Frequent errors

Gu Jinghong continued, "While silver-bone charcoal is of excellent quality, the smoke it produces is quite heavy. In a sealed mulberry room, prolonged fumigation, although it can retain heat, can easily cause fine oil to condense on the surface of the mulberry leaves, which may affect subsequent silkworm rearing and silk quality. This potential hazard was not mentioned in Manager Su's report, nor was any preventative or remedial measures provided."

"In my humble opinion, we might consider adding small ventilation holes next to the charcoal stove to absorb the smoke, along with damp cloths. Although this would be a bit more complicated, it would ensure the mulberry leaves remain clean. The cost increase would only be a few dozen taels, far outweighing the risk of damage to the silk later. This is just my humble opinion, and I welcome your feedback, Your Highness and Steward Su."

You could hear a pin drop in the dining hall.

The butler stood with his hands at his sides, eyes downcast, seemingly oblivious to everything.

The maid serving the food held her breath and moved with utmost care.

Even though the servants of the Prince's mansion couldn't quite hear what the two young ladies were saying, judging from their expressions and demeanor, Su Yingxue had clearly lost.

Su Yingxue felt her face burning, as if she had been stripped naked in public.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, her carefully prepared attempt to make things difficult turned into a self-humiliation. She groaned, then abruptly stood up, the chair scraping against the floor with a harsh sound. Her face was ashen. "Miss Gu," she said, "Yingxue... feels unwell and must take her leave!"

Having said that, he almost staggered as he fled the dining hall in a panic.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their complex expressions shifting between Gu Jinghong and Su Yingxue's disheveled figure.

...

Su Yingxue returned to a warm pavilion in the Prince's mansion, feeling utterly dejected. The more she thought about it, the angrier, more resentful, and more aggrieved she became.

The little incident that happened during lunch quickly spread throughout the Prince's residence.

Changfeng is a straightforward person. He has known Su Yingxue for a long time, but he has some grudges against Gu Jinghong. Therefore, he did not think there was anything wrong with Su Yingxue. On the contrary, he felt that he should comfort Su Yingxue.

Changfeng approached Su Yingxue, who looked distressed, scratched his head, and took out an exquisite brocade box from his pocket: "Steward Su, um... His Highness noticed that you don't look well today, so he asked me to give you this. He said... um... to put your mind at ease."

He actually told a little lie: he thought the gift was suitable and sent it under the prince's name, hoping to make Su Yingxue feel better and also implying that the prince did not completely dislike her because of this.

Su Yingxue was initially in a bad mood, but when she heard that the prince had something to give her, her sobbing mood gradually subsided.

She took the brown brocade box with both hands and opened it. Inside lay a lustrous and translucent white magnolia hairpin. The magnolia was in bud, the jade was of excellent quality, the carving was exquisite, and it was elegant yet precious. It immediately caught Su Yingxue's eye.

Although the prince had occasionally bestowed gifts upon her before, those items were mostly rewards for her good management, and there had never been anything like this that "showed affection."

Therefore, Su Yingxue's mood, which had been extremely low just moments before, instantly improved significantly.

...

The afternoon sun in winter carried a hint of chill, casting dappled light and shadows through the carved window lattices onto the vermilion-lacquered corridor outside the Prince's Mansion's council hall. A meeting of stewards regarding the arrangements for the New Year's festival had just concluded, and the attendees filed out.

Su Yingxue is undoubtedly the most eye-catching one among them.

She was meticulously dressed today, wearing a brand-new lake-blue brocade jacket and skirt that made her complexion look excellent. Her hair was styled in a neat bun, and among her cloud-like black hair, the most striking thing was a lustrous, translucent white magnolia hairpin. The magnolia bud on the hairpin was about to bloom, shimmering with a warm and restrained luster in the sunlight, perfectly complementing her deliberately dignified demeanor, silently demonstrating her extraordinary nobility and favor.

Su Yingxue stood out in the meeting just now. She was responsible for reporting on the annual offerings at several important estates. Her report was clear, detailed, and she handled the inquiries from other managers with composure, always wearing a polite and confident smile.

When her gaze occasionally swept over Gu Jinghong, who was sitting quietly in the corner taking notes, her smile deepened.

After the meeting ended, the managers dispersed in twos and threes, chatting quietly. Su Yingxue deliberately slowed her pace and "naturally" walked alongside Gu Jinghong, who was lagging behind.

The corridor was empty, with only the soft sound of their footsteps echoing. Sunlight slanted down onto Su Yingxue's hair, and the white jade hairpin reflected a soft yet undeniable light.

Gu Jinghong held her notebook, her eyes slightly lowered, seemingly focused on the road beneath her feet, or perhaps lost in thought. Today, she was still dressed in a simple light blue dress, which appeared particularly frail against the backdrop of Su Yingxue's elaborate attire and dazzling white jade hairpin.

After walking in silence for a while, Su Yingxue suddenly stopped, turned to the side, and her gaze seemingly unintentionally fell on a wintersweet tree in full bloom outside the corridor. She raised her hand and casually smoothed her wind-blown temples with her fingertips. The movement was elegant, yet precise enough to completely expose the jade hairpin to Gu Jinghong's view. In the warm winter sun, the jade's gentle luster almost seemed to flow out.

