"Oh? They came from someone else?"
Xiao Qingheng gave a faint smile at that. "Could they be the work of that... talented daughter of Chancellor Li?"
"It's certainly possible!"
Xiao Qingxiu said, "Li Zhiwei has long been known as the Capital City's Greatest Talented Lady. It would make sense if she had written these couplets."
"But to say they came from Jiang Xiaobai..."
Xiao Qingxiu gave a cold snort. "That would be giving him far too much credit."
"The Greatest Talented Lady!"
Xiao Qingheng nodded slightly at the title, then said slowly, "Speaking of her, I heard she's worn a veil since childhood because of a rule on her mother's side of the family?"
"Yes. Apparently, she can only remove it on her wedding day!"
Xiao Qingxiu nodded slightly.
"How interesting!"
Then Xiao Qingheng shook his head regretfully. "Such a beauty, yet Father has betrothed her to Jiang Xiaobai."
"A pity indeed!"
Xiao Qingxiu agreed, though his gaze grew a little colder.
Just as Xiao Qingxiu was about to continue, a puzzled voice sounded beside them. "Cousin, Brother, what are you talking about?"
"What's a pity?"
As she spoke, a figure sat down, her large eyes studying the two of them curiously.
She was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, dressed in a pale yellow palace gown. Her eyes were lively, with a tiny, faint cinnabar-red mole at the outer corner of one eye.
She looked radiant and utterly charming.
"Oh, Your Highness!"
The moment Xiao Qingxiu saw her, he rose.
"No need for formalities, Cousin!"
Xiao Zijing waved a hand, her large eyes curving into crescents.
"Zijing?"
Xiao Qingheng frowned. "What are you doing here, you little rascal?"
"The Imperial Palace is too boring!"
Xiao Zijing smiled with pursed lips. "I heard this place was fun, so I came