"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince." The female official, along with the palace maids of the Tianlu Pavilion, carried out their duties as usual.
Crown Prince looked at Xue Xingyue, who was still standing outside the door, and said, "Miss, please take a look around at your leisure!"
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" After bowing, Xue Xingyue walked in. The Tianlu Pavilion was vast, filled with all sorts of books. She no longer paid attention to the Crown Prince's presence. Picking up a book at random, she was overjoyed. These were all long-lost literary works.
She found a spot slightly further away from the Crown Prince and sat down on a chair.
Unknowingly, she felt a bit tired and drowsy. The characters in the book she held began to blur.
She had a dream. She dreamt of the time when her father, the Emperor, held her on his lap. She remembered her father saying, "Xingyue, this country appears peaceful, but it is actually in turbulent times. If there is someone who can shoulder this great responsibility and ease your mother the Empress's burden, I would be willing to do anything."
When she woke up, the sky had already begun to darken. She looked up and saw Qin Erniang standing opposite her. Qin Erniang smiled and said, "Qin Erniang, how long have I been asleep?"
Qin Erniang stood there, silent. As she got up, something fell to the ground behind her. She turned around and saw a purple cloak. She picked it up, and a faint scent of medicinal decoction wafted in. She frowned, approached Qin Erniang, and lightly pressed two points on Qin Erniang's collarbone. Qin Erniang's body finally moved.
"What is going on?" Xue Xingyue asked.
Qin Erniang replied, "I don't know. Just as you were about to fall asleep, I saw a figure. But before I could even move, that person had already incapacitated me. However, the person did nothing; they just glanced at you and draped this cloak over you before leaving."
Xue Xingyue nodded. This cloak did not belong to the Crown Prince. She knew the Crown Prince did not carry such a strong medicinal scent. This was clearly the smell of someone who had taken medicine.
Furthermore, this person could immobilize Qin Erniang before she could react, indicating unfathomable martial arts skills.
"Where is the Crown Prince?" Xue Xingyue asked. The Crown Prince would surely know if a stranger had entered the Tianlu Pavilion.
Qin Erniang said, "The Crown Prince seemed to have been called away. I only heard something about Consort Min."
Xue Xingyue nodded. Consort Min was the Crown Prince's birth mother. Back then, Consort Min was one of the four consorts, and she only had the Third Prince. After Empress gave birth to the Fifth Prince, she knew that the Crown Prince would no longer have a claim to the throne. Therefore, when she learned that the Fifth Prince had tragically died in a fire in his sleeping quarters, Consort Min must have been the happiest.
Because Empress's health had been damaged when she gave birth to the Fifth Prince, she could no longer bear any more princes. Thus, Consort Min's status rose with her son. After the Third Prince was made Crown Prince, Consort Shu was enfeoffed as Consort Min.
This historical tidbit was something Xue Xingyue had investigated after her rebirth.
However, thinking of that extraordinarily talented Fifth Prince, she always felt that how could such an astute person allow himself to fall into such a predicament?
Though it was rumored that the Fifth Prince's body was found, and despite it being unrecognizable due to the fire, Empress herself had identified him as the Fifth Prince. After all, a mother would never mistake her own son.
It was a pity that Empress, who had the Fifth Prince in her thirties, had her son die like that.
It was said that from then on, Empress lived in seclusion, rarely appearing unless for major occasions, and never leaving her sleeping quarters.
She felt great sympathy for Empress. After all, it was her own flesh and blood that had its life taken away. No one could easily come to terms with that. Moreover, it was likely that someone had tampered with the Fifth Prince's sleeping quarters for it to catch fire inexplicably.
"Miss, are you alright?" Qin Erniang asked, seeing Xue Xingyue lost in thought.
Xue Xingyue shook her head. "It's nothing. We..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard footsteps outside.
"May I ask if Miss Xue is still here?" a eunuch's voice called out from outside.
Xue Xingyue walked out and saw a chief eunuch standing at the forefront, his attire slightly different from the eunuchs behind him, clearly indicating he was a high-ranking eunuch serving a noble consort. She stepped forward, curtsied, and asked, "This humble maiden is indeed Xue Xingyue. May I ask what business the eunuch has with me?"
"It is not I who seek the young lady, but my honorable Consort wishes to see you. Please come to Shuming Palace," the eunuch said.
Xue Xingyue felt a slight sense of unease. The Crown Prince had left, and now Consort Min summoned her. Was this a coincidence or deliberate?
"May I know what business the honorable Consort has with this humble maiden? This maiden has had no prior interactions with the honorable Consort. I hope the eunuch can offer some guidance." Xue Xingyue looked at Qin Erniang, who took out the silver she had prepared before entering the palace and tried to slip it into the eunuch's hand.
However, the eunuch took a few steps back, his tone chilling, "Please do not keep the honorable Consort waiting."
As he spoke, the accompanying young eunuchs and palace maids stepped forward. Xue Xingyue knew she had to go to Shuming Palace.
"Qin Erniang, you wait for me here! In case the Ninth Princess returns and cannot find me, she might worry." Xue Xingyue said this to let these people know that she had the Ninth Princess backing her, especially since she was brought into the palace by the Ninth Princess. After speaking, she turned to the eunuch and said, "Eunuch, we can go now."
The eunuch's face remained expressionless. He nodded slightly. "Miss, please." he thought to himself.