"Alright, let’s quickly leave this place to avoid further issues," Bai Ruozhu suggested.
Princess Diao Bin immediately nodded. She now greatly admired Bai Ruozhu, and followed closely behind her as they left the room.
"If anyone asks, the Princess only needs to say that you encountered me on the way back from the palace. Do not speak of other matters, and tell your maid not to say more," Bai Ruozhu instructed.
Thinking about the humiliation she had just suffered, Princess Diao Bin wished she could hack Li Yuande to pieces. However, she understood Bai Ruozhu’s point and knew it would be better for her reputation. After all, she was not yet married.
"I understand, thank you for your help," said Princess Diao Bin, blushing.
Bai Ruozhu smiled, winking mischievously at her, "You’re not mad at me thinking that I would sacrifice you, right?" During her cunning feint of paralyzing Li Yuande, she had indeed seen hatred flash in the Princess’ eyes.
The face of Princess Diao Bin grew redder. She stammered, "I... I misunderstood you. I understand now that I was just being foolish."
The maid by their side didn’t know the full story, but she clearly understood that Bai Ruozhu had helped her mistress. She immediately bowed to Bai Ruozhu and said, "Madam, your orders will be remembered by this unworthy servant."
Seeing the unpretentious and kind-hearted Princess, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but feel sympathy towards her. Smiling at them both, she said: "Let us get going. They sidetracked Miss Leng to keep her out of the way. We will have to trouble you, princess, to send someone to find her afterwards."
"Alright, I will instruct my guards to discreetly look for her later," she answered.
The conversation ended, but it turned out that calling in the guards wasn’t necessary. Without going much farther, Bai Ruozhu spotted a piece of clothing peaking out through the corner of nearby garden. She remembered this piece to be what Leng Wanhua had worn for the day. Rushing forward, she found Leng Wanhua knocked unconscious and tossed in the garden.
Bai Ruozhu quickly revived her by pressing on particular acupuncture points. Leng Wanhua regained consciousness, quickly grabbed Bai Ruozhu’s hand and inquired: "Sister Ruozhu, are you alright? Someone attacked me."
"I’m fine. Tell me what exactly happened." Bai Ruozhu helped her to stand up.
"I don’t know exactly. I was chasing after the eunuch who delivered the wrongly labeled royal court dress. Then, suddenly, my neck hurt, and I lost consciousness," explained Leng Wanhua with a pained expression, gingerly rubbing her neck.
Bai Ruozhu felt sorry for her and took out a jar of trauma ointment, instructing her, "Hold still, and I’ll apply this ointment to you. You will suffer much less."
Curiously, Princess Diao Bin watched all these proceedings, finding Bai Ruozhu to be far more capable and formidable than herself.
At that moment, they heard approaching footsteps. Turning to look, they saw Jiang Yichun and Leng Bin walking towards them.
Upon seeing her, Jiang Yichun left Leng Bin behind, swiftly rushing over and asking, "Why did you take so long? Did something happen?"
Bai Ruozhu slightly nodded and responded, "It’s all settled. Let’s return to our places to avoid drawing unnecessary attention."
"As long as you’re safe. Let’s go," Jiang Yichun said, unceremoniously taking Bai Ruozhu’s hand and leading her back, without casting a single glance at Leng Wanhua or acknowledging Princess Diao Bin. It was not intentional; he was just too worried about Ruozhu and, upon seeing her, found himself unable to notice anyone else.
This leaves Leng Bin to ask after his sister and acknowledge the princess. His courteous inquiry helped to dissipate the awkwardness.
Walking ahead with Jiang Yichun, Bai Ruozhu told him in a low voice, "Someone tried to frame me, giving me a fourth-rank court dress with an imperial edict. Miss Leng chased after them and got knocked unconscious. The Princess was trying to inform me of the incident."
"Who did it?" Jiang Yichun’s face darkened, he almost wished he could rip apart whoever was responsible.
Bai Ruozhu gave a brief explanation of the situation to Jiang Yichun then added, "Her cousin has a venereal disease. Afraid he’s going to die soon."
"Lady Liu!" Jiang Yichun barked through gritted teeth. Anyone who dared to plot against his Ruozhu would pay the price!
"Brother Yichun," Princess Diao Bin timidly called from behind.
Jiang Yichun turned around, and said, "Thank you, Princess Diao Bin."
Blushing, Princess Diao Bin felt that instead of being a help, she ended up being saved by Bai Ruozhu.
With wide eyes, Leng Wanhua was unabashedly looking between Jiang Yichun’s face and Princess Diao Bin’s. Her excitement over the new gossip was almost palpable, prompting Leng Bin to discreetly pull her back.
After speaking to others, Jiang Yichun once again escorted Bai Ruozhu onwards. Leaning in, she whispered, "Don’t let others know. I’ve drugged Li Yuande."
Jiang Yichun’s mouth twitched into a small smile, "Alright, I’ll follow your lead and enjoy the show."
As they made their way back to their seats and took their places at the table, Bai Ruozhu became the center of curiosity because her dress hadn’t changed and was still stained by the fruit juice. This caught the attention of the lady who had earlier accidentally spilled the juice on Bai’s dress. Coming over hesitantly, the lady asked, "Madam Jiang, were you unable to find a change of dress?"
Bai Ruozhu shook her head with a smile, "The eunuch was careless. He got me a fourth-rank court dress with an imperial edict. How could I dare to wear it? Then, when I went to have it changed, the eunuch could not be found. So, I had no choice but to make do for a while."
She didn’t want to compromise either; it felt terrible having fruit juice sticking to her skin through the fabric. However, she really didn’t want this clothing matter to escalate further.
The lady was not a fool. Her eyes darted around, realizing something was inappropriate, and decided it was better not to get involved. After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, she excused herself.
Bai Ruozhu wiped her dress with a damp cloth which helped slightly, and thought of the upcoming drama, assuring herself this discomfort was nothing. Putting down the cloth, she inconspicuously looked towards the empress’s side and found Lady Liu sitting next to the emperor.
Lady Liu was beautiful with a seductive charm, the kind of looks that could bewitch a king. Her ruthless and fierce eyebrows flags her merciless nature.
Yes, Liu Mei Ren bore grudges. Just because Bai Ruozhu inadvertently interfered with her performance, Lady Liu set such a trap.
Just as she thought this, she saw Li Yuande staggering over from the garden. The guards did not stop him as he was one of the guests. To everyone’s surprise, he burped out loud and suddenly started acting drunk.
"Why do all of you look down on me? Let the Imperial Concubine betroth you all to me and see if you still dare to despise me!". As he rambled on sounding drunk, a lecherous smile appeared on his face, "My beauty, let this master take good care of you!"
As he laughed, he began to undress. Lady Liu on the stage reacted immediately, ordering her guards, "Quickly arrest him and take him down, so that he doesn’t disgrace us all here!"
The emperor frowned slightly. He was still present, and before he had a chance to say anything, Lady Liu had already taken the initiative to give orders. She was certainly getting audacious.