The Princess's Notebook

Two flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty. Let's talk about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince first.

On the way back to the East Palace from the Queen's place, Zhao Feiran frequently saw young palace maids looking at him. At first, he didn't take it seriously. As the Crown Prince, he would always attract attention wherever he went. At the moment, these were nothing.

But later, he realized something was wrong. These people did not seem to come to see him on purpose. He looked around and saw Wei Shiqilang beside him. He had a handsome face.

Zhao Feiran was already eye-catching, but after taking a closer look at Shiqilang, he had to admit that this man was indeed even more eye-catching.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Zhao Feiran asked, "Seventeenth Brother, when we met on the training ground that day, I never asked you if you had a wife?"

Wei Shiqilang: "Your Highness, I have not yet married."

"With your looks, there should be many noble ladies in Kyoto willing to marry you. Why haven't you gotten married yet?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am only sixteen years old and there is no need to rush."

After asking this question, Zhao Feiran seemed to be thinking about something else, and immediately put it aside and no longer cared about it. Wei Shiqilang was left alone, thinking back and forth several times, what did His Highness mean by this.

Are you advising him to get married quickly?

Or, do you want to arrange a marriage for him?

Princess Jing'an, on the other hand, got the news she wanted and returned to the Princess' Mansion with satisfaction. Before lunch time, she sent someone to Huitong Bookstore to meet Shopkeeper Xu. Of course, he used the title of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He did not mention the princess at all. Princess Jing'an was dignified and sophisticated, a model of a noble lady from an aristocratic family, and there could not be any mistakes.

The shopkeeper Xu of Huitong Bookstore was no ordinary person. He immediately sent someone to tell Shiqi Niang that good days had come.

On the appointed day, Shiqi Niang left Jingui and Yingui to take care of Qiu Shuangju, disguised herself as an ordinary young man, reported to her mistress Qiao Xin, and quietly entered Huitong Bookstore through the back door.

Today is really a good day. Shopkeeper Xu has been waiting for a long time. When he saw Shiqi Niang coming in, he happily went forward to greet her and shouted, "Shiqi, your good day, our bookstore's good day, is here."

Shiqi Niang walked briskly and sat opposite him. "What good day? Is the new book "Little Eunuch" selling well?"

"Not only that, two days ago, someone from the palace came to talk to me, praising you several times, and even said that if the second volume of "Little Eunuch" is published, send someone to inform them immediately, because their masters are waiting."

The young lady's eyes lit up, "Who is their master?"

Shopkeeper Xu laughed and said, "The visitor is a young lady who doesn't want to reveal her identity. She only said that she is serving in the palace. If the book can be favored by the master in the future, various rewards will be given."

"It's only been one volume, but it's already alarmed the people in the imperial city?" Shiqi Niang was surprised and felt that something was wrong.

Shopkeeper Xu looked at her for a few times, and seemed to feel that Shiqi Niang had changed. "Shiqi, you don't want to make money anymore? We are all good citizens, and we are doing things that are permitted by the laws of Daye. What are you afraid of? Besides, I will support you even if the sky falls. You don't have to worry about these things, and you should think about new ideas. Remember, it should be novel and different. The people in the palace are nothing more than concubines, princesses, and female officials. They are noble and have seen all kinds of big scenes and all kinds of rare objects. The second volume of our "Little Yellow Gate" must be unexpected."

Seeing Shopkeeper Xu lost in his daydreams, Shiqi Niang was anxiously watching him. She gulped down a few sips of tea and finally found a chance to interrupt: "Shopkeeper, that's not what I'm worried about. It's, oh..."

"What is it? Tell me. If you can get the money, I'll take care of it. I'll make sure you can write the second volume without any worries."

After thinking for a while, Shiqi Niang asked intermittently: "Will the eunuchs in the palace... read this?"

