“If there are no suitable candidates the year after next, then delay it for another three years. It’s better to be cautious than to let someone with ulterior motives enter the palace.”
“Did you write that down?” For Gabula, the Crown Prince had just turned one year old, so even if they waited six years, he would just be starting his studies in the study room, and the timing would be just right.
Moreover, the Emperor was currently feeling the most guilty towards the Crown Prince, so perhaps if no one from the Hesheli clan entered the palace, it might just alleviate some of the Emperor’s concerns.
“I wrote it down.”
Tongjia Residence
Lanzhu, along with her mother and brother, escorted her father back to the main courtyard.
“Yujin, you should head back.”
“It’s already quite late.” Not long after returning to the main courtyard, Hesheli Shi spoke up, telling her daughter to head back first.
“Then I’ll take my leave.” Seeing that there was nothing else, Lanzhu didn’t linger.
Returning to her own courtyard, Lanzhu first enjoyed a comfortable bath, and then, with the help of Liu Chun and the others, went to bed.
“Gege, would you like some calming incense tonight?” Because Lanzhu hadn’t been sleeping well the past few nights, Liu Chun and the others would light the calming incense that Lanzhu had prepared herself before she went to sleep.
Lying in bed, Lanzhu looked at the large peony flowers embroidered with golden threads on the bed curtains and shook her head slightly. “No need for it tonight.”
After spending the whole day in the palace for the Banquet of Gold, Lanzhu was exhausted and didn’t need the aid of calming incense.
“Shall I extinguish the lights then?”
“Yes.”
Liu Chun gently lowered the bed curtains and then extinguished all the candlelight in the room.
The room immediately plunged into darkness. Liu Chun whispered a few words to Liu Xia and then left the room.
In the darkness, Liu Xia leaned half against the footrest, quietly keeping watch.
The next day
Halfway through the hour of the rabbit, Liu Dong and Liu Qiu, who had kept watch all night, heard a slight rustling from inside the bed curtains.
The two immediately perked up, but since Gege hadn’t spoken, they just straightened up.
After a while: “Liu Chun.”
Hearing Gege’s voice, the two quickly and deftly hung the bed curtains on the side of the bed.
Liu Qiu said, “Gege, Sister Liu Chun went to prepare breakfast for you. She’ll be back soon.”
Since she had been awake for a while, Lanzhu’s face only showed a slight hint of weariness.
Sensing Gege’s recent change in attitude, Liu Qiu was extremely obedient, afraid of provoking Gege’s displeasure again.
Liu Dong stepped forward, helped Gege up, and took the outer garment from the rack beside them, draping it over Gege’s shoulders.
“It’s chilly in the morning. Gege, you should take care of yourself.”
Then, with the help of the two, Lanzhu got dressed and sat in front of the bronze mirror.
With a creak, the door was gently pushed open from the outside.
Bathed in the fine golden rays of the rising sun, Liu Chun entered carrying a large food box.
“Gege is awake.”
“I’m here to do your hair.” Seeing Gege with her hair down, Liu Chun put down the food box and walked over.
Lanzhu smiled slightly. “It’s been a while since I’ve tried your skills, Liu Chun.”
Lanzhu had four first-class maids by her side. Besides their individual specialties, they all knew a bit about hairstyling and other tasks.
Apart from the four first-class maids who served her closely, Lanzhu never allowed other maids to serve her closely, so in essence, everything about Lanzhu was handled entirely by Liu Chun and the others.
“If I don’t do a good job, please don’t blame me, Gege.” It was rare to see Gege in such a good mood in the morning, so Liu Chun joked with her.
The modest words were just a formality, but in truth, the four of them were better at basic hairstyling and embroidery than most people.
After all, those who could serve closely by their master’s side were never clumsy.
“I won’t.”
After some work, Liu Chun finished styling Gege’s hair and inserted a pair of pearl tassel hairpins on each side.
Paired with matching pearl earrings, Lanzhu exuded the gentle and soft charm of a Jiangnan woman today.
“Gege looks really beautiful.” Looking at Gege in front of her, Liu Chun’s eyes were full of admiration.
“Liu Chun, why are you so eloquent today?”
“Did you sneak some honey water when you went to the kitchen earlier?” Normally, Liu Chun was a steady person, so it was rare for Lanzhu to hear her say so much today.
“Gege is teasing me again.” Seeing the bright smile on Gege’s face, Liu Chun also smiled.
The four of them happily finished serving Gege and then laid out the breakfast from the food box.
“The weather is nice today. Would Gege like to go out for a walk?” Liu Dong asked.
Hearing this, Lanzhu looked outside the door. By now, the sun had risen halfway, and the warm orange sunlight made Lanzhu squint slightly.
“I’ll see after I pay my respects to Mother.” Lanzhu wasn’t keen on going out.
But staying indoors all the time wasn’t an option either.
In the morning, Lanzhu didn’t have much of an appetite and only had half a bowl of green rice porridge and two pieces of golden silk cake.
Liu Chun frowned. “Gege, you ate very little today. Is the food from the kitchen not to your liking?”
Liu Qiu, standing by, also said, “Should I go make you something else?”
“No need.”
“I ate a bit too much yesterday, so I’m not very hungry now.”
“I only touched the golden silk cake. You can take the rest and share it.”
“Yes, Gege.” Liu Xia quickly cleared the table and then took the food to their room.
Today, accompanying Lanzhu out were still Liu Chun and Liu Dong.
After discovering Liu Qiu’s issue, Lanzhu generally let Liu Qiu stay home to watch over the courtyard and rarely took her out.
