Chapter 236

"What did you say?! You little rascal!"

Qi Roufu shouted angrily, her face contorted with rage, and reached out to grab him and beat him up, but someone grabbed her wrist.

Immediately following was a reprimand, "What are you all standing there for! Take the prince away right now!"

Only then did everyone notice the noble and extraordinary woman beside them. Without thinking twice, they quickly picked up the little prince, apologized to Qi Roufu, and hurriedly ran away.

Qi Roufu was indignant and turned around to vent her anger on her, but when she saw a familiar face, her eyes showed a hint of doubt.

He turned his head to look at the hand that was gripping him and angrily shouted, "How dare you! Do you know who I am?! Who gave you the audacity to lay a hand on me?"

Tao Tao frowned at her incessant chatter, shook off her hand, and said, "If it weren't for me, I'm afraid the princess's beautiful face would be ruined."

Speaking of her face, she quickly touched the spot that had almost been hit by the stone. Finding it smooth and undamaged, she was relieved.

"Who are you? How did you get into the palace? Could it be that my royal brother has found another new concubine?!"

At this moment, the eunuch who had led the way came out and said, "Your Highness, this is Princess Huaimin, the future Crown Princess."

"The future Crown Princess?" she repeated, her expression meaningful.

Qi Roufu was about to ask why she didn't bow when, a second later, the girl in front of her curtsied and said, "Huaimin greets Your Highness the Princess."

Such pragmatism leaves her with no reason to cause trouble.

She snorted coldly and said in a low voice, "Where are we going? To Qiu Lingyao's place?"

"I guessed so. The future crown princess is just like them all."

After saying that, she turned to leave, when she suddenly heard someone behind her say, "The Princess seems to be particularly dissatisfied with the Empress?"

Hearing her bold remarks, Qi Roufu stopped, turned around, raised an eyebrow, looked at her with interest, and sneered, "So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?"

"However, as the future Crown Princess, you dare to discuss these things with me. Aren't you afraid that the Empress will find out and create a rift between you?"

"Huaimin dares not, Her Majesty the Empress is waiting for Huaimin to come to pay her respects, so please allow Huaimin to go ahead."

After saying that, she turned and left, completely ignoring the expressions on the faces of the people behind her.

Qi Roufu felt a surge of discomfort as she watched her walk away without answering his question, and angrily shouted, "Stop right there!"

"Did I say you could leave? Come back!"

The palace maids beside them shrank their necks, looking trembling with fear, afraid that the princess would notice them and take her anger out on them.

As Qi Roufu watched her departing figure, his emotions gradually calmed down. He narrowed his eyes to conceal the look in them, his expression indifferent.

Thinking of Qi Xi, who was so young but had been so ruthless to her, and the things he had said that were not things he could have said, she knew that someone must have said something to him.

The first one to be blamed was that seemingly weak and gentle Consort Liu. It must have been something she said to her brother in secret that caused this bastard to imitate her.

"Damn you little bastard, damn Consort Liu, and all those who have wronged me, just you wait, I will never let you get away with this!"

She spoke through gritted teeth, knowing that her current power was negligible, and that she had nothing but the title of princess.

Even the personal guards in the Princess's residence were scattered into ordinary soldiers, unable to do anything but vent their dissatisfaction.

Suddenly she noticed the palace servants who had remained silent to the side. She grabbed one of the eunuchs by the collar, raised her hand and slapped him across the face, making him see stars and howl incessantly.

"Were they all dead just now?! Don't you know to come up here and beat that brat to the ground?! You're all useless trash, what use are you to me!"

Upon seeing this, everyone immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, "Your Highness, please calm down, Your Highness, please calm down..."

...

Rong'er looked at the eunuch leading the way and whispered, "Princess, is your hand alright?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Tao clenched her hands, which were hanging by her sides, and felt a slight stinging pain. She shook her head at her, "It's nothing."

Now it remains to be seen whether Qi Roufu will take the bait.

If she takes the bait, he will gain a great advantage. If she doesn't even know this hint, or if she knows but doesn't take the bait, it can only prove that they are not destined to be together.

She herself didn't suffer any loss; she just saw Qi Roufu as a promising talent and didn't care whether she wanted to or not.

After navigating a quiet, secluded path and walking for about half an incense stick's time, the Kunning Palace came into view.

When Granny Yu, who was standing at the door, saw the person coming, she stood up and a faint smile appeared on her aged face: "Princess Huaimin, you have arrived."

"Her Majesty the Empress said that the County Princess does not need to go in. I have arranged for a palace tutor to be stationed at Huiqu Pavilion to teach you, the Crown Princess, what you should do."

Upon hearing this, Tao Tao's lips curled up slightly, she took a step back, and stared at the old nanny in front of her with a scrutinizing gaze.

"I thought the Empress had something important to tell me to come to the palace, but it turns out she just wants to learn some ridiculous rules. Well, forget it."

"Your Majesty the Empress is probably unaware that I have a fourth-rank etiquette matron by my side. Among the people you have found, there should be no one whose rank is higher than that of my matron, Granny Wu, right?"

"Since Her Majesty the Empress doesn't need me to go in, she obviously doesn't want to see me either, so I'll take my leave now."

Before the words were even finished, the person turned and left without waiting for the person in front of them to react.

Granny Yu stared in shock at the departing figure, her fingers trembling as she asked the equally bewildered palace maid, "What? What does she mean by this? Is she defying the Empress's decree?!"

He was determined to have a good talk with the Empress about Huai Min, who didn't respect anyone.

On the way back, they bumped into the Crown Prince, who was rushing over.

The wedding was the day after tomorrow. At this time, the Empress Dowager summoned Xiao Tao to the palace. He was worried that the Empress Dowager would make things difficult for her, and he was even more worried that something unexpected might happen.

So when Qi Heng heard the news, she rushed over and happened to see her on the way.

His face lit up with joy, and he hurried along, but he quickly regained his composure and called out, "Xiao Tao."

Tao Tao turned her head to look in the direction of Kunning Palace, then turned back to look at him and smiled, "Your Highness came to see... me?"

He smiled slightly and nodded. "Xiao Tao, has your mother made things difficult for you?"

She gave a sweet smile and gently shook her head. "No, it's just that they want me to go to the palace to learn etiquette, but I've already learned all those rules, so..."

"It's okay, as long as Xiaotao is happy."

"The wedding is the day after tomorrow, and it may be quite complicated. Xiao Tao, you must rest well, otherwise I'm afraid you won't have the strength."

He carefully instructed her, not at all feeling that her leaving on her own was disrespectful to the Empress.

In Qi Heng's mind, the more outrageous Tao Tao's actions were, the more tolerant he would become.