Bang--!
The door was pushed open.
Zuo Baixuan trembled, a mixture of resentment and grievance welling up in her heart.
After his mother's death, although he was no longer favored, at least the palace maids and eunuchs would pretend to be respectful and not challenge the emperor's authority.
Now that they've become pawns in the imperial power, these people have stopped pretending.
She looked through the bronze mirror at Luan Yenan, who was calmly doing her hair and makeup behind her.
Only Sister Nan is different.
Splash—
The screen was pushed aside by the young eunuch.
The eunuchs standing behind him were also fearless, showing no regard for the fact that this was the princess's palace.
Luan Yenan glanced at them and said, "You gentlemen seem to have some free time this morning. You have nothing else to do, so you came to Penglai Palace to pay your respects? Very well, go ahead and pay your respects."
The young eunuch was not young; his skin was loose, and his aged and haggard eyes narrowed sharply as he looked at Granny Hui.
He entered the palace at a young age and went through many hardships to become the second-in-command of the Inner Palace Department. He was looking forward to taking advantage of the princess's wedding to make a name for himself.
He heard from Granny Hui that the princess hadn't been cooperating for the past two weeks, and the auspicious day was in two days. He didn't want to cause any trouble, so he came with her.
Now, looking around, the wedding dress is hanging on the clothes rack behind her, and the princess is obediently sitting up early. The only thing damaged in the room is the screen that she herself pushed over. Where is the hint of uncooperativeness now?
His first reaction was that he had been deceived by Granny Hui, and his face turned gloomy, but he didn't say anything. He just followed the way Luan Yenan gave him and bowed to Zuo Baixuan: "Xiao Rongzi greets Princess Penglai."
The group of eunuchs behind him also bowed in unison.
Zuo Baixuan glanced at Luan Yenan, then at Rong Shaojian, and said nothing.
Luan Yenan then looked at Granny Hui: "It seems Granny Hui didn't come to pay her respects?"
"Junior Supervisor Rong, don't be fooled by this little girl. The princess smashed all the vases in her room last night and resisted fiercely!" Granny Hui frowned. She couldn't believe that the princess, who had been making a fuss for more than half a month, could be persuaded by Luan Yenan in just one night.
Luan Yenan walked towards the old woman who had one leg half-buried in the ground but still wanted to use her narrow-minded perspective to climb up the ranks in the unfree harem: "Then I see, Granny Hui came here today to stir up trouble."
Rong Shaojian raised his head and stared at Luan Yenan.
Luan Yenan glanced at him and asked, "Is Junior Supervisor Rong also here to cause trouble on behalf of Granny Hui?"
Rong Shaojian's breath hitched. The illusion of being stared at by a venomous snake made his hands and feet go cold, but he still smiled easily: "Luan Shanggong is joking. I am one of the people in charge of the princess's marriage arrangements. I cannot fail the emperor's grace, nor can I make the princess feel uncomfortable. That's why I came here in person to ask. I never thought of causing trouble."
"So that was Hui Mama's own idea?" Luan Yenan walked towards Hui Mama.
Granny Hui took a step back: "Luan Yenan, what are you saying... uh..."
Without saying a word, Luan Yenan grabbed Granny Hui by the neck.
"What are you doing, Luan Yenan..." Before Hui Mama could even utter the word "crazy," she was pinned to the door.
The palace maids behind him dared not utter a sound.
Luan Ye glanced sideways at Rong Shaojian.
The eunuch behind Rong Shaojian was startled, his legs trembling.
They had never felt this kind of oppressive feeling even though they were always by Emperor Li's side.
Emperors throughout history have only known how to enjoy themselves. Although they possess what is called the aura of a king, they have lost the demeanor of one.
On the contrary, Luan Yenan's gaze alone exerted a pressure that felt like skinning people alive, causing them pain all over their bodies.
