Chapter 281 The Begonias Have Fallen, and Undercurrents Are Born
Morning dew still clung to the petals of the crabapple blossoms in Prince Rong's mansion, but Little Swallow had already somersaulted through the dew in the open space of the east courtyard. The hem of her aquamarine cheongsam skirt swept across the bluestone, sending up a string of glittering water droplets. As she landed steadily, the silver tassels in her hair still swayed gently.
"Princess, your Qinggong skills are getting better and better!" Little Dengzi came forward, holding a moon-white waistcoat, his eyes wide open. "Just now, I only saw a green light, like a fairy!"
Xiaoyanzi took the waistcoat and put it on, deliberately putting on a stern face: "Stop flattering me. Where's the slingshot I asked you to find for me yesterday?"
"Here it is!" Xiao Zhuozi pulled out a sandalwood slingshot from behind his back, with new tendons wrapped around it. "The prince specially had it polished smooth for you, saying he wanted it to be safe from scratching your hand."
As he spoke, Yongqi came out of the corridor in his dark blue uniform, holding a bowl of freshly brewed Rain-Previous Longjing tea. He looked at the thin layer of sweat on Xiaoyanzi's forehead and frowned slightly. "It's just the beginning of spring, and you're wearing so little. Be careful not to catch a cold."
"It's not cold!" Little Swallow snatched the tea bowl and took a swig, the tea foam sticking to the corners of her mouth. "Look at the fallen crabapple leaves. If I don't practice more, my slingshot will get rusty." She suddenly stood on tiptoe and glanced towards the moon gate in the west. "Nothing's happening over there in the west courtyard, is there?"
Yongqi followed her gaze. A few rose bushes climbed the western courtyard wall, their leaves gleaming with cold dew. He reached out and wiped the tea stains from Xiaoyanzi's mouth. "What's going on? Let's just live our lives steadily."
"Wow, boom! Your Highness is right!" Little Mosquito ran out of the kitchen holding a food box. As soon as the lid was lifted, hot steam wrapped in the sweet aroma of osmanthus cake filled the air. "This is freshly steamed osmanthus cake from the kitchen. Princess, please try it! I put your favorite chopped walnuts in it!"
Just as Xiaoyanzi grabbed a piece, she saw the butler walk in quickly with his head lowered, holding a gilded lacquer box in his hands. "Your Highness, Princess, this was just delivered by the eunuch from the Cining Palace. He said it was a gift from the Empress Dowager."
Yongqi took the lacquer box and opened it. Inside was a white jade statue of Guanyin, the goddess of childbearing, with a note pressed against the lotus seat. He glanced at it, his face darkening, and casually tucked the note into his sleeve.
"Another gift from the Empress Dowager?" Xiaoyanzi leaned over to take a look. Seeing it was a statue of Guanyin, her smile faded a little. "Didn't she give me tonic last month?"
"The Empress Dowager is also hoping for our well-being." Yongqi closed the lacquer box and said to the housekeeper, "Send it to the inner room for display." He turned to Xiaoyanzi and said softly, "Don't think too much. After you finish eating the cake, I'll accompany you to the guesthouse to visit Liu Qing and the others."
Xiaoyanzi bit into her sweet-scented osmanthus cake in silence, her fingertips unconsciously picking at the walnut crumbs on the cake. She caught a glimpse of the edge of a note peeking out from Yongqi's sleeve and knew it must be the Empress Dowager's urging for a child. Over the past six months, the rewards from the Cining Palace had become increasingly thoughtful, from tonics to Buddhist scriptures to the present gift of the Goddess of Childbirth. Each one was like a little hammer, hammering down her heart.
"Princess, look what goodies I've brought you!" Little Bug ran in holding a birdcage. Inside, a lark was chirping. "I caught this outside the city yesterday. Doesn't it chirp?"
"It's bright, but too noisy." Little Swallow took the birdcage and teased the bird inside with her fingers. "Let it go. It's so suffocating staying in the cage."
"Ah?" The little bug's eyes widened. "I spent a lot of effort to catch this..."
"Let him go." Yongqi said, his eyes fixed on Xiaoyanzi's face. "She can't stand seeing this."
Although the little insect was reluctant to leave, he still opened the cage door as he was told. The lark fluttered out of the cage and disappeared into the willow grove outside the courtyard in an instant. The little swallow looked in the direction where the bird disappeared and suddenly smiled, "Look how happy it is! It's much more comfortable than in the palace."
Yongqi held her hand, his palm warm. "After a while, I'll ask the Emperor to let us stay at the Chengde Mountain Resort. The forest there is big, and you can run as much as you want."
"Really?" Xiaoyanzi's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. "But as for Mr. Buddha..."
"I'm here." Yong Qi interrupted her, gently pinching her palm with his fingertips, "Don't let your imagination run wild."
As they were talking, a maid from the west courtyard came over with a food box and bowed politely, "Your Highness, Princess, our concubine stewed some bird's nest and asked me to bring it to you two."
Xiaoyanzi looked at the food box and suddenly remembered the unfamiliar scent of powder on Yongqi's sleeve when he returned last night—a faint fragrance, but not the magnolia scent often found in the East Courtyard. She calmly withdrew her hand, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, and handed it to the maid. "Thank Concubine Concubine for us. Leave the bird's nest. Go back and tell her to rest well and not to worry about us all the time."
The maid took the osmanthus cake, glanced at Yongqi quickly, lowered her head and replied "yes", then turned and went to the west courtyard.
Xiao Dengzi looked at the maid's back and whispered in Xiaoyanzi's ear, "Princess, late last night, I saw the prince coming out of the west courtyard..."
"Shut up." Yong Qi interrupted in a deep voice, his expression somewhat grim. "If you keep talking, you'll be punished by sweeping the stables."
Little Dengzi shrank back in fear and quickly lowered his head. But Little Yanzi acted as if she hadn't heard him. She stuffed the sweet-scented osmanthus cake in her hand into her mouth, her cheeks puffed up, her eyes fixed on the blossomless crabapple tree in the corner of the yard.
The wind blew a few petals across the bluestone slabs. When no one spoke, the East Courtyard was so quiet that you could hear the lark chirping in the distant woods. Yongqi looked at Xiaoyanzi's tense profile, opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he just sighed and turned to walk towards the study.
Little Swallow watched him from behind. Suddenly, she grabbed the slingshot from the table, picked up a small stone, and launched it at the withered branches of the crabapple tree. The stone struck the branch with a thud, shaking off the last few petals. But she seemed unsatisfied and picked up another stone, this time aiming for the rose-covered wall in the west courtyard.
Little Mosquito swallowed, tugged at Little Zhuozi's sleeve, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Guaiguailongdidong, why does this atmosphere sound like it's going to rain?"
Xiao Zhuozi didn't dare to respond, but just quietly retreated two steps into the corridor - he always felt that the slingshot in the princess's hand would fly towards him in the next second.
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