The Princess's Notebook

After the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, Zhengyang Palace sent a female official to the Fourth Room to bring Seventeenth Lady into the palace.

It was the autumn season, with yellow chrysanthemums and plump crabs, a rare festival in the year. There is no need to elaborate on how Aunt Feng and Aunt Shangguan cried when they heard the news. Even Qiao Xin, who had always taught Shiqi Niang and others the rules, secretly shed two tears and could not bear to leave.

This time, I can only see you before we get married.

Back and forth, the concubines who usually didn't talk much, the Ninth Prince, the Tenth Prince, and the Eleventh Prince all presented their most precious gifts to express their feelings to the future Crown Princess.

A large group of people filled the small flower hall.

Without much talk, half an hour had passed. After everyone finished crying or giving instructions, Wang Kang, as the head of the family, made the decision, "Okay, there are a lot of women in the house, what can we say? Seventeenth Lady will go to the Queen's palace, no matter where she is arranged, it will be a great blessing, and she is the Crown Princess, with the support of the Highness, who can surpass her. There is no need to go into these details."

He waved to Shiqi Niang and asked someone to come over. He tried to put on a smile, but he kept a reserved attitude and spoke to Shiqi Niang in a very strange way.

"Once you go, you will be promoted rapidly. After more than ten years of hard work at home, it is finally time to see the results. When you meet His Majesty, speak nicely and behave well. You must show the attitude of the fourth branch of our Wang family and don't let others look down on you. In addition, if you find one or two opportunities..."

Seeing that firecrackers were about to come out of Wang Kanggou's mouth, Qiao Xin suddenly handed him a plate of fruits.

"Master, have a taste. These are grapes sent by the Queen today. They are tribute from the Western Regions. Tribute!"

Sure enough, Wang Kang was attracted by the word "tribute".

The next moment, Qiao Xin said hurriedly: "Let's all go. Shiqi Niang also needs to go back to pack up and get some rest..."

Wang Kang came to his senses and realized that he had been humiliated. He immediately shouted, "Wait!"

Seeing this, Qiao Xin quickly pulled him back to stop him from doing anything wrong.

He whispered, "The lady-in-waiting of the Empress is still outside the house. If the Master says something inappropriate and someone hears it, I don't know if he can keep his position as a sixth-rank official."

Finally, he winked and asked Wang Kang to look outside.

Through the crowd and the window lattice, the female official who came to deliver the message was waiting respectfully in the corridor. Dozens of people came and went, with their seats and postures carefully arranged. Her eyebrows and eyes did not move, and her ears did not hear anything, as if all the noise in the small flower hall was unbearable to her.

Etiquette and rules are nothing more than this.

Seeing this scene, even a shameless person like Wang Kang felt a little embarrassed. He quickly lowered his head to eat grapes and said no more.

In this way, Shiqi Niang bid farewell to everyone smoothly, packed her bags and entered the palace.

After various delays, Shiqi Niang entered the palace when the sun was already setting.

Most of the sky was obscured by red clouds, a blood-red hue and golden light. The golden sky and the dark red palace walls complemented each other, making it look more majestic and solemn. As the sedan chair moved forward, the eaves retreated and soared into the clouds. Occasionally, a faint fragrance came, stirring the wind chimes, like bursts of bird calls and flower fragrance.

After passing the Yanqing Palace and turning through the Guanghua Gate, you will reach the Empress’ Zhengyang Palace.

At this moment, the palace lanterns were swaying, and the warm yellow light was overflowing. The corridors in front of Zhengyang Palace were bright and dark, as if guiding people in the direction of progress.

Shiqi Niang got off the sedan chair, accompanied by three or five palace maids. As she walked, the lacquered wooden columns cast dim shadows.

Nanny Wan, the most capable woman in front of the Empress, stood at the end of the corridor with her hands down and a smile on her face. A beam of light above her head enveloped Nanny Wan, making her feel warm and peaceful.

Seeing this scene, Shiqi Niang finally put her mind at ease after being worried all the way.

Although it was His Majesty's decree, the Queen was probably quite satisfied with her. The next few months should be much better.

"Madam, come quickly. Madam is waiting for you. Thinking that Madam may have some packages to pack, or it may be a little later, Madam specially prepared some snacks, saying that they are for Madam to eat. For dinner at Zhengyang Palace, we ordered Huadiao drunken chicken, crystal dumplings, lotus soup... I don't know what Madam likes to eat. Madam asked His Highness, but His Highness didn't know. I prepared some casually. If there is anything bad later, or if Madam likes to eat something, please tell me, or tell Madam and His Highness..."

He chattered on and on about all sorts of things, talking about the Empress's preparations.

Shiqi Niang listened and walked along the winding path, passed through the gate of Zhengyang Palace, and passed by the flowers and trees in the palace.

The night deepened, the last ray of light disappeared from the sky, and she walked heavily, as if the light was falling on her.

Once upon a time, I can’t remember how many years ago, Aunt Feng was also so nagging and caring. She would ask people to prepare whatever I liked... But later, the house became more and more lively, with more people, and Aunt Feng became depressed and cried all day long.

Such days will never come again.

She had thought about a lot of things when she came here. She thought that the queen might be dissatisfied with her because of her identity and the reputation of her as the fourth branch of the Wang family. She never thought that it would end up like this.

The Queen is truly the kindest person in the world. She has a face like Guanyin and a heart like a bodhisattva.

As they talked, they stepped up and entered the main hall of Zhengyang Palace. As soon as they entered, the maids all congratulated them, "My lady, be well."

Before Shiqi Niang came to her senses, she saw the empress sitting behind a high table, leaning over to look at her.