Only Rong Shaojian frowned slightly before putting on a gentle, ingratiating smile that he only showed to Emperor Li and the Grand Eunuch of the Inner Palace: "Lady Luan, the princess's marriage is a major event, and everyone is very nervous. Please, for our sake and considering that Granny Hui is getting on in years, let her off the hook?"
When Granny Hui heard that Supervisor Rong was willing to speak up for her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Luan Yenan was too weak to resist, she raised her foot and tried to kick him away.
Luan Yenan stepped on that unruly leg.
With a snap, it broke underfoot.
Granny Hui was in so much pain she wanted to scream, but then she bumped into the back wall, her whole face contorted in pain.
Luan Yennan looked at Rong Shaojian with a cold face: "Rong Shaojian is quite interesting. Now you know how to smooth things over. When you brought Hui Mama in earlier and pushed open the screen, why didn't you think that the princess's marriage was a major event, and that the princess was the protagonist of this matter, and naturally of noble status? It seems that Rong Shaojian really wants to accompany the princess on her marriage trip, doesn't he?"
When Rong Shao heard Luan Ye Nan's threat, his expression gradually turned ugly. In terms of rank, he was much higher than Luan Ye Nan, and it was already a great favor for him to give her a friendly look.
Accustomed to flattery, he couldn't stand such sharp words. He shouted in a high-pitched, androgynous voice, "Luan Yenan!"
“Since I entered the palace at the age of ten, I have been the princess’s person in life and in death. Do you think I would dare to fight you all for the princess?” Luan Ye Nan said in a deep voice.
He spoke slowly, but with a fearless madness that sent a chill down the spines of everyone in the room.
Even Zuo Baixuan was startled. She didn't want Sister Nan to sacrifice herself for her. She only hoped that Sister Nan could live a good life, peacefully and happily, and finish her life.
She hurriedly stepped forward and grasped Luan Yenan's arm: "Sister Nan, I am willing to marry into the family. Please don't do anything foolish."
Luan Yenan's brows twitched as he turned to look at the silly girl whose eyes were getting hot.
I really want to hug her.
Luan Yenan grabbed Hui Mama's hand and shook it off.
He threw the old woman away, and she slammed heavily to the ground.
Granny Hui let out a howl and cursed, "Luan Yenan, how dare you! Are you really not afraid of death?"
Luan Yenan didn't give the maids behind Hui a chance to help her up. She walked over and ruthlessly stepped on Hui's chest.
The elderly Granny Hui felt a metallic taste rising in her mouth, and unable to hold it in, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Everyone was stunned.
Only Luan Yenan remained calm: "His Majesty hopes the princess can marry in peace. If I were to say at this moment that you, Granny Hui, intentionally sabotaged the marriage and was thus seriously injured by my accident, and that Junior Supervisor Rong saved the Emperor and is very suitable to accompany him, how do you think His Majesty would react?"
Granny Hui was in a dull ache, not just physically, but also mentally.
Rong Shaojian was also trembling.
They had always known about the female official in the Penglai Palace who was loyal to Princess Penglai, but they never expected that she possessed such determination and wisdom.
They were targeted by a venomous snake.
This venomous snake possessed the courage to fight to the death; for the princess, it was truly capable of anything, no matter how crazy.
The late Empress Dowager sent someone to teach this snake-slaying skills, and she's using them here now.
She dared to kill people in the inner palace and manipulate many people's lives with a single sentence.
They were scared.
I'm scared of this lunatic.
They were also afraid of their own lives, which were as insignificant as weeds and duckweed.
No, to the emperors, such insignificant figures were nothing more than weeds and duckweed, their fates irrelevant.
Luan Yennan is right. Emperor Li only wants the marriage alliance to proceed smoothly. As long as Luan Yennan can persuade Princess Penglai, even if he goes on a killing spree, massacres the entire Penglai Palace, and kills everyone who disrespects or opposes the princess, Emperor Li will only feel it's bad luck. What does it matter as long as it doesn't affect the marriage alliance?
