Watching the prince of the High Domain gradually walk away, Jin Suo breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she began to feel melancholy again. After all, no matter what, they still had to go to the High Domain. Offending the prince now might mean... well, she realized she had to start thinking about her future.
Jin Suo glanced at the closed door behind her and secretly made up her mind. She was determined to make a living for herself and never again be a slave who could be bullied by others.
Ziwei, who finally had a chance to rest, immediately took off her heavy jewelry as soon as she entered her room and quietly leaned against the side. She heard the commotion outside, but she didn't want to deal with it. She also believed that Jin Suo and the guards would handle it.
They traveled along the way, stopping and starting, until they finally reached the High Domain.
Having reached the High Domain, the guards' mission was considered complete. They politely declined the prince and the High Domain King's offers and hurriedly began their return journey towards the Great Qing.
Ziwei and the others were welcomed into the prince's palace. They had just arrived and were finally able to rest when they heard a commotion of women outside.
"I heard that the princess of the Qing Dynasty has arrived today. Should we sisters go and pay her a visit?"
"The prince hasn't returned yet. Let's hear what he has to say before we go."
"To be honest, I've never left the High Domain, and I've never seen the scenery outside. I've heard that the Great Qing is a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, but I wonder what it's like?"
"You, you will have plenty of opportunities to see the princess in the future."
Hearing their chatter outside, Jin Suo knew that those people must be the concubines of the high-ranking prince. Thinking this, Jin Suo began to think about her own future.
*
Watching the procession depart, the emperor, standing atop the city wall, couldn't help but feel a touch of sadness, raising his hand and waving slowly.
"It's so cold, what are you doing out here?" The emperor turned around and saw Anke dressed in thin clothes.
“No matter what, it’s my uncle’s daughter getting married, how could I not come to see her off?” An Ke said playfully.
"You..." The Emperor sighed helplessly, but he actually took off his black fox fur coat and draped it over An Ke's shoulders.
The ministers all kept their eyes down and pretended that the scene before them did not exist.
Seeing the ministers' self-deceptive attitude, the emperor took pity on them and let them all go back first.
With one happy event resolved in the palace, things could be a bit easier. However, the people in the Ministry of Rites were still busy everywhere, because the New Year was approaching and preparations for the wedding of two noble people were also underway.
"Is the wedding dress for Princess Yong'an finished? We need to hurry, it should be done by the end of the year. If it's not finished by then, you'll all lose your heads." Eunuch De from the Ministry of Rites said in a high-pitched voice, pointing at them.
Those below naturally responded, as they all knew the importance of these matters. One of the quick-witted ones stepped forward, "Don't worry, Eunuch De, we're all in a hurry."
Eunuch De sized up the young eunuch, then said in a shrill voice, "Hmm, not bad, be quick-witted." He then flicked his whisk and sat down at the head of the table, watching the people below bustling about.
*
Prince Rui's Mansion
Inside the Moonlit Pavilion, a woman dressed in a honey-colored palace dress embroidered with lotus patterns reclines on a soft couch covered with white fox fur. Inside the hall, a fire has been lit, and incense burners are placed to the side burning incense.
When Princess Rui walked in, she happened to see An Ke holding a book, engrossed in it. An Ke didn't even notice her coming in.
It was Xingxing who noticed and quickly served tea and snacks to the princess, bowing to her. Only then did Anke look up from her book and see the princess smiling.
"Why didn't you say anything before coming, Mother? This is extremely impolite of An'an." Upon seeing Princess Rui, An Ke immediately got off the soft couch and walked gracefully to the princess's side.
"Your mother just came to see you. I heard you haven't been busy sewing your wedding dress these days, so I thought I'd see what you've been up to. I heard that the Treasure Pavilion recently received some jewelry, and I was thinking of going to take a look at it for you. I just happened to be passing by here, so I thought I'd like to go with you." The princess held Anke's hand with one hand and patted Anke's hand with the other.
Then, looking around, he saw the exquisite little stove. "It was your idea again, wasn't it? It was designed to be so small, and you even put it on the table."
“Isn’t the fire too far from An’an? So I thought I’d make a smaller one, one that doesn’t need much stuff inside, and put it on the table. I’ll burn some smokeless soft charcoal, and it’ll be quite warm here.” An Ke looked at the glass ornament on her table.
