I am Yuan Niaoniao

Fortunately, Hong Tao was also a simple and kind person, and she had no idea that Jin Jingni asked her to teach Xue Yao in order for Xue Yao to take her place. Hong Tao did not use her status as a first-class maid to embarrass Xue Yao, but instead taught Xue Yao with all her heart and soul.

"By the way, Princess Yi likes sweet dishes, so you have to spend more time thinking about it! Try to learn some new dishes from time to time, but remember that they must be sweet." Hong Tao advised Xue Yao earnestly.

"Okay, Sister Hongtao, I understand." Xueyao nodded obediently, reaching out to take the heavy pot and spoon from Hongtao, and began to think quickly about what kind of dish she should make to please Princess Yi. After a little thought, she decided to use her signature skill - sweet and sour pork.

"This is my best dish. It tastes sweet and sour. I'm sure Princess Yi will like it!" Xue Yao muttered to herself as she skillfully picked up a knife to cut the pork into even-sized pieces, then put them into a bowl and added the appropriate amount of seasoning to marinate. Then, she quickly prepared a bowl of golden sweet and sour sauce, and finally coated the marinated meat with flour and starch and fried it until golden brown, then removed it and drained the oil...

After a while, a plate of delicious sweet and sour pork appeared in front of her. Looking at the delicious food she had prepared carefully, Xueyao smiled with satisfaction, expecting Hongtao to give her a good review.

"I like them, but Princess Yi might be tired of these dishes. Well, how about I teach you a few other dishes." Hong Tao shook her head slightly, speculating secretly in her heart. She felt that Xue Yao might be an orphan without a father or a mother, and the ingredients she had used for cooking since she was a child were relatively simple and scarce. Naturally, she could not compare to herself, who was knowledgeable and exposed to a wide variety of ingredients.

Hearing Hong Tao's words, Xue Yao lowered her head silently, feeling somewhat sad. She replied softly, "Yes, Xue Yao has indeed not come into contact with too many other ingredients, and has never tasted such a wide range of dishes. It seems that I really need to learn more from Sister Hong Tao in the future."

After all, she was raised as a lady from a rich family. Her hands were very precious. She had never touched water, let alone cooking. How could she possibly know how to cook? Thinking of this, Xue Yao couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. She had to work harder on cooking.

"It's okay, just learn slowly." Hong Tao patted Xue Yao's shoulder.

Xueyao looked at Hongtao gratefully. Although she was acting, she felt that Hongtao was not a bad person after the past few days of contact. On the contrary, she was very nice to her. She also had a good impression of Hongtao.

"Thank you, Sister Hongtao." Xueyao smiled slightly.

In the days that followed, Xueyao learned a lot of new dishes from Hongtao.

That day, Xueyao was busy cooking in the kitchen when Jin Jingni suddenly walked in.

"I heard from Hongtao that your cooking skills have improved a lot recently." Jin Jingni said to Xueyao.

Xueyao looked up in surprise, "Princess, you are too kind. I learned this from Sister Hongtao."

Jin Jingni smiled and said, "Anyway, this princess wants to taste your cooking skills tonight."

Xue Yao was delighted and quickly responded, "Yes, Princess."

At night, the dining table was filled with sumptuous dishes. The prince tasted a few bites and praised Xueyao's cooking skills.

Xueyao knew that her efforts during this period had finally been recognized by Jin Jingni.

Sure enough, Jin Jingni began to ask Xueyao to serve her. Xueyao was in the inner courtyard, while Hongtao worked in the outer courtyard.

Xueyao was massaging Jin Jingni's shoulders when Han Junyi came in.

Jin Jingni looked up and saw that it was Han Junyi: "My Lord, why are you here?"

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Xue Yao bowed her head and saluted, then whispered to Jin Jingni, "Princess, Xue Yao will go and make a pot of new tea."

Jin Jingni nodded, and Xueyao lowered her head and left the room.

Han Junyi glanced at Xueyao, who was walking by with her head down. He saw a strange face and walked straight to the table and sat down. "I just got out of court and had nothing to do, so I came to see you. Was that the new maid just now?"

"Yes, she's quite smart." Jin Jingni nodded.

"I remember that you had a maid who had been with you for many years. She was the maid you brought from your mother's home as a dowry?" Han Junyi said.

"Your Highness, you are talking about Red Peach, right?" Jin Jingni said slowly, "After following me for more than ten years, I realized that no one is forever loyal, nor is anyone forever the same. Just like people change, and the moon waxes and wanes."

"Oh." Han Junyi immediately understood that this meant that the maid was unfaithful. "But what did you find?"

"She actually associates with people around Princess Chen." Jin Jingni said disdainfully: "Princess Chen is also capable, she actually reached out to me."

"Chen Shaoyi." Han Junyi frowned. Was he testing something? It was really hard to guard against. He took advantage of the opportunity without paying attention. "Then, that maid?"

"I'll take care of it. Those who betray their master will not have a good end." Jin Jingni said coldly.

"Well, then you better be careful. I have something to do, so I won't talk to you anymore." After saying that, he stood up and left.

After Han Junyi left the room, Xueyao brought back the new tea: "Princess, please have some tea," she skillfully made a cup of tea for Jin Jingni and handed it to her, then quietly stepped aside. She had heard everything that had just happened between the two, and after Han Junyi left, she pretended to have just come back from making tea.

Jin Jingni was quite satisfied with Xueyao's tactful attitude. She took a sip of the freshly brewed tea. Not bad. It was the temperature she liked.

Han Junyi walked out of Jin Jingni's yard with steady steps, his eyes revealing a hint of contemplation. Then, he waved his hand gently and called Feng Ye beside him to come forward.