Rong Shaojian immediately bowed respectfully to Zuo Baixuan: "Your Highness, I have come today to report that the ornaments sent yesterday were a little short. The phoenix crown will be ready in two days. Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will certainly take care of the marriage arrangements properly."
The eunuchs behind Rong Shaojian bowed deeply to show their loyalty.
The old woman on the ground gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, swallowed a mouthful of blood, and awkwardly managed to utter a sentence: "Lady Luan, please calm down, Princess, please calm down. This old servant has been so busy lately that I only went crazy this morning. It was thanks to Lady Luan's reminder that I was almost possessed by evil spirits."
Although Zuo Baixuan was dissatisfied with the actions of Granny Hui and Junior Supervisor Rong, she was worried that if Luan Yenan really went all out, Emperor Li's behavior would be unpredictable, and it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't take his anger out on Luan Yenan.
Zuo Baixuan didn't care what others did, but she couldn't afford to have any mishaps with her sister Nan.
Just like Luan Yenan said he would protect her with his life.
If Luan Yenan were to be blamed, she would be willing to use her own corpse to ensure that everyone in Penglai Palace who was taking advantage of her misfortune and stood by indifferently would die a gruesome death. But the most important thing is that Sister Nan is alright now.
The palace maids secretly observed Zuo Baixuan's attitude.
In their panic, the princess, who had become as easily bullied as a rabbit after losing power, suddenly revealed the same madness as Lady Luan, which frightened them so much that they all knelt down and said, "Princess, please calm down."
Zuo Baixuan gripped Luan Yenan's arm tightly.
Luan Yenan felt a slight gripping force on his arm muscles and didn't want Zuo Baixuan to worry.
He then smiled and released Hui Mama from the ground, turning back to Zuo Baixuan as if nothing had happened and said, "Princess, the weather is nice today. Let's enjoy the flowers in the garden later."
Zuo Baixuan was stunned for a moment. Thinking of Luan Yenan's bitter smile with complicated feelings, she nodded and said, "Okay, after the marriage alliance, I won't be able to see these flowers that I have carefully nurtured."
Luan Yenan smiled and led Zuo Baixuan back behind the screen: "No, we can take these flower seeds with us and plant them anywhere."
The palace maid helped Hui Mama up, and she quickly swallowed the blood that remained in her mouth. The pain from her broken leg was excruciating, but she could only endure it.
Rong Shaojian glared at Hui Mama, ordered his men to restore the screen to its original state, and then hurriedly left this place of trouble.
Granny Hui didn't dare delay and followed them out with the help of a palace maid. She made up her mind never to come here again, never to confront the jinx she had endured for over a decade.
All the unrelated people left.
Zuo Baixuan sat in front of the dressing table in a daze again.
Although she said she was "willing to marry into the enemy" in order to save Luan Yenan, her reluctance in her heart had not changed at all.
Looking at the melancholy Zuo Baixuan, Luan Yenan gently stroked the top of her head: "Xuan'er, are you willing to believe me?"
Zuo Baixuan looked up, her peach blossom eyes filled with warmth, and without caring whether it was broad daylight or not, she threw herself into Luan Yenan's arms: "Sister Nan."
Who else in this world can I trust besides you?
She didn't say it; she couldn't say it.
Luan Yenan gently stroked Zuo Baixuan and said slowly, "Xuan'er, trust me. Once the marriage procession leaves the palace and the capital, we'll first need to leave Emperor Li's territory, and then everything will be fine."
Zuo Baixuan suddenly looked up.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Luan Yenan not only had a tough attitude towards Granny Hui and Junior Supervisor Rong, but also seemed to have murderous intent towards "Emperor Li".
Who dares to address Emperor Li directly as "Emperor Li"?
Rebels...?
Zuo Baixuan shook her head.
Never mind, it doesn't matter. She just wants to stay with Sister Nan a little longer.
Luan Yenan put his arm around Zuo Baixuan's shoulder.
What she wants is not just this fleeting moment.