June was already sweltering, and even a little movement left people drenched in sweat.
Princess Wenshu was the Late Emperor's thirty-third daughter. Her birth was not particularly distinguished; her mother had been only a low-ranking lady of talent in his harem.
But she never coveted what she could not have. She had been only twelve or thirteen when Lang Ling and the others fought for the throne. Later, she chose a good-looking scholar who had failed the imperial examination as her Princess Consort.
Over the years, she and her Princess Consort had lived quiet, uneventful lives. Her favorite pastime was hosting flower-viewing banquets at her Princess's Residence when the Chinese roses were in full bloom.
Everyone generally understood these banquets to be matchmaking gatherings.
Yin Xing brought out three outfits sent by the princess consort for the commandery princess to choose from. Before coming here, Wenren Luoshui had always believed she had no trouble making decisions.
But after coming here, every time the servants stood before her with a whole array of trays, Wenren Luoshui felt a headache coming on.
"Dear Yin Xing, could you please pick out a matching outfit and jewelry for your commandery princess?"
Holding a little white tiger, Wenren Luoshui wheedled at Yin Xing.
Yin Xing shook her head helplessly at her mistress, looking utterly resigned.
"Commandery Princess, would you prefer a light color today, or..."
"A light color."
"Then let's go with this one."
Yin Xing held a pale jade-colored outfit. With someone else making the decision for her, Wenren Luoshui naturally nodded in happy agreement.
After a great deal of fussing, Wenren Luoshui was finally ready to accompany her mother to the banquet.
Wenren Qingluo would be going with them this time, too. Unable to bear leaving his new friends behind, he insisted on bringing Big Yellow, Little White and Second White along.
Little White and Second White were manageable. They were still tiger cubs.
But Big Yellow was a fully grown tiger. If they really brought Big Yellow to the flower-viewing banquet, there would be no holding the banquet at all.
One appearance from Big Yellow would send today's guests scurrying away with their hands over their heads.
After some negotiation, Wenren Qingluo had to abandon his plan to ride Big Yellow to the flower-viewing banquet.
But he insisted on bringing the two little white tigers. Wenren Luoshui told him he had to keep a close eye on them. If he got carried away playing and lost the Tiger Cub, she would not help him find it.
The little sprout solemnly promised his sister, like a miniature adult, that he would watch the two tiger cubs carefully.
Chinese roses of every color vied for beauty in the picturesque garden.
Wenren Luoshui and her little brother appeared at the banquet, each carrying a white tiger cub.
Although the people around them continued talking to their companions after seeing the siblings, Wenren Luoshui kept feeling that they were secretly sizing her up.
"Look, look! Commandery Princess Luoshui is here."
"I heard Commandery Princess Luoshui knows all sorts of gossip nobody else knows. Do you think we'll get to hear any firsthand today?"
"Where does Commandery Princess Luoshui get all that gossip, anyway?"
"No idea."
"Keep your voices down. If Commandery Princess Luoshui finds out we can hear her thoughts, you might incur His Majesty's wrath."
At that reminder, everyone who had been quietly discussing Commandery Princess Luoshui immediately changed the subject.
Enjoying gossip was one thing.
Dragging their entire families down with them just to discuss gossip would hardly be worth it.
The Eldest Princess, the Seventh Princess, and Yunjian had all come to today's banquet.
The three of them had arrived before Wenren Luoshui and were already sitting together. When Yunjian spotted her, she beckoned her over.
"Wow! What adorable little tigers! Luoshui, are these the ones you caught in the mountains?"
Seeing the cubs in the Wenren siblings' arms, the Seventh Princess wanted to pet one but feared being bitten.
Wenren Luoshui tucked the Tiger Cub into the Seventh Princess's arms. Carrying it all the way here had left her arms aching.
The little tiger cub was sleeping so soundly that being deposited in a stranger's arms did not wake it.
Seeing how docile the Tiger Cub was, the Seventh Princess immediately settled it on her lap, patting its head now and then with her small hand.
Once Wenren Qingluo sat down, he began eating nonstop, stuffing his little mouth until his cheeks bulged.
These past few days, Yunjian had spent every spare moment studying rice. She often visited the nearby fields to examine the environment and water quality herself.
As a result, her once-fair cheeks had tanned a shade darker.
Wenren Luoshui had assumed today's gossip would concern outsiders. She had never expected the first juicy tidbit to involve a friend sitting right beside her.
The four girls and one little sprout sat chatting in a somewhat secluded pavilion.
A lavishly dressed lady approached them. At the sight of the Eldest Princess and the Seventh Princess, she smiled like a fox that had stolen a taste of something forbidden.
Commandery Princess Nanyi's mother was Grand Princess Wenhua. In terms of seniority within the family, Grand Princess Wenhua was the current emperor's paternal aunt.
Commandery Princess Nanyi and Princess Wenshu, who was hosting today's flower-viewing banquet, were cousins.
By family seniority, the Seventh Princess and the Eldest Princess had to address Commandery Princess Nanyi as their aunt.
[Salty Fish System: Host, there's some juicy gossip to enjoy!]
[Open it and take a look.]
They had barely sat back down after greeting Commandery Princess Nanyi when they heard Luoshui's thoughts.
The Seventh Princess and the Eldest Princess exchanged a glance, then listened in without betraying a thing.
Since the gossip notification had sounded only after Commandery Princess Nanyi approached, this tidbit presumably had something to do with her.
[Melon-Eating System: Host, do you know why Commandery Princess Nanyi made a special point of coming over to greet the two princesses today?]
[Yunjian: They're related by blood. Surely there's nothing wrong with coming over to say hello when she sees them at a banquet?]
[Melon-Eating System: Child, you're still far too innocent.]
The system spoke in the tone of an elder. But it was not a system that could keep anything bottled up, and the next moment, it began spilling the beans.
[Melon-Eating System: Commandery Princess Nanyi's youngest son has long since reached marriageable age. But...]
At this point, the Seventh Princess and the Eldest Princess had already worked out roughly why Commandery Princess Nanyi had approached them.
Commandery Princess Nanyi's youngest son was nineteen this year and had been raised to be terribly spoiled.
Commandery Princess Nanyi had arranged four engagements for him, and he had ruined every one himself.
Now, whenever any family of decent standing in the Capital City heard that their prospective match was Commandery Princess Nanyi's youngest son, they turned around and left.
The last time they had visited their mother's palace, they had heard their mother and three other consorts arguing with their father.
They had declared that if their father dared marry a princess to Commandery Princess Nanyi's youngest son, they would all move out of the imperial palace and spend the rest of their lives in a nunnery.
It seemed Commandery Princess Nanyi had failed to get a satisfactory answer from their father last time and now wanted to come here to hoodwink the two princesses.
It did not matter which one. As long as she could fool someone into agreeing to marry her son,
Commandery Princess Nanyi would come out ahead!
The more the Seventh Princess thought about it, the angrier she became, until a dark aura seemed to radiate from her entire body.
Only after the Eldest Princess gave her a light knock on the head did she rein in her temper.
[Salty Fish System: In modern terms, this youngest son of Commandery Princess Nanyi is a mama's boy. He's always going on about what his mother said. The four young ladies previously engaged to him went out to meet him according to custom, and whenever they spent time together, every sentence he spoke began with "My mother says."] [The young ladies asked whether he had even a single thought of his own. Instead, he took that question as disrespect toward his mother. Not only did he verbally humiliate them, but he also ordered the guards accompanying him to beat them with rods in public. All four of his previous engagements ended this way.]