With Consort Xian as her 'backer', suddenly Lin Feilu's quality of life in the Imperial Harem had risen to a higher standard. At the very least, she was not lacking in regards to food and clothing.
Xiao Lan acquired a lot of new clothing materials this year and made two sets of winter garments for her two children. As she had always been adept with needlework, she even thought to sew a dress for Consort Xian. The patterns of the dress were so elegant and beautiful, one would look younger just by wearing it, and the one who would wear it was Consort Xian.
This pleased Consort Xian tremendously, so she rewarded even more gifts to Mingyue Palace. The formerly deserted and desolate side residence had now gained a lot of popularity and gradually became livelier.
In actuality, Xiao Lan did not have any intention of currying Consort Xian's favor, nor had she ever thought of regaining the Emperor's favor through her. She was already content and satisfied, as long as her children's lives were safe and secure.
However, outsiders could only interpret the interactions between the two palaces as otherwise.
Everyone felt that Honorable Lady Xiao Lan had taken refuge under Consort Xian's faction. Now that she was on the good side of Consort Xian, their goals and interests were naturally tied together. Those who were friendly with Consort Xian would treat her affectionately like a sister, while those who were hostile to Consort Xian would try to find faults with her.
Although Honorable Lady Xiao Lan had fallen out of favor for many years, she still ranked amongst the top beauties in the whole palace. Consort Xian herself was very old, so she might be thinking of pushing Honorable Lady Lan to His Imperial Majesty. After all, she gave birth to two children for the emperor, and the fifth princess was so clever and well-behaved. It was not impossible for her to regain His Imperial Majesty's favor.
Seeing the birth of a formidable rival — could the other concubines sit still and do nothing?
Once one had an affiliation with another in this Imperial Palace, it was impossible not to get involved in other people's conflicts and conspiracies. Xiao Lan's wish to live a quiet life as an anonymous concubine was no longer possible.
Lin Feilu had anticipated this situation in advance, but Xiao Lan had an inert personality, as she would not move unless she was forced to. Lin Feilu already had future plans for a boss fight with the emperor, now was the time to pull Xiao Lan out of her comfort zone and let her get used to friction.
However, Xiao Lan had always been vigilant of her self-conduct, so she had never made any mistakes that could be exploited by others. Even if there were those who wanted to find faults with her, they could not find any opportunity to do so. Thus, they turned their attention to her two children.
There were very few chances to even interact with Lin Zhanyuan, as he did not go out very much due to Xiao Lan's concern. However, Lin Feilu loved being outside. Anyone could encounter her outside of her palace if they put their mind to it. Moreover, Honorable Lady Xiao Lan was only able to climb to Consort Xian's side because of the fifth princess. Since they could not directly do anything to the adult, could they not at least indirectly do something to the child?
Be that as it may, children should be dealt with by someone of their own size. Even if they were to get into trouble, it would be easily brushed off by saying that it was just a "squabble amongst children".
If you want to know who hated Consort Xian the most in this Imperial Palace, that person would most definitely be Consort Hui.
The grievances between the two had been forged ever since when they were both living in the Eastern Palaces. Both consorts had an open rivalry and veiled their strife for many years. Later, Consort Hui gave birth to the eldest princess Lin Nianzhi. Because she was the first daughter of Emperor Lin, she was dearly beloved by the emperor. Thanks to that, Consort Hui's prestige and influence had suppressed Consort Xian for several years. It was not until when Consort Xian gave birth to the fourth prince Lin Jingyuan that she managed to even out the harem situation creating the current status quo.
Lin Nianzhi was a clever and quick-witted child. Her character was cheerful and lively in front of Emperor Lin, but she was brazen and willful in front of others. The third princess Lin Xi was close to her as they were both of the same ilk. As such, Lin Nianzhi also disliked Lin Feilu. Recently, she had been hearing her mother complain many times about Lin Feilu. As the one who grew up beside her mother all these years, how could Lin Nianzhi not deduce her mother's intentions?
It seems that it's time to teach my Fifth Sister a little lesson.
Lin Xi was afraid of Lin Jingyuan, however, Lin Nianzhi was not.
