That autumn, the rain was slightly cool, and bright red maple leaves fell to the ground.
Jin Heng was ordered to enter the palace to teach the Crown Prince military strategy. Before leaving the palace, he passed through the Imperial Garden and happened to see a maple tree with leaves as red as the sunset. It had rained the day before, and many leaves had fallen.
He walked over, bent down and picked up a leaf, which still had some water stains on it, making the leaf look bright and shiny.
Do you like maple leaves too?
The sudden sound of voices stirred his emotions.
He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small head peeking out from behind the thick tree trunk; it was a pretty little girl.
Jin Heng stood upright with his hands behind his back, his figure tall and slender.
The little girl walked up to him, looked up at him with her small face, and asked, "Are you Grand Tutor Jin Heng?"
He nodded slightly. "Exactly."
"You are indeed as beautiful as they said, no, even more beautiful."
He smiled slightly, "You flatter me, Princess."
The little girl's eyes widened in surprise, her long, curled eyelashes fluttering. "How did you know I was a princess?"
"Based on your attire, you are neither a palace maid nor an empress. I have met both princesses, but I have never met Princess Yongning, who was raised by the Empress Dowager. This is how I can guess your identity."
"You're quite clever." She smiled brightly and said, "Since I know your name, I'll return the favor and tell you mine. My real name is Wei Yinqiu. My father gave me this name because I was born in August."
"It's a good name."
"May I have the maple leaf you have?"
Jin Heng said, "The ground beneath the princess's feet is covered with maple leaves."
Wei Yinqiu stubbornly said, "I want the piece you have."
He hesitated for only a moment before handing over the leaf, saying, "Princess, take it if you like it."
Wei Yinqiu took the leaf, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "Thank you, Grand Tutor. When will you be entering the palace tomorrow? I would also like to give you something."
"I cannot accept rewards without merit, Your Highness..."
She interrupted Jin Heng before he could finish speaking, saying rudely, "What do you mean by 'receiving a reward' or 'not receiving a reward'? It's not like I'm giving you gold or silver jewelry. It's just a small gift, which can be considered a return gift. I, the princess, have never taken anything from others for no reason."
"Can……"
"I'll be here waiting for you again at this time tomorrow."
Having said that, she turned and left without waiting for him to say anything more.
Jin Heng watched the little girl's retreating figure and shook his head helplessly.
The next day.
Wei Yinqiu appeared right on time under the maple tree in the Imperial Garden, but Jin Heng had not yet arrived.
She looked up at the towering tree in front of her and suddenly had an idea.
"You two, come here."
She summoned two eunuchs and gave them a few instructions.
The two women exchanged a glance and knelt down with a thud. "Princess, you mustn't! This tree is too tall. If you climb up and fall, you'll get hurt. How will we explain this to the Empress Dowager?"
Wei Yinqiu put her hands on her hips and said, "If the Empress Dowager asks me about it later, I will take responsibility myself. I now order you all to squat down and build a bridge to help me up, or I will go to the Empress Dowager right now and have her punish you."
The little eunuch had a long face, but he still had to do as he was told.
Jin Heng came out of the East Palace and intended to leave the palace directly, but he stopped inexplicably when he passed through the Imperial Garden.
He glanced under the maple tree but didn't see the person he expected.
She chuckled to herself, realizing that at her age, she was still taking a child's words to heart; she was truly becoming more and more like a child.
He shook his head self-deprecatingly and took a step to leave.
But then they suddenly heard the little girl's loud voice: "Grand Tutor Jin! Grand Tutor Jin!"
He stopped in his tracks, paused for a moment, and followed the sound upwards, where he finally saw the little girl sitting on a maple branch.
Today she wore a red dress like maple leaves and sat on a branch that was nearly ten feet tall (approximately 2.31 meters in the Qin Dynasty). The setting sun behind her made her small face look as soft as the evening glow.
His eyes widened in surprise, and then he quickly walked over.
Reaching the foot of the tree, he looked up, frowned, and gently scolded, "Why did you climb so high?"
"Grand Tutor Jin, this place is beautiful; you can see the entire Imperial Garden from here."
Jin Heng then noticed the two trembling eunuchs standing at the base of the wall. He took a deep breath and said coldly, "Get down quickly. If you get hurt, you'll endanger others."
Wei Yinqiu then noticed his serious expression, her smile faded, and she pouted, "Are you angry?"
"How could I dare to be angry with the princess?"
“You’re clearly angry, and you even yelled at me…” Her eyes instantly reddened, and her voice became choked with sobs. “I was just getting bored waiting for you for so long. I thought you weren’t coming.”
Jin Heng was somewhat overwhelmed by the soft, sobbing voice. Perhaps realizing that his expression and tone were not good, he softened his voice and coaxed, "Princess, come down quickly, it's dangerous up there."
His coaxing was a bit stiff, and it was clear that he wasn't good at it, but Wei Yinqiu found it very pleasing.
She glanced down, then suddenly shrank back, hugged the tree trunk tightly, and pouted, saying aggrievedly, "Grand Tutor, I dare not go down."
"You're such a coward, yet you still dare to climb trees like that." Jin Heng sighed helplessly, then opened his arms to her. "Come down, I'll catch you."
A glint of light flashed in Wei Yinqiu's eyes.
She whispered, "Then you must protect me."
"good."
She then adjusted her position, lay down sideways, and a gust of wind swept by, lifting her dress and his hair. Soon she landed steadily in Jin Heng's arms.
He held the little girl in his arms, his strong arms supporting her back, shielding her in front of him. He lowered his head slightly and met her large, bright eyes, which were like the shimmering sunlight on a blue lake in early summer.
"Aren't you going to put me down?" She blinked innocently.
Jin Heng realized what was happening and quickly bowed to set her down, saying, "Your subject... has been impolite."
After landing, Wei Yinqiu stomped her feet to loosen up, then took something out of her clothes and presented it to Jin Heng. "Here, this is for you."
The gift she gave him was also a maple leaf, but unlike the ordinary leaves he casually picked up from the ground, this maple leaf had the silhouette of a woman carved on it, with a slender figure, standing by the window, and something seemed to have been applied to it, making the leaf look bright red.
"This is……"
“It’s not your leaf. I picked it up under this tree last autumn. After carving it, I used an ancient method to preserve it so that it will always look fresh.”
Jin Heng figured a single leaf wasn't anything particularly valuable, so he accepted her gift.
"Thank you, Princess."
"You're welcome. You must take good care of this leaf from now on. It was carved by me personally, and it's the only one of its kind in the world."
"Did the princess carve this herself?" He examined the maple leaf carefully.
The carving was so lifelike that he had initially thought it was done by a craftsman from the palace.
“Of course.” Wei Yinqiu raised her chin slightly, with a hint of pride.
Jin Heng smiled and carefully put the leaf away. "I will take good care of it."
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