The next day was a beautiful day. The sun, which had been dormant all winter, seemed to shine even brighter, foreshadowing that spring was not far away.
After the meal, the Li family's two carriages entered the city one after the other.
The first car carried Wan'er and her son, along with Jiayin, Chunxiu, Shuiling, and Shuiyun.
Originally, Granny He wanted to come along, but Jiayin felt sorry for her because of her advanced age, so she left her at home to guard the Princess's residence.
The second car contained Jia Yin's luggage and belongings.
Upon arriving at the Earl's mansion, Wan'er reluctantly carried the child inside.
The carriage continued on its way to the palace.
Before the palace gates, the Marquis, dressed in a dark blue robe and a black cloak, waited in the cold wind.
Seeing the carriage arrive, he stepped forward and helped his daughter down.
Jiayin, holding the little fox, asked with delight, "Godfather, are you coming to the palace with me?"
The Marquis smiled and nodded, "I happen to have some matters to discuss with the Emperor, so I'll wait for you on the way to the palace."
Jiayin knew, of course, that this was just an excuse; her godfather must have been waiting here on purpose.
Then, her eyes smiled and curved like crescent moons, making her extremely cute.
At this moment, two young eunuchs ran over from afar, quickly bowed, and said, "Princess, we are from Zhilan Palace. We have been waiting for you here for the past few days on Her Highness's instructions. Please come with us to the palace!"
Jiayin nodded and smiled, "Okay, thank you for your hard work."
Shui Ling quickly stepped forward, pretending to ask what to do with the suitcase, and then slipped a purse to each of the two eunuchs.
The two eunuchs squeezed the hard silver coins in the purse and immediately became enthusiastic.
A young eunuch instructed the imperial guards at the gate to divide into two groups to help carry the box, while another led the way.
The Marquis, seeing this, felt somewhat relieved.
And so, the group slowly walked in and passed through the palace gate without incident. Just as they were about to take another step, a commotion suddenly broke out behind them.
It turned out that there were several imperial guards on duty who insisted on checking the luggage in the box.
Logically, items entering the palace should be inspected; that's the rule.
But Jiayin was a princess, and with a marquis escorting her, the princess even sent people to welcome her.
The Imperial Guards' job was simply to inspect the boxes; they would just open them and take a quick look.
But these few imperial guards, for some unknown reason, must have gotten the audacity, or perhaps they were instigated by someone behind the scenes.
They not only opened the box, intending to thoroughly inspect it, but even used a long spear to pick up a coat, which they regarded as a flag, and examined it triumphantly.
Jiayin is a girl, and there were some personal items like underwear in the suitcase.
If all of this is uncovered and exposed to the public, what reputation or innocence will be left?!
Shui Ling and Shui Yun's eyes immediately turned red, and they rushed forward to try to take back their master's coat.
But some people are even faster than them!
A flash of white light appeared, and the soldier carrying the clothes screamed in agony, clutching his face and rolling on the ground.
Everyone was startled and quickly looked over.
It wasn't a human who made the move, but a little fox!
The three of them had their fur standing on end. They swung their paws violently, and a string of blood beads rolled onto the snow, making them very noticeable.
It barked its teeth and barked, then picked up the coat and put it back in the box.
In that instant, apart from the screams, everyone at the palace gate seemed to be being strangled!
I originally thought this fluffy, white little fox would be a well-behaved pet.
Who would have thought it would be such a ruthless and deadly weapon!
They draw blood with every claw strike!
Some of the imperial guards gripped their spears tightly, ready to shout to the crowd to catch the fox.
The hundred guards of the Marquis's mansion, who were originally unable to follow him into the palace, were quietly waiting nearby.
Seeing the Marquis return with a solemn expression, they all rushed over, their footsteps thundering like heavy muffled thunder.
Although all the guards had not drawn their longswords, their hands were already gripping the hilts.
Their years of fighting against barbarians have forged an iron will that is far superior to that of the guards who are merely watchdogs!
The junior captain on duty turned pale with fright and mustered his courage to ask, "What is the Marquis doing? Are you planning a rebellion?"
The Marquis didn't even give him a second glance, coldly ordering his guards, "These people deliberately humiliated Princess Kangle and provoked me; they must have some ulterior motive."
"Take all these people into custody and don't let them commit suicide."
"Furthermore, entry and exit from the palace gates are prohibited; await the Emperor's decree!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!" the guards responded in unison.
Then, they quickly dislocated the jaws of all the dozens of guards at the gate, whether they were captains or soldiers, and forced them to kneel in the snow!
Some people who wanted to enter the palace in the distance witnessed everything from their carriages, and they were so shocked that they dared not even breathe.
Inside the palace gates, next to the walls on both sides, there were more than a dozen guard rooms where officials from the six ministries would take turns conducting official business, ready to be summoned by the emperor at any time.
Upon hearing the commotion, four or five officials came out, none of them understanding what had happened.
But the obvious pool of blood on the snow, the screaming soldiers, and the rows of kneeling "zongzi" (rice dumplings) made their faces change instantly.
Could it be a palace coup?!
Then they saw the Marquis of Xinting using his cloak to shield a little girl from the north wind as he walked inside, and they were even more bewildered.
Would someone who orchestrates a palace coup be so leisurely and composed?!
Jiayin took a handkerchief and was wiping the little fox's paws, nagging it, "Don't use your claws like that next time. It's good to teach bad people a lesson, but you don't have to do it!"
"I was originally planning to keep you as a secret weapon, but you've become famous overnight!"
The little fox shrank its neck, its black bean-like eyes darting around, looking quite aggrieved.
Its little brain doesn't understand. How can being loyal to its master be wrong?
However, the Marquis spoke a fair word, "Those three points were well done, and this should be how it should be done from now on."
The little fox immediately perked up and wagged its big tail proudly.
Unfortunately, it was suppressed by its master after only a few shakes.
"You're a fox, not a puppy, why are you wagging your tail?" Jiayin stroked the little fox, then turned to her godfather and asked, "Godfather, will doing that cause any trouble?"
The Marquis shook his head, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and said, "His Majesty has long wanted to move the Imperial Guards, but has never had an excuse."
"What happened today was probably someone testing me and giving you a warning."
“I’ll go and talk to the Emperor. We can take this opportunity to clean up the Imperial Guards.”
Jiayin couldn't help but laugh, "So, wouldn't you say this is a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead?"
The Marquis ruffled her hair and said, "So, you don't need to be afraid of anything, and don't wrong yourself."
"That person's power has greatly diminished, so he can only resort to petty tricks now."
"Understood, Godfather," Jiayin replied.
Just as they reached a fork in the road, she said, "I'll go find the Third Princess first, and then we'll go see my Uncle the Emperor together later."
"Alright," the Marquis nodded.
The father and daughter quickly separated and went their separate ways.
The Third Princess stood at the entrance of Zhilan Palace, almost craning her neck.
Her personal maid, surnamed Hao, advised, "Princess, it's chilly here. Why don't you go back and have some hot tea?"
The Third Princess refused, saying impatiently, "Go back if you want, I'm waiting for good news!"
Helpless, Granny Hao thought, "How can a servant go back to enjoy a life of luxury while leaving her master here to freeze?" So they could only freeze together.
Fortunately, Jiayin arrived shortly afterward with Shuiling and Shuiyun.
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