The secret guard sent Qingyin back, and no one in the entire East Palace noticed.

After Qingyin woke up, she found that she was still in a sealed room with seals on the windows and doors. Through the cracks in the windows, she could see the bright moon in the sky.

Qingyin felt like she was dreaming. Suddenly she saw Princess Shanzhen, and suddenly she saw her brother whom she hadn't seen for several years. Suddenly they were threatened by Princess Shanzhen and fell into a nightmare from which they could not wake up.

No, as early as five years ago, when the Crown Princess met the Fourth Prince, they had already fallen into a nightmare. That devil was not the Crown Prince, nor Princess Shanzhen, but the Fourth Prince.

Even peddlers and porters cannot tolerate their wives having affairs with other men. Once they find out, they will throw the women into a pig cage or drown them in a pond. Let alone the crown prince. The crown princess will be guilty of a heinous crime that will result in the execution of nine generations of her family!

Qingyin covered her mouth and sobbed. She didn't dare to make a sound for fear of alarming the guards outside. She didn't expect that even though she worked diligently as a slave, she would not have a good death!

After she finished crying, Qingyin's eyes showed a fierceness. She and Lianxin had tried to persuade the Crown Princess many times, but she simply didn't listen and only cared about her own happiness. Since the Crown Princess didn't care about her family and these servants, then don't blame them for being ruthless and ungrateful. From today on, she had to protect her family and live more years.

Qingyin no longer had any psychological burden, so she lay back on the bed. A wave of fatigue hit her, and she fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, the pimples on her face felt better. Her mentality had changed and she ate and slept better. Within three to five days, all the pimples on her face disappeared, and her face became even whiter and brighter than before.

After re-examining Qingyin's pulse, the imperial physician informed the Crown Princess, "Your Majesty, Qingyin's swelling has healed. We can now confirm that she is not suffering from an epidemic."

Lu Ruoyi also breathed a sigh of relief. Qingyin and Lianxin were her most beloved maids. It was very inconvenient for her to do things when both of them were not around.

"That's great, let's get them on duty."

"Yes."

When the master and servant met, their relationship became even stronger than before. Qingyin showed it intentionally, so Lu Ruoyi trusted her more, and she even surpassed Lianxin.

Let’s talk about Zhao Yuanqing. After sending Qingyin away, he asked someone to take Lu Tianci away and find a small courtyard. He asked two trustworthy people to take care of him and ensure that nothing would happen to him. This was Zhao Yuanqing’s bargaining chip to control Qingyin.

It was already late at night, but Zhao Yuanqing had no desire to sleep. During her conversation with Qingyin, she discovered a problem:

The Fourth Prince went to Fan Yang with the Emperor's permission, and the Emperor even made up an excuse for him, saying that he was going to the imperial farm to recuperate, and kept it a secret from them.

Did the Queen know? Did the Crown Prince know? Did the other concubines know?

The Daqing Kingdom had a regulation that the princes could not leave the capital unless there was an order from the emperor. There were even some sensitive places that the princes could not go to because they were afraid that the princes would secretly hide troops and rebel.

What happened to the Fourth Prince leaving the capital? Could he be secretly doing something for the Emperor?

There were too many mysteries for Zhao Yuanqing to figure out. She emptied her mind, stood in front of the window, and watched the sky turn pale. The faint light of dawn illuminated the gorgeous princess mansion.

No matter what was behind this, she would not allow anyone to harm her mother and brother, not even her father! Anyone who dared to have such an idea would be killed without mercy!

Zhao Yuanqing calmed down, packed up, and went to Fengyi Palace.

"Mother."

"Qing'er, it's so early, have you had breakfast?"

"No, I want to eat with mother. It's been a long time since I had breakfast here."

"Haha, I'll let you eat as much as you want today. Luzhu, go to the kitchen and get some of the princess's favorite food."

"Yes."

Luzhu took the two young palace maids to the palace's main kitchen. In addition to the regular breakfast, she also ordered a few of Zhao Yuanqing's favorite dishes. "Steward, bring me a plate each of Jushengnu, Xiaotiansu, and Tianxue."

Jushengnu is made by mixing honey and mutton fat into dough, shaping it into the shape of scattered flowers, and then dipping it in black sesame seeds and deep-frying it.

Xiaotiansu is made by chopping chicken and venison into small pieces and mixing them with rice flour.

Sweet snow is a dessert made from slow-baked wheat flour with honey. It looks like white snow, is fluffy and soft, and tastes sweet.

These are Zhao Yuanqing's favorite dishes, and the palace's big kitchen often prepares them. However, since Zhao Yuanqing was reborn, he has been living in the princess's mansion and has never eaten them.

Matron Pang, the housekeeper, came out, wiped her hands on her apron, and said with a smile, "Matron Green, the kitchen has some fresh vegetables today. They've made Imperial Yellow Queen Mother rice and duck flower soup noodles. They're both fresh out of the pot. I'll serve some to you."

Lu Zhu scolded, "Madame Pang, stop talking about those useless things. The princess loves the ones I mentioned the most. Aren't they prepared in the kitchen every day? Hurry and bring them out. The princess is waiting!"

Matron Pang's face showed embarrassment. "Matron Lu... the princess hasn't ordered these dishes lately. I haven't been feeling well these past few days and have been a bit lazy, so I didn't prepare any. Could you please make some compromises with the princess and change a few dishes?"

The rules of survival in the palace are that once an emergency occurs, it is most likely not accidental and there must be unspeakable reasons behind it.

Lu Zhu was an old lady in the palace, and she didn't believe what Aunt Pang said. "Aunt Pang, don't try to fool me. It's much more troublesome to make Imperial Yellow Queen Mother's rice. You can make this dish, but not the one the princess likes?"

"I......"

Nanny Pang wanted to argue, but Luzhu stopped listening, pushed her aside, and rushed into the kitchen.

Walking to the table, there was a pile of pots and pans, and a plate full of sweet snow, but the sweet snow on it was in an ugly shape, as if someone had picked out some leftovers.

The same goes for Xiaotiansu, and the rest is just soup.

There is also Jushengnu, but the black sesame seeds on top have fallen off, obviously they are left over by others.

Lu Zhu was annoyed and slammed the bowl on the table. "Madam Pang, you clearly prepared these three dishes, yet you dared to lie to me! You are deceiving the princess and the queen! How dare you!"

Aunt Pang's knees weakened, and she almost fell to the ground. "Aunt Lu, don't dare say that! I don't dare!"

"Then what's with these dishes? They're obviously leftovers! Who took the princess's dishes? Tell me!"

At this point, Aunt Pang could only tell the truth.

"It was taken away by Ming Zhaoyi's maid."

"Ming Zhaoyi? When was she taken away? How many times?"

"Since more than ten days ago, she has been requesting these dishes every day. I saw that the princess hadn't come to eat them during this period, so I just gave them to her. Madam Green, I am just a kitchen manager. How dare I refuse to give dishes to nobles who ask for them?"

Lu Zhu was a little annoyed, "Didn't you tell them that this was reserved for Princess Shanzhen?"

"I did! But they said that Princess Shanzhen wouldn't eat it anyway, so it wouldn't matter if I gave it to them. Madam Lu, how dare I, a mere servant, offend such a noble lady? This is not my fault!"

Nanny Pang kept begging for mercy, and Luzhu knew that the main reason was not her. She cursed a few words, brought some other food that Zhao Yuanqing liked, and returned to Fengyi Palace.

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