Yongtai was dumbfounded, and even Zhang Sicheng, who hadn’t left yet, couldn’t help but glance at Yan Shixu.
Your Highness, why send anything but a turtle?
Yan Shixu naturally wouldn’t explain himself to them and turned to leave.
The two hurriedly followed with long strides.
Meanwhile, Wen Lier returned to Yaohua Hall unimpeded once again.
As she had expected, no one had noticed she had been out.
It was only when Wen Lier was taking off her outer robe that she realized she had brought back the Crown Prince’s cloak.
She carefully folded the cloak and placed it at the head of her bed, planning to wash it tomorrow and return it to him the next time he summoned her to attend him at night.
Wen Lier went to the bathroom connected to her bedchamber, washed her face, rinsed her mouth, and then returned to her bedchamber to sleep.
The next day.
Although Wen Lier had slept late the previous night, she had developed a good habit and automatically woke up at the time for morning greetings.
Repeating the same life every day was truly unbearably dull.
After Wen Lier returned with Qing Zhu from paying respects at Fuyao Hall, she noticed that Mama Qin and Qing Mei both had indescribable expressions.
They seemed happy, yet puzzled, with a touch of excitement.
Wen Lier was puzzled: “What’s with you two?”
Mama Qin replied: “Mistress, you’ll understand once you go inside and see.”
Wen Lier walked into the inner hall in confusion, only to be nearly blinded by a glittering golden turtle.
“This… this… where did this come from?”
Mama Qin chuckled: “Where else could the mistress obtain such a precious item? Naturally, it was bestowed by His Highness.”
After saying this, she added with some confusion: “But why would His Highness suddenly send the mistress such a large golden turtle?”
Wen Lier recalled what she had said to the Crown Prince the previous night.
She had said that if she were Xue Pin, she would have hidden in the side hall from the beginning, like a turtle withdrawing its head into its shell. She would have made everyone forget about her, then lived out her life peacefully and safely.
She never expected His Highness to send her such a large turtle so quickly.
However, this turtle didn’t appear timid at all – it even had a somewhat majestic and proud demeanor, appearing both arrogant and cute.
It was just… too big.
With this huge thing suddenly occupying her East Hall, the space instantly felt much more cramped.
If this were melted down into gold, how much would it be worth?
But while Wen Lier had ambitious thoughts, she lacked the courage to act on them. This golden turtle bore an official seal, and outside vendors might not even accept it.
She looked around and directed Qing Zhu and Qing Mei to move a vase from the corner of the hall to the storeroom, then had this golden turtle placed in that spot.
Thanks to the turtle’s presence, the hall instantly felt much more luxurious.
While moving the golden turtle, Wen Lier and the others discovered that the large golden turtle was hollow.
The shell could be lifted open, and one could truly hide inside it when encountering danger.
Wen Lier broke out in a cold sweat – His Highness was being far too literal.
Since there was storage space available, it would be a waste not to use it.
Wen Lier immediately fetched her treasure box and hid the entire box inside the golden turtle.
…
Yaohua Hall was only so big, and everyone could learn about any movement that occurred there.
Yang Ni Shan, who lived in the main hall, was furious.
“Ah!!!!!!”
She raised her hand and destroyed a set of cups on the tea table, cursing “slut” several times in a row.
Zhou Momo stepped forward, wanting to advise her to remain calm.
But without saying a word, Yang Ni Shan directly rewarded her with a hard slap across the face.
“Get out! Useless old thing!”
The other palace maids all lowered their heads, pretending they hadn’t seen or heard anything.
Zhou Momo’s face alternated between pale and ashen, her heart filled with utter bitterness.
She, Zhou Xiuhe, had served in the palace for so many years, attending to countless masters.
Even the Empress had never spoken to her with such harshness.
When she was assigned to the Eastern Palace, the other two matrons had been chosen by their mistresses.
But because she had served the Empress, she was granted the honor of choosing her own mistress.
At that time, she had selected Yang Ni Shan, believing her family background was the best and most likely to provide support to the Crown Prince.
Now, in her old age, she had grown foolish—how could she have chosen such a worthless creature?
If she stayed any longer, she would likely lose her life.
Zhou Momo lowered her head and silently retreated from the main hall.
She thought to herself, it seemed she must seek out her old sisters in Fengxiang Palace and ask them to help her find another place to survive.
Meanwhile, in Fuyao Hall.
Zhuang Momo was also seething with anger, feeling anxious on behalf of the Crown Princess.
This Wen Fengyi appeared soft-spoken, mild-tempered, obedient, and honest.
But one should not judge by appearances—not long after recovering from her illness, she had already captured the Crown Prince’s heart.
That turtle was an auspicious sign, and a Golden Turtle at that—extremely precious.
How could Wen Lier, a mere Bong Yi, be more precious than the Crown Princess?
If the Crown Prince wanted to gift it, he should have given it to the Crown Princess instead.
Xie Zhenrong was already feeling restless and irritable. Hearing her wet nurse complain beside her only added to her frustration and annoyance.
Just moments ago, her eunuch Luo Zhao had found out:
Last night, Wen Fengyi had accompanied the Crown Prince to the Star Gazing Tower to watch the meteor shower.
She was the Crown Princess! The Crown Prince had gone to see the meteor shower without even informing her, and instead took a Bong Yi along!
Moreover, how could a meteor shower be something to watch?
And sure enough, last night the side hall caught fire!
The more Xie Zhenrong thought about it, the angrier she became. She gathered her palace maids and went straight to the Empress Dowager.
In Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager was trimming a pot of Calendula.
She was quite surprised to see Xie Zhenrong arrive alone.
“Crown Princess, is there something urgent?”
The Crown Princess chattered on about the Crown Prince watching the meteor shower last night, adding with exaggeration that Wen Fengyi had failed to restrain His Highness and instead joined in the mischief!
And now the side hall had caught fire.
After listening, the Empress Dowager smiled and said, “There’s no need to worry about such a trivial matter.”
“Your Majesty?”
Xie Zhenrong was puzzled. “How could this be trivial? Meteor showers are inauspicious. The Crown Prince just watched one, and misfortune followed. I fear more bad things may happen in the future.”
The Empress Dowager shook her head helplessly.
This granddaughter-in-law was clever enough, but she had experienced too little and lacked a steady mindset.
She set down her scissors and asked Xie Zhenrong seriously,
“Crown Princess, how do you think my life has been? Good or bad?”
Xie Zhenrong replied, “Your Majesty’s life has naturally been excellent.”
The Empress Dowager nodded and picked up her scissors again.
“Then you need not worry. Including last night, I believe I have watched meteor showers six times now.”
Xie Zhenrong was dumbfounded.
The Empress Dowager was not lying.
The first time she saw a meteor shower, she was only a few years old.
At that time, the household was in chaos, but only her father was unafraid.
Her father held her and watched the meteor shower together, explaining to her that it was just a common celestial phenomenon and nothing to fear.
Back then, she didn’t understand—she only thought the stars with their trailing tails were beautiful.
Since then, whenever she encountered one, she never missed the chance to watch.
Throughout her life, she stood at the pinnacle of wealth and power—how could one speak of misfortune?
Her father was the same, living a life of honor and passing away peacefully in old age.
……