Chapter 14

The bamboo shadows slanted across the red walls, flickering with the play of light. Young boys and girls, their collars bright and fresh like the spring peaches of March, gathered together whispering secrets—an utterly pleasing sight.

The emperor’s gaze lingered on the two only briefly before shifting away.

He Hui, feeling proud of herself for having spoken such sharp words so deftly, suddenly sensed something amiss behind her and instinctively turned around.

Before her eyes, the flower shadows fluttered, bamboo leaves glistening with verdant freshness. The distant corridor stretched deep and winding like a colorful ribbon, empty and silent except for the gentle swaying of bamboo curtains in the breeze.

He Hui blinked, finding it strange. She wondered if her illness had not fully passed, causing her to imagine things.

In that fleeting moment, she had the unsettling illusion that someone had just been standing on the corridor, watching her—or rather, watching both her and Prince Ning.

The thought was so sudden it almost felt real.

Looks like she’d have to ask Yao Zhu to summon the healer again when she returned, to prepare another calming remedy.

Lost in thought, He Hui suddenly recalled Prince Ning was still there and hurriedly turned back, shyly smiling at him with the same delicate coyness as before.

Li Yuanjing, however, was completely unaware of anything unusual, only taken aback by the change in her tone earlier.

Where had this girl learned such a trick? She seemed like a different person.

He remembered when she first entered the palace, timid as a mouse, unable to utter a complete sentence to him. Later, she became somewhat braver, but still dull and uninteresting.

He never expected her to suddenly become sharp-witted after just a few days.

Yet, no matter how much she changed, she couldn’t shed her rustic air, so vastly inferior to his own attendant, Sisi.

She still had to be driven out.

Li Yuanjing pondered for a moment, warning himself not to be soft-hearted. Then, forcing a smile, he said gently, “Is that so? Then if the lady has improved, it’s thanks to me.”

His words were soft and warm, reminiscent of the secret meetings between the emperor and He Hui.

He Hui widened her eyes.

Yao Zhu was right—Prince Ning indeed preferred gentle, charming women.

Usually, she was quiet and reserved before him, and he treated her coolly. Yet tonight, and during their previous nighttime meetings, when she spoke sweetly and coquettishly, unlike her usual self, he responded with tenderness and kindness.

She sighed inwardly.

So that was why Prince Ning’s demeanor was so different by day and by night.

Earlier, she had thought she had mistaken him or that he was suffering some secret ailment.

Now knowing the reason, she felt relieved, finally understanding how to win his favor.

Lowering her eyelids shyly and tilting her head, she whispered, “Please don’t tease me, Your Highness.”

Li Yuanjing, annoyed at having to maintain the pretense any longer, turned and walked ahead.

Sisi was still waiting for him; her foot injury hadn’t healed, and she couldn’t go anywhere. Shunned by everyone in the palace, she had no one to talk to except him, and spent her days in her chambers waiting for his visits.

How pitiful.

The more he thought of the woman behind him, the more he disliked her. Closing his eyes to suppress his aversion, he softened his voice, “I’m not teasing; I was merely joking with the lady. Don’t take it to heart.”

He stopped and suddenly turned back. “By the way, next month is the Emperor’s Birthday Festival. Has the lady prepared her birthday gift for His Majesty?”

He Hui’s steps halted, her smile instantly frozen.

She blinked.

This matter seemed to have completely slipped her mind.

Last month, after the order from the Ministry of Rites, she had begun preparations, but soon caught a cold and was bedridden for half a month. After barely recovering, she fainted again at Rainflower Pavilion during the audience, the cold relapsing, and remained ill until today.

Had Prince Ning not reminded her, she might not have remembered in time.

Fortunately, she had already planned to give embroidered work, and with over half a month left, it was still manageable.

He Hui was deeply grateful, “Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness. I haven’t prepared it yet, but it’s almost ready.”

Li Yuanjing nodded, “Good. This is the first grand ceremony after Father’s return to the capital. The entire palace attaches great importance; it must not be treated carelessly.”

He Hui responded obediently.

Prince Ning exchanged a few more trivial words with He Hui before eagerly heading to the palace’s main office to see Yao Sisi, leaving He Hui alone.

She wasn’t sad, only watching his hurried back and sighing inwardly.

Apparently, she still hadn’t mastered the art of flattering; she would need to keep trying.

Yao Zhu approached from afar, looking off into the distance, whispering, “Your Highness seems strange today.”

He Hui didn’t catch her words and asked what was wrong.

Yao Zhu shook her head, “Nothing.”

She then asked, “What did the lady and His Highness say just now?”

He Hui recounted their exchange in detail, but Yao Zhu fell silent afterward.

“Sister?” He Hui took her hand.