When Lanzhu and her entourage arrived at the main courtyard, Hesheli Shi was dyeing her nails.
Seeing her daughter enter, Hesheli Shi’s face immediately lit up with a big smile. “Yujin is here.”
It was rare to see her mother so relaxed, and Lanzhu was also a bit interested.
Hesheli Shi naturally noticed. “Yujin, do you want to try?”
Lanzhu looked at the bright red on her mother’s fingers. “The color is too bold. Mother, you go ahead.”
Yiyun, standing by, smiled. “Gege, there are other colors. Would you like to try?”
“Gege’s fingers are slender. They would look very beautiful dyed.” Yishang, who was dyeing the lady’s nails, also looked up and said.
Lanzhu hesitated slightly. “Then… I’ll give it a try?”
“Nanny Yun, have someone bring another set of tools.” Seeing her daughter agree, Hesheli Shi happily called out.
“Madam, please don’t move. If I mess up the dye, don’t blame me.” As she spoke, Hesheli Shi’s movements inevitably became a bit larger.
“Alright, alright, I won’t move.” Having served her for many years, Hesheli Shi naturally treated Yishang and the others with a gentle attitude.
Lanzhu, who originally didn’t want to go out, now had no intention of leaving and spent the entire morning accompanying her mother in the main courtyard.
After the nails were dyed, Lanzhu raised her hand.
The pink color added an unexpectedly alluring touch to her fingers.
“I told you Gege would look great with this.” Yishang, still tidying up the tools, looked at Gege’s hand with admiration in her eyes.
“Yes, good eye.”
“Everyone gets a reward!” The generous Hesheli Shi, in her happiness, gave out rewards to all the servants in the room.
“Thank you, Madam, for the reward.”
Lanzhu stayed in the main courtyard, accompanying her mother for lunch before returning to her own courtyard.
The maids behind her could tell that Gege was in a very good mood today.
In the afternoon, Lanzhu was seriously embroidering a forehead band by the window, a gift she planned for her mother for New Year’s Eve.
Suddenly, Longkodo’s penetrating voice rang out from outside.
“Sister, sister, I’m here!”
Lanzhu looked up, put down her needle and thread, and had Liu Chun put away the embroidery beside her.
Just as Liu Chun turned around, a small figure rushed in through the doorway.
His arms were bulging, and his face was flushed from running.
His dark eyes were bright, reflecting Lanzhu’s entire figure.
“Brother, slow down.” Lanzhu raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her brother’s forehead.
Longkodo enjoyed his sister’s tenderness, and after a while, he seemed to remember something and took out what he was holding. “Sister, see if you like it.”
“I had someone accompany me to pick it out.” Longkodo almost slipped at the crucial moment, barely stopping himself.
If his sister found out he went to trade things with Cousin again, she would definitely be unhappy.
Anyway, he exchanged something for it, so… it could be their secret with Cousin.
He just wanted his sister to happily accept the gift.
Besides, Father knew too.
Lanzhu was a bit puzzled. Wasn’t that what her brother was about to say?
“If it’s from my brother, I like it all.” Lanzhu opened the wooden box as soon as she got it.
Her eyes flickered when she saw the two glass peach blossom hairpins inside.
“Brother, didn’t you say it was a twisted silk gemstone bracelet?”
“Why did it become glass hairpins?”
“I doubt any jewelry shop in the capital has glass hairpins of this quality, right?” Lanzhu might not like going out, but she wasn’t foolish.
With this level of clarity and rare color, it would have been kept by the owner before it even hit the market.
Even if it did circulate, it wouldn’t have waited for her brother to buy it.
“I… I had someone reserve it in advance.” Longkodo glanced at his sister’s eyes, feeling a bit guilty.
Lanzhu asked, “Really?”
Longkodo nodded firmly. “Really!”
Seeing this, Lanzhu didn’t dwell on it. Regardless of how the item was obtained, she trusted her brother’s character.
The item probably had some issues, but the fact that her brother could bring it back meant it wasn’t a big problem.
“Then thank you, brother, for the gift.”
Seeing his sister happily accept the gift, Longkodo also breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as sister likes it.”
After chatting with his sister for a while, Longkodo returned to his own courtyard with his entourage.
After her brother left, Lanzhu carefully examined the glass hairpins on the table.
The more she looked, the more something seemed off.
“Liu Chun, why do I feel like this item… resembles the craftsmanship from the palace?” Having received many rewards from the palace since childhood, Lanzhu was naturally familiar with the craftsmanship of palace artisans.
“I remember the Grand Empress Dowager gave me a glass plum blossom hairpin last year. Go find it for me to compare.”
“I’ll go right away.”
After a while, Liu Chun returned with a wooden box. Lanzhu took it and eagerly opened it for comparison.
The plum blossom hairpin given by the Grand Empress Dowager had a bright red flower at the top, and the craftsmanship was naturally excellent.
But compared to the two her brother brought, the craftsmanship was slightly inferior.
Not to mention, pink glass was harder to craft than red.
After examining them for a while, Lanzhu put the glass hairpins back in the box. “Put them away.”
“Yes, Gege.”
Author’s Note:
Dear readers, happy Dragon Boat Festival~
Remember to use mugwort to boil water for your bath today~ Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or watered me with nutrient solution between 2035-05-21 05:00:00 and 2035-05-22 01:47:29~
Thank you to the little angel who threw a landmine: Dundun 1;
Thank you all for your support, I will continue to work hard!