The Princess of Dali gritted her teeth, but thinking of the current situation, she dared not fall out with Nan Shiying. After all, Baolan was injured and might not be a match for the maidservant beside Nan Shiying.
Lü Wan carried Mother Zhang's corpse, blood dripping along the way, forming bloody traces on the snow.
"Wait a moment!"
Nan Shiying stopped Lü Wan, walked to her side, and as if casually, inserted a silver needle into Mother Zhang's corpse. The blood from her wound immediately stopped flowing outwards. After doing so, Nan Shiying waved her hand, "Remember to pull out the needles when disposing of the body."
"Yes!"
Lü Wan responded, and carrying the corpse, she quickened her pace towards the cold palace.
Baolan glanced at the Princess, then took a step to follow Lü Wan. Nan Shiying, treading through the thick snow, gracefully walked in front of the Princess of Dali, slowly crouching down. With a move as fast as lightning, she grabbed the Princess of Dali by the neck and nonchalantly said to Baolan, "If you go, I will snap Princess Huian's neck."
"How dare you!"
Baolan made a move as if to rush forward.
Nan Shiying smiled and applied a slight force.
The Princess of Dali's face slowly turned red as Nan Shiying tightened her grip. The veins on her temples bulged, and her eyeballs protruded. Due to suffocation and blood reflux, her eyeballs were filled with crimson blood vessels.
Nan Shiying said nonchalantly, "Guess, do I dare!"
Her eyes, like a deep well, held a chilling glint. The Princess of Dali had no doubt that if Baolan dared to question her, she would be strangled to death directly.
Even though her maidservant had just killed the family of a court official to protect her.
"Baolan!"
The Princess of Dali painstakingly squeezed out these two words from her throat.
Baolan instantly understood her meaning. Her face showed a mix of fear and indignation, but she dared not say another word.
Nan Shiying smiled faintly, "That's better!"
Baolan clenched the hand hanging by her side into a fist. She had thought the Regent's Consort was a good person before, but it turned out she was the worst of villains.
Ignoring the anger in Baolan's eyes, Nan Shiying released the Princess of Dali's neck and slowly stood up. She took a few steps back and stood under the withered but still capable of sheltering the falling snowflakes large tree not far away, leaning against the trunk with her arms crossed. If the situation were not so dire, this breathtaking scene of a beauty in the snow would likely have left people stunned and amazed.
Baolan stared blankly at Nan Shiying, a wave of stunned admiration surging in her heart. However, this rising admiration was shattered by reason in the next moment. She saw the Princess still slumped on the ground and quickly walked forward to help her up.
After Lü Wan threw Mother Zhang's corpse into the dry well, she quickly returned.
She very professionally cleaned up the residual bloodstains on the ground. Nan Shiying did not intend to leave. She beckoned to Lü Wan and whispered a few words into her ear.
Lü Wan nodded heavily and, under the watchful eyes of the Princess of Dali and Baolan, disappeared into the snowy landscape.
The Princess of Dali looked at Nan Shiying leaning against the tree trunk. Although their positions differed and they were destined not to be friends, she still felt full of admiration and respect for her.
The surroundings were silent. Nan Shiying made no move, and the Princess of Dali and Baolan dared not leave. It was only when Lü Wan returned again that Nan Shiying slowly opened her eyes. She turned her head, smiled slightly at the Princess of Dali and Baolan, revealing a row of flawless white teeth.
However, her jaw was swollen, and her appearance was rather strange.
"Princess, please!"
Nan Shiying ignored the fleeting strangeness in their eyes, made a gesture to the Princess of Dali, and the Princess of Dali, supported by Baolan, slowly followed behind Nan Shiying.
"Princess, you are a smart person. You know very well what should be said and what should not be said!"
Nan Shiying's hoarse voice carried a smile, but the voice could not be described as pleasant. Instead, the hoarseness made the laughter more like the sharp claws of a devil extending, attempting to drag passersby into hell.
The Princess of Dali was silent for a few seconds, then nodded, "I understand."
One must bow their head when under another's roof. Even if she were to speak of today's events in the grand hall, she would face the fate of death and annihilation.
What she wanted was to return to Dali, not to die in Linyuan.
If she died, nothing would remain!
Nan Shiying nodded with satisfaction. It was simple to converse with a smart person. You only needed to reveal a hint, and the other party would naturally understand.
She smiled, but the Princess of Dali and Baolan did not want her to smile anymore.
It was too creepy.
Lü Wan followed behind Nan Shiying, vigilantly watching Baolan, afraid she might suddenly lash out and harm the Consort.
After a period of silence, the Princess of Dali sighed and expressed her gratitude to Nan Shiying, "Regardless of what happened today, I must thank the Consort... for saving my life twice."
Nan Shiying glanced sideways at the Princess of Dali and asked unceremoniously, "Then how does the Princess intend to thank me? With mere verbal thanks?"
The Princess of Dali was slightly taken aback. She clearly had not expected her to ask for favors at this juncture. However, seeing her swollen and deformed jaw and her hoarse, dry voice, she nodded, "Indeed, before I came to Linyuan, my father bestowed upon me a thousand-year-old ginseng. Now, I shall offer the ginseng to the Consort as a gift to repay your life-saving kindness."
"Princess!"
Baolan's eyes widened. That ginseng could save lives. The Princess was too generous to give it away so readily. Although the Regent's Consort was injured, it was not serious. Compared to their Princess, who had been violated by that Miao疆 villain at her core, she felt a few hundred-year-old ginseng would suffice.
"Princess, your maidservant is quite loyal!" Nan Shiying curved her lips. Her smiling voice carried a hint of malice. The Princess of Dali felt a chill down her spine, and cold sweat trickled down her neck. She quickly turned and glared at Baolan, then apologized to Nan Shiying, "I have been negligent in disciplining my maidservant. Please do not hold it against her."
After a few seconds of silence, the Princess of Dali continued, "When I first arrived in Linyuan, I noticed that Linyuan's jewelry was quite different from Dali's. If the Consort does not mind, I have a set of ruby jewelry here, which I will send along with the ginseng to the Regent's Mansion for the Consort to play with."
Baolan's eyes widened again. She wanted to shout but was glared back by the Princess of Dali.
That set of ruby jewelry was the遗物 (yi wu -遗物) of Consort Xian. How could the Princess give away the Consort's遗物 to someone else?
Nan Shiying did not know it was a遗物, but she was not particularly interested in jewelry.
What kind of jewelry had she not worn or seen before?
She waved her hand dismissively, "No need, the ginseng will suffice."
The resentment on Baolan's face instantly disappeared. Looking at Nan Shiying, she felt that she was not too bad after all, at least she did not covet the late Consort's遗物.