“Mother, what does it matter whether I look like a girl or not? As long as I’m your daughter, that’s enough,” Zhang Xiantao quickly interrupted when she saw that Madam Zhang was about to nag again. “Don’t say that I won’t be able to get married or anything. I’m not afraid of not getting married. It’s better if I don’t get married, so that I can stay by your side for the rest of my life.”
"What nonsense are you talking about? What woman doesn't get married?" Madam Zhang glared at her, but her expression was gentle and she wasn't really angry. Clearly, she was pleased that her daughter relied on her so much.
Zhang Xiantao nuzzled against Madam Zhang and acted coquettishly for a while. When she looked up and saw the dishes on the table, her eyes lit up. "Tonight's dishes are all my favorites, Mother. Let's eat first, and I'll talk to you after we finish eating."
"Eat slowly, don't rush, no one's going to take it from you." Madam Zhang shook her head with amusement.
After dinner, Zhang Xiantao recounted what had happened that day. Madam Zhang remained silent for a moment after hearing the story before finally speaking, "Does it really look that similar? Last time, when the Empress hosted a banquet for the wives and daughters of the ministers, you only caught a glimpse of them from afar. How could you remember their appearance and even suspect..." She didn't dare to finish her sentence.
"...I didn't just glance at it from afar; I stared at it intently for quite a while. During the banquet, I got bored and went out for a bit. I wandered around and saw the princess punishing a little palace maid in a courtyard. Mother, you didn't see it; that princess has two faces, one in front of others and one behind."
It was nighttime, and I couldn't see her face clearly, but her voice was shrill and chilling. How could a six-year-old child sound like a cunning and ruthless old woman? It was truly astonishing.
Madam Zhang frowned, glanced towards the door, and only after the servants had all withdrawn and stood far enough away to be unable to hear the mother and daughter's conversation did she whisper a warning, "How can you speak like that? How can women in the inner quarters be considered treacherous and vicious?"
"Where did you learn these words? You actually saw them that day, how come I never heard you mention them? You haven't said these things to anyone else, have you? That's a princess. If she finds out you're ruining her reputation like this, and complains to the Emperor, our entire General's Mansion will be in big trouble."
"Would I be that brainless? I kept this to myself and never told anyone. Then I forgot about it. But today I suddenly saw a little girl who looked a lot like a princess. No, she looked even more like a princess than a princess. They were about the same age, and the little girl had a peerless master protecting her. I always felt that the little girl was not so simple." Zhang Xiantao said seriously.
"Based on your intuition, I think you've been looking at too many sketchbooks, which is why you're thinking about all sorts of things. Alright, let's not talk about this again today. Your father and elder brother aren't in the capital right now, so you can't cause trouble," Madam Zhang said sternly.
Zhang Xiantao pouted. She knew it would be like this. If her father and older brother were here, they would definitely support her, or at least investigate. Because of what she had accidentally witnessed that night, she had a very bad impression of the princess in the palace, and even felt a bit disgusted by her.
When she first saw the little girl earlier that day, she mistook her for a princess, thinking she had secretly come out of the palace to play and was trying to catch her in the act. But when she got closer, she realized that the girl was not a princess.
Although the two looked very similar, almost identical at first glance, they were easy to distinguish upon closer inspection. The princess in the palace always gave her a somewhat gloomy and strange feeling. Even though the other party always had a smile on her face, she just felt that the smile was fake.
Madam Zhang said she had only seen the princess once and couldn't possibly have seen her clearly, but that's not true. She saw her very clearly, and she didn't know why. That day, she stared at the princess for a long time, and the maidservant serving the princess also gave her a strange feeling.
No one would believe her if she told others, but she felt she might have discovered something incredible. No, she had to investigate it secretly.
Zhang Xiantao called out the two bodyguards and asked, "During the day, you exchanged a few blows with that young boy. You weren't taken down before you could even make a single move, were you?"
"We exchanged three blows with him," the guard explained, his face slightly stiff. In truth, three blows was already quite embarrassing. His opponent was just a kid who was a little over ten years old. They couldn't even beat a child. It would be a huge loss of face if word got out.
“Alright, don’t blame yourselves too much. In any case, we’re all safe and sound, and that person didn’t mean any harm,” Zhang Xiantao said, pacing back and forth in the room with her hands behind her back. “Tomorrow, find a few smart people to investigate the identities of that boy and the girl next to him. I want to know what their background is.”
“Miss, I’m afraid this matter will be difficult to handle. That young man’s skills are too high. The two of us can’t even get close to him, and the others probably have even less of a chance. How can we investigate?” The guards didn’t care about saving face at this moment and spoke the truth, hoping that the young lady would not make things difficult for them.
"Tsk, you call yourselves death squads, yet you're so cowardly. What use are you? Fine, I can't count on you. I'll investigate myself." Zhang Xiantao waved the two away, secretly pondering what to do next.
In an inconspicuous room in a corner of the Cold Palace, Shui Li Niang slapped the person in front of her with a grim expression. "Useless! I sent you to kill a little girl, and not only did you not even see her, you were all wiped out. I'm so disappointed in you."
"Madam, those two men in white were too skilled. Our men were powerless to fight back and were simply slaughtered. If I hadn't run fast, I'm afraid there wouldn't have been anyone to come back and report." The man in black bowed his head respectfully, not daring to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"So you've done something good?" Shui Li Niang sneered. She was so angry that she just wanted to kill this fool with one stroke, but she was short of manpower and had to hold back.
"Alright, don't go out either. Stay by my side. I have something to assign you to do." A strong killing intent flashed in Shui Li Niang's eyes. It was time to make her move. As long as she got rid of the Emperor and Empress, how could Prince Gong not be able to turn things around?
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