The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Let's have our meal."

The Empress Dowager put down her teacup and gave her instructions with a smile.

Anyway, they didn't actually fight; it was just a small incident and nothing to worry about.

She turned to Tang Xixue, her eyes filled with affection:

"I've had your favorite sweet osmanthus rice wine with glutinous rice balls prepared. On such a cold day, nothing is better than a bowl to warm you up."

As she spoke, she reached out and gently brushed the stray hairs from Tang Xixue's shoulders, her movements as tender as if she were handling some rare treasure.

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue's eyes immediately lit up.

His eyes were brimming with surprise and joy, like a handful of scattered stars:

"Mother is so wonderful!"

She immediately sat up on the soft couch, her hands obediently resting on her knees, gazing longingly in the direction where Granny Lan was setting out the meal, looking just like a civet cat waiting to be fed.

"Truly the best mother in the world!"

She thought back to her childhood.

Back then, she always loved to sneak out of the palace and walk along the long streets of the capital with Yan Ci.

Those small stalls hidden in deep alleys, those steaming snacks, those sweet, savory, sour and spicy flavors of everyday life, are what truly soothe the human heart.

The Empress Dowager never stopped her.

Not only did they not stop her, they also instructed the accompanying guards to memorize every single food she liked.

Candied hawthorn berries, osmanthus cake, sweet fermented rice balls, roasted chestnuts...

Whenever she ate something a few times, her mother would instruct the small kitchen to learn how to make it, and then prepare a full table of food for her when she returned to the palace.

She didn't understand back then.

Looking back now, I realize that my mother didn't just indulge her gluttony.

It's about indulging her happiness and wanting her to be carefree.

He Lichen strode towards her.

He walked away naturally and calmly, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

The moon-white crane cloak fluttered gently behind him, like flowing clouds brushing across a cold pool.

He stopped beside Tang Xixue and sat down in the seat right next to her.

Very close.

So close that you could smell the faint, cool fragrance of crabapple blossoms emanating from her.

So close that you could see the dappled light and shadow falling as her eyelashes fluttered.

He lowered his eyes, a very faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

Tang Xiye sat opposite her.

The dark robe with gold patterns shimmered with a cold, dark luster in the light and shadow filtering through the window.

He gazed at the spot where He Lichen had sat down, and at the mere half-arm's length distance between him and Tang Xixue.

His gaze darkened further.

That heaviness was like a bottomless, icy pool.

But he didn't say anything.

He simply lowered his eyes, looking at his hand that had just been cut by the broken porcelain.

Normally, he wouldn't even give it a second glance.

But at this moment—

He raised his eyes and looked at the bright red figure opposite him.

"Weaving."

He spoke, his voice low, carrying a rare hint of vulnerability:

"My hand hurts so much."

The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Tang Xixue's ears.

She was looking at the bowl of osmanthus-flavored rice wine with glutinous rice balls that Granny Lan had placed on the table when she heard this and suddenly looked up.

The next instant, she rose from the chair, like a wisp of bright smoke, and drifted over.

"Brother!"

She bent down, took his hand in her arms, and examined it closely.

Those peach blossom eyes, which were just moments before filled with anticipation for sweets, are now filled only with heartache.

She stared at the several scratches, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"How did you get injured like this..."

Her voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of indescribable bitterness.

"Granny Lan!"

She turned her head and called out to the side:

"Prepare the medicine!"

Granny Lan responded and went to retrieve a carved sandalwood medicine box.

Tang Xixue took it, opened it, took out the white jade ointment inside, picked up a little with her fingertip, and then bent down and gently applied it to his wound.

The movement was extremely light and gentle, as if afraid of hurting him.

As she applied the ointment, she gently blew on it, the warm breath brushing against the back of his hand, tickling and tingling, the itch reaching all the way to his heart.

Tang Xiye looked down at her.

Looking at her slightly furrowed brows, her red eyes, and her focused yet gentle movements.

The corners of his lips curved upwards little by little.

The smile was faint, so faint that it was almost invisible.

But something was quietly swelling within that smile, like a satiated beast.

He raised his head and looked across at the other side.

I looked at the figure sitting alone in the same spot, with only the moon-like figure in a white robe beside him.

In that glance, there was smugness and provocation.

He Lichen met that gaze.

He didn't say anything.

He simply picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

The movement was extremely calm and elegant, as if the person didn't care at all.

But deep within those clear, cold eyes, a dark color had clearly settled.

Between the two, there was the warm fragrance of the room, the wisps of tea smoke, and a steaming breakfast.

But where their eyes met, there was clearly a burst of lightning and an intertwining of ice.

Empress Dowager Bai Yining sat in the main seat, watching this scene with a slight frown between her brows.

She glanced at her son—the emperor who was looking down at Tang Xixue with a satisfied smile on his lips.

Then he looked at He Lichen—the Imperial Preceptor who sat upright like a pine tree, seemingly calm and collected, yet the knuckles of his fingers holding the teacup were clearly slightly white.

She suddenly couldn't understand it.

"When did Yin'er become so pretentious?"

She murmured, her voice so low that only she could hear it.

In the past, when Tangxi was whipped by the late emperor, her back was bruised and blood flowed all over the ground, but she never uttered a sound.

He knelt there, enduring the pain without even flinching.

Now it's just a cut on the palm.

You cried out in pain?

Should we let Zhizhi come and apply the medicine herself?

The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes, suppressing her chaotic thoughts.

All she knew was that Tang Xixue was Consort Rou's child.

She didn't know that the child was not of royal blood.

She also knew that Bei Chenji had loved her as his daughter since childhood.

Although the child said nothing and hid it very well, how could he escape her eyes?

But she never imagined—

She gazed at Tang Xiye, at the unfathomable depths in his eyes as he looked at Tang Xixue, and a ridiculous thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

no no.

impossible.

She shook her head, banishing the thought.

Yin'er is the elder brother.

He is the elder brother.

Can--

Looking at his current appearance, she suddenly felt uncertain again.

"He, as the elder brother..."

She murmured, her voice growing softer and softer:

"You shouldn't be so possessive."

"He's not Zhizhi's husband."

Looking at He Lichen's lonely figure sitting opposite her, and then at her own son's smug expression, she suddenly felt a headache coming on.

"Is it even his place to be jealous?"

She sighed, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

That's outrageous.

Before long, Tang Xixue finally finished applying the medicine to Tang Xiye.

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with heartache:

"Brother, does it still hurt?"

Looking into her eyes, which were filled with worry, Tang Xiye's lips curled up a little more.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

He said softly.

There was a hint of tenderness in his voice that he only showed in front of her.

Opposite him, He Lichen remained seated upright like a pine tree, his face as cold and aloof as frost.

But the hand holding the teacup tightened its grip even more.

The Empress Dowager put down her teacup and rubbed her temples.

She felt like she might have to break her son's legs!

Does he know he's a bit of a pervert?

Who did he take after?