Chapter 129: The New Warmth of Shufang, the Two Swallows First Flock
The early morning sun had just crept over the palace walls. Dew still clung to the petals of the crabapple blossoms in Shufangzhai, glittering like a handful of diamonds. Little Swallow, wearing a lilac-colored palace dress embroidered with magnolias, crouched in the corridor, teasing the white parrot, newly arrived from the Imperial Household Department. Her fingertips poked at the bamboo bars of the cage, chirping like a bird.
"You've been barking at it for half an hour! Be careful not to get hoarse." Ziwei came out with a cup of warm almond tea. Her aqua dress brushed the moss on the steps, and the silver tassels in her hair swayed gently with her steps. She handed the teacup to Xiaoyanzi, a gentle smile in her eyes. "You're so energetic on your first day in the palace! The Emperor and the ladies are coming soon. Be careful not to break the rules."
Little Swallow took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Wiping the milk foam from the corner of her mouth, she pointed at the parrot and said with a smile, "Look, it's tilting its head to look at me! Doesn't it look like a silly little bug imitating Sun Wukong's somersaults?" She suddenly stood up, her lilac skirt rising in a light arc. "Come on, I'll show you the goodies the Emperor has bought for us!"
Ziwei was led through the courtyard by her, the faint scent of orchids lingering on her nose—sure enough, there were several pots of white orchids in the corridor, their leaves lush and green, exactly her favorite variety. Turning through the moon gate, she saw curls of smoke wafting from the small kitchen. A small stool was tiptoeing to place a steamer on the stove. Hearing footsteps, she turned and smiled, "Princess! Girls! The kitchen has stewed your favorite rock sugar snow pear drink, and the candied fruit that Madam Fang sent for is also on the table!"
"My mother loves me the most!" Little Swallow ran to the table, picked up a piece of preserved kumquat, and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling, "Look at this courtyard! The Emperor designed it after the Fang Mansion. Even the crabapple tree looks just like the ones back home!" She pointed to the half-grown crabapple tree in the corner of the courtyard, with a newly made wind chime tied to its branch. "Last night, when the wind blew, it went 'ding-ding-ding'. I thought I was at home."
Ziwei reached out and stroked the leaves of the orchid, her fingertips touching the cool dew, and her heart warmed. She turned to look at Xiaoyanzi, who was standing on tiptoe to reach for the kite hanging under the porch. The kite was in the shape of a butterfly, its wings embroidered with gold thread, and the sunlight shone on it.
"Slow down, don't fall." Ziwei hurried forward to help her, but Xiaoyanzi grabbed her wrist and ran towards the stone table. "Look at this!" On the stone table was a set of four treasures of the study: an inkstone made of warm Duan stone and a light green silk ribbon wrapped around the pen. "The emperor said this is for you, and it's better than what you use in the Fang family's study!"
Ziwei picked up the purple brush and gently stroked the winding branches on the brush with her fingertips. Her eyes were slightly warmed: "He even remembers this..."
"That's right! The Emperor treats you better than me now!" Xiaoyanzi deliberately puffed out her cheeks, but when she saw Ziwei's red eyes, she reached out and patted her on the back, her voice softening, "Okay, okay, from now on he will also be your Emperor, our Emperor, and he will love us equally."
As they were talking, Mingyue and Caixia walked in, carrying food boxes. They were both wearing aqua-green palace gowns with small cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs. Mingyue smiled and placed the snacks from the boxes on the table. "Princess! Girls! Concubine Ling sent some freshly made rose cakes for you to eat. She'll be here in person soon!"
Caixia opened another food box, revealing two brand-new palace gowns: a lilac-colored one embroidered with flying swallows, and an aqua-colored one adorned with pearls. "These were sent by the Empress. She said the material is brocade, newly imported from Jiangnan. It's light and comfortable to wear." She held up the aqua-colored dress and gestured, "This will look great on you, young lady. It'll set off your skin like jade."