Since ancient times, the Great Lin Empire revered the rule of seniority & prestige with great respect. Therefore Lin Xi must respect her fourth brother while Lin Jingyuan must respect his eldest sister. This was a reasonable justification if the matter was ever reported to their Royal Father. If Lin Jingyuan dared to go against his eldest sister for his fifth sister, that would be even better; she could mop both of them up under the pretense of not respecting their eldest sister. At the same time, she could alleviate some of her mother's resentments.
Lin Feilu did not know that she had just entered the eldest princess's blacklist. She was busy supervising Lin Jingyuan to recite "the Analects of Confucius".
Consort Xian had specifically requested her to do this. If she could not even complete this request, then her worth in Consort Xian's eyes was likely to be diminished by a lot. However, Lin Jingyuan really disliked reading books; asking him to read books was akin to asking him for his life. Lin Feilu did not attempt to coax him in a straightforward manner, instead she changed her approach.
She memorized it herself.
As she studied the verses, she asked, "Brother Jingyuan, how do you read this word?"
Lin Jingyuan took a look, "This whole sentence reads as 'To remain unbothered
when one is not recognized' and this particular word means unbothered."
Lin Fei Lu blinked her big watery eyes, "Wow, Brother Jingyuan is so amazing."
Lin Jingyuan instantly felt proud of himself.
After a while, Lin Feilu asked again, "Brother Jingyuan, how do you read this word?"
Lin Jingyuan went closer to take a look in full confidence.
Crap! I don't know this one either!
Lin Jingyuan felt ashamed of his ignorance for the first time in the face of his little sister Feilu's eager eyes. Moreover, Lin Feilu kept asking him one passage after another, "Brother Jingyuan, what does 'In the morning hear the dao, in the evening die content' mean?"
"What does 'To study and at due times practice what one has studied, is this not a pleasure?' mean?" She continued on.
"What does 'The superior man is all-embracing and not partial. The inferior man is partial and not all-embracing' mean?" Lin Feilu pressed on further.
Lin Jingyuan: ….
Lin Jingyuan collapsed out of sheer embarrassment.
Later, Lin Jingyuan began to study "The Analects of Confucius" in full earnest. Not only did he memorize it, he also made sure that he could completely grasp the meaning behind every word and sentence! Until he could memorize the entire book, he refrained himself from visiting his little sister Feilu. Otherwise, he would lose the last bits of his dignity!
Since Lin Jingyuan had not been visiting, Lin Feilu had more free time to herself. Lin Zhanyuan, however, had been sulking because he had not played with his little sister as of late. Lin Feilu had to coax and placate him for almost half a day. Lin Zhanyuan finally made a request, "I want to eat the jujubes from Qingpei Garden, then I will forgive Little Sister!"
She picked up a few jujubes when she passed by Qingpei Garden some time ago. She did not expect Lin Zhanyuan to be thinking about them after such a long time. Lin Feilu smiled and patted his head: "Alright, Little Sister will go pick some up for you. Be good and wait here."
Lin Zhanyuan grinned foolishly.
As late autumn had approached, the weather became colder. Lin Feilu put on a white velvet cloak Xiao Lan had sewn for her and went out to pick jujubes.
There were many fruit trees planted in Qingpei Garden. In autumn, it was filled with many fruits hanging heavily from the tree branches. The concubines in the Imperial Harem liked to send their servants here to pick some fresh fruits. When Lin Feilu entered the garden from the small arched entrance, suddenly she heard the voice of someone crying in a corner of the garden's walls.
She was never the type to simply poke her nose into other people's business. At first, she thought that it was probably just a eunuch or palace maid who got reprimanded, so she went straight into the garden to pick jujubes. By the time she was about to leave the garden, that same voice was still sobbing in soft volumes, as if it was afraid to be heard. There was no need to even mention how pitiful it sounded.
Lin Feilu came out of the garden from the small arched entrance and could not help but to look into the direction where the sound came from.
Squatting among the tall grass, there was a figure that was only as tall as half an adult's height. The figure was also dressed in exquisite robes unlike those of servants.
She thought about it for a moment and decided to head over.
She stepped on the flowers and fallen leaves, making a rustling sound. The figure in the tall grass heard the sound, turned around and questioned in a raised pitch, "Who goes there?!"
Lin Feilu parted the tall grass and saw an exceptionally handsome young boy. He held a white little rabbit in his arms. His eyes were as red as the rabbit's from crying too much. His face was full of tears and he looked pitiful.
Lin Feilu knelt down and asked, "Why are you crying?"
