"You don't know yet, do you? Princess Changyun is determined to marry the Crown Prince. She used to be in the capital all the time, and only returned for a few months this time because Princess Zhaoyang missed her. But now everyone in the capital is saying that His Highness the Crown Prince and your second sister are getting married soon. I don't think she'll let this go."
Bai Chuxiao chuckled, "I didn't expect His Highness the Crown Prince to be so sought after. Counting my second sister, Li Zhirou, and this princess, that makes three already."
"The Crown Prince is, after all, the Crown Prince, with a noble status. Countless people would kill to get the position of Crown Princess," Kong Xihan sneered.
However, she had previously heard that the Prince of Xiang and the Prince of Qi were not to be underestimated, and that the three of them, along with the Crown Prince, were locked in a fierce battle. But so far, she hadn't heard of or seen any young ladies throwing themselves at these two, so she found it strange and asked again.
"The Prince of Xiang has the Right Chancellor's backing, and Liu Shuyao is not like your second sister. She's not someone to be trifled with. Their relationship is a done deal; she can't be the principal wife. Those young ladies, considering themselves noble, naturally won't openly try to woo her anymore. As for the Prince of Qi, I can't quite figure him out." The Prince of Qi acts as he pleases, making it difficult to guess his thoughts.
Bai Chuxiao teased, "I didn't expect you, Sister Xihan, to know so much and be so intelligent. I wonder which young master will be lucky enough to win your heart in the future."
"Oh, Xiaoxiao, you're making fun of me! You're supposed to be the future Princess Consort of Yan, how can you be so clueless and clueless? Let's see what you'll do in the future!" Kong Xihan blushed at the thought of seeing the person she loved again soon.
Just then, rows of palace maids carried in tea and snacks. Suddenly, one of the maids tripped and fell, knocking over the teapot, and the tea splashed all over Bai Chuxiao.
The palace maid immediately knelt on the ground, saying, "This servant deserves to die."
The loud bang attracted the attention of the Empress, who was accompanied by the noble ladies, who came over.
The Empress said sternly, "How can you be so clumsy? Get ready and leave immediately!"
She then smiled at Bai Chuxiao and said, "Chuxiao, are you alright? I'll have someone take you to change your clothes; there's still time."
After thanking the Empress, Bai Chuxiao left with a palace maid.
Having been to the palace before, Bai Chuxiao knew some of the ways, but now she felt like she was getting further and further astray.
Seeing that the palace maid in front of her was unfamiliar, she asked, "Which palace are you from? I've never seen you before."
"This servant is a lowly palace maid who does odd jobs in Zhaofeng Palace. Unlike Sister Bishui, who serves the Empress, it's normal that Miss Bai hasn't seen this servant before."
Bai Chuxiao smiled faintly and remained silent. This girl was truly as she had said; why would she call her "Miss Bai" so readily? She wanted to see what tricks she was up to.
After the palace maid led her into a secluded palace, she closed the door without saying a word and left. As soon as Bai Chuxiao stepped inside, she sensed something was wrong and quickly covered her mouth and nose.
A soft laugh came from inside the hall, "Chu Xiao, have you missed me?"
As he approached, Bai Chuxiao finally recognized him as Prince Qi. She said calmly, "What does Your Highness Prince Qi intend to do?"
Chu Tianling said with a hint of wicked charm, "What do you think? Don't you understand my feelings for you? I used to try to talk to you nicely, but you wouldn't listen. After today, you'll belong to me."
Bai Chuxiao noticed the medicinal smell was getting stronger and stronger, so she didn't want to delay any longer. She said mockingly, "I've heard that Prince Qi is a man of noble character, but I never expected him to be such a despicable person." With that, she directly struck him with a palm, knocking him unconscious.
Unaware of her formidable martial arts skills, the Prince of Qi was caught off guard and lay down on the ground. Bai Chuxiao kicked him twice, then, feeling the strange sensation on her body, she hurried towards the Fusang Pavilion where Consort Jing was.
As the future Princess Consort of Yan, everyone in Fusang Pavilion naturally recognized her. Bai Chuxiao's face was flushed; she knew she had been drugged. Entering the inner room and seeing Consort Jing, she quickly said, "May I ask Your Highness for a bucket of cold water?"
Consort Jing grabbed her wrist, secretly felt her pulse, and then sternly ordered a palace maid to fetch a bucket of water. She then took out a pill from a box, saying, "You've been poisoned by an aphrodisiac. Take this quickly, and you'll feel better after a bath."
Without hesitation, Bai Chuxiao took the medicine and entered the water.
A palace maid knelt before the Empress, stammering, "Your Majesty, there are people in your palace..."
Empress Li flew into a rage, "I would dare to cause trouble today!" With that, she grabbed the Second Princess and left, leaving the ladies looking at each other, unsure what to do. "Should we go?"
It was Lady Li, the wife of the Duke of Li, who spoke first, "Then let's go take a look; it shouldn't be a problem." Everyone quickly followed, and even the bolder young ladies from the neighborhood joined in.
As they approached the palace, a series of embarrassing sounds could be heard from afar. The palace maid who had led the way suddenly knelt on the ground and said, "This servant remembers that Miss Bai came to this place to change clothes just now."
Empress Li's face was ashen. There were even some unmarried young ladies present—what kind of decorum was this? Normally, after such an incident, as Empress, she wouldn't allow the families of officials to come, to maintain the royal family's reputation. But for some reason, she didn't stop them; instead, she seemed pleased to let them come and watch the spectacle.
The ladies behind her were also in an uproar upon hearing this. Could it be that Miss Bai really was having an affair inside? This was terrible! Xie Shi, who was being stared at by everyone, felt a chill run down her spine, but also felt a bit of glee. If it really was that slut, let's see how she'll face people after this!
"Your Majesty, I never imagined that the eldest maid would do something so disgraceful to the royal family. I will certainly inform the Prime Minister to send her to a temple to become a nun."
Seeing Xie's eagerness to convict Chu Xiao, Madam Murong, the second aunt, quickly rebuked her, "The Left Prime Minister's wife is indeed impatient. We don't even know who's inside yet, and you're already so eager to ruin Xiao Xiao's reputation!"
He then said to Empress Li, "Your Majesty, Xiaoxiao has always been well-behaved, sensible, and poised. There must be some misunderstanding. The person inside is definitely not Xiaoxiao."
Right Chancellor Madam Liu seized the opportunity to kick someone when they were down, saying, "Everyone knows your relationship with Miss Bai, why bother making excuses for her? I truly haven't seen Miss Bai at all."
After she finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but look around. Miss Bai had indeed been missing for quite some time; could it really be her?
For some reason, Emperor Wenxuan suddenly appeared here, accompanied by Consort Wei and Consort Xian, and followed by Crown Prince Xiang and Prince Yan. Hearing the sounds coming from inside the hall...
He said in a deep voice, "What's going on here? What kind of behavior is this?"
Everyone immediately knelt and bowed. Empress Li glanced at Prince Yan before slowly speaking to Emperor Wenxuan, "Your Majesty, I only came because I heard someone was here... This palace maid said she saw Miss Bai appear to have come here, but Miss Bai just went to change her clothes and hasn't returned yet..."
"Your Majesty, I'm here. This is...?" Bai Chuxiao, supported by Consort Jing, walked over and asked in confusion.
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