"What did you say?"
Lu Jinshuang sprayed out the tea she had just taken into her mouth.
She stared in disbelief at Dongxue in front of her, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her.
Dongxue nodded with certainty. "Princess, this servant said it right, and you heard it right. News just came from the palace—last night, thieves broke into the imperial palace. All the food prepared by the Royal Kitchen disappeared, even many of the pots, pans, and plates were missing. The Emperor's dragon robe was cut into strips and placed right beside his bed in the bedchamber."
Even she couldn't believe it when she first heard the news, but after confirming it multiple times, she came to report it to the princess.
Lu Jinshuang was first shocked, then burst into loud laughter, laughing until tears streamed down her face.
She poured herself another cup of tea, drank it leisurely, and only after finishing did she ask, "What about the palace guards? Didn't anyone notice anything going on?"
Hearing this, Dongxue's mouth twitched. "Princess, those guards, eunuchs, and maids were all knocked unconscious, but none of them died. There's just one thing that's very strange."
Lu Jinshuang looked up, a puzzled expression on her face. "What's strange? Did they find some clue about the thieves?"
Dongxue shook her head at that. "No, that's not it. It's just that the guards who were knocked out—besides those at the Royal Kitchen and the bedchamber—also included the ones on duty at the Xuantian Hall. Xuantian Hall is where court is held. There's nothing valuable to steal there."
Hearing that, Lu Jinshuang was also utterly bewildered. "Other than the dragon throne and the pillars, what's there worth stealing in Xuantian Hall?"
Then she suddenly paused. "No one actually went to steal the dragon throne, did they?"
"Princess, no one said the dragon throne went missing. Probably someone just went in out of curiosity and sat on it. Such a heavy dragon throne—how could anyone possibly steal it?"
Lu Jinshuang thought so too. Even for a master of qinggong, stealing such a heavy dragon throne would be exhausting, wouldn't it?
Suddenly, something seemed to occur to her. "By the way, have Yue and the others gotten up yet?"
Dongxue shook her head. "Reporting to the princess, not yet. Perhaps the children are still sleepy and staying in bed."
Lu Jinshuang waved her hand dismissively. "Let them be. Whenever they wake up, take good care of them. Since Little Nine likes them, I'll naturally keep an eye on them."
"Princess, could the Ninth Princess still be in danger from being chased by assassins?" Dongxue felt that the Ninth Princess might still be at risk.
"Probably not. Those two children have already entered the capital, and Little Nine can't be far behind. She'll likely arrive in a few days. We'll stay put for now and avoid being discovered."
Lu Jinshuang didn't take the palace incident to heart. She figured it was just some martial arts master's mischief. If someone truly had murderous intent, the Emperor would have been dead last night.
The Imperial Palace.
The old Emperor's face was frighteningly dark, black enough to be used as ink.
The maids, eunuchs, and guards in the hall knelt all over the floor, trembling with fear.
Holding the dragon robe shredded into strips, the Emperor nearly fainted from rage—not just from anger but more from sheer fright.
He woke up to find his dragon robe had been cut to pieces and placed by his bedside like scraps of cloth. Anyone would break out in a cold sweat.
"Is my imperial palace to be treated as a place where people come and go freely? What use are all of you people?"
Suddenly, he remembered what had happened the day before—how his group of daughters had come crying to him, saying their lives were threatened.
Yesterday he hadn't taken it seriously, thinking they were throwing tantrums over a box of pastries. But now, it was clear the danger was right beside him.
With that thought, he strode toward Xuantian Hall.
Those ministers could buy off servants in the princess's manor. They might just as easily buy off guards in the palace. Who was to say last night's incident wasn't the work of some minister?
Inside Xuantian Hall, the ministers had waited for nearly half an hour. Not only had the Emperor not appeared, but not even a eunuch had shown up.
The ministers looked at each other in confusion. Even if court was canceled, there should have been someone to announce it.
Just as everyone was murmuring, the eunuch's shrill voice rang out, "His Majesty arrives!"
"Long live the Emperor! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand years!"
The old Emperor sat on the dragon throne and stared at the ministers below for a long while. He didn't tell them to rise, so they all knelt in front of the hall as if being punished.
"Rise."
Hearing those long-awaited words, the ministers finally breathed a sigh of relief—their legs had gone numb.
No sooner had they stood up than they heard the Emperor's furious scolding.
"Duke Anguo, you allowed servants in your household to pry into the royal family's secrets. Marquis Changping, Count Weixing..."
The Emperor rattled off more than a dozen names, all charged with probing royal secrets.
Finally, he added one more sentence: "Each of you shall be given twenty strokes of the cane. Your salaries shall be halved for an additional half a year as punishment!"
After saying that, he stood up and left, paying no heed to the ministers' reactions.
The eunuch's shrill voice rang out again, "Court dismissed!"
All the ministers were baffled by this spectacle. When they arrived, the guards outside had already been replaced. They had no idea what had happened.
Court had been delayed so long, the Emperor came in just to punish people, and then left after punishing them. What was that all about?
Those whose names had been called had faces as dark as the bottom of a pot, having been inexplicably sentenced to twenty strokes of the cane.
Wasn't it just a box of pastries? Did it deserve such heavy punishment? Extra salary cuts and beatings to boot—would this never end?
But the guards outside had already come in. However reluctant they were, they had to take their beatings.
Those ministers who hadn't been punished silently congratulated themselves that there were no gluttonous fools in their households.
After court, all the ministers began using their connections to find out what had happened in the palace.
But this time, very few ministers could actually get any information. Many eunuchs refused even to take their silver, shaking their heads whenever asked. Only a handful managed to glean some news through their connections with the inner palace.
Autumn Chrysanthemum Courtyard.
When Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan woke up, it was already close to noon. As they opened the door, a serving maid stepped forward with a smile.
"Miss Yue, we servants will help you change into your new clothes."
Then a group of maids came carrying robes and jewelry, while others brought basins of water and towels, all ready to attend to them.
Xi Qingyue gave a slight nod of agreement. She didn't refuse their service—after all, it was a good chance to have Little Lan'er dressed up beautifully. They were going out to play later anyway.
The two changed into new robes prepared for them by Lu Jinshuang, both in pink with similar peony patterns, differing only in size.
After dressing them, the maids couldn't help but marvel, "These two young ladies are truly beautiful!"
Xi Weilan smiled. "Thank you for the compliment, sister. You're very pretty too."
That one remark made the maid laugh, and the more she looked at her, the more she adored her, desperately wanting to pinch her little cheeks.
"Young ladies, you must be hungry. I'll have the meals brought up at once."
Xi Qingyue smiled at her. "Sure. Thank you for your trouble."
"No trouble at all, it's my duty."
Then, more maids walked in orderly with trays of various delicacies.
They set the dishes down and quietly withdrew, each following procedure to the letter.
Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan sat calmly at the table and began eating without any hesitation.
When Lu Jinshuang came over, what she saw were two people wolfing down the dishes as if a storm had swept through them.