Feng bowed and looked at Han Junyi respectfully, and asked, "What instructions does the prince have?"

Han Junyi frowned slightly and said thoughtfully: "I want you to pay close attention to every move of Prince Chen's Mansion, especially in recent times. Don't let go of any disturbance."

Feng immediately responded, "Yes, Your Majesty!" and left Prince Yi's Mansion immediately.

Xue Yao served Jin Jingni in a low-key manner for more than a month before she dared to secretly send a message to Yuan Niaoniao to tell her about her recent situation and some news.

Looking at the secret letter sent back by Xueyao, Niao Niao felt relieved. Xueyao was indeed great. She had successfully gained Jin Jingni's trust. In addition, with her carefully arranged life experience, no one would easily find out Xueyao's true identity. In this way, Xueyao was still safe.

"The next step is to deal with the person in the palace." Yuan Niaoniao said, resting her head on Chen Shaoyi's shoulder.

"Yes. I have arranged it." Chen Shaoyi's mouth corners slightly raised, but a cold light flashed in his eyes. He said softly: "Back then, that guy liked to use some insidious means, either secretly poisoning people or instructing the Jinwu Guards to assassinate people. Now it's time for him to experience the taste of being calculated! And this is also a great opportunity for our members of the Underworld Pavilion to test their strength and exercise their abilities."

"Give someone a taste of their own medicine!" Yuan Niao Niao's eyes were shining with excitement. She held Chen Shaoyi's hand tightly with a bright smile on her face, as if she couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

Chen Shaoyi gently hugged Niao Niao and said, "That's right, and you have to repay it double. Tonight, let's go to the palace to watch a play together."

"Okay." Yuan Niao Niao curled the corners of her mouth, looking forward to tonight.

Afterwards, Chen Shaoyi came to the Underworld Pavilion. After entering the Underworld Pavilion, he went straight to where Ming Xiao was.

After seeing Ming Xiao, Chen Shaoyi lowered his voice and said, "Ming Xiao, give the order immediately. We need to mobilize a hundred secret guards to launch a night attack on the palace tonight."

Ming Xiao was surprised when he heard this, but he quickly regained his composure. He knew that Chen Shaoyi must have a deep meaning behind this, so he nodded without hesitation and said, "I obey your command! But is it enough to send only a hundred secret guards?"

Chen Shaoyi nodded slightly, and he continued, "It's just an ordinary raid, and there must be no mistakes in this operation. You immediately select a hundred elite secret guards and formulate a detailed combat plan. Remember, our goal is to sneak into the palace to cause chaos, collect intelligence, and try to avoid direct confrontation with the royal guards."

Ming Xiao took the order and started to prepare. He knew that this mission was of great importance. If he failed, it would not only bring great trouble to Chen Shaoyi, but also endanger the safety of the entire organization. Therefore, he had to go all out to ensure that nothing could go wrong.

At the same time, Chen Shaoyi was also secretly thinking about various possible situations and countermeasures in his mind. He knew that the palace was heavily guarded and it was not easy to successfully break through the defense line. So just a little chaos was enough to make Han Junwu upset.

At night, Chen Shaoyi and Yuan Niao Niao changed into night clothes and quietly approached the palace with a hundred secret guards from Mingge.

At this moment in the palace, Han Junwu, who had lost Qi Zhiying, seemed to have become a different person. He was immersed in pain and longing every day, but he could not let it go. So he began to frequently wander between the harems, trying to find some spiritual comfort.

Every night, Han Junwu always indulged himself, singing and drinking, and dancing and reveling with those beautiful dancers. And tonight was no exception. He came to An Ying's palace and continued his bohemian life.

The dancers were dancing in the center of the hall, their postures were graceful and beautiful. Han Junwu was holding An Da Ying in his arms, enjoying the beautiful scenery while drinking wine in big gulps. His eyes were confused and empty, as if he had completely lost himself in this world of decadence and debauchery.

However, behind the prosperity on the surface, Han Junwu's deep pain was still not relieved. He knew that he could not fill the emptiness and loneliness left by Qi Zhiying's departure. But he chose to escape reality in this way and let himself forget the endless pain temporarily.

Just as everyone was immersed in the atmosphere of singing and dancing, Chen Shaoyi and others had quietly dealt with the guards in the palace and slowly approached An Ning Palace where Han Junwu was at the moment.

Chen Shaoyi gently lifted a piece of rubble and saw people singing and dancing inside, what a happy scene. Yuan Niaoniao raised her lips slightly and sneered, "Humph, he really is partying every night, and he lives a very comfortable life."

"He will not be so comfortable soon!" Chen Shaoyi made an attacking gesture to the secret guards on both sides.

After receiving the order, the secret guards jumped down from the roof like ghosts, holding sharp swords and rushing towards the palace like the wind. The singers and dancers who were laughing and singing in the palace were frightened by this sudden change and their faces turned pale. Their beautiful faces lost their blood and they fled in panic.

An Da Ying witnessed this scene and was terrified. Her voice was shrill and piercing: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! An assassin has broken in!" Her screams echoed throughout the palace, making people shudder. Wei Sheng, who was standing by, reacted quickly and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!" His voice was filled with anxiety and tension, echoing in the air.

Han Junwu was stunned by this sudden situation. The wine glass in his hand slipped and shattered on the ground. His voice was trembling with fear, and he shouted loudly: "Who are you? How dare you break into the palace! Come on! Take them down for me!"

However, the mysterious guards seemed to have planned it in advance. They did not kill anyone, but just wantonly destroyed and smashed things in the house. Occasionally, they would catch a few soldiers who rushed over, beat them up mercilessly, and then let them go.