Chapter 9: The Empress Dowager Arrives in Person
“The young master truly leaves no strategy unplanned.”

At this moment, Yun Chu was not somewhere in the residence conversing with A Si. Instead, he had written a letter and hidden it in a small hole beside the roots of the Xiangfei bamboo beneath the southern wall.

A hidden guard observed the entire process and later reported it to Li Yunli while she was sipping a cup of hot tea.

After two sips of tea, Li Yunli felt much more at ease.

She set down her teacup and asked, “Has A Si appeared to retrieve the letter?”

“Your Highness, not yet. We have increased our surveillance and are awaiting his arrival!”

“Hmm.” Li Yunli gently blew on a tea leaf and instructed, “Just keep an eye on them secretly. No need to apprehend anyone. But remember—copy all correspondence between the two and deliver a copy to me. Do not alert them.”

This was a direct order to monitor their communications.

“Understood!”

“Zhi Lan, Zhi Hui,” Li Yunli called out as she placed down her cup and stood up, smoothing out her robes. “Accompany me to the consort’s residence.”

The two maids curtsied in acknowledgment, helped Li Yunli arrange her attire, and followed her out.

Yun Shijun’s residence was in a remote area. The Grand Princess had never set foot there before; she had always summoned him instead. But today, on a whim, she decided to visit in person.

She stifled a yawn—earlier, she had a rather unsettling dream. If events followed the novel’s original storyline, that dream might have foreshadowed her ultimate fate.

Feeling unsettled, and since Yun Chu had not attended the banquet, she felt compelled to check on him.

The journey was not exactly short.

Yun Shijun’s courtyard was located at the far northern end of the estate, separated by a dense grove of lush water bamboo. The estate was elegant and picturesque, but beyond the bamboo grove, the view turned bleak and desolate.

This place had been specially chosen for Yun Shijun by Steward Wang.

Zhi Lan walked ahead, waving a fan to disperse insects. “Your Highness, please be careful.”

Li Yunli frowned at her surroundings.

No wonder, in the original text, Yun Chu’s influence grew rapidly after A Si appeared. The consort’s courtyard was swarming with mosquitoes—because it was right next to the stables!

If A Si truly became a stable hand here, wouldn’t the two of them be able to meet every day and plot their grand restoration?

Fortunately, A Si was still away, and all their correspondence was under her watch.

Li Yunli stepped forward, intending for Zhi Lan to knock, but there wasn’t even a proper door lock—one turn and she reached the entrance.

She stepped into the courtyard.

A cricket chirped sharply before fleeing into the underbrush.

“Clang!”

Dong Sheng’s eyes widened as the water basin in his hands crashed to the ground.

“Y-Your Highness!”

He fell to his knees with a thud, as if he had seen a ghost.

And wasn’t this just like seeing a ghost? When had the Grand Princess ever set foot in this courtyard?

Was she here to settle old scores with the consort?

Dong Sheng craned his neck, his anxious gaze following Li Yunli as she approached the house.

Hearing the commotion, Yun Chu appeared at the doorway and knelt with a graceful motion.

“Your Highness.”

Li Yunli looked down at him.

This man—right now, he appeared harmless, but if she truly believed his innocent act, she would be doomed.

She could still vividly remember the suffocating sensation in her dream, where he had gripped her chin and bitten into her throat.

“Today, I hosted a grand banquet. Why did the consort not attend the Bai Guo Feast?”

Yun Chu remained silent for a long time before finally lifting his head.

Li Yunli stared at him, and as he raised his face, she clearly saw a swollen red handprint on his left cheek.

She almost thought she had misremembered the plot.

In her dream, it was Yun Chu who had struck her. How, then, did he end up injured instead?

Were dreams truly the opposite of reality?

Her voice grew cold. “Who hit you?”

Yun Chu had deliberately made sure she would see the mark.

He hesitated as if wanting to speak, but after a moment, he quietly said, “I… don’t know.”

Li Yunli’s tone was doubtful. “You don’t know?”

Since he remained kneeling in silence, unwilling to answer, she turned to Dong Sheng, who was trembling in fear. “You tell me!”

The Grand Princess’s longstanding authority was still formidable, and Dong Sheng dared not refuse.

“Your—Your Highness, it was… it was a young master who visited today.”

“A guest?” Li Yunli questioned. “This is the inner courtyard.”

Banquet guests were all received in the front hall. Who would dare trespass into her inner quarters?

“It—It was on the way to the banquet,” Dong Sheng stammered. “He encountered a young master who said that Shijun should not be wearing a Chu-style robe… and then had his men strip it off him…”

His voice grew quieter at the end, glancing at Yun Chu cautiously.

Yun Chu’s expression remained calm, but when Li Yunli turned to look at him, he closed his eyes.

Being publicly humiliated in such a manner was a disgrace for anyone.

At this moment, Yun Chu’s status was too low—so low that even outsiders dared to trample on him.

Li Yunli frowned. “Which family’s young master?”

“I… I don’t know…” Dong Sheng buried his head.

It was reasonable that he, a mere servant in the inner court, wouldn’t recognize the nobles outside.

“Lin Feng,” Li Yunli called, her voice lifting slightly. “You were on guard duty today in the inner courtyard. Did you see which nobleman laid hands on the consort?”

Lin Feng emerged from the side and knelt.

“…Your Highness, I failed in my duty and did not see.”

Li Yunli’s eyes darkened, and she spat coldly, “Useless.”

The estate’s management had always been chaotic, and Li Yunli had long been aware of it. But today, she had specifically ordered Lin Feng to watch Yun Chu, and yet, this still happened?

Such long-standing negligence needed to be dealt with.

“If you can’t even keep an eye on one person, what use are you? From now on, you will serve under the consort. If anything like this happens again, I will hold you accountable!”

“Yes!” Lin Feng bowed his head heavily.

Li Yunli turned back to Yun Chu. “Which family’s young master?”

“I…”

“Don’t say you don’t know.”

She cut him off.

“You have an excellent memory. If you say you don’t know, that means you are lying to me.”

And lying to her meant punishment.

Yun Chu hesitated briefly before answering, “It was the young lord of the Yongcheng Marquis Household.”

Li Yunli looked at him.

She had not invited anyone from the Yongcheng Marquis Household today.

Yun Chu continued, “Your Highness, today at the banquet, the Yongcheng Marchioness may cause you trouble. Please be careful.”

Li Yunli chuckled. “You are quite considerate of me.”

He wasn’t wrong—the Yongcheng Marchioness was indeed not an easy opponent.

Just as Yun Chu had warned her, news soon arrived.

A maidservant reported: “Your Highness, the Empress Dowager and the Yongcheng Marchioness have arrived at the front hall.”

Li Yunli raised an eyebrow.

She let out a laugh, finally understanding how it felt when the powerful in novels encountered unexpected developments.

“Interesting,” she murmured.