Chapter 160: Night Visit to Haitangying, Secret Plan Revealed
The night, like a piece of velvet soaked in ink, slowly covered the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City. Warm yellow light filtered through the window paper of Shufangzhai, casting a hazy shadow on the crabapple trees in the courtyard, like a group of silent guardians.
Xiaoyanzi leaned against the beauty by the window, playing with the jade pendant Yongqi had given her. The jade pendant shone warmly in the candlelight. She looked at the shadows of the trees outside the window, swaying in the wind, and suddenly frowned: "Something's wrong."
Ziwei was sitting at the table, sorting out her formal attire for the coronation ceremony. She looked up at the words, the pearl hairpins on her temples swaying gently. "What's wrong?" She put down the gold thread in her hand, a little gold powder still stained her fingertips. "Are you thinking about tomorrow's ceremony? I'm a little nervous too."
"It's not about the ceremony," Xiaoyanzi said, jumping off the beauty chair. The hem of her lilac skirt swept the ground, stirring up a breeze. "Do you remember the box of rouge that Nanny Li gave me? She said that this pink color is popular in the palace, but I always think the fragrance is strange." She walked to the table, picked up the rouge box, opened the lid, and put it to her nose. "Smell it, doesn't it smell like almonds?"
Ziwei leaned in to smell it, her expression changing slightly. "Indeed... and the color is unusually bright." She lightly brushed her fingertips across the surface of the rouge. "The rouge the Empress gave me last time had a delicate floral scent, never something this pungent."
At this moment, Xiaodengzi ran in from outside holding a brocade box, with dust on his forehead. He shouted breathlessly, "Princess! Xiaodengzi found this under the crabapple tree in the west of the Imperial Garden!" He put the brocade box on the table and opened it. Inside was a ball of silk thread covered with pollen, the color was exactly the same as the malicious stitches on the longevity screen.
"Wow, boom! Isn't this the thread for embroidering a longevity screen?" Little Mosquito ran in from behind, holding a half-eaten steamed bun in his hand. "Little Table said he saw Nanny Li's shadow swaying behind the crabapple tree. This thread must have leaked out of her purse!"
Xiaoyanzi picked up the silk thread and examined it closely against the candlelight, her eyes sharp as a knife. "I knew it was her!" She slammed the thread down on the table. "Last time, Shouping was tampered with, and now she's given a strange rouge. There's bound to be more tricks at tomorrow's enthronement ceremony!"
Ziwei held her hand, her fingertips slightly cold. "Then what should we do? Should we tell the Emperor?" She looked at Xiaoyanzi's tense face, her eyes full of worry. "With so many people watching tomorrow, what if something goes wrong..."
"Don't tell the Emperor!" Xiaoyanzi interrupted her, suddenly leaning close to her ear and whispering, "If you can't even handle such a small matter, won't he look down on you?" Her eyes rolled, and a sly smile curled up at the corner of her mouth. "We have to let them know that the people in Shufangzhai are not to be bullied!"
As the moon reached its zenith, the lights in Concubine Gao's chambers remained brightly lit. Nanny Li was kneeling on the ground, massaging Concubine Gao's legs. Her voice was filled with a flattering smile, "Don't worry, Your Majesty! That rouge has a special ointment added to it. If you sweat, it will cause a rash. At tomorrow's enthronement ceremony, I guarantee you'll make the two princesses look utterly humiliated!"
Concubine Gao reclined on the couch, playing with a golden hairpin in her hand. The rubies on the hairpin gleamed eerily under the light. "Well done." She sneered, her nails scratching the pattern on the edge of the couch. "They've been so proud for so long. It's time to show the people in the palace who is the real master."
"And that carpet," Madam Li added, her voice lowered. "I've had the red carpet in front of the palace greased. Anyone wearing high-heeled shoes will definitely fall flat on their face! Especially that Princess Huanzhu, with her impulsive temper, will definitely fall flat on her face in public!"
