Chapter 211 Dong Rou is Deceived
Li Nian'er immediately straightened her face and sternly rebuked, "Foolish! How can you be so ignorant of the rules? This inner palace is not a place where a maid like you can just barge in with a few words! Your mistress isn't even inside! It's the Emperor's brother-in-law who's resting drunk! If you barge in and offend someone important, how many heads do you have to lose? And how badly will you implicate your mistress?"
As she spoke, she gripped Dongrou's wrist tightly, so hard that it hurt Dongrou, and her tone became increasingly aggressive: "Hurry up and leave with me! If something really happens, can you take responsibility!"
Dong Rou felt a pain in her wrist. Upon hearing that the person inside was the drunken imperial brother-in-law, she turned pale with fright and immediately realized that she had stumbled into a dangerous place. She then tried to turn around and leave.
How could Li Nian'er let her leave just like that?
She still held onto Dongrou's wrist tightly, gesturing with her eyes towards Zhan Lanyang not far away, and warned urgently, "Stop! Look over there, Lady Lanyang from the Anguo Pavilion Marquis's residence is watching! You rushed over in a panic just now, already offending the noble lady! If you run away now, wouldn't that just confirm your guilty conscience? If Lady Lanyang blames you, neither you nor your wife can afford to suffer the consequences!"
Dong Rou followed the gaze and indeed saw a richly dressed, arrogant young lady coldly watching them. She immediately dared not move.
Seeing that her intimidation had worked, Li Nian'er softened her tone slightly: "Listen to me, first obediently retreat behind the bamboo grove and wait! After Lady Zhan leaves, you quietly slip out and quickly return to the palace gate, pretending that nothing happened today! This is the best way to protect you and Lady Lu!"
Dong Rou's heart was in turmoil.
Although he knew that Li Nian'er was not a good person and had a great grudge against his wife, he had no choice but to obey and quickly hide deep in the bamboo forest, hoping that the noble lady would leave soon.
He absolutely could not let his wife be implicated.
She secretly blamed herself, blaming herself for being foolish for rushing in without asking the young palace maid for clarification.
Seeing that she had hidden herself, Li Nian'er felt relieved. She then turned back to Zhan Lanyang's side and said angrily, "Sister Lanyang! You saw it all! That maid was so rude. I kindly advised her to leave, but she not only wouldn't listen, but insisted on waiting there! I think she's determined to cause trouble! What should we do?"
She sighed, "It seems... it seems the only way to keep her in check is to inform Madam Lu herself immediately!"
Seeing that Zhan Lanyang remained silent, she quickly added, "Good sister, you are of noble status. Only if you go with me to testify will Madam Lu believe my words. Otherwise, she will definitely think that I am stirring up trouble again. Please come with me on this trip, sister."
Zhan Lanyang was bored and found the banquet uninteresting. Seeing Li Nian'er's behavior, he sneered inwardly, but also felt a bit interested in watching the show.
She casually smoothed her sleeve and said indifferently, "Fine, then go and take a look with me."
The two then walked towards the waterside pavilion, one after the other.
From afar, one could see Lu Zhaoruo leaning against the railing side by side with Princess Yongfu, holding fish food in her hands, attracting koi carp to scramble for it.
Amidst the rippling water, the two chatted and laughed, exuding a sense of leisure and tranquility.
Li Nian'er gritted her teeth. Not only did she not embarrass herself today, but she even made friends with the Princess!
She composed herself, strode forward, and exclaimed anxiously, "Madam Lu! Something terrible has happened!"
Lu Zhaoruo and Princess Yongfu turned around upon hearing the sound.
Yongfu's face showed displeasure at being disturbed.
Lu Zhaoruo's gaze calmly fell on Li Nian'er, then swept over Zhan Lanyang behind her, who looked indifferent as if he had only come to watch the show, and she immediately became alert.
Before Lu Zhaoruo could ask, Li Nian'er hurriedly said, "Just now, I was talking with Sister Lanyang and I saw your personal maid, Dongrou, running towards Qingzhu Pavilion in a panic!"
"Qingzhu Pavilion?"
Princess Yongfu blinked and subconsciously replied, "Isn't that where Uncle rests? What is she doing there?"
That's exactly what Li Nian'er wanted to hear!
She immediately chimed in, her voice filled with worry: "Indeed, Your Highness! We were just as worried! The Imperial Uncle has been drinking and is resting. If Dongrou, a mere maid, were to barge in so rashly and disturb him, the consequences would be dire! We thought that as women ourselves, we couldn't bear to see Lady Lu suffer in the dark, so we rushed here to inform you!"
Lu Zhaoruo paused slightly as she held the fish food in her fingers.
Dong Rou waited outside the palace gate. Without her instructions, it was absolutely impossible for anyone to enter the palace without permission, let alone run precisely to Qingzhu Pavilion!
Besides, she knew Li Nian'er very well, so why would she be so kind as to tell her this?
At this moment, Zhan Lanyang lazily lifted his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over Lu Zhaoruo with undisguised contempt: "Madam Lu, I'm not trying to criticize you. Now that you've entered the palace, you should be careful with your words and actions and restrain your servants. You can't even control a maidservant by your side, letting her run rampant in the Forbidden Garden. What kind of decorum is this? Today she offended the Imperial Uncle, tomorrow if she offends the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, how many heads do you have to chop off? Truly... utterly absurd."
A hint of pleasure flashed in Li Nian'er's eyes.
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaoruo frowned slightly.
Dong Rou actually entered the palace without permission and even went to Zhu Qing Pavilion?
She looked at Li Nian'er with suspicion.
Li Nian'er hurriedly said, "If Madam Lu doesn't believe me, shouldn't she believe what Sister Lanyang saw with her own eyes?"
Lu Zhaoruo knew that Li Nian'er had ill intentions, but it seemed that Dong Rou's intrusion into Zhuqing Pavilion was indeed true, and if things escalated, the consequences would be unimaginable.
She calmed herself and bowed deeply to Lanyang: "Lady Lanyang is right to reprimand me. It is Zhaoruo who has failed to discipline her properly. I will go and bring Dongrou back now and discipline her strictly."
Li Nian'er lowered her voice, feigning concern, "This matter concerns the peace of the Imperial Brother-in-law and the reputation of your maid. It is really not advisable to make a fuss about it, lest others laugh at us."
What she said is indeed quite reasonable.
I had originally thought that Lu Zhaoruo would go alone, which was exactly what I wanted.
Unexpectedly, Lu Zhaoruo turned to Princess Yongfu and said earnestly, "Your Highness, this matter is suspicious and may have some unforeseen circumstances. Dongrou is cautious by nature and would never dare to trespass unless it is an emergency. Would you please accompany me? With Your Highness present, in case anything happens, you can uphold justice."
Should Princess Yongfu go along?
Li Nian'er's heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong!
Her face turned deathly pale instantly, and she instinctively wanted to speak up to stop him: "Your Highness, there's no need for you to trouble yourself with such a trivial matter..."
Before he could finish speaking, Princess Yongfu readily agreed: "Alright! I will accompany you on this trip and see what the situation is. With me here, I will not allow your people to suffer any injustice."
Li Nian'er choked up, the rest of her words stuck in her throat, and she could only watch helplessly as the two left hand in hand.
She stood frozen in place, her hands and feet icy cold, her mind a jumble of thoughts.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
