The Daily Life of Influencing the Empress [Transmigration into a Book GL] - Chapter 8

Outside Changchun Palace.

Wen Ping took the box from Mingyue’s hand, thanked her again, and walked toward that secluded, desolate place.

Inside the palace, as soon as Wet Nurse Zhao saw her approach, she rushed over. “Princess, where did you run off to? You worried this servant to death! If anything happened to you, how could I face the late Gentleman?”

Wen Ping’s expression was indifferent. After allowing her to cry for a while, she said, “I’m fine.”

Wet Nurse Zhao wiped her tears, then noticed the food box in her hand. Thinking of the rumors she had heard in the palace, she asked, “Did Mentor Xiao truly take the Princess back with her?”

“Yes,” Wen Ping said calmly.

“Princess!” Wet Nurse Zhao grew anxious. “How could you go with her? Her brother is Gentleman Xiao! They don’t mean well at all. When the Gentleman was exiled to the Cold Palace, it might have been his doing.”

“I understand,” Wen Ping did not argue, simply responding obediently.

She was always like this. Wet Nurse Zhao should have been used to it, but today she was quite concerned and continued, “Princess, you must remember that everyone in this palace has their own agenda. We cannot easily trust anyone.”

“I understand,” Wen Ping repeated.

“Princess,” Wet Nurse Zhao felt a pang of sadness looking at her clothes. “It’s this servant’s fault for being useless and letting the Princess suffer. If the Gentleman were still alive—”

She realized her slip of the tongue and immediately added, “It doesn’t matter anyway. Regardless, you are still His Majesty’s Eldest Imperial Daughter. His Majesty will not forget you. Things are hard now, but later, later they will certainly get better.”

“Wet Nurse Zhao,” Wen Ping looked up and said, “I’m hungry.”

“Right, right,” Wet Nurse Zhao hurriedly led her to the small table nearby. The dilapidated bowl, however, held little food. Everyone in the palace considered this place unlucky, and no one was willing to come here. When the Emperor deposed Minor Gentleman Yu, a wet nurse was left behind because the child was young.

For the first two years, the food sent to the Cold Palace was either thin broth or cold, sour leftovers. In the past two years, Wet Nurse Zhao found a job washing clothes for others, and the food had improved slightly, but it was still just scraps.

“Princess, please make do with this,” Wet Nurse Zhao looked at the food in front of them, then at the exquisite meal box next to it, and her tears fell again.

Wen Ping seemed accustomed to it and said nothing, eating silently. After finishing, she said, “Thank you, Wet Nurse.”

“Princess,” Wet Nurse Zhao had wanted to ask while she was eating. “Why did you run outside? The outside—”

She hadn’t gone out before. In the first few years, when their situation was difficult, Wet Nurse Zhao had tried to find the Emperor, thinking that Wen Ping was, after all, the Emperor’s child. Who knew that she couldn’t even meet the Emperor and was instead forced to kneel outside the hall for a day, which also implicated the Princess.

Since then, Wet Nurse Zhao had never seen Wen Ping run outside. Why did she run out today?

“Wet Nurse,” Wen Ping said, “I heard a sound outside and went to check, but I got lost as soon as I stepped out.”

Wet Nurse Zhao then noticed her forehead. “Princess?”

“It’s nothing,” Wen Ping said flatly, as if the injured person wasn’t herself.

Getting injured in the Cold Palace was an everyday occurrence, but Wen Ping always took care of it herself and never mentioned it. So, Wet Nurse Zhao didn’t pay much attention this time.

“Did the Princess run into Princess Yue and her group today?” Wet Nurse Zhao then worried. “I wonder if they will find their way here.”

“Probably not,” Wen Ping said. “This place is so remote; they won’t come here personally.”

Wen Ping was right about that; the Cold Palace was an ill-omened place. “Now that the Princess went out today, will they use this as an excuse to punish the Princess?”

“If they want to, will they be short of excuses?” Wen Ping still spoke calmly.

She is right! Wet Nurse Zhao sighed. Whether punishment came or not was not something she could worry about right now.

“The Wet Nurse should go back,” Wen Ping reminded her.

“Mhm.” Though filled with worry, Wet Nurse Zhao had no better option. She could only instruct, “Princess, I’m leaving now. Please be careful in all things, and absolutely do not go outside.”

