At the Empress Dowager's door, a maidservant blocked Jiang Yun's way, gave him a curtsy, and said, "Second Master Fu, the Empress Dowager has already gone to bed. Please come to see her again tomorrow."
"Has the Empress Dowager gone to sleep?"
Jiang Yun asked, panting.
"Yes, she just fell asleep not long ago. The Empress Dowager has been less active lately, and she finally managed to fall asleep. Please don't disturb her, Second Master Fu."
The maid continued, "It seems the medicine will take a while to take effect!"
"Well, since the Empress Dowager is asleep, I naturally won't disturb her. But, alas—"
Jiang Yun turned around, sighed, shook her head, and was about to leave when she heard a creaking sound coming from a room next to the Empress Dowager's room, followed by the door opening.
"Jiang Yun, is that you?"
Under the moonlight, Princess Qing, dressed in a purple qipao, opened the door and stood in the doorway asking a question. Princess Qing was just thinking of falling asleep.
Suddenly, I heard Jiang Yun's voice faintly coming from the courtyard, so I opened the door and went out to see what was going on. To my surprise, it was Jiang Yun.
Upon seeing Qing'er, Jiang Yun's face lit up with a joyful smile. He quickly walked to Qing'er's side, cupped his hands, and said, "Jiang Yun greets Princess Qing."
According to royal etiquette, Jiang Yun naturally had to pay his respects to Qing'er.
"Alright, alright, we're all family here, there are no outsiders. Let's put away these formalities."
Qing'er smiled radiantly and gently touched Jiang Yun's hand, indicating that Jiang Yun did not need to bow to her.
Jiang Yun felt the fleeting softness and smoothness on the back of her hand and said with a smile.
"If all the princesses in this palace were like you, constantly paying their respects every day, it's so vulgar, haha."
"Alright, it's getting cold. Don't stand outside anymore. Come in with me. And please don't tell any outsiders about this. After all, this etiquette of greeting is a rule passed down from our ancestors."
Qing'er said with a smile, then gracefully gestured for the customer.
"How could I say that? I only dare to say it to you. If I said it to anyone else, I'd just be asking for trouble."
Jiang Yun smiled and, without being overly polite, followed Qing'er into Jiang Yun's room.
After inviting Jiang Yun into the room, Qing'er walked out and instructed a maid, "No one is to come in without my permission."
"Yes, Princess Qing."
The maid answered crisply.
Although Princess Qing is well-behaved and sensible, she actually has a rather progressive mindset. In addition, Princess Qing is a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl who loves to play and naturally does not like to be bound by etiquette.
Every day, I spend my time chatting with an old lady, which is so boring that I'm about to die. I finally met Jiang Yun, who is about the same age as me, so I naturally wanted to chat with him and relieve my boredom.
After closing the door, Qing'er walked gracefully to Jiang Yun's side and said with a smile, "Jiang Yun, please sit down first, I'll make you some tea."
As she spoke, Qing'er turned around, making a gesture to serve Jiang Yunqin tea.
Looking at Qing'er's charming face and elegant figure, and smelling the fragrance wafting from her movements, Jiang Yun's expression fluttered, and he instinctively reached out his hand.
He took Qing'er's small, soft hand and said with a smile, "No need for all that trouble, we can just chat casually."
"oh."
Feeling Jiang Yun's warm hand grasp her small hand, Qing'er blushed, shyly bit her lip, turned around, and quietly sat down opposite Jiang Yun.
The two sat at a round table, their eyes meeting, Jiang Yun still holding Qing'er's hand.
It wasn't until he saw the shyness and awkwardness on Qing'er's face that he realized his rudeness and hurriedly let go of Qing'er's little hand.
Jiang Yun coughed, just about to say something, when Qing'er spoke first, breaking the awkward silence between them.
"Jiang Yun, why are you here in the Empress Dowager's palace so late at night instead of properly guarding her? Has something serious happened?"
Knowing that Qing'er would ask this question, Jiang Yun had already prepared her response.
