Chapter 180: Morning Light Reveals the Flaw, Building a Fence Together
It was barely dawn, and dewdrops still clung to the petals of the crabapple trees in Shufangzhai, glittering like broken diamonds. Little Swallow, draped in a moon-white coat, tiptoed in the courtyard, practicing swordplay. The turquoise tassel of her sword traced brisk arcs in the morning light. As she sheathed her sword with a swish, the wind whipped off a few petals, sending them drifting through her hair.
"Practicing so early?" Yongqi's voice came from the Moon Gate. He was holding a food box, his blue-gray uniform stained with morning dew. "I just begged for some Jiangnan snacks from the imperial kitchen. They're still warm." Xiaoyanzi's eyes lit up, and she ran over without even putting down her sword. She put her nose to the food box and sniffed, "It's osmanthus cake! I knew you understood me the best." She reached out to take it, but Yongqi gently patted her hand, "Wash your hands first. They're sweaty from practicing sword."
Xiaoyanzi stuck out her tongue and went to wash her hands obediently. When she came back with a piece of osmanthus cake in her mouth, she said vaguely: "Look at my sword tassel. It always felt heavy when I was practicing sword yesterday. Did someone tamper with it?" She put the sword tassel in front of Yongqi. The red silk thread on the tassel looked normal, but it was a little harder than usual, and there was some imperceptible gray-black powder on the end.
Yongqi's brow furrowed immediately, and he picked up a little powder and sniffed it, his expression changing slightly. "This powder has a faint almond scent, like..." He hadn't finished his words when Ziwei emerged, leaning against the doorframe. Her face was pale, and she clutched an embroidery frame tightly. "Sister, what's wrong?" Xiaoyanzi hurried over and saw that a few strands of gold thread had inexplicably snapped at the corners of the longevity screen in Ziwei's hands, the broken edges shimmering a faint black hue.
"I was just tidying up the longevity screen and found that the thread here is broken in several places." Ziwei's voice was filled with worry, and her fingertips gently brushed over the broken ends. "It was clearly fine when I put it away last night. How could it be..." Erkang also arrived at this time. Seeing this, he immediately stepped forward to check. He pinched a broken thread with his fingertips and examined it carefully in the morning light. "This thread looks like it has been corroded by something, and the texture has become brittle."
Xiaoyanzi's heart sank suddenly. Thinking of the pomegranate-red figure on the street corner yesterday, and looking at the powder on the sword tassel, her eyes instantly turned cold. "Someone must be behind this! First the sword tassel, now the longevity screen, it's clearly coming for us!" She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. "The Empress Dowager's birthday is coming up soon, and they dared to tamper with the longevity screen? What are they planning?"
"Don't be impulsive." Yongqi held her shoulder, the warmth of his palm calming her down a bit. "Making a fuss now will only make things easier for the other party. Let's first find out who did this, and then find a way to deal with it." Erkang nodded in agreement. "Yongqi is right. The most urgent thing is to repair the longevity screen. We can't delay celebrating the empress dowager's birthday."
Ziwei bit her lip, her eyes slightly red. "But the gold thread is broken strangely. If something goes wrong on your birthday..." Xiaoyanzi immediately took her hand and said firmly, "I'm here, and I won't let you suffer any injustice! Let's re-embroider the broken part and add a few more layers of gold thread to cover the mark." She turned to Mingyue and said, "Go get the best gold thread and boil a basin of water. I want to help you myself."
Just as they were busy, Little Stool came running in, holding a copy of Journey to the West. Little Mosquito followed behind, holding a newly woven straw butterfly in his hand. "Good morning, ladies! Little Table said he's going to teach you somersaults today—" Before he could finish his words, he noticed the atmosphere was off, so Little Stool quickly swallowed his words back, scratching his head and asking, "Did something happen?"
Little Swallow didn't hide it from them. She pointed at the broken silk thread on the longevity screen and said, "Someone has tampered with it. They want to embarrass us in front of the Queen Mother." Little Mosquito was immediately furious: "Who is so blind as to dare to act so wildly in Shufangzhai? Look, I, Little Mosquito, will scold him with my jingle until he loses his mind!" Little Stool was also anxious: "Should we tell the Emperor? Even Sun Wukong asked Guanyin Bodhisattva for help when he encountered a demon!"
