"Miss Guyu, please take this to the princess to try. There will be some for you as well."
Inside the Prince's mansion kitchen, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a light green tight-sleeved dress, with her hair styled in two buns, and with a face so beautiful she didn't look like a maid, received a food box from the cook.
She said with a sweet smile, "Thank you, Aunt Qiu."
The woman called Aunt Qiu looked at her kindly, "No need to thank me, go quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
The kitchen maid looked on with envy, "Aunt Qiu, why didn't you give us a share? You're being unfair."
"Yes, I also want to eat Aunt Qiu's glutinous rice balls."
Aunt Qiu laughed and scolded, "A bunch of greedy little brats, when have we ever missed out on any of you?"
A group of maids thanked them and went inside to find food. A handsome boy of about sixteen or seventeen, dressed in black, walked into the courtyard, looked around, and asked, "Mother, has Miss Guyu come to get her lunchbox?"
"I took it a long time ago, why are you only coming so late today?"
The boy chuckled and replied, "Young Master ate late today, so I had to leave."
Aunt Qiu took out a bowl of rice from inside with a pained expression. "Eat quickly and go back. The Third Young Master will be angry if he can't find you later."
"Okay, I understand."
The boy is Aunt Qiu's son and also Chang'an, the pageboy of Li Yu, the third young master of the Prince's Mansion. He has been by Li Yu's side since he was a child and is a prominent figure among the servants.
After quickly finishing his meal, he said goodbye to his mother, "Mom, I'm leaving now."
The maids and servants who had been there earlier came out and said, "Aunt Qiu, your son is gone."
Aunt Qiu was proud: "The Third Young Master can't be left alone; he has to go back and keep an eye on him."
Chang'an was handsome, and many maids secretly admired him. An older woman asked, "Your son is not young anymore, is he? Have you planned to ask the Third Young Master to arrange a marriage for him?"
Aunt Qiu knew exactly what they were thinking, and though she was disdainful in her heart, she said on the surface, "Serving the master is the most important thing right now. They're still young."
One of the cooks said, "Didn't you all notice? Qiu Niang is so enthusiastic towards Gu Yu, the girl in the princess's room. She must already have someone in mind for her wife."
Aunt Qiu did not deny it, but said, "The princess's favorite is not someone you can just marry whenever you want. You mustn't ruin her reputation."
Meanwhile, the person they were talking about was having dinner with the princess in her room, picking up a piece of glutinous rice ball with his chopsticks and offering it to her, saying, "Princess, this is delicious, please try it."
The princess was not angry at all. She picked it up, tasted it, and thought it was good.
She then put another dish into her bowl, saying, "This is also delicious, but it's still not as good as what you make."
Gu Yu nodded, "Indeed, I also think it tastes better than what I make. I'll make it for you next time."
The two were enjoying their meal when a maid announced the arrival of the Third Young Master. Gu Yu nearly choked. "Oh no, why is the Third Young Master here at this hour?"
The princess got up and patted her, saying, "Quickly hide the bowl."
Seeing that there wasn't enough time, Gu Yu put the bowl under the table and stood up to serve the princess the dishes in a very professional manner, but she didn't notice that there was still a grain of rice next to her cheek.
When the others entered, they bowed respectfully, saying, "Third Young Master."
Li Yu glanced at the maid with her head down, then at her younger sister sitting down, but said nothing.
Princess Li Jiao put down her chopsticks, stood up, led Li Yu inside, and waved to Gu Yu, "Why is Third Brother here?"
Li Yu pretended not to notice their little scheme, sat down in the spot where Gu Yu had been sitting, and asked curiously, "Why is this chair a little warm?"
Li Jiao reacted quickly and immediately said, "Oh, it's from the sun."
Gu Yu felt ashamed; this excuse was worse than not saying anything at all.
"Third Brother, would you like to try some? These are glutinous rice balls made by Changsheng Niang. They're delicious."
