The Princess's Notebook

Wei Shiqilang came to the East Palace in mid-March. But by the end of the month, Song Dajian had not seen any action from the prince, so he was cautious and timid and could only look for connections everywhere to arrange for someone to serve in the side hall. Until the end of the month, the young eunuch heard Zhao Feiran shouting "Shiqi" again while on night watch.

The voice was so heartbreaking and miserable that even the eunuch in the outer corridor was frightened and fell to his knees.

Upon hearing the news, Eunuch Song was extremely anxious, but he dared not act rashly. He patted the young eunuch on the head and said, "Wait a little longer, wait a little longer, the time has come... If it is true, let Shiqilang serve in the main hall."

This wait lasted another two days.

That night, Zhao Feiran was much gentler than before, and said softly: "Seventeen, this should be written like this... Xiao Huangmen walking in the palace must abide by the rules. Unless it is a day off, they are not allowed to go out at other times..."

He kept talking about the daily habits of the eunuchs in the palace.

The young eunuch who was on night watch outside was very curious, but he dared not come closer, and could only hear these vaguely. The next morning, he handed in his task and hurriedly reported to his master.

"Master, His Highness called Seventeen again last night, and was unusually gentle, a rare gentleness."

Song Dajian narrowed his triangular eyes, "Gentle? You were on duty last night and didn't wake up. When did His Highness describe you like that? Our Highness is also very majestic in front of His Majesty and His Majesty."

"Master, I heard it right. Your Highness was talking in his sleep last night. Anyone who saw him would say it was strange. He was very good at not talking, but also taught me in detail. He talked about common things in the palace..."

The forehead of Eunuch Song became brighter and brighter, and his triangular eyes sparkled brightly.

"Go, go to the Zuowei Commander's Mansion and quietly ask Wei Family Seventeenth Brother to come to guard the main hall."

Without waiting for the next day, Wei Shiqilang was stationed at the main hall that night. Because of his outstanding appearance and the silent care of Song Dajian, he was arranged to guard the main hall gate. Anyone entering the main hall had to pass by him. He was dazzling.

Everything was arranged properly, just waiting for the east wind. Supervisor Song was so satisfied that he scolded his apprentice less.

However, several days passed, and Wei Shiqilang spent the whole day at the door of the main hall, enjoying the breeze. Apart from the little palace maids who were not on duty hiding in corners and whispering to each other, there was nothing else to do.

Eunuch Song had a headache, feeling as if he had done something wrong.

Coincidentally, on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, Zhao Feiran went to pay respects to the empress, and the left and right guards led the way. Wei Shiqilang, with a sword tied around his waist, was extremely handsome, like a spring scene, standing beside Zhao Feiran. In response, Song Dajian smiled and watched the team go away.

Zhao Feiran and his party arrived at the Queen's place. Before entering the palace, he heard sweet laughter from inside. His steps became much lighter and he walked in with a smile.

Shang was still in the corridor, shouting towards the inside: "Sister, you came to see mother but didn't tell me. I haven't seen you for a while, so it's a good opportunity to talk."

Following the morning light, the queen sat in the main hall, with only an elderly maid serving her. On her left hand side, a young lady in her twenties, with a golden hairpin and a fair face, was laughing happily.

The young lady heard the noise outside and looked outside. She pulled the Queen's hand and teased Zhao Feiran, "Oh, I thought it was someone else, it's our Crown Prince. Mammy, quickly change a clean mat. Our Crown Prince loves it the most and can't stand these."

Zhao Feiran stepped in quickly, "Sister, I haven't said anything yet, and you're already bullying me?!"

As he spoke, he casually sat down on the right side of the queen. The maidservant beside him brought him tea and snacks according to his preferences.

The young lady is the current princess, with the title Jing'an.

