After swallowing my anger and taking the blame, I became the lucky little queen

Li Zhongquan sighed heavily, his face full of disappointment.

No matter how many officials pressed the Queen, she seemed determined to use the Emperor to threaten the Prince.

He turned his head to look at the door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Looking inside, he saw the lingering smell of ambergris and the thick curtains shrouded in darkness and oppression.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a bright piece of clothing appearing at the corner at the end of the right corridor. The color... looked very familiar.

Li Zhongquan was cautious and made a big circle from the left side to get behind the man.

A slender figure was leaning against the corner of the wall, looking out, as if looking for something, completely unaware of the danger approaching from behind.

A big palm pressed hard on her left shoulder, making a dull sound.

Qiao Yue was so frightened that her back stiffened, and she had even thought about where to bury herself.

She turned around slowly and met a pair of sharp eyes.

"You again." Li Zhongquan's face was gloomy. It was hard to tell whether he was angry or surprised, but the vigilant look in his eyes had already frightened Qiao Yue so much that her legs went weak.

Qiao Yue hesitated and was about to explain when she heard Li Zhongquan say, "Come with me."

Qiao Yue lowered her eyes and followed in small steps.

They came to a side hall where there was no one around. Li Zhongquan kept a distance of four steps from her.

"who are you?"

"What's your purpose?"

"Why do ghosts always haunt me?"

This was not the first time that Li Zhongquan had seen this palace maid near the Hall of Mental Cultivation. He thought that a stern rejection would make her give up, but he did not expect her to be so stubborn and still refused to give up.

Qiao Yue: "My name is Qiao Yue, I am a maid in Xiangru Palace, and now I serve Prince Qing in Zhongcui Palace. I am here on the orders of the Crown Princess to help the Emperor out of trouble. I hope that you can help me, otherwise it will be impossible for me to accomplish this task alone."

Her attitude this time is completely different from last time.

Last time she asked Li Zhongquan to cooperate with her, this time she directly brought up the title of Crown Princess and asked Li Zhongquan for assistance.

Li Zhongquan frowned, half believing and half doubting.

He had no better way to help the emperor now, otherwise he would never trust a palace maid of unknown origin.

"You said you were the Crown Princess's man, do you have any proof?"

Qiao Yue smiled confidently. She had been prepared and was just waiting for Li Zhongquan to say this. She took out a small square box from her sleeve, held it in her palm and handed it over.

Li Zhongquan took it and examined it carefully. The box was made of golden nanmu wood, bordered by gold bars, and the six sides were engraved with patterns of dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, turtles, tigers, and cranes. It felt heavy in his hand. He glanced at Qiao Yue hesitantly.

"Eunuch Li will never guess what this is."

After hearing what she said, Li Zhongquan became even more nervous. He opened the lid and found a small seal inside.

"This, this, this..." Li Zhongquan was so excited that he was incoherent. His pupils trembled and turned back and forth between Qiao Yue and the seal. "This is the seal of the Crown Princess!"

Qiao Yue was pleased: "That's right. The Crown Princess gave me the seal to keep before she followed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to the battle. She guessed that this day would come. I hope I can get the help of Eunuch Li with this seal."

Li Zhongquan couldn't believe it no matter how he thought about it. A seal was something that could prove one's identity. How could it be given to someone else for safekeeping? Was this palace maid trying to trick him?

But after he checked it carefully, he found that the seal was as real as it could be.

Li Zhongquan's mood fluctuated greatly. He put away the seal. Qiao Yue smiled and said, "Eunuch Li, do you believe me now?"

"Then what method do you have to help the emperor escape from the queen's control?" Li Zhongquan said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

He has served the emperor for so long, but now he can't even go in and take a look. What can a mere palace maid like her be capable of?

Qiao Yue had a very clear understanding of her own strength. She shrugged and said, "We can't fight head-on. Let's use a roundabout way."

Li Zhongquan didn't understand.

Qiao Yue took three steps forward and whispered her plan to him.

"Will this really work?" Li Zhongquan couldn't help but doubt, because the plan sounded unreliable.

Qiao Yue crossed her arms and asked him, "Does Eunuch Li have a better solution?"

He was speechless.

Qiao Yue spread her hands, "Since there is no such thing, why not listen to me, just in case it works."

Li Zhongquan thought about it carefully and nodded helplessly.

Qiao Yue turned to leave. Li Zhongquan, still holding the heavy imperial seal in his hand, hurriedly called out to her, "Wait!"

Qiao Yue stopped walking but didn't turn around. She probably guessed what he was going to say. Before he opened his mouth, she said, "Eunuch Li, please return the imperial seal to the Crown Princess on my behalf."

She left resolutely and disappeared around the corner in a hurry.

Li Zhongquan tightly grasped the square box, not knowing whether it was an illusion, but he felt that he heard regret in the palace maid's tone.

As night fell, the palace servants on duty in the Hall of Mental Cultivation gradually became distracted. They all wanted to go back to sleep. They yawned and wrapped their winter clothes tightly to prevent the cold wind from blowing into their collars.

Inside Zhongcui Palace, Qiao Yue and Qiu Yao were so busy that they were sweating profusely and their feet never touched the ground.

"He was fine during the day, why did he have a high fever at night?" Qiu Yao muttered as she wiped Qin Fengtian's body.

Qiao Yue squatted beside the bed and wringing the handkerchief. Qiuyao handed her the used one, and she handed her the new one, and they took turns like this.

"It's the time of season change, and typhoid fever is inevitable. The disease comes like a mountain, and it only takes a moment. Don't worry, sister. Didn't the imperial physician take your pulse and say that the fever will go away tonight?" Qiao Yue comforted her.

Qiu Yao sighed, "It's hard not to feel sorry for him to see such a grown-up whining like a child when he's sick." After saying that, she felt embarrassed and smiled at Qiao Yue.

Qiao Yue couldn't help laughing, "He was just like a child when he wasn't sick."

With his intelligence, a five-year-old child is smarter than him.

Qiuyao curled her lips, "It's quite pitiful."

She would only dare to say this in private when no one was around, otherwise if the Queen heard it, she would be the one to suffer.

Qiao Yue suddenly remembered something, and the action of twisting the handkerchief became hesitant, "Then... when I first arrived at Xiangru Palace, Hezhu, Chunhuan and Xueying bullied me, and you secretly helped me, was it because you felt sorry for me?"

Qiu Yao was stunned. She didn't expect her to mention this. Her eyes became confused. She pursed her lips and thought for a while. "Forget it. But it's not entirely out of pity."

She threw the cold towel back into the basin, and Qiao Yue gave her a new one. "It's mainly because I've been annoyed with them for a long time. Every time a new person comes to Xiangru Palace, they are suppressed and bullied. I help every one of them if I can."

She didn't know what she was thinking of, and sighed, "You are one of them."

Qiao Yue's eyes dimmed and she felt empty inside.

She used to hate and even despise those who felt sorry for her. She always felt that they were superior and looked down on her, so she hated those who helped her out of compassion.

But when she asked that question just now, she hoped to hear a positive answer.