The young boy seemed to be embarrassed because he was discovered. He attempted to put on a fierce expression. However, he was not a villain by nature, and he had just been found crying, so he was feeling helpless. No matter how pitiful he looked, he could only pretend to be indifferent as he turned his head to hide his frustration, "None of your business."
In just one glance, Lin Feilu completely grasped this young boy's character. She did not get annoyed. Instead, she smiled and patted the rabbit in his arms, "Did you raise this rabbit? It's so cute."
The young boy's body trembled slightly and the tears that had stopped were threatening to burst forth again. He gritted his teeth and held back, showing a miserable expression.
Lin Feilu looked at him for a moment, then asked softly, "What's the matter?"
Not far off, the chatter of palace maids talking and laughing gradually came closer. The boy's face changed and he made a "shush" gesture. Lin Feilu nodded and squatted next to the boy, so that the tall grass covered both of them. The palace maids walked towards Qingpei Garden and left after picking some fruits.
No one said anything during this period, just two pairs of eyes looking at each other. When the chattering noise disappeared, the boy glumly looked at her and asked, "Who are you?"
Lin Feilu greeted him with a smile, "You can call me Little Lu. Who are you?"
The boy was a little surprised and asked, "You don't know me?"
Lin Feilu tilted her head curiously, "Should I know you?"
The boy turned his head to a side, feeling embarrassed. "Don't worry about it if you don't know me."
Lin Feilu continued to gently pat the rabbit in the boy's arms. "Why are you crying? Does it have something to do with this little rabbit?"
The boy looked down at the little rabbit safely tucked within his arms and pursed his lips. He whispered sadly after a while, "My… my mother asked me to kill it myself."
Lin Feilu was shocked. "Why?! This bunny is so cute. How could anyone possibly want to kill it?!"
Once Lin Feilu finished her words, she felt a sudden chill in her heart.
As expected of myself.
The young boy became even more sad as he lowered his head and wiped his tears with his sleeves.
Lin Feilu put her hand on the rabbit's head. Its fur was soft and felt pleasant to stroke. Its whole body was covered in pure white fur, without any impurities or discoloration. It looked very beautiful. Although she liked eating Shuangliu Mama's Rabbit Heads in her past life, she would be really reluctant to eat this lovely little rabbit.
(T/N: "Shuangliu Mama's Rabbit Heads" is a Szechuan dish that is a local favorite in Chengdu, China. It is a tongue-numbing spicy dish that uses rabbit heads as the main ingredient.)
She asked the boy, "Why does your mother want you to kill it? Does she dislike rabbits?"
Or maybe she was allergic to rabbits?
The boy pursed his lips and shook his head.
With red, tearful eyes, he said with a choked up voice, "This rabbit was given to me as a birthday gift from my mother. I've been raising it for three years."
Lin Feilu: ?
Isn't this mother way too cruel?
Making her own son kill the pet she gave him, what was he supposed to learn from this?
She looked at the little boy sympathetically and listened to him as he continued to snivel while sobbing, "Mother said that only the weak have compassion. The strong must be firm and resolute. Those who want to achieve great things can not have any compassion, nor can they play favorites, because those very same things will become their fatal weaknesses in the future."
Lin Feilu: ?
This mother is really something.
To take this approach in raising one's children, it was clear that his mother must be thinking of vying for power. As an imperial prince, what else was there to fight for besides for the imperial succession to the throne? This boy's mother was too obvious with her plans.
Nonetheless, his mother was too impatient. She miscalculated and never thought this lesson would leave psychological scars on her son instead. It was more likely for him to grow up into a psychopath with a twisted personality instead.
Lin Feilu had learned from Lin Jingyuan that she had three more older brothers.
Lin Ting, the eldest son of Emperor Lin, was birthed by Noble Consort Ruan.
Lin Jiwen, the second eldest son of Emperor Lin, was from Consort Shu.
Lin Qing, the third eldest son of Emperor Lin, was birthed by the empress and was also the crown prince.
The three brothers were around the same age. They were all eleven or twelve years old. She wondered which royal brother was this crybaby in front of her who was forced by his mother to grow up?
He was most likely the third royal brother that she had never seen until now.
After all, he would inherit the throne in the future. To be a reigning monarch, he had to learn how to be ruthless. This young boy looked kind and soft-hearted. He looked like a pushover, and also seemed to be a bit of a crybaby. From the looks of it, he did not meet the standards of becoming an emperor.
