Simeng and Siyi glanced at Princess Zhaoping on the bed, and seeing that she was motionless, they assumed she was still asleep and began to plot their plan without worry:

"Sister Simeng, we absolutely cannot take this glutinous rice ball back to the palace right now."

"Siyi, you're right. We should at least wait until she's fully recovered before letting her take the brunt of the Empress Dowager's attacks. Otherwise, if the Empress Dowager gets angry and there's no one to shield her, we'll be the ones who suffer!"

"Then what should we do?" Siyi felt much more at ease after hearing that Simeng had the same idea.

After thinking for a moment, Simeng said, "Staying here is definitely not an option. If we don't listen to that bandit, he definitely won't give us the antidote. We have to go back to the capital!"

"Ah? Back to the capital!" Siyi exclaimed anxiously, "If we go back to the capital, won't we still have to send this glutinous rice dumpling into the palace according to that bandit's wishes?"

Otherwise, if the bandits find out, won't they still not let us off the hook?"

Simeng laughed and said, "This little dumpling is so badly injured and delayed on the way, it's not our fault, it's her fault for being so weak!"

Siyi laughed out loud after hearing this.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Princess Zhaoping, lying on the bed, couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow: What the bandit said was right. What kind of master was she? Even the servants below her didn't respect her!

Her life or death depended solely on whether she was of value to the Empress Dowager.

If the Empress Dowager were to grant her a smile, she would be a princess of the highest rank and greatest honor.

If the Empress Dowager ignores her for two or three days, she will have to be mindful of the attitudes of the maids and servants even if she wants to eat a full meal!

Princess Zhaoping felt a pang of pain in her heart, but it also strengthened her resolve to seek the truth!

"Mmm..." Princess Zhaoping hummed softly, pretending to have just woken up from her coma.

Simeng and Siyi quickly stopped laughing, but they weren't too eager to surround her.

The two asked, feigning concern:

"Princess, you're finally awake!"

"Princess, how are you feeling?"

Princess Zhaoping showed an expression of both pain and shame, and smiled through her tears.

Simeng: "?"

Siyi: "??"

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of schadenfreude in each other's eyes: Wasn't that little dumpling's brain damaged by that bandit and turned into an idiot?

"I'm fine. Brother Xiye told that bandit not to kill me." Princess Zhaoping became more and more shy as she spoke, and the joy on her face became more and more unconcealed: "People say that a night of marriage is worth a hundred days of kindness. I didn't believe it before, thinking that what use could a night be? But now, I believe it!"

"Princess, you..."

"You and the Ninth Prince last night couldn't have been..."

Simeng and Siyi stared wide-eyed at Princess Zhaoping, who was covered in blood on the bed, in disbelief. They felt they must have guessed wrong!

Princess Zhaoping nodded shyly and gave a soft "hmm," saying, "Last night, after the bandit fell asleep, the prince said he was unwilling to go against the late emperor's wishes and would give me a chance. Whether I can conceive or not depends entirely on fate."

No wonder!

No wonder those bandits beat him so badly!

So this glutinous rice ball really did climb onto the bed!

Simeng and Siyi were utterly bewildered:

What the Empress Dowager and Granny Zheng couldn't achieve after so much effort, Lin Shuang accomplished with just a few words?

But doubts aside.

Princess Zhaoping has achieved the Empress Dowager's goal, and her status will surely rise significantly after she returns. They cannot afford to mistreat her now!

Simeng and Siyi quickly reached a consensus and became attentive to Princess Zhaoping again.