Ji Fengyao thought Songmei Garden was in the inner palace, but Xiao Shunzi took her towards the direction of the Cold Palace instead.

Seeing the slight surprise on Ji Fengyao and Bai Lu's faces, Xiao Shunzi assumed they were dissatisfied and quickly flattered them, saying, "The Emperor and the Empress Dowager said that the Princess is not yet a member of the inner palace, and it is not appropriate for her to live in the inner palace with the other ladies. Therefore, they specially ordered people to prepare Songmei Garden in the outer palace adjacent to the inner palace to avoid suspicion."

"Ha, avoid suspicion?" Bai Lu retorted sarcastically without any politeness. "If you really want to avoid suspicion, then you should send our Princess back to the Prince's residence. If you really want to discuss matters again, you can send someone to bring her into the palace. It won't take much effort. Even we don't know that Songmei Garden isn't in the inner palace, so people outside know even less. They only know that our Princess lives in the palace. And you still have the nerve to talk to us about avoiding suspicion? Who do you think we are fools!"

Xiao Shunzi forced a smile, not daring to offend Ji Fengyao and Bai Lu, nor daring to shift the blame onto Shang Dongyang and Chen Ziyun.

The current emperor is such a scoundrel, and serving by his side is so difficult—something neither Master nor they had anticipated.

Now, of his fellow disciples, some have been chopped down, some have been crippled, and he is the only one left who is safe and sound.

He lived each day like he was walking on thin ice, filled with fear and misery.

Xiao Shunzi lowered his head and sighed again: If he had known this would happen, he should have accompanied his master to retire to his hometown and taken care of him until his death.

The plum blossom garden is quite nicely maintained.

The front gate was freshly painted with clear varnish, and the door frame and doors were also newly made, with exquisite little reliefs that showed considerable thought.

The three characters "Songmei Garden" on the plaque above the gate are written in a graceful and elegant style, showing that the writer is a man of refined taste.

Looking from the entrance, the pavilions and waterside terraces in the front yard are arranged in a pleasing and orderly manner.

The garden is adorned with plum trees arranged in a pleasingly sparse and dense manner, interspersed with evergreen flowering plants and seasonal flowers and grasses, ensuring that the garden never fades and that there are always flowers and greenery to enjoy in every season. It is evident that the garden's layout was carefully considered.

As Ji Fengyao entered, her gaze couldn't help but drift towards the residence of Shang Beiyu, who also lived near the Cold Palace.

According to her father and Wuying and Wuhen, Shang Beiyu is still living in the palace, and the plaque on the door is extremely humiliating.

Such a handsome and leisurely person...

Ji Fengyao gazed at the meticulously crafted beauty of the garden and entered without making a sound—hopefully, her guesses were all wrong.

The inner garden is also decorated with a touch of understated luxury and elegance.

Apart from four palace maids serving tea, all the other palace staff stayed away in the backyard.

Aside from coming out to do tasks at the appointed time and being summoned by Ji Fengyao, they will not come forward.

The room was fully furnished.

Bai Lu personally replaced all the tea sets, bedding, and cushions that Ji Fengyao often used.

She didn't hide it from the four maids and took things out of her storage ring right in front of them.

The four maids were utterly astonished when Bailu conjured up all sorts of tea sets, bedding, and other items as if by magic. Even after Bailu had replaced everything and handed them the discarded items to burn, the four maids were still bewildered. Like puppets on strings, they listlessly carried the items out to burn them.

“Your Highness, it seems that these maids are all fine.” Bai Lu clapped her hands and cleverly sat down opposite Ji Fengyao.

Ji Fengyao chuckled and shook her head: "You shouldn't have bothered with this."

"Could it be that the princess already knew all along?" Bai Lu's eyes were filled with admiration.