Yao Zhu held it firmly, “I didn’t remind the lady because I saw she was still recovering, and also…”

She hesitated, then said, “Besides, this is an old tradition. Even if you haven’t prepared anything, you can simply send one of the impatiens from our room—your hairpin or ribbon. The Ministry of Rites wouldn’t say a word.”

The palace servants’ birthday gifts to the emperor were meant to pray for the Son of Heaven’s good fortune. The specifics weren’t required to be expensive.

The truly valuable presents were the tributes from foreign nations and the taxes paid by provinces, districts, and counties.

The so-called birthday gifts from female officials and palace maids were but a drop in the bucket.

The consorts in the palace, eager to please the emperor and gain favor, might send some distinctive little trinkets, but seldom anything precious.

During the late emperor’s reign, one year at the Birthday Festival, a newly appointed palace attendant who had no time to prepare simply picked jujubes from her own palace and presented them. The late emperor praised the fruit as “very sweet; more such trees should be planted in the palace.”

Because of that remark, from Shunzhen Gate’s corridor to West Second Long Street, jujube trees now grow everywhere.

Such things Prince Ning, having grown up in the palace, could not be unaware of.

Yet he earnestly warned Miss Shen to prepare the gift carefully, with no room for negligence.

The scorching sun drew near noon. Even under the shade, the heat pressed relentlessly.

Yao Zhu shook her head.

Perhaps she overthought it, and Prince Ning was simply sincere in his concern.

—

As the Birthday Festival approached, court affairs increased. To facilitate attendance, the emperor returned to the Forbidden City, only occasionally residing at the Western Garden.

After finally meeting with the Grand Councilors and resolving the case of embezzlement by the Governor of Gansu, a loud voice interrupted him.

“What is the emperor doing? I’ve submitted so many memorials and haven’t even received a reply.”

The voice belonged to a young man in his twenties, donning a black gauze hat and a blue round-collared robe embroidered with a peacock emblem, a leather belt around his waist, smiling brightly at the emperor.

Wang Zhi tried to stop him, but he politely asked him aside. “Great Companion, you’re wrong. How could you block me from paying respects to His Majesty?”

He then cheerfully approached and knelt, lifting his robe, “Your Majesty, may Your Imperial Majesty be in good health.”

The emperor lowered his head again, ignoring him.

Wang Qing was unfazed, stood up, sat opposite the emperor on the kang platform, and removed his hat.

“My mother said Your Majesty has been troubled lately, so she sent me to talk with you.”

Wang Qing was the youngest son of Lady Cheng Yi, raised closely behind the emperor, sharing a deep bond. Now he held an honorary post in the Ministry of Rites and spent his days eating, drinking, and enjoying himself outside court.

Since hearing about palace affairs from his mother, he wanted to visit the palace himself. Having submitted several memorials without reply, he decided to come in person.

Everyone knew his close relationship with the emperor, so no one dared stop him.

The emperor kept signing memorials without looking up. “I am well,” he said, telling him to leave.

Wang Qing protested, “I came all this way but have nothing to do. If I go back now, my mother will be furious.”

He persistently dragged the emperor to the internal training ground.

Both changed into inner garments, wearing round caps, carrying quivers, shooting at willows.

The emperor bent his bow and nocked an arrow, his body slightly turned, revealing a strong waist, slender yet powerful.

His eyes were steady and focused. At the release, the arrow struck a gourd hanging on a willow, knocking it down. A pigeon flew out from inside.

Perhaps due to too much force, the arrow pierced the tree trunk after hitting the gourd.

Wang Qing refused to be outdone but could never surpass him. Eventually, he began to play dirty, “I give up. You are the emperor who can hunt a hundred beasts on horseback at once. How can I compete?”

The emperor glanced at him coldly, “You’re the one who dragged me here.”

He had started this; he had to bear the consequences.

Wang Qing scratched his head, sweating under the blazing sun, and resumed shooting until nearly exhausted. Only then did he beg the emperor for a break.

He grabbed a water bottle from a palace attendant and gulped down water, finally glancing at the emperor.

The emperor still stood under the scorching sun, three sharp arrows nocked on his bow, aiming at the largest, thickest tree.

He said he wasn’t troubled, yet he had nearly pierced all these trees like a sieve.

“Your Majesty,” Wang Qing cleared his throat, cautiously asking, “What’s really bothering you?”

The emperor ignored him.

Wang Qing scratched his head, “Did Prince Ning upset you again?”

No, that wouldn’t cause this reaction.

“Then… is it a problem with state affairs?”

No, since ascending the throne, no matter how severe the court issues, the emperor had always remained calm, never brooding like this.

What could it be then…

Suddenly, Wang Qing snapped his fingers, “I know! It’s a woman!”

“Your Majesty, you’ve been played by a woman!”

The emperor’s arrow suddenly flew off his bow and pierced straight through the thickest tree trunk.