Chapter 57 Gazing at her from afar—Wouldn't he stab her?! ...
It was nearly midnight, and most of the candles in the bedchamber had gone out, except for two pillar lamps near the dressing table.
Yu Nie lay on the soft bed, covered by a thin, apricot-yellow Suzhou-embroidered silk quilt that seemed to have nothing on her body. The room was filled with the scent of sandalwood mixed with a little calming incense.
In such a comfortable environment, she should have fallen into a deep sleep long ago, but as the time approached the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
In everyone's eyes, this was Princess Shunhe's first return to the capital. According to custom, all noblewomen, relatives, and ministers were required to present their visiting cards. Due to the strict etiquette, she could not find a reason to refuse and had no choice but to accept the visiting cards.
There was no way to avoid it; he was about to meet that treacherous minister who would be remembered with eternal infamy in history. Who could sleep soundly in that situation?
What surprised her even more was that, although she had guessed that Huan Xun might be young, hearing it with her own ears still shocked her. Huan Xun was not even twenty years old at the time, and had not even undergone the coming-of-age ceremony.
Around noon, Song Ai's words echoed in her mind again: "Although Huan Shaofu is still young, he has already won the emperor's favor and is one of His Majesty's close ministers. Now he also holds the position of Crown Prince's tutor, and even the Crown Prince and his deputy have to respectfully address him as teacher."
She couldn't help but shake her head inwardly: they were both human, yet the difference was far too vast. At her age, she was still struggling to pass the CET-6 exam in school, while this other person was already wielding immense power in the imperial court, manipulating the entire political situation at will.
The contrast is so stark it's infuriating; the Creator is far too biased.
Thinking about Huan Xun's control of power, Yu Nie recalled on his bed that historical records said he did not hesitate to massacre the court in order to consolidate his power.
Without a doubt, this was truly a ruthless person.
A sense of dread crept over her. If he was so powerful, what if she did something wrong, or said something that angered him? Would he stab her?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, she felt a chill run down her spine.
How should she act when they meet tomorrow? She knows so many of his secrets, and the thought of having to pretend to be calm in front of him makes her quite apprehensive.
"May the Three Pure Ones protect me from making any mistakes tomorrow," she murmured to herself. After tossing and turning, she simply rolled over and lay flat on her back, staring blankly at the gauze curtain above her head.
On the one hand, she was worried that her poor acting skills might arouse the suspicion of this treacherous official if she was not careful. On the other hand, she could not suppress the curiosity surging in her heart: what did this notorious villain look like that made the historian, who was always sparing with words, write so much about him?
The unforgettable comment in "The Record of the Fall of Beiye" still remains in her memory.
"His appearance was like gold and jade, his face like a divine creation; he stood like a pine tree reflecting the moon, and walked like a jade forest." Most people's lives might not even be recorded in sixteen characters in history books, yet his appearance alone took up so many words.
Could anyone truly deserve such high praise? She couldn't help but wonder to herself.
As Yu Nie thought this, she turned over again, and a wave of drowsiness gradually washed over her.
She yawned, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and finally, amidst the cool fragrance, she slowly closed her eyes.
*
By the end of the Mao hour (5-7 AM), it was already bright daylight.
The gauze curtains were lifted, and Yu Nie, still asleep, heard someone softly calling her: "Princess...Princess...it's time to get up..."
Yu Nie frowned in her dream. She had gone to bed too late last night, and her eyelids were so heavy that she could barely lift them. She mumbled an "Mmm," turned over, straddled the quilt with her legs, and fell into a deep sleep again.
Royal families placed great importance on etiquette, and even sleeping postures had to conform to proper manners to maintain dignity.
Her carefree attitude startled Cuiwei, who hurriedly glanced at Song Ai, who was standing beside her with her head bowed.
Seeing that the latter's expression was calm, Cuiwei calmed herself down and quietly moved the person's legs back into the quilt.
As royal princesses, especially those who have just returned, they must be even more mindful of their behavior; staying in bed is absolutely unacceptable.
Fearing criticism, Cuiwei leaned close to her mistress's ear and whispered, "Your Highness... all the palace maids are waiting to help you with your hair and makeup... the ministers and relatives who sent their visiting cards yesterday should be arriving soon, please get up..."
These words struck her like a fatal blow. Yu Nie suddenly sprang up from the bed, startling the worker waiting nearby.
Yu Nie's gaze shifted, and her sleepy eyes, which had been half-asleep just moments before, were now clear as water, as if she hadn't been the one lazing in bed just moments before.
She tidied her disheveled hair, adopted a princess-like demeanor, and straightened her expression: "Cuiwei is absolutely right. Then let's not wait any longer, hurry up and do my hair and makeup."
