After parting ways with Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An in the Imperial Garden, the Three Little Ones headed towards Jingyang Palace.
On the way, Yu'er couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Your Highness, why did you invite Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An to come with us?"
Yu'er was very puzzled; even she could clearly feel the awkward atmosphere between the two.
Now Imperial Sister Ankang had actually taken the initiative to invite Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An to accompany them. Wasn't that just asking for trouble?
Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Imperial Sister Ankang didn't hide her true thoughts.
"Sister Yu'er, this competition is taking place outside the palace, unlike usual. It's better to be careful and cautious."
Upon hearing this, Yu'er couldn't help but guess:
"Is Your Highness traveling with Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An for our safety?"
Imperial Sister Ankang nodded silently.
"But aren't you afraid of Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An?"
"After all..."
Yu'er said, looking around, and continued in a lowered voice:
"After all, Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An is the Empress's daughter, isn't she?"
Yu'er's worries were not unfounded.
Within the Imperial Palace, who didn't know that the Empress had no goodwill towards their Jingyang Palace?
And as the Empress's daughter, Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An would inevitably be influenced by her mother.
Imperial Sister Ankang lowered her head, silently stroking Li Xuan's fur, and after a moment, said:
"Actually, I'm also very curious about Princess Yuan An's attitude towards us."
"This is also a very good opportunity."
"Isn't it?"
Li Xuan silently looked up at Imperial Sister Ankang, feeling a bit unfamiliar.
When they were in Jingyang Palace, the Three Little Ones always played together foolishly, constantly happy and carefree.
Although Li Xuan and Yu'er both knew that Imperial Sister Ankang had been intelligent since childhood, they had never seen her truly show her brilliance.
Now that Imperial Sister Ankang was suddenly calculating these things, it made Li Xuan and Yu'er feel both unfamiliar and a pang of pity and helplessness for her.
If the three of them had remained locked in Jingyang Palace, never seeing the light of day, they could have continued to be foolishly happy.
But their situation was different now.
The Three Little Ones were gradually coming into more frequent contact with the outside world, no longer confined to the Jingyang Palace.
This brought them benefits, but also risks.
However, life in the palace was like this: if you wanted to live well, you had to contend with others.
Even if you didn't want to contend, someone would actively come to contend with you.
Ultimately, you would have no choice but to contend... Early the next morning.
People from the Internal Affairs Bureau knocked on the gate of Jingyang Palace. They came at the appointed time to pick up the Three Little Ones to leave the palace.
And outside the gate, the luxurious carriage that took them to and from Thousand Stars Pavilion was waiting.
The Three Little Ones were accustomed to it and naturally boarded the carriage.
According to the Internal Affairs Bureau, Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An had already gone to Tongming Gate, waiting for them to meet there.
The carriage did not delay and headed straight for Tongming Gate.
Speaking of which, the last time Li Xuan left the palace with Chief Steward Shang, he also went through Tongming Gate.
Tongming Gate was the only Imperial City gate in the West Palace that led to the outside world, the northernmost of the three western Imperial City gates.
The carriage was fast, and it wasn't long before the Three Little Ones arrived at Tongming Gate by carriage.
And today, Tongming Gate was surprisingly lively.
Many Imperial Princes and Princesses were preparing to leave the palace, accompanied by their personal attendants and a retinue of guards.
Everyone shared the same idea: to leave the palace early so they would have more time for the investigation.
So most people chose to leave the palace at this time.
However, when they saw a luxurious carriage slowly approaching from a distance, they all froze in place, watching the direction from which the carriage came.
"Who is this?"
"To actually drive a carriage within the palace!"
Riding horses or driving carriages in the Imperial City was a very special privilege. Apart from a select few, no one had such a right.
Beside the Imperial Princes and Princesses, many exquisitely crafted shoulder palanquins were placed.
These were similar to sedan chairs but simpler.
In the middle was a seat, and then there were four long poles that could be carried on people's shoulders.
These were the daily means of transport for the nobles in the palace.
No matter how exquisitely crafted the shoulder palanquins were, they could not compare to the carriage before them.
They were simply not on the same level.
Moreover, the carriage before them was no ordinary carriage; not only was its space enormous, but its exterior decorations were also very luxurious. Even the carriages they occasionally saw in the palace could not compare to this one.
Just as these Imperial Princes and Princesses were guessing who was in the carriage, the curtain of the carriage was suddenly pulled open, revealing a small, delicate, and lovely face.
Imperial Sister Ankang peered out of the carriage for a moment and quickly spotted Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An in the crowd.
"Princess Yuan An, over here, over here."
Imperial Sister Ankang waved, and Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An, who had been waiting for a long time at Tongming Gate, was still a bit slow to react.
The others had similar reactions.
They never expected that the luxurious carriage contained Imperial Sister Ankang, whom they had always looked down upon.
Imperial Sister Ankang noticed the strange looks from everyone, silently pulled the carriage curtain back down, and quietly hid back inside the carriage.
At this moment, Yu'er jumped down from the back of the carriage and then invited Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An to board.
The accompanying eunuch driver quickly brought a small step for boarding, and then Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An's personal attendant palace maid helped her into the carriage.
After entering the carriage, Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An was again surprised by the interior decorations.
As the Empress's legitimate daughter, her discernment was naturally not poor.
However, even in Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An's eyes, this carriage was one of the best in the Imperial Palace.