Lin Feilu seemed to hear a voice in her head:
*Ding* Your new target is now available. Please capture when you are ready.
She raised her hand and patted his head in a soothing manner. "Don't cry, I will help you find a way."
The young boy raised his head and looked at her.
Lin Feilu said, "You can hand over this rabbit to me. I will take it back to my palace and help raise it for you. That way you can see it anytime you want. How about that?"
The young boy's eyes lit up for a moment before dimming again. He asked in an embarrassed tone, "Then… how can I explain it to my mother? She asked me to bring back the corpse of the rabbit."
Lin Feilu: "…"
How could the Empress be so cruel? How could someone be so cruel towards their own son?
No wonder she managed to secure her place as the Empress.
Lin Feilu pretended to think for a while, then she offered a suggestion. She said, "You can just tell your mother that you really couldn't bear to do it, so you found a place where there was no one and left the rabbit there. Tell her you left it to fend for itself. It's very difficult for a weak rabbit who has no owner to survive within the Imperial Harem. You neither want to kill it directly nor disobey your mother's words. This way, you still completed the task she gave you. She understands your character well. If you did bring a rabbit's corpse to her, she might be suspicious of you instead."
When the young boy heard her suggestion, he felt that what she said was logical and reasonable. His sad face gradually transformed into a bright smile.
Emperor Lin's and his wives' genes were very impressive to be able to pop out so many beautiful looking princes. His smiling face was warm and soft like an early spring's sun, glowing warmly on petals of flowers.
Ah, who doesn't love a gentle and handsome young boy.
Such a vicious and merciless mother gave birth to such a soft and kind-hearted son. The heavens must love their cruel jokes.
Lin Feilu wiped the tears away from his face with her little fingers and comforted him by saying, "Don't be sad. For every problem, there always exists more ways to solve them. Whenever you encounter something that cannot be solved in the future, don't cry, come to me instead. I will help you find a way to solve it!"
The young boy's cheeks blushed and he turned his face away in embarrassment. He let out a sound of acknowledgement from his nose, "Mm!"
Lin Feilu took out a few jujubes out of her pockets and handed it to him. She said with a smile on her face, "Here, have some jujubes!"
Her voice was soft, but she had an assertive undertone. She seemed to exude a kind of aura that said "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you!". The young boy looked at the little girl who had two little buns on her head. He chuckled as he took the jujubes and in exchange handed the rabbit over to her, "Then I'll have to trouble you, please take care of the rabbit from now on."
Lin Feilu proudly patted her chest and said confidently, "Just leave it to me!"
The young boy asked again, "Which palace are you from?"
Lin Feilu blinked her eyes in return. "I live in Mingyue Palace."
"Mingyue Palace?" There was a hint of surprise on his face. He looked at her for a long time, as if recalling something. He said hesitatingly, "Little Lu… Are you the Fifth Princess Lin Feilu?"
She tilted her head. "Yes!"
The young man could not help but to break into a smile. "So it was you. You're not at all like what the rumours say. Now it can be seen as clear as day that they were all made up lies."
Lin Feilu made a "I don't understand what you're saying" expression in response.
The young man stood up and put the jujubes away into his sleeves. He said softly, "Feilu, please take care of the little rabbit. When I have time, I will come to visit Mingyue Palace."
Lin Feilu nodded repeatedly. She wrapped the little bunny in her cloak and hugged it in her arms, only exposing its small head. After waving her hand at the young boy, she walked away.
While Lin Feilu was outside, Lin Zhanyuan would periodically walk up to the front gates, waiting for her return. When he saw his little sister had finally returned, he cheered happily, "Jujubes! Jujubes!"
Lin Feilu ran over to him with a smile. She showed him the rabbit in her arms. "Brother, look, do you know what this is?"
Lin Zhanyuan had never seen a rabbit before so his eyes immediately widened. He hesitated for a while as he looked back up at his sister, then again at the rabbit and stared for some time. Finally, he stretched out a finger and hesitantly touched the rabbit's head. It was fluffy, soft and pleasant to touch.
Lin Feilu said, "This is a rabbit. It's a little white rabbit, see how white its fur is? It likes to eat radish and green vegetables. It's a cute animal that likes to jump around."
