The eldest princess's uncle, the emperor's younger brother, and the male protagonist in the original timeline.
It was just right to make him the first patient to be operated on.
The princess said slowly, "My uncle also attended today's banquet and won't leave the palace until tonight." She tapped the armrest lightly, "I can take you to my uncle's residence and see if we can find out about his private army."
“If we successfully find out where his private soldiers are staying, we will take action that night—I still need to discuss this with my elder sister,” the princess said. “I don’t want to be dragged away by the Emperor for questioning right now.”
The mugwort responded.
The mute girl stayed in the Crown Princess's residence to accompany the twins; Ai Cao continued to serve as the Princess's guard, and accompanied her to gather a large group of maids to go to the Prince's residence.
The eldest princess said, "I left something at the prince's residence. Please move aside."
The guards at the door exchanged a glance, then silently opened the door for her.
They entered the prince's mansion without incident.
The eldest princess then ordered, "Disperse! See where my jade pendant is!"
The maids dispersed in silence, leaving only Ai Cao and another of the princess's personal maids by her side.
The princess whispered to Ai Cao, "Do you have any direction?"
Ai Cao thought for a moment and asked the system, "Can you find it?"
The system's voice sounded somewhat frustrated: "We can't find anyone, but we can give you a map so you can see where things are suspicious..."
A new map of the Prince's Mansion popped into Ai Cao's mind.
She quickly scanned the area and discovered a concealed cavity within the mansion. The cavity did not appear to be a lake, nor was it a naturally formed feature.
She whispered to the princess what the general scenery there was like.
The princess lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then waved her hand to summon her personal maid and instructed, "Take a few people and go to the prince's backyard to take a look."
The maids obeyed and went off. The personal maid quickly returned, saying that there was a courtyard with an underground opening, and they found many signs of habitation inside.
But no one was seen.
The eldest princess said in a low voice, "They probably heard we were coming and left secretly."
Artemisia whispered, "There are other places connected to this place."
The princess chuckled calmly and said softly, "The rat's tail is well hidden."
But it's still not quite there.
The maids reported that they had not found any other way.
More and more maids secretly gathered in the distance to watch. The princess tossed the jade pendant to her personal maid, who then left to carry out her orders—not long after, news came that the lost jade pendant had been found.
The eldest princess retrieved the jade pendant.
She silently played with the jade pendant, then whispered to Ai Cao, "Do you know how many guards are usually stationed in the mansion?"
The mugwort shook its head.
The eldest princess said, "Normally there are only about three hundred people." She hung the jade pendant back on her waist, "But my uncle is favored by the emperor and was allowed five hundred guards. In addition, he secretly keeps private soldiers in his mansion. All things considered, he supports more than a thousand people."
“More than a thousand people,” the eldest princess said. “His Majesty may not be worried, but I am. How can I allow others to touch the position that belongs to the eldest sister?”
If these thousand-plus people were just ordinary people, she wouldn't have accepted Ai Cao's suggestion so easily.
But a thousand or so elite soldiers... could storm into the palace and force the person in that position to step down.
The eldest princess dared not gamble, nor could she gamble.
She slipped some gold leaves to the steward of the prince's mansion who had rushed over.
Her arrival was abrupt, and her departure was equally abrupt.
When the male protagonist, who was at the palace banquet, heard about this, the eldest princess had already found out the location of his private soldiers and returned to the Crown Princess's residence.
The princess sat back down in her chair. With only the mute girl and a few others around, she finally had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.
The eldest princess said, "We should also attend the palace banquet."
The mugwort asked, "Don't I have no identity?"
She didn't even have a document to verify her identity. If the Emperor were to discover this or order a thorough investigation, it would inevitably affect the Eldest Princess and the Crown Princess.
The eldest princess sneered, "I originally thought His Majesty would realize it too." She waved her hand in annoyance, "My uncle has been keeping a private army so obviously, and she hasn't reacted at all."
“Isn’t she just hoping to step down from that position?” the eldest princess said. “Then let’s strangle both her and her while the younger brother is still young.”
Ai Cao thought for a moment and asked, "Should I wear a wig?" She touched her short hair and said, "Isn't my hair too noticeable?"
The eldest princess glanced at her and said, "It's alright, she and your uncle will both think you're a boy." She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, saying, "She still raises my elder sister as a boy. She's blind and heartless, don't worry."
Ai Cao asked again, "Don't we need to discuss it with the Crown Princess?"
The eldest princess curled the corners of her lips. She leaned back in her chair and rocked back and forth, smiling as she said, "I've discussed it with my elder sister, and she trusts me and will let me do it."
The mugwort nodded.
She had seen the male lead's bodyguards, and there should be similar bodyguards between the eldest princess and the crown princess, a unique way of communicating among them.
The princess's expression softened upon hearing her elder sister's name. She glanced at Ai Cao and asked, "Song Tang performed well at the palace banquet, but unfortunately, she's still a bit inexperienced."
Ai Cao smiled and said, "She used to live in the countryside. This is her first time in the capital, and she has already done very well."
The eldest princess gave a soft hum: "Not enough."
Ai Cao smiled and replied, "It's better than those other ones."
She was referring to the Emperor, the Prince, and the Princess's younger brother. But the Princess lowered her eyes and seemed lost in thought, perhaps thinking of someone else.
The princess summoned a maid and asked her to teach Ai Cao simple palace banquet etiquette.
Overwhelmed by the long list of etiquette, Ai Cao simply opened her skill panel and used the Imitation skill on her. Although she still used her own face, her mannerisms were exactly the same as the other person's.
The system screamed: "How could you use your skills in such a way!"
Ai Cao smiled and retorted, "What else?"
She received high praise from the princess and was then surrounded by maids to change into a new set of clothes for entering the palace. Her original Hu clothing was replaced with a long ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), the original long and trailing skirt now only reaching her ankles; the tightly bound trousers below were faintly visible.
The eldest princess laughed and commented, "It's neither fish nor fowl."
Ai Cao bent down and lifted the hem of the ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), saying, "It would be even more convenient without this hem."
The eldest princess smiled and nodded: "If you were to enter the palace dressed in Hu clothing, you would probably be stopped at the gate." Her smile faded slightly, and she said seriously, "Just bear with it for now, it won't happen again."
Mugwort is very patient when it is certain that the goal can be achieved.
Ai Cao lowered her skirt and said, "Shall we go to the palace banquet now?"
She turned to the mute girl and asked, "Could you ask her if there are any ghosts willing to be reincarnated as private soldiers in the Prince's mansion?"
The mute girl nodded. She took a pen and wrote: "Yes, everyone."
Ai Cao nodded knowingly.
Since many ghosts want to be reincarnated from them, she no longer needs to search for ghosts in the mass graves and can now attend the palace banquet with the Princess without worry.
The princess summoned a maid and turned to ask Ai Cao, "Is everything ready?"
The mugwort nodded.
They set off for the magnificent, golden prison.
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