Before long, Zhenxu and the palace maids came in with washing utensils. Zhenxu saw the little princess sitting on the soft couch by the window, lazily swinging her small short legs. Her small feet poked out from the snow-white trouser legs.
Zhenxu glanced and knew she had jumped off the bed barefoot again. She quickly walked over and gently advised, “The weather is getting colder, you shouldn’t always walk barefoot.”
She knelt down beside the little princess, holding Queyuan’s small feet in her lap. The soles of her feet were indeed a bit cold, which made Zhenxu frown immediately.
“I’ll listen to Xu Xu!” the little princess responded obediently.
Zhenxu looked up at her, smiling with her eyes.
The palace maid soaked a face cloth in clean water and wrung it out. The damp cloth carried a hint of sweet fruity fragrance. The palace maid gently wiped the little princess’s face, taking care as children’s skin is tender.
Another palace maid brought over the clothes the little princess would wear today, placing them lightly on the soft couch.
Queyuan glanced at the bright yellow dress, hummed twice, grabbed Zhenxu’s sleeve, and shook it, whining in a babyish voice, “I don’t want to wear this.”
How could Zhenxu refuse? She smiled and asked, “Alright. Which one does the little princess want to wear?”
“The bamboo green one, the one that arrived the night before last.”
Zhenxu was momentarily stunned, then instructed the maid to fetch it.
The bamboo green outfit Queyuan wanted was not a girl’s dress but a young gentleman’s robe.
The palace maid quickly fetched the clothes, helping the little princess dress.
Zhenxu stood aside, smiling as she watched the delicate little princess turn into a young gentleman in an instant. However, Zhenxu was quite puzzled.
—Zhenxu, like many others in the palace, did not quite understand the emperor’s equal treatment.
The two little royals had identical provisions in food, clothing, and daily use. For instance, their residences at the back were renovated following strict blueprints, ensuring every carved flower was exactly the same. Not only were the beds, tables, and chairs identical, but even the fresh flowers by the window and the bedding on the beds were the same.
Whenever the little princess craved something, the imperial kitchen would make two portions, sending the other to the little prince.
And vice versa.
Even last year, when Yushu caught a cold, the lively little princess was personally given a bowl of cold medicine by the emperor.
This equality extended to clothing as well. All clothes were sent in identical pairs. While other matters could be debated, this insistence on identical clothing seemed a bit excessive, especially given the difference in their genders.
Thus, the little princess often wore the boys’ clothing sent over. On the other hand, Yushu had never worn his sister’s dresses.
Zhenxu watched the handsome “little gentleman,” thinking that these two children resembled each other so much, or they would be indistinguishable as two jade-faced young gentlemen.
Zhenxu bent down, picking up the little princess and carrying her to the outer room for breakfast. At six years old, she was no longer at an age where she needed to be carried, but with such an obedient little princess, who wouldn’t want to hold her a bit longer?
Zhenxu looked at the little princess in her arms, smiling with her eyes.
She no longer served by You Yuji’s side, but stayed completely with the little princess.
Queyuan obediently snuggled in Zhenxu’s arms, glancing back at the small square table on the soft couch by the window, where a copper coin lay quietly.
She turned her face, rubbing her cheek against Zhenxu’s shoulder.
Zhenxu looked aside, seeing her snowball-like obedient appearance, her heart melted.
This little princess, who melted others’ hearts, was currently plotting whether to throw the annoying person into a manure pit or a stinky fish pond.
The first lesson was given by Jiang Yunche, and only for the two little royals. However, today’s lessons were not over with Jiang Yunche’s departure; they had other classes. These other classes included not only the two of them but also children of some court officials, all around their age.
The elderly teacher with white hair and beard was chanting in a drawn-out tone, with seven or eight children under ten years old sitting below him.
Queyuan glanced lightly at the chubby boy, Chao Lesheng, sitting far away. She retracted her gaze, half-closed her eyes, her long eyelashes covering her bright eyes. Her small hand picked up a piece of Xuan paper and slowly crumpled it into a ball.
The teacher was in the midst of a rhythmic recitation when he suddenly heard a low sobbing sound.
His eyes finally left the scroll, and he looked down to see the little princess with her head bowed, one hand covering her mouth to suppress her sobs, and the other hand rubbing her head.
On her desk lay a crumpled paper ball.
The teacher frowned: “Who threw the paper ball and hit someone?”
They were all young children, and the teacher’s stern voice startled most of them. They looked bewildered, turning their gaze to the little princess.
The little princess slowly raised her face, her pale cheeks already streaked with tears. Seeing this, the teacher’s heart softened, and he lowered his voice to ask, “Who hit you?”
The little princess slowly stood up, tightly pursing her lips and shaking her head, unwilling to speak. Her eyes remained fixed on the teacher, and as she slowly blinked, another tear fell.
The teacher scanned the room and immediately pointed to Chao Lesheng sitting in the corner, raising his voice: “Was it you?”
Chao Lesheng, who had been watching the scene, was startled and his eyes widened.
Yes, he was usually a bit mischievous and had indeed thrown paper balls at others before. But this time, it wasn’t him!
“It wasn’t me!” Chao Lesheng was confused, why didn’t anyone believe him?
The children all looked over, their gazes suggesting they had caught the real culprit.
“It really wasn’t me!” Chao Lesheng stood up abruptly and glared at Queyuan, “You tell them, tell them it wasn’t me!”
The little princess shrank back fearfully, stepping back half a step and not daring to say anything, only crying harder. Her delicate face looked as if it had been washed with tears.
“Go stand in the corner!” The teacher chased Chao Lesheng out.
Yushu turned his head to look deeply at his crying sister, then turned back and flipped another page of the book spread out on his desk.
