When Tiandong came in with the hot water, Song Jinglan had already put the letter over the candlestick and lit it, burning it to ashes in an instant.
Recently, His Highness had been communicating with Young Master Rong even more frequently. With that, the number one swordsman in the world was now an errand messenger. Tiandong felt that Mr. Ji's role in this correspondence was too difficult.
While serving Song Jinglan as he bathed, he asked, "Your Highness, can we return to the Song Empire soon?" There was some excitement in his tone, so Song Jinglan glanced at him, "You want to go back desperately?"
Tian Dong replied, "Of course! That is Your Highness's country! And if we go back, Your Highness won't have to suffer here."
Song Jinglan wiped the corners of her eyes with a towel and smiled, "That's not necessarily true."
Tiandong sighed in disappointment before he added, "Actually, it doesn't matter to me wherever I am. After all, I'm just an orphan taken in by Your Highness while you were on your way here, so I'll go wherever Your Highness goes. It's just that if we return to the Song Empire, we wouldn't be able to see the Fifth Princess anymore."
Song Jinglan glanced at him.
Tiandong was still sad when Song Jinglan threw the steaming handkerchief over his head, "We won't be able to return for the next five years at least, so just stay here contentedly."
When Tiandong heard him say so, he was slightly happy but also felt a little lost.
The weather was getting warmer.
Song Jinglan once again lived through the peaceful days of sitting under the porch with Lin Feilu and eating popsicles every afternoon. There were always a lot of strange ideas and odd things that went through her little head as she would tinker with many peculiar foods that he had never heard of.
He was not afraid of being poisoned— no matter what she came up with, he would eat anything and everything for her sake. Because of this, he had a stomach ache in the middle of the night several times, but he merely suppressed it with internal force.
They lived comfortably on this side, but the side between the harem and the court were not in stable conditions.
The reason was that Wen Xiangming, the youngest son of the Assistant Minister of Criminal Justice, killed someone on the streets.
According to the 'Law of the Great Lin Empire', anyone who committed the crime of murder should be executed, but the law had always only applied to ordinary citizens. However, the youngest son of the Assistant Minister of Criminal Justice was the son of Noble Consort Ruan's aunt.
Noble Consort Ruan married a Tanhua(1) that year. With the support of Prime Minister Ruan, Tanhua had a smooth career, easily taking the position as an Assistant Minister of the Criminal Justice department. According to this year's plan, he was going to be promoted to the official Minister of the department.
(T/N: Tanhua is a term used to call the 3rd place winner of the Imperial Exams for bright scholars. The top three winners have a term respectively, and these winners would usually become ministers or high-ranked officials sooner or later)
In the end, just before his promotion, his youngest son committed murder.
The reason was even more ridiculous as it was all for a mere cricket.
The Ruan family was big and it was already the Great Lin Empire's most influential family. The children of the Ruan family have always lived a life that was no less privileged than that of the royal family's children. Compared with their usual style of havoc-wrecking and name-flaunting, the Xiao family's previous bullies were hardly worth mentioning.
Wen Xiangming was a well-known playboy. No work and all play, he often flocks to various brothels and casinos. Although he achieved nothing, his crickets were particularly good at fighting.
To train him, the Assistant Minister of Criminal Justice threw him into Jin Wuwei(2) for training. Wen Xiangming learned some three-legged Cat Style kung fu in the training arena and he showed off his strength a lot on weekdays. He raised a cricket and called it the Hundred-Win King. However, it was trampled to death by the opponent's cricket not long ago when they were in a match.
(T/N: Jin Wuwei is a place where the Emperor's military soldiers were trained— sometimes, both trainees and actual guards trained here together. These guards would then guard the Emperor and extend their security to the Royal Family)
Wen Xiangming was so angry that he beat his opponent to death, saying that he owed his cricket life.
He got scared once he killed his opponent. Knowing he was a goner, he ran home and cowered behind his family, not daring to come out into public. He knew what the virtues of the Zhaoyin Residence were as the Jing Zhaoyin wouldn't dare to mess with and bother with the issues caused by the Ruan family.
