Shen Yinning stepped out of Chunxi Palace, intending to return directly to Furong Palace, but was stopped by a stewardess. "The Princess has not entered the palace for a long time. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager misses you greatly. Since you're here today, how can you not go to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager?"
It was a stewardess from Cining Palace.
Shen Yinning was not surprised.
She had fallen out with Empress Dowager Li, and now that she set foot on her territory again, what was inevitable could not be avoided.
When she arrived at Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Li had just finished her evening meal and was reclining against a brocade cushion of embroidered blue satin, her eyes closed as palace attendants tended to her grooming and cleansing.
The palace attendants noticed Shen Yinning enter and immediately stepped aside, leaving the duty of attending to the Empress Dowager to her.
