Princess Anping saw that Hu Xiaotian was still standing in the room and looked somewhat displeased. "Are you staying here to listen to us sisters talk?" she asked softly.
Hu Xiaotian hurriedly took his leave, but before he could get out the door, Princess Anping added, "Wait for me outside. I still have something to ask you afterward."
Heavy snow swirled outside. Although Hu Xiaotian stood beneath the Imperial Medical Academy's covered walkway, sheltered from the falling snow, he was still so cold that he kept stamping his feet.
Princess Anping chatted with Qin Yutong for an hour before coming out. Seeing Hu Xiaotian hopping around the walkway like a monkey, she could not help wanting to laugh. But when she remembered how the fellow had stood her up the night before, making her wait until midnight without ever showing up, her heart hardened at once. She walked slowly up to him. "Eunuch Hu seems full of energy."
Hu Xiaotian stopped hopping when he saw her approach. "In this freezing weather, I'm afraid I'll turn into an icicle if I stand still."
Princess Anping deliberately asked, "Weren't you assigned to serve at Bright Moon Palace? What are you doing at the Imperial Medical Academy?"
Hu Xiaotian sighed. "Don't ask. I said the wrong thing yesterday and angered Lady Wen. She punished me by making me stand in the snow all night, with the junior eunuchs taking turns watching me. Even if I'd wanted to sneak away, I wouldn't have dared. And now she's gone and frozen me sick... achoo..." A cold gust blew past, and Hu Xiaotian actually sneezed, lending his lie all the more credibility.
Seeing him sneeze, Princess Anping could not help worrying. "How are you feeling? Is it serious?"
Seeing no one nearby, Hu Xiaotian lowered his