The young Emperor, as if by so strange impulse, put down his bowl and then drank another bowl of Bitter Gourd Soup!
After finishing it, his stomach churned violently, and he rushed out to vomit into the Lotus Pond in the Courtyard.
Inside, Xiaosuisui was still cheerfully conversing with Xie Pan’Er.
Xiaosuisui asked, "Beautiful sister! What is this Xiangxiang dish?"
Xie Pan’Er replied, "This is called Osmanthus Shark’s Fin. You see those tiny, grain-sized little flowers on top? Those are osmanthus!"
"Suisui wants to eat!"
But she couldn’t pick up the food, as she was still a child and not yet adept with chopsticks.
Nanny Xiao, standing to one side, quickly took a spoon and chopsticks to help her get so food.
Xie Pan’Er chuckled lightly and quickly said, "Let do it!"
"This servant will do it! You are a guest, please eat!"
Nanny Xiao was unwilling to pass up this opportunity to serve the Princess.
The Princess’s life in the Palace thus began.
「anwhile, outside the Palace, sothing major suddenly occurred.」
The Nanjiang Envoy who had co to the capital for peace talks had t with trouble!
It was on the fifth day of Xiaosuisui’s stay in the Palace and the third day after the Nanjiang Envoy had settled in the capital. Princess Ata, the leader of the Nanjiang Envoy, had been continuously submitting morials, seeking an audience with His Majesty the Emperor!
That morning, the results of the Autumn Examination had just been announced. Ji Youze was ranked fifth.
For anyone else, this ranking would be considered excellent. However, for Ji Youze, the Emperor’s study companion, it was not good. His knowledge and insight were both extraordinary; if he couldn’t achieve a good rank, it would be the Emperor who lost face.
The chief examiners, holding his examination paper, deliberated at length. In the end, the ranking was decided by the Emperor himself.
The young Emperor glanced at Ji Youze’s examination paper and knew this was deliberate. Ji Youze wasn’t aiming for a high rank in the Autumn Examination; on the contrary, he was aiming for the position of Champion Scholar in the Spring Examination!
Just as the young Emperor had soone announce the results, Eunuch Ling ca from outside to report that Princess Ata of Nanjiang had again submitted a morial requesting an audience with His Majesty.
The young Emperor naturally wouldn’t see her. The terms of the peace talks had not yet been settled, and for the Emperor to grant an audience first was against protocol. Thus, the morials were set aside and left unanswered.
Unexpectedly, Princess Ata submitted three more morials in a single day requesting an audience.
The young Emperor, seeing her persistence, thought of letting things cool down for two days to observe the situation. Unexpectedly, by noon the next day, news arrived that the Nanjiang Envoy had been subjected to an assassination attempt!
When the news arrived, Xiaosuisui and Xie Pan’Er were accompanying the Empress Dowager for afternoon tea.
The person who brought the news was Nanny Xiao!
Perhaps because Xie Pan’Er and Xiaosuisui were still children, Nanny Xiao did not avoid speaking in front of them.
"Madam, word has arrived from the Conference Hall. The Nanjiang envoy has t with trouble! His Majesty’s Long Yan is full of fury!"
Empress Dowager Xiao looked up at Nanny Xiao in surprise.
Nanny Xiao whispered, "Princess Ata of Nanjiang was targeted in an assassination attempt."
"What..."
The small spoon the Empress Dowager was holding fell from her grasp into the bowl. With a CLANG! it startled Xiaosuisui and Xie Pan’Er.
Nanny Xiao continued, "I heard a scholar did it, and that scholar has already been thrown into the great jail."
"A scholar?" Empress Dowager Xiao looked at Nanny Xiao in confusion, her eyes urging her to explain clearly!
"A scholar from Luming Academy. Allegedly, this morning, Princess Ata had a quarrel with a scholar at a silk shop at West Forest Lake.
That scholar, enraged, grabbed a pair of tailor’s scissors and plunged them into Princess Ata’s heart. The Imperial Physicians have all rushed there, but they dare not remove the scissors and are at their wits’ end!"
After Nanny Xiao finished speaking, Empress Dowager Xiao remained stunned for a long while. Nanjiang was currently in peace talks with Great Han. Although Nanjiang’s conspiracy had been unexpectedly encountered and foiled by the Emperor, if war were to reignite over the life or death of the Nanjiang princess due to this assassination attempt, the realm would be plunged into misery and its people would suffer terribly!
"Nanny!"
Xie Pan’Er timidly called out to Nanny Xiao.
Nanny Xiao looked up at her, only then noticing that her face had turned deathly pale.
"Miss Xie, are you alright?"
Xie Pan’Er was visibly unsettled, wanting to speak yet hesitating.
"Do you know Princess Ata?"
Seeing her unusual behavior, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but ask.
Xie Pan’Er shook her head. "I do not!"
"Then why are you like this?"
The Empress Dowager’s voice grew stern.
Xie Pan’Er quickly knelt, her voice trembling as she asked,
"May I ask Nanny, that scholar from Luming Academy... what is his na?"
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