Li Wanming followed Princess Chengping briskly. Her embroidered shoes stepped on the blue bricks, splashing a few fallen flowers.
"I underestimated His Majesty. He managed to plant people under the Empress Dowager's nose..."
She watched the Chaofeng beast on the eaves of Yonghe Palace gradually disappearing into the distance, feeling extremely delighted.
"Do you think it's easy to sit on the Dragon Throne?" Princess Chengping glared at her. "Before His Majesty ascended the throne, the late emperor had been seriously ill for four years. He ascended to the throne in a precarious situation..." Her tone turned a bit solemn, with the unique dampness of the late spring. "If he didn't have a bit of guile, how could he have held the throne for so many years?"
Li Wanming was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then said sheepishly, "I thought it too simply."
"Remember," Princess Chengping's gold-plated hairpin trembled slightly in the wind, and her voice grew solemn. "The imperial palace is thousands of times more complicated and dangerous than the Prince Ning's Mansion. You can't underestimate anyone here. Maybe there's a hidden secret under every tile in this palace."
...
After they left Qiyue Pavilion, they didn't take the main entrance of Yonghe Palace but walked out through a side gate. After passing Jinming Pond and then going through a corridor, they could leave the palace.
This journey was neither long nor short.
At first, Princess Chengping was angry and walked very fast all the way. Li Wanming had to trot behind her. So, after just half an incense stick's time, they reached the outside of Jinming Pond.
Under the shade of the green willow trees, there was a woman kneeling by Jinming Pond.
She was wearing an ice-blue palace dress embroidered with silver thread in dark patterns. The fabric was the finest brocade, quite elegant, with only a few branches of elegant magnolias embroidered on the collar and cuffs.
She had delicate eyebrows and eyes, a straight nose, pale lips, and a well-defined jawline, which showed a bit of stubbornness.
However, at this moment, she was kneeling on the ground, with a hunched back. No matter how fine the fabric, how elegant the pattern, or how beautiful her appearance, she couldn't help looking a bit embarrassed.
Her body trembled slightly, her face was deathly pale, and big drops of sweat rolled down her forehead. Her hair bun was in disarray, and even the magnolia hairpin by her temple was about to fall off, indicating that she had been kneeling for quite a while.
"What do you think you are? How dare you offend our Lady?"
A maid in a peach-red waistcoat stood haughtily in front of her, her finger almost poking at the woman's nose.
"You're just a little Noble Lady. Just because the Emperor took a fancy to you for a while, you dared to defy our Lady. You really think you're a mistress!"
"Is she not a mistress? Are you?"
Princess Chengping suddenly spoke up, her voice as cold as the cracking of ice.
The maid turned around abruptly. Meeting the princess's cold gaze, she was instantly so pale that she looked like a ghost.
"Which palace's servant is so ill-mannered?"
Princess Chengping walked to the side of Jinming Pond without even looking at the maid and said indifferently, "Wang Gongling, slap her mouth!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Gongling had already stepped forward quickly and grabbed the maid's chin.
The maid was so frightened that her soul almost left her body. She stammered, "Princess... This servant is from Lady Lü's palace. Noble Lady Su..."
Slap!
Wang Gongling didn't give her a chance to speak. His palm as big as a cattail leaf fan slapped down immediately. The maid's words got stuck in her throat, and all that was left was a wail.
"Disrespecting the mistress and offending one's superior. The punishment shall be doubled!"
Wang Gongling remained expressionless. He slapped the maid twenty times before finally stopping.
The maid's cheeks were swollen like steamed buns. Her face was covered with snot and tears, and blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. But she could only kneel on the ground trembling and whimpering. She didn't even dare to cry loudly.
Princess Chengping stared at her coldly. "I don't care what Lady Lü punished Noble Lady Su for, but it's a fact that you were disrespectful and offended your superior. If you think my punishment is unfair, you can go back and report to Lady Lü. Let her come and talk to me in person!"
The maid shrank back and knelt on the ground, saying repeatedly, "This servant doesn't dare..."
Princess Chengping flicked her sleeve robe and said angrily, "Get out of here quickly!"
The maid looked up blankly for a moment, then quickly scrambled away.
Seeing her run away, Li Wanming quickly walked over and tried to help Su Xiaozhu up. "What's going on? Did you offend Lü Songyuan? Why? How did you provoke her?"
Unexpectedly, Su Xiaozhu remained kneeling still. "Thank you, Princess Consort and Princess, for your concern. But Lady Lü punished this subject to kneel for two hours. I still have half an hour to go."
"What are you talking about!" Li Wanming said anxiously. "The maid she sent to monitor you has been driven away by Auntie! If you get up now, no one will know..."
But Su Xiaozhu broke free from her hand and still hung her head and said, "Thank you, Princess Consort and Princess, for your concern. But Lady Lü punished this subject to kneel for two hours. I still have half an hour to go." Her voice trembled slightly, but there was a faint sense of aloofness.
"You..."
Li Wanming was suddenly shocked but had no choice but to let go of her hand. She was helpless with her.
The ground by Jinming Pond was paved with pebbles. Kneeling on such a road for two hours would probably make one's knees rot - but Su Xiaozhu said she would kneel here for the full time.
"Wanming, let her kneel," Princess Chengping suddenly said. "Lady Lü is deliberately targeting her. We can help her this time, but we can't help her next time."
"Princess..." Li Wanming called out blankly.
Princess Chengping shifted her gaze from them and looked at the heavy eaves of the palace in the distance. Her voice grew colder. "The struggle in the harem is a life-and-death battle, full of perils at every step.
"If Lady Lü finds out that she got up without permission this time, she will probably use ten or a hundred times more cruel means to torture her in the future. Can you always come to the palace to save her?"
Li Wanming was speechless for a moment.
She had to admit that Princess Chengping was right.
The concubines in the palace vied for the emperor's favor. It was almost a bloodless fight. Could Su Xiaozhu avoid the next danger after avoiding this one?
Moreover, what right did she have to say that she would protect her? Even she herself had relied on Princess Chengping to avoid a disaster today.
"Why did Lady Lü punish you like this?" Li Wanming understood Su Xiaozhu's helplessness and felt even more heartache.
Su Xiaozhu hesitated for a moment on her face but still tightly pursed her lips and said nothing.
"It's probably the same old things," Princess Chengping said indifferently. "Seducing the emperor, behaving inappropriately, disrespecting high-ranking concubines, and violating the taboos in the palace... Why does the palace need a reason to punish someone?"
Li Wanming was discouraged for a moment. She had no choice but to squat down and whisper to Su Xiaozhu, "I have some excellent wound medicine. It was all personally prepared by my eldest sister. I'll ask Qinglan to send it to the palace gate later. Ask Ruier to come and get it."
Su Xiaozhu hung her head without moving. After a while, big drops of tears fell to the ground. She squeezed out a sentence from her throat, "Thank you."