C115

Jin Lan followed the direction of the voice and saw a thirteen-fourteen year old girl and two palace maids walking over from a cloud pavilion not far away. They wore a sable embroidered fur coat, and as they walked under the mink, the royal blue pearl embroidered thread dress would appear and disappear with each step. The thick black hair was tied into a beautiful bun like a hibiscus, and the hairpins in her hair were azure and pointed, while the side of her face was like flowing silver, embedded with beads; even a pair of embroidered shoes had threads of gold and silver thread that circled around a five-colored peony; it was indescribably extravagant.

However, that round and beautiful full moon had a haughty look on its face. Its steps were light and graceful. It quickly passed through the corridor and arrived in front of the two.

"Lucky County Princess Pingyang." When Roughpeak saw the newcomer, a trace of helplessness flashed across his eyes. He hurriedly nodded his head and bent his knees to pay his respects.

This girl is a County Princess? Jin Lan's eyebrows creased inconspicuously, following Ying Ying's lead, "This humble girl, Ye Jinlan, pays his respects to County Princess Ping Yang."

"So it's Aunt Roughpeak. Hurry up and get up." Li Yingluo, the Pingyang County Princess, avoided Roughpeak's salute, but did not let Jin Lan get up. Instead, she glared at her, and asked with an extremely serious tone, "Who are you? Why would it appear here? "

Jin Lan was baffled by the sudden question. She had just followed the emperor's instructions to the Eastern Warm Pavilion, why did a County Princess appear out of nowhere to obstruct her? He was even angrily questioning her identity.

"Are you deaf or dumb? Can't you hear what I'm asking you? " Unable to get Jin Lan's answer, Li Yingluo shouted angrily.

"Reporting to the County Princess, this is the lady from the Marquis Runan' Mansion. She is entering the palace with the First Princess's highness." Seeing that Li Yingluo had started to pester her again, Jin Lan seemed to be completely frightened out of her wits. She stood there in a daze, and had no choice but to speak up to save her.

"Aunt Huang!?" Obviously, Li Yingluo had not expected that the origin of the Jin Lan would involve her, someone who even her parents respected. Her fair hands immediately covered her tender red lips, and her sparkling black eyes turned as she said to Jin Lan slowly, "Stand up first."

"Thank you, County Princess." Only then did Jin Lan stand up straight. In less than an hour, she had been kneeling and bending at the same time. Her knees were aching, but she still had to endure it.

She was feeling extremely helpless in her heart. After all, she was the son of the Tian Family, and she was just an ordinary commoner. Even though her Ye Family was a family of the Prominent Class, if she placed it in the capital city, it would be like dropping a grain of sand in a thin lake.

Roughpeak was a personal female official serving the Emperor. He was in charge of all the palace maids in the Palace.

Li Yingluo's expression towards Roughpeak was like the difference between heaven and earth compared to Jin Lan. She pouted her rosy lips and said coquettishly, "Aunt Roughpeak, Fourth Brother can come to Ganquan Hall today, can you? I went to his palace early in the morning, but there was no sign of me. I asked the palace maid and the maid about it, but they did not tell me about it! "

Roughpeak could tell without guessing that this mistress had come to Ganquan Hall early in the morning. She must have come here as the Fourth Prince and the Pingyang County Princess loved to stick close to the Fourth Prince. Who in the palace didn't know of her? Unfortunately … She secretly sighed, then chuckled: "To reply County Princess, Fourth Prince, you're still talking about your future Ganquan Hall."

"How could that be? Fourth Brother is not in Ganquan Hall, where else can you go? " Li Yingluo had a face of disbelief. Fourth brother normally would come to the Ganquan Hall to serve the emperor, how could he not come today?

Roughpeak helplessly shook his head. "The Fourth Prince really isn't at the Ganquan Hall. When the First Princess entered the palace today, His Majesty ordered for no one to disturb him."

Only now did Li Yingluo believe what Roughpeak said. Just now, when she was about to pay her respects to the Emperor at the main hall, she had indeed been stopped by the attendant.

Since Fourth Brother isn't at Ganquan Hall, there's a high chance that he's at the Imperial Garden. She thought for a moment, then proudly swept her gaze over Jin Lan who was standing at the side with her head lowered and her chest folded. She suddenly turned around and walked away, "I'm going to take a look at the Imperial Garden." As soon as she finished speaking, the slim figure had already slipped out of the corridor, causing the two palace maids behind her to follow closely behind.

After Li Yingluo had disappeared into the distance, Roughpeak turned to Jin Lan and said apologetically, "Lady, please do not take it to heart. County Princess has been raised by the empress dowager's side since childhood.

"Aunty Roughpeak, you're overthinking it. How could I dare to argue with County Princess?" Jin Lan raised his head and smiled obediently, just like Ye Yingluo and calling Roughpeak his' aunt '.

Although Roughpeak was just a palace maid, he was still someone who served the Emperor. Even the County Princess treated her with such respect.

When Roughpeak saw that Jin Lan was able to distance himself, he smiled wryly in his heart. It was with great difficulty that he managed to pull himself closer to Jin Lan … Forget it, I'll think of something later.

She led Jin Lan into the Eastern Warm Pavilion, but could not find the figure of the Old Imperial Physician Hua. When she asked someone else about it, it turned out that the Old Imperial Physician Hua was busy today, so they went to visit the Imperial Hospital.

"Miss, please wait here for a moment. This servant will send someone to look for the Old Imperial Physician Hua at the Grand Hospital." Roughpeak called for a maidservant to pour some tea and water for Jin Lan. He then served him a few plates of exquisite pastries before bidding Jin Lan farewell.