The person who was killed by him was just the son of a low-ranked civil servant and the other party reported it to the official. Although the Zhaoyin Residence accepted the case, it also pretended to approach Wen Xiangming's house to apprehend the murderer. In the end, not only was the murderer allowed to roam free but with the officials delaying the matter, the body of the deceased rotted and stunk to the point where there was no choice for him but to be buried.
At the burial, Wen Xiangming changed his way of speaking, saying that he did not kill the person. He claimed that the two of them merely got into a fistfight and that level of battle was unable to kill anybody. He insisted that the opponent had some chronic health issues and it relapsed, causing his death.
The onlookers at that time didn't dare to oppose the Ruan family, so they could only agree.
At this point, things would have ended. Unexpectedly, the little civil servant found a way to bring up the case in front of Emperor Lin. The letter was written in blood and the words were drenched with both crimson and tears of the father, indicating that even if the buried body had to be dug up again, he still wanted to seek justice for his dead son.
When the paper was handed over, the Crown Prince happened to be by the Emperor's side to greet him.
When Emperor Lin saw the blood letter, he became furious on the spot. However, when he looked up, he saw Lin Qing's sad expression and he couldn't help but ask, "What's up with you?"
Lin Qing choked on his words and said, "Upon seeing this blood letter, this Prince gives my utmost respect and feels sorry for the father in my heart. Parents and their children are connected by blood; if something happens to this Prince, the Emperor would probably be willing to do everything to seek justice for me as well, right?"
Emperor Lin scolded, "What sort of unfortunate nonsense are you speaking about?!"
Although he scolded the Crown Prince, his heart was greatly touched by the incident as well. Looking at the blood letter again, it was a sad and helpless appeal from a white-haired father sending off a black-haired son all too soon.
No matter how rampant and domineering the Ruan family was, he always turned a blind eye to their behavior. However, now that someone was killed and they even dared to defy the laws like this, Emperor Lin was so furious that he immediately stripped the position of Wen Xiangming's father as an Assistant Minister of the Criminal Justice Department. Then, the Emperor sent someone from the same department to investigate the case of this street murder.
As soon as the Imperial Decree came, the Ruan family couldn't sit still. Knowing that this matter might not be a good thing for them, they immediately asked for Noble Consort Ruan to show herself.
Noble Consort Ruan couldn't care less about the life and death of her ignorant cousin, but it was the abnormality between this matter that made her feel like something was amiss. For example, how did a little civil servant manage to pass the letter to Emperor Lin? When it was handed over, why was the Crown Prince just coincidentally beside him as well?
There were also oddities on Wen Xiangming's side of the story— although he did his fair share of evil and disruptions, he would not kill for a cricket. The Ruan family was not idly waiting for an unfortunate outcome either, so they began to send some people to investigate.
After an investigation, it was found that Wen Xiangming gave in to the impulse to kill that day because someone was provoking him— instigating his anger and fanning the flames. Also, the civil servant managed to hand the letter through the hands of a courtier.
Most importantly, these two middlemen were from the Empress's faction.
Over the past year, these two factions have been in constant disharmony, but they have not hurt each other directly. Now that the Empress had started to break the Ruan family's wings, she wanted to eliminate the Ruan family's forces in the court one by one.
The two factions have already reached the point where conflicts between them became a norm, causing the relationship between Lin Qing and Lin Ting to also drop to a severe point.
They used to sit in the first row of the Imperial School and were always seated at the same table. At some point, Lin Ting moved his position to the last row.
However, he was different from the weaker students in the back row. He didn't sleep, never skipped classes nor did he eat snacks during class. He still sat upright and looked in the direction of the mentor in front of him, but his eyes were not focused as he looked like a lifeless wooden sculpture.
Lin Feilu drew a joke on paper with stick figures on it, telling the story of a little white rabbit and the big bad wolf.
She quietly handed it to Lin Ting, trying to make him laugh.
He only glanced at it, but still, he turned his head and smiled at her.
He smiled, but Lin Feilu felt even more uncomfortable when he did.
In the afternoon, when she told Song Jinglan about this incident while they were having a popsicle, he just looked at the white clouds overlapping the sky and said softly, "This is just the beginning."
