The consort followed behind the emperor, turning back to cast a triumphant look look at the princess.

The princess’s face flushed with anger. Not daring to lose her temper in front of the emperor, she waited until she returned to her chamber and immediately ordered me to be brought before her.

“You wretched servant, today it’s all your fault…”

“That’s right, it’s all that woman’s fault for causing the princess to be scolded by the emperor!” I said indignantly.

“What?” She was stunned.

“I think the emperor wasn’t very angry at first. But after that woman badmouthed you, the emperor scolded you! It was just a wolf howl-what’s the big deal? And now you have to copy scriptures as punishment?”

I was full of righteous indignation. “Your Highness, we can’t just let this slide! Don’t you want to teach that woman a lesson?”

The princess and her maids were all stunned. Originally, she wanted to teach me a lesson-so how did it end up with the consort?

In fact, the princess had long harbored deep resentment toward the consort, but in previous confrontations, she had never come out on top. Her expression shifted, and her longstanding grudge finally took precedence.

“Do you have a plan to teach the consort a lesson? If you really can, I’ll let you off this time!”

“I do have a plan, but…” I nervously fiddled with my fingers.

“Are you going to pull some tricks again? Are you trying to fool me?”

“If Your Highness doesn’t support me, and since you just exposed me in front of the emperor, the Crown Prince would definitely protect those close to him. I’m afraid if I do anything, you won’t back me up!”

“Nonsense! Would I be any less than the Crown Prince? How could I betray someone so easily? Tell me, how do you want me to support you?”

The princess was immediately stirred by my challenge.

I smiled broadly. “My stomach is still hungry. Your Highness, please reward your servant with an imperial meal first. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just the usual dishes the Empress eats!”

As night fell, the princess and I crouched in the grass outside the consort’s palace wall. Her senior maid anxiously urged, “Your Highness, let’s go back. If the Empress finds out, you’ll be punished again!”

The princess felt both scared and excited. She poked me. “Will your method work? Don’t let me get scolded again!”

I scratched a fresh mosquito bite on my leg and said mysteriously, “I can’t do it, but my shadow can.”

“What shadow?”

“My shadow can leave my body and do whatever I command it to do!”

“You’re talking nonsense. Shadows can’t leave the body…”

I waved my hand, and a dark shadow shot up from behind me, flying over the high palace wall.

The princess was stunned. “You… you’re serious!”

Indeed, that shadow was my brother.

The Crown Prince is actually quite reliable. Although he had no choice but to send me into the palace, he still kept a trick up his sleeve and had my brother secretly protect me.

At this moment, my brother cursed as he jumped onto the palace wall and made a gesture to me. “Don’t forget the imperial meal you promised me!”

I waved my hand. “I won’t forget! But you have to do a good job!”

My brother ran along the eaves and walls, dodging the guards at the consort’s palace gate, and entered the consort’s bedchamber. He crouched on the beam and took out a piece of raw meat from his bosom, placing it on the beam directly opposite the consort’s bed. Then he began to imitate a mouse’s squeak: “Squeak… squeak…”

This was the call to summon companions for a meal. During our hungriest days, we used this trick to lure many hamsters to roast and eat. The palace mice probably lived too well. My brother called for a long time until his mouth grew sore before they finally showed up.

The beams and pillars outside had all been rubbed with pigskin by my brother along the way. Those gray, fuzzy little creatures smelled the scent and heard the sound, gathering quickly. Soon the beam was full. My brother threw the meat down, and it landed right in the consort’s bedding.

She was sleeping soundly when suddenly she felt itching on her head and cheeks, and something kept stepping on her body. She opened her eyes and saw the bed full of…

The princess and I were crouched in the grass, vigorously shooing away mosquitoes, when suddenly we heard piercing screams from inside the palace walls. We exchanged a glance. Even through the thick palace walls, we could hear it clearly. It seemed the consort was terribly frightened.

Chaos broke out in the consort’s palace. Lanterns were lit in the courtyard, palace servants ran around in panic, screams continued, and even the guards were alarmed.

We were anxious when a shadow appeared on the high wall, then silently dropped down.

“How’s that? My shadow is impressive, right?” I smiled proudly at the princess.

She stared blankly at me and my brother behind me. “Do you take me for a fool? That’s clearly your Secret Guard!”

She stepped forward and before we could react, she yanked off my brother’s mask. In the dim moonlight, a face identical to mine was revealed.

In an instant, my brother quickly covered his face and disappeared into the shadow behind me. His martial arts skills are becoming more and more extraordinary.

The princess stammered, “Truly… truly your shadow!”

Just then, torches suddenly flared up in front of us, and a group of guards shouted, “Who’s there? Where are you?”

“Oh no, we’ve been discovered!” I ducked my head and prepared to run.

The princess reached out and stopped me. “What’s there to be afraid of? The princess is here!”

She stepped out of the grass, standing tall and proud. “How dare you make a fuss when the princess is here?”

When the guards saw clearly, they quickly saluted. “So late, what is the princess doing here?”

The princess lifted her chin. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk. What business is it of yours?”

The guards hurriedly said they dared not interfere. The princess swaggered away with me in tow.

“Your Highness, you’re so impressive!” I looked at her with admiration.

Though she said nothing, the corner of her mouth couldn’t hide a smile.

The next day, the princess and I were summoned by the Empress, where we also saw the emperor looking displeased.

It was said that the consort was still shaken and unsettled. She had twisted her ankle the day before and was so frightened by the rats during the night that she fell out of bed, worsening her injury.

The shock and injury caused the consort to develop a fever late at night, and the imperial physicians were summoned several times.