"Does An'an want to go with her mother to take a look?" Princess Rui looked at An Ke with expectant eyes.
An Ke, however, remained impassive, glancing at the sky outside where the snow had stopped. She instinctively shuddered, but couldn't bear to refuse the princess's kindness. "Good mother, I'll go with you."
Princess Rui said excitedly, "Alright, then Mother will wait for An'an here."
Anke had Xingxing pick out some warm clothes for her, and then quickly did her hair and makeup. Before leaving, she put a hand warmer in her hand and put on a red fox fur coat.
Upon arriving at the Treasure Pavilion and looking at the newly arrived jewelry, An Ke felt utterly bored. After all, An Ke was already quite used to these things. Take the incense burner, for example; she had just recently obtained a rose quartz incense burner with coiled dragon handles from the Emperor. Looking at the items here, it was truly a case of "no comparison, no harm."
"Well? Did you find anyone you like?" Princess Rui watched as An Ke walked around downstairs and then came up to rest on the soft couch.
"Mother, I really don't like anything. Why don't you take a look?" Anke was too overwhelmed by the choices and didn't want to look anymore.
After hearing this, the princess readily picked out several pieces of jewelry for Anke, and then packed them up and took her back to the mansion.
Now even Fu Ertai can't just visit anyone anymore; the time has come, and some rules must be observed. Naturally, men and women can no longer meet.
Every now and then, Ke'ertai would send over some trendy little trinkets, all things that women liked at the time. Anke received them and treasured them greatly, putting them all into her little box.
It wasn't until the year-end was approaching, and the Emperor held a family banquet on New Year's Eve, that the two were finally able to meet. Not only Anke and Ertai, but Qing'er and General Ji had also not seen each other for a long time.
In contrast, Xinrong and Yongqi seemed relatively normal, because their days were still ahead and they hadn't yet reached the point where they couldn't see each other.
Yongqi deliberately walked over to Ertai and General Ji, and then said in a particularly cheeky tone, "Haven't seen An'an and Qing'er in a long time, have you? You two should cherish tonight. Otherwise, it will be a long time before you see them again." He sighed as he spoke, as if afraid that they wouldn't notice his teasing.
Ertai's eyes were only on Anke. Wherever Anke went, his eyes followed. Naturally, he couldn't care less about Yongqi's teasing and didn't want to pay any attention to him.
General Ji, on the other hand, replied, after all, he and Yongqi were emperor and subject, and moreover, he did not have the same close relationship as Ertai and Yongqi. "Your subject is here, and thanks the Fifth Prince for the reminder."
Yongqi also felt it was pointless and was about to pat Ertai on the shoulder before heading back when Ertai said, "It doesn't matter, anyway, I'll be able to see An'an every day after we get married."
One sentence immediately broke Yongqi's defenses, after all, their wedding was just around the corner, while his wedding with Xinrong was still far away, and no one knew when it would be.
Seeing Yongqi's gritted teeth, Ertai was quite generous, patting Yongqi on the shoulder and saying, "Oh, it's alright, you won't be around much longer anyway, but you'll always be behind us." After saying that, he left directly because Anke had stood up from that spot, and he had something to say to the princess.
Yongqi watched as Ertai headed straight for Anke, preparing to go up to him, but unexpectedly, he was bumped into by Ji Chu again.
Ji Chu also spotted Qing Gege and accidentally bumped into Yong Qi, quickly turning around to apologize. Then she hurried over.
Yongqi was left standing there, secretly annoyed. What kind of situation was this? He had wanted to show off to them, but instead, they had shown off to him instead.
Just as Ertai arrived, Qing'er, who had been about to take An Ke's arm, was about to change seats when she turned around and bumped into Ji Chu, who had come to find her.
The two hadn't seen each other for many days. Their affectionate gazes met, but they quickly looked away as if they'd been electrocuted.
"What's wrong?" Anke asked, seeing Ertai peeking around like that, thinking something had happened to him.
"The princess is so charming, I'm really afraid someone will try to steal her away from me," Ertai said sourly, listening to Anke's words.
"What's wrong with you? There's a strong smell of vinegar in the air." Anke feigned surprise and fanned the air in front of her.
