Chapter 127: Poems shock the lecture hall and recall the past; flower baths attract bees and talk about the old years
Yongqi grasped Xiaoyanzi's sleeve and shook it. The cuffs of his royal blue brocade robe were stained with yesterday's osmanthus frosting. "Sister Xiaoyanzi, can you accompany me to the study? Master Ji said we'll have a poetry test today, and I'm afraid I can't recite it." He tilted his little face, his eyelashes like two small fans. "You're the best. Last time you taught me 'Jiangnan', Master even praised my good recitation!"
Xiaoyanzi smiled and pinched his cheek, the hem of her lilac palace dress brushing the fallen petals on the steps. "Little clever boy, you only know how to coax me with sweet words." She straightened his crooked hairband. "Let's go, but let's make a deal - Master Ji will test you later, and you have to answer the questions yourself. I can't write for you."
Yongqi nodded vigorously, his small leather shoes making a clattering sound on the bluestone slabs: "I know! With my sister beside me, I'm not afraid!"
In the upper study, a gilded crane-shaped incense burner wafted a wisp of sandalwood incense. Sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, gilding Ji Xiaolan's silvery white beard. He was strolling with the Book of Songs in hand when he saw Xiaoyanzi and Yongqi enter. A smile flickered in his eyes. "Princess Huanzhu, you're in the mood to listen to my lecture today?"
"Master Ji, please don't make fun of me." Xiaoyanzi found a seat in the back row and sat down, picking up the rice paper on the table and flipping through it. "I'm here to accompany the twelfth prince, and by the way, learn the words of the sages, so that others won't always say that I can only wield swords and guns." Her fingertips ran across the "Guan Guan Ju Jiu" on the paper, and she caught a glimpse of a figure in a green shirt in the corner of her eye - Qianlong was sitting upright and flipping through a book, and the Hetian jade pendant on his waist was faintly visible in the light and shadow.
Yongqi obediently sat in the front row, his little body straight. Ji Xiaolan cleared his throat and said, "Today we will be discussing 'Guanju'. You will all compose a poem based on the theme. Princess Huanzhu is a rare guest, so why not ask for your guidance first?"
All eyes in the room instantly turned to him, and Yongqi and Ertai were both slightly startled. Xiaoyanzi, however, raised an eyebrow and smiled. She dipped her brush into ink with a slight twist of her wrist, and the ink spread across the paper as she wrote with a sharp, swift stroke: "The orioles sing around the branches, and the peach blossoms are reflected on the water's edge. It is the spring breeze that understands my heart, and fills the inkstone with the fragrance of books."
After the words were finished, Ji Xiaolan stroked his beard and nodded: "What a wonderful phrase, 'the fragrance of books fills the inkstone pool'. Princess, you have a sharp mind."
Xiaoyanzi put down her brush and winked in Qianlong's direction, a smile playing on her lips. Suddenly, the jokes she had made here in her past life came flooding back to her, and she couldn't help but chuckle to herself: Finally, I haven't made a fool of myself in this life.
After class, Qianlong walked over slowly and tapped her poem with his fingertips: "This poem is much better than the 'fist poem' in my previous life."
"Father Emperor!" Xiaoyanzi glared at him angrily, lowering her voice and leaning closer, a hint of shyness in her tone. "You still bring it up! That's not a poem at all, I just made it up—" She whispered, mimicking the brash tone of her past life so only Qianlong could hear clearly, "'Master's eyes are so round, one punch and half of them are gone!'"
Qianlong chuckled at her amusement and tapped her forehead with his knuckles. "Isn't it just nonsense? Back then, Master Ji was so angry that he banged the table with a ruler and said he'd punish you by making you copy the Analects a hundred times." He suddenly changed the subject, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Come to think of it, not only did you write 'fist poems' back then, but you also tried to imitate others by taking a flower bath to attract butterflies. But that ended up attracting a swarm of bees, stinging your face so badly that you hid under the quilt and wouldn't even let me see you."
Xiaoyanzi's face flushed bright red, and she reached out and gently hit Qianlong's arm. "Father Emperor! Why do you remember all these embarrassing things?" she muttered softly. "I saw butterflies always around Concubine Xiang, so I secretly sprinkled half a bottle of rose water in the bathtub. But the butterflies didn't come, but bees did. They stung me so much that tears streamed down my face. It took the ointment prescribed by Imperial Physician Hu to make the sting go away."
"Isn't it?" Qianlong's eyes were filled with a doting smile. "You thought the ointment smelled bad, so you secretly threw it away. As a result, your skin was swollen for several days and you couldn't even eat. In the end, I had the imperial kitchen make osmanthus cake to coax you, and you finally agreed to use the ointment."
Yong Qi, who was standing nearby, saw the two of them talking and laughing in low voices. Xiao Yanzi blushed and curiously leaned forward, "Father Emperor, Xiao Yanzi, what are you whispering about?"
Xiaoyanzi quickly waved her hands, "Nothing, nothing!" She turned to Yongqi and changed the subject, "Master Gangji praised your poetry. When can you teach me a few tricks?"
Yong Qi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You want to learn? Then you have to copy the sword manual ten times first, then I will teach you."
"Go away!" Xiaoyanzi pushed him away and cursed with a smile, "You're trying to tease me again!"
As he was speaking, Yongqi came running over with a scroll in his arms, his little face full of excitement. "Sister Xiaoyanzi, Master praised my poetry! He said I've improved a lot since last time!"
Xiaoyanzi bent down and ruffled his hair. "Our Twelfth Prince is the best! I'll ask the kitchen to make you some pea yellow as a reward tonight."
Yongqi cheered, then was urged by the eunuchs to go learn horseback archery, and ran off boundingly. The sun shone through the crabapple branches, casting mottled shadows on everyone. The sandalwood mixed with the fragrance of the flowers, making the time within the palace walls warm and cozy.
Xiaoyanzi looked at Yongqi's back, then looked at Qianlong who was smiling beside her, and suddenly felt that after being reborn in this life, all the embarrassing things hidden in her memory had become sweetness that only she and her father could understand, like the falling crabapple petals at this moment, gently falling in the years.
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