Gu Yu quickly handed over new bowls and chopsticks, but Li Yu had already seen the bowls and chopsticks that had been handed over and deliberately kicked them away.
The sound of the bowls and chopsticks hitting the ground was extremely loud, as if Gu Yu's heart had almost shattered into pieces.
Even in this state, Li Yu didn't look up. Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Li Jiao told her to leave: "Gu Yu, go downstairs, you don't need to serve me anymore."
Gu Yu bowed respectfully: "Yes, Third Young Master and Princess, please enjoy your meal."
After Gu Yu went outside, she felt that the air had become sweeter. Chang An was also outside and secretly smiled when he saw her little actions, but still couldn't help but remind her: "Gu Yu, there are grains of rice on your face."
Gu Yu's expression froze. She reached out and scooped off a grain of rice, awkwardly putting it in her mouth. "Hehe, this is my lunch."
Chang'an looked at her movements and face, his ears turned red, and he smiled faintly with his lips pursed.
Gu Yu exclaimed, "Chang'an, why are your ears red? Did you get bitten by mosquitoes? That shouldn't be the case. Where would mosquitoes come from in March?"
A man coughed from inside. Gu Yu whispered, "Chang'an, let's go over there."
Chang'an was secretly delighted and followed along without regard for his master.
Inside, Li Yu looked very serious, and Li Jiao felt that she had no appetite.
"Is the food not to your liking?" Li Yu asked.
Li Jiao sat up straight: "No, it was delicious. I'm just full."
Li Jiao put down her chopsticks, and Li Yu said seriously, "You are a princess, don't fool around with Gu Yu all day long. What are two girls thinking?"
Li Jiao shrugged, "Third Brother is right." She regretted calling Gu Yu out; they should have shared the warmth from Third Brother's cold.
The two didn't say anything after that. Li Yu sat for a while and then left. When he went outside, he saw the maid and his page laughing even more happily, their faces expressionless.
Upon seeing his master, Chang'an immediately suppressed his smile and stepped forward, saying, "Master."
Li Yu gave Gu Yu a deep look, and seeing that the man was cowering like a quail, her expression darkened considerably: "Let's go."
Once everyone left, Gu Yu went in and patted her chest, "Princess, the Third Young Master is really terrifying."
The princess shook her head listlessly and exaggeratedly said, "I also feel that Third Brother's personality is getting colder and colder. As soon as he came in, I felt like I was back in winter."
Gu Yu called over a maid to clear the table, and the two went to the inner room. "Quick, hurry up and change your clothes. The parade is about to start, and we need to get there early to get a good spot."
Today is the day the results of the imperial examination, which is held once every three years, are announced. The princess had already received the news that her beloved Brother Xu had become the third-ranked scholar.
The top three winners will parade through the streets on horseback starting from Xuanwu Gate before noon today. I heard it's going to be very lively, and the two of them decided to go see it today.
The two of them disguised themselves and looked at each other, both thinking they looked quite good.
"Gu Yu, you look even better in this outfit." Gu Yu was wearing a gray servant's uniform, while Li Jiao was wearing a white young master's uniform.
"My young master, yours is even better looking. Let's go, there won't be any seats left."
The two had just slipped out under the cover of the other maids when the news reached Li Yu: "Young Master, the Princess and Miss Guyu have gone out."
Li Yu didn't even look up. "Send men to follow them discreetly and protect them."
Guard: "Yes."
The two who had quietly slipped out took a carriage to Xuanwu Gate. Gu Yu felt very unwell as soon as she got off the carriage, and Li Jiao casually handed her a piece of sour plum: "When will you get better from this motion sickness?"
Gu Yu ate a lot of sour plums, and pulled her along, saying, "I don't know, let's go quickly."
All along the way, I heard people say, "The top three this year are all very young and handsome."
"Yes, I heard that the top scholar came from Suzhou Prefecture, a student from a poor family."
The two became more and more interested as they listened, and squeezed to the front to stand in their positions, waiting for the parade to begin.
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