Chapter 54 Returning Home

"......" What incredible luck! Xiao Yu was on the verge of tears, but after calming down, she looked up.

The woman on the palanquin wore a bright yellow brocade long dress, embroidered with golden peonies symbolizing wealth. Her long black hair was styled into a bun, and a golden tassel hairpin was inlaid with blue and red agate. The woman's face was exquisite and well-maintained, and for a moment, it was impossible to tell her age.

"Who are you? You don't look like someone from the palace," Consort Liu asked.

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment, but before he could speak, the eunuch leading the way respectfully said, "Your Highness, Young Master Xiao was summoned to the palace by His Majesty this morning."

"Oh? His Majesty?" Consort Liu chuckled, resting her chin on her hand, seemingly intrigued. She looked her over with a half-smile. "To be summoned to the palace by His Majesty, what extraordinary talent do you possess? I've heard that His Majesty recently found some acrobats from outside the palace, and they're incredibly skilled. His Majesty even had a stage specially built in the Imperial Garden for the concubines to watch. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to see them yet. I wonder what abilities this young master possesses that have earned him His Majesty's summons?"

What skills do they have?

Xiao Yu was dumbfounded. What was going on? How did this get involved in acrobatics? Were all the people in the palace crazy?

“In response to Your Highness, Young Master Xiao is not…” The leading eunuch was about to speak.

Consort Liu frowned, her voice suddenly turning cold as she scolded, "You dog servant, how dare you interfere when I'm asking you a question? Guards, take her off and beat her to death with sticks!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two armored soldiers stepped out from the ranks and, without saying a word, supported the little eunuch.

"Your Highness, spare my life..."

"Your Highness, please spare me! This servant knows his mistake..."

The eunuch was dragged away by the armored soldiers, wailing all the way, and then a series of miserable howls came to his ears.

this......

Xiao Yu was startled, and cold sweat poured down her back.

"Young master, now tell me if you are a juggler?" Consort Liu smiled innocently, as if nothing had happened, as if she wasn't the one who had just been about to kill someone.

Xiao Yu hurriedly knelt down, and Yuan Niang behind him also knelt down.

Whether she answered or not seemed to matter much to Consort Liu. As if she had already accepted her guess, she asked and answered herself: "I knew it. Look at this dancer, isn't she the one who was summoned to the palace with those acrobats a couple of days ago? I took a peek from afar, and her figure is so captivating. Since we've run into her, let her come back to the Holy Palace with me."

Um?

No... she can't do anything!

Xiao Yu was numb.

Shocked, two armored soldiers immediately grabbed her from either side, giving her no chance to resist. They followed the palanquin for a short while and soon she was carried into the Holy Palace.

Upon entering the courtyard, eight people greeted them, all kneeling on the ground. Consort Liu dismounted from her palanquin, not even glancing at the people on the ground, and went straight into the hall. Xiao Yu and Yuan Niang were then carried into the hall.

As soon as Consort Liu returned, her personal nanny stepped forward to help her take off her outer robe and handed it to the palace maid below. She glanced at the two people who had been brought in behind her and was secretly surprised. She said without showing any emotion, "Your Highness went out and brought back two people. They don't look like people from the palace."

“It was just a coincidence. The Emperor summoned these acrobats to the palace. Let them perform later.” Consort Liu walked to the couch and sat down.

The personal maid summoned a palace maid to bring out some snacks, opened a cabinet, took out an exquisite wooden box, took out a silver needle from the box, pricked the snacks to confirm the problem, and then put the silver needle away: "That's good, this old servant can also learn something new."

Consort Liu nodded and said with emotion, "The last time I saw a variety show was before I entered the palace."

The personal nanny said, "Yes, it's been twenty years in the blink of an eye."

With eyes full of nostalgia, Consort Liu looked at the two people kneeling in the center of the hall and ordered, "Hurry up!"

Xiao Yu: "..." A performance? It seems everyone in this palace is seriously ill. It's one thing for that tyrannical emperor to give me a woman, but this Consort Liu insists that I'm some kind of juggler and has dragged me here.

What kinds of things have I encountered?

Seeing that she was still kneeling there dumbfounded, the eunuch next to her secretly glanced at his mistress on the couch and couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get up to perform for the Empress Dowager. Do you not want your head?"

Xiao Yu's body trembled, and the gruesome image of the eunuch who had just led the way being beaten to death with sticks suddenly flashed into her mind. She dared not delay for a minute and was in a state of panic.

What skills does a sports student have besides sports? You can't expect her to run two laps around the Holy Temple, can you?

"Why haven't we started yet?" Consort Liu's voice was tinged with displeasure.

"And then...it began..."

"Young master, why don't you have me dance for the Dowager Consort first?" Yuan Niang whispered.

Xiao Yu glanced gratefully at Yuan Niang, then silently stepped aside, not daring to relax her mind in the slightest. After the dance ended, she calmed down and stepped forward: "Your Highness, this humble subject needs a few porcelain bowls."

"Oh?" Consort Liu raised her eyes and looked at her with interest. She gave her personal maid a wink, and soon a palace maid came in carrying a stack of blue and white porcelain bowls.

Xiao Yu glanced at Yuan Niang: "Could you please put the bowl on top for me?" She pointed to her head.

Yuan Niang nodded, her hands sweating.

On the other side, the sound of porcelain shattering kept coming from inside the hall. Xiao Chengze kicked the eunuch in front of him: "Useless thing, what are you kneeling for? Hurry up and keep watch. Report any problems immediately."

