106. Consort Xian also had
The little prince ran behind Qu Zijin and braced himself with both hands to prevent him from retreating. The little princess took the opportunity to stuff the box into his arms.
Qu Zijin still tried to struggle.
The young prince quickly interjected, "Grand Tutor, please accept it. What if Little Moon cries all the way home from school if you don't?"
"As a teacher..." Qu Zijin persisted, but his tone had softened somewhat.
"Grand Tutor~" the little princess tugged at Qu Zijin's sleeve and said coquettishly, "Look how perfect these gifts are for you!"
Qu Zijin didn't think these golden things suited him well.
"Grand Tutor..." The little boy's voice was already trembling with tears, his little hands tightly gripping Qu Zijin's clothes.
Qu Zijin looked at the three children's expectant eyes, then looked down at the box, and finally sighed, "Never mind, never mind..."
He opened the box and picked out the most inconspicuous jade hairpin: "I'll accept this one, thank you, Princess."
"Mmm!" The little dumpling didn't ask for anything more, and immediately stopped crying and started smiling, nodding its little head like a chick pecking at rice.
Qu Zijin carefully closed the box and handed it back to her.
After some tugging and pulling, the class bell rang, and everyone took their seats.
The little dumpling quietly tugged at the little princess's sleeve and took out another exquisite brocade box from the bottom of the bundle: "Little Cloud, this is for your mother..."
The little princess took the brocade box in surprise: "Does my mother have one too?"
"Yes, because Little Cloud's mother is also very nice!"
The little princess hugged the little dumpling with emotion: "After school, I'll take you to see Mother, okay? She'll be so happy!"
"Okay!"
-
When school was over, the little princess asked the little prince to stay behind and inform Xie Wenling when he arrived.
Then, under the speechless gaze of the little prince, the little princess took the little dumpling's hand and ran towards the virtuous concubine's palace.
"Mother! Mother!" Before even entering the door, the little princess excitedly called out, "Little Moon brought you a gift!"
The little dumpling followed behind shyly, her tiny hands clutching the princess's sleeve tightly, and greeted her softly, "Greetings, Your Majesty..."
Consort Xian stepped forward and gently took the little girl's hand: "Why are you dressed up so beautifully today, Yue'er?"
The little princess eagerly took out the brocade box: "Mother, look! This is a gift from Little Moon!"
Consort Xian paused slightly, took the exquisite brocade box with both hands, and slowly opened the lid. Inside, there lay a complete set of headdress and several exquisite pieces of jewelry.
While they may not be priceless or extremely valuable, they are clearly of the highest quality and have been carefully selected.
Consort Xian gazed at the exquisitely beautiful little dumpling before her, speechless for a moment.
"Mother?" The little princess gently tugged at her mother's sleeve.
"I'm sorry, I was lost in thought..." Consort Xian suddenly felt her eyes getting hot.
In this deep palace, how many years has it been since anyone sincerely gave her a gift?
The requests sent by the servants were nothing more than requests with ulterior motives.
The emperor's gifts were merely routine, and it's highly likely that he himself hadn't even seen them.
Especially after she fell out of favor, Wei Xiuming, out of consideration for the little princess, did not make it public, thus maintaining her status and dignity.
But everyone in the palace is shrewd and adept at changing their tune, and they all noticed something amiss.
Her palace inevitably became deserted, and her treatment was not as good as before.
However, she was content as long as the little princess was still by her side.
However, there are times when I inevitably feel a little lonely.
She thought most people would stay away from her.
But this little girl, who was only three years old, was clearly a very popular person. People around her must have warned her not to get close to her, but she still came happily and presented her with gifts with great anticipation.
It is devoid of utilitarianism and self-interest; it is pure and bright goodwill.
"Does Your Majesty like it?" The little dumpling looked up, her big eyes full of anticipation.
Consort Xian slowly knelt down and gently embraced the little dumpling in her arms.
The child smelled sweetly of candy and milk. Consort Xian gently pressed her face against the child's fluffy, soft hair: "Why did Yue'er think of giving me a gift?"
The little dumpling had no idea what she was thinking. She just tilted her head and said earnestly, "Because Your Majesty is Little Cloud's mother, and Little Cloud likes mud, so Moon likes mud too. And Your Majesty is so gentle, just like Moon's mother, Moon likes..."
