In the Eastern Palace,
The eldest princess slowly opened her eyes.
Her head ached badly, and for a moment, she couldn't recall what had happened before.
Frowning tightly, she stretched out her fingers and gently massaged her temples.
She tried this way to make herself a bit more awake.
When she saw Ruan Jiu guarding by the bedside, she couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled and asked, "Why haven't you left the palace yet?"
Just as the words left her mouth, the eldest princess realized that she wasn't in her own room.
She squinted her eyes and carefully observed the surroundings.
Looking at the familiar yet strange furnishings in the room, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
It seemed to be...
She suddenly sat up straight and exclaimed, "Why am I here?!"
Although she hadn't been here for a long time, she still remembered that this was Crown Prince Brother's bedroom.
"Don't you remember, Eldest Princess?" Ruan Jiu asked.
Seeing that the eldest princess still looked puzzled, Ruan Jiu told her exactly what she had just said to the crown prince.
Then she let out a long sigh and said, "Alas, even if the young master of the Prime Minister Gu's family has feelings for the eldest princess, he shouldn't have done such a thing!"
After hearing this, the eldest princess vaguely remembered what had happened at the palace banquet just now.
No wonder she got drunk after only two cups of wine.
It turned out that she had been drugged!
Suddenly, the eldest princess's expression changed, and she angrily shouted, "Good for you, Gu Chengqi. You actually dared to scheme against me! Just wait and see how I tear you apart!"
After saying that, she immediately got up and wanted to go find Gu Chengqi to settle the score.
Seeing this, Ruan Jiu quickly stepped forward to stop her and said, "Don't be in a hurry, Eldest Princess. Young Master Gu has already reaped what he sowed.
After I rescued you, he mistook that maid for you. When they were caught, they were still... in bed... making love...
When His Majesty learned about this, he was extremely angry. Now, Gu Chengqi has been thrown into prison on the charge of debauchery in the palace."
Although this was the case, the eldest princess was still not appeased.
Her innocence had almost been ruined!
However, Ruan Jiu was very satisfied with this result. If she hadn't met Xiao Wang, she might not have been able to accomplish this so smoothly.
Since Gu Chengqi had the intention to do evil, he was destined to bear this result.
She couldn't be blamed for this.
Debauchery in the palace was a serious crime. Even if Prime Minister Gu tried his best to save his son, it was likely that Gu Chengqi wouldn't be able to get out of prison.
In this way, Zhou Ru's only support would be gone.
Next, she could go to Cui Jin to claim her "reward".
It seemed that bringing down Prime Minister Gu was just around the corner.
"Why am I in the crown prince's bedroom?"
The eldest princess's words pulled Ruan Jiu back from her thoughts.
She replied, "It was the order of the crown prince. Fortunately, we met the crown prince at that time. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known what to do."
Hearing this, the eldest princess pouted and murmured, "He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would meddle in other people's business."
Actually, Ruan Jiu thought that the crown prince wasn't as cold and indifferent to the eldest princess as he seemed on the surface.
Otherwise, he could have directly exposed Gu Chengqi's drugging to His Majesty instead of pinning the charge of debauchery in the palace on Gu Chengqi to help the eldest princess get out of this matter.
Even the imperial physician who examined the eldest princess was secretly brought in by someone, and the crown prince repeatedly warned that this matter must not be spread.
This was obviously to protect the eldest princess's reputation.
Considering that the crown prince had put in a lot of effort in this matter, Ruan Jiu decided to say a few good words for him.
So, Ruan Jiu said, "Actually, I think the crown prince is very good to you. After learning that Young Master Gu wanted to ruin your innocence, he immediately avenged you."
"Avenge me?" The eldest princess looked at her with a puzzled expression after hearing this.
Ruan Jiu nodded. "Otherwise, why do you think Young Master Gu mistook that maid for you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the shock in the eldest princess's eyes outweighed her confusion.
It turned out that Crown Prince Brother had done this for her!
Ruan Jiu then continued, "No wonder people say that blood is thicker than water. Although the crown prince seems cold, he actually cares about you very much."
After hearing this, there seemed to be a glint of tears in the eldest princess's eyes.
She thought that after her mother passed away, Crown Prince Brother no longer regarded her as his younger sister...
Thinking of this, her nose inexplicably felt sour.
But since Ruan Jiu was there, she felt a bit embarrassed and sniffled.
After coughing lightly, she said, "Anyway, it was you who saved me. I should thank you."
Ruan Jiu smiled. "This is what I should do, Your Highness."
The eldest princess continued, "You are more to my liking than that adopted daughter of the Shen family."
"Shen Ruoxi?"
"Yes. She always likes to curry favor with Princess Yongle. She's like a lackey. It's disgusting."
Since Princess Yongle was the daughter of the current queen and deeply favored by His Majesty,
Shen Ruoxi was eager to make friends with her and always sent some rare things to Princess Yongle.
However, even so, she never received a second look from Princess Yongle.
Only then did Ruan Jiu suddenly understand why the eldest princess had never shown her a good face before. It was all because of Shen Ruoxi.
However, now that Gu Chengqi had been dealt with, whether or not the eldest princess had any prejudice against her, there would be no more intersection between them in the future.
Thinking of this, Ruan Jiu bowed and said respectfully, "Now that the eldest princess is safe and sound, I will take my leave."
She didn't want to stay here any longer for fear of running into Xiao Wang, the cold - faced crown prince.
"Wait!" The eldest princess raised her hand. "Since you saved me, I will naturally reward you. Tell me, what do you want?"
Ruan Jiu shook her head. "I don't want anything."
The eldest princess thought for a while. That made sense. The Shen family was extremely wealthy and had all kinds of rare treasures.
So, the eldest princess took off the palace token from her waist and handed it over. "Then I'll leave all my clothes to your Jinxiu Pavilion from now on. Take this palace token. It will be convenient for you to enter the palace in the future to take my measurements and make clothes for me."
Since gold, silver, and treasures couldn't move Ruan Jiu, this title of the exclusive clothing store for the current eldest princess should make her happy, right?
This was something that many people longed for.
Seeing Ruan Jiu standing there stunned and not taking the palace token for a long time, the eldest princess immediately said, "Are you so happy that you're stupid? Hurry up and take it!"
After hearing this, Ruan Jiu gasped.
This was no kind of reward at all. It was clearly torturing her.
The eldest princess's move meant that she would have to enter the palace from time to time in the future and make clothes for the eldest princess according to her preferences.
Oh my goodness!
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
But the eldest princess seemed very satisfied with her own idea.
Ruan Jiu had to suppress her dissatisfaction and slowly reached out to take the palace token. "Thank you, Eldest Princess."
The eldest princess waved her hand. "It's okay. It's just a small matter."
Ruan Jiu forced a smile. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and she almost couldn't control her expression.
She looked like she was about to cry.
But in the eldest princess's eyes, Ruan Jiu was about to cry with joy.
For merchants, what they cared about was nothing more than fame and fortune.
Since Ruan Jiu didn't lack fortune, this great fame that had fallen on her head should make her extremely happy.
The eldest princess proudly raised her head. She was really impressed by her own wisdom.