The Princess's Notebook

On the day of the Queen's Thousand Years Banquet, the breeze was gentle and the sky was clear.

The eldest lady packed up and went out to see Sixteen and Seventeen waiting by her side. They both wore ordinary skirts and a few hairpins and jewelry. Sixteen was better, she drew her eyebrows carefully and put a flower on her forehead, which could be considered as dressed up. Seventeenth lady beside her was a little ugly, very plain. In such a situation today, I am afraid that if she went back and forth three or five times in the crowd, she would not be seen.

Madam Wei came forward and looked at the two children carefully. For the sake of their family, she took off the shrimp-whisker bracelets on her hands and gave one to Sixteen and the other to Seventeen.

Holding the children's hands, she carefully reminded them, "You are girls, so you should dress brightly. Fifteen, sixteen, sixteen, or seventeen years old, bright colors are just right. If you dress like me in the future, it won't look good." As she spoke, she walked to the side door, where maids, servants, carriages and horses were waiting. On the way, the eldest lady ordered the driver to go slower, because for a family like them, even if they arrived early, they might not know when they could get in.

As expected, when Madam Wei led the two children into Chunyang Palace, it was already packed with people.

Chunyang Hall is not very big, only seven rooms, but it has an excellent location. It faces the Baixi Stage in front, Shanglin Garden in the back, and a small theater on each side. In addition, the platform is high, so the view is wide. Outside the hall, there are lush flowers and trees, winding paths, and so on. It has a high, spacious and comfortable atmosphere, and a quiet and leisurely place, making it a good place to entertain officials.

In previous years, the whole country celebrated the Queen's birthday, but most of the government issued orders to take care of the elderly and the weak and reduce taxes. This was the first time that a grand banquet was held for the young lady and the ladies of the inner and outer courts.

Seventeenth Lady sat close to Sixteenth Lady, not daring to look around. She could only walk forward with her head down, scanning her surroundings.

Crossing the Jinshui River in front of us, we can vaguely see the towering palace in front of us, with high eaves and ancient cypresses standing tall on both sides. The tiles spread out in all directions, casting a green. Soon, we walked beside the white jade railings and the palace door opened. The front hall is majestic and exquisite.

The two little girls, Shiqi Niang, followed Madam Wei into the palace without missing a beat. The title of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue meant that he should be the last seat in this area. Shiqi Niang took the opportunity when Madam Wei was chatting to look around. There were ladies of all kinds, talking and laughing. The most eye-catching one was the bright and beautiful young lady. She was as bright as the sun, as graceful as a lotus, and as elegant as the eighteen scholars in the mountain stream...

It seems that Shiqi Niang blamed herself for not having a photographic memory. With so many beauties gathered here, it would be great if she could randomly pick one or two to write into the storybook.

Alas, why am I so useless!

The young lady stood out from the crowd with her calmness and composure. Of course, there was another person like Zhao Feiran. At the moment, he was detained by Queen Zhou and was watching everything on the small stage to the right of Chunyang Palace.

Through the half-open window on the third floor, one could see Queen Zhou standing dignifiedly while Zhao Feiran was lazily and leisurely.

At one point, Empress Zhou raised her eyes and looked towards the path. "Look, that girl in the scarlet skirt is the granddaughter of the Minister of Revenue. She is seventeen years old, the same age as you. It's just right."

Zhao Feiran took a deep breath and glanced at the girl. Seeing that she had a slim and graceful figure, he suddenly said without any context, "She's too thin. She might be in poor health. She's like Minister Li of the Ministry of Revenue, who often reports being sick."

Empress Zhou was very angry. Minister Li did often take sick leave, but he was already nearly 70 years old. He was considered strong for not retiring to his hometown.

After a break, Queen Zhou pointed at a girl and asked, "How about that?"

Zhao Feiran didn't even raise his head. "Like a butterfly."

The girl was clearly wearing a very plain lake blue jacket, and the flowers in her hair were also a dark lilac, so how could she be a butterfly?

Queen Zhou scolded, "Take a good look!"

Suddenly, Zhao Feiran felt that there was something wrong with the voice, and his attention was distracted, and he looked at the girl on the trail. When he saw her, he realized that he had replied wrongly, "Ah, mother, you meant her. I know this lady, from the Changqing Marquis's Mansion, Sun Du's sister. Mother, don't talk nonsense, Sun Du is my brother who has been through thick and thin with me, so his sister is naturally my sister. How can I choose my sister as my new wife?"

In this way, he looked at several girls and Zhao Feiran either said that they were difficult to support, or that their eyesight was poor, or that their dressing style was not fashionable. He commented on them one by one, as if he knew a lot about the dressing style of Kyoto women.

Empress Zhou felt heartbroken when she heard this. "What do you know? How do the girls in Kyoto draw their eyebrows and dress? You probably don't even know where the door of the clothing store is. Over the years, only your elder sister can talk to you. Besides, Princess Lanyue, Princess Xiyu, and your aunt's cousin can hardly see you. How can you know about girls? Watch out, if we can't decide on a crown princess today, there will be various flower-viewing banquets tomorrow. Just sit still."

Zhao Feiran looked back at Queen Zhou, then at the increasing number of girls outside Chunyang Palace, and suddenly felt a headache.

Impatiently, he sat down and said, "Mother, you loved your son the most in the past. Why are you doing this now? I don't want to. Even if I force him to get married and welcome the Crown Princess into the palace, the days ahead will be a mess. Mother, please be kind."