It turned out that the guards from the Gao Yu region, who had escorted Princess Heshuo to her wedding today, had returned. From them, it was learned that the prince had originally intended to marry Princess Yong'an, but for some reason, it was Princess Heshuo who had been chosen instead. He had maintained a stern face the entire way, practically ashen, which explained Ertai's sour tone.
"You haven't been gossiping again, have you?" Anke guessed. "Let me guess, it wasn't the guards who escorted Ziwei, was it?"
Ertai nodded, looking aggrieved. Anke was both amused and exasperated, and reached out to touch Ertai's forehead. "That happened so long ago, why are you still jealous? Besides, he's already back in the High Domain. Even if he had any improper thoughts, it would be impossible for him."
Seeing Ertai's expression, Anke could only temporarily put aside her shyness. "Alright, you're the only one in my heart, there won't be anyone else. Are you relieved now?"
Upon hearing this, Ertai's eyes seemed to light up with a thousand rays of light, and he excitedly hugged Anke tightly.
After the family banquet, An Ke was taken back to the Prince's Mansion, while Er Tai began to decorate his residence.
Aside from feeling a bit jealous, the main thing I wanted to ask the princess that day was what she wanted and what rules she wanted for their future home.
After receiving the princess's reply, Ertai hurriedly came to the mansion that had been given to him, but which he had never lived in for a single day.
Opening the vermilion gate, one is greeted by various landscape carvings, as if stepping into a world of ink wash painting. It seems these artificial mountains and rock formations don't need to be touched, since the princess likes them very much.
Looking further inside, he found everything that should be there, and some items were even specially ordered by the Emperor to be added to his collection.
However, there are some things that haven't been prepared yet, such as the dressing table and the soft recliner that the princess needs for daily use. But there's no rush; he can take care of those himself.
They selected a fine piece of huanghuali wood, chose a fine, sunny day, and began carving. They even made a special openwork piece for the princess, carving carp and lotus flowers inside, creating a scene of carp playing among lotus flowers, which was exceptionally vivid and interesting.
Looking at the recliner, Ertai's face was full of smiles, because the recliner was carved for the princess, and he felt overjoyed.
He also took a stroll through the jewelry pavilion outside and filled the jewelry table with things, spending all the things the emperor had bestowed upon him on it. He spread all the fox fur coats on the soft couch and recliner, thinking that the princess wouldn't feel cold to the touch when she lay on them.
Ertai even went to some places that women often liked to visit, picked and chose some things, and then quietly placed them on the princess's dressing table.
He then glanced at the study, since the princess loved reading and writing, and it needed to be kept clean and tidy. He also instructed the servants to quickly bring in some good bookshelves.
He then went to a cultural artifact shop and bought some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, including high-quality Xuan paper, wolf-hair brushes from Huizhou, and fine inkstones.
As he watched the house gradually fill up, he felt a sense of security and even a warm feeling welled up inside him.
Next came the digging of a pond, so that one could see the rockery as soon as they entered the mansion. However, the princess also particularly loved admiring flowers, so he planted all the flowers that the princess liked so that she could see them every morning.
I remember the princess liked lotus flowers because the roots at the bottom were edible and the flowers on top were beautiful to look at. She specifically instructed her servants to make sure the mud at the bottom was properly removed.
Then, a special area was set aside to plant plum blossoms, lilies, camellias, and mimosa flowers. Later, they even went to the emperor to request the transplanting of several rose bushes from the imperial garden.
This incident aroused envy among the unmarried princesses in the harem. They envied Princess Yong'an for being favored by the Emperor and for finding such a considerate husband.
"Oh? You want a few of my roses?" The Emperor thought Ertai had come here to look at the Ministry of Rites' things, or that there was something he hadn't mentioned in court, but he never expected that he was just here to ask for a few flowers.
"Your Majesty, yes, I wish to have a few rose bushes transplanted to your residence. At that time, I will also feel the Emperor's boundless grace and be constantly reminded to be loyal to Your Majesty." Ertai spoke in a grand and dignified manner, without mentioning An Ke at all.
Instead, the Emperor's lips twitched slightly. "It's because An'an likes roses that you came here to ask me for some. Don't be so quick to deny it. An'an has been raised by me for so many years, how could I not know her? Fine, it's just a few roses. Go pick a few and move them over there."
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