Letters

The capital city, the imperial palace.

His Highness the Crown Prince hosted a banquet for his brothers and sisters in the Eastern Palace. Lin'an, the younger sister, arrived early and sat on a chair, swinging her toes under her skirt.

She wasn't wearing a red dress today, but a gorgeous long gown with a purple base and gold trim. She wore a ruby and coral crown with a coral frame, two lifelike golden phoenixes flanking the central ruby, and six tassels strung with pearls hanging down.

In addition, there were gold hairpins and jade hairpins, among other jewelry, making the outfits look gorgeous and exquisite.

Purple was a common fabric used by imperial concubines, highlighting the elegance and nobility of mature women. It was not suitable for young girls, but Lin'an's temperament was too delicate, giving people the feeling of a doll dressed up in finery.

Coupled with her round face and alluring, passionate peach blossom eyes, she is both charming and seductive, yet proud and innocent. She perfectly embodies a blend of various qualities.

Half an hour before lunch, the princes and princesses arrived at the East Palace one after another. Everyone was already used to the magnificent and exquisite beauty of Lin'an.

Of the four princesses, she is probably the only one who suits this kind of attire. If it were any of the other princesses, they probably wouldn't be able to pull off such an overly ornate look.

Huaiqing is beautiful enough, but her temperament doesn't match.

"Has Huaiqing arrived yet?" Lin'an's bright eyes darted around as she gazed curiously towards the door.

"Send a messenger to deliver the message; she will come later." His Highness the Crown Prince said with a smile, then coughed.

"Today is the day the Bureau of Astronomy's secret-recipe chicken essence goes on sale, and some has also been sent to the palace. That's why I invited my younger siblings over to try it."

In fact, a few days earlier, the Bureau of Astronomy had "contributed" a batch of chicken essence to the Imperial Kitchen, and several princes and princesses had enjoyed this irresistible seasoning.

The princes and princesses discussed this popular topic with great interest.

"Speaking of chicken bouillon, the taste is indeed irresistible, but it makes you thirsty."

"Yesterday, my father said that this should not be eaten in large quantities, and that a light diet is the way to maintain good health."

As they spoke, the princes quietly curled their lip, clearly disapproving of Emperor Yuanjing's philosophy of pursuing health and wellness. They thought only middle-aged people, out of necessity, would think of soaking goji berries in a thermos; why should young people need to focus on health?

Lin'an glanced around, then raised her round, fair chin. "Do you know who invented chicken essence?"

At this point, she turns into a slut, acting all bitchy and pretentious.

The princes and princesses really didn't know about this. Only three people in the palace knew about it: the Crown Prince, Huaiqing, and others. If the three of them didn't say anything, no one else would know.

Under persistent questioning from her siblings, Biao Biao raised her chin even higher and said with a smile, "It's Xu Qi'an, my subordinate."

She emphasized the second half of the sentence.

"Xu Qi'an?" The Fourth Prince frowned. "Isn't that someone from Huaiqing?"

The fourth prince was Huaiqing's elder brother.

"He's mine now, and he's sworn to be loyal to me," Biao Biao boasted about her act of poaching Huaiqing's man.

Because in the eyes of her brothers and sisters, she had always been bullied by Huaiqing. Now that she had finally turned the tables, she couldn't stop. The more outstanding Xu Qi'an was, the happier she was, because the greater her sense of accomplishment was.

The princes and princesses chuckled, while the fourth prince frowned secretly, displeased with Lin'an's behavior of stealing his sister's boyfriend.

However, although he was the eldest son born to the Empress and should have had the highest status, the position of Crown Prince was eventually passed to the eldest son born to a concubine, who is now the Crown Prince and Lin'an's elder brother.

At the same time, Emperor Yuanjing treated his other children equally, but he favored Lin'an and did not particularly like Huaiqing. This made the fourth prince increasingly insecure.

My mother said that Huaiqing is strong-willed and domineering, just like my father when he was young, but even more talented. If she were a boy, my father would probably dislike her even more.

Whose side is Xu Qi'an?

Just then, Huaiqing's clear, melodious voice, with its refined quality, came from outside the door, and the eldest princess, dressed in a moon-colored palace dress, arrived.

The princes and princesses clearly saw that Lin'an's arrogant demeanor vanished in an instant. At first, she was Qi Ingestion and seemed ready to fight back, but then she chickened out, puffing out her cheeks and shouting, "Half for each of us!"