"It's nothing important, I just suddenly realized it's been a long time since I chatted with the Empress Dowager, and I happened to be passing by on my inspection tour today."
So I thought I'd come in to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, hear her teachings, and find some spiritual support, haha.
"Hehe, you know how to talk."
Qing'er looked at Jiang Yun with a smile, then suddenly asked curiously.
"Jiang Yun, I remember you used to be quite introverted, how come you've become so lively and talkative now, and even changed..."
Qing'er is a very clever girl who knows how to make people happy; otherwise, the Empress Dowager wouldn't like Qing'er so much and dote on her.
Originally, Qinggege wanted to say something about how Jiang Yun had suddenly become so troublesome, but after thinking about it, she swallowed her words.
However, since Qinggege didn't mention it, Jiang Yun picked up the conversation, saying it nonchalantly.
"Qing'er, I know you've been intelligent and understanding since childhood. You should know what it means to be caught up in the world of martial arts, right?"
"Hehe, I haven't even said anything to you yet, and you're already complaining. We are all members of the royal family, not some chivalrous heroes, haha."
Qing'er said with a smile. At this moment, Qing Gege was like a little sister next door. If others saw her, they would never think of her as the high and mighty Qing'er Gege.
Jiang Yun liked Qing'er very much as she was now. She was sweet, cute, and innocent. In Jiang Yun's eyes, a beautiful girl should be protected by a man and should not be involved in life-or-death struggles.
"Qing'er, don't you think that the palace is actually more terrifying and dangerous than the martial arts world?"
Jiang Yun sighed and suddenly said in a low voice.
"Jiang Yun, what's wrong with you today? Is it okay to say such things so casually? It's a good thing you told me, otherwise if others heard it, they might think you're slandering the current government."
Qing'er looked at Jiang Yun with a serious expression and said earnestly.
Jiang Yun waved his hand, not caring much, but seeing that Qing'er didn't seem interested in the question, he changed the subject, saying, "Qing'er, I can tell fortunes, do you want to believe me?"
"Oh, fortune telling?"
Upon hearing this question, Qing'er immediately smiled happily again, shook her head with a grin, and said sweetly, "I don't believe it. Fortune telling is too profound. Usually, only enlightened monks can tell fortunes. You're not a monk, so who would believe you can tell fortunes?"
"Forehead..."
Jiang Yun was speechless. Even if you don't believe me, you don't have to be so blunt. It's so hurtful to your pride. But only a beauty like Qing'er would be so blunt.
Jiang Yun wouldn't care. If anyone else dared to disrespect Jiang Yunfu, the Second Master and the First Prince, they would have slapped Jiang Yun away long ago!
"Really, I'm not lying to you, I really can tell fortunes."
Jiang Yun said with a serious expression.
"oh?"
Seeing that Jiang Yun was speaking seriously, Qing'er raised her beautiful eyebrows and asked in a sweet voice, "How do you know that?"
"this..."
Jiang Yun naturally wouldn't say that she had looked it up online before she transmigrated, so she made up a lie.
"When I was little, my family hired a tutor. He was a know-it-all, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography."
She's an expert in divination and geomancy. I found it interesting, so I learned some from Jiang Yun. Later, Jiang Yun also told me about astrology. Would you like to hear about it?
"constellation?"
Qing'er was immediately pleased with Little Star, blinking her beautiful big eyes and looking at Jiang Yun curiously, anticipating what he would say next.
Seeing Qing'er's earnest expression, Jiang Yun was overjoyed. His initial worry about the drug incident was completely forgotten.
Furthermore, the Empress Dowager was asleep at this time, and the room was filled with palace maids and eunuchs. Entering now would be tantamount to courting death.
It's better to wait until it's late at night, when there are fewer palace maids and eunuchs on night duty, before going in to check the situation.
So, Jiang Yun pretended to be mysterious and talked to Qing'er about many things related to constellations, although constellations are calculated according to the Gregorian calendar.
