A little while later, Aunt Sun came out again.

Behind her followed two palace maids carrying tea.

"It's cold outside, everyone's tea must be cold. Let's have some hot tea instead," Aunt Sun said with a gentle smile, looking very considerate.

After saying that, she dutifully changed the teacup for the Empress Dowager herself.

Immediately afterwards, the two palace maids also changed the tea for Shang Xiye, Ji Fengyao, and Princess Zhaoping.

The Empress Dowager picked up the steaming white jade porcelain teacup, brushed the delicate floating tea leaves inside with the tea, and said casually, "This is Snow Mountain Jade Peak tea, a new tea that the Gaoqi Kingdom just presented as tribute this winter. The tea is clear and bright, with a lingering aroma. I think it tastes quite good. You can try it, and if you like it, take some back with you."

His expression and tone made it seem as if the unpleasantness from before had never happened.

Ji Fengyao picked up the cup of tea with apparent curiosity, sniffed it, and said with a grin, "Hmm, it smells very good. The Empress Dowager's things here are indeed all of high quality."

After saying this, he covered his face with his sleeve and drank the cup of tea in one gulp.

Ah, these are good things.

If you were to use a silver needle to probe, you wouldn't detect any poison; it's just that a little something has been added.

Incidentally, she also sent a telepathic message to Shang Xiye: "This is a special calming tea. If Your Highness is interested, you might as well try it. You might even hear some inside information."

Set down the teacup.

Ji Fengyao, with an innocent and radiant expression, smiled at Shang Xiye with her eyes crinkling: "It's delicious."

When the Empress Dowager and Aunt Sun saw her drinking tea so voraciously, their eyes simultaneously revealed a look of disdain: bandits are bandits, so vulgar, they have no sense of the art of tea appreciation, it's simply a waste of tea.

If it weren't for the fact that the Ninth Prince was not easily fooled;

This bandit doesn't deserve such good tea at all!

Ever since Shang Xiye was poisoned several times, he has been extra careful about his food when he goes out. He originally did not intend to drink the Empress Dowager's tea, but after listening to his wife's words, he felt that there was some truth to it, so he picked it up and took a couple of sips.

In addition to calming tea, the Empress Dowager also prepared calming soup, dishes with added ingredients, pastries with added ingredients, and even calming incense to ensure everything was in order.

Even if the Ninth Prince is very wary, with so many preparations, he's bound to succeed at something.

But the Empress Dowager and Aunt Sun did not expect that Shang Xiye seemed completely unprepared and drank the first cup of tea.

This delighted the Empress Dowager and Aunt Sun, but also filled them with some regret:

If they had known the backup plan would go so smoothly, they would have used it sooner. Why did they have to waste so much time arguing with Ninth Prince and that bandit, and suffer so much anger?

Princess Zhaoping was in a bad mood, but she still politely took two sips of tea so as not to offend the Empress Dowager.

She had just put down her teacup when she heard Ji Fengyao say to Shang Xiye in a soft, sweet voice, "I told Your Highness to go to bed early last night, but you insisted on having someone tell you a story. You've only been up for a short while, and you're already sleepy!"

After saying that, Ji Fengyao covered her face with her sleeve and yawned without any regard for her image.

Then, utterly exhausted, she leaned back in the wide chair, her eyelids drooping as if weighed down by a thousand-pound boulder: "You guys keep chatting, I'm going to take a nap, I'm just too sleepy..."

"Yao Yao..." Shang Xiye called out softly to Ji Fengyao, also rubbing his forehead with his hand: "Why am I so sleepy too..."

As he lowered his head and rested his elbow on the table beside him, he quietly transmitted a few words to Wuying.

Wu Ying obeyed the order, but still pretended to be very concerned and stepped forward: "Your Highness, how about I take you and the Princess to Tu Si Terrace to rest?"