Help! The Frosty Noble's Son Is in Love With Me!-Chapter 338: Heir Pei Emerges

The heavens do not comply with human desires.

Bicao left the empress’s banquet in a hurry, heading towards the other side to find Heir Pei, but while crossing a bridge, she encountered several palace maids, and inadvertently got tripped, causing her to fall into the water.

Panic ensued on the shore.

Meanwhile, the emperor was bestowing rewards upon Heir Pei and Prince Xiao, thanking them for shielding the princess from the blade.

The two men rose to accept the gratitude.

When a palace maid was pouring wine for Xiao Shiqing, she accidentally spilled it all over him, forcing Xiao Shiqing to leave to change his clothes.

Shortly after he left, a palace attendant whispered a few words to Heir Pei.

Soon, Pei Ji’an also rose and apologized to the emperor, saying he had some matters and needed to leave the banquet briefly.

It was already halfway through the banquet; the ministers had half-drunk their rounds, just at the point where they needed to excuse themselves for the restroom. The emperor assumed Pei Ji’an had the same need and waved him off without saying anything.

Below the stage, one performance ended, and another began.

Pei Ji’an left the hall and, guided by a palace attendant, arrived at a place where he saw Bicao trembling in the cold wind, wrapped in a coat. His brow furrowed, "What happened, where’s the Young Madam?"

"The Young Madam got her clothes wet at the banquet with some soup and followed a palace maid to the Northwest Palace to change," Bicao said, her words stumbling due to the cold.

Her hair and clothes were soaked; if not for someone handing her a coat, she would have fainted from the cold.

Others persuaded her to go change clothes first, but she insisted on waiting here for the princely heir.

Upon hearing this, Pei Ji’an frowned and waved for someone to take Bicao away to change clothes, then stepped towards the direction of the Northwest Palace.

If one had a God’s perspective at this moment, they would see that heading towards the Northwest Palace wasn’t just Pei Ji’an alone; in the opposing direction, someone else was heading towards the side hall.

Inside the room.

A palace maid brought Qu Fulan a basin of warm water, "Young Lady Pei, this servant will assist you in changing clothes."

As she spoke, she came to help her undress.

Qu Fulan raised her hand to stop her, "You can leave, I can do it myself, no need to prepare the clothes, my maid will deliver them."

The palace maid then withdrew.

Qu Fulan had no intention of changing clothes yet; she first assessed the room. Bicao had gone to notify Pei Ji’an, she thought of having him come over, even if he couldn’t enter, staying a distance would give her a sense of security.

Another maid, Ruyin, went to get the clothes; currently, she was the only one here.

Today’s palace banquet, although places for women to change clothes held charcoal fires prepared long in advance, there was no warm wall or ground heating; the room was still cold, and the maid had not yet delivered the clothes, so naturally, she would not undress and wait.

Qu Fulan sat by the fire for a bit when she noticed something was off.

It was the smell in the air.

There was a faint fragrance, nearly masked by the charcoal fire in the room; if she weren’t versed in medicine and sensitive to drugs, she probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

This room had a problem!

Qu Fulan hurriedly stood up, immediately feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

She quickly retrieved a detoxifying pill from her space and washed it down with some pre-prepared water from the space, alleviating the symptoms before heading to the door. As expected, the door was locked from the outside, and she couldn’t open it from within.

Someone was plotting against her with some purpose, but now wasn’t the time to delve into such questions; she had to find a way out, or she’d be sitting and waiting for death.

But the door was locked, and the windows couldn’t be opened; she searched the room but found no escape.

Just then footsteps could be heard from outside.

...

"Please, Heir, this way; the other side is the women’s dressing area."

As Pei Ji’an entered the Northwest Palace, a palace attendant came forward to guide him.

The so-called men’s and women’s dressing rooms were merely separated by a wall without clear distinction. Without the guidance of palace maids or eunuchs, it was inevitable to get lost.

After all, the banquet wasn’t a daily occurrence, there was no need for the palace to specially set up such arrangements, it was just for the convenience of outsiders.

Pei Ji’an didn’t move but instead retrieved some broken silver from his bosom, placing it in the steward’s hand, "I am Heir of the Pei Mansion, could I trouble you to check on the women’s side, my wife is not feeling well today, and she’s been out changing for some time, I’m concerned about her health, yet inconvenient to visit the women’s area."

Even figures like Pei Ji’an and Xiao Shiqing were not recognized by everyone in the palace, as many eunuchs and palace maids were not serving close by and seldom saw true appearances. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But once his name was reported, the eunuch knew and naturally didn’t refuse, accepting the silver and going to handle the matter.

Pei Ji’an waited by the door, but before the eunuch could return, another anxious voice called out to him.

"Heir, the Young Madam can’t be found!"

The speaker was Ruyin, who had gone to fetch the clothes; previously, the palace maid leading the Young Madam to change clothes reported a room number, but upon arrival with the clothes, found no one!

Ruyin was worry-stricken, not allowed to make noise in the palace, she dared not to announce openly, only cautiously seeking while recognizing the urgency of finding the Heir to check the situation. As soon as she stepped outside, she collided with the Heir, a blessing indeed!

...

Up front, someone whispered something to the empress.

The empress frowned, "Young Lady Pei’s maid fell into the water? How did she suddenly fall?"

"Perhaps she fell in accidentally."

The empress thought for a moment, then said, "Go and settle her well, and send someone to inform Young Lady Pei." After a pause, she added, "Investigate the incident thoroughly later."

Having long resided in the deep palace’s inner courtyard, the empress would not view the matter simply or one-sidedly; falling into the water in the dead of winter, who would believe such a thing?

The empress felt a bit displeased; too many incidents were occurring at this banquet.

Princess Zhuyu, seated next to the empress, vaguely overheard the palace attendant’s words and inquired, "Mother, what happened to Young Lady Pei?"

The empress smiled, "It’s nothing, just a minor incident with Young Lady Pei’s maid; someone has already been sent to handle it."

Princess Zhuyu appeared worried and said to the palace maid beside her, "Go and see if there’s any need for assistance."

The palace maid acknowledged and went down.

On the other side, a sudden shout of panic emerged from the women’s area of the Northwest Palace.

"Oh no, the Northwest Palace is on fire!"

Water and fire are merciless; whether it’s a flood or a fire, such disasters are of utmost priority, especially in the imperial palace where a mishap could result in irreparable loss.

So once a fire was shouted, it immediately sparked panic, everyone occupied with evacuating and putting out the fire.

The women’s area quickly plunged into chaos.

Some people ran out without properly dressed.

Others hadn’t changed yet but still rushed out.

Fearing that a slight delay would cost them their lives.

Having already changed into eunuch attire and donned a eunuch’s cap, Pei Ji’an seized the opportunity to enter.

Amongst the chaotic crowd, his towering figure maneuvered through.

If it were a normal time, others might have spared a glance at this tall eunuch; but now everyone’s priority was survival, who had time to look at anyone else?

Pei Ji’an navigated through the panicked crowd, reached an alternate corner, and upon rounding it, he was immediately slammed into by someone.