[COMPLETE] Transmigrated Author: The Quiet Plum

Chapter 42: The Tiger's Den

By the time Huang Qiaoli opened her eyes again the morning after that day, she was greeted by an elaborate yet unfamiliar canopy. She was surprised to find that her limbs weren't tied together. She was wearing new clothes and she could feel her minor wounds were treated underneath.

"Lady is awake." Maids entered the room one after another as they sensed her movement on the bed. Their foreheads were held high as they looked down on the woman.

A cold light reflected from Qiaoli's eyes as she said straightforwardly. "I don't need you."

"Xiaohu!" From somewhere in this... whatever this place was, Si Hai entered the room.

Qiaoli rose from the bed, alert. "Where are we?"

"Lady, please calm down."

"I'm not talking to you." She deadpanned at the head maid who was trying to appease her, then she turned to Si Hai.

She was actually bewildered by the fact that the fox didn't abandon her.

But Si Hai seemed to be shaken for some reason and kept a distance from her. "Milady, you're in the rear court of the royal palace of Great Han."

Huang Qiaoli paused. That was fast. She was just thinking about how to meet the main leads and now she was here.

The palace maids, no matter how reluctant they were, had to feed and clothe her.

The child, Si Hai was very careful around her as though afraid that he would trigger a bomb. Qiaoli didn't know what was wrong with him.

"You seem fine now." The fox started the conversation once she finished eating a late breakfast.

"What happened to me anyway?" She asked, puzzled. The last thing she remembered was meeting Mao Zhu in the middle of the woods.

Si Hai's eyes widened. "You don't recall at all? I thought you finally went crazy!"

He got a halfhearted 'oh' as a reply so he narrowed his eyes at her. He had a feeling that she knew what happened but she was determined to brush it off. However, Qiaoli's curiosity was piqued on another matter. "How come we're here? Mao Zhu brought us here? He seemed reluctant to let me meet the Emperor though."

"No, he was about to bring you to the Mao family residence but a eunuch was waiting at the gates of Hanjing and summoned him to the palace. I don't know what happened but I heard that when the Emperor knew he was holding a prisoner, he ordered Mao Zhu to bring you here."

There was another 'oh' from the lady. "That's all you can say?!" Si Hai exploded.

Qiaoli laughed at his reaction. "What else can I say? Judging from what you said, Long Yi Ran seems to know me. I also want to meet him and his waifu."

Si Hai was flabbergasted. This woman was really something. He didn't even know the Emperor's forbidden name but the person she would refer to with the surname Long could only be the Emperor. And the waifu was probably the Empress.

Was she taking this trip as some kind of vacation?

They spent the rest of the morning bickering back and forth. Si Hai wanted to leave the palace while Qiaoli wanted to stay for a little while.

In Huang Qiaoli's reasoning, if the Emperor did something like putting her to jail, she could just have Si Hai wreak havoc. She didn't have any direction in life and this opportunity to see the main leads was quite tempting. The problem of food and lodging would also be solved if it was in the palace.

But Si Hai had reservations about staying at the palace. Having experienced being a servant of the former house of Prime Minister, he knew the rules, etiquette, and treachery of the royalty and nobility of Great Han. Why would a female prisoner unrelated to the royal clan be forced to stay in the rear court of the palace?