“Mhm,” Wen Ping nodded. As she looked up, Wet Nurse Zhao was slowly walking toward the door. She bent her back, carefully pushed the door open, and stepped outside.

About fifteen minutes later, the clear sound of willow leaves rustling echoed outside Changchun Palace.

Xiao Yunlan entered the palace the next day but did not go to the Imperial Study; Xiao Yuntan summoned her instead.

“Brother,” Xiao Yunlan knew perfectly well that in the Imperial Palace, her every move, especially in a situation like yesterday’s, could not be hidden from others.

Indeed, all the gentlemen and minor gentlemen in the palace were aware of the situation. However, Xiao Yunlan had only taken Wen Ping away and hadn’t done anything more. Still, Wen Ping was supposed to stay put in the Cold Palace, and now she had run out…

“It seems you know why I called you here,” Xiao Yuntan said, sitting above, picking up the teacup on the table, and taking a light sip.

“Have you known her for a long time?” Xiao Yuntan raised an eyebrow, seemingly asking casually. This was something Xiao Yunlan hadn’t expected at all, as she had been extremely careful during her two meetings with Wen Ping. Was Xiao Yuntan guessing, or did he actually know?

Xiao Yunlan chose not to gamble and answered honestly, “I met her once and felt she was quite pitiful.”

“So, you acted out of compassion?” Xiao Yuntan took over the conversation.

Whether to answer yes or no, and which answer would benefit the current situation, left Xiao Yunlan uncertain for a moment. This was mainly because Wen Ping was a special case. Although she hadn’t sensed that Xiao Yuntan cared about others in the inner palace, this was, after all, the child of his bedmate.

“Brother, I know she—”

“She is merely one of His Majesty’s many children,” Xiao Yuntan took a sip of tea and said slowly. “Yesterday, Gentleman Li came over and asked me what should be done if she one day ran up to His Majesty and offended Him.”

My brother is currently managing the inner palace. What Xiao Yunlan hadn’t expected was that Gentleman Li didn’t complain about her mistake but went straight to her brother.

“He doesn’t dare yet,” Xiao Yuntan seemed to know what she was thinking and smiled. “Of course, he might dare later on.”

There were only a few children in the palace, and the most favored one currently was Gentleman Li’s Princess Yue. No matter how noble Xiao Yuntan’s status, he couldn’t compare to the father of the next Crown Prince. Having no children was the biggest transgression in this inner palace.

“I just want to ask you what you think of her?” Xiao Yuntan asked.

What I think of her? Xiao Yunlan was stunned, unsure what he meant by that. She looked up at Xiao Yuntan, who had already put down his teacup and picked up a piece of honeycomb pastry. “Would you like to try it? I remember you loved this when you were little.”

“Thank you, Brother,” Xiao Yunlan accepted it reluctantly. She truly hadn’t expected to cause her brother such a big problem right away. After using the original owner’s identity for six years, she had already begun to see herself as part of the Xiao family, and Xiao Yuntan treated her well… she couldn’t possibly turn around and cause him trouble.

The honeycomb pastry was very sweet. Xiao Yunlan actually wasn’t fond of sweets, so she chewed it in tiny bites.

“It seems your taste has changed,” Xiao Yuntan smiled. Bi Mo handed a cup of tea to Xiao Yunlan.

“It’s too sweet,” Xiao Yunlan took a sip of water and said somewhat apologetically.

“Is it?” Xiao Yuntan seemed completely unconcerned. He picked up another piece, tasted it again, and said, “It does seem a little bit sweet.”

Taking the handkerchief Bi Mo offered, Xiao Yuntan wiped his hands and continued to ask, “Have you thought it over?”

“That child is quite pitiful,” Xiao Yuntan then smiled. “It’s best not to stay in a place like the Cold Palace.”

Does this mean Wen Ping can leave the Cold Palace? Wen Ping certainly had to leave the Cold Palace; otherwise, how could she become the Empress later? She had asked the System, but since these events were not in the book, there was a lot of creative space. When and how Wen Ping left the Cold Palace could be flexible.

“What are you thinking about now?” Xiao Yuntan asked.

“I was thinking Brother is right,” Xiao Yunlan said. “The Cold Palace is not suitable.” She hadn’t had any ideas herself, but since her brother had brought it up, she had to try, regardless of his reasons.