Spring flowers and autumn moons, autumn cicadas and winter snow.
Time flew like a shuttle, its passing light so easily lost...
In the blink of an eye, several years had passed, and the princess and prince were now children.
After the empress passed away, the emperor never took another wife or concubine, and so... he had only one son and one daughter!
Yet for some unknown reason...
The princess loved only red dresses, and the prince favored only white robes...
In the Imperial Garden, the white-robed prince exuded a scholarly air as he sat atop a rockery with a book in his hands. Swaying his head as he read, he caught sight of the princess entering the garden in a red dress out of the corner of his eye.
The prince immediately hid in a crevice in the rockery, muttering to himself with a resolute gaze, "She can't see me... she can't see me..."
"Min'an, come out here!" the princess shouted into the Imperial Garden.
Hiding in the crevice, the prince pursed his lips. "Wouldn't I get beaten if I went out? Only a fool would go out!"
The princess's red dress fluttered as her gaze searched all around, but she called, "I've already seen you! If you don't come out, don't blame your big sister for being merciless when I drag you out!"
The prince shuddered violently, seemingly recalling some utterly terrifying scene.
Poking his head out a little, the prince said to the princess with a face full of misery, "Big sister, could you not spank me?"
Only then did the princess spot the prince hiding atop the rockery, his white robes fluttering. She immediately put on a stern face. "No. Hurry down yourself, and I'll go easy on you."
At her words, the prince climbed down from