"Sister Xuxu, didn't the princess say not to say it was her who gave it to us?" Xiaxia asked, somewhat confused.

On the way back to the palace, Xiaxia was a little confused. Zhang Xu was very gentle to others, but she was not so friendly to Yan Chenghuan. Did she really hate Yan Chenghuan?

Zhang Xu shook her head, feigning profundity: "You wouldn't understand."

The original novel only states that Yan Chenghuan, as a young boy, came to the Chen Kingdom alone as a hostage and suffered much bullying. The frail foreign prince, arriving in an unfamiliar environment, was destitute and starving. It was the kind-hearted Rong Yue who punished the palace servants who bullied him and provided him with food and clothing, preventing him from dying a miserable death far from home. Yan Chenghuan remembered Rong Yue's kindness and gradually developed feelings for her, but ultimately, his unrequited love led him to become corrupted. Zhang Xu cannot interfere with the plot's development, but hopes that Yan Chenghuan will soon realize that Rong Yue never had any other feelings for him, hopes he won't become so completely corrupted, and hopes he will remember the kindness Rong Yue showed him and have a little more compassion.

As the plot unfolds, the temperature in Chen Kingdom this year is unusually high. In a few days, reports of people dying from the heat will reach the palace, and soon the princes and concubines will have to tighten their belts. Once the ministers who went south for inspection return, preparations will be made to invite the Imperial Advisor to perform a rainmaking ritual. Only then will the story truly begin to develop. After all, in an old-fashioned tragic romance novel, the most important plot point is the development of the romance between the male and female leads; everything else is just setup.

Zhang Xu recalled seeing Yan Chenghuan wearing tattered, out-of-season autumn clothes in this sweltering heat. As a hostage in a foreign land, it was understandable that no one would notice his daily diet and clothing. In the past, Rong Yue's only concern was ensuring Yan Chenghuan didn't die in the Chen Kingdom's palace; she wouldn't have paid attention to his appearance. Zhang Xu thought for a moment and asked Xia Xia, "Xia Xia, do you know where I can buy summer clothes?"

Palace maids were not allowed to leave the palace. The clothes for the maids and eunuchs in the palace were all uniformly distributed by the inner court. If they wanted extra, they had to wait for their masters to bestow cloth upon them and make their own. Rong Yue gave Xu Xu quite a lot of fabric, but Zhang Xu couldn't handle it. In the original story, Xu Xu's needlework was considered superb, but Zhang Xu was only using her body and couldn't inherit her skills.

"The palace doesn't sell clothes. We can only ask the embroiderers in the Imperial Clothing Bureau to make them, but..." Xiaxia didn't finish her sentence. Xuxu's clothes were usually custom-made with Rongyue, so she didn't need any extra clothes. Why would she think of buying clothes today?

Xiaxia didn't dare to interfere too much in Zhang Xu's affairs, so she could only tell Zhang Xu that she knew an embroiderer who could help with the work. After Zhang Xu left, Xiaxia secretly prayed that Xuxu wanted to be a good person and wouldn't do anything bad to Mo Niang. If she did, she would have to apologize.

Zhang Xu, of course, had no idea what Xia Xia was thinking. When he excitedly arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Wardrobe, he saw the busy scene of palace maids and eunuchs. Upon seeing Zhang Xu, they simply bowed and walked to the side.

Zhang Xu casually grabbed a palace maid and said, "Hello, may I ask if Mo Niang is here?"

Because of Rong Yue, Zhang Xu's actions in the palace had always been smooth. The little palace maid who was being held back by Rong Yue was a little anxious. "Sister Xu Xu, the Imperial Wardrobe has been busy making the clothes for the National Preceptor's rain-praying ceremony these past two days. They are really too busy. Sister Xu Xu, please come back in a couple of days!"

Zhang Xu frowned. Shouldn't there still be a few days? Why has it started now?

The original story mentions August, so this time is just right. As long as it's related to the plot, Liu Shiwu should be active appropriately.

"I'm sorry, thank you."

Zhang Xu's sudden politeness caught the little palace maid off guard, but the Imperial Wardrobe was too busy to think about the oddity and hurriedly went inside.

"How rude! No matter how busy Her Highness is, she can always find time to leave. How can you just make excuses like this?" Hearing the voice, a matron dressed as a lady-in-waiting came down the steps.

The scolded palace maid immediately knelt down and apologized. Zhang Xu, at a loss, pulled the little palace maid up and said to the nanny, "Nanny, please don't blame her. I was impolite and didn't know that the Imperial Wardrobe had important matters to attend to."

The old woman smiled kindly and waved her hand at the little palace maid, saying, "Since Miss Xuxu has pleaded for you, you may leave now! You're looking for Mo Niang, right? Mo Niang, come out here."

Zhang Xu was about to refuse, but the old woman was too fast and didn't give her any time to react. Zhang Xu had no choice but to lead Mo Niang out of the Shangyi Bureau.