"Lately, the palace attendants have been quite neglectful of Ah Yu. They used to deliver a nightly snack to him, but ever since Mother lost the power to manage the inner palace, it hasn’t happened."
The Empress sighed as she recounted the miserable situation she and Jun Yu found themselves in.
But is it really miserable? Or just a pretense?
The truth and falsehood are easy to discern.
After all, the Empress is still the Empress. As long as she’s not officially deposed, she’s someone everyone in the inner palace fears. Her confinement and the loss of her power to manage the palace are temporary. As long as she holds the title of Empress, these things will eventually return to her.
The palace attendants are not foolish. How could they possibly risk offending the Empress just because she momentarily lost favor?
The Empress’s claims are somewhat exaggerated.
But Jun Ning could understand the reason behind it.
By painting her and Ah Yu’s plight so pitifully, isn’t the Empress trying to evoke sympathy and increase the chances of receiving Jun Ning’s help?
"These palace attendants are indeed too much," Jun Ning commented, playing along.
The Empress seized the opportunity, holding Jun Ning’s hand, and said, "Ah Ning, solving these problems isn’t difficult. You just need to tell your Father to lift my confinement and restore my power to manage the inner palace, and everything will be fine."
"Sigh..." Jun Ning sighed, "But will Father really listen to me?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⟡𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
"You are his favorite now. He might not listen to others, but he will certainly listen to you," the Empress said. "Right now, you’re the only one who can help Mother. Ah Ning, consider this as Mother begging you, please don’t refuse."
Jun Ning rubbed her chin, "Let me think about it."
"What’s there to think about? It’s just a matter of saying a few words," the Empress said, looking toward the Glazed Coral Tree beside Jun Ning. "Mother has given you this Glazed Coral Tree, isn’t that enough for you to help with such a small favor?"
Is this a small favor?
The Empress, though thinking Jun Ning might be clever—clever enough to potentially threaten her in the future—still regarded her as a child to be easily fooled right now.
"Ah Ning, Mother also mentioned before that if you help me with this favor, there are other benefits."
"Other benefits?" Jun Ning showed interest, "What other benefits are there?"
"Mother can persuade His Majesty to release your mother from the Cold Palace."
Jun Ning could also plead with Emperor Yongning for this without relying on the Empress. However, she had always lacked the right opportunity to do so. Now seemed like the perfect chance.
Jun Ning thought, "Empress, it was you who came to me for help, don’t regret it later!"
The Empress couldn’t fathom Jun Ning’s scheming, and at this moment, she eagerly awaited Jun Ning’s agreement.
Jun Ning pretended to hesitate for a while, then agreed.
"Mother, I can agree to your request, but don’t forget your promise."
The Empress replied, "Of course, I won’t."
With that, the two exchanged smiles, each harboring their own thoughts.
All that was left was to wait for Emperor Yongning to come, then seize the right moment to bring up the matter.
The Empress planned to send someone to invite His Majesty, but unexpectedly, when it was almost dinner time, His Majesty came to find Jun Ning on his own.
He had missed his precious one all day.
"My treasure, my treasure..."
As Emperor Yongning entered the Jiaofang Palace, he started looking for someone.