immediately recalling what the “apology drink” referred to. It wasn’t until Shen Jie had walked away that she remembered it was about the misunderstanding when she had just been reborn and slapped Shen Jie, promising to treat him to a drink as an apology.

It was a polite remark.

But she didn’t expect Shen Jie to remember it.

The attendants, seeing Shen Jie only addressing Jiang Xuening, had strange looks in their eyes.

Hearing the words “apology drink,” they couldn’t help but glance at her.

Xiao Shu, standing beside Shen Zhiyi, also showed a hint of surprise on her usually calm face. When she looked back at Jiang Xuening, her gaze deepened.

Jiang Xuening noticed everyone’s reactions and felt a pang of distress.

She wanted to explain that there was nothing romantic between her and Shen Jie.

But Prince Linzi had already walked away, leaving no time for explanations. Besides, how could she say that she had slapped Shen Jie and the apology drink was for that slap?

Wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?

Shen Zhiyi curiously asked, “Apology drink?”

Jiang Xuening smiled bitterly, “In the past, when I was foolishly messing around in the market, I had a misunderstanding with Prince Linzi.”

Shen Zhiyi wanted to ask what the misunderstanding was.

But at that moment, Jiang Xuening’s gaze shifted to the eunuch Zheng Bao kneeling at the palace gate. Her expression changed several times, showing a hint of pity.

Shen Zhiyi naturally followed her gaze and saw only a young eunuch kneeling at the gate. She didn’t pay much attention but was curious about Jiang Xuening’s reaction, saying, “It’s common for people to be punished in the palace. He must have made a mistake and is being punished.”

Jiang Xuening softly said, “He was already kneeling here when we arrived…”

Her voice was naturally soft, and she deliberately made herself look worried and anxious. Even if her sympathy and fear were partly feigned, she acted with genuine empathy and fear.

After all, the scene in Kunning Palace had just happened.

Empress Dowager Xiao had made them kneel without letting them get up, giving them a severe warning. Those who were timid would indeed be frightened.

Shen Zhiyi hadn’t forgotten it either.

At this moment, seeing Jiang Xuening’s expression and the young eunuch kneeling beside her, Shen Zhiyi naturally guessed that Jiang Xuening was reminded of the recent events in Cining Palace, triggering her fear of the deep palace and feeling that she, like the young eunuch, was trapped in a dangerous situation where any mistake could lead to punishment.

She couldn’t help but blame her mother for being too strict and her sister-in-law for choosing this moment to punish someone, worrying about how it might scare Ningning.

With this thought, her noble demeanor returned.

Shen Zhiyi directly asked a female official standing in front of Kunning Palace, “What did this eunuch do wrong?”

The female official quickly bowed and was about to answer, “His name is Zheng Bao. Today, while serving, he seemed distracted and—”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Although Shen Zhiyi had asked the question, she was also the one who interrupted, showing impatience and waving her hand to give an order.

“He has already been punished and has knelt for a long time. That’s enough. Spare him. If my sister-in-law asks, just say it was my decision.”

As the favored princess in the palace, Shen Zhiyi was well-known. The emperor had even arranged for a Hanlin Academy scholar to teach her and selected attendants for her. The female official, serving the empress, knew this well and dared not contradict her.

She immediately said, “Yes.”

Then she instructed the others, “Quickly, help him up. Don’t let him stay here and scare people.”

The young eunuchs on either side immediately stepped forward to help Zheng Bao up.

Zheng Bao had been kneeling on the palace path for some time, and his knees were numb. As he stood up, he almost fell again. His once delicate face was now marked with finger prints, but his eyes were still bright.

He looked up at Jiang Xuening.

Unexpectedly, the face he saw was not the timid and fearful one he had heard, but a pair of calm eyes hidden beneath a gentle exterior, quietly watching him.

Despite her delicate appearance, she seemed to be full of thorns inside.

Jiang Xuening’s eyelashes fluttered, and she lowered her gaze slightly. When she looked up again, she smiled at Shen Zhiyi, “Your Highness is so kind.”

Shen Zhiyi’s face turned red again.

She coughed and, pretending to be calm, lightly hummed, “Of course!”