Yuan Yao gasped.
She looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds rolled in, and a strong wind rose from the ground.
It looks like it's about to rain.
With the Ninth Prince away, everyone really wants to bully her...
Sending Canfeng to the emperor was the wisest decision she ever made.
Since the Empress Dowager wants to make things difficult for her, then she shouldn't blame her for being impolite!
The time to perform the tea ceremony has arrived...
Yuan Yao straightened her skirt, knelt down on the spot, and gently said, "Danqing, kneel down."
Danqing was anxious and heartbroken, yet there was nothing she could do.
The Empress Dowager truly lives up to her title!
They actually used the phrase "kneeling and worshipping Buddha" to make things difficult for the princess!
Danqing knelt beside Yuanyao, lowered his eyelids, and clenched his fists tightly.
Behind him, several palace maids and eunuchs who had accompanied him also knelt in a row.
Inside Huining Palace, the sound of the wooden fish drum seemed to have grown louder.
After drinking half a cup of tea, Yuan Yao let out a very low hiss...
Danqing looked at her anxiously: "Princess, what's wrong?"
A eunuch's voice came from the side: "Silence."
Yuan Yao: "..."
She lifted her skirt slightly, widened her eyes, and glanced at the spot where her knees were kneeling.
Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the gaps between the floor tiles in this area were actually filled with a layer of fine white pebbles!
Oh……
The Empress Dowager, a figure of great importance, actually pulled such a stunt!
She lowered her body slightly, opened her eyes wide, and swept away the pebbles.
Unfortunately, these pebbles were too fine and difficult to handle...
She straightened her skirt and wrapped it around her knees.
This kneeling lasted for half an hour.
The sound of the wooden fish drum in Huining Palace had not yet stopped.
Yuan Yao wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked softly, "Danqing, are you alright?"
Danqing, her eyes reddening with suppressed emotion, said, "Princess, I...I'm alright! I was just worried you wouldn't be able to bear it..."
Her little princess has been pampered ever since she was brought back to the palace. Even if she walks a few extra steps, the Ninth Prince feels sorry for her.
And now, this delicate little princess has been kneeling here for half an hour...
Just as the two were feeling unwell, a dark shadow loomed over them.
Yuan Yao looked up and met a pair of large, lifeless eyes.
Jiang Lanyue was dressed in a blue dress, with a pair of white beaded flowers in her hair.
She stood inside the palace gate, her eyes wide, biting her lip, and timidly yet expectantly called out, "Sister Yao'er."
Two months later, Jiang Lanyue still looked like a delicate flower.
Yuan Yao sneered inwardly, but put on the obedient expression that only a three-year-old should have: "Sister Lan Yue."
Jiang Lanyue bit her lip, leaned against the doorway, coughed a few times, and beckoned to the little eunuch on the ground: "Afu, come and help me up."
Upon hearing this, the young eunuch got up from the ground and respectfully walked to Jiang Lanyue's side: "Princess, you are not well, why did you come out?"
Jiang Lanyue looked at Yuan Yao and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "My grandmother took pity on my weak health and allowed me to kneel for a little while longer."
"But dear little sister Yao'er, thank you for your hard work. In another half hour, today's Buddhist rituals will be finished."
Do I have to kneel for another half an hour?
Yuan Yao's knees were so painful they felt numb.
The numbness subsided, then the pain returned; the pain subsided, then the numbness returned...
At this moment, Jiang Lanyue said, "Sister Yao'er, it's only been a little over two months since I last saw you. I heard that you opened a dessert shop?"
Yao'er is amazing! She's the most amazing person I've ever met!
If Yue'er could have your skills, perhaps she could win Father Emperor's favor..."
Yuan Yao: "??"
Princess Lan Yue, did you really go to Mount Fotai to cultivate your mind?
How can you speak so rudely?
Isn't it just performing tea art?
She can too!
Yuan Yao rubbed her knees and sighed in her childish voice.
She said pitifully, "Sister Lan Yue, please don't underestimate yourself."
