Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai quickly explained, "I haven't caused any trouble. Today is the opening day of my restaurant, and a group of people from the Central Plains came to help me. However, business was so booming today that I missed the time to enter the palace. I originally wanted to go to the palace to seek refuge with the little princess, but unfortunately, it was late at night and the guards wouldn't let me in. I had no choice but to come and ask Lord Zhao for help."

"I see." Zhao Yinfang suddenly realized.

"I'm fine on my own, but I have a few friends and children. The adults are fine, but the children can't be exposed to the wind and sun." Xu Yuehuai's expression darkened as she spoke, and she lowered her head.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yinfang's expression flickered slightly, and he hurriedly ordered someone to arrange the matter.

"Don't worry, it will be arranged right away." Zhao Yinfang said, indicating to Xu Yuehuai that she didn't need to worry, and Xu Yuehuai nodded.

...

Meanwhile, in the harem of the Mingyue Kingdom, the little princess paced anxiously back and forth, peeking out every now and then. She had been waiting since dusk, and soon a maid would urge her to extinguish the lamp, but she still hadn't seen Xu Yuehuai.

Xu Yuehuai had clearly promised to bring her food, and she always kept her word, but now that it was late at night and she still hadn't seen him, the little princess couldn't help but start to have all sorts of wild thoughts.

She didn't know if Xu Yuehuai had gotten into trouble, or if she had simply forgotten. If she had forgotten, that would be fine, but what if something had happened?

The little princess was extremely anxious and could not wait any longer. She had no choice but to go find Qi Guze. She slipped out quietly, afraid that if she was discovered by the palace servants, she would not be able to escape.

"Do you know where Xu Yuehuai went?" She shouted as soon as she entered Qi Guze's residence, since Xu Yuehuai was the only person she could speak softly to.

Qi Guze's expression also darkened slightly. He shook his head and said, "Xu Yuehuai hasn't returned yet, and I don't know where she went."

"Oh dear, where did he go?" The little princess was truly carefree. As soon as she heard that Xu Yuehuai was missing, she hurriedly sent people to look for him. At the end, she muttered, "This princess is still hungry."

"Go find them, all of you! Hurry up! I need to find them alive or dead... Pshaw! Go find them now!" As she spoke, she assigned all the palace maids beside her to go out, and the palace was thrown into chaos.

Fortunately, His Majesty was discussing matters with his ministers today; otherwise, seeing the little princess acting so foolishly, he would have certainly punished her severely.

However, they are busy with the meeting and naturally have no time to worry about the chaos outside.

Qi Guze watched quietly from the side without saying much.

The little princess sat with her chin resting on her hands in Qi Guze's residence. The two stared at each other, eagerly waiting for the palace maid to return.

The palace maids went out to inquire in each palace, and with many hands making light work, they quickly got the news.

They happened to run into the two guards who had just been relieved from their duties at the palace gates, and after exchanging words for a while, they made some progress.

"Are you two looking for someone?" one of the guards asked as he stepped forward.

“We’re looking for Xu Yuehuai, a woman from the Central Plains who is very close to the little princess, but we can’t find her today. Have either of you seen her?” one of them asked quickly.

"The woman from the Central Plains, do you think it's the one from just now?" Upon hearing this, the two guards began to whisper among themselves.

"You saw it?" the palace maid asked hurriedly upon seeing this.

"We did see her, but..." the guard told them the truth, and then asked hesitantly, "The little princess won't blame us, will she?"

"Probably not, since you've been following the rules. We'll go back and inform them right away. Don't worry, they won't expose you," the maid said, and hurried back.

The two guards thanked them repeatedly.

Upon seeing several palace maids run back, the little princess immediately jumped out and asked, "Quickly, tell me, have you found it?"

The two palace maids in front of her shook their heads in unison, which made the little princess even more disappointed.

"Your Highness, we searched the palace and found that Xu Yuehuai was stopped by the guards because she returned late," the two palace maids behind her explained.

"What? This is outrageous! Don't they know Xu Yuehuai is one of my people?" The little princess was furious and immediately prepared to confront the two guards.

Another palace maid said, "Your Highness, we went to the palace gate to ask, and the guards said she couldn't get in, so she walked around twice and left."

"If she can't get in, can she stay? These blind guards, I think they're doomed." The little princess said, and was about to rush out again.

“Princess, the guards are just following the rules. Miss Xu did miss the time to enter the palace, so it’s not their fault. If you go and cause trouble for them, it will definitely end up with His Majesty. You’ll inevitably get a scolding from him. It’s not worth it!” The maid hurriedly stopped the little princess and advised her, her face full of worry.

The little princess was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. Indeed, she had been scolded when she acted so recklessly before, and if she did it again, she might be punished by having to face the wall again. Just thinking about that made her feel terrible.

Seeing this, Qi Guze also stood up and advised, "Your Highness, since Xu Yuehuai cannot enter the palace, she must be staying temporarily at Zhao Yinfang's residence, since she has nowhere else to go."

Upon hearing this, the little princess paused slightly and began to consider Qi Guze's words, which seemed to make some sense.

"It's late now, so let's not cause any more trouble. Everything will be resolved by dawn, so you don't need to worry too much," Qi Guze continued to reassure her, seizing the opportunity.

Sure enough, the little princess calmed down a bit after hearing this, but she turned back to her seat, touched her belly, and said, "Of course I can wait, but my belly probably can't."

It's no wonder the little princess was furious. She had been waiting for Xu Yuehuai's delicious food for a long time, and now that she knew she had been driven away by the palace guards, how could she not be angry?

She had been hungry since noon, eagerly awaiting Xu Yuehuai's arrival, hoping for a good meal today, but unexpectedly, this was the end result.

"I'm going to eat my fill tomorrow!" she said as she left Qi Guze's residence and headed towards her own palace. Her stomach was growling loudly, so she had no choice but to ask the imperial kitchen to prepare some snacks for her to tide her over. After all, Xu Yuehuai wouldn't be able to come in until the next day's court session, and she couldn't afford to be hungry until then.

Qi Guze shook his head helplessly as he watched her walk away.