The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

The next morning, before the frost had faded, the morning light pierced through the clouds, turning the glazed tiles of the Hall of Longevity into a warm golden-red hue.

The snow has stopped and the sky is clear.

Tangxi Snow awoke in a warm, gentle glow.

She opened her eyes and watched as the embroidered image of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix on the ceiling of the tent gradually became clear in the morning light, listening to the chirping of birds outside the window.

Li Shuang was already waiting outside the screen. Hearing the noise, she tiptoed in.

Today she wore a pale yellow palace dress, with forsythia embroidered on the collar and cuffs, as bright and beautiful as the first cluster of new buds blooming on the branches in early spring.

"Your Highness is awake."

She bowed with her eyebrows curved, her voice as soft as melting honey.

Li Shuang's fingers moved nimbly, like butterflies flitting among flowers, as she gathered Tang Xixue's long, ink-black hair from her nightgown and carefully combed it.

Her hair flowed through her fingertips, so smooth it seemed like water that couldn't be held in her hands.

"Your Highness's hair is truly beautiful," Li Shuang exclaimed softly. "It's even blacker and shinier than the finest ink."

She took out a white jade hairpin, tied her long hair up halfway, and let the rest of her black hair cascade down her shoulders like a waterfall.

She then picked out several crystal tassel hair ornaments from the carved makeup box.

Tiny ice crystals were polished into snowflake shapes and strung together with extremely fine silver chains. When inserted into the hair, they swayed gently with each movement, reflecting the morning light, as if stars had fallen into the hair.

Finally, she donned a snow-white velvet cloak, over which was a snow-white flowing fairy dress, the hem of which was embroidered with sparse, subtle plum blossom patterns in silver thread.

Dressed in a simple and elegant manner, she exuded an ethereal, otherworldly aura when standing before the bronze mirror.

Li Shuang stepped back two paces to examine it closely, her eyes filled with amazement, yet she still softly offered a word of advice:

"Your Highness, although the Grand Preceptor is exceptionally handsome, like a celestial being descended to earth... you must also take care of your health and not overwork yourself."

She spoke subtly, but her ears secretly turned red.

"After all, there's plenty of time in the future."

"Shuang'er is right."

Tang Xixue was adjusting her cuffs in front of the mirror when she heard this. Her fingertips paused, and she glanced at Li Shuang in the mirror, a meaningful smile curving her lips.

"We certainly have a long future ahead of us."

She turned around, walked barefoot across the thick carpeted floor, and headed towards the outer warm chamber.

Morning light streamed through the carved windows, creating a hazy interplay of light and shadow.

"The weather is unusually nice today. After the annual examinations are over, we can go out and take a look at the house."

"Your Highness, are you planning to move out of the palace?"

Li Shuang blinked and asked curiously.

"Um."

Tang Xixue responded.

"Then this servant will go and find a few suitable houses first, and Your Highness can go and take a look at them in person when you are done with your work."

She wore a smoky purple casual dress in the light rain, like the morning mist of late winter.

In addition to managing the Changsheng Palace, she also handled external affairs, connecting with all directions and exchanging information.

"it is good."

"Your Highness, please have breakfast," Li Shuang said.

Tang Xixue sat down at the round sandalwood table and watched Li Shuang personally bring out the breakfast from the food box.

It was a bowl of thick, sticky red date and goji berry porridge.

A few plump, round red dates floated on the surface of the porridge, and a thick layer of goji berries was sprinkled on top, their bright red color almost overflowing the rim of the bowl.

Tang Xixue paused, her hand holding the jade spoon still.

Isn't this color... a bit too vibrant?

Pear Frost is so thoughtful.

She coughed lightly and casually scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth.

The warm porridge, with the sweetness of red dates and the subtle sweetness of goji berries, slid down my throat, and warmth instantly spread throughout my body.

"Qingdai, how many days until the annual examination at Lintai?"

Qingdai is wearing a light blue palace dress today, with sparse lotus leaf patterns embroidered on the cuffs and hem.

Her demeanor was as serene as a lotus leaf after a summer rain, her brows, like distant mountains, exuding a scholarly air. Upon hearing this, she bowed slightly.

"Your Highness, today is the final performance."

"Today's test will assess four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. You can choose one and pass the test by the supervising teacher."

She paused, then added.

"However, Your Highness, after the annual examination, we should begin preparations for the upcoming New Year's sacrificial ceremony."

"In addition... the princes and princesses in the fiefdoms have begun their journeys back to the capital. Even the Empress Dowager, who has been practicing meditation at Huguo Temple for many years, sent a letter the day before yesterday, saying that she will soon return to the palace."

Tang Xixue's hand holding the spoon paused slightly.

The princes returned to court, and the Empress Dowager returned to the palace.

This means that for a long time to come, the capital will be the center of a vortex of events and undercurrents.

This kind of situation was what time-traveling women feared most in the past.

At banquets for relatives and when the Empress Dowager asked questions, I walked on thin ice every time, afraid of revealing my true identity in front of the real imperial family and nobles. That trembling fear almost emanated from my body.

