"Who is she?" the Empress Dowager asked the Ninth Princess.
The Ninth Princess gritted her teeth, "Who else but that lowly person?"
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager's gaze turned cold. "Little Nine, is this how you should speak?"
The Ninth Princess instinctively lowered her gaze, appearing fragile and pitiful. "Imperial Grandmother, you must right this wrong for me. You cannot let that lowly... that commoner get away with it. Otherwise, how would I, a princess, ever show my face?"
"No one knows you were drugged," the Empress Dowager said faintly, glancing at the Ninth Princess.
"But..."
Before the Ninth Princess could finish, the Empress Dowager interrupted, "Enough, you still don't trust me?"
Seeing the impatience on the Empress Dowager's face, the Ninth Princess stopped speaking. "Of course, I trust Imperial Grandmother." The Empress Dowager then took the Ninth Princess's hand and gently patted it. "Since you trust me, after you've cleaned up, you shall return to the Song residence!"
"Imperial Grandmother, you can't wait to see me gone, can you?" the Ninth Princess pouted, feigning sadness.
The Empress Dowager gently tapped the Ninth Princess's forehead with her finger. "You little rascal, how could I not want to see you all the time?"
"If that's the case, then may little Jiu stay with Imperial Grandmother?" the Ninth Princess looked up at the Empress Dowager with eager eyes.
The Empress Dowager smiled. "Of course, you may. But Little Jiu, don't forget that the commoner you speak of will be sweetly, lovingly spending every day and night with your future consort while you are away."
"Oh, Imperial Grandmother, you are so wicked. You know I can't stand him being with other women." The Ninth Princess exclaimed upon hearing this.
"You're blaming me for this? I am thinking of your own good!"
"Then, alright, I was wrong to blame Imperial Grandmother." The Ninth Princess said.
The Empress Dowager chuckled, "You little rascal."
"Imperial Grandmother," the Ninth Princess tugged at the Empress Dowager's sleeve.
"Alright, go quickly! I know I can't keep you, you little rascal, your heart has already flown elsewhere." the Empress Dowager said.
The Ninth Princess stood up. "Then, little Jiu shall take her leave!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager waved her hand. "Go!"
As the Ninth Princess was about to turn and leave, she suddenly noticed a painting faintly visible behind the Empress Dowager. She pointed at it and asked, "Imperial Grandmother, whose painting is that?"
"It's a painting I'm preparing to admire. You should hurry along!" the Empress Dowager dismissed her.
Hearing this, the Ninth Princess dared not ask further. She bowed and left.
Watching the Ninth Princess's receding figure, the Empress Dowager's gaze deepened slightly.
The carriage finally stopped before the Song residence. Xue Xing Yue felt a sense of relief. She hadn't entered the imperial palace in many years, and she hadn't expected the inner court to still be so rife with conflict.
The mysterious Empress Dowager, the even more mysterious Prince Min Nan, the seemingly guileless and gentle Crown Prince, the ruthless Consort Shu, the Empress who held many secrets, the cold and detached Emperor, and the most mysterious of all, Song Xiuyuan.
"Wife, what are you thinking about?" Song Xiuyuan, sitting in a corner of the carriage, suddenly opened his eyes. In an instant, his gaze shifted, like a star-studded night sky.
She turned her face away, unwilling to meet those inscrutable and captivating eyes. She gazed at the magnificent Song residence ahead and said faintly, "Song Xiuyuan, you have many secrets."
She could feel the calmness that Song Xiuyuan was desperately trying to suppress. She smiled, "However, don't worry, I don't intend to pry. My goal is not to be interested in you, but in the Dragon Pendant."
Song Xiuyuan's eyes darkened at her words. "But I wish, my wife, that you would take an interest in me as a person."
"I do." She raised her head and met Song Xiuyuan's eyes. They were eyes that held a realm vaster than any starry sea, filled with the brilliance of countless stars.
She suddenly smiled, and a hint of a smile appeared on her once fair face, as if a hundred flowers had bloomed overnight, vibrant and beautiful. Her clear eyes were like a spring, pure to the very bottom, with not a speck of impurity, like a cloudless sky stretching for miles, so transparent. She asked him, word by word, "But will you tell me?"
She saw his body stiffen slightly. She smiled, but her smile carried a trace of distance. "So, don't say such things, or I will find ways to discover what you are willing to reveal."
"I will tell you, but the time is not yet right." Song Xiuyuan looked at her, his gaze unwavering. The starlight in his eyes was mixed with an indescribable feeling, as if tinged with profound sadness, yet also helplessness.
"I don't want to know," she said, lifting the carriage curtain and stepping out.
The carriage curtain slowly fell, and by the time it settled, he could no longer see her. It was then that he finally leaned forward, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and slumped to one side.
Xue Xing Yue, now at the mansion gate, her eyes flickered. She turned and dashed back to the carriage, lifting the curtain. She saw Song Xiuyuan slumped inside, fresh blood at the corner of his mouth, and crimson liquid slowly flowing on the carriage seat.
"Song Xiuyuan, what's wrong?" She quickly reached out to feel for his breath.
But before her hand could reach his nose, a sharp gust of palm energy struck her. She retreated rapidly, several meters away from the carriage. Standing on the carriage was a figure clad in black, his gaze sharp, even tinged with anger. It was Yu Yun, Song Xiuyuan's subordinate.
"Yu Yun, what is this..." Her words remained unfinished.