Chapter 126: The scent of ink and the shadow of sword melt into the warm sunshine, and the sweet words moisten the palace walls
As the sun crested its zenith, the shadows of the crabapple trees in Shufangzhai shrank into a round ball, and the warmth of the wind intensified. Little Swallow handed the kite string to Xiaozhuozi, who kept it safe. Her red silk tail feathers dragged on the ground, where she stepped on them, staining them with a few crabapple petals, like a dusting of rouge. She dusted her hands and ran down the corridor. The hem of her lilac-colored palace dress brushed the orchids by the steps, startling butterflies that fluttered into the open window lattice of the crape myrtle tree.
"Be careful, don't knock over the inkstone." Ziwei was sitting in front of the pear wood table by the window grinding ink. There were some ink marks on her water-green cuffs. Seeing the butterfly landed on the poem she had just written, she couldn't help but chuckle and looked up, "You're running away right after flying the kite. Be careful, or the emperor will come back and see and scold you." She picked up a corner of the poem with her fingertips, and the butterfly flew away in fright, leaving behind the words "The warm wind and the fragrance of flowers enter the inkstone pool" shining with ink in the sunlight.
Xiaoyanzi leaned over and tilted her head to look, her nose almost touching the ink in the inkstone: "What are you writing? Read it to me!" She reached out to grab the poem paper, and just as her fingertips touched the edge of the paper, Ziwei tapped the back of her hand lightly with a brush, and the ink dot spread out in a small circle on the back of her hand.
"I won't tell you." Ziwei folded the poem and stuffed it into her sleeve pocket, the smile in her eyes like crushed starlight, "The Ministry of Internal Affairs will send snacks later. The emperor specially ordered it. There is your favorite sweet-scented osmanthus Dingsheng cake." As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Xiao Wanzi running in from the moon gate with a gold-painted lacquer tray. White steam was coming out of the celadon bowl on the tray, and the sweet fragrance mixed with hot air filled the yard.
"Guai guai lang di dong! The osmanthus cake is here!" Little Swallow's voice was crisper than a wind chime. He tiptoed to put the tray on the stone table. The gold-painted pattern on the edge of the tray rubbed against his cuffs. "Auntie Zhang said that this cake has freshly picked lotus dew added to it. It is sweet and refreshing. It won't give you a heartburn!" As he spoke, he lifted the lid of the bowl. The snow-white Dingsheng cake was sprinkled with golden osmanthus crumbs. The sweet fragrance wafting from the hot air made Little Swallow swallow her saliva.
"Your Majesty has a conscience!" Xiaoyanzi reached out to take it, but Yongqi grabbed her. Yongqi had just finished teaching the twelfth prince, Yongji, how to use the sword, and the collar of his azure riding and archery uniform was damp with sweat. He pinched Xiaoyanzi's wrist and dodged to the side. "You just touched the kite string and now you're grabbing cakes! Go wash your hands!" In his other hand, he clutched a small wooden sword, a toy he had made for Yongji. The red silk tassel on the scabbard swayed and brushed against the back of Xiaoyanzi's hand.
Yongji was holding a small wooden sword, his royal blue brocade robe stained with some grass debris. He looked up and joined in: "Sister Xiaoyanzi, you should wash your hands! The teacher said that 'diseases come from the mouth', you must wipe your hands before eating snacks!" He shook the glass whistle in his hand, and the whistle was illuminated by the sunlight, reflecting a bright light in his eyes.
"I know, I know!" Xiaoyanzi pulled her hand back, made a face at Yongqi, turned around and ran to wash her hands. When she passed by Ziwei, she deliberately rubbed her cheek with the back of her ink-stained hand, "Let me add some ink fragrance to you!"
Ziwei smiled and raised her hand to wipe it. Her fingertips touched the warmth of her cheek, and she had already rubbed the ink spot into a pale gray. Falcon stood in the corridor, watching, the sleeve of his moon-white gown lifted by the wind. In his hand, he was still holding the butterfly wing he had just picked up for Ziwei. It was as thin as a cicada's wing and shimmered with rainbow light in the sunlight. "Miss Ziwei's calligraphy is becoming more and more refined," he said, taking two steps closer. His voice was as light as the wind blowing through orchid leaves. "The four characters just now, 'The wind is warm and the flowers are fragrant', the strokes are full of the softness of Jiangnan."
Ziwei's ears turned red, and she quickly lowered her head to wipe the ink marks on the back of her hand with a handkerchief: "Mr. Erkang, you are too kind. It's just a casual writing." She caught a glimpse of the butterfly wings in Fu Erkang's hand from the corner of her eye, and suddenly remembered the afternoon at Fang's house, when Xiaoyanzi was chasing butterflies, and the hem of her skirt swept a field of crape myrtle petals, and her heart felt warm.