Lin Zhanyuan clapped his hands excitedly. "A rabbit! A little white rabbit! White, white fur! Likes radish, very cute!"
He was so happy that he had completely forgotten about the jujubes. Once they were inside, he played with the little rabbit. He also ran to the small kitchen and brought some vegetable leaves to feed the rabbit. When Xiao Lan asked about it, Lin Feilu only said that she found it outside. Xiao Lan did not say anything else in response, instead she helped them to make a bed for the rabbit.
Lin Feilu wrapped cloth strips around a board to prevent wood splinters from pricking the little rabbit. As she did that, she asked Xiao Lan casually, "Mother, have you ever seen the Empress?"
Xiao Lan was making a cage for the rabbit with Yunyou. She replied softly, "I met her a few years ago. When I was very sick, the Empress was very kind to come visit and wished me good health. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen her for almost three or four years now."
"Is the Empress beautiful?"
"The Empress is the mother of the nation, naturally she is the most beautiful."
Lin Feilu spoke as though she were naive, "The Empress has to manage the Imperial Harem, does that mean she's very fierce? Otherwise, how can she make everyone listen to her?"
Xiao Lan was startled. She hurried to cover Lin Feilu's mouth and looked around in horror. She was relieved when she didn't see any others, and reprimanded her daughter with a stern face, "Lu'er, don't talk nonsense! Her Imperial Majesty is your Royal Mother, as her child, you must not speak of the Empress like that! Not to mention that the Empress has always been kind and compassionate; and is wholeheartedly devoted to Buddha. Her Imperial Majesty is fair and kind to all the concubines in the Imperial Harem. While the harem affairs are handled with assistance by two Noble Consorts, it is precisely because Her Imperial Majesty sits at the top of the harem that His Imperial Majesty can rule the nation with peace of mind."
(T/N: Mothers call their children with the "-er" suffix as an endearment.)
Lin Feilu nodded with a naive expression.
Xiao Lan gave her a few more earfuls before her thoughts drifted. She began to reminisce about the past and chatted with Qingyan about the Empress.
Lin Feilu listened for a long time and felt that the Empress they spoke of was not at all like the mother of the young boy she met today. After all, devout Buddhist followers were strictly opposed to bloodshed. How could someone like that force her son to kill a rabbit?
But if it wasn't the Empress, who else is thinking of fighting for the throne?
After all, the empress's family was a formidable faction. Her father, Du Lao, was the Imperial Grand Mentor. He was a well known Confucianist across the nations and had over three thousand students under his tutelage. He was also Emperor Lin's mentor, thus he was highly respected by the emperor. The prestige of the empress's family was unshakeable, moreover, the empress also gave birth to a son. Soon, the third prince was appointed to be the crown prince. Occasionally there were rumors saying that the third prince was an intelligent, studious child who behaved with grace and humility. As such, he was dearly beloved by Emperor Lin.
As long as Emperor Lin was sound of mind, it was unthinkable for him to demote the current crown prince and to promote another in his place.
So, why did the mother, who forced her son to kill his pet rabbit today, think that she still had a chance at seizing the throne?
Lin Feilu pondered for a while. If there was anyone in the Imperial Harem that could cling to such thoughts and possessed the confidence to realize them, then it could only be Noble Consort Ruan.
The very same person whom Concubine Xu, the woman who fell ill from Lin Feilu's scare tactics, used to associate with.
There were two noble consorts in the Imperial Harem: first, there was the daughter of the Chancellor of the Left – Noble Consort Ruan. She was an unsurpassed beauty among her generation and was known as the Crown Jewel of the Imperial Harem. The other would be Noble Consort Xi, the younger sister of Zhenbei's Great General. She was an aloof person who was very proud of her family's prestige.
(T/N: A Chancellor of the Left is in modern terms equivalent to a Prime Minister. There is also a Chancellor of the Right, which is the Deputy Prime Minister. Depending on which dynasty, sometimes the Right Chancellor is higher ranking than the Left.)
Both noble consorts were favored by the emperor. Their families were equally powerful. The only difference was that Noble Consort Xi had no children while Noble Consort Ruan gave birth to the eldest prince Lin Ting.
By Great Lin Empire's tradition, the eldest son born to the Empress would succeed the throne. The sons of the emperor's concubines were considered second to the sons of the empress; and even then, only the eldest could succeed the throne.
The third prince was the crown prince while the first prince was the eldest son of the Emperor.
