Chapter 784 - 784: The Truth
“Grandaunt, didn’t His Majesty tell you to be grounded in Jade Light Hall? How dare you come out and cause trouble?” Zhu Dazhi, who had been pulled up from the bed, wiped his bitter tears and cried.
What sin had he committed to be on duty at noon today?
If he wasn’t on duty, he wouldn’t have met this demoness. If he hadn’t met her, he wouldn’t have been targeted by her. If he hadn’t been targeted by her, he wouldn’t have been pulled in by her to do something that would take his head at any time.
After today, Zhu Dazhi felt that his lifespan would be shortened by at least ten years.
“Oh my god, someone, please take this demoness away.” he thought.
“He said I wasn’t allowed to take half a step out of the Jade Light Hall. Do you think I’ve only taken half a step?” Shen Yijia took out a matchstick and lit all the palace lights around the waterside pavilion. She placed the bag on her back, which was larger than her, on the table in the middle and opened it. “Cut the crap. Come and help.”
Zhu Dazhi choked at her twisted logic. His heart felt like dead ashes as he leaned forward and saw what was inside. The corners of his mouth twitched.
“Why are you carrying the pot and stove on your back? And these fish, meat, and shrimp. Where on earth did you steal them?” she thought. Zhu Dazhi had too many questions, but he swallowed them.
Anyway, it was useless to ask.
He resigned himself to his fate and helped to take out and put everything away.
This time, without Shen Yijia’s instructions, he began to process the ingredients.
While he was packing up the ingredients, Shen Yijia started the stove.
After all, apart from eating, she could only start a fire.
Fifteen minutes later, an alluring fragrance wafted out of the waterside pavilion and spread to every corner of the Longevity Palace.
A palace maid and eunuch followed the fragrance out to check. They saw a familiar figure in the waterside pavilion waving a large fan.
At the same time, they thought to themselves, “Why is this person here again?”
Palace maid A asked softly, “Should we report this to the Empress Dowager?”
Palace Maid B asked, “Has the Empress Dowager already rested?”
Eunuch A said, “Didn’t Your Majesty ban her from coming out? Why is she here again?
Eunuch B said, “She even dared to kill the Empress Dowager’s crane. Why wouldn’t she dare?”
The so-called grounding relied on self-awareness. It was not like they would send people to guard the prisoners. After all, no one dared to disobey the emperor.
However, Shen Yijia did not have the self-awareness to listen.
Eunuch C swallowed. “But it smells good. I wonder what delicious food she’s cooking.”
“It looks like a pot.”
In the sleeping hall of the Longevity Palace, Empress Dowager Zhou smelled a fragrance as soon as she lay down. Her eyebrows twitched. Before she could distinguish the source of the fragrance, she heard faint voices outside.
Actually, everyone was worried that Empress Dowager Zhou had rested, so they lowered their voices and did not dare to speak too loudly. However, there were many people around, so they spoke one after another. In the quiet night, this voice sounded especially noisy.
She frowned impatiently. “Go and see why it’s so noisy outside.”
Soon, she returned with an angry expression.
“Is that girl here again?” Empress Dowager Zhou asked with a dark expression.
Apart from Shen Yijia, Empress Dowager Zhou did not think that anyone else would dare to be so impudent in the Longevity Palace.
“It’s her.” Nanny Gao went forward and helped Empress Dowager Zhou sit up. She sighed. “She brought Chef Zhu to the waterside pavilion to boil the pot.”
At this point, she paused and glanced at Empress Dowager Zhou’s expression. She continued, “I think the princess is right about something. If we let her continue, she’ll probably push her luck in the future.”
She was not biased towards anyone, but she really felt that Shen Yijia had gone overboard.
It was fine if she messed around in the middle of the day, but she even came at night. Wasn’t she deliberately disturbing the empress dowager’s rest?
The empress dowager had not been sleeping well these past few days, so she naturally prioritized her master’s health.
Empress Dowager Zhou’s gaze turned cold as she said in a low voice, “Help me change.”
“Come, sit down and eat with me.” Shen Yijia stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth and called out to Zhu Dazhi, who was standing at the side.
Zhu Dazhi shook his head like a rattle. “You’re eating meat. If I take a bite, I’ll be eating my own head.” he thought.
Shen Yijia rolled her eyes and raised her voice to call out to the palace maids and eunuchs who thought that she was hiding in the dark. “Stop hiding. Let’s eat together. It tastes more delicious when it’s lively.”
Her voice was so loud that the entire Longevity Palace could hear her.
The air froze for a moment. In the next moment, all the palace maids and eunuchs fled in all directions, as if they were afraid of being caught by her. Shen Yijia thought to herself, “Am I that scary?”
However, this was not all. An unlucky eunuch ran too quickly and bumped into Empress Dowager Zhou.
Fortunately, Eunuch Yu blocked it so that Empress Dowager Zhou would not be knocked over on the spot.
“How dare you!” Eunuch Yu rubbed his chest in pain and reprimanded the other eunuch.
The unlucky eunuch’s face turned pale. He hurriedly knelt down and begged for forgiveness. “Empress Dowager, spare me. Empress Dowager, spare me.”
Empress Dowager Zhou glanced at him indifferently. “Drag him away and punish him according to the palace rules.”
If he offended the empress dowager, he would be flogged twenty times according to the palace rules. If his body was weak, he would lose his life before the beating was over.
Eunuch Yu was surprised for a moment. Ever since the emperor took over,
Empress Dowager Zhou had not severely punished servants for a long time.
He glanced at the people in the waterside pavilion not far away and sighed. It seemed that the empress dowager was really angry this time.
Just as she thought this, Nanny Gao entered the courtyard with nearly a hundred imperial guards.
Eunuch Yu thought to himself, “It seems that getting angry is easier said than done.”
Actually, Shen Yijia had already noticed Empress Dowager Zhou the moment she appeared. However, she did not move and continued to eat the meat calmly.
Since Zhu Dazhi was not eating, she instructed him to peel prawns for her. She did not even look at the group of people who had already reached the pool.
Empress Dowager Zhou frowned unhappily and said coldly, “Go and bring her here.”
The imperial guards were about to go over.
The imperial guards drew their sabers.
“Stop.” It was Empress Dowager Zhou who spoke.
Others did not know the identity of the man in black in front of her, but how could she not know?
This was clearly a Demon Guard.
How could this girl have Demon Guards around her?
Soon, Empress Dowager Zhou understood. After understanding, she looked at Shen Yijia with anger.
She walked forward. “You can leave first.”
These imperial guards were no match for the Demon Guards at all. They would only be tempting fate if they went up.
The imperial guards looked at each other and retreated to the sides to make way.
Empress Dowager Zhou looked at You Yi. “Move aside.”
You Yi didn’t move.
He would not attack Empress Dowager Zhou, but he would not listen to her either.
Empress Dowager Zhou was furious.
Shen Yijia laughed unkindly. “You Yi.”
After a moment of silence, he disappeared from the spot.
However, Empress Dowager Zhou did not ask the imperial guards to capture them again, because she knew that as long as she opened her mouth, the
Demon Guards would appear again. At that time, she would only lose face. She took a deep breath and entered the waterside pavilion with the eunuch’s help..