Sister, look how good the Empress Dowager is to you! Even during such a solemn and sacred moment as worshipping Buddha, she considerately tells you to kneel for a little less time.
Unlike Yao'er, who had to kneel here for a long time!
Upon hearing this, Jiang Lanyue's lifeless eyes brightened slightly, and she whispered, "Grandmother also feels sorry for me."
"Mmm!" Yuan Yao nodded.
Jiang Lanyue pursed her lips before saying, "Although my grandmother loves me dearly, I am not very talented and have failed to live up to her love."
Unlike you, Yao'er, even before the Empress Dowager returned to the palace, she was already thinking about seeing you.
"My grandmother likes you very much, even more than she likes Yue'er. Yue'er is so envious of you."
Yuan Yao: "..."
Are you getting excited again?
Yuan Yao's lips drooped, her eyes glistening with tears, and she said aggrievedly, "Sister Lan Yue, don't be sad, it's all Yao'er's fault."
Yao'er hadn't done anything, and she didn't know why the Empress Dowager liked her. Yao'er was very uneasy...
"If you're angry, sister, blame Yao'er. Please don't blame the Empress Dowager!"
Jiang Lanyue opened her mouth, her big eyes glazed over for a moment.
She quickly covered her lips with her hand and coughed twice.
The young eunuch, keeping his eyes downcast and seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, quickly said, "Princess, it's getting windy. You're not feeling well, so please go inside."
Jiang Lanyue nodded, then looked at Yuan Yao: "Sister Yao'er, I have a terrible headache and shouldn't be exposed to the wind, so I'll head back now."
"You kneel here first. You can go in after Grandmother's session."
"Take care, sister," Yuan Yao said obediently.
Jiang Lanyue nodded and, supported by a young eunuch, entered Huining Palace.
After the two left, the doors of Huining Palace were closed a little.
A fierce wind swept through, carrying withered branches and fallen leaves with a howling sound.
The young eunuch guarding the gate said in a mocking tone, "The wind is getting strong; we mustn't let it blow on the Empress Dowager and cause her headaches to flare up again..."
Yuan Yao frowned and looked up.
All that could be seen was a small crack in the gate of Huining Palace.
Is there not a single good person in Huining Palace?
After kneeling for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, some of the palace maids behind him finally couldn't kneel any longer.
A low sob came from behind.
Yuan Yao was somewhat surprised and turned around to look.
Danqing gently scolded, "The princess isn't crying, so why are you crying? Shut up, or someone will hear you and harm the princess and the prince."
A young palace maid sobbed softly, "I was on night duty last night and didn't see the steps clearly. I fell and hurt my leg. I've been kneeling for so long, and it hurts so much, it feels like it's going to break..."
There were injured people?
Yuan Yao glanced at the little palace maid.
At only sixteen or seventeen years old, the baby fat on his face had not yet disappeared.
At that age, in modern times, he would still be a carefree middle school student, pampered by his parents...
Yuan Yao felt helpless but also a little heartbroken.
She glanced at the sky and asked Danqing, "Is it going to rain soon?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a drop of icy rain fell onto the back of her neck.
Then, sparse raindrops began to fall, followed by large drops, onto the floor tiles.
Yuan Yao flinched and said to the people behind her, "Just bear with it a little longer, it'll be over soon."
After speaking, she said to the little palace maid, "While no one is around now, you should go back to Qianhua Palace and find someone to treat your wound."
The palace maid wiped away her tears: "Princess, what about you?"
Yuan Yao looked at the increasingly heavy rain and said, "Go back and make some ginger soup for me to drink when I get back."
The young palace maid gritted her teeth, got up from the ground, and limped away.
Before the two had gone far, a torrential downpour began.
Yuan Yao was soaked to the bone and shivering in the rain.
Danqing's eyes were red from crying: "Princess..."
How can she explain this to His Majesty?
However, Yuan Yao straightened her back, her childish voice exceptionally loud: "Everyone kneel down before this princess! Buddha above, no one is allowed to fall down until the worship is over!"
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