Jin Lan nodded, then laughed calmly. "Thank you, Aunt Roughpeak."

After Roughpeak had left, the only ones left in the East Warm Pavilion were Jin Lan and a small palace maid guarding the entrance. She didn't care if the other party had intentionally stayed behind to monitor her every move; after all, this was the imperial palace.

Jin Lan swept a few glances at the furnishings in the Eastern Warm Pavilion. Although they weren't considered dazzling in terms of gold and jade, they were still extremely luxurious. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Old Imperial Physician Hua was living here, that the room was filled with a faint medicinal fragrance.

Since the Emperor had ordered for her to come over, and with the identity of the Patriarch, she was undoubtedly safe within the Ganquan Hall. However, he couldn't be careless. The moment he relaxed, a hidden danger might appear. It was as if he was facing the old ancestor.

The diamond-shaped window was made of red wood, and although it was not big, it allowed one to see the veranda and the view from the front yard clearly.

The little palace maid guarding the door quickly glanced at Jin Lan's back, feeling amazed in her heart. Why did this lady not sit down on a comfortable chair and instead sit on a pedestal by the window?

Jin Lan didn't notice the surprised gaze of the young palace maid. She was gazing through the clear glass window, staring fixedly at the hanging boll tree in the front courtyard, which was a little withered after falling all its leaves.

She originally thought that the Old Ancestor must have wanted to bring her to some easily encountered prince's palace in order to enter the palace. She didn't expect that he would directly rush to the Emperor's side.

Moreover, after entering the palace, what she cared about the most was that the Emperor was able to recognize her identity without any errors!

Although his grandfather had stood up for him in the past, after all these years, and his grandfather had long since passed away, and his father was living in seclusion in the south, the Emperor was very lucky to be able to remember his father. However, the Emperor only heard her name, and he was able to tell her background. This meant that the Emperor was not completely clueless about Ye Family!

Perhaps, even the main clan in the capital, and even the Yangzhou in the distant Jiangnan Province, had spies arranged by the Emperor!

When this thought arose, Jin Lan couldn't help but shudder.

It was too terrifying!

No wonder the Emperor had sent the Eunuch He to block the Old Ancestor's palanquin outside the east gate. This was a warning to the Old Ancestor, that even though she was the imperial aunt, he was the Great Zhou's Son, the one who decided the fate of the Great Zhou!

This being the case, the Emperor actually doesn't wish to see the Ye Family and royal family get married? Could it be that she had guessed wrongly from the start? Two years later, the Emperor's change in opinion towards Ye Family was not because of the marriage alliance?

She rubbed her throbbing forehead, but her eyes inadvertently caught two figures slowly walking over from the veranda to her right. Her heart shuddered, and she hurriedly turned her head to the left side and moved towards the wall; they were able to hide her figure as much as possible, and she was also able to see the person who had come.

The main door of the Eastern Warming Pavilion was right behind her, which was to her left. The other party was coming from the right, so if she wanted to enter, she had to pass through the glass window. However, it was clear that the two of them were not going to the East Warm Pavilion. They only walked along the veranda for a short distance before going down the stairs and heading towards the wickerwood in the front courtyard.

One was tall and the other was short. Both of them wore fox fur cloaks, but judging from their attire, they were clearly a man and a woman. When they turned down the walkway, Jin Lan noticed that there were a few palace maids behind them.

Even though the glass window was clear, it was not enough to see that far, even with the help of Jin Lan's eyes. Moreover, since the two of them had walked up to the Hanging Bell Tree, there was a faint mist surrounding them that made it even harder to see clearly.

Since he wasn't at the East Warm Pavilion and he didn't have anything to do with her, Jin Lan stopped staring at him. Since there was someone outside, it wouldn't be good to sit at the window anymore. Moreover, it might even be possible that these two people were distinguished figures like princes and princesses. It would be best for her to avoid them.

Jin Lan turned his head as he thought of this, and prepared to move to the middle chair. However, just as he got up and before she could take a step, the glass window that was originally shut suddenly opened, and a whistling cold wind mixed with an angry shout poured into the room.

"How dare you!"

Jin Lan creased his brows in grief as he was truly afraid of what would come next. This voice sounded very familiar.

Sure enough, when she turned around, she saw County Princess Li Yingluo's angry full moon face.

"Greetings County Princess Pingyang." Jin Lan cried out in his heart, was she attacking the palace or the County Princess?

Li Yingluo did not care what Jin Lan was thinking about, her gaze was sharp, her expression was haughty, her painted finger pointed at Jin Lan, and she bellowed: "Get the hell out here, you're just a lowly girl from a side branch, do you think you can stand up to me like that?"

Jin Lan's originally respectful and submissive expression suddenly turned cold. He slowly straightened his body as he curtsied. His clear and cold eyes narrowed as he coldly gazed at the lovable face that was filled with contempt.

Scolding her as a lowly girl was equivalent to treating the parents behind her as lowly people. If it was Ye Lin, maybe she would not be angry, but instead clap and cheer, but she would definitely not allow anyone to insult and slander the Madame SHen!

"What is it? Are you the opposite of a commoner? I haven't even allowed you to rise, and you actually dare to stand up on your own? " Li Yingluo had been raised by the empress dowager since childhood and was doted upon by the emperor.

Seeing Jin Lan not dodging at all, looking at her coldly and even getting up on his own accord, the anger in her mind exploded. She screamed, "What are you all waiting for? "Hurry up and drag this lowly commoner out!"