Chapter 161: The Grand Ceremony is Shocking, Hidden Arrows Are Hard to Guard Against
The white jade railings in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony were still wet with last night's condensation, casting a shimmering light in the morning light like a dusting of diamonds. Little Swallow, holding Ziwei's hand, stood beneath the Danbi. The hem of her bright yellow gown brushed against the white marble steps, making a gentle scraping sound. The phoenix crown on her head, adorned with twelve strings of oriental pearls, dazzled her vision with every step. She couldn't help but mutter, "These beads are heavier than the iron balls I use for martial arts training. If I wear them any longer, my neck will break!"
Ziwei was about to urge her to steady herself when she saw Xiaoyanzi stumble—the third red carpet was indeed slipperier than the others, and her heel spun on it. Gasps echoed around them. Nanny Li, hiding behind the guards, a smug smile playing on her lips. But the next second, Xiaoyanzi, using the momentum of her stumble, spun around, her lilac petticoat sweeping across the red carpet. The flutter of her skirt unleashed a trail of white powder—the talcum powder she had prepared the night before.
"Ouch!" She feigned panic as she grasped Yongqi's arm, her fingertips rapidly tapping three times on the back of his hand—the signal they had agreed upon last night. "Fifth Prince, help! Why does this red carpet look like it's been greased?"
Yongqi supported her, his wide sleeves of his dragon robe covering their clasped hands. He whispered, "Hold steady." The warmth of his palm shone through the brocade, and Xiaoyanzi suddenly felt a burning sensation. As she jerked her hand away, she accidentally dropped the jade pendant from his waist. It clanged on the steps and rolled to Li Ma's feet.
Just as Nanny Li was about to bend down to pick it up, Xiaoyanzi pounced on her like a frightened deer. The pearls on the phoenix corona clattered against the back of her hand. "My dear! This is the Fifth Prince's treasure!" She yelled, stepping on the hem of Nanny Li's skirt. When she picked up the jade pendant, she deliberately rubbed the talcum powder on her palm all over Nanny Li's hand. "Why are you standing here, Nanny Li? Are you trying to help me pick it up?"
The back of Li Ma's hand was hit by the beads and it hurt, and she was almost tripped by them. Looking at her hands covered with white powder, her face turned pale and blue: "Princess Huanzhu, you are joking. I am just passing by." She turned around and wanted to leave, but was grabbed by Xiaoyanzi's sleeve.
"Hey wait!" Xiaoyanzi suddenly leaned close to her, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "Mammy, there's dust on your face." She raised her hand and wiped it across her cheek, accidentally rubbing the rash ointment from the rouge paper onto it. "Look at me, I'm so clumsy."
Ziwei watched with alarm, only to see Qianlong standing at the palace gate, smiling at them with understanding in his eyes. She gathered herself, took Fu Erkang's hand, and stepped forward. Just as she was about to kneel, the empress suddenly said, "Wait." Everyone was stunned. The empress walked over to Ziwei and gently brushed her skirt. "The stitching on this longevity screen looks like the embroidery thread from my palace."
Rong Mama immediately stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, you're mistaken. This was embroidered by Princess Mingzhu through the night. I saw with my own eyes that she used thread from Shufangzhai." As she spoke, she pulled a spool of thread from her sleeve. The color was exactly the same as the one on the longevity screen. "Yesterday, I saw Little Wanzi chasing a cat with this ball of thread."
Nanny Li's face turned pale. Xiaoyanzi, suppressing a laugh, saw Little Wart peeking out from among the guards and secretly making a face at her—they had deliberately let Little Wart "leave" the spool of thread at the entrance of the Queen's palace.
The enthronement ceremony finally completed successfully. During the ancestral worship, Ziwei whispered to the tablet, her voice trembling like a willow leaf in the wind: "Mother, I have found my father... Did you see it in heaven?" Qianlong stood behind her, the hem of his dark court robes drooping on the blue brick floor. Suddenly, he raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder, the warmth of his palm transmitting through the brocade: "Good child, I will be here for you from now on."
Xiaoyanzi stood by the incense table, watching the tears glisten in Ziwei's eyes as she turned. Suddenly, the phoenix corona on her head didn't seem so heavy anymore. She winked furtively at Qianlong, who smiled imperceptibly and thrust a candied fruit into her hand—wrapped in gold foil, it was her favorite plum flavor.
Three days later, a family banquet was held at the Chengrui Pavilion in the Imperial Garden. Four round tables were set up beneath a wisteria trellis. Concubine Ling was peeling lychees for Xiaoyanzi when she suddenly pointed at her collar and laughed, "What's that?" Everyone came closer to see a piece of plain cotton sewn inside the collar of her phoenix robe, embroidered crookedly with a little swallow, a brush pinned to its wing.
"I asked Mingyue to sew it!" Xiaoyanzi opened the collar to show everyone, "Wearing court robes is like being tied up. Embroidering a bird to let you breathe."
Qianlong almost spit out the wine he had just taken a sip of: "Nonsense!" But the smile in his eyes could not be hidden, "Next time, ask the Suzhou embroidery master to embroider a phoenix for you. It's more decent than this little sparrow."
Ziwei covered her mouth and laughed, "The Emperor spoils her." Just as she finished, Fu Erkang came over with a brocade box. Inside was a jade hairpin with a lotus carved on the top. His fingers trembled as he handed it to her. "This is... my mother said that giving a girl a jade hairpin is... to pray for a long-lasting marriage."
Xiaoyanzi immediately started to make a noise: "Oh—long time!" She even deliberately bumped Ziwei's elbow and pushed her towards Erkang. Ziwei's face flushed instantly. When she took the jade hairpin, her fingertips brushed against the back of her hand. She drew back as if she had received an electric shock, but she held the hairpin tightly in her palm.