The smile could not be stopped between the empress's eyebrows. For a moment, Shiqi Niang seemed to see the happy Guanyin. She was wearing a lilac-colored double-breasted jacket and a plain cherry blossom skirt, which was elegant and noble, not provoking the mundane world.

"Seventeenth Lady, you are here." As the empress spoke, the clever palace maid placed a rose chair beside the table.

At this moment the young lady just remembered that she had not bowed yet. She blushed suddenly and her heart started beating fast as she bowed.

Unexpectedly, the queen laughed softly. Shiqi Niang was at a loss and stood there in a daze, feeling that she had done something wrong and felt quite embarrassed.

Unexpectedly, the queen smiled again, "Come here, my Zhengyang Palace is not bound by these customs." The young lady came up to her, and Queen Zhou took her hand and said lovingly, "I heard from Xiaoliu that you are a brave girl. You don't have to be restrained when you come to my place. Those palace rules are for outsiders to see. I like young ladies like you, who are lively and cheerful all day long, how nice it is."

The young lady had never expected that the queen, who looked like Guanyin, could be so casual and was stunned.

Empress Zhou didn't care at all and asked again: "I heard that your name is Seventeenth Lady. How about I call you Seventeenth Lady too?"

Seventeen nodded.

The queen speaks so gently, who can refuse her?

"Dinner will be served in a little while. Do you have anything to tell the cook?"

"No. I... your servant... never care much about food."

Madam: "Just call me you and me. It's just a family dinner, there are no outsiders here."

Before the queen finished her words, she heard a noise outside the palace, as if someone was coming. The queen did not look, but joked to Shiqi Niang, "Listen to that sound, it must be Xiaoliu coming." She motioned Shiqi Niang to look outside.

Sure enough, under the floor-length flower canopy that separated the main partition of Zhengyang Palace, a person was walking towards them from afar.

She wore a futou, a silver fish-breasted long gown, and a pine and cypress pattern outlined by silver threads. Under the flickering candlelight, it shone exceptionally brightly. In addition, her waist was tied tightly around her body, and her jewelry jingled. She walked sideways under the flower canopy, bringing in a radiant glow.

Zhao Feiran had a stern face and acted as if nothing had happened. "Mother, I am here to pay my respects to you."

There was not a single extra word, as if Seventeenth Lady standing side by side with the Empress could not be seen.

The empress heard the voice and looked at the man carefully, looking at him again and again, "Are you dressed up today?"

Zhao Feiran's face darkened, "Why dress up? I have always been handsome, why bother doing this deliberately?" No matter how careful he was or how he avoided it, there were always some vague glances on Shiqi Niang.

Feeling that no one cared, after looking at it three or five times, the corners of his lips turned up, and he couldn't hide his happiness.

"Well, I didn't dress up deliberately, I just put on makeup once more at night." The queen was very cooperative, and then she went to see Seventeenth Lady, "Look, the freeloader is here. I don't know if his East Palace cook is not good or what, but he keeps coming these days. In the past, he might not come more than a few times a month."

At one moment, Nanny Wan came in and said, "Madam, dinner is ready. But are you coming up now?"

The queen pulled Shiqi Niang forward slowly, "Come, come up now. Didn't you see someone walk around half of the palace city to eat? You can't go hungry. Otherwise, you won't have the energy to walk later and have to eat a few plates of snacks in my Zhengyang Palace."

During dinner, the Empress sat in the middle, with Shiqi Niang and Zhao Feiran on her left and right. They didn't talk while eating or sleeping.

Shiqi Niang ate in silence, occasionally looking at the Empress, Zhao Feiran, and then at the group of palace maids serving outside. She could not swallow the meal, which was really a pity.

Finally, the palace maids helped her wash and brush her teeth, and then the dinner was finally over.

Perhaps she understood her cautiousness, and not long after, the empress found an excuse, saying that she was tired, and asked Zhao Feiran to accompany her to Chenguang Palace to settle Shiqi Niang.

Chenguang Hall is only a corridor away from Zhengyang Palace.

In the previous dynasty, Chenguang Hall was called Ganlu Terrace, a place in Zhengyang Palace that was used to house young princesses. At the time of Your Majesty, because Princess Jing'an had been a crown prince since she was born, Ganlu Terrace was renamed Chenguang Hall to show the world that the future monarch of the country could only be born in Zhengyang Palace.

With attendants and palace maids following behind, Shiqi Niang and Zhao Feiran walked leisurely in the corridor.

The corridor was still the same corridor as before, but Shiqi Niang's mood was not the same as before.

Seeing that there was no shelter here and that people were following her from a distance, she thought they might not be able to hear her, so she tentatively opened her mouth and asked Zhao Feiran.

"Your Highness?"

It was as small as a mosquito or fly. If Zhao Feiran hadn't been paying close attention, he would not have heard these words.

Although he heard it, he couldn't hear it clearly under the gentle night breeze. The man lowered his head slightly, moved closer to the young lady, and followed the tone of her words.

"what?"

As he moved closer, the distance between them suddenly shrank, and a strong sense of invasion surrounded Shiqi Niang. The autumn wind was cold and the dew was heavy, and the dew in the dark night was much heavier.

She immediately took a half step back, rubbed her hands, and looked at the palace maids behind her. But she saw that everyone had fallen a little further behind, and seemed not to have seen anything, and there was nothing unusual.

The lady turned her head and saw Feiran still looking down at her, and she complained in her heart.

"You said I was bad?"

The man seemed to see through it and asked directly.

The breath in her heart kept rising, and Shiqi Niang felt more and more uncomfortable. She was not the kind of person who could hold it in. After thinking for a while, she asked:
"Your Highness, where is the young master you promised me?"

(End of this chapter)