Chapter 111 Empress Zheng was so angry her hair was askew.

The group managed to escape the chaos, and when they looked back, good heavens, the entire hall was teeming with all sorts of rats.

The spot where they had been sitting had been taken over by rats.

Even the half-eaten plate of pea flour cake that Sheng Sheng hadn't finished was divided up by three or five little mice.

Moreover, because Empress Zheng was sitting the furthest from the palace entrance, all the other concubines ran out, and Empress Zheng was still running out in a panic under the protection of the palace servants.

Even Consort Rong, who had seen many storms, couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.

Zijuan: "This, this is a plague outbreak?"

Green Lotus: "No, I don't know..."

Even Sheng Sheng, who had been mentally prepared, was now staring blankly at the rats filling the hall, feeling a mix of bewilderment, shock, and confusion.

Sheng Sheng scratched his head: "My goodness, Xiao Hei has so many brothers and sisters..."

Xiao Hei said yesterday that he would call his brothers and sisters to help him today, to ensure he could sneak in and find something.

I never expected that they were brothers and sisters like this.

She swallowed hard; she had never seen so many rats in her life.

However, she was also fortunate to have these little mice. She had just seen Caiyun, who had left alone, hurriedly return. The palace servants in Kunning Palace probably had no time to care about anything else and all ran to catch mice.

In other words, with no one watching, Xiao Hei could freely search the Kunning Palace for any evidence that could prove Cuilan's close relationship with the palace.

I wonder how Xiao Hei's operation is going.

She knew that her earlier words had successfully reminded Empress Zheng when she saw Caiyun leave.

Empress Zheng was uneasy and knew she had to do something to put her mind at ease.

Thinking about this, Sheng Sheng heard Xiao Hei's voice, but the surroundings were too noisy, with hundreds of mice chattering away, and Sheng Sheng couldn't find Xiao Hei at all.

After searching for a long time, Green Ping pointed to a corner with a look of utter disbelief, her voice strange: "Your Majesty, why is there a mouse holding a piece of white paper over there? Do mice these days eat paper to fill their stomachs?"

Consort Rong looked over upon hearing the sound and saw the mouse that Lü Ping had mentioned jumping around among a group of mice while holding up a piece of paper. Her expression was indescribable.

Zijuan didn't dare say that the strangely behaving mouse was their princess's friend, and lowered her head guiltily.

Sheng Sheng burst out laughing, amused by Xiao Hei's crooked and awkward movements.

Seeing Xiao Hei struggling to squeeze into the corner with something and disappear from sight, Sheng Sheng felt relieved.

"It seems Xiao Hei has found something good." Sheng Sheng pulled at Consort Rong, her face showing fear. "Mother, Sheng Sheng is scared, shall we go?"

Consort Rong looked at the chaos in the courtyard. The concubines had already run as far away as possible. Empress Zheng had just managed to escape from the rats. But the rats seemed to have received some kind of command and scattered again, scurrying into various corners. In no time, there was no trace of rats left, only some rats that had been caught in nets by the eunuchs.

Empress Zheng's hair was all disheveled. She had been empress for half her life, and she had never been so disheveled!

The thought of those filthy rats scurrying past her feet made Empress Zheng feel uncomfortable all over, as if she had contracted some kind of itchy disease.

The people from the Imperial Household Department arrived just then, but they were no longer needed.

Empress Zheng was so angry that she trembled all over. The flowers decorating her hair looked withered, and her hair was askew. She roared, "You bunch of good-for-nothings! What use are you!"

Consort Rong looked at the mess in Kunning Palace and was still shaken by what she had just witnessed.

"Let's go, the Empress is very busy right now." Consort Rong tightened her grip on Shisheng's hand, patted her chest, and instructed Lüping, "Go back and give our Jinxiu Palace a thorough cleaning, so that it doesn't end up like Kunning Palace one day."

"Yes, Your Highness. When we get back, I'll have someone clean every corner of Jinxiu Palace until it's spotless." Lüping agreed wholeheartedly and instructed her sister, "Zijuan, when you get back, tell Huangying that Yuqing Palace should be cleaned the same way. Later, I'll go to the Imperial Hospital to get some insect repellent powder and send some to you."

"Mmm!" Zijuan responded verbally, but she knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

At first, she thought it was some kind of plague outbreak, but when she saw Xiao Hei's reaction and her princess's calm demeanor, Zijuan immediately realized that this must be a "big show" planned by the princess and Xiao Hei.

Zijuan quietly went to check on Shengsheng, but Shengsheng acted as if nothing had happened, blinking and laughing happily.

Zijuan sighed inwardly.

Because of this incident, Consort Rong didn't want to stay and go back to the palace for breakfast with Sheng Sheng. She hurriedly returned to Jinxiu Palace to do a thorough cleaning. When they parted, she instructed Old Cat and Old Fish to keep a close watch on their surroundings so that no rats might run out and hurt Sheng Sheng.

As soon as the two groups separated, Zijuan asked with some concern, "Princess, those rats...did Xiao Hei call them?"

Upon hearing Zijuan's words, Lao Mao, Lao Yu, Chunhua, and Qiuyue were all stunned.

Those waiting outside the palace could see much better than those inside.

A huge horde of rats appeared out of nowhere and rushed straight into the palace. Before anyone could react, the dark mass had taken over Kunning Palace.

"Huh?" Qiuyue, the younger sister, was not as composed as her older sister Chunhua and exclaimed in surprise.

Reminded by Chunhua, Qiuyue hurriedly lowered her voice: "Princess, so many rats, all of them...?"

"yes."

Sheng Sheng nodded. "Xiao Hei has been squatting under the Empress's chair. The Empress seems to dislike small animals. I wonder what the Empress's reaction would be if she knew that Xiao Hei had been squatting under her feet for so long."

The group exchanged glances.

What would be the reaction? They'd be so angry their hair would stand on end!

Zijuan watched her princess's curious expression as she imagined Empress Zheng's reaction, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I always thought their princess was a pure and lovely fairy, but I never expected her to have such a mischievous side.

Just as Pei Ji said before, Sheng Sheng is a black-hearted little dumpling.

Zijuan said worriedly, "Princess, what if the Empress finds out? Why don't we go to His Majesty now? If the Empress blames us, His Majesty can intervene, and the Empress won't be able to do anything about it!"

Sheng Sheng chuckled: "Don't worry, it won't be discovered. How could it be discovered? Who would believe that I ordered a bunch of rats to wreak havoc in Kunning Palace? They'd rather believe that I used the Tiger Tally to command the three armies to fight!"

After being teased like that, Zijuan was no longer afraid and asked in confusion, "Then why did Xiaohei bring so many...brothers and sisters to cause trouble at Kunning Palace?"

"Actually, if the Empress hadn't had any problems, this wouldn't have happened."

Sheng Sheng slowly explained it to them, and only then did they understand.

It turns out that Xiao Hei discovered that the person who silenced Cui Lan was Cai Yun, the head palace maid of the Empress. Since they were going to Kun Ning Palace to pay their respects to Empress Zheng today, the two of them, one human and one mouse, decided to test Empress Zheng today.