Chapter 587: Empress Dowager
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qin Huai and Ah Yu’s tacit understanding was very high, almost surpa.s.sing Chi Jia’s. They looked at each other and knew what the other wanted to do.
Ah Yu could sense that these two Inner Palace experts did not have any ill intentions towards them, so she set her mind at ease and asked them for help.
The two of them were Empress Qin’s people. Emperor Minghua had arranged for them to protect them in the first place.
“Young Master Qin, Little Miss w.a.n.g, sorry to offend you.”
The two of them were carried on their backs. The inner palace experts quickly moved through the imperial garden. During this time, they even pa.s.sed by two palace concubines.
When Consort Gong saw a figure flash past, she screamed in fear, “There’s an a.s.sa.s.sin! Catch the a.s.sa.s.sin!”
Another palace concubine held her chest and trembled. “Someone, help!”
They had all seen it. It seemed that two a.s.sa.s.sins had kidnapped two people. They were afraid that the a.s.sa.s.sins would capture the two of them too, and their faces turned pale from fear.
When they flew past the man-made lake, Ah Yu patted the shoulder of the Inner Palace expert. “We’re here.”
The two of them stopped and put Ah Yu and Qin Huai down.
After seeing the building in front of them clearly, the pupils of the two Inner Palace experts constricted. They hurriedly jumped away and hid again.
“Hey, 1 haven’t given you the jade yet!” Ah Yu called out for a long time, but the two of them did not appear again. Even though they knew that Ah Yu already knew their location, they only changed their positions and pretended not to hear her.
“Keep it for yourself.” Qin Huai put away the jade and stuffed it back into Ah Yu’s pocket.
Now, Ah Yu’s bag was already becoming more and more exquisite. It was no longer a simple diagonal shape. Instead, it was wrapped around and tied to her waist. The waist chain was a colorful bead strap woven by Qin Huai. There were three layers to the bag. The embroidery was Madam Ma’s work, but the trims were Qin Huai’s work. The small bag inside was also Qin Huai’s design.
The colors and style matched Ah Yu’s clothes, enhancing her skin color and temperament.
“I promised to give them a reward, and I have a lot of jade like this. Forget it, I’ll give it to them next time. In any case, we still have to go back.”
The two Inner Palace experts who were hiding in the dark but could hear the words:”…”
The little girl must be from the imperial family, right? Perhaps she had a deep relationship with Concubine Jing.
She was so good at calculating!
After making up her mind, All Yu did not hesitate anymore and pulled Qin Huai onto the small boat by the artificial lake.
This was a floating house that looked like a boat. It was about the size of a small house. Ah Yu and Qin Huai stood at the door and bowed before saying, “I’m w.a.n.g Ruyu from Hu Family Village in South River Town in w.a.n.gbei County. He’s Qin Huai from the Qin Family in Wanning City. We took the liberty to visit because we have a request. Please help us.”
Ah Yu didn’t know Qin Huai’s family background, so she could only say that he was from the Qin Family of Wanning City.
Qin Huai did not ask who the person on the boat was. In any case, if All Yu wanted to seek that person’s audience, he would follow.
After waiting for a long time, no one came out.
Ah Yu was a little anxious. She asked in the spatial pocket, “Elf, is the person you mentioned really in here?”
[Don’t worry, there are three people inside. Wait a little longer.]
If the person inside still did not reply, it would buy a smelly pill and let Ah Yu throw it in.
Before Meatbail could put this plan into practice, the curtain inside the boat was lifted.
A person who looked like a palace maid walked out. She first sized up Ah Yu a few times before asking, “Do you know what this place is? How dare you barge in!”
“There are rumors outside that within the palace, there are two formidable figures not to be trifled with. One is the revered Emperor, the sovereign ruler, and the other is the reclusive and esteemed Imperial Aunt,” Ah Yu spoke with conviction. “If my guess is correct, the person living in the boat-like residence must undoubtedly be the Empress’s mother, the current Imperial Aunt!”