The road to the succession was destined to be paved with blood and human lives.
The struggle between the two factions for the position of inheritance lasted for six years.
In six years, Lin Feilu had grown from a cute baby who was no taller than the waist of an adult, to a beautiful thirteen-year-old girl. Even Lin Wei, a baby who once only drooled when she was hugging her thighs, had become a nine-year-old girl. She now knew how to dress up and cared a lot for her appearance.
In the past, only Lin Feilu and Song Jinglan were aware of the tensions between Lin Ting and Lin Qing, but now, even someone as slow as Lin Jingyuan had started to realize that something was wrong.
Although the two factions have never fought against each other in person and even maintained their peaceful demeanor on the surface, the smoke of gunpowder(3) that pervaded the palace had shrouded all those who were in it, regardless of the harem or the court.
(T/N: Refers to the heinous tension that grows between the two factions)
Even though Lin Jingyuan was now grown up, his temperament did not change at all and he was still the same as before. He had been working hard to restore the relationship between the eldest brother and his third brother. The two of them would always go along with his wishes just for his sake, but afterward, they always reverted back to ignoring each other.
Lin Jingyuan asked Lin Feilu worriedly, "Do you think the two of them will fight in the future?"
Lin Feilu felt that according to Lin Ting's temperament, it was probably impossible.
But she was also uncertain.
After so many years, Lin Ting's gentleness was gradually dyed into silence. His entire being was always very depressed and the once soft eyes were also covered by a thick layer of fog, making her unable to see what he was thinking about.
Initially, he truly didn't intend to fight, but after so many years, could he have changed his mind?
Lin Qing's temperament and boundless potential never wavered, but occasionally, there would be a shockingly uncharacteristic stern look reflected in his eyes.
But no matter how the two change, they still doted on Lin Feilu as always.
Lin Ting would send the small animals that he occasionally rescued to the Mingyue Palace for her to raise them. Where there used to be two small wooden houses next to the flower field, now became an animal haven for the little pets that she reared. Sometimes, Lin Ting would come and sit in the field, surrounded by the pets. The animals would lie near his feet, on his knees, arms, or shoulders.
Only at times like this would he smile sincerely, just like he did back then.
Lin Feilu also often went to the Eastern Palace holding kites, marbles, miniature wooden horses, and other props that she made. She would pester her dignified older brother, the Crown Prince, to play with her, and he could never say no. Every time she asked him to, he would avoid the palace servants' watchful eyes and secretly play with her for a bit.
This was the only thing she could do for them to have a moment of happiness and relaxation in this exhausting battle for the throne.
In particular, Lin Jingyuan couldn't understand these two Imperial brothers, "What benefits are there to being an Emperor? You get tired and never have freedom; you can't even sleep in! I wouldn't want to even if someone handed the title over to me for free!"
Lin Feilu sighed, "If only everyone had the same thoughts as you."
Of course, Lin Jingyuan only dared to complain about this in secret. Once, when his mother, Consort Xian, heard his remarks, she beat him violently without saying anything and even grounded him in confinement for half a month, making Lin Jingyuan very angry.
Last year, when Lin Ting became an adult, he had already built a mansion outside the palace known as the Royal Qi Residence and no longer lived with the other royals. This year, Lin Qing was an adult, but he still lived in the Eastern Palace. The two do not need to attend the classes in the Imperial School anymore, either. With one living outside the palace and the other living inside the court, the number of times they meet suddenly decreased.
When the Royal Qi Residence was first built, Lin Feilu had made her way there. She initially thought that he would build a yard dedicated to rearing animals according to her eldest brother's temperament.
However, not a single animal was seen in the Royal Qi Palace.
Lin Feilu thought about returning the small animals to him; he was the one who saved them, after all. Since he wasn't living with Noble Consort Ruan anymore, he should be able to keep animals according to his will.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ting refused.
He said, "I can't take care of them well, so keep them."
Lin Feilu felt that her eldest Imperial brother had indeed changed.
This change made her feel slightly uneasy, but there was nothing she could do.