Earlier, when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not yet born, the most dazzling person in the palace was Princess Jing'an, who was trained according to the model of the crown prince. His Majesty took Princess Jing'an to court, met with court officials, and discussed politics, and loved her very much. Later, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was born, and the princess repeatedly stated that she only wanted to enjoy life and did not want to bear the heavy burden of the country, so the unshakable His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was born. In this way, in the entire Daye Palace, who didn't know that Princess Jing'an was much more favored than Zhao Feiran.

Look, Zhao Feiran just yelled at his sister to be nicer to him, and Princess Jing'an scolded him.

"Be good to you? Don't you see what good things you have done? I haven't come to pay my respects to my mother for a few days, and you said that I have to ask you before entering the palace? You have already started to discipline me before I inherit the throne. I will never have a good life in the future!" He turned to the queen and pretended to cry.

"Mother, look at Xiaoliu, he dares to discipline his own sister, that's incredible. Mother, please take care of him."

Queen Zhou watched the two of them bickering in silence, with a faint smile on her lips.

At this point, Princess Jing'an thought of Zhao Feiran's bad temper. He was always very tough in front of Queen Zhou, so she said, "Mother, Xiaoliu is grown up now. He is already seventeen. Why don't you and father find him a strong new wife to take care of him? This way, he won't have time to bother me."

Zhao Feiran felt something was wrong, "Sister, stop looking at me. The little princess is already five years old."

The little princess mentioned is the eldest daughter of Princess Jing'an, whose nickname is Feifei.

"Oh, you are really capable. It's embarrassing for you to compare yourself with your own niece. Why don't you ask Xiaoqi? Xiaoqi is two years older than Feifei and is already seven years old."

Seeing that the conversation was getting more and more outrageous and even dragging the Seventh Prince into it, Empress Zhou hurried to make peace, "Alright, you two are brothers from the same mother, but you have the bad habit of quarreling whenever you meet. When will you change? Stop quarreling," she lowered her head to look at Zhao Feiran who was eating snacks, "Your sister is right. You are seventeen this year, and your brothers were already engaged when they were your age. You should also consider it."

Zhao Fei paused, held his breath for a moment, and then said, "Young ladies, you are the most annoying. What's the point of chattering all day long?" After dealing with Queen Zhou, he turned around and started to quarrel with Princess Jing'an.

Zhao Feiran had said this several times before, but Empress Zhou never took it to heart. But when she heard it again, she suddenly thought of the news she had gotten from Eunuch Song.

Taking the opportunity of drinking tea to calm his mind, could it be that it was really Wei Shiqilang?
After a moment, Queen Zhou looked at the nanny beside her and asked silently: Did Wei Shiqilang come with us?

Mammy: Here I am, waiting outside the door.

Queen Zhou: ? ?
The nanny nodded gently. She couldn't understand why her son had become like this. Thinking of this, Queen Zhou glanced at Zhao Feiran. She saw that he didn't care about the eyebrow lawsuit just now, and was still arguing with Jing'an. For a moment, she sighed silently.

Let’s take a closer look at this matter.

After a few more words, Empress Zhou ordered her son and daughter to be sent away.

Zhao Feiran and Princess Jing'an, who were chased out, just walked out of the palace gate and stood in front of the Listening Snow Tower to chat. The Listening Snow Tower is surrounded by water and is very quiet. If it snows heavily in winter, you can see the ground covered with white and green, with uneven heights and stretching endlessly.

At the moment, Zhao Feiran sat by the window, one hand on the window sill, looking relaxed. Princess Jing'an stood on the side, pulling her skirt to the ground, looking elegant and graceful, no longer as lively as before.

Zhao Feiran knew that his elder sister wanted to see him for something, "Sister, what is it?"

"You little bastard, can't I talk to you if I have nothing to do?!"

Zhao Feiran, who had been in a bad mood recently, lost interest immediately after being criticized several times. "Nothing?! Then I'm leaving. The Grand Tutor is still waiting for me." He pretended to really leave.

