Duoduo warily raised her head and sat up straight.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you back,” Xiao Che said before heading toward the door.
Duoduo was a little surprised and hurried after him.
“Won’t we run into the patrols if we go out now?” She had just dozed off, and her mind was still somewhat foggy.
“No.”
Xiao Che opened the door and glanced from side to side.
“The imperial guards are changing shifts at this hour, so the patrols will be lax.”
Duoduo stepped outside, and only then did she get a clear look at the entire palace.
The palace was somewhat dilapidated, but fortunately, it was clean.
There were no weeds in the courtyard, and a few flowers were still blooming in the flowerbeds.
Duoduo glanced at the sky. It was almost dawn.
She had actually spent the entire night here.
Duoduo saw that Xiao Che had already started walking away, so she hurried after him.
“Do you live in this entire palace by yourself?”
Duoduo looked around curiously.
Xiao Che glanced back at her.
“Curiosity can get you killed in the palace,” he said coldly before turning his head away.
Duoduo froze for a moment, then made a face at his back.
The interruption had completely cleared her head.
This was the imperial palace.
And the person in front of her was the Eighth Prince.
She had to watch what she said and did!
Duoduo lowered her eyes and obediently followed behind Xiao Che.
She noticed that the path Xiao Che took was different from the one she had used when she came.
He kept choosing less crowded paths, winding his way through the palace.
Duoduo began to grow wary.
Could this Eighth Uncle have ulterior motives?
Without showing it, Duoduo widened the distance between them.
Xiao Che, who had his back to her, seemed to notice her little move.
He stopped and waited until Duoduo caught up before continuing on.
Quietly, Duoduo took a pill from her sleeve and held it tightly in her palm.
The two of them walked for the better part of a quarter of an hour before Xiao Che finally stopped.
“We’re here,” he said indifferently.
Duoduo raised her head and realized that they had indeed returned to the Cining Palace.
Xiao Che was standing at the palace’s rear entrance.
Only then did Duoduo belatedly realize that, all the way there, she and Xiao Che had not encountered a single passing eunuch or palace maid.
Was it a coincidence?
Duoduo rejected the idea.
Her gaze fell upon Xiao Che.
She remembered her father once telling her that everyone who managed to survive in the imperial palace was no ordinary person.
She felt that her father had been right!
“Aren’t you going in?” Xiao Che asked when he saw Duoduo staring blankly at him. He tilted his head slightly.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know how to get back into the Cining Palace?” Xiao Che deliberately teased her.
Duoduo hesitated, then nodded.
Last night, she had climbed over the courtyard wall to get out.
Now that the sky was already so bright, there was no way she could climb back over it again, was there?
Xiao Che stared at Duoduo, his eyes filled with confusion.
The person he had seen yesterday seemed almost like a dream.
The Changle before him looked muddleheaded and no different from an ordinary little girl.
Xiao Che had spent many years in the palace, so he naturally knew that this was not a place to talk.
He pointed at the rear entrance.
“Just knock on the door and go in. If the old woman guarding it questions you, scold her. She won’t dare ask too many questions after that.”
“In the palace, you have to learn how to use your status to your advantage...”
Xiao Che suddenly stopped.
Duoduo tilted her little head and gave Xiao Che a radiant smile.
“Thank you, Eighth Uncle!”
Duoduo skipped over to the door and knocked.
An old woman opened it and poked her head out.
Duoduo simply pushed past her and walked inside.
The old woman hurriedly reached out to stop her. “Who are you? How dare you barge into the Cining Palace?”
“I’m Princess Changle! Are you blind? How dare you get in my way!”
Duoduo narrowed her eyes and looked sideways at the old woman.
The old woman trembled all over and quickly withdrew her hand.
Duoduo strode inside. Only after she had gone some distance did the old woman mutter under her breath and close the rear gate.
Xiao Che, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally stepped out.
A smile appeared on his face.
This niece of his was truly interesting!
After entering, Duoduo hurried toward her room.
Palace maids and eunuchs had already begun sweeping the grounds. They all looked up in surprise and stole quick glances at Duoduo.
Duoduo could not help quickening her pace.
Soon, she reached her door.
Duoduo pushed it open, and a figure immediately rushed toward her.
By reflex, Duoduo nearly kicked her.
Then she heard Qingliu’s tearful voice.
“Princess, where did you go? You frightened me half to death!”
Duoduo pulled her leg back and relaxed, allowing Qingliu to embrace her.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to exercise for a while.”
Duoduo had no idea when Qingliu had discovered that she was missing.
She made up an excuse.
Qingliu believed her.
She released Duoduo. “Princess, why didn’t you wake me?”
“When I woke up, I found that you weren’t in the room. I was terrified!”
“I wanted to go look for you, but I was worried that I might disturb the Empress Dowager and cause unnecessary trouble.”
“If you hadn’t come back soon, I would have had no choice but to go out and find you!”
Seeing Qingliu’s tear-filled eyes and frightened expression, Duoduo patted the back of her hand.
“You did the right thing!”
“This is the imperial palace. It’s not as though I could run around wherever I pleased.”
“You were right not to go looking for me. If you had wandered into somewhere you shouldn’t, they might have mistaken you for an assassin, and I would have had to find a way to save you!”
Reassured by Duoduo, Qingliu wiped her tears with a handkerchief.
“Princess, it’s still early. Would you like to sleep a little longer?”
Duoduo had not slept all night, and her spirits were flagging.
“All right.” She nodded.
Qingliu helped Duoduo remove her outer robe and shoes, then covered her with a blanket and watched until she closed her eyes.
Only after Duoduo had fallen asleep did Qingliu rise quietly. She bent down and put the embroidered shoes away.
Qingliu’s gaze paused on Duoduo’s shoes.
The soles were covered in mud and dead leaves.
To avoid being discovered, Duoduo had stuck to the bushes and the shadows.
Naturally, her shoes had become covered in mud and dead leaves.
She had been through one dangerous situation after another. How could she have had time to worry about such details?
Qingliu could not help looking at the princess, who was sleeping deeply. She carefully picked up the clothes at the head of the bed.
Sure enough, there was mud along the hem of the princess’s clothes as well.
Some parts had even been snagged and torn.
Qingliu’s heart filled with doubt.
There were no dead leaves like these anywhere in the Cining Palace—not in the covered walkways or in the gardens.
The princess had clearly said that she had gone out to exercise...
Qingliu’s eyes suddenly widened. She bit her lip hard to keep herself from making a sound.
The princess!
The princess must have gone somewhere else!
But why hadn’t the princess taken her along?
Qingliu saw something roll from the princess’s hand onto the bed.