Cuiwei thought she was about to do something earth-shattering again, and her heart skipped a beat.
Fortunately, she didn't give herself away, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was put back to rest. She replied, "Yes, Your Highness."
Before becoming a princess, Yu Nie had no idea that dressing up would take so long. When she was in the Taoist temple, she would simply wash her face with water and tie her hair up with a wooden hairpin, and that would be it. Who would have thought that makeup and dressing up would take so much time now?
First, she rinsed her mouth with warm water, held a fragrant pill in her mouth, and wiped her face with a towel to get rid of the sleepiness. As soon as she took off her peach blossom nightgown, a maidservant was already serving her with a plain gauze undergarment. Another palace maid sprayed her whole body with fragrant dew.
After finishing all this, she finally left the bedside and went to the dressing table, where she was about to wash her face with flower petals again. An older nanny used an ebony comb to gently comb her hair from head to toe. At this moment, five or six maids carried lacquer boxes of various shapes and colors, containing ornaments such as hairpins, hair ornaments, palace sashes, and jade bracelets, and presented them to her one by one for her to choose from.
Cuiwei applied a face mask and drew her eyebrows, painting delicate floral designs on her forehead. A palace maid sitting on the other side applied nail polish to her nails. After the polish was evenly applied, she used tweezers to pick up gold foil and apply it to her dimples.
Yu Nie knew this painting technique was called "face dimples." Women of even a little status in Beiye would use this technique.
The makeup gradually took shape, reflected in the bronze mirror. After the whole process, when Song Ai took the wide-sleeved casual clothes she was going to wear today from the display shelf, Yu Nie almost fell asleep in front of the dressing table.
"Your Highness...Your Highness..." Seeing her sleepy eyes, Cuiwei bent down and called her softly.
"Hmm..." After being gently shaken a couple of times, she woke up and stretched: "Are you done yet?"
Cuiwei replied, "The painting is finished. Please take a look, Your Highness."
Cuiwei led her to look at herself in the bronze mirror.
Yu Nie was stunned for a moment, but saw the person in the mirror with willow-leaf eyebrows, an apricot face and peach cheeks, a charming smile, and beautiful eyes.
She looked at her makeup from side to side and muttered, "I didn't know I looked this good."
Song Ai replied, "The princess is already of heavenly beauty; we are merely adding to her splendor, making her even more radiant."
"Song Juling is joking..." She was quite satisfied with her makeup and looked at the people behind her in the mirror: "Thanks to your dedicated service, this makeup suits me very well today."
After saying that, she took out a gold ingot from her dressing case and handed it to Cuiwei: "Everyone has put in a lot of effort today, so please go and reward them for me, so that they can be happy too."
Yesterday evening, the Emperor sent someone to reward her with a lot of gold and silver jewelry. It came in handy now, otherwise, as a princess, she wouldn't even have money to reward her servants. She herself wouldn't care, but now she represented Princess Shunhe, and she couldn't tarnish her reputation.
Song Ai immediately took a half step back, clasped her hands in front of her forehead, and performed a proper bow: "Your Highness's words are too kind to this humble servant. Serving the princess is our duty, how can we accept such a generous treatment from Your Highness?"
Yu Nie chuckled softly, lifted her skirt and stepped down the stairs, moving to her side and reaching out to help her up: "What are you saying, Song Juling? Juling's formality makes me sad."
"Now that you are following me and working in my Hongzheng Pavilion, you should be rewarded where you deserve it. Juling, don't be polite with me. Aren't we family now?"
Royal relatives have always been distinguished by rank, and most of them are high and mighty. Even those who are kind-hearted would never address each other as "family."
Upon hearing this, Song Ai hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed heavily: "Your Highness is too kind. We are already blessed to serve the Emperor. We dare not accept the kindness of this 'family'."
Upon seeing this, the other palace servants also knelt down.
Upon hearing this, Yu Nie chuckled and helped Song Ai, who was kneeling, to her feet: "Oh, Song Juling, why shouldn't you accept this? Besides, you've served us so well, this is all you deserve."
Seeing that Song Ai was still going to refuse, she then cut off her idea: "If you refuse again, I will give you some other gifts until you are willing to accept them."
She suddenly turned around and said, "Cuiwei, it seems that Ju Ling is not willing to give me face. Go and pick out some of the jewels that His Majesty bestowed upon me yesterday from the storeroom..."
Before she could finish speaking, Song Ai hurriedly bowed and said, "We thank Your Highness for your generous gift."
The crowd echoed in unison, "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness..."
Seeing that she had finally relented, Yu Nie smiled triumphantly: "Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?"
Humming a little tune, she walked briskly to the table: "Let's have breakfast quickly, my stomach is growling."
