Ning Shu was covered with cold sweat. The first thing she did after she got back to Orchid Garden Palace was to take a bath. Then she asked Miao Qing, “How is the packing going?”
Miao Qing hurriedly curtsied and replied, “Princess, everything is packed.”
Miao Qing gathered up her courage to ask, “Where does Princess plan to go?”
Ning Shu glanced meaningfully at Miao Qing as she said, “This princess is going to go live in the Princess Residence.”
Following that, Ning Shu successfully got to see Miao Qing’s facial color change drastically. Her face first paled before being filled with anxiousness. She asked Ning Shu, “Why did Princess suddenly want to leave the palace? Princess is the most honorable princess in Great Yong and only the most high-class location in the world is suitable for Princess.”
Tch. Honorable or not, in the end didn’t it simply depend on one sentence from Li Wen? Ning Shu saw that Miao Qing was so distressed that a bit of sweat had appeared on her flushed face, causing her to give off a charming glow.
How could Miao Qing not be worried? She could only see His Majesty in the palace. Would she be able to see His Majesty again once they left the palace? Miao Qing was very agitated but she didn’t know how to convince the princess and could only stare at her anxiously.
Ning Shu ignored Miao Qing’s gaze and went to check on how the packing was going. She found that there were chest after chests of items in the storeroom. There were over a dozen chests and they all contained rare and precious toys.
This princess sure was wealthy.
Miao Qing followed behind Ning Shu. She seriously could not bear the thought of leaving the palace and asked, “Princess, how long do you plan to live away from the palace?”
Ning Shu looked at Miao Qing as she said, “If no unexpected incidents occur, my entire life.”
The moment Miao Qing heard this, her figure swayed. With a despairing expression, she said, “Princess, isn’t it so much more comfortable in the Imperial Palace?”
Ning Shu didn’t pay attention to her and focused on looking through the things in the chests. Several chests contained all sorts of books.
During the evening meal, the Empress brought a huge group of people, enormous ranks of ceremonial attendants – even Li Wen didn’t have such a huge procession – to Orchid Garden Palace.
When the Empress saw Ning Shu, she took her hand with an expression as if she was very reluctant to part and said worriedly, “Jiahui, why did you decide that you wanted to live away from the palace? Is it that Sister-in-law hasn’t looked after you well enough? You’re the Emperor’s younger sister, Princess Jiahui of the Great Yong dynasty, how could you leave the palace? Don’t move out. Sister-in-law will miss you.”
Ning Shu took in the Empress’s expression and knew that the Empress truly would miss having her as a vanguard.
Ning Shu half-heartedly responded to the Empress. “Imperial Sister-in-law, I really don’t feel well so I wanted a change of scenery. Jiahui will often come back to the palace to visit Imperial Sister-in-law.”
When the Empress saw that Jiahui was determined to leave, the smile on her face faded a little and was replaced by a bit of worry. It was clear she was worrying about the change that would occur in the Imperial Palace once this sister-in-law left.
“Child, once you feel better you should come back to the palace. You are a girl, how could you live away from home?” The Empress half-heartedly said a few more words, then left.
Once the Empress left, all the consorts and concubines from the Inner Palace came to look for Ning Shu like a swarm of bees. Every single one of them questioned her to see if she really planned to leave the Imperial Palace.
The majority of the consorts were happy that the princess was leaving the Imperial Palace. After all, it meant that there was one less person to take up the Emperor’s attention so the Emperor might direct his gaze towards one of them.
The consorts and concubines expressed their well-wishes to Ning Shu and gave her some gifts. Ning Shu didn’t bother to be polite and accepted all of these things. In the face of these consorts insincere show of concern and urges to stay, Ning Shu directly replied that she was tired, they should see themselves out.
Yuan Dong and Miao Qing’s reactions were completely different. Miao Qing didn’t want to leave the Imperial Palace at all, but as the princess’s personal maid, she had to stay by the princess’s side. Miao Qing was so worried her lips were about to bleed from all her worried biting.
Meanwhile, Yuan Dong didn’t seem to care at all. Ning Shu took all of this in without addressing it. Miao Qing really didn’t have to worry, she would allow her to stay in the Imperial Palace as she so wished.