"Lady-in-Waiting, we..."
Green Radish and Zhu Tao turned pale and immediately lowered their hands.
Shen Qingqing snapped, "I was only gone for a little while, and you actually dared to hit my daughter?"
It was the first time Zhu Tao and Green Radish had seen Shen Qingqing so furious. They knelt on the ground, trembling nonstop.
"No, Lady-in-Waiting, please let this servant explain. We were only playing a game with the little princess."
"Mommy, they're both so mean! They were going to hit me. Thank goodness Mommy got here in time, or they would've beaten me!"
Ye Tangtang let out a wail and threw herself into her mother's arms, crying pitifully without shedding a single tear.
"There, there, don't cry, my precious Tang Tang. Mommy will stand up for you. No one gets to bully our Tang Tang."
Shen Qingqing spoke softly as she held and soothed her daughter. Ye Tangtang seized the opportunity to nuzzle her mother's chest a few more times.
Let me bury my face in here!
Mommy's such a gorgeous beauty. That scumbag dad really got a bargain.
Ah, my heart aches.
That's all right. I can find Mommy lots and lots of pretty boys later. Since scumbag dad has so many women, Mommy can have plenty of handsome young men too.
Shen Qingqing shuddered in fright at her daughter's thoughts. Pretty boys... but her husband was His Majesty!
This daughter of hers was far too bold. Surely she wouldn't marry a whole bunch of princess consorts in the future?
"Lady-in-Waiting, we truly didn't hit the princess."
"Lady-in-Waiting, this servant has been wronged! We were playing a game with the princess just now. She must have misunderstood us."
"Mommy, those two really were going to hit me."
Ye Tangtang wrapped her arms around her mother's soft waist and nestled against her.
Shen Qingqing tossed the things she had just dug up in front of them. They were all pieces of jewelry she had once worn, including a hairpin His Majesty had personally bestowed upon her.
"Lady-in-Waiting, these are..."
"Didn't you say the other consorts took these things? Then what are these?"
Zhu Tao turned deathly pale. "Lady-in-Waiting, we don't know what these are. We absolutely didn't take them."
Shen Qingqing gave a cold laugh. "You don't know? What a fine excuse."
Had she not heard her daughter's inner thoughts, she might have forgiven these two maids. Not only had they stolen her belongings, but they had also stolen Tang Tang's jade pendant.
People like them deserved no forgiveness. The last shred of affection she had for them was gone.
"Lady-in-Waiting, His Majesty has ordered this servant to escort you out of the Cold Palace."
It was Eunuch Wang, the Northern Emperor's most favored attendant and one of the most powerful eunuchs in the palace. Sending him to fetch Lady-in-Waiting Shen afforded Shen Qingqing every possible honor.
Many consorts in the Cold Palace hurried over at the sound.
"Eunuch Wang, please wait a moment."
"Yes."
Shen Qingqing quickly packed the things she used regularly, took her daughter's hand, and finally stepped through the gates of the Cold Palace.
Zhu Tao clung to Shen Qingqing's leg and begged through her tears, "Lady-in-Waiting, this servant knows she was wrong! I'll never dare do it again. Please take me with you."
"Please, Lady-in-Waiting, take me with you too! From now on, this servant will devote herself wholeheartedly to serving you and the little princess."
Shen Qingqing ignored them both. She stroked her daughter's head, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "Tang Tang, let's go."
"Okay."
Ye Tangtang skipped along beside her mother.
Little schoolboy, off you go, schoolbag on your back...
Shen Qingqing: ...
School? Did Tang Tang want to attend the Imperial Academy?
If she could see Ye Yubei, she would certainly fight for that opportunity for her daughter.
"Oh, Lady-in-Waiting, you're finally out! The sedan chair has been waiting here for ages. Please get in with the Ninth Princess."
"A sedan chair?"
Shen Qingqing stared at the sedan chair before her in astonishment. Only women of consort rank were permitted to ride in one like this...
While Shen Qingqing was still reeling, Ye Tangtang had already climbed aboard. She sat there like a lord, one leg crossed high over the other, without the slightest trace of a princess's bearing.
You know, this sedan chair really is pretty soft. It's my first time riding in a palace sedan chair, and it feels rather nice. Perfectly fitting for a princess like me.
Oh, not bad, not bad.
Now this is comfortable.
Shen Qingqing: "..."
Shen Qingqing was escorted out of the Cold Palace with great fanfare. Ye Tangtang was immensely pleased with herself. At last, she had gotten to be a princess for once.
She had no idea why the tyrant had suddenly changed his mind, but being alive was enough. She would keep freeloading and waiting for death, then behave better in the next world.
"How dare you! You actually dared to block the Lady-in-Waiting's sedan chair? Get out of the way!"
A string of curses rang out ahead. Ye Tangtang had been eating a lollipop with her legs crossed high, and the noise hurt her ears a little. She picked at an ear and opened her noble eyes.
"What happened? Why have we stopped?"
"Princess, it's nothing important. Just a stray dog who dared to block our princess's path. This servant will drive him away at once," Eunuch Wang said with a smile.
A stray dog!
Ye Tangtang's eyes flew wide open. Surely it couldn't be what she was thinking!
[Congratulations, Tang Tang, you guessed right! This is none other than the great villainous male lead!! La la la! Are you happy? Excited? You've met the great male lead!]
Ye Tangtang rolled her eyes dramatically. Could she say she wasn't happy in the slightest?
If it wanted her to win over the male lead, it could forget it. Impossible. Not in this lifetime.
[Precious Tang Tang, do you want spicy strips and lollipops?]
Ye Tangtang blinked her big eyes. Of course she did! She couldn't possibly want them more!
(´,,•∀•,,`)
[That's the spirit! Go on. Spend fifteen minutes with him every day, and you'll get 100 points. They can accumulate too, so you can do a ten-pull. You might even get your favorite ice cream.]
Ye Tangtang's eyes gleamed like gold. She climbed straight down from the sedan chair. Nothing mattered more than ice cream.
The youth wore black robes and stood with his hands behind his back. His face was cold and haughty, tinged with a sickly pallor, and his unfathomably deep eyes shone with an icy light.
"Get lost."
Eunuch Wang had never met anyone so arrogant. Daring to treat him with such disrespect in the imperial palace-did he still think he was the crown prince?
Pah! Nothing but a stray dog.
Eunuch Wang raised his hand to teach him a lesson.
"Wait," Ye Tangtang said.
"Ninth Princess, this servant will give this ill-mannered stray dog a proper lesson on your behalf. He actually dared to disturb you."
"No need. I wasn't disturbed. He was only passing through and didn't know this was my sedan chair. Those who act in ignorance bear no blame. Let him go."
"Yes, the Ninth Princess is right."
Eunuch Wang immediately stepped back, secretly shooting Jun Yuyuan a glare. This little bastard dared to embarrass me. Just you wait.
Ye Tangtang took a few steps closer. "You..."
"What do you want?"
The youth's voice was icy, and his face bore an expression that did not belong on someone his age.
This great male lead looks so scary. It's okay. For the sake of those lovely lollipops, I'm not afraid...
Jun Yuyuan's gaze darkened. His pitch-black eyes fixed on the girl before him as though trying to see straight through her.
Male lead? And what was a lollipop?
Before you continue