The Eldest Prince's target was never the sturdy Jiang Chengyu from the Jiang family, but the gentle and quiet Dou Jingyi from the Dou family.
Seeing that the girls were not leaving their elders, he deliberately bumped into them to get the three Jiang and Yao girls away, before threatening them in a corner.
This left Dou Jingyi alone. He just needed to use some tricks, such as bumping into her again, or telling her that Jiang Chengyu needed help. Bound by the relationship between the two families, she would also step forward and successfully fall into the Eldest Prince's trap.
"Oh my, I said how could Noble Consort Ju use such an unoriginal trick, turns out she still has a backup plan." Jiang Chengyu patted her own head, "What to do, sisters, what to do?"
"Of course we have to go save her, we absolutely can't let him succeed." Yao Siqing's eyes were full of urgency.
The Jiang and Dou families had equal strength. The Jiang family relied on military achievements to establish themselves, while the Dou family relied on being descendants of powerful ministers. In terms of influence within the court, the Dou family was greater than the Jiang family.
Losing the Dou family's support was equivalent to Jiang Chengyu losing half her arm.
Jiang Sheng was so nervous that her heart was pounding rapidly, her palms were sweating, and her ankles felt weak. But this was an emergency and did not allow her any weakness.
For the sake of her Fifth Brother, she had to calm down and rack her quick-witted little brain.
"Let's hurry," Yao Siqing said calmly. "Go back to the banquet hall and see if we can intercept them halfway. If not we must inform our elders as soon as possible."
Jiang Chengyu was already distraught and immediately ran outside.
At this moment, going back to the banquet hall to seek the elders' help was indeed the most proper thing to do, but it was not the fastest way to provide aid.
What they needed to save was not only the Dou family's support, but also Dou Jingyi's unsullied reputation.
Jiang Sheng shook her head, feeling like she had grasped at something fleeting. She focused on the specifications of this side palace, and a flash of insight struck her.
"Wait, wait." She called for the two running girls to stop. "Sister Yao, do you know if Yanhui Pavilion has more than one guest area?"
Usually a palace would have two side halls. The left was for men, attended by eunuchs, while the right was for women, served by palace maids.
That meant the only place Dou Jingyi could have been taken was this right side hall where they currently were.
Yao Siqing reacted very quickly, her eyes brightening. "Little Jiang Sheng, are you saying the Eldest Prince is likely nearby already scheming against Lady Dou?"
Rather than going back to the banquet hall to ask the elders for help, possibly even leaking rumors, it would be better to quickly search the surroundings and quietly rescue Dou Jingyi.
Jiang Sheng had just nodded when Jiang Chengyu grabbed her and dashed off, wind whistling past them. "What are we waiting for, let's start looking!"
Yao Siqing was left behind, mouth agape, before hurriedly gathering her skirt to follow.
Whether it was arranged in advance or not, the side palace that should have had maids to receive them was empty and bleak, not a soul inside.
Jiang Chengyu kicked open every nearby door, but didn't find a trace.
"Go to the left side hall," Jiang Sheng decided on the spot.
Noble Consort Ju's power within the harem was frightfully great. She could clear out the right side hall's maids and probably disguise the left side hall as the right to deliberately lead people there.
The three girls ran again, this time hearing faint sounds.
Jiang Chengyu's eyes shone with admiration, while Yao Siqing's face was full of approval.
Jiang Sheng rubbed the back of her head bashfully, not expecting to have blindly stumbled upon success.
Did this also prove that Noble Consort Ju's abilities were truly extraordinary?
The closer they got, the louder the sounds became. Listening closely, it was the sound of pushing on a door, accompanied by the Eldest Prince's urgent voice, "Jingyi, Jingyi don't be afraid, I'm here."
Clearly he was forcibly creating an act, yet still wanted to pretend to be the good guy.
Seeing the door about to open, a woman's frightened screams came from within.
Jiang Chengyu was so angry she couldn't hit just one spot. In two leaps she jumped forward, and before the Eldest Prince could turn his head, kicked him to the ground. Seeing him disoriented and unable to open his eyes, she decided to go further and began swinging punches at him.
In the blink of an eye, the Eldest Prince's previously handsome face swelled into a pig head, completely losing his vision.
"Who...who ambushed me..." He struggled to reach out.
Jiang Chengyu grasped his hand and directly twisted it back. The sound of bones cracking could be heard, and the Eldest Prince had just wanted to scream when he immediately fainted from the pain.
"Little Yu!" Jiang Sheng was shocked and quickly rushed over to stop her. "Hands off, he is still a prince."
Jiang Chengyu disdainfully dusted off her hands as she stood up. "Hasn't broken yet, but the useless fool couldn't take it."
To be beaten to this extent by a girl, the Eldest Prince truly lived up to the word "useless."
Jiang Sheng was stunned speechless, again feeling that she had entered the palace not to protect Jiang Chengyu, but to protect the Dou family's daughter.
With the chaos outside settling down, the nearly dilapidated door finally opened. A head poked out cautiously, surprisingly Qi Yue.
"Sister Qi." Jiang Sheng was very surprised. "Why is it you, where is the Dou family's sister?"
"It's you all." Qi Yue bit her lip, carefully surveying her surroundings. Only after confirming no one else was there did she pull out Dou Jingyi. "She's here, we're all here."
Compared to the slightly bolder Qi girl, Dou Jingyi was even more gentle and delicate. She was currently so frightened she was incoherent, taking a long time to regain her composure. "You, it's so good you're all fine too."
Everything was about the same as Jiang Sheng had guessed, but also a bit different.
After the three girls had left, palace maids did come looking for Dou Jingyi, but not to ask for simple help. Instead they brought Jiang Chengyu's jade pendant, hoping the Dou family's sister could help check if the clothes had any problems.
The Dou family ran a clothing workshop, quite famous in Fengjing City.
Both Jiang and Dou families were on guard against the Eldest Prince, so Jiang Chengyu worrying her clothes had been tampered with was understandable. Most crucial was that the palace maid brought a jade pendant that only the Jiang family would have.
Although still suspicious, Dou Jingyi was already seven or eight parts convinced. She was hesitating whether to ask her mother to come along when Qi Yue enthusiastically stepped forward. "Lady Dou is just as powerless. It'd be better if I come, since I can at least fight off a couple burly men. I'll go with you."
Afterwards, following along to the side palace, Qi Yue's sense of direction was very good. She felt something was off immediately, and upon seeing the Eldest Prince's furtive figure, decisively pushed Dou Jingyi into the room and barred the door.
"You've seen the rest," Qi Yue spread her hands. "If I'd known the Eldest Prince was so easy to beat, I wouldn't have been so panicked blocking the door. I could've just stepped out and knocked him out directly."
"You mustn't." Dou Jingyi frowned and gently shook her head. "It's not suitable for the Qi family to offend Noble Consort Ju right now."
That was true. The Qi family couldn't compare to the Dou and Jiang families, completely unable to provoke the Ju family.
Qi Yue stuck out her tongue and quietly grumbled, "Then if we really offend her, it's just my father's bad luck."
Dou Jingyi looked up to meet her gaze, and the two smiled at each other.
A rosy aura unique to girls surrounded them. Jiang Chengyu even forgot to touch the jade pendant at her waist, quickly asking, "Weren't you two still...how come now you're..."
