Children are children after all. Upon hearing Xu Yuehuai's words, they immediately stood up and surrounded him.
The Third Princess did not associate with Consort Jia, so this was naturally the first time she had eaten Xu Yuehuai's cooking. The spicy and fragrant flavor, paired with tender slices of meat, made her unable to resist eating two more bowls of rice.
Upon seeing this, Xu Yuehuai quickly wiped the food stains from the corners of her mouth and reminded her, "Third Princess, you should eat less. Don't overeat, or you'll cry out in pain later."
"My mother never lets me eat my fill, for fear that I'll gain weight. Besides, the chefs in the palace aren't very skilled, so I really don't like their cooking. The spicy dishes made by the princess are much better." The third princess picked up another piece of meat before finally putting down her chopsticks with satisfaction.
She blinked her big eyes at Xu Yuehuai and timidly asked, "Princess, can I eat your cooking just like my second brother in the future?"
After asking her question, she immediately shrank behind the Second Prince.
Xu Yuehuai looked at her words and actions and began to have doubts. After thinking for a while, he asked, "The palace servants all say that the Third Princess is willful and that the servants cannot make the slightest mistake, otherwise she will cause a big scene. But I don't think you are like that."
"My mother was out of favor many years ago, and my uncle is not the prime minister. Anyone in the palace can bully me. I have to be strong..." The Third Princess was still timid.
Xu Yuehuai said no more.
It seems that the Third Princess still trusts her to some extent.
She didn't speak much to the Third Princess, but waited until they had both finished eating before speaking: "Second Prince, Third Princess, since you are imperial heirs, you should be more aware of the fact that there are ears in the palace. There are some things that shouldn't be said, so it's best not to say them anymore."
The second prince and the third princess looked at each other in bewilderment.
Before Ah Qi entered the palace, the Second Prince was already grooming him to be the crown prince. Naturally, he was unhappy that the crown prince position, which was within his grasp, had been lost.
Furthermore, the other party is someone as two-faced as Ah Qi.
"Did you hear something, Princess?" A fierce glint flashed in the Second Prince's eyes.
Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle softly, "Of course I heard it..."
She paused deliberately to watch the Second Prince's actions.
But the little boy clenched his fists, his eyes filled with suppressed killing intent.
“But if I wanted to expose this, I wouldn’t have come to remind you.” Xu Yuehuai reached out and ruffled his hair, easily defusing the situation.
The second prince clenched his fist for a moment longer, then looked up at Xu Yuehuai and asked, "You and A-Qi have spent so much time together, shouldn't you be closer to him? Princess, if I were to truly compete with him for the crown prince position, you..."
“It’s none of my business,” Xu Yuehuai immediately stated.
Ah Qi's identity was already illegitimate. If Ah Nan was not the so-called Crown Prince, then the Second Prince should be the true Son of Heaven.
The second prince completely let go of his hand.
Xu Yuehuai sighed, played with the two of them for a while longer, and then prepared to return to Anfu Palace. On her way back, she pondered whether or not to tell Consort Jia about Shen Yitang.
After thinking it over, I decided to tell her, since we could talk about other things then.
"Young Master, Xu Yuehuai had just entered Anfu Palace when Consort Jia pulled her over and circled around her, worried that Consort Shen might do something to her."
Xu Yuehuai naturally saw the worry in Consort Jia's eyes, and replied with a smile, "Aunt, don't worry, Consort Shen didn't do anything to me, she just talked to me for a while."
"What did she say? You must not believe her easily; this woman is terrifyingly cunning," Consort Jia said nervously upon hearing this.
Xu Yuehuai then told Consort Jia everything about Consort Shen's plan to join forces, which was the result of her careful consideration.
After hearing this, Consort Jia frowned and paced nervously around the hall twice before saying, "This might be Consort Shen's scheme. The alliance is just a pretense; her real intention is to wipe us all out."
"I don't know if it's true or not, but I have received some good news." Xu Yuehuai paused here, then looked at Consort Jia with a smile.
Consort Jia was intrigued by Xu Yuehuai's cryptic remarks. In these turbulent times, what could possibly be considered good news? However, seeing Xu Yuehuai's smug expression, Consort Jia was unwilling to dampen her spirits.
She chuckled and asked, "What good news? Ah Yue, you're going to keep us in suspense. Tell your aunt already!"
"Consort Min is about to lose power, and she will soon fall into an abyss of no return," Xu Yuehuai said after taking a deep breath.
These words struck Consort Jia like a thunderbolt, leaving her utterly astonished. Consort Min was in the prime of her life; how could she have suddenly fallen from grace? However, Xu Yuehuai didn't seem to be lying, so although Consort Jia was puzzled, she nodded with some skepticism.
Xu Yuehuai could tell that Consort Jia didn't quite believe it, but she didn't want to explain, so she simply changed the subject.
"Your Majesty, Consort Min will surely fall from power soon. This can be considered as standing up for your poor child. But shouldn't you show some sincerity? I haven't received any news about those two yet." Xu Yuehuai mentioned the palace maid Liu Zhu and the cook Zhao who had left the palace before.
“I plan to have the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion keep an eye on this matter. I believe we will have news soon,” Consort Jia replied upon hearing this.
“Aunt, the reason I came to see you is that I don’t want the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion to get involved. If I could let them search, why would I go through all this trouble to find you?” Xu Yuehuai did not want the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion to get involved. After thinking for a moment, she added, “After all, Your Highness, didn’t you have connections with the Minister of Justice in the previous court?”
Consort Jia was shocked upon hearing this, her heart pounded in her chest, and beads of sweat instantly appeared on her forehead. Very few people knew about this news, as it involved matters of the previous dynasty. But how did Xu Yuehuai find out?
Seeing that she didn't speak and noticing the cold sweat on her forehead, Xu Yuehuai solemnly replied, "Your Majesty, since your last child is gone, it means that your connection with the Minister of Justice is not very deep. This is actually a good thing. After finding Chef Zhao and that palace maid, it would be best to sever the connection as soon as possible."
After saying that, Xu Yuehuai turned and left, knowing that Consort Jia was now unable to say anything.
As soon as everyone left, Consort Jia collapsed to the ground.
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