Tian Xi's arrival was like a breath of spring breeze, filling the entire Chenghua Side Hall with a joyful, blossoming atmosphere. Even Haitang, who had been frightened by the Crown Prince's Jieyu incident and wilted all day, perked up again.
A group of maidservants gathered around Zhuang Yunlan, seating her before the mirror. They undid the hairstyle she had worn for the morning greetings and re-styled her hair into a Lingxu bun.
Haitang skillfully opened the four-tiered chicken-wing wood cosmetics case, taking out hairpins, pearls, and hair ornaments one by one, trying each against Zhuang Yunlan's hair.
Yesterday, they hadn't known the Crown Prince would come and were completely unprepared.
Now that they knew today, they had to dress their mistress beautifully. If they failed to make the Crown Prince marvel at first sight, it would be a dereliction of duty on their part as servants.
"Mistress, how about wearing this one?"
A pearl hairpin made of dozens of evenly sized, plump rice pearls was carefully pinned into Zhuang Yunlan's hair by Haitang. The tassel at the end of the hairpin was also adorned with a round, pure white pearl. Its luster was soft, swaying gently with her movements, making her appear both gentle and ethereal.
Zhuang Yunlan's eyes lit up slightly, nearly corrupted by feudal luxury.
She was just an ordinary person, far from the realm of viewing jewels as worthless as dirt.
"This is quite nice," Zhuang Yunlan nodded in satisfaction. "Let's go with this one."
Once the hair ornaments were chosen, the maidservants began discussing how to match the outfit.
The pearl hairpin was simple and elegant, so if the clothing were too flamboyant, it would look mismatched.
All the robes, jackets, and skirts—seasonally appropriate ones—that had been bestowed since her conferment were almost entirely brought out, spread in layers across the daybed.
Shuixian and Furong hung each piece of clothing on a rack, tirelessly trying them out, while Haitang and Shaoyao stood beside them, offering suggestions to Zhuang Yunlan.
"The tribute brocades bestowed by the Crown Princess last month all have lovely colors. But with Consort Liu's birthday approaching, the inner palace has been extremely busy preparing for it, so they haven't been sent to the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau yet. If they had been sent, they might have been tailored by now," Haitang sighed regretfully. But it was too late now. If they had known the Crown Prince was coming to see their mistress, they could have slipped some silver to have at least one piece tailored.
Zhuang Yunlan, however, didn't feel sorry about this.
What kind of person was Consort Liu?
She was currently the most favored consort in the Emperor's harem, and Consort Liu also had a prince under her care, not much younger than the Crown Prince.
Zhuang Yunlan wouldn't dream of competing with Consort Liu for tailoring clothes.
"I think this one is quite nice," she pointed to the lotus-pink wide-sleeved robe embroidered with silver-threaded magnolias, then to the goose-yellow pleated skirt. "Let's pair these. Bring them for me to change into."
Shuixian hesitated and asked, "Mistress, are you changing now? What about after lunch? The skirt is fine, but if the robe gets wrinkled, it won't look good."
"That's fine too," Zhuang Yunlan thought for a moment and agreed. In truth, she didn't think the Crown Prince was that nitpicky—he wouldn't punish her for a few wrinkles.
But in such critical times, it was always better to be cautious.
Shuixian happily hung the outfit on the rack with Furong and went to prepare other things.
Knowing the Crown Prince was coming, Zhuang Yunlan didn't order any strongly flavored dishes for lunch.
Although the Crown Prince seemed quite satisfied with yesterday's hotpot, Zhuang Yunlan knew almost nothing about his preferences. If the smell hadn't completely dissipated and it happened to hit one of the Crown Prince's pet peeves, making him feel nauseous as soon as he entered, she would be in trouble.
After sending a few simple stir-fried dishes to the Western Side Hall, Zhuang Yunlan ate half a bowl more rice than usual, accompanied by the golden-fried phoenix chicken tea snack and the sweet steamed eggplant with sugar.
The main reason was that the Crown Prince had only said he would come to her place but hadn't specified when.
With such an uncertain timing as "after finishing work," she would definitely have to wait for dinner.
Otherwise, if the Crown Prince intended to dine here and came in only to find leftovers, it would clearly show she hadn't taken him seriously.
Shaoyao had initially worried that her mistress might overeat and suffer from indigestion, but by dinnertime, she began to admire her mistress's foresight.
"Mistress, should we have them make a bowl of noodles first for you to tide you over?" The sky was already very dark, and the fragrance of whatever meal Attendant Xiang in the Rear Hall had ordered had drifted over to the Western Side Hall. Shaoyao cautiously watched Zhuang Yunlan's expression as she asked.
Haitang wasn't so polite. She glanced indignantly toward Attendant Xiang's residence and said angrily, "She must have found out about yesterday's incident and heard that His Highness is coming. She's probably trying to intercept him."
The wire rack used for roasting chestnuts in the morning was set up again by Furong over the brazier, this time for roasting a few sweet potatoes.
"Don't talk nonsense. If His Highness really wants to go, it's not our place to say anything," Zhuang Yunlan said, not letting the maids intervene as she flipped the sweet potatoes herself.
She told Shaoyao, "No need for noodles for now. I'm not hungry at the moment, and besides, there's this. If any of you are hungry, take turns going back to the servants' quarters to eat something to tide yourselves over. There's no need for all of you to stay here with me."
Today was different from yesterday. Once the Crown Prince arrived, he probably wouldn't leave. Shaoyao didn't mind going hungry herself, but she worried that if she became lightheaded from hunger, she might not perform her duties well and end up causing her mistress to suffer embarrassment in front of the Crown Prince.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then I'll go back with Shuixian first and return later to relieve Haitang and Furong."
The fragrance from the Rear Hall lingered for a full two hours before dissipating.
By the time the Crown Prince finished his official duties and left Wenhua Hall, it was already the hour of Xu (7–9 p.m.).
Lanterns were lit throughout the palace grounds. As he made his way back to the Eastern Palace and arrived at Chenghua Hall, a rather peculiar silhouette caught his eye through the window paper of the side hall. The Crown Prince glanced over in surprise, and the small fire attendant on duty was once again stopped by Zhang Bao, looking as if he were about to cry.
"What are you doing?" Zhang Bao personally lifted the curtain for the Crown Prince to enter. Zhuang Yunlan was still squatting by the brazier, watching the sweet potatoes. By now, the skins of the sweet potatoes were already charred and beginning to ooze oil.
Zhuang Yunlan was just about to use oiled paper to peel and eat them, shifting the hot sweet potato from hand to hand, when she was startled by the Crown Prince's sudden question and nearly dropped the sweet potato she had just picked up. She even instinctively replied, "Roasting sweet potatoes."
After saying this, she felt just as much like crying as the small fire attendant had earlier.
Why hadn't she noticed before that the Crown Prince disliked having people announce his arrival?
The Crown Prince probably hadn't expected to startle her. Seeing her reaction, he found it somewhat amusing. This time, he was rather considerate, worried about embarrassing her, and deliberately suppressed the corners of his mouth to keep from actually laughing. Instead, he walked over to the brazier, sat down, and said, "Then why are you squatting? Isn't it tiring? Come sit."
Zhuang Yunlan held the roasted sweet potato, unsure whether to throw it away or not.
They had previously worried whether wrinkles in their clothes would displease the Crown Prince. Now, although there were no wrinkles, they had completely lost face.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince was not angry.
Zhuang Yunlan stiffly walked over, still holding the steaming sweet potato, unsure whether to apologize or say something. In the end, she mustered her courage and asked the Crown Prince, "Would Your Highness like some? It's freshly roasted and should still be quite fragrant."