“Third Prince is sulking, it seems…”
Early the next morning, Anning distributed the red envelopes one by one, listening to the auspicious words spoken by the servants in the room.
After breakfast, Talu came over and said, “The Imperial Noble Consort is ill, and the consorts of the harem are taking turns attending to her,” she spoke of the strange happenings in the palace with an exaggerated tone, “She must be quite ill—she fainted this morning.”
“The Emperor, after holding court, actually moved all his memorials to the Palace of Eternal Spring to stay by the Imperial Noble Consort’s side.”
“When we were at home, the Master did mention that the Emperor is young, and doesn’t know how to balance or conceal his affections, which is what draws the Empress Dowager’s apprehension.”
From her tone, Talu seemed both scandalized and envious of the Emperor’s behavior.
Anning grew curious. “How old is the Emperor?”
Talu replied quickly, “He is twenty-two.”
“Two years younger than Second Uncle—indeed, quite young.” For as long as Anning could remember, the Emperor had always been the current Emperor. Her grandfather seemed to have served him for many years. Come to think of it, hadn’t he become Emperor at a very young age?
These past few days had been leisurely. The Empress Dowager’s birthday was approaching, and Anning pondered what gift she should give. At home, when celebrating her grandfather’s birthday, she would simply recite a poem and be done with it.
After thinking for a while, she grew too lazy to dwell on it and decided to wait until the afternoon when the Tongjia Clan sent someone with the treasure box, and ask them then.
So she lay down and began amusing herself with the green parrot, which was remarkably intelligent.
Anning called out loudly, “Spread your wings!”
The little green bird immediately stretched out its wings: “Chirp chirp chirp.”
Anning called out again, “Tuck!”
The little green bird folded its wings and hopped around on the wooden perch.
She giggled endlessly, feeding it apple pieces.
Gu Wenxing lifted the curtain and entered to pay his respects. “Princess, Suyun, who serves the First Princess, has arrived.”
Anning put away her smile and cast a curious glance.
Suyun had waited outside the hall for a moment when Talu emerged. Talu subtly looked her over, then curved her lips into a smile. “Sister Suyun, I never thought the first person to come calling after the New Year would be you.”
“And the first guest I receive is you as well.” Talu waved her hand, her face beaming. “Calling me ‘sister’—aren’t you flattering me? Our Princess is waiting, so come with me quickly.”
The two exchanged a few warm pleasantries along the way, and upon entering the inner hall, Suyun discreetly scanned the furnishings—noble yet not extravagant—then lowered her eyes and behaved with proper decorum. When she saw Anning, she immediately broke into a warm smile and curtsied. “This servant Suyun pays respects to Princess Hesheri. May the Princess be blessed with peace.”
“You may rise.”
Princess Hesheri was only four years old this year, yet her features were already extraordinary—her eyes bright and large, like a cat’s, her nose delicate and refined—enough to hint at the radiance to come.
Suyun rose, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. “The Empress Dowager’s birthday falls at the end of this month. The First Princess originally invited the other three Princesses to rehearse a birthday celebration song together.”
“You rarely go out and about, but at yesterday’s New Year’s banquet, the Princess saw you and only then realized she had forgotten to invite you… It truly is a fault. If you don’t come, the birthday feast won’t look right either. The Princess sent me to ask for your thoughts.”
Suyun’s words were sincere, and when she spoke of forgetting to invite Anning, the guilt on her face didn’t seem feigned. “Last night, the Princess already ordered the Imperial Workshops to rush the tailoring of your dance robes, Princess.”
Talu’s expression immediately turned sour, her anger barely contained—she nearly glared a hole straight through Suyun.
Gu Wenxing was momentarily stunned, then quickly lowered his head.
Though Anning was naive, she instinctively sensed something was off and subconsciously glanced at Talu’s expression.
After a brief moment of thought, she composed herself and revealed a faint, self-possessed smile. “I had already prepared a birthday gift of my own. I’m just not sure if the timing will work out. Report back to the First Princess that I need to think it over, and I’ll give her an answer tonight.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Suyun’s brow, quickly concealed as she nodded. “Yes.”
Once Suyun had left, Anning immediately bristled. “Talu, is she trying to set a trap for me?!”
Talu was furious. “More than that, Princess—that’s a huge trap!” She then realized she’d been carried away by her mistress’s tone and quickly straightened up. “What ‘saw you at the New Year’s banquet and remembered she forgot to invite you’—she clearly deliberately left you out, and then blamed you for not going out and about.”
“If you refuse, others will think you’re unsociable, or that you have some grievance against the Princesses, that you’re too proud. If you go—it’s already mid-month, and the birthday feast is at month’s end. How could there possibly be enough time? We don’t even know what piece they’ve been rehearsing. Who knows, they might set you up to make a complete fool of yourself at the banquet.”
Anning was dumbfounded. “How can there be people like this? What did I do to earn her dislike?”
Talu stood in solidarity with her mistress, her face flushed red with anger.
