Listening more closely to the song she was humming, it was different from the one about the moon. The lyrics seemed to be about butterflies, but the style was very different from the songs he usually listened to. It was extremely simple and unadorned, and even someone who had never learned a single word could understand it clearly. It was quite different from elegant lyrics.
"...Flowers bloom and fade, the moon waxes and wanes, and I realize I am but a drunken butterfly, unable to escape this world of flowers..."
The woman in the black cloak, who had already left the Eaves Blue Palace and was heading back to the Kunning Palace, suddenly stopped in her tracks upon hearing this little tune: "This melody? These lyrics?"
She turned her head in surprise and looked up at the top of the palace. There she saw someone lying there in a very lazy and casual manner. The figure was very familiar to her, and the feet were swinging quite energetically!
For some reason, even though she couldn't see the other person's face from her position, the woman in the black cloak recognized her at a glance as Consort Lian, who had just been demoted. She thought it was probably because of the song Consort Lian had sung during the day.
She inexplicably recalled the scene of Consort Lian leaning against her for warmth. At that time, she felt a chill emanating from the other woman, but the softness she felt made her feel hot now.
To be honest, she had lived two lives, and even considered herself both a man and a woman—although eunuchs were not considered men, they were still men at heart. She had never imagined that it would feel like that when a woman was held in her arms.
The two men, who had been going up and down, watched as the woman on the roof stretched lazily, nimbly climbed down, and returned to Xukun Palace before leaving. Since they went in opposite directions, they were unaware that the woman had paused after leaving Yanlan Palace.
The next day at noon, after the court session, the guards responsible for overseeing various locations all went to the Regent's Palace to report on the situation.
"Was Consort Lian well-behaved all night?" Li Xiao asked in a calm voice, revealing neither joy nor anger.
The guard commander said, "We were guarding outside her palace when we suddenly smelled a strange odor coming from inside in the middle of the night, like something was being roasted."
Li Xiao asked curiously, "Oh? What does it taste like?"
The guard commander said, "It's a bit fishy, a bit fragrant, and seems to have some other strange smell. After tasting it carefully, we feel that it smells like the only Western Region restaurant in the capital that often emits this aroma."
"Huh?" Li Xiao raised an eyebrow, quite surprised: how could such a strange smell emanate from the deep palace?
Just then, someone rushed in to report: "Your Highness, the Emperor is furious in the palace. It is said that three large red carp raised in the Mingjing Lake of the Imperial Garden have gone missing."
Li Xiao felt his eyelids twitch and his eyebrows twitch several times: he now knew the source of that strange smell in Xukun Palace, which was a bit fishy and a bit fragrant.
At this moment, the imperial kitchen was also in complete chaos, as they had thrown away a lot of dried and fresh fruits, pastries, and wine.
Meanwhile, Chu Nian had already "hidden" all the bags and packages she had taken during her "sightseeing".
After working all night, she could finally lie down and rest.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, wake up!"
Chu Nian was fast asleep when she heard Lian Xi calling her. She turned over, facing the inside of the bed, and said resentfully, "Don't bother me, let me sleep a little longer!"
Lian Xi said urgently, "No, Your Highness, wake up quickly! We need to get up and get ready!"
Chu Nian opened her sleepy eyes, glanced around, and noticed that the sun was shining brightly outside the window; judging by the light, it must be noon. She asked, "What, is lunch ready?"
Lian Xi said, "Your Majesty, didn't you say that lunch would be postponed until 1-3 PM? It's not lunch, it's... it's that Commander Liu has brought his troops."
"Commander Liu brought his troops?" Chu Nian muttered in confusion. "What are they doing here? To raid our homes? This is still the imperial palace, isn't it? They're raiding the emperor's house!"
Lian Xi was terrified by her words and broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, there was no one else in the inner palace. She quickly whispered, "Your Majesty, please be careful and don't talk nonsense. Commander Liu brought his troops here for those carp that the Emperor cherishes so much..."
"More carp?" Chu Nian finally perked up upon hearing this and sat up abruptly. The carp they grilled last night smelled so good.
Lian Xi almost couldn't resist covering her mistress's mouth with her hand. She said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has lost a fish; how could he let this go so easily?"
Chu Nian's face darkened: "What does he want?"
Lian Xi's heart skipped a beat: Uh, the Empress is so scary today!
She said, “How could I possibly know what Your Majesty intends? In any case, you will definitely find the person who stole the fish. Judging from Commander Liu’s demeanor, it seems that he already knew the fish were in our palace. I’m afraid he will have a hard time escaping punishment this time. Your Majesty, if the matter comes to light and the Emperor really wants to punish us, just say that I stole the fish.”
Chu Nian looked her over helplessly and said, "You dare to accept such a great contribution?"
Lian Xi's lips twitched: Today, not only is the Empress frightening, but she also seems to have lost her mind. What should we do?
Chu Nian stretched lazily and said listlessly, "Forget it, I'll report this to the Emperor myself. Hurry up and help me get ready."
"Yes," Lian Xi replied, helping her with her toilette and dressing while asking, "Your Highness, how do you plan to report this matter to the Emperor?"
Chu Nian: "I had already made plans, so you don't need to worry."
Seeing her calm demeanor, without the slightest hint of panic, and with an air of complete confidence, Lian Xi said, "So Your Highness had already devised a plan?"
Chu Nian hummed in agreement.
Lian Xixi said, "I never expected that after the incident of jumping into the lake, Her Majesty would finally learn to plan ahead for everything."
Chu Nian: "What do you mean by planning ahead? Why would such a small matter need planning ahead?" Only big things require her planning, hmph!
Lian Xi paused involuntarily as she combed her hair, and said worriedly, "Then, Your Majesty..."
Chu Nian: "Just relax when I tell you to. Don't worry about things that are going to happen all the time."
Seeing that she remained calm and confident, seemingly unconcerned about the situation, Lian Xi replied with a "Yes" and quietly began to dress her up.
It's getting noisy outside; the guards have probably started searching.
A moment later, someone loudly reported: "Your Excellency, fish bones have been found here. Judging by their size, they are the carp bones that His Majesty threw away!"
Immediately, another person reported, "Sir, we found some fish that haven't been finished yet, and there's more than one left."
Lian Xiting's face turned pale, and she cursed, "What's wrong with Granny Liu? I clearly told her to hide everything."
Chu Nian: "It was I who told her to put it away more casually."
Lian Xi was taken aback, but quickly recalled the conversation between the two of them and thought in shock: It seems that our Empress really had planned this all along!
A moment later, there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of Commander Liu, who was in charge of guarding Xukun Palace.
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