"I've long heard that Imperial Sister Ankang takes a carriage to the East Palace to read every month. I never expected this carriage to be so luxurious."
Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An was secretly astonished.
She had seen many rare things in the Imperial Palace, but this was the first time she had seen this carriage, and she didn't know who it originally belonged to.
Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An naturally wouldn't believe that Emperor Yongyuan had specially built this carriage for Imperial Sister Ankang.
Even her mother had never enjoyed such an honor.
So Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An was even less likely to think that Imperial Sister Ankang would receive such treatment.
"Imperial Sister Ankang, your carriage is really nice."
Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An looked around the carriage's interior space, then turned back and instructed:
"All of you follow below. You are not allowed to disturb us without my command."
The palace maid who had helped Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An into the carriage had intended to follow her in to serve.
Because Yu'er was already present, it was also in accordance with the rules.
If only Imperial Sister Ankang were in the carriage, the palace maid naturally would not overstep her bounds.
"This..."
Upon hearing Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An's command, the palace maid showed a difficult expression.
Imperial Sister Ankang had Yu'er serving her, but if Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An had no one serving her, it would inevitably look bad.
If the space inside the carriage were insufficient, that would be understandable.
But the palace maid glanced inside and clearly saw that the carriage was spacious enough to accommodate several more people without being crowded.
"Didn't you hear me?"
"Hmm?"
Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An's tone was slightly stern, and the palace maid no longer dared to insist. She lowered her eyes and retreated, conveying Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An's words to the others.
"Princess Yuan An, it's actually fine if you bring one person up to serve."
Imperial Sister Ankang said from the side.
But Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An shook her head:
"After all, it's Imperial Sister's carriage. It's enough for Princess Yuan An to just hitch a ride. There's no need to bring servants up."
"And with no outsiders present, it's easier for us to talk."
Ever since Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An had, by chance, visited Jingyang Palace once, she had already known that the relationship between Imperial Sister Ankang and Yu'er was not merely that of master and servant.
Moreover, Yu'er had taken good care of her that time, so Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An would not slight Yu'er.
"Alright then."
Since Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An insisted, Imperial Sister Ankang did not force her.
And at Imperial Sister Ankang's signal, the carriage continued forward, quickly passing through Tongming Gate and driving out of the Imperial City.
As they departed, it became lively outside the carriage.
"We've waited here for so long, why did Ankang get to go first?"
"Who is the commander of the Imperial Guard? Tell him to come over and tell me if there's any first-come, first-served rule here!"
"I don't know who taught them, but how can there be no rules in this palace!"
The carriage hadn't driven far, and these words were heard clearly inside the carriage.
Imperial Sister Ankang's expression darkened, knowing that these words were directed at her.
But she could only pretend not to hear them.
Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An, on the other hand, turned cold. She released the white civet cat in her arms, pulled open the carriage curtain, and stuck her head out.
"Princess Yuan An, what are you doing?"
Imperial Sister Ankang reached out to stop her, fearing she would do something impulsive.
There were several Imperial Princes and Princesses older than them below. If she said something wrong, it would inevitably invite criticism.
It was clear that Princess Yuan An wanted to stand up for herself, and Imperial Sister Ankang naturally couldn't let her take risks for her sake.
But Imperial Sister Ankang was still a step too slow.
"When entering and leaving the Imperial City, except for the Emperor's carriage, carriages have always gone first."
"Who exactly doesn't understand the rules?"
"It's a shame that some people have lived their whole lives in the palace but have never seen a carriage travel."
"Shut your mouths, watch closely, and learn something!"
After Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An fiercely hurled these words out, she threw down the curtain and returned to the carriage, fuming.
The noisy chatter outside instantly ceased, falling into an eerie silence.
Lies don't hurt people; the truth is a sharp knife.
Many of the Imperial Princes and Princesses below were indeed seeing a carriage pass through the palace for the first time.
Therefore, many people were unaware of such a rule, and their faces immediately burned red.
"You, you..."
They craned their necks, pointed their fingers straight, and kept saying "you" at the rapidly departing carriage, so angry that their chests felt like they would explode.
"Princess Yuan An, you're so rude!"
"If you have the guts, come down, and I'll teach you what rules are."
It wasn't until the carriage had driven far away that these people started shouting again, as if they had only just remembered what to say next.
Each of them was as self-important as could be.
But only they themselves knew the truth of the matter.
That trembling tone, in fact, already indirectly proved a lot.
Even among the Imperial children, there were distinctions of rank.
Emperor Yongyuan didn't care much for any of his children, so it depended on their respective birth mothers.
But Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An was different from all of them.
Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An was the legitimate daughter of the Empress. Even if she was younger in seniority, she was not someone everyone could provoke.
Her shouting at the Eighth Prince was, firstly, due to the Eighth Prince's personality, and secondly, because she had the confidence to speak that way.
Earlier, these Imperial Princes and Princesses had intended to take the opportunity to bully Imperial Sister Ankang and find some psychological balance.
As a result, they unexpectedly drew a round of mockery from Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An.
Especially now, with many people standing outside Tongming Gate, they had truly lost face.
Those Imperial Princes and Princesses who had previously made sarcastic remarks now all looked uncomfortable.
Especially the other Imperial Princes and Princesses who hadn't spoken were now looking at them with amusement, making them so ashamed they wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
They couldn't understand how Imperial Sister Ankang and Imperial Princess Princess Yuan An could have become so close.