She was worried about the future of her two brothers, but Lin Jingyuan was rather at ease— eating well and sleeping soundly every day. He began to look up to the Royal Qi Residence and started looking forward to the fact that he would get his own in two years. Recently, he heard that Emperor Lin intended to choose a land for him. Because of that, he got so excited to the point that he couldn't wait to take Lin Feilu out to inspect the location of his new home.
Listening to the hidden meaning of his words, Lin Feilu felt that he wanted to build an amusement park.
Over the years, she had been familiar with going out of the palace. Since Lin Nianzhi got married, she had a reason to go out and play wildly before roaming the streets and alleys of the capital.
Thinking that she hadn't seen Lin Nianzhi for a while, Lin Feilu went straight to the Du Residence after leaving the palace.
Lin Jingyuan complained, "Eldest Imperial sister's temper has gotten worse since she got married, so what's there to see? Go by yourself; I'm going to choose a land!"
After that, he jumped out of the carriage and ran.
The carriage then took Lin Feilu to the gates of the Du Residence. When the doorman saw the Fifth Princess get out of the carriage, he hurriedly greeted her and saluted. Lin Feilu asked as she walked in, "What is my eldest Imperial sister doing?"
The little servant looked a little embarrassed. Only after they both entered the courtyard did he start to answer her reluctantly, "Replying to the Fifth Princess's question, the eldest Imperial Princess is not in residence right now."
Lin Feilu glanced at him, "Where is she?"
Just as they were talking, Du Jingruo came out of the house.
Back then, the youngster in green had become a handsome young man— just like the husband that Lin Nianzhi was looking forward to back then.
Lin Feilu called out to him, "Brother-in-law."
Du Jingruo bowed slightly before he spoke warmly, "The Fifth Princess is here to find Nianzhi? She moved back to her residence a few days ago and is not here now."
Lin Feilu understood as soon as she heard it, "Are you two quarreling again?"
A helpless smile appeared on Du Jingruo's face.
Lin Feilu asked, "What's the reason this time?"
Du Jingruo hesitated, but he didn't say anything in the end. He merely replied, "If the Fifth Princess is looking for Nianzhi, please relay a word to her from me. Mother's words are not my thoughts, so she need not mind it."
Lin Feilu nodded at him before turning and making her way to the Eldest Princess's Residence.
The Eldest Princess's Residence was built in the year when Lin Nianzhi came of age(1). This was the rule of the Great Lin Empire's Royal Family— the Princes and Princesses must have a residence built outside the palace once they became adults. However, after Lin Nianzhi got married, she lived with Du Jingruo in the Du's Residence. Hence, the Eldest Princess's Residence only had a few servants taking care of it, so most of the time, it remained empty.
(T/N: The term is 'Ji An' in Chinese. In ancient times, girls who turned 15 were considered adults. From then, there were different hairstyles, outfits, accessories, and customs they would have to follow because they were now mature)
But it was apparent that Lin Nianzhi regarded this place as her maiden's home— every time she quarreled with Du Jingruo, she would pack up and move back to her residence.
After Lin Feilu entered the house, she followed the maid to the courtyard door. The maid relayed the message, and Lin Nianzhi's angry voice echoed from the room, "No, no, no! Sweep out all the people of the Du family with the brooms! This Princess will not meet anyone!"
Lin Feilu smiled and asked, "You won't see me either?"
Suddenly, there was nothing but an awkward atmosphere of silence. It took a long while before Lin Nianzhi's unhappy voice rang out, "What are you doing outside if you're not going to come in?!"
Lin Feilu asked the maid to return to her post as she pushed open the door and walked in. She saw Lin Nianzhi lying on the soft couch when she entered the room. She snacked on some fruits while struggling to solve a nine-chain ring puzzle(2). Hearing her sister's movements, she didn't lift her eyelids and just muttered, "Why did you leave the palace again?"
(T/N: This particular game contains nine rings cleverly attached to a long metal loop. One has to figure out a way to unlock all the rings, and it is a pretty challenging puzzle. Each ring increased the difficulty of the game, so nine rings is kind of tricky)
Lin Feilu sat down across from her and looked at the highly complicated nine-chain ring puzzles in her hand, "I came out with Brother Jingyuan."
