Wanwan was moved by her words, but having never done such a thing before, she was inevitably timid and hesitant. With an uncertain smile on her face, she said hesitantly: “Will it work? If someone finds out and reports to the Empress Dowager, I won’t be able to save face.”

Xiao You leaned against the door corridor, sighing deeply: “To be honest, this servant shouldn’t give you such advice. Just as you said, if things go wrong, nothing will happen to you, but we servants will suffer. But didn’t you say Prince Yuwen looks like a monster, and you want to see a monster? This servant knows your temperament – if you don’t see him, you’ll keep talking about it every day. Rather than that, it’s better for this servant to think of a way for you. Otherwise, once the great banquet is over, the princes must return to their fiefdoms. If you want to see him again next time, who knows when that will be?”

Wanwan felt ashamed of her persistent nature. Thinking again, something was wrong. She tilted her head and asked Xiao You: “You’re willing to take such a big risk to bring me – actually, you want to see him too, don’t you?”

Xiao You firmly denied: “This servant only has eyes for Master, not herself!”

People who usually spoke in high-minded terms weren’t very trustworthy. Wanwan’s expression clearly showed disdain. Xiao You couldn’t keep up the act anymore and smiled sheepishly: “The court’s imperial examinations have regulations – the blind, mute, deaf, and lame cannot be officials. The Prince of Nanyuan inherited his position through ancestral shade, so his appearance isn’t limited. I’ve never seen Qi people. Just hearing that they look distinctly different, I want to borrow Master’s fortune to broaden my horizons too.”

Master and servant hit it off immediately, whispering together as they prepared everything needed before and after the operation.

Wuqi wore a mournful expression, squatting by the mother-of-pearl kang table and refusing to move: “Xiao You, you death-seeking girl, I must tell Li Nanny and have her skin you alive!” Turning to plead with Wanwan: “My good master, you can’t listen to Xiao You’s instigation. You’re a princess, a person of golden honor and jade nobility. Going to Donghua Gate to look at men – what would people say if word got out? The Empress Dowager won’t even let you attend the great banquet, clearly wanting you to observe proper women’s conduct. If you do the opposite and anger the Empress Dowager, even Grandfather can’t save you.”

Wuqi cried emotionally, crawling over on his knees to prostrate before her. Wanwan angrily stepped on his finger: “As long as you don’t spread word, naturally nothing will happen. If you keep crying like a cat, attracting people here, I’ll punish you to weigh coal at the Fuel Conservation Office!”

Wuqi indeed fell silent, getting up to wipe his face and bowing: “Master, go slowly. This servant will scout ahead for you.”

The change was quick – truly not drinking the toast but drinking the forfeit wine. Wanwan and Xiao You smiled smugly, hiding behind the door to observe outside. In front of the western side rooms, a nanny was scolding palace maids and couldn’t spare attention here. So they quickly got onto the corridor, keeping their heads down as they followed Wuqi, passing through the eastern side hall and slipping out through the wall gate.

The wind was rather strong today, blowing the black ribbons behind their caps in the air. Wanwan pressed down her gauze cap with one hand, crouching low and looking around, gradually blending into the crowd of eunuchs. Wuqi had instructed earlier that the princes and officials from outer regions entering the palace were all served by palace eunuchs. Their retinues stopped at the dismounting stones and were not allowed inside. Passing through gate controls, there were also Eastern Depot agents and Embroidered Uniform Guards on inspection. With many people then, each with their own duties, as long as they didn’t stand out and found a place to quietly wait, no one would notice them.

“That Prince of Nanyuan enters through Donghua Gate, right?” Wanwan confirmed repeatedly. They couldn’t leave their sleeping quarters too long – if nannies came looking and found them missing, they’d get scolded again.

Wuqi patted his chest in guarantee: “No mistake. This servant inquired clearly. The Prince of Nanyuan has a villa in Baoda Ward and always stays there when coming to the capital. Baoda Ward is right next to Donghua Gate. Those living east of the Imperial City all enter and exit through that gate – there’s no reason to specially detour to the west. Master, don’t make a sound, just wait! But you must promise this servant – one look and we leave. Every moment longer you delay here, our little lives hang by a thread.” His small eyes nimbly observed the surroundings as he whispered: “Eastern Depot agents are now in Supervisor Xiao’s hands. Who knows when the old master might come here? If he sees you, think how you’d explain?”

Wanwan said defiantly: “So what if he sees? I’m the Grand Princess – should I fear him?”

