After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Meanwhile, Shen Jingque and Xiao Jingshu were having a great time in the Imperial Garden.

The swing set in the Imperial Garden was more than twice as tall as Shen Jingque had imagined. The crossbeams were as thick as a thigh, tied with hemp ropes as thick as a thumb, and the bottom was covered with a thick layer of fine sand.

Xiao Jingshu leaped up in a flash, and with a push of her legs, the swing swung three zhang (approximately 10 meters) away.

"Shen Jingque, push me!"

Shen Jingque gave her a push, watching with trepidation as the swing swung higher and higher with her skillful movements.

"Your Highness, slow down! Slow down!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm perfectly calm!"

Xiao Jingshu laughed and shouted in mid-air, her skirt fluttering like a pink bird flapping its wings.

Shen Jingque clutched her chest and watched for a while before decisively giving up on trying to dissuade her. She then found a place to sit down on a nearby stone bench.

This corner of the Imperial Garden was very secluded. The nearest palace servants were waiting by the flower bushes a dozen steps away, far enough away that their voices could not be heard.

When Xiao Jingshu finally got tired of playing, she came over and sat down next to her. Watching her fiddling with the small box in her hands, she asked curiously, "What's this?"

Shen Jingque touched the small box with the koi pattern, gently opened it, and pushed it in front of Xiao Jingshu.

"Your Highness, this is a nice gift for you."

Xiao Jingshu's attention was immediately and precisely captured by the words "good stuff".

"What? What?"

Inside the box lay six small, wax-sealed pills, smaller than longan seeds, in various colors: three red and three green.

Xiao Jingshu leaned closer for a look, then pouted in disappointment.

"Pills? Tonics? How come you like these things just like my father?"

"You big idiot."

Shen Jingque chuckled and picked up a red wax ball, twirling it in front of her eyes.

"This stuff is called 'Flourishing Branch Powder,' and it's extremely easy to use. Just throw it on someone's face, and the powder will take effect as soon as it touches their skin."

Xiao Jingshu's eyes lit up instantly. "What are the effects after it takes effect?"

Shen Jingque smiled wickedly, "Those who are affected will experience unbearable itching all over their body, lasting from a quarter of an hour to half an hour, and will completely lose their ability to move before the symptoms subside."

Xiao Jingshu gasped, pointing to another green one, "What about this one?"

"A single dose of purgative." Shen Jingque's expression was meaningful. "The effect is as its name suggests, no further explanation needed."

Xiao Jingshu's mouth gaped open, her expression a mixture of shock and excitement.

She reached out to take it, but Shen Jingque grabbed her hand and pressed it down.

"Your Highness!"

Shen Jingque lowered her voice and glanced around, "Do you want to put on a show of 'flowery trembling' for all the palace eunuchs in the Imperial Garden?"

Xiao Jingshu's hand hovered in mid-air. She thought about the scene and shuddered.

"You made the wax seal so fragile, what if I squeeze it too tightly and accidentally break it?"

"So I prepared this." Shen Jingque took out an even smaller porcelain bottle from her sleeve, which contained a few white pills.

"Antidote: If you accidentally get it on your hands, swallow one immediately, and it will quickly neutralize the poison."

Xiao Jingshu took the bamboo tube and looked at it from left to right, then raised her head with utmost seriousness.

"Can I try it on my fourth brother?"

Shen Jingque tried to hold back, but couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Your Highness, this is for self-defense, not for tormenting my younger brother."

She closed the box, put it in Xiao Jingshu's hand, and gave her a special instruction again.

"If a suspicious person approaches and you don't have time to call for help, throw something at them and run. Got it?"

"I've got it! I've got it!"

Xiao Jingshu put the box into her bosom and patted it twice to indicate that she was keeping it close to her body.

Suddenly remembering something, he tilted his head and asked her, "Do you have this yourself?"

"Of course."

She's the original supplier.

"That's good." Xiao Jingshu nodded, her tone unusually serious. "You should also take good care of yourself."

Shen Jingque felt a lump in her throat from this sudden seriousness.

Unexpectedly, an attack led to a bond of shared hardship between him and the little princess.

