The next day, the sky was as dark as spilled ink.
Before dawn, Qin Zhaoyue was ruthlessly dragged out of her warm bed.
At least when they were at the princess's residence, there were Suimo and Moyi ahead of them.
I had to grit my teeth and endure her endless complaints about getting up and the occasional "petty troubles" she would throw at me.
But within this imperial palace, everyone is a member of the royal family; who's going to indulge whom?
Inside the right side hall, the lights were on.
Xiao Jiu stood to the side with her arms crossed, looking like a little adult supervising a construction worker, her face full of disdain.
"Sixth sister, you're so lazy!"
Qin Zhaoyue was too lazy to even lift her eyelids, and slumped on the embroidered stool in front of the dressing table as if she had no bones.
Holding Yingnuo in his arms, he rested his head on her shoulder and dozed off with his eyes closed.
Tao Yao stood behind her, carefully combing her cascading black hair.
She wore a modified half-updo hairstyle, which was both dignified and youthful.
Her hair was not piled up too high, and it was only decorated with a few small and exquisite kingfisher feather and pearl hairpins, and a plain silver hairpin inlaid with white jade was inserted diagonally.
"Your Highness, your hair is done, it's time to put on your makeup."
Now it was Tao Yao's turn to use her body as a cushion to support her mistress while Ying Nuo did her makeup.
The two had learned a craft from Granny Liu in the mansion, but since there was no one to back them up, they were a little nervous.
Seeing this, Xiao Jiu pouted even more.
Yingnuo has skillful hands and moves quickly.
Considering that today is a formal occasion, the makeup should be simple and elegant.
Apply a thin layer of fine pearl powder to your base makeup to even out your skin tone and reveal a natural, healthy glow.
The eyebrows were lightly brushed with a thin layer of black ink, resembling distant mountains shrouded in mist, adding a touch of scholarly elegance.
Then, a very light sandalwood color was blended out at the outer corner of the eye, peach pink was used for blush, and a soft coral color was used for lip gloss.
After combing my hair and putting on makeup, the next step is to change my clothes.
She wore a moon-white cross-collar ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) embroidered with silver magnolia branches, and a light blue cloud-patterned half-sleeved garment over it.
She wore a light apricot-colored palace sash around her waist, from which hung a small, delicate mutton-fat jade pendant.
After getting everything ready, I quickly ate a light breakfast.
The seven imperial heirs, along with their entourage, rode in a grand procession through the palace gates in carriages.
Today is the first examination for the supplementary provincial examination, which is of great significance, hence the ceremony is exceptionally solemn.
The destination was Qingyun Academy, located in the west of the city. At this moment, the entire Wenhua Street where the academy was located had already been placed under martial law by the yamen runners of Jingzhao Prefecture and the Dingjing Street of Wuhoufang.
Just after the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the sky was still as dark as ink.
On both sides of the street, torches burning fiercely formed two leaping fire dragons.
The bluestone path was illuminated by intermittent light and shadow, and the air was filled with the smell of burning pine resin.
Qin Zhaoyue sat in the slightly swaying carriage, completely dazed, her head nodding repeatedly.
At four in the morning, the crabapple blossoms are still awake...
She did sleep, but not enough.
The carriage stopped at the street corner, and we had to walk into the last martial law zone.
As soon as she got out of the car, Qin Zhaoyue was so shocked by the scene before her that she was half-asleep.
Is this... appropriate?
At four in the morning, both ends of Wenhua Street were completely surrounded by Fengjing residents who had rushed over after hearing the news.
A huge crowd of people thronged the area, their whispers blending into a buzzing sound.
The enthusiasm of the onlookers could practically dispel the chill of an autumn morning.
The two junior supervisors from the Department of Ceremonies and the Department of Astronomy, as the highest-ranking officials in charge today, were already waiting in front of the academy.
When the imperial heir arrived, all the officials rushed forward to pay their respects.
Qin Zhaoyue mingled in the crowd and imitated their mannerisms, though her movements were somewhat perfunctory.
The two junior supervisors chatted with the third and fourth princesses who were in charge, and the fifth prince followed behind his two elder sisters in a serious manner, as if he were participating in the affairs.
Qin Zhaoyue, on the other hand, very consciously led the three children and stood at a distance on the other side.
Another day of being forced to be the leader of the kids, Qin Zhaoyue wailed inwardly.
Moreover, this time there was no fun in even swindling small amounts of money, so I had no interest at all.
Her eyes darted around, and her gaze fell on Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba.
"Seventh Brother, Eighth Brother," she said in a low voice, her face serious, "the time has come to test whether you are men or not!"
The two boys immediately straightened up and looked at her nervously: "Sixth Sister, what kind of test is it?"
Qin Zhaoyue arranged for the two people to stand behind her, with their backs to her.
Then, leaning back slightly, he rested steadily on the backs of his two younger brothers.
"Just hold on like this, Sixth Sister, consider it practice for your lower body. A real man has a big butt, you have to have this much responsibility!"
"Okay, Sixth Sister, don't worry, I won't let you fall!"
Xiao Jiu watched in stunned silence, pointing her little finger at Qin Zhaoyue, trembling with anger.
"Sixth sister, you're bullying a child! Don't you have any manners as an older sister?"
Qin Zhaoyue didn't even open her eyes, and mumbled, "Go away, Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba are already martial artists."
"There's no such thing as children among martial artists; they are already upright and strong men."
"Yes!" Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba said in unison, standing even more firmly.
Qin Zhaoyue knew exactly what was going on.
These two little ones have been honing their skills with top-tier royal resources since childhood, and now they have steadily entered the ninth rank.
The royal family is not incapable of forcibly pushing them to the Qi Martial Realm.
But in order to lay a solid foundation and avoid forcing growth, they have been allowed to gradually build up their foundation.
His approach was exactly the same as his elder sister's, who had spent many years honing her skills at the sixth-grade level.
These three little ones in front of us were born after the North and South were at peace and the political situation was stable.
Perhaps the Queen Mother also wanted to enjoy the pleasures of family life, so she raised them to be quite innocent and carefree.
If Xiao Jiu hadn't been "disciplined" by her a few times and developed some pettiness, she wouldn't have been much different from Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba.
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