"Little Luoshui~"
After leaving court, Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian returned home, took off their official robes, changed into their usual dresses, and went out shopping.
While they were buying something at a sachet shop, a familiar voice suddenly called out to her.
She followed the voice and spotted five handsome youths sitting at a wonton stall not far away. No, among those five, one was a young woman.
Wenren Luoshui looked them over and realized she knew the four men. They were the three princes who had gone traveling and the Young Marquis of the Anyi Marquis Residence.
Of the emperor's three sons, one was an expert on landscapes, one on carpentry, and one on embroidery.
Their own parents got headaches at the mere sight of them and wished they would stop hovering before their eyes.
So when the three princes went to their imperial father and said they wanted to explore the Li Kingdom's magnificent mountains and rivers, he approved their travel plans at once, without another word.
The mothers of the Three Princes, the Empress, and the two princesses even stuffed their hands with banknotes.
Their mothers wanted these three little menaces to have enough money to stay away longer.
The Empress feared they might starve to death on the road, while the two princesses simply joined in for the fun of it.
They had not disappointed the ladies. Once they left the palace, they stayed away from Capital City for an entire year.
The young man sitting among the three clowns wore black robes. His lovely, peach-blossom eyes were lowered, his lashes like a row of butterflies resting.
Wenren Luoshui suddenly felt someone squeeze her right hand hard. She turned to find Yunjian looking at her with stars in her eyes.
"Who are those four?"
"They're the Second, Third, and Fifth Princes. The other one is the Young Marquis of the Anyi Marquis Residence."
"Is the best-looking one the Young Marquis of the Anyi Marquis Residence?"
Yunjian could hardly have made her intentions more obvious, especially when the two of them had been best friends for two lifetimes.
"Didn't you inherit all the original owner's memories?" I asked her softly.
"But the original owner was a hardcore homebody. Unless she absolutely had to attend a banquet, she barely ever went out. So apart from her own family and the emperor, whom she remembered most clearly, she didn't even remember what her only older sister, Consort Yun in the palace, looked like."
Yunjian was rather helpless. Only after inheriting the original owner's memories had she discovered just how much of a homebody the girl had been.
The moment she laid eyes on the Young Marquis, Sui Yun, she knew he was her crush.
His frame, wrapped in impeccably tailored clothes, looked slim, but the lines of his muscles were beautiful.
"Have you fallen for the Young Marquis of the Anyi Marquis Residence?" Wenren Luoshui leaned toward Yunjian's ear and teased.
"Hehehe, you really do know me best."
Yunjian admitted it openly, without any coyness. Her voice was soft and sweet as maltose, yet not cloying.
"Come on, let's go ask whose girlfriend that girl with them is."
Yunjian nodded eagerly. They went over to the table, exchanged brief greetings, and sat down.
Before either of them could speak, the young woman who had returned with the three princes spoke first.
"You four big brothers, these two big sisters are so beautiful. Unlike me, working in the fields all day. Sigh~ What right do I have to sit with two beautiful sisters who look like fairies from heaven?"
Wenren Luoshui: ...
Yunjian: ...
[Is this woman vintage '82 Dragon Well tea or what?]
[Yunjian: A seasoned green-tea bitch.]
The Second, Third, and Fifth Princes had all been born in the same year and were sixteen this year.
Suddenly hearing voices come out of nowhere, the three youths exchanged looks.
While they were traveling, their seventh sister had written them a letter saying Little Luoshui had become very entertaining lately. But she had refused to explain exactly how, leaving them dangling on the hook.
So this was what she had meant. It certainly was entertaining.
The Third Prince smiled, completely ignoring Xia Shuang's green-tea act, an indulgent smile warming his eyes and brows.
"Little Luoshui, I hear you've become a female official too. How does it feel?"
Wenren Luoshui: ...
We can still be friends if you don't bring that up!
What freeloader would willingly go to work?
"Oh, so this sister is already a female official? You're so amazing! Unlike me. I've worked on the family farm since I was little, without even time to rest, let alone study."
Without waiting for Wenren Luoshui to answer, Xia Shuang jumped in again, her tone steeped in green tea.
She looked like an innocent little rabbit, but the moment she opened her mouth, the tea was strong enough to drown someone.
Wenren Luoshui gave her a cool glance, yet she reacted as though some wild beast had frightened her. Her doe-like eyes immediately reddened, and she shrank behind the Young Marquis, Sui Yun.
"Miss Xia, please conduct yourself with dignity!"
Sui Yun's cool voice rang out, without a trace of sympathy.
Xia Shuang had already looked on the verge of tears. At his chilly words, the dam burst, and tears pattered down without stopping.
Without knowing what had led up to it, anyone seeing Xia Shuang weeping like pear blossoms drenched in rain would have thought everyone present had bullied her.
[Yunjian: Cry, cry, cry. She'll cry away every last bit of good fortune.]
[Hahahahaha, Little Yun-Yun, you've got the makings of a wicked mother-in-law.]
[Yunjian: These days, nobody's reliable. You can only rely on yourself. In other words, screw it!]
Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian happily traded inward jabs, completely oblivious to the looks in the four men's eyes.
All four felt their descriptions of Xia Shuang were remarkably accurate. In truth, they had no idea what was going through her head either.
On their way back to Capital City, they had encountered Xia Shuang selling herself to bury her father. Out of kindness, they had given her some silver. Who knew that the next day she would stick to them like a dog-skin plaster?
No matter how they tried to persuade her, Xia Shuang refused to leave.
They had also sent someone to investigate her background and found that it matched her account exactly.
Now that they had brought her back to Capital City, she had started targeting Luoshui for no apparent reason the moment she saw her.
What kind of person was this?
Xia Shuang could not hear Wenren Luoshui's thoughts and was occupied with quietly shedding tears.
Her features were not particularly striking, but her overall appearance had a pure, innocent air.
She looked at Wenren Luoshui with innocent eyes and spoke timidly.
"If this sister doesn't like me, she can just say so. Why treat me like this?"
[What did I even say?]
Utterly baffled, Wenren Luoshui asked Yunjian inwardly. Apart from greeting the three princes, neither of them had said a single word to Xia Shuang. Why was she trying so hard to make herself the center of attention?
[Yunjian: I think she might have a persecution complex.]
Wenren Luoshui nodded in agreement and addressed the four men at the table with complete sincerity.
"It's bad enough that you went away and didn't bring back a beauty. Why did you bring back trouble instead?"
Second Prince: ...
Third Prince: ...
Fifth Prince: ...
Sui Yun: ...
They hadn't wanted to! This woman had insisted on following them!
They had not even let Xia Shuang ride in their carriage the entire way. Who could have known she would be so persistent?
Where the two women could not see, Xia Shuang lowered her head slightly. Her once gentle, watery gaze now radiated deep resentment.
That hatred twisted her fair little face into a vicious grimace.