Xiaoyanzi picked up her own dress and suddenly spun around, her skirt rising like a blooming flower. "It looks great, doesn't it? It's even prettier than the one I wore at the Fang family!" She suddenly leaned close to Ziwei's ear and whispered, "But it's still not as pretty as you. The way Falcon looked at you yesterday, he was practically glued to you."
Ziwei's cheeks suddenly turned red, and she reached out and gently pinched Xiaoyanzi's arm: "Nonsense again!" But out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of the jade hairpin given by Falcon on the stone table, and her heart felt as if it was gently scratched by a feather, and it was warm.
"Who's talking nonsense?" Xiaoyanzi raised an eyebrow and was about to say something else when she saw Xiaowenzi running in in a panic, the whisk in his hand tilted askew. "Princess! Miss! The Emperor and Concubine Ling are at the door!"
The two of them hurriedly straightened their clothes and went out to greet him. As soon as they arrived at the Moon Gate, they saw Qianlong wearing bright yellow casual clothes, walking in front with a smile. Concubine Ling followed beside him, wearing a pink palace dress embroidered with peonies, and holding a delicate little girl in her hand - it was Concubine Ling's sixth princess Zhaohua.
"Your Majesty! Empress Ling!" Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei saluted together, but Xiaoyanzi's eyes fell on Liugege. She saw that she was holding a stuffed rabbit in her hand, and her eyes were round like black grapes.
"Hurry up." Qianlong helped the two of them up. He glanced across the courtyard, noticing the verdant orchids and the gentle swaying of wind chimes. He nodded with satisfaction. "Do you like this place? If you need anything, just let the Imperial Household Department know." He pointed at the Sixth Princess and smiled. "Zhaohua heard that the two sisters had arrived, so she insisted on coming along. She said she wanted to learn to read from you."
The Sixth Princess hid timidly behind Concubine Ling, but her little hand secretly pointed at Xiaoyanzi: "Mother, there is Xiaoyanzi on this sister's clothes." Her voice was soft and made everyone laugh.
Concubine Ling smiled and pushed her daughter forward. "Call them Sister Xiaoyanzi and Sister Ziwei quickly." She turned to the two of them, her eyes full of tenderness. "If you have any problems in the palace, feel free to come to me. Zhaohua can come and talk to you often."
Xiaoyanzi squatted down, took out a piece of malt candy from her purse and handed it to Liugege: "My name is Xiaoyanzi, and she is sister Ziwei. Can we fly kites together in the future?" Liugege took the candy and whispered "Thank you, sister", but her eyes were staring at the pearl tassels in Xiaoyanzi's hair.
Ziwei gazed at this heartwarming scene, her fingertips gently tracing the embroidery on her sleeves. Suddenly, she felt that the inner palace wasn't so terrifying after all. Sunlight filtered through the branches of the crabapple tree, casting dappled shadows on everyone. A white parrot chirped in its cage, and wind chimes swayed gently in the corridor, enveloping the morning warmth in the breeze of Shufangzhai.
Qianlong looked at the smiles in the two girls' eyes, then at his daughter and Yongqi (who had just been brought in by the eunuchs) huddled together to look at the parrot, and suddenly felt at ease. He turned to Concubine Ling and said with a smile, "Look at them, they seem like they were born to live here."
Concubine Ling smiled and nodded, her eyes falling on Ziwei's gentle profile, then looking at Xiaoyanzi's lively figure, she said softly: "That's right, with them, this Shufangzhai has truly come alive."
Xiaoyanzi was teaching Liugege and Yongji how to recognize the word "peace" on a kite, her fingertips tracing the silken threads. The sunlight shone brightly on the tip of her nose, which was stained with sugar residue. Ziwei stood by, watching, a smile on her lips, gently turning the purple brush in her hand. She knew that from this warm morning, their time in the palace would be different from their previous life.
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