Furong Pavilion.
The firelight flickered across the brazier as Ming Yuan brewed tea herself, pouring several cups into white porcelain and offering them to her masters.
Chun Feng took a sip—nearly bursting into laughter. Ming Yuan had fussed over the tea for so long that she expected it to be delicious, yet it turned out to be the salty brew favored in the Eastern Palace. She slowly set the cup down, just as the ejiao tonic prepared by the Empress Dowager was ready.
Chun Feng tasted a spoonful—sticky, a little fishy, and not nearly sweet enough.
Seeing her refuse a second mouthful of either, the Empress frowned, convinced she was too shaken and dispirited to eat. For once, she spoke gently: “Chun Feng, if His Majesty summons you again, simply come to Xingning Palace. You need not go to Taiji Palace.”
Chun Feng nodded. “Mm, all right.”
The Empress Dowager did not object, only inclined her head.
In the eyes of both women before her, worry was plain. The truth was that after taking the new elixir, the Emperor often fell into fits of madness, sometimes with hallucinations. Years ago, he nearly strangled Eunuch Kang.
Such secrets of the royal household were tightly suppressed, the palace maintaining a façade of calm. Even Xiang Rui had never imagined such a scene.
Chun Feng had indeed been frightened, though not as gravely as the Empress and Empress Dowager feared.
As for sorrow—yes, a little. If Lin Qingxiao were to learn that her father was not only a foolish ruler but prone to bouts of insanity, she would surely be heartbroken.
Just then, the imperial physician treating Xiang Rui entered.
Chun Feng immediately rose. “Is Xiang Rui all right?”
The physician bowed. “Replying to the Princess: Miss Xiang Rui’s stomach and spleen have been injured. She must rest in bed. But Your Highness need not worry—she is young, and with proper care she will recover.”
Chun Feng patted her chest in relief and sat back down.
The Empress said, “Xiang Rui has rendered great service protecting the Princess. Yao Zhi, fetch two roots of Korean ginseng from Xingning Palace to aid her recovery.”
Chun Feng’s face lit up. “Thank you, Mother.”
The Empress, seeing how much she valued this maid, thought her too kind-hearted. Fortunately, Xiang Rui was loyal. Still, Furong Pavilion needed a senior maid to preside. She glanced around the pavilion. Since Chun Feng had entered the palace, she had never assigned her one.
The Empress said, “As Xiang Rui must rest and cannot attend you, shall I appoint a maid from Xingning Palace to serve in her place?”
Chun Feng was about to agree at once, but suddenly thought of Xiang Rui’s fate. She asked softly: “If a new maid is appointed, once Xiang Rui recovers, will she still be allowed to remain by my side?”
The Empress replied, “She can be given other duties.”
Chun Feng lowered her gaze. “I would rather wait until Xiang Rui is well again.”
Yao Zhi, smiling, replaced her cup with sweetened tea. “So many in the palace covet the ‘plush post’ of Furong Pavilion, yet our Princess thinks only of Xiang Rui.”
Her playful remark drew laughter from all present.
The Empress, seeing her resolve, did not press the matter of assigning a senior maid. Instead, she ordered Hui’er to temporarily take on the duties, with a small increase in monthly stipend, and let the matter rest.
When it was clear Chun Feng was unharmed, the Empress Dowager did not linger. She returned to Shouyang Palace with Ming Yuan.
Recalling the natural ease between Chun Feng and the Empress in Furong Pavilion, the Empress Dowager felt both surprised and relieved. “Lady Zhou’s temperament is so rigid—yet Chun Feng has found favor in her eyes.”
Ming Yuan massaged her legs and said, “Since the Princess returned, the palace feels altogether different.”
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes, murmuring, “Will the palace truly be able to nurture her well?”
Ming Yuan answered, “Surely it will, so long as the Crown Prince remains attentive. Only… if he learns what transpired in Taiji Palace, I fear…”
The Empress Dowager fell silent. She remembered the brightness in Chun Feng’s eyes when she defied the Emperor—sharp, unyielding. A pang of guilt stirred within her.
Since the girl’s return, the Empress Dowager had thought that giving her a life of comfort was enough to honor the late Consort Lin’s trust. But later, upon discovering that the Crown Prince truly cared for his younger sister, she had grown less inclined to interfere.
Who could have guessed that at this very moment Chun Feng would be drawn into the strife between Emperor and Empress, nearly forced to swallow those foul, tainted pills.
Ming Yuan knew well that at the Empress Dowager’s age, her thoughts grew ever more tangled, weighed down by guilt toward Consort Lin. She whispered, “If Your Majesty worries for the Princess, why not summon her foster parents into the palace?”
The Empress Dowager raised her brows. “Oh?”
Ming Yuan continued, “This servant once heard an eunuch from the Eastern Palace say the Princess wept from longing for her foster parents.”
After taking medicine, Xiang Rui’s complexion was no longer so ghastly.
When Chun Feng came to see her, Xiang Rui tried to rise and salute. Chun Feng quickly pressed her down. “Don’t get up—you nearly frightened me to death!”
Xiang Rui chided softly, “Princess, do not speak of death.”
Chun Feng grinned. “All right, you’re the one in charge now. Whatever you say is right. Then I’ll change it to: ‘You nearly frightened me into fainting!’”
Hui’er and Fen’er covered their mouths, laughing. Chun Feng added, “Next time, don’t be so foolish. I’ll dodge out of the way.”
Xiang Rui’s lips curved faintly. “As long as the Princess is safe, this servant will soon be well too.”
