After seeing off the little princesses and Xie Zhi, Yuan Yao ate some dessert, and then it got dark.
As night fell, the Qianhua Palace was brightly lit with candles.
Yuan Yao waited for a long time, but the Ninth Prince did not return.
Seeing that Yuan Yao was so sleepy that her eyelids were drooping, Danqing extinguished some of the candles in Yuehua Palace and urged her, "Princess, His Highness left the palace today, and the palace gates are locked at this hour. He probably won't be coming back."
"Ah..." Yuan Yao yawned and rested her chin on her hand: "Let's wait a little longer. The palace is practically useless to Father."
Who is the Nine Thousand Years Old?
If he really wanted to return to the palace in the middle of the night, who would dare not open the door for him?
Besides, even if we don't open the door for him, wouldn't he just fly in?
Danqing was a little anxious, but had no choice, so she said, "Then the princess should go to sleep first. This servant will wait in the side hall."
Yuan Yao nodded: "You should go get some sleep too."
As the palace doors opened and closed, a gust of wind blew in, leaving Yuan Yao alone inside.
It was the middle of the night, and all was silent.
Yuan Yao endured for a long time, but finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep immediately.
In the middle of the night, the voices of palace servants could be heard outside the palace.
The voices were accompanied by bursts of thunder.
Yuan Yao awoke with a start and called out, "Sister Danqing..."
She called out several times, but no one answered.
What happened?
Yuan Yao gripped the edge of the bed with both hands, and with great effort, her short legs finally touched the ground.
Without even putting on shoes, Yuan Yao ran barefoot across the cold floor to the palace door and reached out to pry it open.
The heavy palace door had barely been pried open a crack when Danqing rushed over: "Princess, why are you awake?"
Danqing's clothes were a little wet, as if she had been caught in the rain.
Yuan Yao glanced outside and saw a group of palace maids and eunuchs gathered together, talking anxiously.
Yuan Yao's heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, "Sister Danqing, has something happened to Father?"
Could it be that the Ninth Prince had an accident while out of the palace?
“Princess.” Danqing squatted down to look Yuan Yao in the eye and gently comforted her, “Princess, His Highness is alright. He was just busy with affairs and didn’t have time to rush back to the palace.”
It's getting late, and the princess has to go to school tomorrow. Why don't you go to sleep first?
“But…” Yuan Yao glanced outside.
The night was deep, and a light drizzle was falling from the sky.
The coolness of the ground crept up from the soles of my feet.
Yuan Yao shuddered and nodded to Dan Qing: "When Father comes back, you must wake me up immediately."
Danqing picked her up and said, "Okay."
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "Something terrible has happened!"
Yuan Yao's eyelids twitched: "Sister Danqing, let's go take a look."
Danqing looked troubled: "Princess..."
"Let's go take a look!" Yuan Yao gripped Danqing's shoulder tightly.
Danqing had no choice but to carry her out of the palace.
Soon, a little eunuch, soaking wet, ran over. When he saw Danqing, his legs went weak: "Sister Danqing, something terrible has happened!"
Danqing raised her hand to protect Yuan Yao and scolded, "Didn't you see the princess? What's with all the fussing at night?"
The young eunuch wiped the water from his face and said慌张地, "Just now, someone came knocking on the gate of Qianhua Palace, saying...saying..."
"What did you say?" Danqing's face darkened.
The young eunuch spread his hands and knelt on the ground: "Her Majesty the Empress sent someone to say that the young prince of Fangfei Palace is dying..."
Fangfei Palace?
Danqing's brows furrowed tightly.
Upon seeing this, Yuan Yao quickly asked, "What's wrong with the young prince?"
The young eunuch looked up, sobbing, "The imperial physician said that the young prince has ingested something poisonous and has been poisoned..."
Danqing tightened his grip on Yuan Yao's hand and said to the little eunuch, "Say what you have to say all at once!"
The young eunuch wiped his face, bowed, and continued, "Consort Li took the little prince to find the Emperor, and the Emperor... sent someone to summon Your Highness..."
"I understand. You may leave now and change your clothes." Danqing's tone was somewhat unpleasant.
The young eunuch got up, wiped away his tears, and left.
The palace servants, gathered together, all said anxiously, "Sister Danqing, His Highness is not here, what should we do?"
"Yeah! What if we get beheaded?"
Yuan Yao had just woken up and was still feeling groggy.
It took her a while to react before she asked, "Sister Danqing, who is Consort Li? And who is the little prince of Fangfei Palace?"
Danqing glanced at her and said with some helplessness, "Princess, Princess Lanyue's mother is Consort Li."
"What?" Yuan Yao's eyes widened in surprise.
Just now, the little eunuch who delivered the message spoke in a roundabout way.
After listening for a while, she thought the young prince of Fangfei Palace had been poisoned, which is why she sent someone to ask the Ninth Prince to help catch the culprit.
Unexpectedly, they mistook the Ninth Prince for the murderer!
The young prince accidentally ate something that caused poisoning...
Before Lan Yue left, she said she wanted to bring food for her younger brother...
The poison that caused the young prince, wasn't it taken out of her Qianhua Palace?
How is that possible?
This matter is either a misunderstanding or a setup!
Murdering a prince is a capital offense!
Yuan Yao said with some worry, "Sister Danqing, let's go take a look."
Danqing said, "None of us should go out before His Highness returns. Princess, this servant will escort you back to rest."
"Sister Danqing!" Yuan Yao raised her little voice and said seriously, "Father still hasn't sent any news. Perhaps this is a deliberate scheme by someone to target Qianhua Palace!"
If we don't go, people will have something to say about us! Then, nobody will survive.
“Princess…” Danqing stared at the little girl in her arms, her expression shocked.
Yuan Yao casually urged her, "Help me change my clothes. I need to go to Fangfei Palace. Also, there's something I need you to arrange for someone to do."
Danqing hesitated for a moment, then decisively carried Yuanyao into the hall.
Yuan Yao wore a plain-colored dress, and Danqing draped a light ink-colored cloak over her shoulders. They ordered lanterns to be lit and headed towards Fangfei Palace.
Fangfei Palace is located in a somewhat remote area.
When Yuan Yao arrived, lanterns were lit outside Fangfei Palace, the doors were wide open, and palace servants were hurrying in and out...
Upon seeing Danqing, someone stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Princess; greetings, Sister Danqing."
Danqing held Yuanyao protectively in his arms, glanced warily at the doorway, and called out to a palace maid, "Have the Emperor and Empress been here?"
The palace maid replied, "His Majesty and His Majesty the Empress came to take a look and then left."
Since they've already gone back, why call them back?
At this moment, a young eunuch from Fangfei Palace glanced in their direction and announced loudly, "Princess Yuan Yao has arrived!"
His voice was high-pitched and thin. Soon after he called out, a beautiful woman dressed in a lotus-colored palace dress came out, supported by a palace maid.
This must be Consort Li.
It turns out, she was actually Princess Lan Yue's mother...
With tears streaming down her face, she looked even more beautiful.
Yuan Yao asked Danqing to put her down and respectfully bowed, saying, "Yao'er greets Consort Li."
Consort Li stared at her with bloodshot eyes, then suddenly cried out in a shrill voice, "Guards, seize Princess Yuan Yao!"
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