"Yes, Your Highness." Song Ai walked outside the hall and gestured for her to come in: "You all, quickly serve the princess her meal."
"yes."
*
After breakfast, with nothing else to do, Yu Nie, Cui Wei, and two palace maids played shuttlecock for a while to aid digestion.
She had eaten too much for breakfast, and with Huan Xun's arrival on the horizon, she felt restless and uncomfortable, finding only a moment of comfort when she exercised.
In midsummer, the weather gets hot soon after the sun rises high in the sky.
Yu Nie had some sweat on her forehead, and Song Ai advised her to go to the pavilion to rest for a while.
She originally wanted to play shuttlecock for a while longer, but then she remembered that she would have to change clothes and touch up her makeup after sweating, which would be too troublesome. So she listened to Song Ai's advice and went to rest in the lakeside pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, palace servants had already prepared cool tea.
As soon as she sat down, she felt soreness in her muscles and bones, and casually picked up her teacup and drank most of it.
The cool tea soothed her feverish heart, but then she heard a few soft laughs beside her.
Song Ai glanced at him sideways and scolded in a low voice, "You ill-mannered brat, how dare you be so insolent in front of the princess? Do you want to be punished?"
Several palace maids hurriedly prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly: "We saw that the princess was quite elegant and graceful when drinking tea, and we forgot ourselves and lost our manners. We deserve to die! We beg Lord Ju Ling to have mercy and Your Highness to forgive us!"
Song Ai glanced coldly at everyone, about to speak, but Yu Nie raised her fair wrist to stop her; "It's alright, they were just praising me, they didn't mean any harm, let it go, Ju Ling."
She looked at the palace servants kneeling on the ground and said, "You don't need to be afraid. Stop kneeling and get up to pour me another cup of tea."
The palace servants, as if granted a pardon, quickly responded, "Yes, Princess."
She could let this go so easily. Song Ai, who had been in the deep palace for many years, looked at this young mistress.
Having spent over twenty years navigating the complexities of the palace, she had seen countless masters, but this was the first time she had ever met one so easy to talk to.
Even though the man in front of her had grown up in a Buddhist temple, he was still too kind to her.
Just as the teacup was refilled, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the pavilion.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young eunuch running over hurriedly. He bowed and greeted the princess through the gauze curtain outside the pavilion: "Your Highness, Prince Guangning, the Tenth Prince, and Lord Huan have arrived and are waiting in Xianliu Hall."
After the eunuch finished his report, Yu Nie's heart suddenly started racing, and his hand in his sleeve tightened abruptly.
Cuiwei noticed her unusual behavior and assumed that the exercise had made her feel unwell, so she stepped forward and asked, "Princess, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
What must be faced cannot be avoided; having come this far, there's no point in her backing down.
Only by facing difficulties head-on can we find the truth.
Thinking of this, she waved her hand and said, "It's alright, I'm just a little tired from playing shuttlecock for too long."
After saying that, she turned to look at the eunuchs outside the pavilion and coughed lightly: "Since Lord Huan and the others have arrived, we should go and greet them. It would be impolite to keep them waiting for too long."
After speaking, she lifted her skirt, stood up, and stepped out of the pavilion. A large group of people immediately followed her, surrounding her in a grand procession.
Xianliu Hall is located at the junction of the inner and outer courtyards, and is only a hundred steps away from the pavilion.
In no time at all, Yu Nie led everyone to the long corridor outside the pavilion.
Several meters away, her gaze traveled across the courtyard and landed on the three people in the pavilion.
Two of them were particularly tall and conspicuous.
One of them wore a dark purple gauze robe with a round collar and wide sleeves, and a narrow-sleeved, dark black and slightly blue cross-collar inner garment that was neatly made with a cold, austere pattern on the collar edge. It was pressed tightly against the side of his neck, and the gold and jade belt on his wasp waist had a cold and sharp luster. A red gold official seal hung on it, exuding an imposing aura.
The man stood tall and imposing, his hands behind his back, his face half-hidden in shadow, his lips slightly pursed, and his profile was captivating.
Another man, dressed in a plain robe embroidered with auspicious patterns and adorned with double-layered metal rings hanging from his belt, exuded a dashing and unrestrained air. He stood in the center of the group with his arms crossed, turning his head to speak to the man in official robes beside him.
Perhaps hearing footsteps, the man in official robes suddenly turned around.
Looking at each other from afar, our eyes met.
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Author's Note: We're gathered here today to celebrate that the invincible little Heng Su has finally completed the ranking! I love you, Vitality Update Ranking! May we never see each other again, okay? Love you, love you, love you! [hugs][hugs][hugs]
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