After traveling through time, I became the aunt of the loyal dog emperor

The two of them maintained a fragile decency and vulnerable "closeness", holding each other's wrists and escorting the empress dowager out the door. Wan Ning stayed and watched her leave.

This sudden intimacy also made Shuiyue dizzy. She tiptoed out from behind Wan Ning and looked in the direction of Wan Ning's gaze. Confusedly, she asked, "Princess, everyone is gone, what are you looking at?"

Wan Ning turned her head and looked Shuiyue in the eye, and suddenly asked meaningfully: "Shuiyue, do you want to visit Yudie Palace and Lanzhi Garden?"

Shuiyue immediately recalled the desolate scene when she first entered Xiang Wanxuan. She waved her hands and refused, "No, no, these two courtyards have also been abandoned for a long time. I'm afraid they are even worse than Xiang Wanxuan's original situation. There are dust, cobwebs and bugs everywhere. It's scary to think about it." Shuiyue shuddered and asked casually, "But Princess, why do you ask this suddenly?"

Wan Ning grabbed her neck and put her arm on her shoulders, pushing her inside as if she were a little sister, with a little pride in her tone: "Things are different now. Do you remember how embarrassed we were on our first day in Xiang Wanxuan? At that time, I secretly made up my mind to lead you to a good life, so this year you don't have to do anything, you just need to direct others to do it."

"Really?" Shuiyue's eyes lit up immediately, and she asked tentatively with an expression of disbelief. It was not until she got Wan Ning's affirmative answer that she cheered and said, "I have been in the palace for so long, and it is finally time for me to command others."

"You, go clean this place. You, go get a basin of clean water." Shuiyue pretended to give orders, but she broke down after just two sentences and smiled shyly, adding, "I'll go call Sister Zhu Ying, and we'll go together later."

After saying that, he ran towards the room excitedly, calling his friends and shouting for them to come out. From being ignored at the beginning and having to do everything by himself, to now being able to stand and direct others to do things, it is not only a small step for Xiang Wanxuan, but also a big step for them.

But for Wan Ning, the reason why she was so anxious to go to Yudie Palace and Lanzhi Garden was to strike while the iron was hot to avoid any other troubles. Now that everyone knew about this mark, the Queen Mother would be embarrassed to change it. Secondly, time was tight. Before the selection began, she still needed to renovate and decorate the house, and prepare to allocate rooms for the showgirls and showboys.

So she wanted to draw the current structural drawings of the two houses so that she could make marks on them.

When they arrived at the two houses with their tools, the situation was just as they imagined. There were spider webs everywhere, and weeds were growing randomly. Because it was winter, they had become withered and lifeless. At the door, an elderly nanny led ten young palace maids to stand in a straight line. Everyone had a pale face and lowered their heads, not daring to look up.

When the nanny saw Wan Ning appear, she immediately went to greet her, pursed her dry lips, and smiled ingratiatingly: "May the princess be blessed with good health. The queen mother specifically told us to wait here for your orders. Please give us your orders."

Wan Ning put her hands on her hips, her expression had calmed down a lot, and she carefully looked at the Jade Butterfly Palace. She first knew about this place when she got lost in the rain that day and accidentally found the Nameless Palace. The more Wan Ning walked, the more remote she became. She suddenly looked up in a sparsely populated area and saw the dilapidated plaque of the "Jade Butterfly Palace".

At that moment, she stopped and muttered quietly, "Is this the palace of Chu State or a construction site to be demolished? Why are there so many abandoned houses?"

"Princess, where do you think we should start?"

Wan Ning came back to her senses and found that the nanny was bending over and didn't dare to look at her directly, so she asked softly. She took two big steps to the door, pushed it open and stepped out. The old dust fell down and almost covered her. Wan Ning waved her hand and called, "Let's go, sisters, start cleaning the room and the yard."

It was not until the sun set that the dead grass in the courtyard was cleared. Wan Ning had been busy drawing the sketch of the house. Seeing that the time was almost up and she couldn't bear to see the maids working overtime, she put away her book and prepared to go to the courtyard to urge them to get off work. But halfway through, she was deeply shocked by the pile of things in the courtyard that looked like a small mountain - those were the things that were picked up from each room, and Wan Ning asked them to count them and put them in the courtyard to determine whether they could still be used.

"Princess, you are blessed with good luck." The nanny quickly stopped what she was doing and greeted her.

Wan Ning raised her hand to let her stand up, and walked forward in shock, looking at what was inside. "Quilts, moldy books, hairy tables... Mammy, are all the things here?"

"Princess, everything is here. We didn't take anything." The nanny seemed to have misunderstood and explained.

"Oh, just leave it here for now, and separate them after all the rooms are cleaned up. Zhu Ying, please send Nanny off from get off work."

After hearing Wan Ning's instructions, Zhu Ying took out the silver she had prepared long ago from her pocket, walked to Mammy and handed it to her, saying, "Mammy, you have worked hard today, and so have the sisters. Please give the silver to the sisters to buy some refreshments and rest. Tomorrow, we will need the sisters to work harder."

The nanny took the bag of silver and weighed it in her hand. Seeing that it was quite heavy, she smiled happily and said politely, "Thank you, Princess. If you need anything, just let me know."

As soon as the nanny turned around, Wan Ning suddenly felt uneasy and hurriedly called her: "Mammy, please stay. There is indeed something I need you to do. Do you know who lived in the Jade Butterfly Palace before? Looking at these objects, they don't look like ordinary people."

The maid lowered her head in deep thought, trying to recall the past events: "This palace has been vacant for many years, and I have never seen it, but I have heard the maids of the older generation mention it. It seems to be the concubine of the late emperor - I think her name is Concubine Lan. Princess, look at me, I am too old and confused to remember clearly, I only know it is Concubine Lan."

Concubine Lan? Pei Lan? Wan Ning pondered secretly and understood why the Queen Mother agreed to her request so easily. It was probably because she owed her a debt.

She remained calm and thanked him with a smile: "Thank you, Madam."

After seeing off the nanny, it was already completely dark. Shuiyue looked around but couldn't see Wantao, so she asked, "Where did Sister Wantao go today? Why hasn't she come back yet?"

"She went out of the palace to do something for me, but she should be back by now. Maybe she doesn't know we are here. You three should go back to Xiang Wanxuan first, in case Wan Tao comes back and can't find anyone." Wan Ning stood in front of a pile of items in the yard, thoughtfully.

"Shall we go back first? What about you, Princess?" Zhu Zi beside her suddenly asked with concern.

"I want to take another look at the things in front of me, so I'll stay a little longer. You guys go back first." Seeing that the princess was ready, the others stopped trying to dissuade her. They left the lamp in their hands to Wan Ning and went back to Xiang Wanxuan to wait for Wan Tao.

Wan Ning held a lantern in one hand and rummaged through the moldy furniture with the other, trying to find something useful. She liked something that looked like a bedside table, but when she tried to open the drawer, it was pressed by another shelf, so she couldn't open it with one hand.

She naturally refused to admit defeat and used all her strength to pull back. At this time, someone supported her from behind to prevent her from falling, and held up the shelf with one hand. Without the obstruction, the drawer was easily opened. She shouted happily: "It's finally opened, why haven't you gone back yet?"

When I turned around, I saw a familiar face in front of me.