The two played in the Imperial Garden for another half hour. Xiao Jingshu insisted on dragging her to feed the koi, and even poured a whole box of fish food in to watch the fish fight over it.

"Your Highness, are you feeding the fish or baiting the pond?"

"Why bother trying to find a spot? The ones next to us haven't gotten any yet."

As he spoke, he poured another box in with a clatter.

Shen Jingque sighed, realizing that there would be a few more fish eating their fill and ending up belly-up in the koi pond of the Imperial Garden tomorrow.

It wasn't until a female official from Fengyi Palace came to tell them that the Princess had arrived at the main hall that the two of them ran back hand in hand.

Xiao Mingyue stood on the steps outside the main hall of Fengyi Palace, with Shen Yan standing beside her. The two looked normal, and it was impossible to tell what had just happened at Cining Palace.

Shen Jingque ran up to the two of them, greeted them, and then bowed to the Empress before taking her leave.

Xiao Jingshu stood reluctantly in front of the Phoenix Palace gate, waving goodbye.

Come see me earlier next time!

"knew!"

The family of three left the palace gates and boarded a carriage.

The carriage curtains fell, shutting out the noise of the outside world.

Xiao Mingyue leaned against the car wall, her eyes slightly closed, looking somewhat tired.

Shen Yan poured her a cup of warm tea and handed it to her. She took it and instinctively grasped Shen Yan's hand, as if drawing some kind of comfort from it.

A silent atmosphere filled the car, each of the three lost in their own thoughts.

It was Shen Yan who first noticed Shen Jingque's furrowed brows and spoke gently.

"Sparrow, what's wrong? You look troubled."

Shen Jingque pondered her words for a moment and then recounted what she had seen Xiao Jingzhang that day and what Xiao Jingzhang had said.

Shen Yan frowned in surprise. "You just said that offhand?"

"And those palace servants around him," Shen Jingque recalled, lowering her voice even further, "just watched him spout nonsense as if it were a good show."

The carriage fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Mingyue opened her eyes and looked at her, her gaze calm and indifferent.

"The upbringing of the princes is His Majesty's business; we need not say more."

Shen Jingque shut her mouth in astonishment.

The sound of wheels rolling forward came from outside the car, and Shen Jingque pondered Xiao Mingyue's words over and over again.

Perhaps Xiao Mingyue already knew that there was something wrong with the palace servants around the Fourth Prince.

The reason they don't intend to get involved is because turning Xiao Jingzhang into a good-for-nothing would benefit the Princess's household.

However, according to her observation, although Xiao Mingyue held great power, she never abused it.

So Shen Jingque still couldn't figure out what the specific benefits were.

So she subtly changed the subject.

"Did Mother's trip to Cining Palace go smoothly today?"

Xiao Mingyue silently opened her eyes and took out a wooden box from her sleeve.

Shen Jingque looked down.

The two jade pendants lay side by side on a brocade lining. They were of warm and lustrous color, with faint signs of wear on the edges, indicating that they were quite old.

The texture is very simple and rustic, unlike the exquisite craftsmanship of court artisans, but more like the hand-polished texture of folk artisans.

"This is the wedding gift left to me by the late emperor."

Xiao Mingyue's fingertips gently caressed the jade-like face, her movements extremely light, as if touching a distant memory.

"Today, I have taken it back from the Empress Dowager."

Shen Yan leaned closer to take a look, his gaze lingering on the patterns for a moment.

"The craftsmanship here doesn't seem to be from the imperial workshops; it seems to have some special origin."

Xiao Mingyue nodded. "I think so too, but we can't see any clues yet."

She closed the box, her voice carrying a subtle tenderness.

"No rush, take your time."

Shen Yan responded gently, "I'll go back and find some ancient books with patterns to compare with; perhaps I can find some clues."

Xiao Mingyue hummed in agreement, put the box into her sleeve, leaned back against the carriage wall, and this time truly closed her eyes to rest.

As the carriage came to a stop in front of the Princess's residence, a series of hurried footsteps could be heard outside.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Uncle Xu, his face beaming with joy, bowed in greeting.

"Your Highness, the Third Young Master has sent word that he will arrive in the capital at noon the day after tomorrow!"

Xiao Mingyue suddenly opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.