Bai Mei whispered, "Princess, Consort Lan has asked you to help her."
"Give her a hand?" Xiao Shu'er sneered, took the letter from Bai Mei and looked at it. "You know what, this Consort Lan is quite intelligent, it's just a pity that she can only manipulate things in the deep palace."
Bai Mei echoed, "The princess is right."
"Help me change my clothes, I need to go to the palace to see my imperial brother," Xiao Shu'er announced loudly.
Xiao Shuer changed into a light-colored dress and dressed simply. Bai Mei followed behind her, carrying a small wooden box.
"Is it a top-quality peony?" Xiao Shu'er asked, tilting her head slightly as she walked toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"Princess, rest assured, it is absolutely top-quality and of excellent quality," Bai Mei said.
Xiao Shu'er gave a satisfied "hmm".
Upon arriving at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the eunuch guarding outside the hall was about to announce their arrival, but Xiao Shu'er stopped him.
"No need to announce it. I will take responsibility for any crimes I may commit," Xiao Shu'er said as she went inside.
The Emperor doted on the eldest princess, treating her like a precious gem. No matter how serious her crimes, she was never severely punished. Seeing this, the young eunuch naturally obeyed her.
A girlish smile suddenly appeared on Xiao Shu'er's face. She took light steps and playfully walked into the hall.
The emperor, lying on the soft couch, had even more white hair. Eunuch Guangde was massaging his temples, and his tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed as he closed his eyes.
When Eunuch Guangde saw Xiao Shuer, he was about to speak, but Xiao Shuer put her fingers to her lips, signaling him to be quiet. Only then did he continue to massage the Emperor's temples as if nothing had happened.
Xiao Shu'er quietly approached, squatted down in front of the Emperor, raised her hand, and gently pounded the Emperor's leg.
The Emperor opened his eyes in confusion, and when he saw Xiao Shu'er, he was stunned for a moment. Looking at Xiao Shu'er's playful appearance, he suddenly smiled and said, "Why are you here? Quickly, offer her a seat."
Grandpa Guangde immediately went to fetch a stool.
The Emperor pushed Xiao Shu'er aside and said, "Alright, sit down and have some pastries and fruit. These fruits are all tribute items; we don't have any here."
Xiao Shuer was surprisingly well-behaved and sat down on the stool, but her eyes reddened upon hearing this.
Before the Emperor could ask, she said aggrievedly, "Your Majesty still remembers to save some good food for me. I thought you had forgotten about me. How long has it been since you last saw Shu'er?"
Seeing that she was about to cry, the Emperor became anxious and said helplessly, "There are too many matters to attend to lately, and besides, you made such a mistake before. I will not be able to convince the people until the storm has passed!"
Xiao Shu'er suddenly laughed again: "I knew that my Emperor brother dotes on Shu'er the most. Shu'er was just joking with you. You've been ignoring Shu'er, but Shu'er hasn't forgotten you. Shu'er brought something you like and came here today especially to make you some tea."
"Oh? What is it? Let me guess, could it be... Huading Cloud Mist?" the Emperor said, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Xiao Shu'er shook her head mysteriously: "That's not right!"
The Emperor frowned: "Silver needle white hair?"
"No! Emperor, don't guess anymore. Shu'er guarantees you won't be able to guess before you drink it," Xiao Shu'er said smugly.
As he spoke, he beckoned Bai Mei to come closer, and then asked Eunuch Guangde to fetch clean teacups and boiling water, and began to brew tea.
She glanced at the Emperor, then turned her back to him, deliberately preventing him from seeing her. If it were anyone else, this would be a grave offense. However, the Emperor was delighted by Xiao Shu'er's actions.
The Emperor hadn't smiled like that in a long time. Without Consort Lan's company, and having not seen Xiao Shu'er for many days, he was busy with state affairs every day and had been frowning for a while.
Xiao Shuer took the small wooden box from Bai Mei, took out the contents of the box, put them into a teacup, and asked Eunuch Guangde to bring some tea leaves, which were also added to the teacup.
The emperor was puzzled. Could it be that the contents of the box were not tea leaves?
After a while, Xiao Shu'er brought tea and rice and placed them on the small table next to the soft couch where fruit was placed.
Although there was nothing special about this cup of tea, the emperor had already smelled a hint of its aroma, paused slightly, and then lifted the lid of the teacup.
"Brother Emperor, you can't drink it now, it's too hot," Xiao Shu'er cautioned.
After she finished speaking, she looked at the emperor expectantly. The emperor looked at the tea leaves floating in the water and the white petals rising and falling with the tea leaves, and his brows furrowed slightly. He stopped smiling.
Xiao Shuer immediately stood up, like a child who had done something wrong, and knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Brother Emperor, do you not like it? Don't be angry, don't be upset. It's Shu'er's fault. Shu'er will pour out this tea right now." As she spoke, Xiao Shu'er reached for the teacup.
The Emperor reached out and stopped her. The peony petals unfurled in the boiling water, like a peony slowly blooming, releasing a faint fragrance that was refreshing and delightful.
Seeing the Emperor's beautiful jade unfold, Xiao Shu'er felt that the time was almost right, and immediately blamed herself, saying, "It's all my fault. I felt sorry for Consort Lan, so I went to see her. She told me that my brother the Emperor likes to add peony petals to his tea. I thought my brother the Emperor liked it, so I made some. I shouldn't have listened to her."
The Emperor suddenly sighed. He did indeed like to add peony petals to his tea. He had only come to like it after drinking it at Consort Lan's place. Apart from Consort Lan, almost no one else knew about it.
He couldn't help but recall those days in Consort Lan's palace, and he suddenly asked, "How is Consort Lan doing lately?"
Xiao Shu'er was secretly delighted, but her face showed a bitter expression: "Brother Emperor, she... she's not well."
How could things be good for someone confined to the cold palace?
Seeing the Emperor lower his eyes, which seemed to be filled with sorrow, Xiao Shu'er pressed her advantage and said, "Those palace maids and eunuchs are bullying her all day long, and they even deduct the clothes and food that should be sent to her every day."
"What?" The Emperor was surprised. He thought that being in the Cold Palace was not good, that she was not as well off as before and not as luxurious and glorious. But even if she was in the Cold Palace, she was still the Noble Consort Lan. How could these people be so lawless?
Xiao Shu'er continued, "That's right. I brought him some things and punished the servants, but they were only behaving themselves for a while. Once I leave, they'll probably treat her even worse."
Anger flashed between the Emperor's brows: "Guangde, take some men to see. Although Consort Lan has been banished to the Cold Palace, her daily sustenance must not be reduced, and she must not be allowed to disobey her superiors."
"Yes." Guangde accepted the order and left.
Xiao Shu'er realized that the Emperor still cared about Consort Lan, so she boldly said, "Brother Emperor, Consort Lan still knows she was wrong. She feels guilty every day now. Besides, she is also very sad because she lost her child."
The Emperor, however, grew impatient and frowned, asking, "Are you here to act as an intermediary for Consort Lan?"
Xiao Shu'er immediately swallowed back what she was about to say and pretended to be afraid, saying, "No, it's not, Emperor brother."
"Go back." The emperor's face turned cold, and his weariness returned.
Knowing that there was no point in staying any longer, Xiao Shu'er said with a sad expression, but obediently, "Then Shu'er will take her leave first. Brother Emperor, please take care to rest. This box of dried peonies will be left for you."
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