Shopkeeper Xu laughed loudly, as if laughing at her overthinking, "Shiqi Niang, you really are. I thought it was a big deal, but it was just a eunuch. Let me tell you, I have been running a bookstore for many years, and I have seen at least 80 eunuchs. You can rest assured that you will not worry about this. Although eunuchs are different from ordinary men, they are still men after all. In their hearts, they are all about family, country, official career, and economy. Hey," he seemed to feel something was wrong and changed his words, "The way to promotion, they will never pay attention to the things that these young ladies like. Don't worry."

Shiqi Niang was reluctant to reveal the whole story, and even after seeing Manager Xu's assurance, she still couldn't let it go.

Shopkeeper Xu consoled him, "If you're still worried, I'll tell the bookshop boy to keep an eye on them and sell them all to the ladies, okay?"

The two of them were only after money, so it was not appropriate to impose too many restrictions on them. So it was settled. After that, Shiqi Niang asked a lot about Xiao Huangmen, discussed for a long time, and divided the money for this month and went back home.

Thanks to Xiao Huangmen, I received a full ten taels of silver, which is more than the previous two months.

On the way back home, Shiqi Niang passed by a herbal medicine shop and bought some medicine for Aunt Shangguan. She passed by Chunfeng Tower and bought a box of rose shortbread with half a tael of silver. It was almost dinner time when she arrived at Qiu Shuangju. Jingui was looking anxiously under the eaves. When she saw Shiqi Niang coming, she shouted into the house, "Aunt, our girl is back." Then she ran towards Shiqi Niang.

"Miss, Miss, why did you take so long? You kept me waiting so long. I thought, I thought..." When she said this, her eyes were blurred with tears.

Shiqi Niang handed the snack box to Jingui, opened her eyes as bright as stars, and said with a smile: "I, your daughter, am fine. Look what this is, good stuff. I made money today, snacks from Chunfeng Tower. Good."

Under the sunset glow, the young lady lowered her head to look at the tears in Jingui's eyes. She held a snack in one hand and swayed in the golden light, while she held out a handkerchief with the other hand to wipe away the tears. Her eyes were so bright that the sunset glow behind her lost its luster.

Jingui couldn't help crying and laughing, "Young lady, you, what kind of young lady would wipe my tears?" Her voice trembled as she spoke.

Shiqi Niang didn't take it seriously and laughed at her in a very open-minded way, "Jin Gui, whose sister are you? You have to look after other people's houses all day long and can't leave the house for months." This touched her heart, and Jin Gui suddenly burst into tears.

Seeing that they could stand this kind of atmosphere so well, Shiqi Niang pulled them in without saying anything and shared some snacks.

Before the master and servant entered the inner room, Shangguan Yimian, Feng Yimian, Chengyue, Yingui and others all put down their work and came to the main room to see if Shiqi Niang was okay. The last time she went out, she was discovered by the lady and locked up for a month. Everyone still remembers it.

Aunt Shangguan was clear-headed at the moment, and looked at Shiqi Niang for a long time, "How was your trip? Shopkeeper Xu hurried to find you, is there something wrong with the storybook?"

Shiqi Niang smiled without saying anything and placed the snack box steadily on the round table. "Look, Auntie, this is a good thing. I also bought some snacks..."

Before anyone could finish, Aunt Feng said pitifully, "My son, you worked so hard to earn some money, so buy less of these useless things. Our Qiu Shuang Residence is leaky everywhere, and it costs money."

It was rare for Aunt Shangguan to share the same hatred with Aunt Feng. "Your aunt is right. I am sometimes good and sometimes bad. I have been a burden to you. Your life is so hard..."

Aunt Feng turned around with her frail body and started to scold Aunt Shangguan, "You are confused. The three of us, as Seventeen said, are a mother and her two children. I don't like to hear about the burden you are talking about. Don't say that anymore. Haven't you read a lot of books? Tell me something I like to hear."

Aunt Shangguan took the opportunity to walk forward and pulled Aunt Feng to sit down. Shiqi Niang spread out the box of snacks in front of her, and she sat down beside her.

