Cixi Palace.

The eldest princess walked in, filled with anger, intending to give the Empress Dowager a good talking to about Gu Jiangli, but unexpectedly found an tactless woman in the room as well.

Consort Lan poured tea for the Empress Dowager and massaged her shoulders, being very attentive.

The eldest princess's eyes were sinister and filled with murderous intent.

Consort Lan offered a fawning smile, "Your Highness has arrived. This Xinyang Maojian tea is something I brought from home. Please come and have a taste, Your Highness."

She made way for the eldest princess.

The eldest princess looked at her with a sinister gaze and let out a cold snort:

"Who do you think you are, to presume to share tea with me?"

Consort Lan was surprised that the Princess was so disrespectful, and her expression immediately turned ugly.

She glanced furtively at the Empress Dowager's expression, and seeing that the Empress Dowager had no intention of speaking up for her, she said:

"I just heard that the Eldest Princess came from Consort Chen's place, probably to vent her anger for me and the Empress Dowager, so I wanted to offer you a cup of good tea to help you relax."

The eldest princess scoffed, "Stand up for you? How dare you! A distant relative, you really think you're someone important?"

Consort Lan's face turned pale. She tried to force a smile, but she couldn't manage it in front of the domineering princess.

Her lips twitched: "I misspoke."

"Good to know. Now get out of here and don't come to Cixi Palace again unless it's unlucky."

Consort Lan, realizing she had made a fool of herself, stiffly bowed and left.

After Consort Lan had walked away, the Eldest Princess asked the Empress Dowager, "What did she want to see you about, Mother?"

The Empress Dowager smiled sarcastically, "Of course she complained, and also talked about all the faults of Consort Chen. I'm sick of hearing it. If I had known that Lan Hui'er was so stupid, I shouldn't have let her into the palace. She can neither win the Emperor's favor nor deal with the concubines in the harem. She's simply a good-for-nothing."

The Empress Dowager, unwilling to discuss Consort Lan's affairs any further, instead asked:

"You saw Consort Chen? How was it?"

The moment Consort Chen was mentioned, the eldest princess's anger flared up. "Just as the Empress Dowager said, her sharp tongue makes one want to slap her mouth."

"It seems you didn't make her suffer today either."

"Hmph, all he has is a pretty face and a silver tongue."

The eldest princess told the Empress Dowager everything that had happened in the Delan Palace, including her original plan to deal with Gu Jiangli.

When the Empress Dowager heard the last part, she frowned. "Tan'er, why do you care about what she said about Xun'er? Xun'er is your son, and he is still young. How can he be treated the same as those palace servants? Even if you don't punish Xun'er, you can still punish those palace servants."

The eldest princess clenched her fists. "How could I not know? I was just blinded by that Consort Chen. She actually said that Xun'er doesn't have the surname..."

Her words abruptly stopped, as if someone had suddenly choked her and she was no longer able to speak.

The Empress Dowager looked at her in surprise, "What's wrong? What did she say that made you so angry?"

The princess turned her head away, picked up a cup of tea from the table, and drank the tea in one gulp.

She took a few quick breaths to calm her anger and said, "It's nothing. Today I've learned what Consort Chen is like. There's plenty of time in the future, and I'll make her pay the price."

Seeing her like this, the Empress Dowager stopped asking questions.

"You've always been like this since you were little, always bullying those you dislike until you lose interest. You have me behind you, there's no way you can't deal with a mere Consort Chen."

"By the way, where's Xun'er? Why can't I see him?"

The eldest princess looked out the window and said, "He can't stay still. He saw a butterfly in the Imperial Garden and insisted on catching it. I asked Granny Sun to accompany him. He should be back soon."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager sighed, "She really has the mind of a child."

The princess's nanny clenched her fists, her expression unchanged. "Xun'er is still young. She'll become more mature as she gets older."

The Empress Dowager lowered her head and took another sip of tea, thus failing to notice the hidden scheming in the Princess's eyes.

————

The clear voices of children could be heard coming from the Imperial Garden.

However, the voice didn't sound happy; instead, it was filled with anger and roaring:

"There! Do you even know how to catch them? They've already flown over there!"

"Useless! Utterly useless! You can't even catch butterflies?"

"It was on that peony flower! Oh dear! It flew away again! What are your hands for?! You're all useless idiots!"

This is the scene that Gu Jiangli saw as she approached.

The princess's child was directing seven or eight eunuchs and maids around him to catch butterflies for him. His expression was arrogant and his behavior was just like his mother's.

They really are a family.

Gu Jiangli glanced at him coldly, preparing to ignore him and leave.

But a butterfly took a liking to the crabapple embroidered on the side of her dress, fluttered its wings and flew towards her, landing right on her dress.

When the child saw the butterfly stop, his eyes lit up, and he pointed at Gu Jiangli with his index finger, commanding:

"Hey woman, catch the butterfly on your body, and I'll reward you with a thousand taels of silver!"

The palace servants around Gu Jiangli all knelt down to pay their respects.

Gu Jiangli didn't move, her eyes turned cold, but a bright smile bloomed on her lips as she repeated the child's address to her, "That...woman?"

"What are you standing there for? Are you deaf? You won't even listen to me, do you want to die?"

He walked slowly toward her with his short legs, completely unaware of the trembling figures of the palace servants kneeling on the ground beside him as they helped him catch butterflies.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, are you really deaf?"

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