Since people in ancient times didn't understand the Gregorian calendar, Jiang Yun made up a story, saying that Qing'er was a Virgo, which made Qing'er blush and roll her eyes.
"Jiang Yun, what's your zodiac sign?"
Qing'er asked shyly.
"I'm a Sagittarius."
Jiang Yun replied with a smile.
"Oh? Sagittarius?"
Qing'er, being from ancient times and lacking modern knowledge, naturally failed to grasp the meaning behind Jiang Yun's words and asked anxiously.
"You just said that Sagittarius and Virgo... something like that are the most compatible, right?"
"Yes, that's what I said."
Jiang Yun replied with a smile.
"Why?"
"Qing'er asked innocently."
This put Jiang Yun in a real bind. He couldn't very well tell Qing'er, "Sagittarius and Virgo... hehe, you know what I mean!"
Jiang Yun rolled her eyes, thought for a moment, and then made up a story, "Qing'er, I haven't told your fortune yet. After I do, you'll understand why those two zodiac signs are the most compatible."
"Then you can't lie to me, okay?"
Qing'er pouted, her pretty face flushed, making her incredibly adorable.
"Okay, give me your hand."
Jiang Yun extended her hand.
"Hand? Why should I give you my hand?"
Qing'er blushed and asked in return.
"Because fortune telling involves looking at palm lines."
Jiang Yun explained.
"oh."
Half-believing and half-doubting, Qing'er shyly handed her hand to Jiang Yun, who eagerly grasped it and took the opportunity to caress Qing'er's soft and smooth little hand.
Qing'er's hands were very beautiful, like a piece of jade, pure white and flawless. Some people say that to judge whether a woman is beautiful, you should look at her face, but to judge whether a person is beautiful inside, you should look at their hands.
Jiang Yun didn't know if this was true or not, but she knew that Qing'er's hands were more beautiful than those of several other women she had ever seen, especially their whiteness.
Just like snow, it's as smooth as touching the most gorgeous silk in the world, and as soft as a sponge.
"Jiang Yun, didn't you want your palm read?"
Seeing that Jiang Yun was only playing with her little hands and had forgotten the important matter, Qing'er reminded her with a blush.
"Cough cough."
Reminded by Qinggege, Jiang Yun immediately showed an embarrassed expression. She coughed twice to cover up her panic and turned Qing'er's little hand over.
With his other hand, he used his index finger to trace lines in Qing'er's fair palm, pointing out which was the love line, which was the career line, and which was the life line.
Qing'er listened intently. At this moment, Qing Gege was very close to Jiang Yun, and Jiang Yun's masculine aura occasionally wafted over to Qing Gege.
With her little hand being held by Jiang Yun, and her palm being tickled by Jiang Yun's fingers, Qing'er's heart couldn't help but flutter.
"Hey, Qing'er, it seems there's something wrong with your love life."
Jiang Yun suddenly raised her head and pointed to a small white dot on the love line in Qing'er's palm.
"ah?"
Qing'er was lost in thought when Jiang Yun suddenly looked up at her. Qing'er was unharmed for a moment.
Like a girl in the throes of first love whose secrets have been exposed, her heart pounded wildly, and a blush quickly rose to her cheeks.
"Qing'er, what's wrong?"
Seeing Qing'er's face turn red, Jiang Yun asked curiously.
"N-no, it's nothing. What did you just say?"
Qing'er lowered her head shyly and asked.
Jiang Yun was speechless and slapped his forehead, feeling an urge to bang his head against the wall. Qing'er hadn't even listened to him, but that was for the beautiful girl.
Not paying attention to what is being said seems to be a privilege of Qing Gege and her ilk. Men are usually accommodating, so Jiang Yun could only patiently repeat the question she had just asked.
"What's wrong with my love life?"
Qing'er snapped out of her daze, her face still flushed, and asked curiously.
Just as Jiang Yun was about to answer, a maid rushed over and banged on Qing'er's door.
In a panicked voice, choked with sobs, she cried, "Princess Qing, something terrible has happened! The Empress Dowager…"