Curled up in Ziqing’s arms pretending to sleep, Jun Yaotiao felt a surge of indignation just thinking about Consort Li.
She was still too young, and Ziqing and Jun Beiyue had never told her anything about Consort Li, so she had no real idea what kind of person Consort Li actually was.
She’d secretly pumped the shadow guards for information, coming to see Consort Li as some kind of fox spirit who’d bewitched her brother out of his senses.
In her eyes, Consort Li was simply a bad woman.
If it weren’t for that bad woman, her mother and father wouldn’t have stayed away from the capital, living instead in that small town in the northern frontier.
Back in that little frontier town, several of her friends had older brothers who accompanied them, who protected them, who let them trail along happily as little sidekicks, always the first to step up whenever there was a quarrel.
She had none of that.
If it weren’t for Li Qinqin, her brother wouldn’t be all alone, guarding the capital by himself, and every time they wanted to see him, they’d have to travel such a long, exhausting journey.
She hated that woman so much.
As she brooded, growing more and more indignant, her small fists clenched tight without her realizing—and just then, Ziqing suddenly loosened her grip, and she found herself falling!
She landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
“Ah—!”
Before her scream had even finished, she met her mother’s stern gaze and immediately shut her mouth. Still, her little face changed quickly, and she pressed her lips together. “Mama… it hurts!”
Hongyi hurried over, startled. “My lady, she’ll get hurt falling like that!”
She reached to pick Yaotiao up, but without her mother’s permission, Jun Yaotiao refused to let Hongyi carry her.
“It’s all padding back there, it’ll just sting a bit, she’s fine—let her sit on the ground,” Ziqing said coldly, taking a seat nearby.
This pavilion, perched high with a commanding view, was the tallest one in Prince Yao’s estate, and the highest point in the capital besides the palace itself—one could look out over the entire estate and all the way to the palace in the distance.
Jun Yaotiao blinked her tearful, wide eyes, looking utterly innocent, her small hands clumsily rubbing at her bottom. It really did hurt.
Ziqing paid her no mind, gazing out at the view for a long while before letting Hongyi bring out tea and snacks and then telling her to sit.
But Hongyi’s gaze kept drifting to the little princess. The little princess was of the most noble blood—no one in the realm outranked her—yet here she was, sitting on the ground!
Both her parents were people of great wisdom, and Jun Yaotiao had been sharp since childhood, especially skilled at reading the room. But her one good trait was that she only ever observed—she kept it all to herself, never once currying favor or playing clever games in front of people who were themselves too clever to be fooled.
Right now, she could easily have used Hongyi to plead her case with her mother. But she didn’t. Once her bottom stopped hurting, she simply sat cross-legged, obedient, waiting quietly without a fuss for her mother’s judgment.
Ziqing was clearly the ruthless type—ruthless enough that Hongyi couldn’t help but wonder if her mistress favored the son over the daughter, or perhaps the little princess was competing with her mistress for the prince’s affection?
Thinking this, Hongyi secretly found it amusing. This mother and daughter pair were quite something.
Ziqing indeed paid no attention to Jun Yaotiao at all, instead chatting idly with Hongyi about the goings-on at Prince Yao’s estate over the years, and news from the capital. Mistress and servant chatted and laughed together, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
As Ziqing lifted her teacup to drink, she noticed a small hand sneaking out from below, resting against the edge of the stone table, seemingly not daring to make any move while they’d been talking.
Following Ziqing’s gaze, Hongyi also spotted the small hand gripping the table’s edge. She suppressed a smile, keeping her expression neutral.
“Look at that big tree—it was just a sapling when I left. Six years and it’s grown so much,” Ziqing said, casually picking a new topic.
“Indeed it has. Knowing you’re fond of big trees, I’ve personally tended to it myself,” Hongyi replied.
As they talked, the small hand moved again, silently, slowly creeping toward the edge of the snack tray. The moment it touched a pastry, it snatched a small handful and darted back!
Hongyi nearly couldn’t hold back her laughter, and Ziqing’s mouth twitched, unable to suppress her own amusement.
This little brat already had experience—she knew to fill her stomach first?
Though she’d grabbed the pastries in a hurry, Jun Yaotiao, sitting under the table, ate with remarkable elegance—truly, a natural-born beauty couldn’t help but show grace even in mischief. A princess was a princess, after all.
She nibbled slowly, one small bite at a time, thoroughly absorbed, not noticing at all that her mother had crouched down at some point and was now watching her with great interest.
“Tastes good?” Ziqing asked.
Jun Yaotiao jumped, nearly dropping her little pastry, but managed to catch it just in time. She flashed Ziqing a sheepish grin, playing cute. “Really good.”
“Does your bottom still hurt?” Ziqing asked again.
Jun Yaotiao shook her head honestly. “Mama said it wouldn’t hurt, so it doesn’t hurt.”
Ziqing smiled, then abruptly changed the subject. “What did you go to Consort Li’s palace for?”
The pastry in Jun Yaotiao’s hand nearly slipped again; she hastily caught it, her small hand visibly trembling.
This matter—her mother had warned her about it three times, which meant her mother was serious about it.
Jun Yaotiao said nothing, staying silent, and Ziqing didn’t press further either, simply watching her in silence.
The atmosphere suddenly turned tense. Crouched nearby, Hongyi clearly saw Jun Yaotiao’s small hand trembling rather badly.
“My lady…” Hongyi whispered, secretly tugging at the corner of Ziqing’s sleeve.
But then Ziqing’s voice suddenly turned sharp. “What did you go there to do?!”
Jun Yaotiao was startled. She pressed her lips together—her eyes clearly brimming with tears, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall. She didn’t hide anything, answering plainly, “I went to teach Consort Li a lesson!”
Ziqing’s heart skipped a beat, and she choked with anger. “You reckless little brat, you don’t know how high the heavens are!”
She had investigated the Li Prime Minister’s household. Li Qinqin was very likely not the real Li Qinqin at all—there was a secret here, something murky and unfathomable. Jun Buli had never spoken of it, and she’d long since stopped asking.
She wasn’t an all-knowing mother, and Jun Buli wasn’t an infant still nursing. She didn’t want to interfere in his affairs anymore.
Yet before they’d come, she’d warned this troublesome girl over and over not to go there, and here she was, charging right in on her very first day.
What if Jun Buli hadn’t been in the palace? What if something had gone wrong? Where would she even begin looking for her daughter? How would she explain it to Jun Beiyue?
“You… what did you do to Consort Li? Was your brother there?” Ziqing asked.
“I just ripped her clothes off…” Jun Yaotiao answered honestly. In truth, when she’d pinned down Consort Li’s vital point, though Consort Li had hidden it well, she’d still sensed something was off about her.
That woman hadn’t shown fear—only anger, an anger laced with a formidable killing intent.
That woman was no ordinary person. Jun Yaotiao realized she’d underestimated her before.
Of course, all of this Jun Yaotiao kept carefully hidden in her heart, not daring to say a word of it, afraid that if she did, her mother would only grow angrier.
Her mother and father never mentioned Consort Li at all. Jun Yaotiao suspected that Consort Li and her brother must share some kind of secret.
The moment she heard “ripped her clothes off,” Ziqing’s thoughts scattered. “And then what?”
“Then Brother carried me back,” Jun Yaotiao said lightly, as if it were nothing.
Ziqing could hardly imagine what “ripping off clothes” actually entailed. She grabbed Jun Yaotiao up, ready to discipline her properly, when she caught sight of Jun Buli, off in the distance, walking away alone.