The Princess's Notebook

On June 23, a martial arts performance was held at Jinming Lake. The male members of the royal family fought fiercely on the parade ground, while the female members of the royal family watched at Guanghua Gate.

The Guanghua Gate Corner Tower has three floors, the first one is where the common officials and their families stay, the second one is where the clan members stay, and the highest one is where the queen leads the concubines, princesses, and several princesses. Now the martial arts performance has just begun, the imperial guards are competing back and forth, and everyone has time to chat.

In the not very spacious corner tower, the queen sat firmly on the high seat and said casually, "I heard that there is a gambling game in the market. Is there any such thing in Jing'an?"

Princess Jing'an, who was sitting at the bottom of the table, held Feifei in her arms. "Mother, it is true. I asked someone to find out the other day. There are many gambling games in the market. The bet is on which royal child will win the first prize in this martial arts performance?" Then she looked at Seventeen, "Crown Princess, guess which family has the most bets?"

After getting to know her, Shiqi Niang understood Princess Jing'an's personality. She looked dignified and virtuous, but inside she loved to be lively and funny, and was not very serious. After hearing her joke in public, she felt a little shy, "Princess, what are you talking about? I haven't been around for a long time, so how would I know?"

Jing'an glanced at Shiqi Niang, then lowered his head to look at Feifei, "Feifei, look, your aunt is shy? What should we say later? Let your aunt save some face, so that we don't have to go without lunch later."

Feifei: "Mother, my aunt gave me Dongzhu a few days ago. My aunt is not a stingy person. We have food to eat, so we won't be hungry."

Everyone laughed at this. Princess Qin said, "The Crown Princess may not know since she just arrived. In the past few years, Princess Jing'an always loved to make fun of me. Now that she has caught the newcomer, she let me go!"

Princess Jing'an fed Feifei a piece of crispy biscuit and said, "Feifei, the martial arts performance at Jinming Lake is in June, so when will the excitement in July come?"

Feifei: "Flower party at Feng Zhongshu's house."

The Princess of Qin was the eldest granddaughter of Feng Zhongshu.

Princess Jing'an: "Well, then we will go and see the excitement of the Princess of Qin."

After hearing this, Shiqi Niang smiled at Princess Qin, while Princess Jin smiled with her lips pursed.

The queen watched them joking, thinking of the gambling games in the market, "Jing'an, who do you think has the most bets?"

Jing'an: "Of course, the most people bet on our Crown Prince, followed by Princess Jin," she said, looking at Princess Jin. Before Princess Jing'an could criticize Princess Jin, the Queen said, "Seventeen, have you placed a bet?"

Seventeenth Lady: “No.”

The Queen: "I know you don't dare, so I placed two bets for you, one on the Crown Prince and one on Marshal Cen."

Seventeenth Lady: "Your Majesty, this..." Seventeenth Lady was surprised as she had not expected such a scene. It was fine to bet on the prince, after all, he was her husband, so it was justified. But what did she mean by betting on Marshal Cen?

Princess Jing'an explained, "The competition among the princes is just for fun, don't take it too seriously. I'm betting for you for your own good. As for Commander Cen, he's won the crown several times in a row. I'm protecting you, and it will benefit both you and your family."

Shiqi Niang lowered her head and said nothing. Why did she feel that such a benefit was a bit weird?
While the women in the corner tower were talking, the martial arts performance on the parade ground became more and more intense. The imperial guards took a break and the royal princes took the stage. The first one was the deputy commander Qian Youren, a top-notch expert under the command of the King of Qin and Commander Cen. Qian Youren was born in the countryside and relied on his excellent skills to start from an ordinary soldier in the imperial guards and become a deputy commander of the fourth rank. It can be said that there is no one like him before.

Seeing that it was him facing the King of Qin, the women on the corner tower could not sit still, especially the King of Qin's wife, who suddenly stood up and asked, "Why is it him?"

As soon as he said this, he realized something was wrong. He looked at the Queen and saw her sitting steadily. Then he looked at Shiqi Niang and Princess Jing'an, who couldn't hide their surprise. He realized that this martial arts performance was different from the past. His Majesty probably only told the Crown Prince and the Queen. Even Wang Shiqi Niang, the new Crown Princess, didn't know anything about it.

Indeed, Wang Shiqi Niang really knew nothing about it.

Before leaving today, he helped Zhao Feiran tidy up his clothes and asked him a few questions. In the past, the military exercises were just the imperial guards going back and forth, so why was it different this time? Zhao Feiran just told her not to worry, everything would be arranged by His Majesty. Seeing that he was confident, Shiqi Niang could only swallow her worries. He was loved by His Majesty and the Queen, so nothing would go wrong.

But who would have thought that he would hide such a difference that was so easy to see from himself.

Shiqi Niang was a little nervous for a moment.

On the training ground, after Qian Youren saluted, the fight began. One was a prince of great wealth and status, and the other was a military officer with outstanding martial arts. As the two fought back and forth, even though Qian Youren had restrained himself, the King of Qin was visibly defeated and fell behind. In the end, Qian Youren threw a punch in the face, which stopped in mid-air, ending the fight. Seeing this, everyone lost their sense of leisure.

Then, it was the Prince of Jin and Cao Du, the Deputy Commander of the Infantry Guards. While anxiously watching, the Prince of Jin narrowly won a half-move victory.

Finally, it was Zhao Feiran's turn. Jing'an saw that Shiqi Niang was a little uneasy and wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't say it. At this point in the martial arts performance, only Zhao Feiran and Cen Dianshuai had not yet appeared. In this final match, there was no suspense about who would fight whom.

In silence, Jing'an reached out and held Shiqi Niang's hand, and was surprised to find that her hands were cold and sweaty. "Don't be afraid, even if it's Marshal Cen, it's just a martial arts performance. His Majesty has his own arrangements and will not let anyone hurt him."

