Chapter 526 - 526: You’re Too Annoying!
“If you can’t protect Niaoniao, leave on your own. There will naturally be someone more suitable to protect her.”
After saying this, Shen Zhuo left the Justice Department.
Xiao Juan sat alone in the house in a daze for a long time.
Previously, Wei Liao’s provocation did not affect him because he was very sure that there was no possibility between Niaoniao and Wei Liao.
However, Shen Zhuo was different.
He was a prince now and would soon become the crown prince and the emperor in the future.
Xiao Juan was still only a county king.
If Shen Zhuo was determined to snatch her from him, could he really protect her?
Yu Niaoniao brought Ling Hai back to the Langjun Imperial Palace.
Because she had completed the mission to sell the recipe, Yu Niaoniao was in a good mood. Even her walking was lighter than usual.
It was not until Ling Hai reminded her to submit the manuscript on time that she returned to reality. Her footsteps became heavy again.
Sigh! She had to work overtime again tonight.
She went to the study and began to paint.
Fortunately, she had already drawn it once. She could rely on her superb memory to redraw the previous draft. However, she had promised to give Zheng Changle a small extra, so she had to change the plot a little.
Unknowingly, the sky outside the window had already darkened.
Chun Feng came to remind her.
“His Highness is back. It’s time for dinner.”
Yu Niaoniao put down her brush, stood up, and stretched.
When she walked into the dining hall, she saw that Xiao Juan and Lo Pingsha were already sitting at the table.
Once she sat down, the three of them could start eating.
As Yu Niaoniao ate, she asked, “What case did the Justice Department work on today?”
Xiao Juan picked up a meatball for her and replied casually.
“I investigated what happened to Consort Meng when she was alive and realized that she was on good terms with Empress Dowager Deng when she was alive. I’m considering if I should ask Empress Dowager Deng about Consort Meng.”
Yu Niaoniao was surprised. She did not expect that Empress Dowager Deng was involved.
‘Will the Empress Dowager be unhappy if we go to her for such a small matter?”
Xiao Juan said, “The Empress Dowager has a gentle personality, so she shouldn’t take issue with us. However, I’m worried that if this matter is exposed to the Empress Dowager, His Majesty might find out. The case of the
Feng family’s annihilation has already been decided by the Ministry of Justice. If we want to reverse the case, we have to find strong evidence, but we don’t have any evidence now.”
Yu Niaoniao understood what he meant.
“Are you worried that His Majesty won’t let us continue investigating after finding out?”
Xiao Juan nodded. “Yes.”
The reason why he did not tell the emperor about the jade bracelet was that he had considered this.
The emperor was very goal-oriented. He had spent so much money to support the Justice Department and the Eagle Guards, not for the sake of the world, but for himself to better control the civil and military officials.
To the emperor, it was a huge waste for the Eagle Guards to spend so much effort on an old case that had already been settled.
He would definitely not be happy.
Yu Niaoniao suggested. “Why don’t we test the Empress Dowager?”
Xiao Juan asked, “How?”
Yu Niaoniao briefly explained her plan.
“When I enter the palace later, I shall put on that jade bracelet. If Empress Dowager Deng knew that bracelet, she would definitely recognize it.”
“I could take the opportunity to talk to her and get the information I wanted. But if she doesn’t recognize it, it means that she had never seen this bracelet either. We don’t have to spend time on Empress Dowager Deng.”
“This way, no matter what the outcome was, there was no need to alarm the emperor. What do you think?”
Xiao Juan thought about it seriously. “I can give it a try, but you have to control yourself. Don’t let anyone see that you did it on purpose.”
Lo Pingsha also felt that this idea was feasible.
Yu Niaoniao clapped her hands. “Then it’s settled! We just need a reason to enter the palace to see Empress Dowager Deng.”
Granny Xiu Yan spoke at the right time.
“The day after tomorrow is the day the Seventh Prince is anointed as the Crown Prince. At that time, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and His Majesty will go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Duke Lang and the Princess Consort will also go to watch the ceremony.”
Yu Niaoniao said, “Yes, yes, yes. The Crown Prince ceremony! This is a good opportunity to get close to the empress dowager!”
Hearing the words Crown Prince, Xiao Juan’s eyes darkened.
He didn’t say another word after that. The entire time, he was very quiet.
At first, Yu Niaoniao did not notice anything amiss. When the two of them returned to the bedroom and Xiao Juan applied medication for her as usual, she
However, Xiao Juan did not say a word. He was as quiet as a sawed gourd.
Only then did Yu Niaoniao notice his abnormality.
“What’s wrong? Why are you unhappy?”
Xiao Juan said calmly, “Nothing.”
Yu Niaoniao stared at his expressionless poker face and said firmly.
“You’re just unhappy! Something must have happened to you?” Xiao Juan was silent.
After applying the medication for her, he got up to wash his hands.
Yu Niaoniao put on her clothes and sat cross-legged on the bed. “What exactly happened to you? Tell me. Perhaps I can help you think of a way.”
Xiao Juan washed his hands in silence and wiped them clean with a cloth towel.
When he returned to the bed and saw Yu Niaoniao staring at him without blinking, he could only say, “It’s nothing. Go to sleep.”
Yu Niaoniao was very unhappy.
She fell straight onto the bed, then rolled back and forth, left and right, making a mess of the bedding and muttering.
“You clearly have something on your mind, but you didn’t tell me. Do you not trust me? I feel so terrible. I definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight. It’s all your fault. You caused me to lose sleep. You’re so annoying!”
Xiao Juan looked at her quietly for a long time before speaking.
“Shen Zhuo is about to become the Crown Prince. Don’t you have any thoughts about this?”
Yu Niaoniao stopped rolling and looked up at him, looking confused.
“What can I think? Whether he becomes the Crown Prince or something else, it has nothing to do with me. I’ve long lost contact with him.”
Xiao Juan said, “But he came to look for me today. He cares about you very much.”
Yu Niaoniao rolled over and sat up, scolding angrily.
“Why is he looking for you? Is there something wrong with him!”
After cursing, she immediately covered her mouth, her eyes darting around as she said sneakily.
“Will I be arrested if I insult the future Crown Prince?”
Xiao Juan was amused by her appearance and his eyebrows involuntarily relaxed.
“What you’re saying here won’t be heard by anyone but me.”
Yu Niaoniao lowered her hand. “That’s good. Let me tell you, Shen Zhuo is just so cheap. When my stepfather proposed to him, he rejected him without hesitation. Now that I’ve already thrown him away, he wants to turn back.
Dream on!”
After saying that, she rolled her eyes.
Xiao Juan asked, “Marriage proposal?”
Yu Niaoniao said, “It’s been many years. At that time, I didn’t know his true identity. My stepfather took a fancy to his and felt that he was promising, so he had the intention of marrying me to him.”
Logically speaking, Xiao Juan should feel uncomfortable, but seeing that Niaoniao’s words were open and there was no guilt, he knew that she had really let go of what happened back then..