"Princess Liujia!"
Shen Miao felt her tongue go numb. "Your humble servant girl... just got lost and came here. Seeing how beautiful the peonies were, I just wanted to appreciate them!"
Princess Yajing stood there, looking at Shen Miao with a half - smile, but didn't respond to her words. Instead, she walked closer and quietly looked at the three pots of peonies.
Shen Miao bit her lips in annoyance, regretting her rashness just now. From Princess Luoyao's attitude, it was obvious that she wanted Shen Li to win the prize. Shen Miao was annoyed.
If she couldn't have it, neither could Shen Li. With this thought in mind, she had wanted to ruin these three pots of peonies!
She remembered clearly that she had observed the surroundings and made sure no one was around before she started her action!
But when did Princess Yajing come? Had she seen what Shen Miao had done?
Peonies were delicate flowers that needed careful care. Now, after being scalded with hot water, the petals were drooping, looking lifeless.
Yajing seemed not to notice Shen Miao's nervous expression. She just said regretfully, "The flowers that Luoyao had someone take care of carefully for a whole year have all been ruined by your cup of hot tea!"
As soon as Princess Yajing said this, Shen Miao was extremely shocked: It was over. Princess Yajing probably saw everything!
Shen Miao's face turned pale with fear. Her legs were so weak that she "plumped" down on her knees. Her voice trembled as she begged for mercy, "Please spare my life, Princess! Please forgive me just this once for it's my first time!"
"I was just out of my mind just now, so I did such a thing. Please spare my life!"
"You've got a good case of being out of your mind!"
Princess Yajing's non - committal remark made Shen Miao unable to figure out her intention.
Seeing Shen Miao still standing there in a daze, Princess Yajing took a gentle step. "If you don't leave now, they'll be back soon!"
After hearing this clearly, Shen Miao's eyes suddenly widened. She quickly got up, straightened her clothes, and followed Princess Yajing.
When they reached a pavilion, Princess Yajing didn't say anything else. She just focused on playing with the talking parrot.
Shen Miao wasn't sure what to do. From what Princess Liujia had said just now, it seemed that she was helping her, but now she said nothing, which made Shen Miao hesitate.
"Princess, I've fetched your cloak!" Ruxue took out a white thin cloak and carefully put it on Princess Yajing. Then she turned around and stood aside.
But when Shen Miao saw that the maid was the one who had called away the guarding maid just now, she understood everything!
Shen Miao wasn't a stupid person. She realized that Princess Yajing had noticed her from the very beginning and it was Princess Yajing who had helped her distract the maid.
As for why Princess Yajing did this, it was probably because she didn't like Princess Luoyao stealing all the limelight.
"Thank you, Princess, for saving me today! I'm extremely grateful for your great kindness. In the future, just give me your orders!"
Princess Yajing glanced at Shen Miao and then averted her gaze. Obviously, she wasn't interested in what Shen Miao had just said. "You just need to remember that you've been staying with this princess all the time!"
After saying that, she leaned on Ruxue's hand, walked out of the pavilion, and headed towards where the others were.
Shen Miao followed closely behind.
After a discussion here, everyone agreed that Shen Li's painting was the best, and Shen Miao's poem was also excellent. For a moment, there were different opinions.
After another round of discussion, it was finally Princess Luoyao who decided that Shen Li's painting won the first prize.
Everyone was dissatisfied. Losing to a so - called idiot who they had gossiped about and disliked meant they were even worse than an idiot!
Of course, some people suspected that Shen Li didn't paint this painting herself, but so many people had witnessed it just now. There was no way to fake it!
Moreover, since Princess Wujia and Princess Jiujia had both recognized that Shen Li's painting won the first prize, there was no point in them saying anything else.
The happiest person to know that Shen Li had won was Jiaoyue.
Great! Her young lady had won the competition. Let's see if these people would still dare to laugh at her young lady for being uneducated in the future!
Although she was also curious about when her young lady had learned painting and had been learning for three years, she was loyal. She would believe whatever Shen Li did.
After everyone had admired Shen Li's painting for a while, Princess Luoyao asked everyone to stroll around and enjoy the flowers.
There were maids and eunuchs around the outer area of the imperial garden, so there was no need to worry about someone getting lost.
In her previous life, as the queen, Shen Li was naturally very familiar with the imperial garden, but on the surface, she still showed a curious expression and walked around to enjoy the scenery.
Jiaoyue beside her felt like she had seen a lot today.
"Miss! The imperial garden is so big! We've walked for so long and still haven't got out!"
"I heard that it takes half a day for a person to walk around the outer area of the imperial garden without a break!"
Jiaoyue was even more surprised. "Half a day! This garden is so big. Then how big must the imperial palace be!"
Shen Li looked up at the sky above with a gloomy expression. "No matter how big it is, it's just this square patch of sky above our heads!"
Jiaoyue didn't quite understand Shen Li's words, but seeing that her expression was a bit off, she didn't ask further.
Shen Li quickly regained her previous vitality. "Since Jiaoyue likes the imperial palace so much, I'll go and ask the princess for a favor later and let you stay here as a maid. I'll go back with Hanyue."
Jiaoyue knew that Shen Li was just joking. She pretended to be angry on the surface. "Miss is so bad! You clearly said you'd never abandon me again, but now you want to leave me here. I don't want that!"
"I want to go back to the mansion with the miss and serve her. Without me watching over, the miss may not be able to eat well or sleep soundly!"
"Hahaha! Jiaoyue, without you, there are still Mingyue and Hanyue. With Mingyue around, how could I not eat well? With Hanyue around, I'll only sleep better. As for you, you're just a big jealous pot!"
"Miss!"
Jiaoyue stamped her feet in protest. The mistress and the maid joked for a while.
Watching the mistress and the maid laughing together, Hanyue, who had been standing silently behind all the time, a flash of envy quickly crossed her eyes.
"Miss Shen!"
Hearing this, Shen Li thought this "Miss Shen" must be referring to her, not Shen Miao, so she turned around.
"Greetings to Princess Jiujia!" The mistress and the two maids saluted.
"Please rise quickly!"
Princess Luoning, the ninth princess, helped Shen Li up gently.
"Where is Miss Shen going?"
Looking at Princess Luoning, who only reached her shoulder, Shen Li curled her lips. "The imperial garden is so big. We're just looking around."
Hearing this, Princess Luoning's eyes lit up. "This princess knows a fun place with nice scenery. Miss Shen might as well go there with us!"
Her words were full of expectation and excitement.
Looking at the smiling Luoning, Shen Li found it funny. After all, kids were kids. Although they pretended to be like adults, they would show their true nature as soon as something fun was mentioned.
"Then I'll trouble the princess to lead the way!" Shen Li bowed and said.