At the end of the month, due to the Farming Festival on the second day of the second lunar month, the previous dynasty was very busy.
Yuan Shen stayed at the Hall of Mental Cultivation for two days and did not come to the inner palace.
Concerned about his health, Song Xibai entrusted palace affairs to Consort Cao and Consort Wu, and personally went to the small kitchen to oversee the work.
The casserole was bubbling away when suddenly someone outside announced that the two princesses had arrived.
"Princess? Which two?"
"The eldest princess and the fourth princess."
The visitor reported back.
The eldest princess is the daughter of Consort Shen, so Song Xibai wasn't too surprised that she would come.
But the fourth princess...
Song Xibai stopped thinking about it and stood up to walk outside.
She didn't change into luxurious palace attire; she went to the front hall wearing only a crimson-purple dress.
As soon as she entered, the two princesses hurriedly stood up and bowed to her.
"No need for such formalities. It's not like we're meeting for the first time. Why be so polite?"
Song Xibai smiled and sat down in the main seat. While ordering tea to be served, she gestured for the two to sit in the lower seats.
The eldest princess inherited seven or eight parts of Consort Shen's beauty, making her an absolute beauty, but there was some sorrow in her eyes and her smile was somewhat forced.
As for the Fourth Princess, she should be fourteen years old this year. Her birth mother passed away shortly after her birth, and she was raised by wet nurses. Because Consort Shen had some connection with her birth mother, she often took care of her, and over time, the two princesses grew up like sisters.
These thoughts flashed through Song Xibai's mind, and she asked with a smile.
"Is there something you need from me today?"
The eldest princess bit her lip, her face full of hesitation and uncertainty, twisting the handkerchief in her hands until it was almost torn to shreds.
Seeing this, the fourth princess took the initiative to speak.
"Your Highness, my elder sister and I have come to inquire about the matter of the palace being reorganized to include female officials. Is this... true?"
Song Xibai blinked, her expression unchanged.
"Oh, it's true. So, do you have any suitable candidates you'd like to recommend?"
The fourth princess glanced at the eldest princess and shook her head.
"We've always lived in the palace and aren't very familiar with people outside. But, Your Highness, I still want to ask, can only women from outside the palace serve as ladies-in-waiting?"
“No, that’s not it.” Song Xibai’s gaze swept over the two of them, and she had a guess in her heart. “However, although they are called female officials, they are actually in charge of handling trivial matters in the palace. They are not like the officials in the court. To put it bluntly, they are still serving the princesses and concubines.”
The fourth princess seemed not to understand, shaking her head and leaning forward.
"What we do doesn't matter, as long as we can stay in the palace! Your Highness, could you let my elder sister... and me become ladies-in-waiting as well?"
She has an apple-shaped face with rosy cheeks. When she speaks, she blinks her big eyes and shakes her head, making her look innocent and cute.
Song Xibai chuckled: "That won't do. These female officials also need to go through selection and assessment. They are chosen to work, not to be played with by children."
Her voice was soft, but her words were firm.
The fourth princess wanted to say more, but the eldest princess suddenly pulled her aside.
"Sister-in-law...may I call you that?"
She spoke timidly, her voice charming and melodious, it was extremely pleasant to listen to.
Song Xibai didn't respond to her words, her smile remained unchanged, and she only asked, "Say whatever you want to say."
The eldest princess took a deep breath: "Could you talk to my mother and ask her to postpone my wedding?"
Song Xibai looked at her, without the slightest surprise on her face.
The only thing that could cause such worry for a seventeen-year-old girl is marriage.
"Why don't you say it yourself? Consort Shen is your birth mother. Mother and daughter, what can't you say directly?"
The eldest princess became conflicted again.
At this moment, the fourth princess spoke up again.
"Eldest sister is afraid of upsetting Consort Shen and doesn't know how to tell her! Consort Shen wants eldest sister to marry that scholar, but eldest sister doesn't want to!"
Song Xibai glanced at her; this silly girl didn't even realize she was being used as a pawn.
She leaned back slightly and asked slowly, "Why not? Is there anything wrong with that person?"
It's understandable that a young girl is unhappy with her marriage. After all, isn't this the age when young people start to yearn for love and experience the first stirrings of romance?
However, this Princess Fanghua refused to tell her mother herself, but instead came to make her the one to take the lead, which displeased Song Xibai.
Moreover, after entering the room, she refused to say much, letting the Fourth Princess take the lead... It's hard to tell whether she was cowardly or wicked.
The fourth princess couldn't answer that question; she was too young to understand what it meant to like or dislike.
The eldest princess had to answer herself.
“There’s nothing wrong with Cousin Lu, it’s just that I… I…”
She stammered, unable to utter the second half of her sentence.
"If you don't give a reasonable explanation, I won't be able to face your mother."
Song Xibai continued.
The eldest princess suddenly raised her head.
"I already have someone I like!"
She seemed to have made a tremendous decision before saying those words.
Originally, he thought he would be scolded and scorned by the Imperial Concubine, but to his surprise, the Imperial Concubine only asked a question in a calm tone.
"Who is it? Is there some problem that prevents you from telling your mother?"
The eldest princess bit her lower lip and simply told the whole story.
“He was a guard at the front… Two years ago, on a snowy night, I sneaked out to the plum grove outside Renshou Palace to admire the snow and pick flowers, and got my shoes and socks wet. He happened to be passing by and helped me…”
Song Xibai listened quietly.
This is not a melodramatic story at all.
When the eldest princess was feeling lost and anxious, a passing guard helped her. This guard was also quite handsome, so she remembered him and would sneak into the front palace every few days to secretly watch him.
Several times, the guards discovered her, and the guards were very responsible and took the initiative to come and ask her questions. The eldest princess felt that this person was kind-hearted and good to her, so she liked him even more.
After hearing this, Song Xibai breathed a sigh of relief.
I thought they were going to uncover some deep palace secrets!
"What is that person's name? I will discuss it with His Majesty. If he is indeed a good person as you say, and you like him, then we can talk about it."
The eldest princess was overjoyed and immediately stood up to give Song Xibai a deep curtsy.
"Thank you, sister-in-law!"
After sitting for a while longer, the two left with smiles on their faces.
When Yuan Shen came over to have dinner with Song Xibai in the evening, Song Xibai brought up the matter.
To everyone's surprise, Yuan Shen frowned after hearing this.
"This matter will not succeed."
Song Xibai was quite surprised.
"Why not? Although that guard is of low status, as long as Princess Fanghua likes him, nothing else matters, right? We can just arrange a nicer-sounding but sinecure position for him!"
Yuan Shen put down his chopsticks and glanced at her.
"I remember that guard. He was a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four. He was a really good person, serious and responsible in his work, and he was the patrol team leader."
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