The woman sighed but said nothing.

Seeing this, Zhao Feiran felt that there was hope, and continued to beg: "Mother, how about we make a deal, if I find a girl I like, I will come to you and tell you without waiting for you to urge me, and we will get married as soon as possible, without any delay."

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words came out, Empress Zhou, who had just let go of her anger, immediately scolded him: "What nonsense are you talking about? You are with a bunch of guards all day long, where can you find a girl you like? Can you tell me about all the sisters of your brothers who have been through thick and thin with you?"

"Auntie..."

Before Zhao Feiran could finish, Empress Zhou stood up and walked towards the window as if she had seen something extraordinary. When she got close, she slowed down and hid behind the window frame, staring at the 128 girls on the trail through the narrow gap.

Seeing that Queen Zhou was shocked, Zhao Feiran also put aside his thoughts of persuading her and followed to take a look. With just one glance, he was as surprised as Queen Zhou. This young lady was slender and charming, wearing a Ji Cui Liu Xian skirt and a square-necked blouse. It was clearly a plain color, but it showed a bit of elegance. When she looked back, her bright and pretty face showed a sense of generosity. She was not like an ordinary young lady at all.

The most important thing is that this young lady looks very similar to the Seventeenth Son of the Wei Family.

A clever maid had gone out to inquire and reported back after a while: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the young lady just now is Lady Seventeen of the Wei Mansion, the younger sister of Mr. Wei Seventeen. It is common for twins to look similar."

Queen Zhou looked at Zhao Feiran vaguely, and seeing his dazed look, her heart sank immediately, "How come I have never heard that Wei Shiqilang is a twin."

The little palace maid said: "I heard that when she was still in her mother's womb, Seventeenth Lady was rather weak. The Wei family was afraid that it would be difficult to take care of her, so she has been carefully cared for by the palace doctor and has never been out. She should be around sixteen this year, and she only came out today under the name of the Queen's Thousand Years Banquet to show her face."

Although she was listening to the little palace maid's reply, Queen Zhou stared at Zhao Feiran with her eyes fixed on him without moving away.

The more I watched, the more frightened I became. The affairs of the world had taken such a dramatic turn.

May God bless you and Buddha have mercy on you.

Queen Zhou asked softly, "My son, how is Wei Shiqi Niang?"

Zhao Feiran was silent for a moment, then said, "It's nothing. Mother, what you said is very strange. It's as if I was destined to fall in love with Wei Shiqi Niang."

Queen Zhou: You are not stupid today. You can actually hear the voice-over.

"Why? Isn't Shiqi Niang pretty?"

"Mother, if you really ask this, then I will tell you the truth. Wei Shiqi Niang is not bad looking. She is 60% similar to her brother. It's rare, rare..."

"Stop talking. Can you not mention Wei Shiqilang? Why is he everywhere?" Queen Zhou interrupted harshly.

Zhao Feiran said innocently, "Hey, mother, it was mother who spoke first..." Seeing Queen Zhou's dark face again, Zhao Feiran swallowed the rest of the sentence.

I sighed in my heart: You were the ones who spoke first, but in the end you didn't let me speak. Where can I go to reason?

Holding his breath, Zhao Feiran said angrily: "Mother, please forgive me for leaving. It is really not a gentleman's way to peek at a young lady like this. I'll go somewhere else and come back to accompany you later." After saying that, he bowed and left.

Seeing him leaving, Empress Zhou called a maid and ordered, "Find a few people to follow him carefully."

Zhao Feiran, who had gone out smoothly, guessed all this, but said nothing. The relationship between him and his father and mother was completely different from that of the royal family in the previous dynasty. They were on good terms and there was no suspicion at all. So what if they sent someone to watch him? Anyway, he was not afraid of his mother knowing about his affairs.

Before leaving the small theater, Zhao Feiran thought about the people coming and going outside, and a feeling of annoyance surged in his heart. He dismissed his entourage, left Song Dajian to follow and serve, and slipped away from the back of the theater. Zhao Feiran knew the scenery inside and outside the Yangchun Palace very well. But after a while, he just walked to the Qingyao Pond and felt bored. So he turned and walked onto the path to the Qingyao Pond.

In the Qingyaochi, a clump of banana trees slanted down from the east, and its reflection fell into the center of the blue water. There were lake rocks standing beside the path, and money grass spread on the ground. It was quiet and elegant, cutting off the hustle and bustle just now, as if it were a fairyland.

Suddenly, Zhao Feiran paused. He saw a lazy young lady sitting on a stone pier with her back to everyone. Perhaps she was here to seek some quiet time. She was facing the Qingyao Pool leisurely and humming a little tune. Her arms under her pomegranate-red half-sleeves rose and fell in tune with the tune. They fell under the green clumps, like lotus flowers in the green water.

After just one more glance, Zhao Feiran felt that she looked familiar. However, he couldn't think of where he had seen her before.

Perhaps it was because Zhao Feiran's gaze was too intense that the young lady turned around abruptly. Her face was as beautiful as a lotus, and her expression of leisure and contentment disappeared. Instead, a look of astonishment filled her eyes.

"It's you!" The road of enemies is narrow! It's really narrow.

Zhao Feiran suddenly confirmed: "It's you!"

The young lady who was reading the storybook in Huili Building, the young lady who mistook him for Xiao Huangmen. It was really easy to get it.

(End of this chapter)