Saying the most cowardly things in the most arrogant tone.

Huaiqing let out a "heh".

She knew about Xu Qi'an's manipulative tactics and turned a blind eye mainly because Lin'an was a foolish younger sister who posed no threat whatsoever. Snatching her away was merely a way to spite her.

If it were any other prince who dared to snatch her person like that, Huaiqing would retaliate without mercy, unlike how he merely threatened Lin'an.

Huaiqing walked up to Lin'an, looked down at her, and said indifferently, "Move aside, I want to sit here."

Biao Biao looked up and could only see Huai Qing's eyes, not the lower half of her face, because the annoying few pounds of flesh on Huai Qing's chest blocked her view.

This discouraged her greatly; her older sister was not only more talented than her, but also had a better figure. Apart from the Emperor's favor, she couldn't compare to Huaiqing in anything.

Biao Biao was a delicate girl, and when Huai Qing bullied her like this, she turned her head away in grievance.

There was nothing she could do. She couldn't beat her in a fight, and arguing would be beneath her status as a princess. Besides, Huaiqing was a scholar who never used foul language. She was no match for her.

The Crown Prince coughed and stepped forward to warm things up. "Huaiqing, don't take it to heart by arguing with Lin'an. You're the elder sister."

Huaiqing then let Biao Biao go and stopped bullying his younger sister.

During the meal, the Crown Prince casually asked, "Have you heard about what happened in the Imperial Study today?"

The fourth prince immediately asked, "The warning stele and the Grand Canal transport office?"

The Crown Prince nodded and smiled, "We don't need to interfere in the affairs of the Grand Canal Transport Office; the officials of the court and Father Emperor will decide. But the matter of the admonition stele is truly remarkable."

The fourth prince nodded. "You eat your own food and drink the people's blood and sweat. The common people are easy to oppress, but Heaven is not to be deceived!"

"What a wonderful poem!" Huaiqing's eyes lit up, and her beautiful face radiated joy.

She was always silent while eating and sleeping, but the core of this poem stirred her heart, making her like it even more than "Drunk, unaware that the sky is reflected in the water, a faint fragrance drifts in the twilight."

"What a terrible poem! It has absolutely no artistic conception," the woman thought to herself.

Huaiqing stared at the Fourth Prince and asked, "Who wrote this poem?"

She never paid attention to news from the palace.

The Crown Prince answered on his behalf, "It is Xu Qi'an."

"What a wonderful poem!" Biao Biao slapped the table with her two little hands, praising it loudly.

"That's just his temper." Huaiqing smiled.

"What do you mean it's just his temper? You talk like you know him so well." Biao Biao habitually argues.

Huaiqing initially didn't want to pay attention, but seeing that the princes were all looking at him, he hesitated for a moment and said:

"Xu Qi'an is a man who hates evil as if it were his enemy. He may disregard minor matters, but he will not compromise his principles. He is different from those scholars who only talk a good game."

"Is it about him cutting down the silver gong?" His Highness the Crown Prince asked with a smile.

"I was chatting with Duke Wei the other day, and we talked about this man," Huaiqing glanced at the princes, "Duke Wei said that since Xu Qi'an took office, he has never embezzled a single penny."

"Then what makes you say he's inconsiderate about minor details?" Biao Biao felt that Huai Qing was slandering her beloved dog.

She glared fiercely at Huaiqing.

Princess Huaiqing said, "Xu Qi'an is obsessed with the Imperial Academy of Music and doesn't come home at night. He also has a close relationship with Fuxiang, the most beautiful courtesan in Yingmei Pavilion."

The smile on Biao Biao's face gradually disappeared. Her amorous, peach-blossom eyes widened, and she shouted, "You're talking nonsense!"

She shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice in silence, but the food no longer tasted good. She slammed her chopsticks down and snapped, "I'm not eating anymore!"

She rose, lifted her skirt, and left with her personal maid.

Lin'an left in a huff, but that didn't stop everyone from eating. His Highness the Crown Prince was a little embarrassed, but he smiled and raised his wine cup to let the banquet continue.

After the banquet, Huaiqing returned to her palace, gulped down a large bowl of tea, and then meditated and practiced breathing exercises in her boudoir.

