Upon seeing his mischievous younger sister, Di Jingyuan seemed to have found a savior, and revealed his usual gentle and kind smile: "Jinghan is here!"
"Greetings, Princess!" The group quickly bowed, and Consort Li and Lady Liu hurriedly wiped away the tears in their eyes.
Seeing the situation, Di Jinghan was incredibly curious. How did these two end up chatting with her second brother? Her eyes darted around, showing no remorse for teasing them, and she walked straight to Di Jingyuan's side.
Qiu Xiang quickly stepped aside, giving her seat to the Princess.
"What is Second Brother doing?"
Di Jingyuan smiled and whispered to her what the two of them had just asked for.
Upon hearing this, Di Jinghan widened his eyes and looked at the two concubines who had their heads bowed, almost bursting out laughing. These two were really not very bright. Although his second brother was a prince, how could he be so idle as to interfere in the affairs of the emperor's harem? What benefit would that bring him? If he handled it poorly, he would be accused of having an affair with a concubine.
No wonder his second brother looked so troubled and had such a complicated expression.
She asked in a low voice, "Second brother, why did these two come to ask you for help?"
Di Jingyuan's eye twitched: "How would I know? Jinghan, you should deal with this quickly. It's inconvenient for your brother to be in the royal family."
Di Jinghan rarely saw him suffer a setback, and she never expected that he would have a day when he needed her help. She felt a little smug: "Then, what benefits can my second brother give me?"
Di Jingyuan pulled her aside and explained the crux of the matter to her. Di Jinghan was completely taken aback by him, and her expression changed from playful to serious. Hearing that this would implicate her beautiful sister-in-law, she was not having it.
"Second brother, what... should we do?" She hadn't thought of the crux of the matter for a moment, but after hearing what Di Jingyuan said, she realized that it was indeed something to be handled carefully.
“Jinghan, you are a lady of the palace and also the eldest princess, so you have the authority to handle these small matters. You should… and then go to the Qian Yuan Hall to talk to your elder brother and sister-in-law.”
"Okay, I agree." Anyway, she was the one who caused this mess, so she could just take the opportunity to gain some benefits.
“Second brother, as you know, I was penalized with a pay cut a few days ago, so I’m a little short on cash. I definitely need to take care of things, so what do you think…” Di Jinghan winked mischievously at Di Jingyuan.
Di Jingyuan raised his hand and gently flicked her forehead, saying helplessly, "Alright, alright, I promise you! Come to my private treasury and pick out a few things later."
Upon hearing this, Di Jinghan was extremely excited and raised his voice, "Thank you, Second Imperial Brother!"
"You naughty boy! Second brother is leaving first, this place is in your hands." After saying that, Di Jingyuan turned around and left with Qiu Xiang.
Di Jinghan returned to Consort Li and Consort Liu's side. The two women were a little scared when they saw Di Jinghan. Although the person in front of them had tricked them, they were powerless to resist and had to ask for his help.
"I am aware of all your requests, but my sister-in-law is still ill and has no time to attend to such trivial matters. Please do not disturb her. You may all return now. I will have someone take care of it. The New Year is just around the corner, so please take good care of yourselves."
Upon hearing this, the two women were immediately moved to tears of gratitude: "We thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness. We will take our leave!"
Joy spread across their faces; they hadn't expected things to take such a turn for the better. However, they hadn't taken two steps when Di Jinghan called them back.
"Please wait a moment, my two young masters!" Di Jinghan smiled playfully and slowly walked up to the two of them.
"Does the Princess have any further instructions?"
"I promised you earlier that I would take you all on a trip today, and I'm not one to exaggerate. So come and ice skate with me today!"
The two looked embarrassed and said in unison, "Your Highness, we are not very good at ice skating."
"You yourselves said you'd play with me, so were you just lying to this princess?" Di Jinghan said, feigning authority.
The two women quickly waved their hands, saying, "Your Majesty, we wouldn't dare."
"Okay, let's go then, let's go now." Di Jinghan knew it was lunchtime, but she had just eaten a lot in Qian Yuan Palace and wasn't hungry at all. Now was a good time to digest.
However, Liu Meiren and Li Guiren, who had been cold all morning, were starving and their stomachs were sticking to their backs. The weather was also cold, so they were suffering from both hunger and cold.
The lotus pond at the pavilion in the middle of the lake was very large, and in winter it froze over with a thick layer of ice, making it a natural skating rink. Di Jinghan put on his skates and pulled Consort Li and Lady Liu into the rink. The two of them couldn't keep their balance at all and could only follow the momentum, letting the princess pull them around.
The two squinted in fear, their faces contorted in a grimace.
"Ah—! Princess, slow down, please slow down!"
"ah--"
Di Jinghan couldn't help but laugh out loud, laughing happily.
Screams erupted from the skating rink, accompanied by a woman's cheerful and excited laughter. Passing palace servants and guards couldn't help but stop and watch. Upon seeing that it was the Princess, they quickly ran far away.
Di Jinghan played with the two for a full hour before returning to shore, completely satisfied. Looking at the two, panting and sweating profusely, he felt it was about time.
After all, I didn't help them for nothing; I've collected some interest today.
As she changed her shoes, she dismissed the two men, saying, "You two should go back first and get some rest."
Upon hearing this, Consort Li and Consort Liu felt instantly relieved, changed their shoes, and left as quickly as possible.
Ning Hui's eyes flashed with confusion. Weren't these two young masters tired? How come they're running faster than rabbits!
"Ning Hui, regarding today's matter, have someone go to the Imperial Household Department to inform them, so as not to alarm my elder brother and sister-in-law." Di Jinghan tossed the gloves to a maidservant beside him and strode away.
"Princess, rest assured."
——
Consort Wu, standing on the opposite bank, witnessed all of this and couldn't help but sneer inwardly. She thought, "What a fickle person! Seeing that I've lost power, he immediately turns around and tries to curry favor with Changning."
Cai Ning stood beside her, watching her ever-changing expressions, but said nothing.
"Cai Ning!"
"Your Majesty?"
"Do you think I can still win back the Emperor?" Consort Wu couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Your Majesty, you are young and beautiful, the Emperor will surely remember you."
"Youth! Beauty! I'm afraid I can't compare to that new empress. She looks about the same age as Changning, and she's also stunningly beautiful. She has both!" Consort Wu said through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with jealousy and resentment.
Cai Ning sighed softly: "Your Majesty, you can't force things."
Consort Wu remained silent for a long while, her eyes fixed on the spot where Emperor Jinghan had left.
"Cai Ning, have people spread the word about what happened today, make it as big a fuss as possible." She wanted to see how a foreign empress who mistreated her concubines could stay in the palace. Even if the emperor protected her, she would still make her feel uneasy.
Cai Ning's eyes were full of disapproval, but Wu Pin didn't see it. She felt that Wu Pin would eventually fall into her hands.
"Didn't you hear me?" Consort Wu suddenly erupted in anger.
"I understand, I'll go do it right away." Cai Ning bowed slightly, feeling extremely melancholy. She had to find a way out for herself, otherwise Cai Yue's yesterday would be her tomorrow.
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