"How could I write casually?" Xiaoyanzi came back after washing her hands, shaking off the water droplets on them. Just then she heard this and raised an eyebrow as she came over to the table, snatching the other piece of poetry that Ziwei hadn't had time to collect. "'Together, we protect the warmth of the fragrant bushes'—tsk tsk, isn't this about the two of us?" She held the poem high, deliberately preventing Ziwei from snatching it. "And you said you didn't write about me? You're saying one thing and thinking another!"
Ziwei, embarrassed and anxious, stood up to reach for the poem. Her aqua-green skirt tangled with Xiaoyanzi's lilac-colored palace dress, and the two of them engaged in a laughing, quarrelsome scene. Yongqi and Fuerkang exchanged smiles, while Yongji, clutching his small wooden sword, clapped his hands, "Sisters, you're fighting! Like little bugs and mosquitoes fighting over pastries!"
"It's not a fight!" Little Bug emerged from the kitchen, clutching a piece of almond biscuit. Hearing this, he immediately chirped, imitating a bird's call. "We're playing 'Butterflies Chasing Flowers!'" Little Stool followed behind, clutching a thread-bound book. He chirped, "When it comes to chasing flowers, Sun Wukong is the best! Back in the Peach Garden, he chased the blossoms and uprooted all of Queen Mother Wang's peach trees!"
"You're telling stories again!" Little Swallow let go of Ziwei and reached out to tickle Little Stool. "If you keep making up stories about Sun Wukong, I'll have Little Table kick you with my Shadowless Kick!" Little Stool smiled and hid behind Yongqi. The book in his hand fell to the ground with a "clack", just in time to the page with the picture of Sun Wukong. Yongqi squatted down to pick it up, shouting, "I want to see Sun Wukong! I want to see how he pulls up the peach tree!"
Falcon bent down to pick up the poem, gently smoothing out the wrinkles. The scent of ink, mixed with the fragrance of the gardenias in Ziwei's hair, lingered on his fingertips. As he handed the poem back to Ziwei, his gaze was as warm as the afternoon sun: "The four words 'united in defense' are written most truly." Ziwei took the poem, her fingertips accidentally brushing against his, and she pulled back as if burned, her cheeks blushing brighter than Xiaoyanzi's palace dress.
"Eat cakes, eat cakes! They will get cold if you don't eat them now!" Yongqi picked up the celadon bowl, picked up a piece of Dingsheng cake with a jade hairpin and handed it to Xiaoyanzi's mouth. The osmanthus crumbs on the cake got a little on her nose. "Look at you, you've eaten so much that you've become a little cat." As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief to wipe it for her, but Xiaoyanzi turned her head away and wiped it with the back of her hand, but the ink spots and osmanthus crumbs were mixed together.
"No way!" Xiaoyanzi snatched the jade hairpin and ate it herself, saying vaguely, "This cake is sweeter than the one made by Fang Mansion's kitchen! How did the emperor know that I like to eat this?" She suddenly remembered that her mother stuffed Dingsheng cake into her bag before she entered the palace, saying "Step by step, you will ascend high and be safe and smooth." Her eyes became slightly hot, but she chewed the cake even more happily.
Ziwei picked up a piece of cake and ate it slowly, the sweet fragrance melting on her tongue. She watched Xiaoyanzi wolfing down her food, then looked at the smile in Yongqi's eyes, and suddenly felt that the deep palace wasn't so scary after all. Sunlight filtered through the window lattice, falling on her poem paper, on Xiaoyanzi's nose, which was stained with osmanthus, and on Yongqi's small hands holding the book. It was warm and cozy, like the afternoon of Fang Mansion, quietly moving into Shufangzhai.
The little mosquito squatted on the stone table and counted the almond cakes, muttering to himself: "One is for peace, two is for joy, three is for princesses and girls..." The little bugs chirped in response beside him. Little Dengzi and Little Zhuozi were packing up the kite strings. The wind chimes were swaying gently in the corridor, wrapping all these sweet words in the wind.
Falcon gazed at Ziwei's gentle profile, watching her carefully tuck the poem into a book. The scent of ink and book mingled, and he suddenly felt that life in the palace had truly changed with the arrival of these two girls. Gone was the dullness of the past, now filled with a fresh warmth, like the sweetness of the Dingsheng cake, like the smoothness of the ink marks, quietly and silently dyeing the days within the palace walls a warm hue.
Xiaoyanzi finished the last piece of cake, licked the osmanthus crumbs at the corner of her lips, and suddenly slapped her thigh: "Yongqi, show me the 'Cloud Piercing Sword' you taught me! Just now when I was flying the kite, I thought that if this move is combined with light skills, I will definitely be able to catch the butterfly!" As she spoke, she went to the weapon rack to get the sword, and the lilac skirt fluttered up, like a happy bird.
The sun is shining brightly, the wind is gentle, and beneath the crabapple tree in Shufangzhai, the shadows of swords intertwine with the fragrance of ink, sweet words and laughter fly together. The years spent by these two flowers within the palace walls, their companionship, have only just begun, but they are already warm and filled with joy.
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