Zhao Yin turns around and looks at her.
Ah Zhao snorts lightly: “Once we are in the cold palace, we should forget who we used to be. Your Highness, you are not waiting for someone to clean this mess up for you, are you?”
Hearing that, all of a sudden, Zhao Yin feels a bit ashamed.
Who in the capital doesn’t know that Princess Chaofeng has always been the most respected person since she was little and when she grew up, as well as when she became a wife?
It is said that she would not put on anything but gold, jade, glaze, and gems, and she would not wear anything but the best of the brocades, besides, she would not eat anything but the well-planted rice and wheat from her family’s Manor.
Though it is wildly exaggerated, deep down, Zhao Yin knows how extravagant and meticulous his Princess is every day.
What surprises him is that she’s the one who adapts to the current situation one step ahead.
Zhao Yin is touched and is about to say something soft to her while Ah Zhao is quicker and speaks again: “Your Highness, do you mind moving your precious feet and finding a lantern that we can still light in this palace? Otherwise, I’m afraid this torch couldn’t last long enough.”
What she says is right, but just the way she says it makes him uncomfortable.
The soft spot that just formed in Zhao Yin completely disappears in an instant.
He snorts coldly and lifts the torch, starting to search the chamber.
They are not that unfortunate.
And they find two dilapidated palace lanterns in the chamber.
Though the two lanterns are dilapidated and faded with half of their decorative ceramic glazes smashed to pieces and a thick layer of dust on them, they are still useable with much of the lantern oil left in them.
With the lanterns lit, the chamber is at least a little bit brighter, which shows them more accurately how desolate this cold palace really is.
Zhao Yin has a blank stare on his face, which is quite rare, and says: “An ordinary room of my Manor is far better than this.”
Ah Zhao agrees with him strongly. A restroom of a mansion in the world where she was at her last task was indeed much better than this.
But now is not the time for all that.
Ah Zhao says with a frown: “I don’t know much about the rules of the inner palace, but even when imperial wives, concubines and princes move to a cold palace, there will be necessities prepared for them, right?”
When they walked into this palace, they were searched and striped of what they had on them. They were not allowed to bring anything into the palace. But when they got in, there was nothing in the palace either.
Did all those imperial wives and concubines who were sent to the cold palace survived by drinking dew?
Hearing that, Zhao Yin is silent for a minute and then says: “Now n.o.ble Consort He runs the internal affairs.”
n.o.ble Consort He is Zhao Yin’s biological aunt. She gave birth to the first prince who suffered an untimely death and the second prince.
Obviously, Zhao Yin does not have the best of relations with this aunt.
She can make them suffer using anything as an excuse to play for time. n.o.ble Consort He doesn’t even have to ask someone to arrange such an incident.
Ah Zhao frowns and says with resentment: “Only women and small-minded men are hard to deal with!”
Zhao Yin raises his eyebrows. Even under such a circ.u.mstance, he wants to laugh after hearing what she said.
Did it ever occur to his Princess that she herself is a woman when she said that?
Ah Zhao shoots him a glance. Do you think I can’t tell what you are thinking about just because you conceal your laugh?
At the moment, she’s both tired and hungry. During the day, she walked from Prince Yan’s Manor to here and she didn’t eat dinner. She does not have the energy to make a scene.
Her face feels sticky and she really wants to get some water and wash it carefully. But now it’s dark and she has no idea what it’s like in the back yard. It doesn’t seem wise to strode around out there.
Zhao Yin sees the tiredness on her face.
He says: “Get some rest first. We can discuss whatever stuff in the morning.”