General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

Although it was night, the Imperial Guards' extensive search still attracted the attention of many people in the palace.

The commotion here has now attracted a large crowd from the surrounding area.

"I heard that the Fourth Princess has gone missing; she's gone to meet her ideal husband."

"Isn't General Shen the Fourth Princess's ideal husband? Has she fallen for someone else? Tsk tsk, General Shen is so pitiful."

"What's there to pity? General Shen has already been ordered to get married. What the Fourth Princess does is none of his business."

"The Fourth Princess probably only gave in to depravity because General Shen got married."

……

The onlookers discussed it animatedly, and in no time they pieced together a version that satisfied most people.

In order to avenge the marriage of the General Who Protects the Nation, the Fourth Princess willingly degraded herself and had an affair with a palace guard. When the Empress discovered this, she pretended to have been kidnapped, but in reality, she was trying to escape the Emperor's punishment.

The emperor was thoroughly annoyed by the chattering of a group of people around him, as he hadn't found the princess: "How can a perfectly healthy person just disappear in the palace like this? And she's a princess of our dynasty! What use are you people to me?"

The Imperial Guards immediately knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, we deserve to die!"

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind the crowd: "Which princess is missing?"

People automatically made way for her, and a young girl walked over amidst the surprised gazes of the crowd. Who else could it be but the Fourth Princess, Chen Zhizhi?

"Father, who has gone missing?" Chen Zhizhi walked to the Emperor's side, tugged at his sleeve, and acted like an affectionate little girl.

"Zhizhi, what are you doing here?" The Emperor was stunned, and everyone present was stunned.

Except for Jiang Qiqi, who was inconspicuous in the corner, who gave a smile.

The Empress's usually perfect expression cracked slightly. Why was Chen Zhizhi walking in unharmed?

"Zhizhi, where have you been? Everyone in the palace is looking for you," the Emperor asked.

Chen Zhizhi looked puzzled: "Me? I'm with my mother. No one came looking for me."

The Emperor was even more puzzled: "Then why did your personal maid say you were missing?"

As if she had just remembered, Chen Zhizhi suddenly said, "Oh, right, I spilled wine all over myself. I told my personal maid to go back to my palace to get a change of clothes, and I planned to find a palace to rest in first. But after walking for a while, I remembered that my mother's palace was right next door, and I hadn't paid my respects to her yet tonight, so I turned around and went to my mother's palace. Later, while I was playing, I forgot about the clothes."

"You," the Emperor said, pointing a finger at her, "you went to your mother's place without even sending a message. I thought you had been kidnapped and was worried about your safety, so I ordered the whole palace to search for you."

"Father, I forgot." Chen Zhizhi grabbed the Emperor's arm and acted coquettishly. When she met the Emperor's reproachful gaze, she stuck out her tongue guiltily. "I know I was wrong. I will never dare to make Father worry again."

The Emperor's affection for the Fourth Princess was genuine, and besides, ignorance is no excuse, so seeing the situation, he couldn't bear to say anything more.

"Never mind, it's good that no one's hurt." Actually, he was still furious.

"But Father, why did you come to this place to find me? This place is far from my palace, and it's remote and dilapidated."

After hearing the Fourth Princess's words, everyone belatedly looked around.

This is a house that has been uninhabited for a long time. Cracks in the walls, layers of cobwebs in the corners, broken windows, and a door that was kicked and is now teetering on the verge of collapse. Every detail reveals one word: dilapidated! It's the kind of dilapidated house that's comparable to a deserted palace.

"And what's with those two people on the ground?"

The two disheveled men and women who had been pulled off the bed earlier—the man who had been slapped and the palace maid who had spilled wine—had long since woken up and were kneeling in the corner, trembling.

"Hmph, you should ask the Empress about this." The Emperor also sensed something was wrong. Just as Zhizhi had said, this place was too far from both the banquet hall and the princess's palace. How could the Empress have led people to this place in such a short time?

"Your Majesty, this..." The Empress was surprised that Chen Zhizhi had managed to escape unscathed and now wanted to bite her back.