She had recently secretly advanced to the Qi Refining Realm, and the reason she sought out Wei Yuan for a "casual chat" that day was precisely because of this.

Huaiqing was very talented, but she always kept it hidden and didn't show off. However, as she grew older, she felt it was time to appropriately improve her cultivation.

The main issue is that Emperor Yuanjing hasn't mentioned the princesses' marriages at all this year.

The emperor cultivated immortality, and the empress dowager was even more indifferent to worldly affairs. If Emperor Yuanjing didn't mention it, she wouldn't bother with it. The empress dowager had always been like this. As the empress who was the mother of the nation, she was not enthusiastic about her duties and status at all.

"Your Highness, a letter has arrived from the residence, sent from Qingzhou." A guard hurried in.

The "fushang" refers to Huaiqingfu in the imperial city.

Letters from princesses and princes generally did not enter the palace; they were sent to their respective residences.

Princess Huaiqing of Qingzhou, thinking it was a letter from the Layman Ziyang, nodded and said, "Bring it here."

The guard respectfully presented it and took his leave.

Huaiqing unfolded the envelope, and the first sentence read, "When I wrote this letter, I had already arrived at the border of Qingzhou."

Princess Huaiqing learned that the letter was written by Xu Qi'an. The letter was very long, two pages long. She read it intently, and when she read about the corruption case in the Yuzhou Canal Transport Office, Princess Huaiqing's face became solemn.

As you continue reading, things suddenly become less serious. The following content doesn't sound like a subordinate reporting to a superior; it sounds more like a man confiding his feelings to a woman he admires.

"Rising from the mud yet remaining unstained, washed by clear ripples yet not becoming seductive, hollow inside yet straight outside, neither sprawling nor branching, its fragrance growing stronger as it spreads, standing tall and pure, to be admired from afar but not to be profaned."

Princess Huaiqing murmured repeatedly, immersed in the exquisite words, and the image of lotus flowers in full bloom appeared in her mind.

"It's such a pity that Xu Ningyan doesn't study." After saying this, Princess Huaiqing tilted the envelope, and a withered lotus petal slid out.

Is this young man confessing his love to me in this letter? Princess Huaiqing fell into deep thought.

If I were to deliver this letter to the palace, he wouldn't have enough heads to be chopped off.

She folded the envelope and tucked it into a book she rarely read.

Then, with great interest, he summoned a palace maid to grind ink, wrote down the golden lines about lotuses from the letter, and hung them in the study.

Looking at the calligraphy, Huaiqing gently curled the corners of his mouth.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?"

"I don't know. She's been looking downcast ever since she came back from the Crown Prince's place."

"Perhaps His Highness was bullied by the Eldest Princess. But that doesn't seem likely. If he were bullied by the Eldest Princess, His Highness would have already started cursing and then acted as if nothing had happened."

In the courtyard, several palace maids huddled together talking. Lin'an had just lost her temper, and only two of her personal maids were with her in her bedroom; the others dared not provoke her.

"Your Highness, why must you hold a grudge against Princess Huaiqing?" the personal maid advised.

"It wasn't her!" the woman said angrily. "It was that lackey."

The two palace maids were stunned for a moment before they realized who the "dog servant" was referring to. One of them had even been slapped on the buttocks by Xu Qi'an.

The palace maids exchanged puzzled glances, thinking to themselves that His Highness's lackey had been away from the capital for over half a month.

"What did he do to offend His Highness this time?"

"I don't know either," Lin'an said dejectedly, "I just feel uneasy."

"???"

At this moment, a guard came into the courtyard, requesting an audience with Princess Lin'an. The palace maid, recognizing him as a guard from her own household, had no choice but to bite the bullet and knock on the door.

"Your Highness, the guards of the manor request an audience, saying they have a letter for you from Qingzhou."

A letter from Qingzhou? Lin'an was stunned. Her social circle was very small. Apart from her brothers and sisters in the palace and the imperial family, there were only the families of some adults who would occasionally write to her, inviting her to private tea parties held in the women's boudoirs.

But this does not include Qingzhou.

"Who sent the letter?" the palace maid asked on his behalf.

"I don't know," replied the palace maid outside.

The personal maid glanced at Lin'an, and seeing her nod, she turned and called out, "Bring it in."

P. S.: I ran errands this morning, which caused the late update. Shamelessly asking for monthly votes.