Lin Feilu sat down across from her and looked at the highly complicated nine-chain ring puzzles in her hand, "I came out with Brother Jingyuan."
Lin Nianzhi's eyes flashed a fierce and murderous glint, "Where is he?! Did he come here with you? Have him come over; I will beat him up to quell my anger!"
Lin Feilu, "…"
She stretched out her fingers to block Lin Nianzhi's movements and changed the direction of one of the nine rings. She managed to untie one of the links with a click.
Lin Nianzhi threw the nine-chain ring puzzle aside, annoyed, "I don't want to play anymore! I couldn't solve it despite trying my best for an entire day, but you solved it as soon as you came!"
Lin Feilu smiled, "Your mind is not concentrating on it, so how could you solve it? However, what did brother-in-law do to anger you now?"
Lin Nianzhi became furious when she heard the word 'brother-in-law', "You are not allowed to call him brother-in-law ever again! I declare that he is not your brother-in-law from now on! I want to divorce him!"
Lin Feilu, "You say this once a year."
Lin Nianzhi, "… This time it's true!" She gritted her teeth angrily and spoke ragingly, "Do you know what his mother said? She said that since I couldn't give birth to a child, she would like him to get a concubine! She also told me to be even more benevolent, saying that if I cannot bear children, at least don't stop others from doing so!"
Lin Feilu shared her hatred, "That's too much! How can she be like this?!"
Lin Nianzhi repeatedly nodded, "Yes! Do you think I can't give birth to children? I just clearly don't want to! I could give birth to an entire polo team in a flash if I wanted to!"
Lin Feilu: "…You don't have to go that far, to be honest."
She understood that her eldest Imperial sister had encountered a problem that caused girls of ancient times to struggle with.
She comforted her for a long time before asking, "That's what brother-in-law thinks too?"
Lin Nianzhi paused and said awkwardly, "That's not true. He said it's fine as long as I'm happy, and he wouldn't wed a concubine just for children."
Lin Feilu, "Then why are you mad at him?"
Lin Nianzhi glared at her, "Am I not in this situation because I got married to him?! He is the culprit of my current misery!"
Lin Feilu, "…Well, full marks for logic."
Lin Nianzhi ranted for half an hour before she finally felt a little more at ease and was not as irritable as before. Looking at the Little Fifth Princess, who picked up the nine-chain ring puzzle to play, she suddenly asked, "You're also thirteen this year. According to the rules, Father Emperor should also choose a husband for you by now."
Lin Feilu was so frightened that she almost broke the puzzle.
Lin Nianzhi completely forgot that she was still complaining about marrying into the Du family as she asked her excitedly, "Do you have someone you like?"
Lin Feilu shook her head frantically, "No no no no!"
Lin Nianzhi looked at her and stretched out a finger to hook her chin, "Our Little Fifth Princess is now getting more and more beautiful. Your good looks move even this eldest Imperial Princess, I wonder who will be the lucky suitor?"
Lin Feilu, "…"
She suddenly remembered something again, "It's been three years since Xi Xingjiang went to the frontier, right?"
The Xi family had been stationed in the frontier for successive dynasties, and Xi Xingjiang was sent to the frontier army to gain some training experience three years ago. In the future, he would take over the seal of General Xi, so both the Xi family and the Imperial Court value his training very much.
Lin Feilu didn't know why she suddenly mentioned this, but she nodded.
Then, Lin Feilu heard Lin Nianzhi say with a smile, "Didn't he give you a jade pendant before he left? Do you know what it means for a man to give a woman a jade? I heard Jingruo say some time ago that Xi Xingjiang may return to the capital this year. Perhaps he's coming back for you?"
Lin Feilu, "?"
She didn't want to be shocked anymore, so she just answered quietly, "Do you think I would like someone that the eldest Imperial sister looked down on back then?"
Lin Nianzhi, "…Huh, that's right. Forget it then; he's not worthy of our Little Fifth Princess whose beauty is capable of sinking fish, making geese drown, closing off the moon's luminance and embarrassing the flowers."
Lin Feilu quickly raised another topic, "I heard that the Empress is choosing a Crown Princess for brother Crown Prince."