If anything were to happen to the crown prince, the next person in the line of succession would undoubtedly be the eldest prince.
Looks like I got it wrong this afternoon.
He wasn't my Third Brother, but my Eldest Brother.
There were rumors that mentioned Noble Consort Ruan had an aggressive and domineering personality. Taking advantage of the emperor's favor, she was even more fearless. However, Emperor Lin loved this part of her personality and he had even once praised her for being 'straightforward and frank'. Although the concubines in the Imperial Harem respected her authority, they were not afraid of her because Noble Consort Ruan was very outspoken. Her likes and dislikes would be clearly written on her face and she would never resort to plotting behind other people's backs.
Before, when Lin Feilu heard all of this, she thought that this noble consort was not the scheming type. She assumed this noble consort only managed to reach her current rank purely by her good fortune.
However, now that she knew that Noble Consort Ruan was the instigator to the rabbit-killing incident, Lin Feilu felt that the stories did not match.
Was this ruthless approach to parenting something a simple-minded person was capable of teaching?
Lin Feilu was delightfully surprised that there were other actresses than herself in this Imperial Harem.
After organizing her thoughts, Lin Feilu was intrigued by her new findings. But when she recollected her memories of the crying boy she met today, she could not help but to sigh. Since his mother had such ambitions, his future would surely be difficult.
Lin Zhanyuan became very fond of the little rabbit.
Since he was born, he had never been outside of the house. He also had never made any friends. Due to his lower than average intelligence, there were many things in this world that he did not know or recognize.
Now he had this little rabbit who could run, jump and move. It also had soft, snow white fur and it looked very cute. A lone rabbit had opened the door to a new world for him. Apart from its eating and sleeping times, he would sit next to the rabbit's nest and play with it every single day.
The little rabbit nibbled on the vegetables quietly as he in turn, watched quietly.
When the little rabbit was hopping around in the yard, he would run after it, playing happily all day.
With him taking care of the little rabbit with such care, it also saved Lin Feilu a lot of effort. When eldest prince Lin Ting comes to visit his pet, he would be very pleased to see that it had grown fatter.
Winter swiftly descended upon the northern lands. It felt like autumn was over before anyone had any real chance to enjoy it. The temperature dropped drastically, leaving only a biting chill. In previous years, Mingyue Palace never received any charcoal. The firewood provided by the Imperial Household Department used to give off so much smoke that it was impossible to use. Thus, winter was the most difficult time of the year to get through.
However, this year was different. The Imperial Household Department had sent people to send a sufficient amount of charcoal. Moreover, they were polite the entire time. They even supplied all kinds of heating equipment which they had 'conveniently' left out in previous years.
Not long ago, Emperor Lin inspected the fourth prince's homework and found that he had completely memorized "The Analects of Confucius". To his amazement, not only could his son recite it, but he also understood the meaning of every sentence. Emperor Lin was very happy and praised Consort Xian for educating her son well.
Since Consort Xian received her merits, naturally she did not forget her benefactor from Mingyue Palace. From time to time, she would send people over to deliver all kinds of health supplements, herbs and fruits. Yunyou made medicinal meals from the herbs Consort Xian had sent to them. Xiao Lan's health finally took a turn for the better. Her cheeks were rosier, making her look more beautiful than before.
Even Lin Feilu had gained weight recently. She squeezed the flesh on her small belly and declared, "At this rate I will end up having to start dieting at a young age."
It was very cold outside so people would refrain from going outside and would stay indoors. This was despite the fact that it had not even begun snowing yet. It was just cold and the scenery outside was not beautiful, just gray and dreary. The palace grounds were slowly becoming deserted. However, Lin Feilu still stuck to her routine of going out every day. She mainly did this for two purposes: first, to exercise and to keep herself in good shape; and second, to increase her chances of encountering new NPCs.
As luck would have it, she did not encounter any NPCs and instead managed to stumble right into a mini-boss.
The eldest princess Lin Nianzhi had been running around on a wild goose chase for quite some time now.
In truth, Lin Nianzhi was very angry. In the beginning, she actually sent someone to keep an eye on Mingyue Palace. As soon as Lin Feilu went out, one of her servants would follow her secretly, then send a message back to report on Lin Feilu's whereabouts.
