Back in her room, Tian Yu was exhausted and drifted off to sleep. When she woke up in the middle of the night, she found someone standing in front of her bed watching her. Startled, Tian Yu quickly sat up and, upon recognizing the person as the Crown Prince, looked at him warily and said, "Crown Prince... what are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

The crown prince smiled and took a step forward without speaking, while Tian Yu, clutching the blanket, took a step back and asked, "What do you want to do?"

What do you think?

Seeing his expression, Tian Yu grabbed a pillow, pointed at it, and said, "Don't do anything rash, let's talk this out."

"What are you afraid of? During the day, you have the Fifth Prince backing you up, but now? This is the Eastern Palace, my place as the Crown Prince. I can do whatever I want here."

"Don't come any closer, or I'll call for help." Tian Yu was trembling all over, but she still told herself to calm down.

"Shout, shout all you want, let's see who will come to your aid this time." The prince laughed even more arrogantly, walking step by step towards Tian Yu.

Seeing his attitude, Tian Yu made up her mind, suddenly knelt down and cried, tears streaming down her face. She even deliberately rubbed her nose hard and wiped the snot on her body, saying sadly, "Your Highness, I was wrong. Please forgive me this time. I know I was wrong."

The Crown Prince had originally planned to use force to tame Tian Yu, but seeing her sudden and drastic change, he was momentarily stunned. When he saw her wiping her snot everywhere, he disgustedly threw off his sleeve, took a step back, and said, "Why are you crying? It's your honor if I want you."

Judging from his expression, Tian Yu felt she had guessed correctly. This Crown Prince had a severe case of mysophobia. When she first came to the palace, she noticed that the servants in the East Palace were constantly cleaning, and there couldn't be any stains. At first, Tian Yu thought that this was the case in the palace, or that the Crown Prince was just a clean freak. But as time went on, she realized that something was very wrong. In addition, although the Crown Prince tried his best to hide it, he still gave himself away. Especially in her own palace, Tian Yu saw it even more clearly.

Having already vaguely guessed it in her heart, and now that it was confirmed, Tian Yu burst into tears. She deliberately looked up at the Crown Prince with her long, snotty nose and said, "Your Highness, I'm just a lowly woman, I don't understand the rules of the palace, and I've offended you. Please forgive me." As she spoke, Tian Yu deliberately sniffled, moved closer to the Crown Prince, and tried to grab his clothes with her tear-stained hand. The Crown Prince was startled and took a large step back, causing Tian Yu to miss her target. Seeing this, Tian Yu pressed on, crying, "Does Your Highness despise me? I belong to the Crown Prince! We will marry sooner or later. Although I want to wait until after the wedding to consummate the marriage, if Your Highness insists, I won't object. Please don't avoid me, Your Highness! Your Highness!"

"I'm not in the mood today, let's talk another day." The Crown Prince dodged Tian Yu's filthy hand with disgust, tossed out a sentence, and hurriedly left. Seeing him flee in disarray, Tian Yu deliberately sniffled loudly and said, "Your Highness! Your Highness! Your Highness, don't go!" After he had gone far away, Tian Yu wiped away her tears and nose, and said with a smile, "Little brat, I can't handle you."

In the following days, because the Empress was seriously ill, the Crown Prince and several other princes and princesses had to serve her every morning and evening. The Crown Prince had no time to cause trouble for Tian Yu. Tian Yu also had time to make detailed plans with Qiu Xue on how to leave the palace. Everything was ready, and now all that was needed was an opportunity.

"The medicine you gave me last time was very effective. When His Highness the Crown Prince saw me, he left without even turning his head," Qiu Xue said with a smile.

"That's good. Just bear with it for a few more days."

"Tian Yu, won't this drag you down with us?"

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Only you, me, and Physician Li know about this. There won't be any problems."

"But I'm still worried."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. What you need to think about now is what to do after you get out."

"Don't worry about that. We have spies in the capital that we sent before. They will help me."

"That's good, but what about Rong'er? You really don't plan to take her with you?" Tian Yu said, looking at the little palace maids busy in the courtyard.

"The journey will be fraught with danger, and I myself cannot predict what will happen. It would be safer for her to stay behind."

"Yes, she's still too young."

“She has been with me all these years, but I really can’t take her with me. I’ll find a chance to get rid of her in a few days.”

“Alright, I’ll ask someone to arrange an easy job for her in the palace.”

"Thank you, Tian Yu."

"You're welcome, it was nothing."

"You trust me so much, aren't you afraid I might harm you?"

Can you?

Qiu Xue shook her head, and Tian Yu smiled and said, "It's always better to have more friends than more enemies in this world, especially since she's a beautiful princess."

"I'm no longer a princess."

"It was true before, it is true now, and it will be true in the future."

"It's so nice to meet you in this vast palace. Can we be friends for life?"

"Yes, as long as you're willing, we'll always be friends."

Tian Yu was already very familiar with the palace. Because she had always been very docile and sensible, and very polite to the palace maids and eunuchs, the emperor had lowered his guard against her. Now that the empress was seriously ill, Tian Yu had even more freedom.

Xu Gonggong, the steward of the commemorative room, really liked Tian Yu's poems. Tian Yu, in order to please him, generously gave him several poems, and even guaranteed that these poems were unique and not available on the market. He also treated Xu Gonggong to a meal. Tian Yu seized the opportunity to make a clay copy of the key to the commemorative room. After returning home, he asked Li Xingyun to help him take it out and have it made into a replica. That day, Tian Yu used this key to sneak into the palace's records room. She had heard from the old women that all the major and minor events that happened in the royal family were recorded and kept in this records room. Under normal circumstances, outsiders were not allowed to enter without the emperor's permission, and there were regular eunuchs checking every day, and guards also patrolled in shifts. That day, Tian Yu timed her entry perfectly and slipped in to search among the bookshelves. She was very curious about the crown prince's background. She had only heard that he was not born to the empress, but the empress treated him like her own son. Few people in the palace talked about the crown prince. This time, it was because the empress was seriously ill, and the crown prince stayed by her side day and night. The day Tian Yu passed by the East Palace, two old eunuchs whispered, "Although the crown prince is not born to the empress dowager, he is still so filial. It is truly rare."

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