Shiqi Niang smiled with difficulty, "I know."

Zhao Feiran is the treasure of His Majesty and His Majesty, and no one will harm him no matter how they arrange things.

Shiqi Niang understood this principle very well. However, understanding is one thing, and not worrying is another.

Zhao Feiran was wearing purple-gold armor and holding a red-tasseled spear on the training ground, looking majestic. On the other side, Cen Dianshuai was wearing black iron armor and holding a long sword, looking calm and experienced. Cen Dianshuai raised his hand to signal Zhao Feiran to go first, but he refused and stood still. So, they attacked at the same time. One was young and energetic, charging in the front, while the other sat on the fish platform and countered the moves.

After a long fierce battle, Zhao Feiran, due to his young age, gradually showed signs of weakness. He was forced into a corner by Cen Dianshuai's three or two moves. Seeing that he had nowhere to retreat, Zhao Feiran bent down like a whirlwind, and took advantage of the situation to get behind Cen Dianshuai. Unexpectedly, Cen Dianshuai was quick-witted and attacked with his long sword, slashing Zhao Feiran's right arm. In an instant, a cut was left.

Guanghua Gate is not far from the parade ground, but it is not close either. Even though Seventeen has good eyesight, he only understood what was going on after the two men suddenly turned around and saw the blood on Cen Dianshuai's sword.

She was so frightened that she stood up suddenly and wanted to walk over to take a look.

But I heard the empress say calmly: "Seventeen, be steady."

Shiqi Niang had already taken a step forward, but stopped in mid-air. She spoke with difficulty, "Madam..."

"It'll be fine, don't worry. Cen Dianshuai is a reliable person."

Shiqi Niang slowly turned around and looked at the Empress. She seemed to be indifferent and didn't show any worry. Shiqi knew that the Empress's indifference was what she should have, but her feet seemed to be filled with lead and her legs seemed to be locked. She tried to calm down and told herself that he would be fine, it was just a small wound, there was no need for her to go over, someone would take care of it.

It was not until Princess Jing'an quietly reached out her hand that Shiqi Niang felt the warmth from her hands and seemed to come back to her senses.

The martial arts training on the training ground continued, and was not interrupted by Zhao Feiran's injury. Seeing that he didn't care at all and continued to fight with Cen Dianshuai, Shiqi Niang could only clench her fists and watch silently.

This summer, the Jinming Lake martial arts performance ended in a tie between Zhao Feiran and Cen Dianshuai. Needless to say, the court officials understood that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was defeated by Cen Dianshuai. This was originally a matter of no discussion, but His Majesty ordered the prince to perform martial arts with the imperial guards, regardless of their status, and to do their best, which made people think more.

The affairs of the previous dynasty were naturally handled by the previous dynasty. Wang Shiqi Niang was just a newly appointed crown princess. As soon as she came back from Guanghua Gate, she asked the pharmacy to prepare wound medicine and clean clothes. She waited until almost nightfall before she saw Zhao Feiran coming back.

Fortunately, he had already treated his wounds and changed his clothes, so there was no sign of any harm.

Before anyone could enter the palace, Shiqi Niang rushed over from under the eaves, "You are finally back? Have you had dinner? What did His Majesty say? What did the palace physician say? Do you need to ask someone from the pharmacy to take a look?"

She asked a series of questions, but there was no response from Zhao Feiran.

Shiqi Niang was anxious and looked at him. She saw that he was looking at her with a smile, his eyes were bright and his eyes were raised.

"Are you stupid? I remember that it was only the arm that was injured? Not the brain?"

Zhao Feiran kept smiling, staring at the girl's lips that kept moving, "Are you worried about me?!"

"If I'm not worried about you, who should I worry about? Did you really hurt your brain? How can you still laugh? In broad daylight, with tens of thousands of imperial guards watching, you lost to Commander Cen. Do you still want to save your reputation, Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

"My face? My father ordered me to fight against Commander Cen. Why would he care about my face? If you don't talk about this, are you worried about me?"

As they were talking, the two had already entered the Tianguang Hall. Shiqi Niang pulled Zhao Feiran to sit down, and personally pulled up her sleeves to prepare to apply the medicine.

"Why are you staring at this? It's normal for you to get hurt and apply medicine."

Shiqi Niang unwrapped the gauze and saw a long, thin cut, about half an inch long. It was a bright red patch, with blood and flesh turned inside out. For a moment, she became sentimental and could not bear to see this. Her eyes were sore and tears hung in them.

She took a breath and asked, "Does it hurt?" The hand that was applying medicine stopped in mid-air, not daring to let go.

Zhao Feiran didn't care at all. He watched the girl laugh. Seeing her eyes full of tears, he reached out to wipe away her tears. "Why are you crying? It's not a big deal. If I'm not wrong, there will be many more such things in the future. You little cat, your nose will be bruised from crying. It's really ugly."

His hands, gentle and powerful, passed across her cheeks, as if leaving cuts in her heart. Shiqi Niang asked, "This is not enough, where else do we want to go?"

"Apply the medicine quickly. The Imperial Medical Bureau said that it cannot be left outside for a long time. It should be covered with gauze." As he spoke, he motioned to Shiqi Niang to apply the medicine.

Her hands were shaking badly. "Does it hurt? I didn't use too much force on my hands. What if it hurts?"

"Oh, little cat loves me so much! Wang Shiqi, how about you call me little cat from now on?"

Wang Shiqi sobbed, "What's wrong? You rascal, you're injured, but you don't want to take a good rest, and you even gave me a bad name!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take a good rest and heal my wounds. How about you just call me Little Cat?"

This was not just a question, Shiqi Niang had no right to refuse.

(End of this chapter)