Chu Jiao nodded gently, and she also breathed a sigh of relief. Although Dantai Yunhan had some evidence, they were certainly not enough to convince him, which also explained what he said. So what she had to do at the moment was to clean up all the traces she left behind before Dantai Yunhan found them.
Dantai Yunhan left after some casual talks. Now Chu Jiao was lying in bed alone, turning the issue over in her mind.
She didn’t know who told Dantai Yunhan everything she did.
Dantai Yunhan was always occupied with national affairs and had no spare time to deal with the entanglement inside the Prince Palace. So even if the Prince Palace fell into complete chaos, as long as she wished to control the situation, she would be able to do so.
However, now that Dantai Yunhan talked about the whole event with her openly, especially that most of what he said was true, Chu Jiao figured that someone must have tipped him off him on what she had done.
But who could it be?
Chu Jiao frowned slightly. Although she didn’t pull it off this time, still it had served as a warning to Chu Qiao. Now, what she had to do was to make persistent efforts until she successfully toppled Chu Qiao off. Then it would be time for her to be spirited.
Clenching her teeth tightly, Chu Jiao was determined to sacrifice Chu Qiao, her own sister, for her future happiness. She wanted to be in charge of the Prince Palace instead of leading a boring and humble life here. And she could only achieve her dream when Chu Qiao was gone.
Chu Jiao made up her mind secretly that she would do anything and sacrifice anyone to achieve her goal. Stroking the wound on her forehead, she figured that it might leave a scar. Then she spat at the ground and said to herself:
“Chu Qiao, you shall pay a thousand times back for what you have done to me sooner or later! I always deliver what I said, and you’ll live to regret! ”
One day, Chu Qiao and Zhong Jinchun were taking a stroll in the garden. Zhong Jinchun was the only one in the Palace who could lift Chu Qiao’s spirit. Although she was also an Attendant Consort of Dantai Yunhan, to be honest, she was very kind and beautiful, and she had won Chu Qiao’s favor.
“Sister Jinchun, look how beautiful these flowers are. I haven’t seen such beautiful flowers for a long time!”
Zhong Jinchun smiled. Chu Qiao had always been a lively and smart lady, but she was trapped in the Palace. There were so many rules which was not suitable for her.
In fact, Chu Qiao didn’t smile frequently before, either. It was only until later that Zhong Jinchun realized that some people should live in a care-free environment, and Chu Qiao was one of them. But now she was trapped in this cage named the Prince Palace like a bird with broken wings, so naturally her face wouldn’t light up.
However, today was an exception. The flowers in the Palace made Chu Qiao smile again, which was charming. Zhong Jinchun was happy to see it and nodded gently. Then she picked up a rose, made it into a wreath, and placed upon Chu Qiao’s head.
Staring at the wreath for a while, Chu Qiao was amazed at how skillful Zhong Jinchun was to make a colorful wreath in such a short time.
“Sister, how deft you are! I might have achieved something greater instead of wasting my time in this Prince Palace if I were half as good as you!”
Zhong Jinchun chuckled. Chu Qiao said it in such an innocent way that it didn’t sound like what Dantai Yunhan’s wife would have said. But it was exactly because of this that Zhong Jinchun was willing to make friends with her.
“Sister, you’re pulling my leg. I’d like to say that I might have had a higher status instead of being a concubine in this Palace if I were half as beautiful as you!”
Chu Qiao was slightly surprised, because she didn’t expect that Zhong Jinchun, who she thought was a very shy and gentle woman before, would joke with her not long after they became friends. It looked like that Zhong had really come down from her fences.
Then Chu Qiao burst out laughing, which made Zhong Jinchun confused about what she was laughing at.
“Sister, what are you laughing at?”
It was not yet a good time for Chu Qiao to say that, so she shook her head and said to Zhong Jinchun,
“Nothing. I just found it funny! Let’s not get distracted! ”
Then Chu Qiao walked away quickly. Zhong Jinchun smiled even more at the innocent face Chu Qiao had shown her. In fact, she really hoped that time could stand still, because only at this moment she was truly happy.
At the meantime, Chu Jiao was lying in her bed, complaining to her servant girl in a loud voice,
“Who is making the noises outside? I can’t even get a peaceful moment to sleep! It seems that anyone can wreck this Palace when I am not in charge! ”
When the servant girl sensed Chu Jiao’s fury, she knelt down in front of her bed immediately.
“Please calm down, ma’am. Princess Chu Qiao and Madam Zhong Jinchun are playing outside. Everyone is enjoying the fine weather today. Ma’am, would you like to go out and join them?”
As soon as Chu Jiao heard the name of Chu Qiao, she got even more infuriated, so She scolded the maid ferociously,
“I need rest to recover my strength. If a scar is left on my forehead because of the lack of rest, I will behead all of you!”
The young maid had never been in such an intense situation before. She couldn’t help but beg for mercy in front of Chu Jiao, kowtowing without stopping.
“Have mercy on me, ma’am! It’s all my fault that I said something wrong! Please don’t be angry!”
In fact, Chu Jiao just wanted to scare these maids for fun. Why would she be truly mad at these insignificant maids? What she was really angry about was the fact that she herself was hurt and lying here as a patient, while Chu Qiao, whom she plotted against, was having fun outside, safe and sound.
At the thought of this, Chu Jiao just said to the servant girl, “Stop being an eyesore here! Get out right now!”
The servant girl immediately rose to her feet and ran outside, leaving Chu Jiao alone in her bed feeling depressed. Dantai Yunhan told her that he would visit her a few days later, but she hadn’t seen him for several days now.
Although Chu Jiao understood that the Prince was an extremely busy man, she also needed his care.
Breathing a sigh, Chu Jiao was more determined to become the mistress of the Prince Palace, otherwise she might lead a pitiful life in the rest of her lifetime, which was definitely not what she wanted.