Wuqi and Xiao You looked at her with pity, their eyes full of helpless “whether you’re afraid or not, you know yourself.”

Actually, what did fear mean? Their statuses were so far apart that she had no need to fear him at all. Her feelings toward Supervisor Xiao were, to be precise, fondness – wanting to see him yet not daring to. When he looked at her, she felt like crawling into a crack in the ground, fearing she wasn’t good enough or pretty enough, that he secretly disdained her. Young girls truly had no prejudices – even eunuchs seemed like normal people to her. But after hearing Xiao You speak of his unclear entanglements with Empress Zhao, she immediately felt that pure jade was sullied, bright pearls cast into darkness. However much she had once longed for him, now she regretted just as much.

She turned her head and wrinkled her nose. In Yude Palace she would never dare, but wearing a young eunuch’s clothes, her whole body felt at ease, as if escaping from the gaze of countless eyes. Small people had the composure and happiness of small people.

But after craning her neck and waiting a long time, there was no sign of the Prince of Nanyuan. She turned to ask Wuqi: “How do we recognize him? What does the Prince of Nanyuan actually look like?”

Wuqi indicated he’d never seen him and was equally confused: “We’ll look at the chest badges. After all, there are only eight princes. Look carefully – those with four-clawed dragons on their chests, see them all and we’re done.”

Wanwan thought about it – that made sense. So she held her whisk and stood behind the eunuch formation. Xiao You was first to spot someone coming through the gate, tapping her several times. She stared wide-eyed – it was someone in princely court dress, fat-headed with a broad mouth, his belt spanning ten circumferences, walking sideways through the entrance, taller lying down than standing up.

Perhaps Jiangnan’s prosperity and good nourishment made him so broad and corpulent. Wanwan thought this person might be the Prince of Nanyuan because he met her standards for ugliness. Xiao You stuck out her tongue and shrugged in disappointment – in her view, eyes and nose had to be completely misplaced to count as truly grotesque. Daye had been peaceful for over two hundred years. With nothing to do, high officials and nobles busied themselves putting on autumn weight when weather turned cool. Being a bit fat was nothing – wasn’t court atmosphere all like this?

“Wait a bit more – this is only the first one!” Xiao You remained undaunted.

Today’s banquet attendees were numerous. Besides those from outer regions, ranking court officials were all on the invitation list. Ministers came in waves, followed by a string of princes with dual-character titles. Wanwan didn’t recognize any of those imperial relatives, only knowing they all wore colored embroidered dragon badges. Fortunately, there was Wuqi, who recited like announcing dishes: “Prince Changshan, Prince Bohai, Prince Chengdu…”

People streamed continuously through Donghua Gate. They waited eagerly for half an hour but saw no one remarkable. Xiao You gritted her teeth and studied Wuqi: “Let’s guess how you’ll die in the end!”

Wanwan joined in boredly: “Ninety percent chance of dying from stupidity.”

Wuqi looked completely bewildered: “This servant doesn’t know where the error occurred…”

Before he finished speaking, a long-browed, narrow-eyed eunuch shouted at them: “Still fooling around here? The west side is frantically busy, and you stand there like idle people on dry land. Why don’t you get over there and die!”

The eunuch was blind – he gave a good scolding to Xiao You, Wuqi, and even Grand Princess herself. The three dared not retort, slinking through Xiehe Gate onto the imperial avenue before Wuying Hall.

Wanwan ran until she was panting heavily, pressing her knees and complaining: “What kind of person was that, cursing the moment he opened his mouth?”

Wuqi, thick-skinned, didn’t mind: “What’s that? This is how we eunuchs live. Getting scolded is good – when they’re unhappy, they beat you, and you still have to take it.” He pointed ahead: “We were just worried about not being able to move locations, and now we’re assigned here. If we’re lucky and the Prince of Nanyuan hasn’t entered the palace yet, we might still see him.”

Thinking about it, misfortune turned to fortune. The three trotted to the gate. Wuqi encountered a little brother he’d once worked with in sweeping, nudging him with his elbow to ask if the Prince of Nanyuan had entered the palace. The person shook his head: “Haven’t seen the Prince of Nanyuan’s nameplate – definitely hasn’t arrived yet.”

Wanwan usually didn’t exercise much. After running back and forth continuously, the tendons in her calves kept twitching. What she had single-mindedly wanted to do now seemed half-hearted. Looking back, she was truly both idle and absurd. She’d lost much interest in that Prince of Nanyuan, but wanting to return yet unable to, she had no choice but to stand there.