“Miss Gu,” Su Yingxue’s voice was soft, with a casual, almost conversational tone, “this hairpin today…”

She paused slightly, her fingertips gently brushing against the magnolia bud again, the movement carrying a tenderness of cherishing, and the corners of her lips curving into an extremely subtle yet meaningful arc.

"Your Highness is considerate and afraid that I might be troubled by what happened the other day and neglect important matters."

There was no trace of the disarray she had shown in the dining hall the day before; only a reserved satisfaction, as if she had been comforted by her superior.

She shook her head gently, her tone carrying a hint of self-deprecating "helplessness," "Actually, Your Highness is overthinking it. It is my duty to do my best and share Your Highness's burdens. Your Highness's businesses and the affairs of the household are all of paramount importance. How could I dare to lose my composure over such trivial matters?"

At this point, she changed the subject very naturally, "and I hope Miss Gu will forgive me."

Gu Jinghong raised an eyebrow: "Have any empathy?"

"We are all working for the Prince, so shouldn't we all do our best? The matter the other day, in the end, was nothing more than wanting to share the Prince's burdens. It's just that... the methods may be different. Miss Gu is clever and resourceful, and Yingxue has learned a lot from her."

She said the last phrase, "I've learned a lot," in a light and airy tone, with a strange and extremely uncomfortable sense of "tolerance."

I've learned something, but so what? The prince personally bestowed the hairpin upon me to appease him. No matter what you say, you're ultimately just a maidservant who serves with pen and ink. The one the prince truly relies on, who needs his emotions soothed, and who is afraid of delaying "important matters," is me, Su Yingxue.

Gu Jinghong looked at Su Yingxue, his smile not reaching his eyes: "Steward Su, you flatter me. It is you who have worked diligently for the Prince."

I, Gu Jinghong, am not doing this for the prince; I am doing it for my conscience, for my background, and for my Qianyuan Pavilion.

Su Yingxue clearly saw that Gu Jinghong wasn't very happy, but she couldn't find a reason for it for the time being. She stood there in a daze—she clearly felt that she had won, so why did she feel... that she had lost?

...

Inside the study of Prince Jin's mansion, the candlelight shone brightly, illuminating the rosewood desk until it gleamed.

Xiao Chengyan sat upright behind his desk, the collar of his light blue casual robe slightly open, revealing a small section of his collarbone, showing a rare sense of relaxation. A mountain of official documents lay spread out before him, and he picked up his pen to review them, the tip gliding across the pages with a soft rustling sound. After several days of deep sleep and recuperation, coupled with Gu Jinghong's meticulous care, a hint of color finally returned to his pale face, and his spirits improved considerably.

Gu Jinghong stood respectfully to her side, her head bowed and her eyes lowered. She held a fine Duan inkstone in her hand, grinding the ink stick evenly with her wrist, but her mind drifted to distant places.

Her mind was filled with the affairs and information of Zhuangmu Pavilion, Xiao Chengyan's probing of her over the past few days, and Su Yingxue, who had inexplicably appeared in front of her.

In truth, Xiao Chengyan exudes a chilling sense of control, as if everything is within his calculations... So, can the fake butterfly on her shoulder really fool those eyes? Perhaps he already knows, but remains silent, treating her as an interesting pawn, a... substitute to soothe his longing?

This thought inexplicably made her heart clench. She remembered the low, hoarse "A-Ning" that occasionally escaped Xiao Chengyan's lips when he was seriously ill, remembered him listening to Yun Ni play the pipa with his eyes downcast, and remembered Su Yingxue who inexplicably took a white jade hairpin from him and then disappeared... Now, he seemed to be getting closer to her as well, and this closeness was actually very dangerous for Gu Jinghong.

She suddenly realized an even more terrifying question: was her current turmoil due to the fear of her stand-in identity being exposed, or... was she concerned that she might really just be a stand-in?

This thought made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

As she was thinking about these things, her fingertips unconsciously increased the pressure, and the grinding speed increased a bit.

"cough……"

A very faint, suppressed cough was heard.

Gu Jinghong snapped back to reality and saw Xiao Chengyan pause in his writing, his brow furrowing slightly, as if he had been choked by the dry air, and his Adam's apple bobbed gently.

Almost instinctively, Gu Jinghong immediately put down the ink stick, her movements as swift as a well-trained instinct. She turned and picked up a small jade pot from the warm tea stove beside her, pouring herself a cup of warm tea with loquat honey to soothe her throat.

Then, she quickly walked to Xiao Chengyan's side, bent down slightly, and presented the teacup with both hands, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible concern: "Your Highness, would you like to have some tea to soothe your nerves?"

He reached out and took the teacup, his fingertips inevitably brushing lightly against the cool back of her fingers.

Both of them paused for a moment.

The sensation was extremely brief, yet it carried a clear warmth—something was wrong. Gu Jinghong once again felt that Xiao Chengyan was constantly pushing her boundaries, and this feeling made her increasingly uneasy.

Just then—"Hiss..."

A very faint sound, like ink splashing.

Gu Jinghong had just returned to her original position, her mind still not fully recovered from the unexpected touch, when the ink stick in her hand accidentally bumped heavily against the edge of the inkstone, and a few drops of thick black ink splashed out like startled birds.

One of the dots landed precisely on the cuff of Xiao Chengyan's dark blue casual robe.

Frustration and embarrassment instantly overwhelmed Gu Jinghong—what was wrong with her today? She kept making mistakes!