Princess Jing'an was anxious, "Hey, why are you leaving? I have something to ask you. Come back," seeing Zhao Feiran stop walking, she continued, "Where did you find the storybook last time? It's very novel. Tell me. If it's appropriate, I won't bother your highness the crown prince with searching for the storybook in the future."

Zhao Feiran immediately said, "Huitong Bookstore."

"The Huitong Bookstore of the March Literary Society?" Princess Jing'an confirmed.

"Well, there are no other Huitong bookstores in Kyoto."

"Isn't Huitong Bookstore a legitimate bookstore..." Princess Jing'an was puzzled. Instead of selling ancient books and works by great scholars, it sells storybooks?
"Sister, how is Huitong Bookstore not serious? It's just selling storybooks. Don't you often deal in storybooks to read? Isn't it serious?"

"Xiao Liu, you really should ask your mother to find you a new wife. You are so annoying." Princess Jing'an lost her temper when she thought of the help she could ask for. "Forget it, I am your elder sister. I won't bother with you."

As he spoke, he took out a book from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Feiran, "Take a look at this for me," pointing to the emblem on the title page, "Is this the emblem of Huitong Bookstore?"

The emblem of Huitong Bookstore is a book split in half, which is very easy to recognize.

After a quick glance, Zhao Feiran knew that this was indeed the emblem of Huitong Bookstore. Of course, he had just been humiliated several times, so he must make up for it.

Then he asked, "Sister, you are Princess Jing'an after all. You are just looking for an emblem. Why do you have to wait until today to ask me? Don't you have anyone to serve you?"

"How foolish! I am the Princess Daye, a respectable person, how can I read a storybook? I have already told you that the fewer people who know about this, the better. Have you forgotten?"

Zhao Feiran looked his elder sister up and down. She was wearing a chest-length scarlet skirt with gold edges, with fluttering ribbons, dancing like a swallow or butterfly.

I can't help but sigh, it's so well decorated.

"Sister, you are so secretive, could this book be something filthy..." He suddenly took the book from Princess Jing'an and opened it. But on the first page it read:

Meeting a pretty lady on a snowy night, the eunuch has the intention but cannot do it
Zhao Feiran's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at Jing'an from the corner of his eye and saw that she was a little flustered. His heartbeat became even faster. He turned his hand to look at the cover, which read:

The married life of Xiao Huangmen
Suddenly, His Royal Highness's hands trembled, and he could hardly hold the book. For some reason, he suddenly thought of the young lady he met at Huitong Bookstore that day. She was also like this, always mentioning Xiao Huangmen.

I sighed for a moment: the world is deteriorating and people’s hearts are no longer the same!
Do all the young ladies nowadays look like this?
"Sister... Sister, you..." No wonder she didn't want anyone to know, it was because of this.

While Zhao Feiran was at a loss, Princess Jing'an ignored her manners and jumped up to grab the book. However, Zhao Feiran had long legs and feet, so she failed several times.

After thinking it over, Princess Jing'an decided to go for broke. "I understand. What do you want to do?"

"Sister, you are just reading storybooks to kill time. You can't... you can't... you are married. You can't..."

Unable to bear the nagging, Princess Jing'an exclaimed, "What can I do? Speak!"

Zhao Feiran, who grew up under the suppression of his elder sister, was very tough in front of others, the queen, and even His Majesty. But when he was in front of Princess Jing'an, he couldn't say anything powerful.

I can only say in a low voice: "Don't let the prince consort know."

Princess Jing'an nodded with satisfaction. "Indeed, then tell me, is this the emblem of Huitong Bookstore?"

He wanted to argue a few more times in his own defense and express concern, but a look from Princess Jing'an stopped him, and Zhao Feiran nodded helplessly.

Princess Jing'an replied: "I understand. Whether you can get married or not, I will seek redress for you from my mother and father. We are siblings, so we should exchange courtesy."

(End of this chapter)