Imperial Aunt was a t.i.tle the Empress Dowager gave to herself. Many people in the palace knew about it, but very few people outside the palace knew about it.
“How audacious! Where did this little girl come from!” The palace maid shouted angrily. Her right hand formed a claw and she wanted to grab All Yu.
“Qing Ye, let them in.” A gentle voice suddenly sounded from the boat.
Ah Yu raised her chin at the palace maid called Qing Ye and deliberately pretended to be domineering, angering the palace maid so much that she gritted her teeth and lifted her skirt as she stomped back inside.
Qin Huai also followed. When he turned his head and saw Ah Yu pretending to be unruly, the corners of his mouth curled up.
No matter what version of Ah Yu he saw, he felt that she was extremely cute.
At first, Ah Yu did not know who she was looking for. She had followed Meatball’s guidance.
As there were many restrictions in the palace, Meatbail could not penetrate all the corners in the palace. Only when All Yu got close could she know the ident.i.ties of these people.
After entering the boat, Ah Yu realized that it was indeed too simple. However, it did not look shabby. For example, on the left and right sides of the boat, there were some famous masterpieces that looked simple, but their prices on the market were so high that it would make ordinary people gasp in horror.
“Girl, you said that you’re from Hu Family Village? Is that where General Hu’s hometown was more than a hundred years ago?” Behind a screen, two figures appeared. One was lying on her side, and the other was ma.s.saging her legs.
Through the veil, she could see the outline of a woman. Although the voice she heard was more than elegant, she could also hear a hint of age in it.
After all, the Empress Dowager was already over 60 years old. Even if she took good care of herself, there were still marks left behind by the traces of time.
“Yes, our village has General Hu’s temple and a temple fair every month.” Speaking of Hu Family Village, All Yu became even more talkative, chattering non-stop.
The Empress Dowager was originally just casually exchanging pleasantries and was unwilling to continue chatting like this. In the end, Ah Yu pulled her along and chatted with her. From time to time, she would ask, “Do you know? You don’t know? 1’11 tell you! What, you’ve heard of it too? Wow, you’re so powerful. You know something so far away while in the palace. If I don’t go out, I’ll never know…”
At first, the Empress Dowager was unwilling to talk. Later on, for some reason, she sat up from Ah Yu’s words.
Not only did she get someone to remove the screen, but she also set up two tables and asked Qing Ye to prepare tea and snacks for the two of them.
Ah Yu sat down and took two bites. She praised the food and continued talking with the Empress Dowager.
As she spoke, she sat beside the Empress Dowager and pushed aside the people who were originally ma.s.saging her legs.
That person glared at All Yu. Clearly, she did not like her very much.
Ah Yu did not mind and even brought the tea and snacks to her. “Big Sister Palace Maid, you’ve worked hard. Do you want some sweet tea?”
Hearing the words “Big Sister Palace Maid”, the woman became even angrier.
“Little Miss w.a.n.g, this is our Princess Ruyi,” Qing Ye reminded Ah Yu in a low voice.
Princess Ruyi was the one who had just returned to the palace not long ago. It was said that she was the Empress’s biological daughter.
Hearing this, Qin Huai raised his eyebrows and glanced at her.
Her face was ordinary to begin with, and she was wearing plain clothes. She looked inferior to the palace maid beside her.
“Ruyi, I’m tired. Go back first. You don’t have to serve me here today.”
“Royal Grandma!” Princess Ruyi stomped her feet and pretended to be reluctant.
The Empress Dowager stopped looking at her. “Go on.”
Princess Ruyi could only leave.
After she left, Ah Yu chuckled and moved closer to the Empress Dowager. “Empress Dowager, 1 think you’re similar to my Grandma!”
“How audacious!” Qing Ye could not help but scold again. “Your Grandma is just a village old woman.. How dare you compare her to the Empress Dowager!”