Yongqi watched and quietly tugged at Xiaoyanzi's sleeve. Moonlight filtered through the wisteria leaves and fell on his face, casting a faint shadow on his eyelashes. "So... what should I give you?"
Little Swallow was about to say no, but he pulled out a cloth bag from his arms. Inside was a wooden swallow with movable wings and a red bean in its mouth. "I spent three nights carving it," he said, his ears reddening. "If you think it's shabby..."
"It's not shabby at all!" Xiaoyanzi snatched it and stuffed it into her arms, fearing that someone else would snatch it away. "It's much better than those gold and jade ones!" She didn't see that Yongqi was looking at her back, quietly picking up the red beans that fell on the ground, and carefully putting them into his sleeve pocket.
When the banquet was over, Xiaoyanzi dragged Ziwei towards Shufangzhai. Just as they turned the corner of the rockery, they ran into Xiaojian. He was wearing a moon-white robe and toying with a jade pendant he had picked up from Qing'er last time. "Brother!" Xiaoyanzi jumped over. "Why are you here?"
Xiao Jian glanced behind them and saw Qing'er following the queen in the opposite direction. He hurriedly stuffed the jade pendant into Xiaoyanzi's hand and said, "Please return it to Qinggege for me and say... thank you for her handkerchief." His ears turned slightly red and he turned to leave, but was stopped by Xiaoyanzi.
"Hey, wait!" Xiaoyanzi pulled a banknote from her sleeve and stuffed it into his hand. "This is the money for Liu Qing and Liu Hong to open the hotel. Please pass it on for me. Just tell them... just tell them to open the hotel quickly. I'm looking forward to the celebration banquet!"
Xiao Jian looked at the amount on the banknote and frowned slightly: "Did you secretly take money from the Fang Mansion again?"
"No way!" Xiaoyanzi stiffened her neck. "This is the royalties I earned from writing fan paintings, and the money I won from the Prince last time I bet on chess!" She was afraid her brother would ask her about it, so she grabbed Ziwei and ran away. After she ran away, she turned back and shouted, "Remember to tell Liuhong that Ertai is a good kid!"
Xiao Jian looked at their backs, shook his head helplessly, and carefully folded the banknote. In the moonlight, he suddenly discovered an embroidered handkerchief stuck in the cracks of the rockery. It was embroidered with bamboo branches in Qing'er's handwriting.
Seven days later, the guesthouse opened, and the sound of firecrackers startled the sparrows from the entire street. Liu Qing, wearing his newly made royal blue gown, stood under the plaque that read "Binlou" and bowed, only to be pushed to Jinsuo's side by Xiaoyanzi. "Brother Liu, you're standing here like a door god. Go serve tea to Miss Jin!"
Jinsuo came over with a tea tray, his face as red as the cherries on the plate. Just as he was about to pass the cup, Liu Qing raised his hand to hold it in place. There were thin calluses on his palms, the result of years of martial arts training. "Jinsuo," he took a deep breath, "after the guesthouse is stable, I... I'll ask Matchmaker Liu to go to your house to propose marriage."
Xiaoyanzi immediately clapped her hands, "Great!" She turned around and shouted to Liu Hong, "Look how promising your brother is!"
Liu Hong was being pestered by Ertai, with a string of candied haws stuffed into her hand. She squinted her eyes in pain, "Don't follow me!" But the corners of her mouth were raised, and she didn't really push him away. Ertai smiled foolishly, "You look good when you eat sour food, it's sweeter than candied haws."
Xiao Jian stood by the second-floor window, watching the bustling scene below, when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. Qing'er walked in, carrying a food box. A white jade hairpin, the one he had returned, was tucked into her hair. "I made some almond pastries for everyone to try."
When he took the lunch box, he touched her fingertips, and they both pulled their hands back as if burned. The sunlight slanted in from the window, stretching their shadows very long, overlapping on the blue brick floor, like an unfinished painting.
As dusk fell, Xiaoyanzi lay on the beauty's backrest in Shufangzhai, watching Xiaodeng tell a story. Xiaodeng stood in the middle of the yard, waving a broken fan in his hand: "It is said that Sun Wukong jumped out of the alchemy furnace, his eyes shining with golden light, and kicked over Laojun's Bagua furnace--"
"Wow!" Little Mosquito suddenly popped out, holding a skewer of roasted sweet potatoes. "The fire in the stove fell down and turned into roasted sweet potatoes! They smell so good!"
Everyone was roaring with laughter when Xiaoyanzi suddenly spotted a young eunuch sneaking around in the corner, clutching a cloth bag. It was Xiaoluzi, who worked beside Nanny Li. She quietly winked at the small table and continued listening to the storyteller on the small stool, her foot quietly hooked onto the watering can next to her.
Just as Xiao Luzi was about to slip away, he was deliberately bumped into by the small table. The cloth bag in his hand fell to the ground, and some silk threads with crooked stitches rolled out - the color was exactly the same as the one on the longevity screen.
"What is this?" Xiaoyanzi suddenly walked over with a smile, and gently crushed the silk thread with her toes. "Eunuch Xiaoluzi, what are you doing with these rags?"
Xiao Luzi was so frightened that his face turned pale and he fell to his knees, "Princess, spare me! It was Madam Li...it was Madam Li who told me to put these threads into Princess Ziwei's embroidery basket!"
The moonlight was suddenly obscured by dark clouds, and the laughter in Shufangzhai abruptly stopped. Xiaoyanzi looked at the silk threads on the ground, the smile in her eyes slowly fading, and she clenched her fists - it seemed that the peaceful days in the palace had not yet truly begun.
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