"Okay, I've read a lot, I'll tell you something you like to hear." He turned his head and glanced at Shiqi Niang, "Our Shiqi Niang is the best girl in this courtyard. It's our blessing to have her as our daughter. Come on, come on, look, this blessing is handed to you but you don't know how to enjoy it. Have you been through too many hard times and can't enjoy it anymore?"

As they were talking, Shiqi Niang handed a piece of rose pastry to the two concubines. Shangguan took one and gave one to Concubine Feng.

Aunt Feng rarely saw such a scene. She held the shortbread in her hand, looked at Shangguan who was smiling at her, then looked at Shiqi who was not far away. Her eyes also swept over a few maids who were serving her. But she saw that everyone was staring at her. Her face was full of smiles and her eyes were full of satisfaction.

Aunt Feng, who was always delicate and frail, smiled with her lips pursed, moved her cheeks, and pulled the corners of her eyes. She seemed to be crying and laughing, with tears shining. When the pearl at the corner of her eye was about to slide down, she couldn't stand the attention of everyone, so she lowered her head and ate the cake.

The first bite was extremely crispy, the next bite was full of rose fragrance, and the next bite was a bit salty.

Aunt Feng was confused and thought that the shortbread she had spent so much money on could not be salty. She immediately said, "Seventeen, don't buy these in the future. They are a bit salty and not good."

After hearing this, Seventeen's eyes were sore and he had nothing to say but to nod continuously.

For a moment, the room was silent, with only the sound of the biscuits crumbling in the mouth.

Suddenly, Aunt Shangguan said, "Aunt Feng, you shed a few tears and blamed the rose biscuits that Seventeen bought for being too salty. I think you really can't enjoy your life!" She laughed to herself.

Hearing this, Aunt Feng was a little embarrassed, holding a shortbread in her mouth, and her words were slurred. "You, you, Shangguan you..."

Aunt Shangguan laughed even more happily. Everyone in the room, regardless of the difference between master and servant, also laughed.

After the mother and her two children had eaten a piece of the pastry, there were a few left, and Shiqi Niang handed them to Chengyue and the other maids, asking each of them to share a little. It wasn't much, but it was a small token of her appreciation.

At night, Shiqi Niang lit a lamp and began the second volume of "Little Huangmen":

Eavesdropping on the boudoir music on a midsummer night, the long-sword man's blood splattered in front of the bridal chamber
Ever since he was carried back that day, the eunuch thought about her day and night, becoming thinner and thinner. When he was not on duty, he would stand in his own courtyard and hear the laughter of the girl next door. She was reading, playing the piano, and asking the maid to take care of the flower garden... Every word was like a sharp arrow, piercing his heart.

Midsummer came in a blink of an eye, and the old tree in the yard sprouted new buds, with lush greenery that covered the sky and blocked out the sun.

That night, the man next door went back to his room to talk with his wife. The eunuch stood alone under the old tree, listening to their conversation. Their laughter echoed all around. Unconsciously, the eunuch climbed up the old tree, using the shade of the tree to peek into the new house.

The warm yellow light shines on the window paper, outlining the figures of a man and a woman. I see them chatting under the window, sometimes approaching, sometimes moving away... Occasionally, you touch my forehead, I touch your eyebrows, or, I use my hands as lips to describe your delicate appearance...

The eunuch in the shade of the tree had one hand clasped on the bark, sinking deep into it. It was so dark that there was no moonlight at all. The eunuch was cold all over, with red eyes, as if he had gone crazy, like a devil in human skin.

In the second half of the night, a sudden violent storm swept away everything without leaving a trace.

However, not long after, the groom next door was hacked to death by a swordsman in the bridal chamber. The eunuch who heard the noise threw on his clothes and shoes and went out. After searching for a while, he found the young lady in the kitchen in the backyard.

Her eyes were lifeless and tears fell like pearls from a broken string.

The eunuch stepped forward with trembling hands, hesitated for a long time, and then placed his palms on the young lady's face, rubbing her cheek with his thumb to wipe her tears. Unexpectedly, the young lady cried even harder.

He had no idea what to do, so he said helplessly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

(End of this chapter)