Anle Princess knew long ago that the Princess Anle had come to the dungeon to visit Prince Ning.
But Qin Xixue did not want anyone to know that she was imprisoned here.
Because she did not want others to see her ugly appearance, she had remained silent.
Unexpectedly, Princess Anle would come to find her, so she had to cover her face with her hair in time.
"Princess Anle, I am your sister-in-law, you know. Would belittling me like this be good for Prince Ning?"
Qin Xixue immediately retorted.
"Who do you think you are, my sister-in-law? Your wedding with my imperial brother wasn't even finished that day," Princess Anle said coldly.
"Princess, Prince Ning and I had already completed the ceremony that day. You can't deny my identity now."
Qin Xixue was not angered by Princess Anle's words and continued to speak calmly.
"Hmph! I will never admit you as my third sister-in-law. You can be arrogant." Princess Anle snorted coldly.
Then, she was about to say something more, but Prince Ning called her to a halt.
"Yanan, you must not be rude! Xue'er, she is your sister-in-law. You cannot disrespect her." Prince Ning, having overheard the conversation between Qin Xixue and Princess Anle, immediately reprimanded Princess Anle.
Angered, Princess Anle rushed forward and overturned the bowls and chopsticks in Prince Ning's hands. She was very angry, but Prince Ning had already finished eating her food.
"Imperial brother, I am your own sister. Why do you always help that ugly woman?"
Anle pouted her small mouth, which could hang a bucket, and said with dissatisfaction.
"Yanan, you must respect Xue'er more in the future. I have already paid respects to her, and she is now your sister-in-law."
Although Prince Ning said this to Anle, he was speaking to Qin Xixue.
Qin Xixue, imprisoned in another cell, was indeed very happy upon hearing the conversation between Prince Ning and Anle. She then pushed aside the long hair that covered her face, revealing a face crisscrossed with deep wrinkles, like ravines. If it weren't for her head of lustrous black hair, an uninformed person might have mistaken her for an old woman.
"Alright! Imperial brother, then you can pretend you don't have me as your imperial sister from now on."
Princess Anle replied angrily, her face as dark as the bottom of a pot. She tidied up the food box and prepared to leave the dungeon.
But at that moment, Prince Ning grabbed Princess Anle's sleeve, pulling her closer. Then, Prince Ning leaned close to Princess Anle's ear and whispered something.
After he finished speaking, Princess Anle's expression improved slightly.
"Then take good care of yourself in the dungeon. If you want anything or wish to eat anything, you can tell me, and I will bring it to you next time."
"Okay, thank you, Yanan. You must be cautious in the palace and take good care of yourself as well." Prince Ning patted Princess Anle's slender shoulder and said.
Afterward, Princess Anle nodded, and she left the dungeon.
An hour later, in Princess Anle's chambers.
Princess Anle dismissed all the young palace maids and eunuchs. She sat alone by the window, supporting her chin with her palm, staring intently at a spot outside the window as if pondering something.
At this moment, an unfamiliar wet nurse suddenly sneaked into Princess Anle's chambers and approached her from behind.
"Princess~"
Her address of "Princess" startled Anle.
"Ah!"
Then, Anle quickly turned to look at her.
"Who are you? How did you sneak into this princess's chambers? Come! Someone!"
At this moment, Anle was extremely panicked, but before she could call out the word "Someone," the unfamiliar wet nurse covered her mouth.
"Princess, don't call for help. This old servant is Nanny Chang, Nanny Chang who once took care of Consort Jing."
Nanny Chang, fearing that Princess Anle would call for the servants outside the hall, quickly revealed her identity.
Upon hearing this, Princess Anle took a closer look at the unfamiliar woman and shook her head, saying, "You are not Nanny Chang? This princess has met Nanny Chang."
"Princess, this old servant is truly Nanny Chang. I was afraid of being recognized, so I specifically wore a human skin mask." Nanny Chang immediately explained.
Hearing this, Anle looked at her with half-belief.
"Nanny Chang, didn't you die? How are you still in the palace?"
"Princess, this old servant should have gone with Consort Jing. But Consort Jing entrusted you and Prince Ning to this old servant and managed to help this old servant escape from prison, which is why I am still alive."
"Then how did you escape from prison back then?" Princess Anle was very curious.
"This old servant is skilled at making human skin masks. Consort Jing, in order for me to survive, forced two young palace maids to lure the four guards on duty that night. I seized the opportunity to capture one of the guards, peeled off his skin to make a human skin mask, and then I put it on my face. After swapping clothes with that guard, I escaped from prison under the cover of night."
Princess Anle was stunned after hearing this.
"Good heavens! This is simply incredible!"
"Princess, Consort Jing did this because of you and Prince Ning at that time. It was indeed cruel, but we had no other choice."
"Then why didn't you save my mother in the same way?"
"Prin... Princess, Consort Jing's body had already been crippled by the Emperor's order. If she hadn't wanted to see Prince Ning, she wouldn't have lasted a day and would have committed suicide." Nanny Chang said with a choked voice.
After speaking, she raised her hand and tore off the human skin mask from her face, revealing her true appearance.
Princess Anle looked carefully at Nanny Chang's real face, searched her memory for her impression of Nanny Chang, and confirmed that this person was indeed the real Nanny Chang.
"Nanny Chang, then where have you been hiding all this time? Why are you only coming to find this princess now?"
"Princess, after this old servant escaped from prison, I had nowhere to go, but I couldn't come to find you and Prince Ning immediately, as it would arouse suspicion. So, I hid in the Imperial Wardrobe Department, killed the official in charge there, and then I replaced her." Nanny Chang explained to Anle earnestly.
"No wonder! I thought your face was so unfamiliar. So you took the place of someone in the Imperial Wardrobe Department! Then, why have you suddenly come to find me this time?"
"Princess, we must find a way to rescue Prince Ning." Nanny Chang said with a heavy tone.
"Do you think this princess doesn't want to? To rescue him, this princess has begged my father and imperial grandmother for days."
"Then has the princess considered using extreme measures to rescue Prince Ning?" Nanny Chang asked inexplicably.
At this, Anle looked at Nanny Chang meaningfully.