In recent years, Lin Nianzhi had often lived outside the palace, so her focus had been on his marriage. She has very little news about the current struggle of the two Imperial princes for the succession of the crown. Hearing this, she nodded, "I also heard that the Right Prime Minister's granddaughter was chosen. I guess an Imperial Decree for their marriage will be issued soon."
The Great Lin Empire always had Left and Right Prime Ministers. The Left Prime Minister was the father of Noble Consort Ruan. In those years, the Ruan family's dominance severely suppressed the Right Prime Minister Si's faction. It made the Right Prime Minister Si's faction unable not say anything in the Imperial Court. Throughout the past two years, due to the rivalry between the two factions of the two princes, the Right Prime minister's faction had taken the opportunity to rise up and gradually tended to fight and hold their own against the Ruan family.
Prime Minister Si's granddaughter was called Si Miaoran, and she was also a famous woman in the capital. Although Lin Feilu had never met her, she had heard of this woman's elegance, courteousness, and talents.
Lin Nianzhi chatted about a few rumors that concerned Si Miaoran before she turned around and said, "Seeing that the Crown Prince is about to marry a wife, but the side from Prince Qi(3) is still remaining silent, the Ruan family can really sit comfortably. I don't know what sort of deity they are trying to select; it's taking so long."
(T/N: When the Princes establish their own residence, they will be given a new name. The concept is that since they're moving, they shouldn't be only known as the 'son of the Emperor' and should have their own identity. Prince Qi is the new form of addressing Prince Lin Ting. Princesses would have it occasionally, but we're not that far into the story to know yet)
At this point, getting married had nothing to do with personal happiness; it was just a convenient tool used by the families to consolidate their power.
The Ruan family started with that power, so naturally, they could not let Lin Ting marry quickly. However, it was bound to happen within a year or two.
Lin Feilu didn't want to leave the palace as she was worried about her two brothers, so she quickly turned the topic back to Lin Nianzhi.
Lin Nianzhi, as expected, started to scold Du Jingruo again…
Lin Feilu listened, but she felt that her eldest Imperial sister was becoming more prone to anger after she got married— and this was something tolerated and condoned by Du Jingruo until it became a habit.
Inexplicably, he brought this upon himself.
She stayed until that evening before leaving. Lin Jingyuan was sitting on the carriage outside the residence, looking at the map he had collected today. He was already thinking about how his future residence would be divided into different areas.
As soon as Lin Feilu left the courtyard, she saw Du Jingruo pacing under the afterglow.
Lin Nianzhi was still holding her hand reluctantly to say goodbye, but when she saw Du Jingruo, she immediately lowered her face, let go of her sister's hand and turned around to re-enter the house.
Lin Feilu secretly gave Du Jingruo a cheering gesture, one which he appreciated and returned with a nod as he looked at the half-closed gates with a helpless and doting smile reflected in his eyes.
Although Lin Nianzhi looked angry, it was evident she left the door ajar for him.
Du Jingruo walked all the way inside the courtyard before noticing that Lin Nianzhi's door was half-closed. He walked to the door but did not push it further open as he only knocked on it twice.
Lin Nianzhi's unhappy voice echoed from inside, "What do you want?!"
He sighed slightly and spoke softly, "Niannian, come home with me."
After a while, a muffled voice resounded again, "What for? To watch you marry a concubine?"
He still whispered softly, "I won't take in a concubine; having Niannian is enough."
After a while, the door was opened. Lin Nianzhi stood inside with reddened eyes. She was sniffling as she yelled at him, "Du Jingruo, listen to me! If you ever make me angry again, I will run away! You know what? I will run far away so that you can never find me again!"
He nodded, "I'll remember."
Lin Nianzhi, "Humph!"
He smiled and took her hand, "Let's go home."
Lin Nianzhi turned her head away, obviously unhappy, "My feet hurt! I can't walk! I'll go back in a few days!"
Du Jingruo looked down at her feet which were wearing her white pair of silk embroidered shoes and said warmly, "I'll carry you home on my back."
