"How could it be impossible? I heard her talking to the nanny when I was little. It's a pity I'm not a son. If I were a son, she could have gone further and become a concubine. Just because I'm a daughter, I'll only be a concubine. She just resents me and doesn't like me!"
As the eldest princess spoke, her voice trembled with tears.
The princess's personal maid spoke kindly to her for a long time before she finally stopped crying. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and stopped crying again.
"Go back and get the bag of silver ingots."
She whispered the instructions.
The palace maid asked cautiously, "Are we still going to Cining Palace to see Her Majesty?"
The eldest princess didn't reply, but urged him on.
"Just go when I tell you to! Stop with all the nonsense."
The palace maid hurriedly ran inside and came out a short while later with a heavy purse in her pocket.
The eldest princess remained silent and led her toward the Qianqing Palace.
Cining Palace is located to the west of Yangxin Hall. It is quite a distance from Qifeng Pavilion where she lived. You have to go out through Yuehua Gate next to Qianqing Palace, go around Yangxin Hall, and then you can reach Cining Gate.
The rules governing the entry and exit of imperial concubines were quite strict, but those for princes and princesses were less so. Especially now that the imperial concubines and consorts resided in the Cining Palace, the princesses frequently visited them, resulting in very frequent comings and goings.
The eldest princess walked out of the Moonflower Gate without any problems.
The palace maid thought she was going west, but to her surprise, the eldest princess stopped outside the Moonflower Gate, waved to the gatekeeper, and asked about the situation of the guard Meng.
The palace maid was terrified, cold sweat broke out on her brow, she wanted to stop them, but dared not.
The eldest princess found out where Guard Meng was and was secretly delighted. She raised her hand to ask for a reward.
The palace maid took out a silver ingot and handed it to the eunuch, then followed closely behind the eldest princess with small, quick steps.
"Princess, are you going to find Guard Meng? But, but..."
She wanted to say that this was unreasonable and that it would cause trouble if others found out.
The eldest princess suddenly glared at her: "Huaixiang, whose maid are you anyway? Don't you listen to me anymore?"
Huai Xiang was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"This servant wouldn't dare! This servant was only thinking of Your Highness!"
"Hmph! You think I don't know? You've sent messages to my mother quite often about me." The eldest princess looked at her coldly, then suddenly moved closer. "If you dare to report this, I'll give you to the old eunuch in the bathhouse!"
Huai Xiang trembled all over and fell to the ground in fright.
"This servant wouldn't dare! This servant really wouldn't dare! Princess, please forgive this servant for all the years I've served you!"
The old eunuch in the bathhouse was notorious for his cruelty.
The eldest princess clapped her hands in satisfaction.
"As long as you listen to me obediently, I will promote you to a lady-in-waiting position after I get married. Alright, wipe away your tears and follow me."
Huaixiang wiped away her tears and quickly stood up.
The eldest princess led her across the open space in front of the Qianqing Palace, and soon they arrived at the former East Palace.
That guard, Meng, was patrolling nearby.
The eldest princess walked north along the wall of the East Palace, carefully avoiding others.
The two arrived near Meihua Canal. The eldest princess looked around and her eyes lit up when she saw several guards not far away.
She turned her head and whispered a few instructions to Huaixiang.
Huai Xiang's expression changed repeatedly; she wanted to persuade him again, but she couldn't muster any courage.
She squeezed her purse and walked over with a forced smile.
"Brothers, guards..."
Huai Xiang was ordered to get close to those guards in order to divert their attention.
The eldest princess waited patiently.
When her beloved guard Meng arrived near the plum grove, she gritted her teeth and suddenly raised her voice to shout.
"Help!"
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