Chapter 24: Paying a Little Silver

All eyes were fixed on Zhao Jiao, everyone eager to see how she would respond. The Princess Royal was notoriously fickle; a single misstep could cost one their life.

Yin Sumuo was also secretly worried, hoping Zhao Jiao would not push her luck too far. Princess Royal Yin Ling was someone she absolutely could not afford to provoke.

"Your Highness, Princess Royal... could you please tell the Princess... tell her not to kill this humble daughter? I am... foolish and have failed to serve the Empress Dowager well. I am... willing to leave the palace and return home, and I am also... willing to change my courtesy name!"

Some felt a sense of relief, while others felt let down. After all this drama, they had expected someone with more backbone, but it turned out she was just a coward! Her previous defiance must have been out of sheer ignorance, and now, having seen the gravity of the situation, she was simply terrified.

"Is that all?"

Yin Ling felt bored and instantly lost interest. Yet, to everyone's surprise, Zhao Jiao spoke again.

With pear blossoms wet with tears, she lifted her face to look up at Yin Ling, her voice small and timid: "Then... could you perhaps... provide some compensation in silver?"

"..."

"..."

The entire hall was stunned! Had they all suffered a collective hallucination?

Yin Ling was taken aback at first, examining Zhao Jiao with a probing gaze, before covering her face with her feathered fan and bursting into laughter. The Empress Dowager was also speechless; she couldn't believe the girl had thought of such a thing.

"If not... then... forget it..." Zhao Jiao timidly added.

"Tell me, how much do you want?"

Zhao Jiao shyly raised her hand and gestured. "Five... thousand... taels..."

Silence fell over the hall. Everyone stared in disbelief. Was she insane?

Yin Ling was quite surprised as well, watching Zhao Jiao with genuine interest, as if trying to discern something deeper.

"If that's too much... it's... it's fine." Zhao Jiao spoke again, meeting Yin Ling's gaze like a mouse before a cat.

"Why five thousand taels?" Yin Ling asked, not angry, but rather curious and gentle.

Zhao Jiao blinked her watery eyes and said blankly, "To... pay off... debts..." That much was true!

"So that's it... Very well, I shall grant your wish! Someone, bring her five thousand taels!"

Zhao Jiao was overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed. "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!" She collected the banknotes as she thanked her. The onlookers watched with wide eyes—she actually took the money?

Zhao Jiao not only accepted it but meticulously counted and tucked it away, as if fearing someone might take it back. Clutching her sleeve pouch, her display of being so unsophisticated actually amused the Empress Dowager.

"This... this girl... is quite endearing!"

The Empress Dowager's anger seemed to dissipate, a smile reappearing on her face, and the atmosphere softened considerably.

"Mother is right. The Xu girl, is it? What was your courtesy name again?"

Having been extorted for five thousand taels by an unruly subject, Yin Ling didn't seem to mind, asking with a smile while fanning herself.

Clutching her sleeve and keeping her head low, Zhao Jiao replied nervously, "This humble daughter's courtesy name is... Zhao Jiao!"

"Zhao... Jiao?!"

The Princess Royal murmured, as if to herself. Zhao Jiao said nothing more, and no one else dared to make a sound.

"Hmm, not bad. 'Zhao' as in the bright and radiant morning sun, 'Jiao' as in the graceful and full moon. Nianzhao beat you because of this 'Zhao' character, so I shall punish her on your behalf... I will have her write the character 'Zhao' ten thousand times over the next three days and have it delivered to the Xu residence. Furthermore, she is to be confined to her quarters for a month. How does that sound?"

The question hung in the air, her tone light and teasing, making hearts race.

Zhao Jiao waved her hands in a panic. Everyone thought she had finally returned to her senses, but then she said: "No, no need! As long as she doesn't kill me, and since the Princess Royal has compensated me five thousand taels, that is enough, truly enough..."

Could she stop mentioning the five thousand taels? Everyone was speechless!

"Hahaha! Mother, this girl is truly amusing!"

After saying this, Yin Ling turned and walked toward the Empress Dowager.

"Royal Aunt, let Sumuo escort her out of the palace, so she doesn't disturb the banquet further."

Yin Sumuo suddenly spoke up, reaching out to help Zhao Jiao to her feet. Zhao Jiao played along, rising with the gesture. She had been kneeling for so long, covered in injuries; despite everyone knowing she was the victim and pretending to uphold fairness, no one had bothered to help her up, all because she had bruised the royal dignity and disrupted the banquet.