However, by the time Lin Nianzhi had arrived at the reported area, Lin Feilu was no longer there. It was only after she had arrived that a palace eunuch came running up to her and gave his report while heavily panting, "Princess, the Fifth Princess is now headed towards Gaofeng Pavilion."
After that, Lin Nianzhi led her servants to Gaofeng Pavilion.
When she arrived, Lin Feilu had disappeared again. After a while, the same eunuch came running over again as he reported while crying, "Princess, the Fifth Princess has gone to the Royal Viewing Terrace again."
Lin Nianzhi was exhausted by this constant game of cat and mouse.
How can this girl run so much?! Does she have four legs?
However, Lin Feilu was not deliberately avoiding her. She did not even know Lin Nianzhi was running all over the Imperial Palace, all just to encounter her. Lin Feilu had always enjoyed wandering around. It was only now that Lin Nianzhi finally got the opportunity to follow after her.
The eunuch who had been sprinting back and forth reported again, "Princess, the Fifth Princess is feeding fish at Changxi Pavilion now. She will not be able to leave for some time!"
Lin Nianzhi could not even be bothered to finish her hot porridge. She wiped her mouth clean and ran straight to Changxi Pavilion.
The cold winds blew. Changxi Pavilion was a cluster of nine pavilions situated along a stream of river that runs through the Imperial Palace. From a distance, the scenery of the pavilions were distinct as they looked like nine rings intertwining with one another. Wrapped inside her warm, white cloak, Lin Feilu sat on the edge of the pavilion in the center. Her legs were dangling in the air as she sprinkled fish feed into the lake.
Lin Nianzhi led her servants to the pavilion nearest to the edge of the stream. Once she had straightened her posture, she made a signal. The palace maid beside her immediately said in a loud voice, "Who is that over there? Why are you not paying respects to the Eldest Imperial Princess?"
Lin Feilu turned her head and looked at them. Instantly she picked up the minor details in their expressions. She immediately understood that they had not arrived with good intentions.
The Eldest Princess?
Consort Hui's daughter? Consort Xian's arch-enemy?
I see.
She sprinkled all the fish feed into the water and dusted off her palms, then she fixed her cloak, and walked towards them.
The cold wind felt like tiny daggers carving slits into their faces. Lin Nianzhi had been pampered and spoiled since infancy. When has she ever had to suffer this kind of freezing cold, moreover next to a stream? She had rushed out in a hurry and forgot to bring along a hand stove. She felt like she was freezing.
(T/N: A "hand stove" is an ancient hand warming device. It is a small case that can store hot charcoal inside. It is small enough to be carried inside one's sleeves. You can read more about hand stoves here.)
She began to feel regret.
Why didn't I just wait until spring had arrived to come out and teach her a lesson? Who on earth is being taught a lesson here now?
With this thought she became even angrier. Seeing Lin Feilu approaching her step by step, she was just about to flare up but then she saw Lin Feilu looking stunned just as she arrived right in front of her. Lin Feilu tilted her head slightly and looked at her blankly, seeming a bit scatterbrained and dazed.
Lin Nianzhi was also surprised. Because of the cold, her momentum was reduced by half and her voice was trembling. She said in an annoyed tone, "What are you looking at?"
The little girl seemed to finally react as she asked in a soft, youthful voice, "Are you the Eldest Princess?"
Lin Nianzhi replied with pride, "That is correct."
Before she could say another sentence, she saw the little girl pursing her lips and smiling shyly. Her dimples were very adorable. Looking shy and embarrassed, she responded, "You look so beautiful."
Lin Nianzhi: ?
Lin Feilu did not say it in an obviously flattering tone. It seemed like she genuinely found her to be very beautiful and could not help but to praise her. Lin Feilu was even feeling shy after praising her, so she quickly turned her head away once she said her words. Her fair and tender face had a touch of blush as she averted her eyes to the side.
But after two seconds, she secretly took a peek at Lin Nianzhi again. It seemed like this was her first time meeting with a beautiful person and could not help herself from looking some more. Her eyes locked with Lin Nianzhi's for a second before quickly looking away.
Lin Nianzhi suddenly realized she was no longer angry with this little girl.
She cleared her throat. Her tone was no longer as arrogant as it was just before, "What are you doing here in this cold weather?"
Lin Feilu once again turned her head to face her. She lowered her head, not daring to look at her directly. She replied honestly, "To feed the fishes." After that, she added foolishly, "If the fishes have no food in winter, I'm afraid they will starve to death."
