Jiang Mingyue halted when she arrived in front of the Princess's quarters. She waited for the maidservant to open the door for her and stepped inside the hall. A few maidservants quickly curtsied and retreated from the room. Only the princess's trusted maidservant, Ah Zhen stayed around.
Quickly, Mingyue clasped both hands to her left waist and bent down her knees to greet the Princess. "Your Highness."
"You may rise." The Princess touched both her arms softly to help her up.
As soon as she stood up, Princess Lingchen lurched towards her and pulled her into an embrace. "Your Highness!" she suppressed her moan when the Princess accidentally pressed on her wound on her shoulder. Mingyue gritted her teeth.
The Princess pulled away only to give her a disapproving look. She gave Mingyue a look over and heaved a sigh.
"I'm glad you returned in one piece." The Princess smiled. "The Captain will cause a ruckus if anything happens to you while they are away. I wouldn't know how to answer to him."
Mingyue laughed nervously at her comment. She was fortunate that her fiance was away on a mission, or else he would scold her once he found out about his injuries.
"He would not dare to cause any ruckus around you, Your Highness," Mingyue said.
"I refuse to have someone cursing at me behind my back." The Princess clicked her tongue. She narrowed her eyes to look at her physician. "I heard you set the Southern Mountain on fire."
Mingyue paused. She looked at the Princess nervously. "It was an accident." She told the Princess what happened back in the mountain and studied her expression.
The Princess waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. The soldiers stationed around the mountain controlled the fire before it gets worse. Imperial Father didn't say anything further about this matter." She smiled.
Mingyue heaved as she heard that the Emperor would not blame her for the fire. She knew that the Emperor would not make things hard for her. After all, they are a family.
The Empress is her maternal aunt, and Princess Lingchen is her cousin. And Mingyue only went in the Nanshan's tribe area to get the herbs they needed for the princess.
"Don't worry," the Princess continued. "I heard that there were no casualties. The fire did not reach to Nanshan tribe settlement. They won't lose their home. His Majesty has already sent some help to provide to those who live in the mountain some necessities."
Mingyue watched a maidservant enter the room with a tray of delicacies each in different shapes and colors. The smell of chamomile filled the room as the maidservant poured tea for both of them. Then, the maidservant retreated.
"Come and have some tea with me," the Princess said. "Don't be too formal. After all, we are family."
Mingyue bowed her head and took a seat beside the Princess. A teapot filled with chamomile tea and a plate of pastry was served before them.
Once they sat, the Princess picked up a flaky pastry. She took a bite on the sweet, and the crumble fell on the small plate. The sweetness from sugar, butter, and almond burst into her mouth.
Once she finished, she drank the flower tea and wiped her hand on a wet towel. "Did you get what you were looking for?"