As she rose, her legs trembled slightly, and she nearly collapsed. Fortunately, Yin Sumuo, standing close by, caught her.

"Little Six, since you know her, then you take her home!"

Yin Ling did not turn back, her light words laced with a hint of chill.

Yin Sumuo and Zhao Jiao quietly exited the grand hall, marking the end of Zhao Jiao's trip to the palace.

As they passed Feng Yu'er, Zhao Jiao stopped and stared at her for a moment, then walked on with her head held high without a word. *Just wait, all of you. This trip was merely to show my face!*

*Bitch!*

Kneeling in the snow and shivering, Feng Yu'er gritted her teeth, glaring at Zhao Jiao’s retreating back with hatred, silently vowing that she would make her pay! She would!

"You won!"

Once they were far from the Yunling Palace, Yin Sumuo finally spoke.

Zhao Jiao leaned into the cold wind, supported by Yin Sumuo, and smiled at his words. "Just good luck, that's all."

"Just luck?" Yin Sumuo clearly didn't believe her.

"What else could it be?" Zhao Jiao retorted.

Yin Sumuo frowned, glancing at her profile. His lips moved, but he ultimately remained silent.

"Thank you for today, Your Highness. If not for you, I don't know how much longer I would have been kneeling." She was someone who clearly distinguished between kindness and enmity. He had not hesitated to help her today, and she would remember it.

"You are quite sharp. Since you see everything so clearly, why provoke them? Even if you managed to get a bit of revenge for Hezhao today, Nianzhao is still a Princess. If she wants to cause trouble for you later, it will be easy! You might not be as lucky as you were today." Yin Sumuo hadn't intended to say so much, but he couldn't help himself.

Zhao Jiao suddenly stopped, looked up at him, and smiled, her eyes shimmering. "Your Highness, shall we make another bet?"

"A bet? On what?" What was she planning now?

"A bet on whether she can cause me trouble?"

"What do you mean?" Yin Sumuo raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were truly beautiful. How many sides did she have? The look she had given Nianzhao earlier...

Zhao Jiao withdrew her gaze and continued forward. "She won't have the heart to cause me trouble, at least not for the time being—not if she doesn't want to become a discarded pawn."

"A discarded pawn? You might want to be clearer; I am slow-witted!"

Zhao Jiao laughed. "Your Highness is brilliant; you just can't be bothered to untangle the threads. Let me do it for you. We young ladies were brought into the palace under the guise of serving the Empress Dowager, but in reality, it was for you unmarried princes to choose a match. If nothing had gone wrong, the marriage between Prince Li and Princess Nianzhao would have been settled today, right?"

"But then you, this little accident, had to happen!"

Zhao Jiao nodded. "You could say that. The Empress Dowager was never very satisfied with this match. Originally, out of respect for the Princess Royal, she might have agreed, but now... the chances are nine out of ten it's ruined. To the Princess Royal, an adopted daughter who cannot marry the future Crown Prince has no reason to exist. Therefore, Princess Nianzhao won't have the time to trouble me."

The hand supporting her arm suddenly tightened. Zhao Jiao almost cried out in pain.

"Your Highness, if you don't wish to support me, please let go!"

Yin Sumuo loosened his grip slightly, looking at her with cold eyes. "You know quite a lot. I suspect even your father, who serves in the imperial court, doesn't know as much as you do. Xu Jiaojiao... who exactly are you..."

"Who exactly am I?"

Indeed, one says too much when they speak too freely, but at this moment, she wanted someone to talk to.

"You, single-handedly, stirred up today's storm. You manipulated the Empress, and even the Empress Dowager was within your calculations. Who, in the end, are you?"

Zhao Jiao lowered her head, smiling faintly. "Your Highness, don't overestimate me. My success today was merely due to some things Princess Hezhao once told me. For instance, the current Empress Dowager is not a daughter of the Luo clan's main line, but a secondary daughter who used tricks to take the place of the legitimate daughter before entering the palace. She is most sensitive about others mentioning this... and now it seems, it is indeed true!"

*The Empress Dowager was of secondary birth... so that was it...*

"And if the Princess Royal had insisted on protecting her today, wouldn't you have lost? Was the Princess Royal's reaction also part of your plan?"

Zhao Jiao shook her head. "Just luck. I wish I had such skill. However, I know one thing... the Princess Royal did not adopt Princess Nianzhao because of some so-called longing for a deceased daughter... If she didn't cherish or love her own biological child while she was alive, how much could she really miss her after she was dead?"