Seeing her so wan, Chun Feng stopped teasing and ordered Fen’er to care for Xiang Rui with full devotion. As for herself, this upheaval had won her three days of leisure—no need to report to the Eastern Palace.
Within Furong Pavilion, she bore not the slightest air of a princess. The room was warm; she wore little, toes curled as she peeled grapes, chatting with Hui’er. Suddenly, a voice announced from outside: “Lady Ming Yuan requests an audience.”
This stern Aunt was much like the Crown Prince in temperament—steady and proper.
Chun Feng rolled off the couch in a tumble, brushed the crumbs from her clothes, and had Hui’er help her into another layer. At last, she cleared her throat: “Announce them.”
But she never expected that Ming Yuan would not come alone. Behind her followed Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun, dressed in splendid robes!
Overcome with emotion, Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun cried out, “Princess!”
Chun Feng was overjoyed: “Quick, rise!”
Mingy Yuan, knowing her place, escorted them in and then withdrew.
Yu Xiujun clutched Chun Feng tightly, glancing around: “I asked Aunt Ming Yuan how we were allowed into the palace. She said you’d been frightened—what happened?”
Chun Feng: “It wasn’t anything too serious.” She explained how the Emperor had gone mad after taking medicine.
Yu Xiujun fumed: “He shuts himself away and does nothing, yet you go to the Empress, and that’s somehow wrong? That dog of an Emperor!”
Chun Feng: “Exactly!”
Lin Datian hushed them: “Shh, keep your voices down—do you want to lose your heads?”
Chun Feng wriggled free of her mother’s embrace and asked Lin Datian: “By the way, has Lin Qingxiao sent a letter?”
Lin Datian: “Yes, yes.”
In recent days, Lin Qingxiao had again entrusted someone at the yamen to deliver a letter to him.
Lin Datian had carefully asked after Lin Qingxiao’s situation, but the messenger said he didn’t know—he only helped because Lin Qingxiao was his younger brother’s classmate.
Chun Feng: “Classmate?” Could it be that Lin Qingxiao was studying in Changjing?
She opened the letter. Having learned quite a few characters lately, she half-guessed, half-read—but the letter was still full of rambling nonsense.
Never mind. It wasn’t urgent. She tucked Lin Qingxiao’s letter away and went to rummage through her chest. This time she didn’t need to pry out purple pearls. She found the leftover fish cakes and that Persian wool blanket.
Yu Xiujun protested: “Oh, we don’t need these. We’re living well enough outside—how could we keep taking things from you?”
Lin Datian: “Exactly.”
Chun Feng had been saving these things for so long, waiting only for today. Hearing her parents speak that way, she lowered her head and whispered, “They’re really good… do you truly not want them?”
Yu Xiujun froze, her heart softening into a tender knot. She rubbed her daughter’s head and said, “Sweet Chun’er, of course we want them—we still do.”
Lin Datian couldn’t bear to see his daughter disappointed either. He held up the fish roe: “That’s right. Look, I’ll take a bite now—mmm, delicious!”
Chun Feng’s face brightened again. Tilting her little head, she said, “Alright then! Next time I’ll save up more. But Father, fish roe needs to be roasted—eating it raw makes it terribly fishy.”
Lin Datian opened his mouth: “Alright.”
Chun Feng pinched her nose and darted away, while Yu Xiujun waved at him: “It stinks!”
“…”
The two stayed in Furong Pavilion for nearly half an hour. When it was time to leave, Yu Xiujun’s heart was heavy with reluctance; she wept, saying, “Chun’er, once we go, who knows when we’ll meet again.”
Lin Datian lifted his sleeve to wipe away tears.
Chun Feng swallowed her sobs and said, “I’ll ask the Empress later—surely we’ll be able to meet again soon.”
Yu Xiujun: “Yes, it must be soon.”
After this bittersweet farewell, Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun left carrying the fish roe and wool blanket.
No sooner had they gone than Chun Feng already missed them. She felt dispirited, and only after a long while did she return to studying Lin Qingxiao’s letter.
Since Chun Feng had been recognized as a princess, Chang Ying had already arranged to clear away the hundred-tael debt. Lin Qingxiao truly no longer needed to hide from creditors, so choosing to study was no surprise.
Chun Feng puzzled over the unfamiliar characters in the letter when suddenly footsteps sounded outside. She leaned out the window—and met the eyes of Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun.
Chun Feng: “?”
Yao Zhi, who had brought them, smiled: “Princess, the Empress feared you might be lonely, so she invited Lord Lin and Madam Yu into the palace.”
Once Yao Zhi left, Yu Xiujun pinched Chun Feng’s nose with a laugh: “You said you’d ask the Empress ‘soon,’ and already you’ve gone to her?”
Chun Feng beamed: “I hadn’t even asked yet!”
As it was nearly noon, Chun Feng happily shared a meal with Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun, then parted reluctantly once again.
…
By the hour of Shen, snowflakes drifted from the sky—at first as fine as dust, then larger, melting cold upon the palm.
Chun Feng, wrapped in a bright red Zhaojun hood, chased the snow about the Furong Pavilion until she broke into a sweat.
Just then, a group arrived through the flurry.
Li Xuan wore a dark cloak, tall and elegant, a snowflake clinging to his handsome brow. As it melted, it seemed to draw a faint light from his deep, aloof eyes.
What was he doing here? Chun Feng startled, scrambling for an excuse to explain why she was “too shaken” to study. Before she could think of one, she noticed two very familiar faces among his entourage.
Looking closer, behind Li Xuan stood Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun.
Chun Feng: “…”
Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun: “…”