Two years
In midsummer, Princess Taiping held a party in her villa.
Xiao Wan'er sat in a small room in the corner of the courtyard, eating crispy noodles while looking at the flowers in the yard.
"I was wondering why I couldn't find Sister Xiao anywhere. Turns out she's been hiding out here all by herself, eating some sweet rice!" Suddenly, someone walked into the little room, wanting to invite her out to play. It was Shangguan Wan'er. "It's such a beautiful time of year. Why stay in this corner all by yourself? Come and enjoy the garden with everyone else."
Over the past two years, Xiao Wan'er and Shangguan Wan'er had been in frequent contact, and their relationship had grown increasingly close. Even Shangguan Wan'er was the guest of honor at Xiao Wan'er's coming-of-age ceremony. Seeing Shangguan Wan'er's invitation, Xiao Wan'er quickened her eating pace and quickly finished her Sushan.
"I didn't expect to see my sister leaving the palace today."
"Because it was a party held by the Taiping Palace, His Majesty let me out." As the two talked, Shangguan Wan'er took Xiao Wan'er to where Princess Taiping was.
"Look, the two most dazzling Wan'er in our Great Zhou are here together." As soon as the two entered the room, they heard Princess Taiping's slightly proud words.
Princess Taiping looked very much like the Empress, but compared to the Empress who had fought her way to the top, she, who had enjoyed wealth and splendor since childhood, was less murderous and more wanton. Seeing the two Wan'ers about to salute her, she immediately raised her hand to stop them.
"We are all out for fun, so there is no need to talk about these etiquettes."
The princess was always surrounded by other ladies, especially since she was the only princess of the Empress. Even those ladies from families that adhered to the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues had to suppress their inner dissatisfaction and force out fawning smiles for Princess Taiping.
But they had a different attitude toward public-facing female officials like Shangguan Wan'er and Xiao Wan'er. Xiao Wan'er, having just reached the age of marriage, sat among the young ladies. As soon as she sat down, the young ladies around her shifted their positions without a trace of concealment. When Xiao Wan'er looked at her, she, too, made no secret of her disdain.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and Princess Taiping's face also turned cold.
"Does this Madam Lu have any grievances with my guest? Why don't you talk about it and I'll mediate."
As everyone knows, one of them is a court official and the other is a young lady from seclusion. They rarely see each other, so how could they have a conflict?
Mrs. Lu, who had originally hoped to get away with it, immediately apologized.
"I have not taught my daughter well. I beg the princess to forgive me." The princess did not let her get up, so she did not even dare to move. During the long silence, her legs began to tremble.
"Get up," Princess Taiping said listlessly, "you can go and have fun by yourselves. I will chat with my own guests."
After the princess spoke, the other ladies did not dare to stay any longer and all filed out with their heads lowered.
After all the officials and their wives had left, Shangguan Wan'er slumped down on the mat in an extremely unsightly but very comfortable posture, and Princess Taiping also completely withdrew her aura.
"I just love to see them dislike me yet have to please me, just like watching an actor," Princess Taiping said, holding up a bowl of sugar water. "What do you think, Vice Captain Xiao?"
"When I was young, my mother once said that since Your Majesty gradually ascended to power, the status of women has also gradually improved. These ladies enjoy the benefits brought to them by the Queen, but they are dissatisfied with Your Highness and openly dislike their disgust for the Queen's confidants. It is clear that they are a group of ungrateful people."
"Hahaha!" Princess Taiping laughed happily. "I love to hear what you say! They are just a bunch of idiots who have been brainwashed by the Three Obediences and Four Virtues!"
At this time, Shangguan Wan'er brought three cups of tea. Xiao Wan'er said "Thank you, Sister Shangguan" and took the cup next to her. As a result, she almost spit out the tea because of its bitterness.
Seeing Xiao Wan'er grimacing in pain, Shangguan Wan'er smiled happily.
"Sister Shangguan!"
"Your Highness and Sister Xiao, calm down. We'll be watching those idiots play polo with our ladies-in-waiting soon," Shangguan Wan'er reminded with a smile. "The ladies-in-waiting in the palace are generally from humble backgrounds or even commoners, and aren't very good at polo. I wonder if Sister Xiao could step down and lend them a hand?"
After the empress ascended the throne, she trained a number of female officials, who resided within the palace and assisted her in reviewing memorials. While women from aristocratic families looked down upon these positions, women from humbler backgrounds were eager to capitalize on them. Even some palace maids from commoner backgrounds took advantage of these opportunities to learn calligraphy and eventually become female officials. When Shangguan Wan'er invited her to compete on their team, Xiao Wan'er gladly accepted.
"Sister, how can I refuse your kind invitation?"
As expected, Xiao Wan'er was questioned when she appeared on the polo field wearing riding clothes.
"This competition is between us and the ladies-in-waiting. Why are you joining in the fun?"
"Look at what this lady said. Am I a woman or an official?" Xiao Wan'er left her speechless with just one sentence.
With no objections, the match officially began. While the court ladies weren't as good at polo as the noble ladies, even ten of them couldn't match Xiao Wan'er. From the moment she grabbed the ball, Xiao Wan'er gave her opponent no chance.
"Wan'er, your sister Xiao is truly excellent in every way," Princess Taiping said in front of her friends in the audience, making no secret of her admiration for Xiao Wan'er. "The only pity is that she has such a senior brother."
