The Empress Dowager shot the nanny a glance, and the nanny retreated, not daring to say another word.
Duoduo saw the exchange between them.
She shook her head.
“I’ve already made plans with the Grand Tutor. Whenever I have time, I’ll go to the Archive Pavilion, and the Grand Tutor will often be there too.”
“If there’s anything I don’t understand, I can wait until I run into him and ask him then.”
Duoduo still had no intention of letting the Grand Tutor know too much about her abilities.
Being watched was not a pleasant feeling.
Especially when the person watching her was the Grand Tutor.
Duoduo remembered that whenever she attended the Imperial Academy, the Grand Tutor would always assign her extra homework. Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
If the Grand Tutor found out that her knowledge had long since surpassed everything he had taught them, Duoduo didn’t dare imagine how he would torment her then!
Forget it. She’d better not think about it!
In any case, she wouldn’t be staying in the palace for more than a few days.
How wonderful it would be to enjoy a few days of freedom!
Duoduo’s mind was busy with all sorts of thoughts, but not a trace of them showed on her face.
“Great-grandmother, the main reason Changle came to the palace is to keep you company.”
“The Grand Tutor still has to assist Fifth Uncle with governing the country, so I won’t cause him any trouble.”
“I can eat with you and take walks with you. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Before I came to the palace, Father specifically told me to spend more time with Great-grandmother!”
“I promised Father I would keep my word!”
The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded. “Changle is right. You’re such a sensible child!”
Duoduo nodded with a beaming smile, accepting the compliment without the slightest bit of modesty.
“The nanny’s embroidery is excellent. Changle, you can learn to embroider from her too!”
The Empress Dowager teased her.
Duoduo cheerfully agreed. “All right, Changle will remember that.”
Night fell, and Duoduo bade the Empress Dowager farewell before returning to her room.
The Empress Dowager preferred peace and quiet, so Duoduo’s room was some distance away from hers.
After returning to her room, Duoduo washed up and climbed into bed, preparing to rest.
“Qingliu, you can sleep in that adjoining room.”
Duoduo wanted to send Qingliu away.
Qingliu found this rather strange. She usually kept watch by sleeping at the Princess’s feet.
“This room is so large. There’s plenty of space for you to sleep. Why insist on sleeping on the floor?”
Duoduo earnestly tried to persuade her. “Besides, I never get up during the night. I sleep straight through until morning.”
Qingliu thought about it. The Princess indeed never woke up in the middle of the night.
“But…” Qingliu still felt that something was wrong.
“There is no ‘but’! What if someone sees you and says I mistreat you?”
Duoduo resorted to moral blackmail.
Qingliu grew anxious at once.
“I’ll move my bedding over right away!”
“Princess, if you need to get up during the night, you must wake me.”
Qingliu was worried that she might sleep too deeply and fail to notice when her mistress woke up.
“Don’t worry! I definitely will,” Duoduo coaxed her.
“I’m going to sleep now. Put out the candles.”
Duoduo lay down and pulled the blanket over herself.
Qingliu tucked the edges of the blanket around Duoduo, then extinguished all the other candles.
Only one candle by the head of the bed remained lit.
The room dimmed, and Duoduo couldn’t help yawning.
Qingliu walked quietly to the adjoining room, spread out her bedding, and lay down.
After a while, she turned over and glanced at the Princess.
The Princess lay perfectly still, as though she had already fallen asleep.
Qingliu relaxed. Covering her mouth, she yawned, then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
In a daze, Duoduo heard the night watchman’s clapper sounding outside.
She jolted awake.
First, Duoduo carefully turned over and saw Qingliu sleeping soundly in the adjoining room.
She got out of bed on tiptoe, put on her clothes and shoes, then opened the door and quietly slipped outside.
In the garden, the lanterns beneath the covered walkways cast a dim, yellow glow. The only other sounds were the night watchman’s calls and the chirping of insects.
The entire palace was utterly silent.
Even the moon in the sky had hidden itself behind the clouds to sleep.
Duoduo crept along the base of the walls.
She was small and deliberately chose the darkest places to run through.
Like a little mouse, she darted swiftly through the night.
If anyone had seen her, they would have thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.
Duoduo hurried toward the Cold Palace.
She moved with extreme caution.
Xiao Che had once told her that the palace guards also patrolled at night.
If she were caught, she would be in serious trouble!
It was the second watch, when everyone was sleeping most deeply.
There wasn’t a single living soul to be seen anywhere in the palace.
Duoduo reached the outside of the Cold Palace without a hitch.
She had originally planned to climb over the wall.
But when she reached the entrance, she discovered that the main gate was actually ajar.
Curious, Duoduo gently pushed it.
Creak—
The door opened with a faint sound.
Duoduo didn’t go in right away. She hid behind the door and waited for a while.
No one appeared.
Curious, Duoduo cautiously poked her head out to look inside.
The ground beyond the door was covered in dead leaves, and the weeds in the courtyard had grown almost as tall as she was.
Duoduo glanced back and carefully checked her surroundings. Then, like a little mouse, she slipped inside.
Keeping to the shadows, Duoduo observed the Cold Palace.
Its layout was the same as that of the other palace residences.
After entering, there were several separate halls.
Just as Duoduo was wondering which hall she should search first, she heard footsteps.
There was no time to think. She plunged into the weeds and crouched down.
The tall grass instantly swallowed her from view.
Creak!
The sound of the door opening was especially piercing in the night.
Duoduo covered her mouth tightly. She didn’t dare move, nor did she dare peek out to see who had arrived.
She heard someone enter and close the main gate.
The footsteps slowly moved from the entrance toward the hall on the right.
After a while, the footsteps faded away.
Duoduo patted her chest, then cautiously poked half her head out and surveyed the area.
There was no one there!
It seemed that only one person had entered just now.
Duoduo couldn’t help wondering who it was.
Was it one of the consorts living in the Cold Palace, or a eunuch serving them?
Hunched over, Duoduo slipped along the wall like a little mouse.
The pitch-black night provided her with the perfect cover.
Before long, Duoduo reached a fork in the path.
To the left was one sleeping hall. To the right was the hall the person had just entered.
There was another sleeping hall straight ahead.
After hesitating for a moment, Duoduo chose to go straight.
She had no desire to run into anyone.
Not only was the Cold Palace covered in fallen leaves, but there wasn’t even a single lantern.
She could only rely on the light from the sky to find her way.
Duoduo accidentally kicked something.
“…”
She hurriedly covered her mouth, afraid to make a sound.
“Ow!”
Unexpectedly, the “thing” she had kicked cried out.
Duoduo took a closer look and saw that it was an old woman with a head full of white hair.
By reflex, Duoduo reached out to help her up.
But in the very next moment, Duoduo swiftly ran away.
