Consort of a Thousand Faces

Ning Anlian gestured for Piao Xu to act, and the latter quickly picked up a wooden stick from below the table. It was originally for beating disobedient palace maidservants, but would serve to knock one out this time around.

 

Ning Anlian called for the palace maidservants to enter as Piao Xu remained hidden behind the doors. Once the maidservant entered, Piao Xu immediately brandished the wooden stick that she had hidden behind her back.

 

But who could’ve known that this palace maid from the Imperial Kitchen would immediately realise what was happening and try to shout for the Imperial Army guards outside?

 

Piao Xu swiftly closed in on the maidservant before firmly placing a hand over her mouth and threatening her. "Shut up. If you dare to scream, it won't be as simple as knocking you out. I will kill you immediately!"

 

The palace maid was frightened and nodded her head in fear.

 

Ning Anlian's voice sounded out. "If you are unwilling to listen to my orders, this Princess will ensure that you won’t walk out of here today. Remove your outer garments."

 

If not because I want to leave the palace, I would never wear a palace maid’s clothes!

 

The palace maid understood the intention of the Eldest Imperial Princess, and trembled as she took off her outer garments. She watched as Piao Xu handed the clothes over to the Eldest Imperial Princess and the latter entered the inner room. After some time, the Eldest Imperial Princess emerged with the newly stolen clothes and the palace maid's hairstyle.

 

The palace maid took a glance and knelt down swiftly. "Eldest Imperial Princess, this servant is just a little maidservant in the Imperial Kitchen, and unable to leave the palace. Even if Your Highness were to change into my clothes, it'd be meaningless!"

 

As soon as she said that, Piao Xu raised her hand and gave her a slap. "You should just keep your big mouth shut and quietly sit there; stop worrying about things that don’t concern you!"

 

Piao Xu slapped the maidservant with such force that the latter felt dizzy. She didn't dare to speak another word.

 

Ning Anlian uncovered the food container and took out the dishes within, quickly eating what she could. After finishing, she placed back the lid of the container, taking the food container and her packed cloth bundle with her as she headed out the door immediately after.

 

She was stopped by the imperial guards upon reaching the outskirts of the repose palace. "What are you holding in that cloth bundle of yours?"

 

Before Ning Anlian even replied, Piao Xu walked out from within the halls. "The Eldest Imperial Princess' dress was torn. None of the palace maids in the repose palace can leave the palace, so we can only pass it to this palace maid from the Imperial Kitchen to bring it to the palace seamstresses. She will send it back when they are done mending it."

 

Hearing her explanation, the imperial guards thought about it for a moment before allowing Ning Anlian through without any more trouble. Piao Xu watched her disappear into the distance and silently sighed in relief before getting caught up in another wave of worry. The Eldest Imperial Princess versus Su Xi-er, who will be the winner? Although Su Xi-er’s status is only that of a maidservant, she doesn’t act like one at all.

 

Ning Anlian had just arrived in the Imperial Kitchen and set the food container down when she saw the horse carriage that would be heading out for supplies.

 

She walked up immediately, kept her head lowered, and secretly sneaked onto the horse carriage when no one was looking.

 

The two imperial guards driving the horse carriage both sat in the front, so neither of them noticed Ning Anlian sneaking into the back as the carriage exited the imperial palace.

 

Ning Anlian's secret trip out of the palace was considered a smooth one. The only unexpected part was the huge baskets meant for vegetables that were loaded into the back of the carriage. Shifting herself to the side, Ning Anlian looked at the baskets with disdain.

 

As soon as the carriage stopped, the imperial guard entered a shop to look at the vegetables, negotiate, and pay for them.

 

Ning Anlian immediately alighted the carriage, taking care to not sprain her ankle again. She then began to walk towards the Water Caltrop River, weaving her way past the hordes of people and hollers of peddlers.

 

When she passed by a dinky looking teahouse, Ning Anlian overheard a conversation between a few burly men that made her halt her footsteps. She only became angrier after listening closely.

 

"That woman was really beautiful, but isn’t it weird? Instead of our Eldest Imperial Princess, why is the one wearing red, a noble colour, a woman that Prince Hao dotes on?”

 

In their eyes, Su Xi-er had become the woman who Prince Hao was extremely protective of and doted upon.