Despite being married for so many years, despite being an official pair of husband and wife for so many years, and despite being familiar with every position on each other's body, Lin Nianzhi found that his gentle tone would still move her.
Her cheeks turned into a rosy shade of crimson as she said awkwardly, "Who… who would want that!"
Du Jingruo smiled before he suddenly held her in a bridal carry.
Lin Nianzhi was so frightened that she put her arms around his neck and stared blankly at the romantic mole situated at the corner of his eye.
She heard him say softly, "Then I'll carry you like this. Let's go home, Niannian."
A few days after returning to the palace, the Imperial Decree of Lin Qing and Si Miaoran's marriage was indeed issued.
Si Miaoran was only fifteen years old, but whether it be her family background, upbringing or appearance, she was definitely worthy of bearing the position of the Crown Princess. The people in the Royal Astronomy Supervisors predicted and calculated an auspicious day and set it as the date of marriage. As it was going to be held in less than half a year in the weather of late autumn, the atmosphere inside and outside the palace were both bustling.
Lin Feilu took that chance and secretly snuck out of the palace to see the future Crown Princess. She was known as a symbol of beauty— the kind who didn't show her teeth when she smiled.
In fact, according to her thoughts, Lin Qing's dignified and calm temperament should be matched with an outgoing girl. Si Miaoran was the epitome of a perfect lady, both knowledgeable and reasonable in terms of character. She was inevitably slightly similar to Lin Qing as she behaved in a very disciplined manner.
But how could the children ever call the shots when it came down to a marriage between royals?
After Lin Feilu saw her future sister-in-law, she ran to the Eastern Palace as soon as she returned.
After Lin Feilu saw her future sister-in-law, she ran to the Eastern Palace as soon as she returned.
When Lin Feilu went there, Lin Qing was practicing his calligraphy skills before he heard her voice from afar. As soon as she came in, he admonished, "You're a lady now; how can you still be so undignified? Stop shouting here and there with such unruly manners."
Lin Feilu replied, "Oh, it seems that the brother Crown Prince really likes a quiet and virtuous woman like my future sister-in-law?"
Lin Qing paused and glanced at her before he shook his head helplessly, "Have you left the palace again?"
Lin Feilu was sitting on the couch. Her long blue dress draped over the seat like tassels, but she couldn't stop her feet from swaying restlessly, "Yes, I went to see my sister-in-law! I'm making sure that brother Crown Prince deserves the best."
Lin Qing laughed as he sat down and poured her a cup of butter tea, "When did it become your turn to make sure my marriage goes well? Would the marriage not happen if you were to disapprove, perhaps?"
Although it was a joke, it also expressed the Crown Prince's helpless bitterness towards the situation.
Lin Feilu pouted as she took the butter tea from him. She said, "Sister-in-law is beautiful and has the same personality as the rumors say, so she should be a good wife. Brother Crown Prince should also treat sister-in-law well in the future!"
Lin Qing tapped her restlessly shaking knees with the handle of his fan, "Just take care of your own affairs. A few days ago, Father Emperor mentioned about your potential engagement to me. Do you have a man you fancy?"
Lin Feilu spat out the butter tea.
Fortunately, Lin Qing was agile and dodged at once, but it still splashed onto his sleeve before the palace servants standing next to him hurried to clean up the mess next to him. Lin Qing took out a handkerchief from the cuffs of his sleeve and handed it to her to wipe her mouth. She was speechless, "Look at yourself— you were so well-behaved when you were younger. Nowadays, you have become so unruly."
Lin Feilu wiped her mouth and spoke in a slightly despaired tone, "Father Emperor really said that he would start my engagement now?"
Lin Qing replied to her, "How could it be fake? If you have someone you like, you can just tell me. Since I don't have a choice in my romantic aspects, at the very least, you should choose someone that you want and don't trouble yourself."
Lin Feilu shook her head frantically again, "No, no, I don't want to get married yet!"
Lin Qing said, "I'm not asking you to get married now; I just think you should decide first. What if someone else robbed you of your choice?"
Lin Feilu, "If someone can take him away, then it simply means that he never belonged to me in the first place," She leaned forward and tugged onto Lin Qing's sleeves pitifully, "Brother Crown Prince, I don't want to get married so early. Can you help me talk to Father Emperor about it?"