Looking up at the sky, it had somehow become overcast. When she ate fruit tea in the afternoon it was still clear, but by the hour of Shen, clouds had piled up – it would probably rain.

A gust of wind blew swiftly past, and the heat lingering in mid-air lightened somewhat. She stood concentrating and heard the clip-clop of horse hooves from outside Xihua Gate, along with the crisp ringing of bronze bells swaying on bridles. A line of eunuchs went out to meet them, taking over from the officials’ long-term attendants to escort people inside the threshold. Eastern Depot agents cupped their hands in salute: “Those entering the palace precincts may not carry weapons. We are ordered to inspect – please forgive us, Your Excellencies.”

So they carefully searched from top to bottom, not allowing a single oversight. After passing inspection to enter the palace, they were still led by forbidden palace eunuchs. Unfortunately, when internal servants were assigned their duties, their three were still standing at attention, so roll call fell on them.

Seeing no escape, Wuqi signaled for them to slip away if possible while he went forward to accept the assignment, escorting someone to Huangji Hall. Xiao You was somewhat panicked, staying close to Wanwan and asking what to do. Running now was impossible unless they revealed their identities. This would make the entire Forbidden City know the Grand Princess was foolishly misbehaving – how could she maintain face before those consorts?

Wanwan now showed a general’s bearing. Though her words came haltingly, her expression was quite calm: “No matter… you go… when it’s my turn… I’ll go. We’ll meet at Yude Palace.”

She just didn’t know what kind of bloody storm would follow when Li Nanny discovered this. Xiao You reluctantly went to perform her duty. The three-person team instantly fell apart, leaving only Wanwan standing by the drum-shaped door pier. Light rain began falling from the sky. She squinted – no one issued oil-cloth clothes to these eunuchs, so she could only hang her hands and let wind and rain batter her. This pampered girl suddenly discovered this profession wasn’t easy. No wonder Wuqi always said the past was bitter – when he was a junior fire-tender, he lived completely without dignity, only gradually becoming comfortable after reaching Yude Palace. She was beginning to miss that mattress with gourd and double-happiness patterns, fumigated with incense – lying on it felt like falling into a warm dream…

“Hey, what are you daydreaming about!” Just as she was lost in thought, thunder exploded beside her ear. The supervising eunuch’s face was stretched eight zhang long: “What are you staring at? I’m talking to you! A heavy downpour is coming, and you’re standing there like a wooden post – would you have His Lordship get soaked?” A yellow catalpa umbrella was roughly shoved into her hands. The supervisor urgently dispatched her: “Go quickly, go quickly!”

People who’d never worked always seemed a bit dazed. She aggrievedly opened the umbrella and went to the gate, not knowing to greet or pay respects, just bowing at the waist and holding her hands high, waiting for that high official to enter Xihua Gate.

“Did Your Lordship rest well yesterday?”

“Your Lordship made good time coming to the capital – it was hard going on the road…”

The eunuchs spared no effort in currying favor. Only then did Wanwan lift her eyelids to look out – the visitor wore a winged virtue crown and red round-collared robe with coiled dragons. Though at a spirited age, he possessed the upright, peaceful bearing of metal and stone. Entering the gate, perhaps unintentionally, his hanging sleeve brushed past a red hawthorn tree. The flowering tree swayed, shaking fallen petals all over the ground. This connection between person and flowers suddenly made him seem tender.

Wanwan had always thought Supervisor Xiao was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. This one before her seemed able to compete with him. His features were more profound than ordinary people – profound brows and eyes, profound contours. Rather than calling him refined and handsome, it was better to say he was beautiful – beautiful beyond convention, beautiful to the point of arrogance. Yet this beauty wasn’t in the broad sense but a penetration refined to bone and sinew – never enough to observe, unforgettable at first sight.

Wanwan sighed for no reason, thinking of Supervisor Xiao again… In the misty rain, a trace of red clouds faintly appeared at the horizon. May weather was just this incomprehensible. Holding the umbrella, she secretly glanced again. This glance met his gaze directly – golden rings shimmered in his pupils, and behind the heavy mist lay brilliant radiance that could pierce the sky.

Her heart suddenly leaped with ten thousand horses galloping, as if hazily seeing a scene of war and chaos. Wanwan bit her lip and lowered her head again. From the corner of her eye, she saw him raise his hand – the white undergarment formed a inch-wide border at his vermillion sleeve cuff, making his finger joints appear pure white and slender. He placed a bronze tablet in the tray, engraved with a row of small characters cut deep into the metal: “Jiangnan Circuit Vassal Minister Yuwen.”