After Transmigration, I Snag a Stunning Bigwig as My Husband-Chapter 884 - 880: Tribute

The Ninth Prince finally crawled into Chaohua Palace.

Chaohua Palace was empty, but it was cleaned thoroughly, with only a few dry leaves scattered on the ground.

Young Master Su scanned the room with his eyes, and the Ninth Prince said, "See, there’s nothing special here, but you didn’t believe me."

"Shh," Young Master Su gestured for silence.

The Ninth Prince immediately stopped talking.

Young Master Shen perked up his ears, not hearing anything, he looked at Young Master Su and asked, "Did you hear something?"

"No, I didn’t hear anything," Young Master Su whispered.

"..."

The Ninth Prince really wanted to punch him.

Not hearing anything yet demanding silence, it startled him.

Young Master Su wasn’t afraid of being beaten by the Emperor, but the Ninth Prince was.

His father had just started treating him better, and he was afraid of disappointing the Emperor, worried things might revert to how they were before.

Young Master Su opened his palm.

In his palm was a piece of torn cloth. Seeing it, the Ninth Prince frowned, "What’s this?"

"I just found it by the dog hole when I crawled in," Young Master Su explained.

"Someone must be hiding inside."

Because someone had moved the grass covering the dog hole, Young Master Su had observed particularly closely.

Normally, if there was a big piece of torn cloth near his feet, he wouldn’t pay it any mind, probably even stepping on it without noticing.

The Ninth Prince looked at the fabric and said, "It should be a palace maid."

"Let’s find her," Young Master Su said.

In the Marquis Mansion, they often played hide-and-seek.

But usually they were the ones hiding, and someone else would find them, now it’s all about finding someone else together.

Everyone got excited as they searched all over Chaohua Palace.

Though it was fun, they had to be cautious too, so they grouped into pairs.

Four people searched Chaohua Palace but found no sign of anyone.

Young Master Shen looked at Young Master Su, "Did you guess wrong?"

"Perhaps she came in and left," said Young Master Zhao.

Young Master Su glanced at them, "I think she’s definitely still hiding in there."

The Ninth Prince looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Why are you so sure?"

Young Master Su said, "This place is a forbidden area in the Imperial Palace. Last time my sister almost got punished by the Empress for coming here, let alone anyone else."

"If not afraid of getting caught, no one would hide here."

"What if it’s someone with strong curiosity, like you?" The Ninth Prince suggested.

"..."

Young Master Su was speechless.

The Ninth Prince suggested they leave, as there was really nothing fun in Chaohua Palace.

Young Master Su thought for a moment and walked to the front of the main hall, saying, "I know you are hiding in there. Are you going to come out yourself, or should we call someone to drag you out?"

The quiet main hall only echoed Young Master Su’s voice.

"I’ll count to three, if you don’t come out, I’ll call someone."

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three..."

Just as the third word was forming in his throat, a clear voice tinged with fear came out, "I’ll come out, don’t call anyone."

The Ninth Prince and others widened their eyes and saw a palace maid crawling out from under the offering table.

Young Master Shen pointed at the offering table, "We just checked the table, there was no one under it."

However, they realized the maid must have hidden elsewhere when they checked the table, then hid under the table when they checked other places.

Usually, once searched, spots wouldn’t be checked twice.

The little palace maid’s face was pale and she trembled.

Young Master Su looked at her and said, "Are you the palace maid who broke the Empress’s jade hairpin and is awaiting execution?"

"It wasn’t me who broke it," the little palace maid said, aggrieved.

"Why didn’t you explain to the Empress and hid away instead?" asked the Ninth Prince.

"The Empress wants me executed for other reasons, I don’t want to die, so I hid here," the little palace maid explained.

This place is a forbidden area in the Imperial Palace; even the Empress dares not come casually.

The little palace maid hid here, needing only to avoid the cleaning eunuchs to ensure safety.

In such a large Chaohua Palace, hiding is easy.

If not for fear of Young Master Su calling someone over, the palace maid wouldn’t have come out.

Young Master Su felt sympathetic to her plight, asking, "Is there anything we can do to help you?"

The little palace maid was about to speak when suddenly the sound of opening doors was heard, and the Ninth Prince exclaimed, "Not good, someone is coming."

Young Master Su and the others dashed out, intending to escape through the dog hole before being noticed.

However, they were a step too slow and were discovered by the eunuchs, who chased them to the dog hole.

When the eunuchs reached the dog hole, they only saw a backside crawling out, pulling with all their might.

Young Master Su kicked backward, but the eunuchs didn’t let go.

Finally managing to pull out the person, a glance at the face almost scared them soulless.

"Young Master Su?" the eunuch stammered.

"Can’t you pretend you didn’t see me?" Young Master Su asked, looking at the shoe mark on the eunuch’s face.

"Of course, I can..."

Young Master Su quickly crawled out, popping back a small face, "Don’t seal the dog hole, I’ll bring you some treats next time."

The eunuch, "..."

It’s forbidden here, one shouldn’t come casually.

The Ninth Prince patted his chest, "Luckily the eunuch won’t tell Father, otherwise we’d be scolded."

"What about that palace maid?" Young Master Zhao asked.

Though safe hiding inside, there was no food, she’d starve within a few days.

Young Master Su wanted to go back and ask the maid if they could do anything to help her.

But with the eunuch inside, wherever they went, they’d be followed.

The maid looked pitiful; they couldn’t harm her.

"Let’s come back in a couple of days, bringing her some food," Young Master Su suggested.

The four of them quickly ran off to play elsewhere.

The eunuch checked around for any issues as not taking good care of Chaohua Palace would mean punishment for him.

Chaohua Palace was well-kept, except the fruits and cakes on the offering table were all gone, leaving just three empty plates.

The eunuch, "..."

These young nobles sure had big appetites.

If hungry, why not go to the Imperial Kitchen and have the Imperial Chef cook instead of eating up the fruits and cakes meant for Consort Yun?

The eunuch quickly took away the empty plates and went to the Imperial Kitchen to fetch more.

No one knew when the Emperor might visit Chaohua Palace, so they couldn’t afford to be careless.

Seeing the palace door close, the palace maid finally crawled out from under the offering table.

On the floor near the table were fruits and cakes wrapped in a cloth.

Having not eaten for a day, though the cakes and fruits were right there on the table, she dared not take them.

Knowing Young Master Su and his companions got caught, she risked having them take the blame for eating the offering fruits.

Unfortunately, the eunuch arrived too quickly, and she couldn’t say anything before they ran away.

The palace maid devoured the cakes quickly; the cakes were quite dry, nearly choking her.

Young Master Su and his friends ran away fast, unaware they’d taken the blame for someone else.

And now, exhausted from playing, they went to the Imperial Kitchen to scrounge a meal, only to bump into the eunuch fetching the fruits and cakes.

The eunuch, "..."

Young Master Su, "..."

Who would have thought they’d meet again so soon?

The eunuch internally mused at their seemingly insatiable appetite.

Young Master Su requested a roast chicken from the Imperial Chef and handed it to the eunuch.

The eunuch smiled broadly.