"Sister Xiao can't decide what kind of disciple her master will accept. Your Highness should just separate her and her senior brother." Shangguan Wan'er said gently.
Princess Taiping picked up a piece of glutinous rice cake on the table. The competition was about to end.
"Xiao Wan'er's senior brother should be back soon, right?"
"Yes," Shangguan Wan'er replied, "Hebei is now stable. Your Majesty will summon Team Geng and his seven divisions back to the Divine Capital soon."
At this time, the competition was over, and Princess Taiping invited the guests to the main hall of the villa for a banquet. Shangguan Wan'er took Xiao Wan'er's arm and smiled as she asked for the right to move around independently.
"Go." Princess Taiping let them leave on their own.
The two returned to the small cottage where Xiao Wan'er had previously dined. The maid from the other courtyard was quick to bring over the banquet dishes, sized for two. After the two finished eating, the maid cleared the tableware and left. Shangguan Wan'er spread out the rice paper and ground the ink, preparing to paint.
The ink-dipped brush danced across the paper, and soon the image of girls riding horses and playing polo came to life. It was the polo match just now. One of the girls, dressed in riding gear, controlled the ball, attempting to hit it in one direction. It was Xiao Wan'er.
Xiao Wan'er sat at the table, watching Shangguan Wan'er finish the painting and write a poem on it. She only rolled it up and handed it to her after the ink had completely dried.
"Here, give it to our girl who performed best at the polo match."
"Thank you, Sister Shangguan!" Xiao Wan'er quickly took the painting, unfolded it again, and couldn't stop looking at it.
After the banquet, Xiao Wan'er immediately asked someone to frame the painting and hang it in her room.
In late summer, Fengming Weigeng's team 7, which had been patrolling Hebei for nearly three years, finally returned to the capital.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant greets you." The first thing Pei Yingguan did after returning to Shendu was to go to the palace to see the empress.
"Get up, you've done a good job over the past two years." The vice-captain of Team Gengqi had been secretly reporting on their situation. The Queen did not keep Pei Yingguan and sent him home directly. "Go back and see your master and fellow apprentices."
So when Xiao Wan'er got off duty, Pei Yingguan had been waiting at home for a long time.
"Brother, you're back!" After over two years, Xiao Wan'er no longer rushed to him as she used to, but instead looked him up and down first. Cultivators who had entered the Dao had a slightly longer lifespan than ordinary people, and the passage of two years had left no trace on Pei Yingguan's face. However, his demeanor had changed significantly, and the resentment that surrounded him had diminished considerably since before his inspection tour of Hebei.
"Senior Brother has changed a lot in the past two years."
"Junior sister too." Pei Yingguan saw that Xiao Wan'er was also stunned for a moment. It took her a few breaths to come back to her senses and respond with a smile.
When he left the capital, Xiao Wan'er was still a child, but now she's matured into a mature woman. Having reached the age of 15, her appearance has fully blossomed, transforming from a pretty doll with thick eyebrows and large eyes into a graceful and elegant beauty. Two and a half years after taking over as captain of Team A-1, her demeanor has become much more composed, and she has developed the powerful aura that can only be cultivated through handling so many important matters.
"Junior sister, can you tell me about the changes in our sect over the past three years?"
Xiao Wan'er began her story by describing Huai Ming's passing. Pei Yingguan remained calm when she mentioned Liu Yun taking over as commander and Yuan Hui as vice-captain. However, his brows furrowed when he mentioned Liu Mingyin.
"Junior brother, haven't you entered the Dao yet?"
Compared to him and Xiao Wan'er, Liu Mingyin's cultivation progress was indeed a bit slow.
"Maybe the opportunity hasn't arrived yet."
Xiao Wan'er was also puzzled by this. While Liu Mingyin wasn't as exceptionally gifted in one area as she and Pei Yingguan, he was quite talented in all areas, and he had been diligently cultivating. This level of progress certainly shouldn't be the case. After much deliberation, Liu Yun and she could only attribute this to a lack of destiny.
After talking about the situation of his master, Pei Yingguan handed a wooden box to Xiao Wan'er.
"My senior brother was not here when you came of age, so this is a make-up gift for you."
"Thank you, senior brother." Xiao Wan'er took the wooden box and opened it only after Pei Yingguan walked into her room.
It was a jade hairpin. Xiao Wan'er put the wooden box away. Liu Yun had just returned, so she dragged Pei Yingguan into a fight. It wasn't until almost twilight hour that Liu Mingyin, having heard that his senior brother had returned to the Divine Capital and gone to the South Market to buy food, returned with some supplies.
Seeing that Liuyun and Pei Yingguan were still fighting, Xiao Wan'er and Liu Mingyin went into the kitchen. After dinner was ready, the two men stopped fighting and ran to the table to eat. The four masters and apprentices sat together for the first time in a long time.
"There shouldn't be any major problems after you come back this time, right?" Liuyun asked Pei Yingguan at the dinner table.
"Nothing happened. I've been in Shendu ever since."
Pei Yingguan responded well, but sometimes things just don't go as planned. The next morning, a scream was heard from Lirenfang in the southeast corner of Shendu.
The Empress had just finished her breakfast when she received the memorial from the Luoyang Order. After reading it, she ordered the palace attendants, "Summon Xiao Wan'er, the captain of the first squadron of the Fengming Guard, to the palace."
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