Eve of the storm!

Imperial Palace, Chuxiu Palace, night!

Ji Muqing lay in bed, beside her pillow rested the handkerchief Jing Yi had given her. Today, she had probably washed it countless times.

Lying on her side staring at that handkerchief, the corners of her mouth still carried a shy smile.

At this moment, everyone in Chuxiu Palace had already fallen asleep, and outside only the pattering sound of rain remained.

After a short while, a young eunuch tiptoed to push open the vermillion gate in the courtyard, poking his head in to look around. Carrying a lantern glowing with faint light, he carefully walked to Ji Muqing’s door.

“Knock knock knock…”

Knocking on the door!

Ji Muqing immediately tucked the handkerchief into her bedding, turned half upright, and asked: “Who is it?”

“Miss Ji, it’s this servant.”

“What is it?”

“This servant has come to deliver something to you.”

Ji Muqing was too lazy to get up, but still endured the cold and got out of bed, draped on a garment, and opened the door.

Impatiently saying: “What thing?”

The young eunuch glanced around several times before drawing a letter from his sleeve and handing it to her.

While saying: “This was sent by the master’s messenger, asking Miss Ji to go alone and not make a fuss.”

Ji Muqing accepted the letter with a strange expression and opened it to look.

In an instant, she was both shocked and flustered.

This letter was actually sent by Crown Prince Jinghua’s messenger, asking her to meet him at the side gate of the Eastern Palace.

Excitedly clutching the letter, she asked the young eunuch: “Is this letter truly sent by the Crown Prince?”

“Yes, the master also said to have Miss Ji come over quickly.”

“Thank you, Eunuch. I’ll prepare myself and go.” In her words, there was some excitement.

The young eunuch bowed: “Then this servant will leave first. The lantern is left here for Miss Ji to carry when she goes.”

“Mm.”

After the young eunuch left, she closed the door and excitedly began fussing about, applying makeup, powdering her face, and also wearing the jade hairpin Consort Xiao had given her on her head. Looking at her delicate appearance in the mirror, she was finally satisfied enough to keep the appointment.

Quietly leaving Chuxiu Palace, carrying the lantern and holding an umbrella, she initially wanted to hurry, but was also afraid that if she walked too hastily, the rainwater would splash onto her dress.

Throughout this journey, her heart was tight.

Could it be that the Crown Prince would favor her tonight?

Thinking of this, she bit her red lips, couldn’t help but blush at the roots of her ears, and forgot about Jing Yi, who had been on her mind, to the back of her thoughts.

Hurrying along anxiously, seeing that after walking through one more corridor she would reach the Eastern Palace, who would have known that suddenly a whooshing sound came from behind.

Her footsteps halted, her back turning cold.

No matter how arrogant this woman was, she was ultimately still a woman and would naturally be afraid.

The hand gripping the umbrella handle couldn’t help but tremble and tighten. After standing in place for a long time, she slowly turned around.

But—

There was no one behind her, not even a trace of light.

Ji Muqing frowned. Was she overthinking?

Relieved, she had just turned back around when her neck suddenly hurt sharply.

Before she could see clearly the dark shadow that suddenly appeared before her, her mind went numb and she fainted.

Her body fell to the ground, her dress also soaked by the rainwater.

When the lantern fell to the ground, its candle flame also extinguished.

After a long while—

An orange-red beam of light moved from far to near, bit by bit shifting onto her body.

Before Ji Muqing, Consort Xiao’s ferocious face gradually enlarged. Even in this late-night drizzle, her brocade finery still made her appear extremely noble.

Beside her followed two palace maids and three eunuchs.

Sang Lan held an umbrella for her, staring at Ji Muqing on the ground with her body soaked through, borrowing her master’s authority to snort: “Your Ladyship, how could the Ji family produce such a brainless person?”

Consort Xiao smiled, her eyes clearly carrying long-plotted intention, using her chin to point at the jade hairpin on Ji Muqing’s head.

A palace maid beside her squatted down, removed the jade hairpin, and handed it to Consort Xiao.

Consort Xiao held it in her hand and turned it around. After a moment, she unscrewed the jade bead from the hairpin, pressed downward, and from the small hole in the bead flowed some blue liquid.

Sang Lan was puzzled and asked: “Your Ladyship, does this thing really work?”

Consort Xiao: “This water steeped with musk leaf grass, although its scent is very faint, if worn on the head for several days without removal, even a clean body will have problems.”

To put it bluntly, it was an indirect way to break virginity!

That palace maid squatted down again, pulling up Ji Muqing’s sleeve to show Consort Xiao.

Indeed, on the fair arm, where was there any cinnabar mark?

Nothing at all!

That is to say, smelling the scent of musk leaf grass would make the cinnabar mark on one’s body disappear.

Consort Xiao was very satisfied. She had someone reinsert the jade hairpin into Ji Muqing’s hair and ordered the three young eunuchs behind her: “Carry the person over.”

“Yes!”

The three young eunuchs came forward, hoisted Ji Muqing up, and headed toward the direction of the Hanlin Academy…

Consort Xiao wiped her hands. With the matter settled, she was just waiting for tomorrow’s good show.

Accordingly, she returned peacefully to Zhangzhi Hall.

That night, the drizzle gradually turned into heavy rain.

Raindrops mercilessly beat against the red walls and green tiles of the palace…

Deafening!

Early the next morning!

In the inner courtyard of the Hanlin Academy, a door was kicked open violently.

Several eunuchs rushed in, surrounding the red bed covered with light gauze.

Hearing the commotion, Ji Muqing was startled awake. Her eyes opened weakly, she sat up from the bed, twisted her extremely painful neck, and through the gauze curtain before her, made out the eunuchs beside the bed.

“You…”

What a fright!

Looking down, she discovered she was only wearing a red undergarment. Immediately she pulled the bedding to cover her body.

With this pull, she got an even bigger shock.

Beside her, there was actually a man!

“Ah—”

She let out a loud scream!

Gao Bingze was awakened by her piercing scream. Opening his eyes to see this scene, he too was terrified.

He sat up with a start, rolling and crawling off the bed, directly tumbling to the ground.

He was captured alive by the eunuchs outside.

“What on earth is happening? Why is it like this? Why…” Gao Bingze was about to go mad.

As the young master of the Hanlin Academy, he naturally knew who the woman on the bed was.

The eunuch said: “Young Master Gao, Consort Xiao wishes to see you.”

“It’s not like that, I don’t know why it’s like this, I’m wronged.”

“Whether or not, it will be for Her Ladyship to say.” Saying this, he ordered the young eunuchs restraining him: “Take him away.”

The young eunuchs moved quickly, immediately dragging him away.

The lead eunuch then said to the stunned Ji Muqing on the bed: “Miss Ji, please quickly put on your clothes and come with us servants for a trip.”

Ji Muqing didn’t know how long she had been stunned before she was dragged in a daze to Zhangzhi Hall.

Inside the hall!

Both Ji Muqing and Gao Bingze knelt on the ground!

Consort Xiao glared furiously at the two.

Looking at Gao Bingze, she said: “This palace finally understands why before, you wanted to remove Miss Ji’s name from the list. It turns out you had already secretly fallen in love, and even conducted such shameless relations between man and woman within the palace.”