Consort Xian's heart melted. She hugged the little dumpling, feeling as if she were her own daughter.
The little princess looked at the two of them, then happily rushed over and hugged them, giving each of them a loud kiss: "Hehe, we really look like a family of three now."
"Huh?" The little dumpling struggled to lift its head, looking a bit confused.
Shouldn't a family of three consist of the father, mother, and baby?
If Consort Xian is the mother, then who is the father?
"You silly child..." Consort Xian glared at the little princess, who then made a face.
Then, changing the subject, she said, “Mother, Little Moon gave me so much jewelry, why don’t you try it on and see!”
Consort Xian nodded with a smile, released the little dumpling, and sat down in front of the dressing table.
She pinned the phoenix hairpin to her hair bun, the tassels swaying gently with her movements, making her appear even more serene and beautiful.
"It looks great!" The little dumpling clapped her hands and cheered.
Consort Xian held the little dumpling on her lap: "Yue'er, help me choose, which pair of earrings would suit me best?"
The little dumpling carefully examined the jewelry box, finally pointing to the pair of black jade earrings: "These! They're just like the Empress's eyes!"
"Alright, I'll listen to Yue'er," Consort Xian said gently, putting on the new earrings.
The little princess watched with sparkling eyes: "Mother looks so beautiful today!"
Consort Xian looked at herself in the bronze mirror and suddenly felt a sense of melancholy.
How long has it been since I dressed myself up like this?
Since entering the palace, she had long been accustomed to being a dignified and composed virtuous concubine. In order not to be impolite, she always had her maids dress her up in the most proper manners day after day.
She had almost forgotten that she used to be a girl who loved beauty, personally drawing her eyebrows and doing her makeup in front of the mirror, spending half a day admiring herself.
"Moon," Consort Xian gently touched the little dumpling's face, "I really like your gift, I really like it."
The little dumpling's eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled, her face full of joy.
Looking at her adorable appearance, Consort Xian suddenly got up and went to the inner room, and soon brought out an exquisite box.
“Come here, Yue’er,” Consort Xian beckoned gently, “I also have a gift for you.”
The little dumpling ran over happily: "For, for Yue'er?"
Consort Xian nodded with a smile and opened the box.
Inside was a pair of exceptionally beautiful bracelets.
“These are a pair of bracelets. I originally intended to give one to Chaoyun when she grew a little older, and let her choose who to give the other to,” Consort Xian put one of the bracelets on the little girl’s wrist. “Now I’m giving one to Yue’er and the other to Chaoyun, hoping it will bless you with peace and happiness.”
The little girl carefully shook her wrist. The bracelet was a bit big, and she had to try her best to spread all five of her little fingers open so that the bracelet wouldn't fall off.
Clearly, this was prepared by Consort Xian for the little princess when she grows up.
But the little dumpling was still very happy: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Yue'er likes it! I will definitely protect it well!"
The little princess eagerly stretched out her little gloves and exclaimed, "Yay! We'll each have one!"
Consort Xian held the little boy's hand in one hand: "I hope your love is as majestic and unbreakable as Mount Tai, and as enduring and never-ending as the Yellow River."
The two little ones couldn't understand, but Consort Xian put their hands together, and they held them tightly.
The little dumpling puffed out its chest: "Don't worry! Moon and Little Cloud will always be best friends!"
The little princess nodded vigorously in agreement: "Yes, yes! Little Cloud and Little Moon will be best friends for life!"
Consort Xian smiled and nodded: "Alright, go have fun."
"Okay," the little princess said, taking the little dumpling's hand. "Let's go play!"
The two little ones held hands and ran outside.
---
Hengji: Men used it to secure their hats, while women used it to tie their hair into a bun, thus establishing a distinction between their functions.
The earliest mention of this practice is found in the "Rites of Zhou": "The headdress of the Queen is in charge of the headdress, including the deputy, the clerk, the second, the 'zhuiheng,' and the 'ji.' It is the headdress of the nine concubines and the noblewomen of both the inner and outer courts, for use in sacrificial ceremonies and when entertaining guests."
(The author really did put in the effort to research.)
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