Chapter 322 Bidding Farewell to Past Mistakes, Welcoming a Harmonious Future
At the end of May, Xie Yunwen held her thirteenth birthday banquet.
On the day each prince turns thirteen, His Majesty bestows upon him his own Prince's Palace.
Because the Imperial Household Department had begun preparations for Xie Yunwen's palace more than two months in advance, and even expedited the process, his palace—Wenyuan Palace—was completely renovated and ready for its owner to move in ten days before Xie Yunwen's thirteenth birthday.
The two most important birthdays in a prince's life are his coming-of-age ceremony and his thirteenth birthday.
The age of coming of age signifies true adulthood, while thirteen years old represents becoming a young adult and progressing towards adulthood.
According to custom, Xie Yunwen's thirteenth birthday should have been celebrated in a grand manner, but in half a month, Xie Yunwen and Shengsheng will be setting off for the State of Jin.
Sheng Sheng's sixth birthday is on June 16th, just three days before her departure.
Therefore, Xie Yunwen took it upon herself not to hold a grand celebration, but simply invited her family to have a meal together, wanting to save the festivities for Shengsheng's sixth birthday as a farewell party for her and Xie Yunwen.
At first, everyone disagreed, arguing that celebrating Xie Yunwen's birthday and celebrating Shengsheng's birthday were not contradictory.
But Xie Yunwen said, "This is my first real birthday, and I just want to spend it with my family."
Say goodbye to past mistakes and welcome a peaceful tomorrow.
Over the past year, Xie Yunwen bid farewell to her former self who was insecure and timid, and also severed a meaningless family bond.
But more importantly, he gained something better.
From now on, he will actively seek a better future.
These words made it impossible for anyone to bear trying to persuade him further.
So, that afternoon, Sheng Sheng and the others happily came to celebrate Xie Yunwen's birthday with the birthday gifts they had prepared for him.
Besides his siblings, two of Xie Yunwen's friends came to congratulate him.
However, both of them were very perceptive. They came early and discussed scriptures and poems with Xie Yunwen for a while. When the palace servant came to announce their departure, they took their leave, leaving the space to their brothers and sisters.
"Fourth Imperial Brother!"
Sheng Sheng, lifting her skirt, rushed to the front. In the summer, the little dumpling's hairstyle changed to two little pigtails tied with bow headbands. The long blue ribbons on the headbands swayed in the wind as the little dumpling ran.
Xie Yunwen was pushed out in a wheelchair by palace servants. Before she could be seen, her voice could be heard. Even before she appeared, Xie Yunwen could not suppress her smile.
The palace maids led the person to the front yard, where the flowers and plants had just been transplanted from the Imperial Garden and were blooming brilliantly in the warm sunshine.
The palace maid exclaimed, "Your Highness, the flowers are blooming so beautifully, and the weather is lovely today too. It rained for several days in a row, but today the sun has come out. It seems even the heavens knew that today was the day Your Highness was moving into Wenyuan Palace, and specially prepared such good weather!"
Xie Yunwen looked up at the spot where the sunlight shone and smiled, "Mm."
Xie Yunwen had only stared at the sun for two seconds when Sheng Sheng's figure appeared, beaming with joy.
Behind them, Xie Yunyang and Xie Yunchuan followed steadily, with Xie Yunchuan occasionally frowning and calling out to Sheng Sheng to slow down.
Further back, the two who still couldn't stand each other were bickering.
He thought, "Today is indeed a good day."
Xie Yunwen waved his hand to dismiss the palace maid: "You may leave."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The palace maid quietly withdrew, thoughtfully leading the other palace servants in the courtyard away as well.
The five siblings were left alone in the front yard. They ran up to Xie Yunwen and cheered, "Happy birthday, Fourth Brother! Happy birthday!"
Xie Yunwen watched her bouncing around with a smile: "Be careful not to sweat if you bounce around like that."
"It's alright, you'll be fine after a rest if you sweat!" Sheng Sheng said with a smile, pulling Xie Yunwen along. "Fourth Brother's new palace is so beautiful! No wonder it's named 'Wenyuan Palace'. As soon as I entered, I felt a strong scholarly atmosphere enveloping my whole body!"
The Wenyuan Hall faces south and is a two-story building made of blue bricks with black tiles and green eaves. It is like a miniature library and perfectly matches Xie Yunwen's temperament. It was specially chosen by Xie Yuxiao.
In the front yard, there is a small pond with a white marble bridge spanning it, and the railings are carved with fish and algae. Behind the house, there is a rockery made of lake stones and a few ancient pines, giving off an understated scholarly atmosphere.
Inside the Wenyuan Hall, dark wooden bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, piled high with classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections, resembling a small forest of books. These were all Xie Yunwen's collections over the years.
On the table lay Xie Yunwen's unfinished poem manuscript, which he had brought from Yuqing Palace.
In Xie Yunqi's words, it was obvious at a glance that it was Xie Yunwen's palace.
"I can't take it anymore, the scholarly atmosphere here is just too strong, I feel like my brain is going to grow!"
Xie Yunwen chuckled: "Sheng Sheng, you're exaggerating."
"Hehe, no exaggeration at all." Sheng Sheng smiled.
"Hmm—" Xie Yunwen said, feigning thought. "It seems Sheng Sheng has grown quite a bit taller in just one day."
"Huh?" Sheng Sheng was momentarily confused, then put her hands on her hips and pretended to be angry. "Well, Fourth Brother, you're really exaggerating!"
Xie Yunwen pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh as she shook her head: "It's not an exaggeration."
"Fourth brother, how could you use Sheng Sheng's words to attack Sheng Sheng? Fourth brother, you've gone astray!" Sheng Sheng hid behind Xie Yunchuan, looking aggrieved. "Brother, please discipline the fourth brother!"
Xie Yunchuan looked at her helplessly: "I think I should take care of you first."
Xie Yunyang laughed as well: "You, do you think we would never dare to lose our temper with you?"
"How could that be? It's clearly because Sheng Sheng is too well-behaved. Of course, the imperial brothers wouldn't be angry with Sheng Sheng."
Sheng Sheng asked Xie Yunqi and Xie Yunjia, who had just finished arguing, "Imperial Sister, Fifth Imperial Brother, is what Sheng Sheng said right?"
"Yes!" Xie Yunqi had no idea whether Shengsheng was asking the right or wrong question, but what her sister said was definitely right!
"My sister is right!"
The group burst into laughter.
After showing off, Sheng Sheng couldn't wait to show Xie Yunwen her gift.
"Fourth brother, hurry up! Guess what gifts everyone has prepared for you? Let's guess Sheng Sheng's first. Friendly hint: Sheng Sheng prepared something that she made herself!"
Several eunuchs came forward carrying trays. The contents of the trays were covered with blue satin, obscuring what they were and revealing only vague outlines.
"Handmade?"
Sheng Sheng was in high spirits, which piqued Xie Yunwen's interest as well.
Xie Yunwen stared intently at the trays, the items on them varying in size and shape.
Xie Yunjia sat down lazily on the stone bench and added, "Then let me give you a friendly reminder: everything Shengsheng sent, inside and out, was made by her own hands. It took her a long time."
"My sister put so much thought into this? What should I do? Compared to her, the gift I gave her seems a bit too casual."
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