Gu Wenxing hesitated slightly before finally speaking. “Princess, this move by the First Princess may not necessarily be out of dislike for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been in the palace for four or five months and have never once visited the Princesses. In their eyes, they may well think you are indeed proud and aloof… It was only when they saw you at the New Year’s banquet that they realized you aren’t like that. As for who actually came up with the idea of inviting you—I don’t think it was likely the First Princess herself.”
“But she tacitly approved and even sent her personal maid Suyun over—out of curiosity, most likely.”
Talu was quick-witted and soon got to the root of it. “You mean the First Princess just thinks it’s amusing?”
Gu Wenxing nodded.
Anning turned away. “I don’t like her.”
Gu Wenxing said, “In the palace, the First Princess is the only princess. The Empress Dowager holds her in high regard, and the Emperor dotes on her as well. Naturally, she’s been raised like a pearl on a string.” This was to say that the princess’s willfulness was to be expected.
But discussing one’s superiors was an overstep, and he couldn’t say it outright.
Talu said, “In this servant’s view, the young lady would do well to decline.”
Anning looked thoughtful.
In the afternoon, someone from the Hesheri residence presented a token to enter the palace. The one who came was Ulkuo, the most trusted matron beside the Tongjia Clan. She brought the jeweled casket Anning had requested.
After hearing Talu explain the full situation, Ulkuo immediately said, “The young lady cannot offend the First Princess.”
“However, if they intend to trip you up and make you look foolish, then they’ve miscalculated. You’ve been raised in Cining Palace, and the person standing behind you is the Empress Dowager. If you lose face, the Empress Dowager’s dignity will suffer as well. Whoever came up with this scheme must be young, not thinking things through—too sharp-edged, and it shows their foolishness.”
“All you need to do is go and inform the Empress Dowager beforehand. She will make arrangements for you, and that way, on the surface, you won’t make any missteps.”
Talu listened earnestly, then said with guilt, “This servant wasn’t thorough enough. Good thing the young lady didn’t listen to me.”
Ulkuo patted Talu’s hand.
Anning also sighed and said a few words of comfort to Talu, her mind turning over something.
After they’d talked for a while, Anning suddenly said, “I’ve thought of what birthday gift I want to give the Empress Dowager.”
When the two asked her what it was, she kept it mysteriously to herself.
That night, Talu went to the Eastern Six Palaces’ Zhongcui Palace to report back—the First Princess lived there with her birth mother, the secondary consort Lady Yang. By the time she returned, the Third Prince was already there.
Anning begged the Third Prince to write her a large character for “longevity.”
“Is this to prepare a birthday gift?” the Third Prince asked. “I noticed earlier you were busy drilling holes in grains.”
Anning said cheerfully, “Yes, yes! I want to use Third Brother’s calligraphy as the base, then sew the grains onto silk with thread, mount it, and present it to the Empress Dowager.”
“It’s just that Little Leaf always comes to cause trouble—he ate quite a few of my grains.” As she said this, she scowled fiercely with a menacing frown.
The little green bird fluttered its wings and landed by the Third Prince’s hand, its small black eyes darting back and forth.
The Third Prince stroked it. “What could a bird understand?”
Anning huffed, “A master naturally understands their own pet better!” At the end, she deliberately said loudly, “Little Leaf is bad!”
The Third Prince’s expression was subtle. “…”
“Then shall I apologize to you on its behalf?”
His tone was serious, with no hint of jest.
A small shadow like a fox’s tail of lashes fell beneath his fair eyelids. His features were gentle and refined, and though his demeanor was cold, his phoenix eyes carried an innate nobility—especially when he looked down at someone, his brows pressing slightly over his eyes, exuding an indescribable air.
Which was why, when he curled his lips, Anning said he didn’t look like a good person.
But she never expected he could also be so proper and mild, humbly asking for her opinion—the contrast was almost endearing.
Anning tilted her head. “Third Brother.”
“Hm?”
“Are you an idiot?” She poked his cheek.
“…?” The Third Prince caught her hand, his gaze suddenly turning unfriendly.
She no longer feared his cold face. Giggling, she cupped his face with both hands and kneaded it, rubbing until he went stiff, not knowing what to do.
“I was only joking just now—how could you believe it? You’re so silly.”
“Ah, your face is so cold—let me warm it up for you!”
Both young masters were still children; even as mature as the Third Prince, he was only a six-year-old child, naturally possessing a naive and stubborn side.
Just from looking at his back, Talu could tell the Third Prince had gone completely dark.
Afterward, he didn’t take the initiative to speak to the young lady, clearly sulking. Unfortunately, he usually loved to keep a stern, expressionless face, so even with his cold demeanor now, the young lady couldn’t tell the difference—she was focused on sorting her grains with her head down, which made the Third Prince even angrier.
When it came time for the meal, the young lady grabbed his hand and pulled him along to eat. Whoever she liked, she couldn’t help but want to be close to them—walking side by side, holding hands, and flashing sweet smiles at them from time to time.
“Third Brother” this, “Third Brother” that, her voice as sweet as honey.
And just like that, the Third Prince was coaxed back into good spirits.
The sulk had practically gone unnoticed by anyone.
Talu pretended not to have noticed either.
Author’s Note:
Here we are.