It's laughable and can't be presented in public.

But she simply nodded slightly.

"Okay, I understand."

His tone was so calm that it didn't even flinch.

Seeing this, Li Shuang changed the subject at the right time:

"By the way, Your Highness, the Imperial Clothing Bureau has already made the men's clothing you requested, according to your measurements, overnight. It is made of the finest Yun brocade and soft gauze, a total of twelve sets, which are ready for your use at any time."

She paused, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"And... that thing you asked Mu Liang to do last time... that matter."

Li Shuang's voice grew softer and softer, and her ears turned red again.

"The Prince of Beichen's personal clothing filled an entire trunk. This servant... doesn't know where the proper place to store it is."

"cough--!"

Tang Xixue choked on a mouthful of porridge and coughed violently.

Li Shuang hurriedly handed over tea, and Qing Dai quickly stepped forward to pat her back.

It took her a while to catch her breath. When she looked up, her eyes were still glistening with tears from choking, and her gaze swept over the figure in black standing quietly by the window.

Mu Liang, who had been standing there like a statue, stiffened almost imperceptibly when she was struck by that gaze.

Tang Xixue took a deep breath and said, word by word:

"Ah Liang".

Mu Liang lowered his head: "Your subordinate is here."

"Next time..." she sighed, rubbing her forehead, "you can refuse this kind of... slightly special mission. Really."

His tone was sincere, but his eyes were filled with despair.

Mu Liang remained silent for a moment.

The morning light from the window fell on half of his face, illuminating his tightly pursed lips and the slightly twitching corners of his mouth.

After a long while, he finally responded in a voice tinged with resentment:

"Your Highness—"

"You don't have to give the order."

There was a momentary stagnation in the air.

Tang Xixue closed her eyes.

Yes, it was she who gave the order.

The time-traveling woman went to extreme lengths to win over Bei Chenji.

From stalking and tailing to spying on him bathing, she eventually came up with the outlandish idea of ​​collecting the prince's personal belongings to express her longing for him.

What kind of weird fetish is this!

"Those clothes..." She rubbed her temples, "Let's sell them all at the film market. Little Imperial Uncle's clothes should fetch a good price."

We can't keep them anyway.

She's not really a pervert.

"Your Highness!" Li Shuang gasped, "If the Prince finds out..."

"Having more debts is never a bad thing." Tang Xixue waved her hand, her tone resigned, "He has no intention of letting me go now."

Thinking back on the breathtaking feats of the time-traveling woman, she still feels a chill run down her spine.

In order to offer that cold and domineering young imperial uncle "a burning, fiery love like a home invasion robbery".

The time-traveling woman transformed into a gloomy female ghost, and under Mu Liang's guidance, she sneaked into the royal palace at night as if it were her own backyard.

Whether the love was delivered is unclear, but the charge of "burglary" has been confirmed.

She wanted to be a heartbreaker, but the result was—

When the time-traveling woman was peeping at Bei Chenji taking a bath, she got so nervous looking at the handsome man's eight-pack abs that she accidentally knocked over the candlestick.

The flames instantly leaped onto the gauze curtains, engulfing half of the bathhouse with the force of a wildfire.

The arson was indeed successful!

Tell me—is this piping hot or not?

When Bei Chenji awoke from the hot spring, he was met with a blazing inferno and... clothes that had been stolen by a female thief.

Even worse, the fire burned the only surviving portrait of his deceased mother to ashes.

After this series of bizarre actions, the already strained relationship between uncle and nephew instantly plummeted to freezing point.

She remembered that Bei Chenji, his eyes bloodshot, gritted his teeth and said to his trusted confidant Qian Su:

"Is my little niece a pervert?"

If Tang Xiye hadn't protected her like the apple of his eye, Bei Chenji probably would have snapped her slender neck on the spot.

After all, the War Hall Master, who was secretly known as the "Tyrant," was never a soft-hearted person.

"The Prince of Beichen truly harbors deep hatred for you."

Mu Liang rarely echoed this sentiment, but his tone was complex.

I recalled Bei Chenji's shocked and furious face amidst the raging flames that night, and his disheveled state when he couldn't find any clothes to cover himself.

Mu Liang couldn't help but feel a silent pity for him for three seconds.

It's truly tragic.

"How can this not be—an unforgettable experience!"

Tang Xixue sighed and put the last mouthful of porridge into her mouth.

Instead of reflecting on your own actions, blame others.

"No matter what the mistake is—it certainly cannot be my fault."

Mu Liang looked at her in shock; she was truly unreasonable yet arrogant.

"By the way, Your Highness, the chief examiner for today's Four Arts is Prince Beichen."

Qingdai whispered a reminder.

"..."

Tang Xixue felt that she was walking on thin ice every day.

The sins committed by the time-traveling woman against the Prince of Beichen were truly perverse.

She looked at the memory and didn't dare open her eyes, hoping it was just her hallucination.

At this moment, her feelings about going to school were even heavier than those about visiting a grave.