The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Weave it!"

As soon as Tang Xixue stepped into the gate of Qianqiu Palace, Empress Dowager Bai Yining quickly ran to greet her.

She was usually dignified and composed, but at this moment she disregarded her manners, and in a few steps she was right in front of him, pulling him into her arms.

"Good boy, you're finally back. You look so thin, did you suffer a lot out there?"

The Empress Dowager held Tang Xixue's hand tightly, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Seeing that she was safe and sound, the Empress Dowager finally felt relieved after a long time of worry.

"My poor little thing, everything will be alright now that you're back. Don't be afraid anymore."

She gently patted Tang Xixue's back, just like she did every time Tang Xixue woke up from a nightmare when she was a child.

"Yes, I feel at ease now that I'm back with Mother."

Tang Xixue felt a warmth in her heart and smiled sweetly. As long as she could return safely, she felt that all the hardships she had endured were nothing.

"Mother is really worried about Zhizhi being out there."

The Empress Dowager's gaze moved from her face to her body, scrutinizing her closely.

"It's a pity about you. You've never been a peaceful person since you were little. If you could stay still and behave yourself, that wouldn't be your nature."

"There's no way around it, Zhizhi was raised by the Empress Dowager. She won't be a caged bird, but a phoenix soaring to the heavens."

Tang Xixue is noble and proud, and was personally trained by the ruthless Empress Dowager.

Never bound by worldly rules, naturally unrestrained.

"Then it's a promise: no matter what, we must protect ourselves."

The Empress Dowager had so many words she wanted to say, but she couldn't bring herself to say them. How could she prevent her child from flying away just because of the storms outside?

"Okay, it's a deal."

Tang Xixue nodded obediently in response.

Suddenly, the Empress Dowager's gaze froze.

The red marks on Tang Xixue's neck stood out against her fair skin, varying in shades and carrying a touch of allure.

It was as if someone had scattered a shower of petals there.

"Is Yin'er starving?"

The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow, her tone filled with concern and reproach.

"Are they all treating my precious Zhizhi like a little dessert?"

"Mother Empress—"

Tang Xixue blushed instantly.

"This...this was a bee sting from the Imperial Garden. What does it have to do with Brother Xuan Yin?"

To be honest, Tang Xiye had far more marks on her body than she did.

Why didn't he try to hide it? Wouldn't he have been seen by all the civil and military officials when he went to court?

"Alright, alright, bees it is. We've woven such beautiful things, they'll naturally attract bees and butterflies. Wherever the spring breeze passes, it stirs up longing."

Seeing that she was shy, the Empress Dowager quickly stopped talking, but couldn't help adding another sentence.

"However, if Xuan Yin doesn't know how to cherish women, then Zhi Zhi will treat him coldly and throw him into the cold palace."

"I think this young man from the Yan family is quite good. Like the young general from the Feng family, he knows how to care for people."

As the Empress Dowager spoke, her gaze fell on Yan Ci, who was following behind Tang Xixue.

The young man was handsome and dashing, standing in the sunlight in a white robe with ink patterns.

Her long, silver-gray hair was half-tied up with her black crown, while the rest flowed down her shoulders and back like a spring.

He stood there like a still-wet ink painting, with clear black and white contrasts.

Ink is his base color, blank space is his style, but the Tai Chi orchid in the painting is his soul.

"Didn't he especially like our weaving when he was little? Now that he's grown up to be so handsome, weaving a warm bed for us, it can be said that we've finally become a couple."

The Empress Dowager remembered that when Tang Xixue was young, Xuan Yin was busy with state affairs and had no time to accompany her.

Yan Ci then spent every day with her, inseparable, with Feng Zhuo sometimes following behind.

"These all look quite good. My Zhizhi is a princess, so there's no need to make things difficult for her. Just take them all."

"It's not like we can't spoil them!"

The Empress Dowager said earnestly.

"Mother is right."

Tang Xixue replied that she could spoil her.

The flowers are so beautiful that I cannot bear to admire them all alone; I must share them with everyone so as not to waste this springtime beauty.

"Your subject Yan Ci pays his respects to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Yan Ci bowed respectfully. He had just entered the Thousand Autumns Palace when he heard the conversation between the mother and daughter. He stumbled and almost lost his footing.