After the class ended, Queyuan was about to go out to play but was stopped by Zhao Jin. He pulled her to the corner, frowning in hesitation before finally saying, “He didn’t hit you at all!”
“How does Brother Jin know?” Queyuan asked softly. She still appeared as obedient as ever, with no trace of any emotional fluctuation from being exposed.
“I was watching you the whole time. I saw you crumple the paper yourself and then suddenly start crying!”
“Oh—” Queyuan dragged out the sound, “But why was Brother Jin watching me all the time?”
This question stumped Zhao Jin. He was dumbfounded for a while before saying, “My father and mother often tell me that I’m a bit older than you and Yushu, and they remind me to protect you both.”
“I knew Brother Jin was good to me.” Queyuan smiled sweetly, bending her eyes, and then took Zhao Jin’s hand. She shook it and said in a sweet voice, “Last time he threw a paper ball at Brother Jin, I was avenging Brother Jin!”
Zhao Jin was stunned, staring blankly at the little princess in front of him. In terms of eloquence, Zhao Jin had clearly not inherited his father’s gift of gab but was more like his mother, Zhao Sheng. After a long silence, he finally forced out the words, “I, I wronged you…”
“Brother Jin, Brother Jin…” The little princess suddenly put on a near-crying expression, “Will you help me, please?”
“Mm-hmm!” Zhao Jin nodded immediately, regardless of what the matter was.
The little princess turned around, looking toward the teacher’s resting room, her eyes red as she spoke, “On the back of the homework I handed in today, I drew a turtle. Brother Jin, please help me get it back, please…”
She sniffled, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
Steal the homework? Zhao Jin was startled. He was a well-behaved child and had never dared to do such a thing, but the little princess, with her red eyes, kept shaking his hand and pleading…
Zhao Jin gritted his teeth and agreed.
“Brother Jin is so nice!” The little princess smiled, her smile sweet, and her voice just as sweet.
Zhao Jin, with a stiff face, sneaked into the teacher’s room, fumbling nervously through the homework on the desk. He flipped to the last page but still didn’t find the little princess’s paper.
“What are you doing?” The teacher walked in with a stern face from outside, “Homework just handed in?”
“I, I didn’t…” Zhao Jin stammered, becoming flustered.
“Then what are you doing?” The teacher was very angry; why were these children so troublesome!
Zhao Jin pressed his lips together, refusing to betray the little princess. His silence seemed like an admission to the teacher, who sternly scolded him and punished him with extra copying work.
The commotion reached outside, and Queyuan rubbed the copper coin, her footsteps light as she walked away. Unexpectedly, she soon encountered her brother.
“You Queyuan,” her brother called her name gently, saying nothing more.
His gentle gaze fell upon her, and Queyuan suddenly felt a panic in her heart and averted her eyes.
Her brother blocked her path, simply looking at her with warmth, saying nothing. Queyuan frowned, sighed twice, and finally couldn’t bear her brother’s gentle questioning. She took the initiative to tug at his sleeve and confessed, “Although Chao Lesheng didn’t bully me, he always bullies others and loves to mock people. I was just delivering justice!”
Queyuan looked at her brother with the brightest smile.
Yushu gave a soft “hmm” and finally spoke gently, “And what about Zhao Jin?”
Queyuan tossed and caught the copper coin in her fingers, muttering softly, “He meddles too much. People who meddle always deserve a lesson.”
“Brother, I’m hungry. Feel how empty my stomach is!” Queyuan pulled her brother’s hand to her small belly, rubbing it.
“It is empty,” Yushu nodded, “Let’s go to Mother. She wants us to go over.”
“Will you go with me, brother?”
“You go first.” Yushu stood in place, watching his sister walk away, then went to find the teacher, offering to explain something, to help Zhao Jin out of his predicament.
Before heading to Tanxiang Yingyue, Yushu turned to instruct Liufeng, “Chao Lesheng is nine years old this year. Having him study with us is a waste of his time and delays his learning. The Chao family is unwilling but cannot say so. From tomorrow, he doesn’t need to come anymore. It would be better for him to study with children his age.”
Liufeng responded affirmatively, watching the small figure of the young master, thinking that he was truly raised in the palace, able to dismiss people so gracefully.
Tanxiang Yingyue was the residence of Si Que and You Yuji in the palace now.
Si Que liked this name, so he kept the old name for their palace.
Yushu stepped into Tanxiang Yingyue, where the palace maids curtseyed and held the curtain for him. The weather had just turned cold, and the beaded curtain had not yet been replaced with a cotton one. The beads clattered, creating a crisp and pleasant sound.
You Yuji lay lazily on a chaise longue, smiling as she watched her daughter eat candied fruits.
A black fur ball nestled at her feet.
You Yuji turned her gaze and looked at him gently, beckoning and calling softly, “Yushu.”
Yushu couldn’t help but quicken his pace, and as he got closer, he caught the delicate fragrance on his mother’s body, making his brows and eyes involuntarily soften with a smile.
At this moment, Si Que was in the study, summoning Jiang Yunche.
Six years in imperial robes hadn’t instilled him with the imposing presence of an emperor. He still sat in a languid posture, with a listless expression.
“Is there really no way?” he asked, lifting his eyelids.
Jiang Yunche was still in shock.
Just now, Si Que had asked, “Is it really impossible to have three rulers in one country?”
Three rulers in one country? This was something unheard of. The Emperor’s fairness between his son and daughter was known throughout the land. But Jiang Yunche never imagined that Si Que would extend this fairness to the imperial throne itself.
Having three rulers in one country would bring no benefit and would be a disaster; Si Que understood this well. It was precisely because he understood that he was so frustrated.
“If not, then no one gets the throne.”
In Si Que’s words, Jiang Yunche detected a hint of exasperation and desperation.