Lin Qing looked at her dissatisfied, "It seems like you've been mingling with your fourth brother for too long; you have been infected by his rambunctiousness!"
Lin Feilu, "You yelled at me…QAQ"
Lin Qing, "…"
He couldn't do anything about this little sister who he had been doting on since his childhood. Under the pressure of her pitifully sad eyes, he could only nod his head, "Forget it, you haven't reached your age of marriage yet, so I guess it's fine to push this back."
Lin Feilu happily took out a round thing from the cuffs of her sleeves, "Brother Crown Prince is the best to me— this is for you!"
Lin Qing was accustomed to her always coming up with some strange and bizarre things, so he took the object over and studied it for a long time, "What is this?"
Lin Feilu explained enthusiastically, "This is called a yo-yo! It's played like this— I'll show you how!"
So the two siblings played with the yo-yo in the Eastern Palace for an entire afternoon.
With Lin Qing's intercession, paired with Lin Feilu behaving coquettishly in front of the Emperor, saying that she was reluctant to leave her beloved Father Emperor while shedding a few tears, the Emperor finally cancelled the plans of her engagement.
Lin Feilu knew very clearly that although she could evade the issue for now, she wouldn't be able to push this past her 15th birthday. In two years, she would come-of-age, so it wouldn't be this easy to fool anyone by then.
However, being able to push it back for even a minute was a worthy cause of celebration. She would stress about future matters in the future, waiting till the arrival of the day of judgement before making her move.
When she returned to Mingyue Palace, she noticed Lin Wei accompanied Lin Zhanyuan to feed the rabbits.
Lin Ting's rabbit died a few years ago, so the current rabbits in the palace were all newly raised. Lin Wei was no longer the little baby who cried and yearned to touch the bunny and the dog. She had become a lively little girl and was still very close to Lin Zhanyuan.
After many years, Lin Wei naturally discovered that Lin Zhanyuan was different from ordinary people, but she did not dislike this foolish brother at all.
Lin Zhanyuan was her only playmate throughout her childhood. Although she grew up, she was still very willing to be his playmate.
On the way back, Lin Feilu went to the Ice Storage Unit of the Imperial Household Department to get a few popsicles. After returning, she distributed one to the two of them before walking out with an ice box.
Lin Wei sat in an odd posture on the rattan chair. Eating the popsicle midway, she asked, "Fifth sister, are you going to the Cuizhu Villa again?"
Lin Feilu responded casually with a hum.
Lin Wei said in a faked sorrow, "I heard that Father Emperor is making plans for your wedding already. Are you perhaps interested in the royal hostage? This would be difficult— I don't think Father Emperor will approve of that."
Lin Feilu turned her head, proceeding to lift Lin Wei off the rattan chair and up the courtyard's wall.
Lin Wei was so scared that she burst into tears and didn't dare to move, "Fifth sister, I was wrong! Put me down! Why do you do this to me every time?!"
After all, under the tutelage of Noble Consort Xi, Lin Feilu naturally had to master some special skills.
Lin Feilu stood under the wall with her arms folded across her chest and looked lazily at the trembling little girl standing on the wall, "Will you speak of nonsense next time?"
Lin Wei hesitated and instantaneously grumbled, "When did I ever speak of nonsense? Don't you actually like him? You have gone to the Cuizhu Villa more often than you have visited me!"
Lin Feilu pointed at her, "Stand there for me, alright?"
After she finished speaking, she took the ice box and left.
Not long after she walked out, Lin Feilu heard Lin Wei shouting as she instructed Lin Zhanyuan to move a ladder over.
The bamboos in the Cuizhu Villa have grown taller and sturdier over the years. They were at a towering height, completely covering the sight of the villa. Lin Feilu walked outside the courtyard, glancing at the wall that had once blocked her and made things difficult for her. With slightly pointed toes, she easily flew up the wall.
She lifted the hem of her skirt and simply sat down, her legs hanging over the wall in a slightly crossed position, revealing her veiled skirt and a pair of white-colored embroidered shoes.