A palace maid behind the Empress suddenly knelt down: "Your Majesty, this servant deserves to die. Her Majesty was originally going to lead us to the Princess's palace, but this servant saw a figure acting suspiciously here, so I suggested to Her Majesty that we come here first. Her Majesty came here because of this servant's advice. This servant deserves to die, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Jiang Qiqi looked at her and couldn't help but shake her head, thinking, "What a clever and loyal maid."

Now that someone has come forward to admit their mistake and take responsibility, in front of so many ministers and concubines who were watching the spectacle, even if the emperor knew in his heart that things were not so simple, he could no longer pursue the empress's matter.

"The Empress was just too worried about the princess. In her desperation, she made a rash decision. Now that the princess is alright, that's all that matters." The Emperor concluded, then glanced at the two people kneeling in the corner. "Guards, drag these two adulterers and that maid who slandered the princess for having an affair here out and beat them to death with sticks."

“A palace maid who misleads the Empress shall be punished with twenty strokes of the rod. A palace maid who falsely reports that the Princess is missing shall be punished with twenty strokes of the rod.”

Even though the emperor was displeased, he couldn't say anything more in front of so many former court officials and their families. He vented his anger by killing or punishing a few people, then turned and left.

As the emperor left, the ministers and the onlookers dispersed.

This inexplicable farce has come to an end.

Jiang Qiqi and Shen Luo, who was in a wheelchair, walked slowly at the back.

"Hey, you! Wait a minute!" someone shouted from behind.

Jiang Qiqi turned around and found that the one speaking was none other than the Fourth Princess, Chen Zhizhi.

She was still wearing the clothes that had been stained with alcohol, and her hair was a little messy, but her expression was very serious.

She walked up to the two of them, looked at Shen Luo deeply, and then turned to Jiang Qiqi and said, "Thank you for today."

She was completely bewildered when she was woken up. She was clearly at a banquet, so how did she suddenly end up in this place?

It was Lin'er, the maidservant who served Jiang Qiqi, who told her the whole story and told her to hide nearby.

Sure enough, a palace maid sneaked up to the door shortly afterward, followed by the Empress leading a large entourage to "catch the adulterers."

Chen Zhizhi witnessed the whole thing from the shadows nearby.

No one is a fool who can survive in the palace. She knew that if Jiang Qiqi hadn't helped her this time, she would definitely have fallen into the Empress's trap.

Such a thing had never happened before. Although there were undercurrents in the harem, they would not involve the princesses, so she was naturally unprepared.

Unexpectedly, the Empress struck a powerful blow this time, aiming to ruin her reputation.

"You're welcome." Jiang Qiqi gladly accepted her thanks.

"Also, I'm sorry. I originally wanted to embarrass you at the banquet." Chen Zhizhi frankly revealed her plan, "I wanted to make you lose face so that Brother Shen Luo wouldn't like you anymore."

"It's alright." Jiang Qiqi accepted the apology and thanks without reservation. "After all, you didn't succeed."

"You must have heard that I really like Brother Shen Luo." Chen Zhizhi said, her tone both unreasonable and confident. "Although you stole my Brother Shen Luo, you saved me this time, so I won't make things difficult for you."

"Okay." I didn't expect to gain something extra this time. It seems that this princess is quite sensible.

Jiang Qiqi instantly felt that all her hard work hadn't been in vain, and that all the steps she had taken in the palace hadn't been for nothing.

"However, one thing is one thing. I will find a way to repay your life-saving grace, but I will not give up on Brother Shen Luo. Let's compete fairly!" After issuing the challenge, the princess turned and left without caring about the attitude of her opponent or the prize.

Jiang Qiqi sighed: "You're too happy too soon."

"Let's go," Jiang Qiqi said, turning around to the two people behind her.

In the sky, a waning moon hung high in the east, its faint light mostly obscured by a drifting cloud. The dim yellow light of candles flickered from the lanterns hanging by the roadside, becoming the only bright spot against the dark background.

The shadows of the three people were stretched very long.

"Shen Luo."

"Ok?"

"Is the Fourth Princess born in the Year of the Ox?"

"I don't remember. What happened?"

"fine."

So stubborn.