Concubine Gao smiled with satisfaction, took a sip of the bird's nest porridge on the table, and said, "Wait until they make a fool of themselves tomorrow, and see if the emperor will still favor them. The Fang family? The Fu family? They're just clowns who rely on the master's favor." She put down the porridge bowl, and the bottom of the bowl hit the table with a crisp sound. "You can go down, and we will carry out the plan tomorrow morning."
Nanny Li kowtowed in response and walked out briskly, not noticing that a dark shadow was quietly disappearing among the branches of the crabapple tree outside the window, like a night cat.
The lights in Shufangzhai stayed on until late at night. Xiaoyanzi scribbled on the table, writing and drawing, muttering to herself, "Tomorrow, Ziwei, you'll walk in front, and I'll follow behind. We'll stop when we see the third red carpet in front of the hall..." Suddenly, she raised her head and said to the small table and stool, "You two go get some talcum powder from the kitchen. The more the better!"
Xiao Zhuozi scratched his head: "What does the princess want to do with talcum powder? Is she going to learn how to wrestle?" He imitated the movements of falling, making everyone laugh.
"The secret cannot be revealed!" Xiaoyanzi blinked mysteriously, and said to Mingyue, "Bring me that box of rouge, and find some rouge paper." She took the rouge box, picked up a little rouge with a silver hairpin, and carefully applied it on the rouge paper, her eyes focused and serious.
Ziwei looked at her busy figure and suddenly whispered, "Xiaoyanzi, thank you." The moonlight shone through the window lattice on her face, making her eyes slightly red. "Every time there is danger, you stand in front of me."
Xiaoyanzi paused, then laughed and said, "What nonsense!" She put down the silver hairpin, walked over to Ziwei and patted her shoulder. "We are sisters. Your business is my business. Besides," she leaned close to Ziwei's ear, her voice tinged with laughter, "I'm so good at Qinggong that I can stand firmly even if I fall. But you're different. If you fall, it will be troublesome."
Ziwei was amused by her, and tears rolled down the corners of her eyes, looking like broken stars in the candlelight.
The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to turn pale, Shufangzhai was already bustling with activity. Mingyue and Caixia were dressing the two princesses, while people were rehearsing something on a small table and stool in the courtyard, occasionally emitting cries of "ouch!"
Xiaoyanzi wore an elaborate bright yellow gown, delicately embroidered with auspicious dragon and phoenix patterns at the collar. A heavy phoenix crown adorned her head, causing her to stagger slightly as she walked. "This dress is too heavy!" she complained, spinning around, her skirt spreading on the ground like a blooming flower. "It's heavier than the iron sand gown I wore for training!"
"Good luck to Princess Huanzhu!" A eunuch's shrill voice saluted from outside the door, and then Yongqi and Fu Erkang walked in. Yongqi was wearing a royal blue dragon robe and a bright yellow belt around his waist. When he saw Xiaoyanzi's appearance, his eyes lit up instantly.
"You..." Yongqi was about to say something when Xiaoyanzi glared at him. He had no choice but to change his words, "The clothes fit me well, but you have to be careful when walking." He quietly handed her a small sachet, "There's anti-slip powder in it. If you feel unsteady later, just sprinkle some on it."
Fu Erkang walked up to Ziwei and handed her a jade hairpin. "My mother specially asked me to give this to you. She said jade can calm the mind." He looked at the pearl hairpins on Ziwei's temples, his eyes as gentle as water. "Don't be nervous. I will always be by your side."
Ziwei took the jade hairpin, her fingertips trembling slightly: "Thank you, Erkang." She inserted the jade hairpin into her bun, and it complemented the pearl hairpin beautifully.
Just then, the sound of bells and drums could be heard outside, signaling the coronation ceremony was about to begin. Xiaoyanzi took a deep breath and held out her hand to Ziwei, beads of sweat forming on her palm. "Are you ready?"
Ziwei held her hand and nodded vigorously: "Ready."
The two smiled at each other, their eyes gleaming with determination. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting a golden halo over them, as if draping them with a warm shield against the impending storm. In the shadows of the distant palace, Nanny Li smiled sinisterly, waiting for the show to unfold.
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