Lin Nianzhi felt like this fifth sister of hers was a little silly.
She heard the rumours that her brother was a fool. Perhaps she had also been affected to some extent.
However, this fool's words were completely true.
Lin Nianzhi originally planned to suppress her with her status as the eldest sister. After that, she planned to make her serve tea and run errands just like a palace maid. If Lin Feilu did not do as she asked, she would be punished for not respecting her elder sister.
However, it was very cold today. She really did not want to sit here and wait for Lin Feilu to make tea for her. She mentally estimated that she would probably die from the cold before the tea was even brewed.
She did not know in her heart whether she was terrified of the cold or she was suddenly feeling reluctant to teach this little girl a lesson. She just pretended to reprimand Lin Feilu with a few words, only to sneeze just as she was about to leave. As soon as she sneezed, Lin Feilu looked up with her cute little face full of worry.
The little girl suddenly took out a small hand stove from inside her sleeve and handed it to her obediently as she said, "Eldest Sister, here, this is for you."
The hand stove had been with Lin Feilu for a long time, so it had a slightly milky fragrance of youth on it. Lin Nianzhi gave it a look and took the hand stove from her in an arrogant manner. Although she did not show any expression on her face, she was actually so relieved that she wanted to scream for joy now that her fingers were finally warm.
Lin Feilu's little face was flushed from the cold, but this did not prevent her from smiling sincerely. She put her little hand over her mouth and gasped before obediently waving at her, "Goodbye, Eldest Sister."
Lin Nianzhi slightly nodded, "Go."
She then turned around and left. After only walking a few steps, she once again turned around and tried to peek at the older girl secretly. Seeing that Lin Nianzhi was still looking in her direction, she turned her head away in embarrassment and ran away with her little figure wrapped in the cloak.
Lin Nianzhi was speechless.
It was… oddly cute.
A true 'Green Tea' can convert an enemy into a friend without much effort.
It had always been Lin Feilu's principle to not make enemies unnecessarily.
The eldest princess had a reputation for being unruly. She originally thought that it would be difficult to handle her. In the end, she decided to test the waters by throwing a 'sugar-coated cannonball' but she did not expect that the other party would take such a critical hit.
It was easy to understand why. All the princes and princesses in the Imperial Palace had a tendency to think that everything under the heavens revolved around them at all times. Since it was their mothers who did all the hard work, from the scheming to the bullying to the suffering; the children had never seen the real evils of the world. They only learn to have bad tempers, with no sense of self awareness or introspection.
Moreover, this eldest princess was still young. She was only about eleven years old. In modern times, she would still be a primary school student.
It was simply child's play for her to dupe an elementary school student.
Lin Feilu felt guilty in her heart for two seconds. She then took off her warm cloak and walked all the way back to Mingyue Palace in the cold wind.
Her physical constitution was weak. She immediately fell ill that afternoon after being exposed to such relentless cold wind. By evening, she was lying in bed with a fever.
Xiao Lan hurriedly asked Yunyou to bring an imperial doctor. Now the Imperial Hospital could not ignore Mingyue Palace as they had before and immediately sent people to see the fifth princess. After a thorough checkup, they found that she had only caught a cold. The imperial doctor wrote a prescription and instructed Xiao Lan to leave the furnace burning a little hotter than usual so that the princess could sweat out her fever.
(T/N: In traditional practice, when one catches a fever, they are often advised to put on more layers or to increase the room temperature just so they can 'sweat out their fever'. The idea was to jumpstart your body's cooling system, i.e. sweating, so the more you sweat, the faster your fever will break. It is still common practice in some parts of the world, despite there being no scientific evidence backing it.)
Yunyou followed the imperial doctor back to the Imperial Hospital to pick up the medicine. When she arrived, she happened to encounter one of Consort Xian's palace maid, who was there to pick up Consort Xian's prescription to treat her sleep restlessness. The palace maids often communicated with each other so they naturally knew who the other was. While they were chatting, Suiyu, Consort Xian's personal maid, learned that the fifth princess was ill and she immediately told Consort Xian about the matter after returning to the Changming Palace.
Consort Xian asked, "Who was the imperial doctor that served the Fifth Princess?"
Suiyu recalled, "A young man. He seems to have only recently entered the Imperial Hospital. I have never seen him before."