"Yes..." The eunuch kneeling on the ground trembled, but still mustered his courage: "This servant will go right away." The eunuch did not hesitate and scrambled out of the hall.

The man's face was gloomy. How could she have escaped like this? He had planned that as soon as Xiao Yu left Donghua Gate with the dancer, he would have her arrested on charges of having an affair with the dancer, preferably hacked to death. Who knew that someone would suddenly appear and kidnap her?

This person is also a concubine, someone he simply cannot afford to offend.

Xiao Chengze kicked the bronze palace lantern, his face contorted in pain.

......

Xiao Yu, with ten bowls balanced on his head, slowly walked back and forth in the hall several times.

This performance...

Consort Liu couldn't help but rub her forehead, then took off the jade bracelet from her wrist and handed it to the nanny: "Not bad, reward me!"

"Yes." With a glance from the personal nanny, a young palace maid stepped forward and presented the jade bracelet to Xiao Yu.

Um?

Xiao Yu blinked as she looked at the jade bracelet in front of her. Was that all? She hadn't expected that Consort Liu was so easy to fool. She thought her head was safe this time. She happily accepted the jade bracelet.

"Thank you for the generous gift, Your Highness."

Consort Liu waved her hand casually, not caring much: "I'm tired, send her out."

"Yes," the eunuch replied.

"Wait a moment." With the help of her personal nanny, Consort Liu stood up, glanced at Xiao Yu, and thought that the young man in front of her was indeed handsome, but it was a pity. She paused and said, "Nanny Li, you go and see him off yourself. Just go through Gongchen Gate, so as not to disturb the Empress Dowager's peace."

Granny Li was taken aback. Shouldn't she have gone through the West Gate or East Gate if she didn't want to disturb the Empress Dowager? This Gongchen Gate... if she remembered correctly, it was the closest to the Empress Dowager's Shou Kang Palace.

However, being an old and wise woman in the palace, she didn't ask questions she shouldn't. Li Mama accepted the order and led the two of them from Shou Kang Palace to Gongchen Gate.

Gongchen Gate, also known as the Great North Gate, is located on the north side of the palace, making it a relatively remote gate. Ministers used Donghua Gate to attend court. Apart from palace servants who went out to make purchases, no one would risk disturbing the Empress Dowager by using this gate.

Granny Li brought the person over, took out her waist token, said a few words to the guards at the gate, and then sent the person out.

As soon as Xiao Yu stepped out of the palace gate, he saw Song Yanyu dressed in armor and asked in surprise, "What are you doing here, Third Brother?"

Song Yanyu had clearly seen her too. He walked over and smiled, "I'm on duty here. Brother-in-law, this is..." He glanced at the woman standing behind Xiao Yu, his brows furrowing slightly, "And this is..."

Xiao Yu didn't think much of it; he figured he could just take her back, settle her in whatever he wanted, or give her some money to send her away. "Her name is Yuan Niang, and she's a dancer in the palace," Xiao Yu explained.

dancer?

Song Yanyu was surprised that she was so bold as to bring a dancer out of the palace. He knew that this was a capital offense. Even if nothing happened, what would happen to his younger sister?

His face immediately turned cold. He snorted and walked to Xiao Yu's side, carefully examining Yuan Niang: "You are a dancer. You should know that leaving the palace without permission is a capital offense."

Yuan Niang knelt down with a thud: "Please, Your Excellency, have mercy! I do not wish to stay in the palace. If Your Excellency would spare me, I will serve you like a slave." Her words were earnest.

What's going on? Xiao Yu was a little confused. Wasn't Yuan Niang a gift from the emperor? Why couldn't she leave the palace?

Looking at the woman kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly, Xiao Yu felt a pang of pity. No matter what, she was the one who had raised this person, and she couldn't just abandon her.

“Third Brother, Yuan Niang didn’t run away; she was a gift from the Emperor,” Xiao Yu said.

Song Yanyu frowned: "What's going on?"

Xiao Yu had no choice but to tell Song Yanyu the truth about what had happened in the palace.

Song Yanyu was also undecided for a moment, and hesitated for a moment: "Let's go back first. This young lady has a special identity, so it's best not to let others know." He glanced at the dancer's clothes on Yuan Niang's body, took off his cloak and threw it on her: "Get up first."

Regardless, the person has already come out, and it's too late to send them back now. Let's leave first.

Xiao Yu helped the woman up. Yuan Niang looked at her gratefully, then silently wrapped her cloak around herself to cover her body. The two, escorted by Song Yanyu, boarded a carriage and soon returned to the manor.

Bringing someone out of the palace—if it's truly a gift from the Emperor, that's one thing; but if not, it's a serious crime. Song Yanyu didn't dare make a decision on his own, so he secretly sent someone to invite the eldest son of the Song family.

As soon as Xiao Yu returned to the manor, the servants informed Song Luoning of her return. The young lady nodded slightly, stood up, and walked towards the front hall.

Seeing this, Cuizhu hurriedly followed and couldn't help but tease, "Miss and the young master have such a good relationship. It's only been a short while since you last saw each other, and Miss is already longing for you. Besides, the young master isn't going anywhere."

Song Luoning blushed, glared at her, and slowed her pace: "You're everywhere."

"This servant is worried about Miss's health," Cuizhu said.

"Is that so?" Song Luoning sneered: "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll send you back to the Prime Minister's residence and let Granny Zhang teach you some manners."