Green Ivy, Summer, and the others were all very suspicious. What was wrong with the princess? Why didn't she need to be served while bathing?
However, they were all extremely obedient. Zhao Shu didn't need anyone to serve her, and they didn't go in either, but just stayed outside.
Zhao Shu took the men's clothing that Sheng Xia had brought, left the house, and headed straight for the bathroom, which was not far away, in Qionghua Courtyard.
"Don't come in, okay?" she specifically instructed before going in.
However, when she closed the door and hung her clothes on the screen... she panicked. Was this a good thing? Was she being too unladylike?
She began to doubt herself, and just when she was at her wit's end, Wei Tingsi climbed in through the back window and saw the steaming bathtub with flower petals floating on the water.
He found it particularly amusing to see Zhao Shu blush, as he rarely saw her shy and had once thought that this woman was incapable of feeling shy.
However, since the two are not yet married, he will not do anything improper.
He reached out and pulled the screen over, separating the two of them. Then he quickly took off his clothes and washed himself clean faster than he had ever done in his life.
Before the blush on Zhao Shu's face had faded, he had already changed his clothes, though water was still dripping from his hair.
Seeing that he still respected her, Zhao Shu felt a warmth in her heart, and then took out a dry handkerchief, "I'll wring your hair."
"Okay." He sat down, letting Zhao Shu stand behind him and wring out his hair.
In this situation, with a man and a woman alone together, Zhao Shu felt she should say something to ease the awkward atmosphere.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What do you plan to do when you return to the capital?"
"The order has already been given. Just wait and see what happens."
Zhao Shu was speechless.
At this moment, Yi De had just received news that Wei Ting Si had deliberately leaked the news, saying that he had returned. Yi De felt an unprecedented sense of crisis and secretly left the palace to conspire with his cronies. He had just returned.
As soon as she returned and stepped out of the main road, she was blocked by her trusted aide, who carefully led her to a side road. "Master, you're finally back."
Yi De knew that Wei Tingsi must have come back to set a trap for her, so she frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Someone leaked the news that you left the palace without permission, and the Empress is questioning you about it. The Emperor has just taken his medicine and is resting. What should we do, my lady?" The maid asked anxiously.
Yi De's gaze shifted, "He wants this to be a coup! He's forcing the prince to kill his father, what a sinner!" Her tone was chilling.
Without waiting for the maid's reply, she asked, "Are any ministers causing trouble?"
As she spoke, she hurried away. Her confidante, who had been walking briskly with her head down, looked up and replied, "Your Majesty, you should not concern yourself with this matter anymore. The Empress has sent people to guard the Emperor and prevent our people from getting close. It would be better not to respond. We can ask the Emperor to stand up for you after he wakes up."
It is said that the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor is such that the Emperor is now practically powerless, with the Empress Dowager ruling from behind the curtain and making all the decisions, big and small.
But no matter how capable she was, she was still just a woman. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and said, "Let Zhao Bi go find Consort Ning."
Upon receiving the news, Zhao Bi rushed to the palace. He secretly went to see Yi De first. Yi De did not say much, nor did she complain. She simply lay down on the bed and did not even see Zhao Bi.
"Your Highness, Her Majesty is ill with worry. She only wanted to hear your voice. Now that she has heard it and her wish has been fulfilled, she must be tired. Please go back and take good care of yourself. Don't let Her Majesty worry." The palace maid was very good at speaking.
Moved, Zhao Bi left Weiyang Palace and asked Xiao Ruanzi, "Was it true that a minister knelt in Taihe Hall and petitioned Father Emperor to depose the Imperial Noble Consort?"
"Yes, Your Highness, many ministers have been kneeling outside for two hours."
Zhao Bi pondered for a moment, then said, "Go to the Taihe Hall."
"Your Highness!" Little Ruanzi drawled, her face anxious. "Your Highness, have you forgotten the lesson from a few days ago? We can't go!"
"I have my own ways of dealing with those ministers. Let's go." Zhao Bi seemed very confident as he spoke, already boarding the palanquin.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the carriage neither turned nor moved, and his face immediately turned cold. "Are you deaf?"
Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to reply. Little Ruanzi took the lead, silently kneeling down to protest his command with silence and worship.
Zhao Bi sighed, got out of the carriage, and prepared to walk to Taihe Hall, but Xiao Ruanzi was determined not to let him go and crawled in front of him.
"Little Ruanzi, are you not even listening to what I, Your Highness, say?!" His tone was chilling, but Little Ruanzi remained unmoved and continued to kneel and block the road.
If it weren't for Xiao Ruanzi's loyalty, and the fact that he hadn't had any problems following him for so long, and now that there was no one more reliable than him, he would have kicked him to the curb.
He patiently squatted down to look Xiao Ruanzi in the eye and said earnestly again, "Xiao Ruanzi, you've been with me for over twenty years. You know my character best. I never do anything I'm not sure of. You should also know how arrogant the Crown Prince has been these past two years. In Father's heart, the Imperial Noble Consort is unique and irreplaceable. She has been wronged, a weak and vulnerable woman. As her son, how can I stand idly by?"
"The throne was within our grasp, yet so many things happened. How can you expect me to let this opportunity slip by!"
He spoke reasonably, seemingly implying that he absolutely had to go, but Xiao Ruanzi still knelt in front of him, blocking his way. "Your Highness, this servant cannot let you go. Her Majesty instructed that you must not do anything foolish!"
The "Empress" in question was naturally referring to Consort Ning. Upon hearing this, Zhao Bi sighed.
"Let's go see Mother."
He gave up on going to Taihe Palace, and Xiao Ruanzi breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly stood up, served him, and went with him to find Consort Ning.
After talking with Consort Ning for a while, he took his leave, saying he was leaving the palace, but he went directly to the Taihe Hall.
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