Volume Two, Chapter 1

"Judging from the meaning of these awful words and phrases, it must be correct."

"... Why wasn't she selected?" he asked, somewhat unwillingly.

"How can such a perfunctory picture book be acceptable...?"

"Xiaojing, don't give me those high-sounding words, tell me the truth."

"..." Li Chenjing remained silent for a moment before answering, "Her father's rank is not high enough, his position in the court is not high, and her family has no influence."

He took a deep breath and sighed with relief, "So it seems she really isn't suitable for me at all. At least... not right now."

"..."

"Alright, let's go. Go back and cherish the woman the Prime Minister carefully selected for me." He turned to leave.

"Your Highness," Li Chenjing called out to him.

"Hmm?" He turned around.

"Have you found the inspiration for the next line?"

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"If you don't mind, would you be willing to give it a try?"

"Who gave you permission to stick this outrageous cliché on the door! Go and tear it down right now!"

"I was wise enough to stick it on the back door. Alright, alright, Old Man, I'll go tear it down."

Chased by her Old Man with a whip, Zhu Furu opened the back door. She tiptoed to tear off the strip of paper pasted on the door, but her toes brushed against a scroll. Suspicious, she crouched down, picked it up, and unfurled it—

"Huh? Isn't this my Imperial Consort Selection Album concubines? How did it end up here...? Do they only return the albums of unsuccessful candidates? And they even return them through the back door, ugh! Ugh! That wretched artist, they really made me look so ugly! Are my dark circles really that bad?!" She muttered to herself, touching her eyes and muttering, "Looks like I'll have to cut back on staying up late to study in the future."

"Hiss--He doesn't seem so annoying after all. Does this emperor even have any taste? Even if he didn't choose me, he could at least have ranked me higher. Getting a score in the 200s is so embarrassing... Doesn't he consider a young lady's feelings at all...?"

Holding the painting, she angrily slammed the back door shut, and Zhu Xiaojiu emerged from behind her.

"Even the paintings were returned?" He laughed gleefully.

"Hmph. Mind your own business."

"By the way, what about that little question you left behind?" Zhu Xiaojiu casually took the scroll from her hand.

"Huh? Sigh, I failed the exam. There's no way the emperor would have time to care about my stupid question. I guess I'm not exactly a learned person anyway. I might as well not marry her!"

On the day of the painting session, the painter asked the women to simply write some ancient poems or verses to demonstrate their skills. But even if it was the emperor choosing a concubine, it was still a matter of marriage. No one wanted to marry a husband they didn't like, who didn't share their ideals, and whom they disliked. If she were chosen to marry into the palace, she would want to see if her future husband could handle her literary tricks. What if he was just a power-hungry, scheming man with no interest in literature and art, and they couldn't even exchange a few words? Wouldn't she be destined to be a resentful woman for the rest of her life?

She didn't want to be someone who was constantly being picked over and judged. In a moment of infatuation, she casually left a test question.

Now it's all settled, there's no match to be found, it's back in her hands, no problem, she can find a match herself!

"Wow, someone has already finished your line." Zhu Xiaojiu unfurled the scroll and praised it.

"What?" She snatched the scroll from Xiaojiu's hand and stared straight at the extra line of delicate handwriting.

Green reeds and red ripples accompany the spring breeze; orioles sing and carp leap red.

I only met you when spring was in full bloom, but you were no longer there when I turned around.

The writing was gentle yet powerful, elegant and refined, simply and neatly connecting to her following lines. In an instant, she was drawn into the poetic charm within.

Looking back, it's not within the gate...

Hey, I've only just met you, and I haven't even thought about whether we'll be together, but... unfortunately, you're not someone I can take care of right now. Even those in positions of power have things they can't do, and the more ordinary the thing, the less I can do it.

She flung open her back door, and a warm spring breeze rushed in. A shower of pink petals from her own peach orchard filled her vision. A magnificent Carriage swept past on the street ahead, and someone lifted the curtain, seemingly spying on her from behind it...

Horse hooves splashed up flower petals as it galloped toward the palace gate.

She stood there blankly at the back door for a long, long time.

Having read so many cheesy and mediocre novels, it seemed that for the first time she truly experienced the bittersweet feelings of a young girl.

Looking at that line of small print, I felt a little tempted.

Was the subtle regret in his words directed at her?

With a slight smile, she held the picture book and said, "I didn't expect His Your Majesty to be so interesting."

I wish I had the chance to meet someone who could write such words.

I only met you when spring was in full bloom, but you were no longer there when I turned around.

But what if we meet again someday?

End of extra chapter

Author's Note:

=.= After finishing posting the extra chapters, I saw some complaints, haha, so I've decided to post one more chapter today! Volume Two begins~~~

Chapter 43, Volume Two, Chapter One

It was another scorching hot day.

Having missed the best time to return the Ministry of Works' Seal to His Your Majesty, Zhu Bafu was at a loss with this hot potato and could only continue to work hard moving bricks on the construction site.

Her fingers, once so adept at writing, were now covered in red scratches. Several times, as she drifted off into a daze due to backache and aching muscles, a stone brick fell and struck her foot. The throbbing pain pulled her from her reverie, and only then did she realize that her relationship with the Young Master was completely over. No one would ever again hold her hand to their lips, resentfully blaming her for not taking better care of herself, nor would anyone ever pull her into their arms before the stone brick hit her foot.