A rare hint of embarrassment appeared on that usually composed face.

"Get up."

The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction, her gaze lingering on him for a moment longer.

"He is indeed handsome and talented, a truly exceptional man."

Yan Ci was always good at knowing when to advance and retreat, and was also clever and quick-witted, able to help her Zhizhi solve her problems.

The Empress Dowager found such a person pleasing to the eye.

"What do you think, Zhizhi?"

"Top grade."

At this moment, Tang Xixue resembled an emperor selecting concubines with the Empress Dowager, discussing whether or not to keep her nameplate.

"The Yan family has always been loyal. Is Military Advisor Yan still unmarried? Have your elders in the family arranged a marriage for you?"

The Empress Dowager asked the question.

"I have come here to accompany Your Highness in the search for your soul. I have never been married and have no intention of taking a wife."

Yan Ci composed himself and directly stated his purpose.

"Does Your Majesty possess any of His Highness's old belongings? Preferably items deeply connected to His Highness."

He immediately changed the subject.

Otherwise, His Majesty will find out very soon.

His Majesty is now obsessed with the little princess and wants to possess her entirely. He kicks anyone who gets close to her.

"Zhizhi grew up in my family's Qianqiu Palace when she was little, and there are her old things everywhere here."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Bai Yining immediately forgot about choosing a male concubine for her beloved daughter and took Tang Xixue's hand as she walked into the inner palace where her belongings were stored.

Looking around, there's still the wooden cradle she slept in as a child in the corner, spotlessly clean.

On the table sat a rag doll she had played with as a child, one of its ears worn down, yet it still sat there upright.

On the shelf stands the first piece of calligraphy she wrote when she was learning to read. It was crooked and uneven, with the two characters for "Empress Dowager" written one big and one small.

She kept it, framed it, and hung it in the most conspicuous place.

"Mother, why do you keep so many things here?"

Tang Xixue saw the little things she made when she was a child. Each one was carefully preserved, like a treasure sealed by time.

"Because each and every one of them is a treasure of the Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Bai Yining wiped away the wet tears from the corners of her eyes; they were tears of joy.

"Where did Mother's prayer beads go?"

Tang Xixue asked casually.

She remembered the sandalwood prayer beads on her mother's wrist, which she never took off.

She remembered that it was a gift from Master Bu Ran to her mother.

"What's the use of trusting someone who can't protect my beloved Zhizhi?"

As soon as Empress Dowager Bai Yining finished speaking, Tang Xixue's eyes instantly reddened.

The tears came so suddenly and violently that they couldn't be suppressed no matter what.

"I will take Zhizhi and search for it piece by piece; we will surely find it."

The Empress Dowager gently patted the back of her hand, her tone both tender and firm.

"Um."

Tang Xixue sniffed, holding back her tears.

They searched the entire Qianqiu Palace, turning over every corner, but still found nothing.

No.

Tang Xixue shook her head.

The Empress Dowager's face immediately showed worry.

"I remember that when His Highness was celebrating his first birthday, he picked up a jade pendant with a begonia shape."

Yan Ci spoke, his voice clear and melodious.

"I wonder where that jade pendant is now?"

He was extremely attentive to everything Tang Xixue did.

He remembered every single one of her preferences.

I remember every wish she had in the past.

He even knew exactly what she picked up during her first birthday celebration.

"That begonia jade pendant?"

"Alan... bring me the brocade box where the Buddhist prayer beads were scattered."

The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, then remembered something and quickly gave instructions to Granny Lan.

The mutton-fat jade pendant on that string of prayer beads was tied to the beads by her own hand.

When Zhizhi turned one year old, she particularly liked the begonia pendant on her hair.

She then took it off and tied it to her most cherished Buddhist prayer beads, wearing it close to her body.

Later, the prayer beads were scattered all over the ground. The begonia jade pendant and the prayer beads were collected by Granny Lan in a brocade box.

"Your Majesty, here is the brocade box you requested."

Granny Lan quickly brought out the brocade box and handed it over with both hands.

The Empress Dowager took the brocade box carved from begonia wood and opened the lid.

Tang Xixue and Yan Ci both turned their gazes toward it, filled with nervous anticipation.

However, the brocade box was empty.

The contents inside are gone.

Neither the sandalwood prayer beads nor the begonia jade pendant were among them.