"No need to alarm the Emperor." Little Swallow waved her hand, picking up a piece of golden thread and threading it through the eye of a needle. "We can handle this little problem ourselves. Little Stool, go to the Imperial Garden and keep an eye on the crabapple tree in the West Palace to see who's hanging around there. Little Mosquito, ask the people in the kitchen if there are any unfamiliar palace maids or eunuchs hanging around Shufangzhai lately." The two immediately obeyed, with Little Mosquito shouting, "Mission guaranteed! Go on, bang, bang! We'll definitely find the troublemaker!"
Ziwei sat at the embroidery frame by the window, mending a broken thread. Xiaoyanzi passed it to her. Sunlight filtered through the window lattice, casting a warm golden edge on them. "Look at this peony! It's even more vibrant now that it's mended," Xiaoyanzi said with a smile, her fingertips brushing the golden thread on the petals. "Like a flower after rain, it's more vibrant." Ziwei looked up at her, the worry in her eyes fading. "With you here, even the most difficult things can be made simple."
Erkang stood by, grinding ink, his gaze occasionally grazing upon Ziwei's focused profile. Seeing she was tired from embroidering, he offered her a cup of warm almond tea: "Take a break before continuing. This won't cost you a moment." Ziwei took the teacup, her fingertips touching his hand. Both of them blushed, like clouds stained by the morning light. In the courtyard, Yongqi inspected Xiaoyanzi's sword, carefully wiping the powder off the tassel with a handkerchief. His brow furrowed as he whispered to Guard Wu: "Add two more groups of men to guard the perimeter of Shufangzhai, especially toward the embroidery room and the kitchenette. Don't let a single fly escape."
Around noon, Little Stool and Little Mosquito returned. Little Stool panted and said, "Princess, under the crabapple tree in the west mansion of the Imperial Garden, Madam Li from the Chuxiu Palace is often seen wandering around with a young maid, embroidery frame in hand!" Little Mosquito continued, "Madam Zhang from the kitchen said that yesterday a strange maid came to borrow needlework, claiming to be from the Chuxiu Palace, and even asked how far along Princess Ziwei was in embroidering her birthday screen!"
Xiaoyanzi twisted the golden thread in her hand, her eyes gleaming like fire. "It's her!" She turned to Yongqi and Erkang, a smile playing on her lips. "Since they want to play, let's play with them. But first, we have to repair the longevity screen so that it's watertight and they can't find any fault with it."
Ziwei put down her embroidery needle and whispered, "I'll put the longevity screen away and lock it in the camphorwood box. No one is allowed to touch it except us." Erkang nodded immediately and said, "I'll go get a new lock. You'll keep the key yourself." Yongqi gripped Xiaoyanzi's sword tightly and said, "I'll take your sword and ask the Ministry of Works to re-attach a tassel of pure gold. Let's see who can tamper with it."
The afternoon sun was warm, and the sweet aroma of osmanthus cake and the faint scent of ink wafted through Shufangzhai. Little Swallow lay on the table, watching Yongqi write. He wrote the word "tongxin" (meaning "together" in Chinese), his brush strokes powerful and vibrant, the ink smearing across the rice paper, as if connecting their hearts. Ziwei and Erkang were sorting through a collection of poems, occasionally chatting and laughing softly, their voices as gentle as a feather brushing against the heart. Little Stool was recounting the story of Sun Wukong's three battles with the White Bone Demon, while Little Bug squatted on the ground, imitating Zhu Bajie's huffing and puffing, making everyone laugh.
Meanwhile, in the shadows of Chuxiu Palace, Nanny Li knelt on the ground and replied, "Your Majesty, there must be something wrong with the birthday screen. I saw Princess Ziwei looking unhappy this morning, so I think she's discovered it." Concubine Gao sat in front of the mirror, looking at her gloomy face in the bronze mirror, and sneered, "So what if they discovered it? As long as they make a fool of themselves in public on their birthday, they won't be able to defend themselves!" She picked up a golden hairpin and scratched the mirror with the tip, leaving a thin mark. "I want to see how long these pearls and jade brilliance can last."
The crabapple blossoms in Shufangzhai swayed gently in the breeze, casting shadows on the window paper like a flowing painting. Little Swallow, observing the warmth filling the room, knew that the palace's hidden arrows never ceased, but as long as she had her sister by her side, her lover by her side, and these sincere companions, no matter how dark the gloom, it could not obscure the sunshine. She picked up the two characters "同心" written by Yongqi and gently stroked them with her fingertips, a determined light in her eyes—in the future, united as sisters, they would surely overcome all obstacles.
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