After the marriage, the abstinent prince turned me on

Eunuch Yu knew that the emperor was still testing Concubine Shu, wanting to see if Prince Consort Chi would recognize his sister.

His eyes rolled as a plan came to mind: "Your Majesty is wise! The day after tomorrow is the Empress Dowager's birthday. Why not let Concubine Shu and Prince Consort Chi meet then? Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Ouyang Jing nodded and said approvingly, "Alright. The Queen Mother's birthday banquet is now in your hands. Make sure it's well-organized and lively and festive."

"I will definitely take care of it, Your Majesty, don't worry."

Eunuch Yu bowed and withdrew.

As night fell and the palace lanterns flickered, Eunuch Yu was preparing to go to bed when a young eunuch rushed in, his face pale and breathless. "Eunuch! This is bad! The storeroom... the storeroom has been robbed!"

Eunuch Yu suddenly sat up from the bed, all sleepiness gone, and asked sharply, "What happened? Tell me slowly, how could something be stolen out of the blue?"

The young eunuch was trembling with fear, stammering, "This servant... When I was counting the former Crown Princess's dowry today, I found a few items missing... But I was away for an hour or two during dinner, and I didn't expect... I didn't expect it to be stolen! Eunuch, what do you think I should do? If the Emperor finds out, he'll definitely skin me alive!"

Eunuch Yu's face was gloomy, but a gleam of brilliance flashed in his eyes. "Don't make a sound yet! If a thief comes once, there will be a second time. Let's stake out tonight and see who is so bold as to dare to steal things in the palace!"

The young eunuch was immediately energized upon hearing this, gritting his teeth and saying, "Alright! Even if I have to stay awake tonight, I will find this person!"

Late at night, outside the warehouse, Eunuch Yu and the young eunuch hid in the bushes, holding their breath and watching every move in the warehouse.

Time passed minute by minute, until the middle of the night, when a dark shadow appeared stealthily at the door of the warehouse.

The young eunuch was about to rush out to catch someone, but was stopped by Eunuch Yu.

"Wait! Look carefully, this person seems to be... a maid in the palace of Concubine Shu!" Eunuch Yu said in a low voice, his eyes full of shock and confusion.

The young eunuch was stunned when he heard this, and then he said indignantly: "What happened to Concubine Shu's maid? Can she steal things? Eunuch, don't stop me, I must catch her and hand her over to the emperor!"

Eunuch Yu pulled the young eunuch back into the depths of the bushes and scolded him in a low voice, "You're crazy! You're rushing out now. What do you want to do?"

The young eunuch shuddered at the sudden rebuke and murmured in grievance, "Eunuch, this is stealing! If we catch her in the act and hand her over to the Emperor, wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

Eunuch Yu glared at him with dismay and lowered his voice to explain, "What do you know? The Concubine Shu has worked so hard to restore the Emperor to normal. If we disturb the Emperor over such a small matter and turn him back to his original form, our lives will be even more difficult in the future!"

The young eunuch suddenly realized what was going on and asked with a look of fear on his face, "Then...what should we do? We can't just watch her steal away, right?"

Eunuch Yu's eyes rolled as he came up with a plan: "Don't alert the enemy yet. Keep this matter to yourself. Do you understand?"

The young eunuch nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, yes, I understand. I will keep my mouth shut!"

The next day, sunlight streamed into the imperial study through the carved window lattices. Ouyang Jing was reviewing memorials, while Eunuch Yu stood by his side.

"Have all the preparations for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet been arranged?" Ouyang Jing asked without raising his head.

"Your Majesty, everything has been arranged. It is guaranteed to be a lively and festive occasion to make the Empress Dowager happy." Eunuch Yu replied respectfully.

Ouyang Jing nodded with satisfaction and continued to bury himself in the memorials.

Eunuch Yu quietly retreated, but he was still thinking about the theft in the warehouse last night.

He originally planned to go directly to Yilan Palace to tell Xie Mishuang, but halfway there, he felt that this was too abrupt. It would be bad if others saw it.

After thinking it over, he decided to prepare for the birthday banquet first, and then go in and mention it "by the way" when he passed by Yilan Palace.

Eunuch Yu was thinking all the way and unknowingly walked to the door of Yilan Palace.

The palace maid guarding the gate saw that it was Eunuch Yu and quickly bowed: "Good luck to Eunuch Yu."

"This servant pays his respects to Her Majesty the Concubine." Eunuch Yu nodded slightly and asked, "Is Her Majesty in the palace?"

"The Queen is here. I'll go in and inform her right away." After the palace maid said this, she turned and walked into Yilan Palace.

Inside the palace, Xie Mishuang was reclining on a soft couch reading a book. Upon hearing the palace maid's report, he immediately stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "Quickly invite Eunuch Yu in."

The palace maid led Eunuch Yu into the palace. Xie Mishuang greeted him with a smile, "Eunuch Yu, how come you have time to come to me today? Does the emperor have any instructions?"

Eunuch Yu looked around and saw that there were still a few palace maids standing in the hall, so he did not speak directly.

Xie Mishuang saw this and immediately understood. She said to the maids around her, "All of you go down. This palace and Eunuch Yu have something important to discuss."

The palace maids bowed and left, leaving only Xie Mishuang and Eunuch Yu in the hall.

"Eunuch Yu, can you tell me now?" Xie Mishuang sat back on the couch and asked in a relaxed tone.

Eunuch Yu then lowered his voice and told her everything about the theft in the warehouse last night and how he discovered that the thief was a maid from Xie Mishuang Palace.

"Your Majesty, I have come to tell you this for your own good. Why don't you take the initiative to find that person, so that the emperor won't vent his anger on you." Eunuch Yu said earnestly.

Xie Mishuang thought to herself: It seems that Aya has been discovered, but this eunuch Yu is kind to her and even came to tell her.

Her expression remained calm as she said calmly, "Don't worry, eunuch. I will have the maids return the stolen items in a while."

When Eunuch Yu heard this, he understood that this was Concubine Shu's own intention, so he reminded her: "The Emperor visits the storehouse on the 15th of every month, so you should return it as soon as possible."

"Thank you for the reminder, eunuch. I will do it." Xie Mishuang smiled slightly, her tone sincere.

When Eunuch Yu saw that everything had been explained clearly, he bowed and took his leave.

After Eunuch Yu left, Xie Mishuang immediately called Aya and told her about this.

Upon hearing this, Aya panicked and knelt on the ground to apologize: "My Lady, it's all my fault for being so stupid that I was discovered! Please punish me!"

Xie Mishuang helped Aya up and comforted her, "It's not your fault. You were working for me. I instructed you to do this. How are things going outside now?"

Aya looked troubled. "Your Majesty, there's been some difficulty with the shopkeeper's business. Shen seems to have discovered something. If we want to complete everything... it will take some time. It's my fault for not doing my job well. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Xie Mi frowned slightly and reached out to help Aya up: "Hurry up, this matter is not easy. Now that things have come to this... I can only tell my cousin that I have entered the palace."