The Yuliu prince was somewhat surprised to see Princess Lingque wake so quickly. “Royal Sister, you’re awake.”
“Mm.” Princess Lingque moved her lips.
“How do you feel?”
“Not bad, my head hurts a little.”
“Your head was injured. It will heal after some time to recuperate—” The Yuliu prince’s words paused, and he stared at Princess Lingque suspiciously. “Royal Sister, have you… remembered?”
“Remembered what?”
The Yuliu prince pointed at her head. “You got hit on the head by a stone and lost your memory, didn’t you? Do you remember who I am now?”
Princess Lingque looked at the Yuliu prince with her beautiful eyes, suddenly smiled, and said leisurely, “I never forgot.”
“Never forgot?” The Yuliu prince’s brow furrowed as he pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widened. “Royal Sister, you didn’t lose your memory?”
Princess Lingque nodded.
The Yuliu prince’s thoughts were a bit chaotic. “Then why did you just say you didn’t remember anything?”
Princess Lingque raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a cold smile. “I couldn’t have been hit for nothing, could I? Royal Brother, tell me—which me would find it easier to have requests granted: one who recovers in half a month, or one who’s injured and lost her memory?”
The Yuliu prince’s eyes lit up, and he patted Princess Lingque’s arm. “Royal Sister, you’re truly clever.”
Good thing this girl came to Great Zhou. If she were in Yuliu, she’d also be someone not to be underestimated.
“Did you start pretending to be unconscious after you first woke up?” The Yuliu prince thought of Princess Lingque’s brief awakening.
“The first time I woke up?” Princess Lingque thought for a moment before having a slight recollection. “When I woke that time, I barely made out the people around me. My head was foggy and I quickly lost consciousness. By the way, Royal Brother, what were everyone’s reactions after my accident?”
“Great Zhou’s emperor and empress dowager both sent gifts, and a consort who manages the inner palace came to visit. As for others, they were either nervous or curious—nothing of consequence.” The Yuliu prince recounted the various reactions one by one.
“What about that Princess Yi’an?”
“She seemed somewhat frightened—after all, it was her banquet. Why is Royal Sister paying her special attention?”
Princess Lingque smiled. “Didn’t Royal Brother say so yourself? She was responsible for this flower-viewing banquet, and she was the one accompanying me the whole time. Come to think of it, I owe my injury to Princess Yi’an’s kindness.”
“How so?”
“She was the one who called me over. Thinking back now, it was to prevent me from inquiring about a young lady’s background.” Princess Lingque described the situation at the time. “That young lady called Princess Yi’an ‘elder sister.’ Royal Brother, quietly send someone to find out that young lady’s identity—there’s definitely something suspicious here.”
The Yuliu prince readily agreed and didn’t expend much effort to find out.
“Royal Sister, you definitely couldn’t have guessed—Princess Yi’an isn’t actually Great Zhou emperor’s biological daughter.”
“Not his biological child?” Princess Lingque became interested. “Royal Brother, tell me the specifics.”
The Yuliu prince shared the information he’d gathered. “This Princess Yi’an was originally the eldest daughter of the Weiwu Marquis Manor, named Kou Jiao. The young lady Royal Sister mentioned is her younger sister from the same mother, Kou Wan. When Princess Yi’an was small, she was brought to the palace by Great Zhou’s empress dowager to be raised. Great Zhou’s emperor is filial to his mother, so he granted her the title of princess.”
Princess Lingque laughed with a snort. “Isn’t that about the same as raising a kitten or puppy?”
No wonder Princess Yi’an was afraid of her knowing about the relationship with that young lady—she felt guilty.
The Yuliu prince shook his head. “That’s not quite right. I heard Great Zhou’s empress dowager truly likes Princess Yi’an. The Weiwu Marquis Manor is the empress dowager’s maternal family, and Princess Yi’an is her grand-niece. As for Great Zhou’s emperor, for the empress dowager’s sake he would love her by extension.”
“Is that so?” Princess Lingque toyed with her beautifully manicured nails.
After resting for two days, her head didn’t hurt as much, giving her the energy to think more.
“It should be correct. Great Zhou’s emperor is extremely filial to the empress dowager. Even Princess Yi’an’s marriage was decided with one word from the empress dowager.”
Princess Lingque raised her eyelids, her eyes rippling. “Who is the prince consort?”
“He’s last year’s top scholar Yang Zhe. Although this Yang Zhe comes from a humble family, he has outstanding talent and intelligence, and his appearance is first-rate. I heard he’s much appreciated by important ministers and has an unlimited future.”
“That day at the banquet, did Yang Zhe attend?”
“He did. When Royal Sister was injured, he also came over. I observed coldly—Princess Yi’an and he have quite good feelings for each other.”
“Heh.” Princess Lingque smiled.
If initially her antagonism toward Princess Yi’an was merely due to different positions, now her feelings toward Princess Yi’an contained more personal emotions—disgust at the undeserved disaster she’d brought upon her, disdain for a counterfeit putting on airs as a Great Zhou princess in front of her.
“Princess, it’s time to change your bandages.” A maid walked over with a respectful reminder.
The conversation wasn’t finished yet, so Princess Lingque asked the Yuliu prince to wait briefly in the outer room. Two maids attended her—one unwrapping her bandages, the other holding medicinal ointment, fresh bandages, and other items.
Her long black hair cascaded down. Princess Lingque caught a whiff of a faint strange odor—a mixture of sweat, oil, and blood.
She hadn’t noticed the previous two days when she couldn’t spare the attention, but now that the wound didn’t hurt much, her hair emitting this strange smell became intolerable to Princess Lingque.
“Bring me a mirror.”
The two maids exchanged glances but didn’t move.
Princess Lingque had always been absolute with her maids, and her face immediately darkened. “Didn’t you hear me?”
One maid gathered her courage to advise, “Princess, please wait until you’ve completely recovered before looking.”
“I told you to bring a mirror. Why so much nonsense?” Princess Lingque’s temper flared.
Right now her wound couldn’t get wet and she couldn’t wash her hair, but at least she could look at how badly she was injured.
The maid didn’t dare say more and silently brought over a mirror.
The precious glass mirror reflected every detail. Princess Lingque glanced at it and let out a scream of horror.
The Yuliu prince, waiting in the outer room, rushed in. “What happened?”
In her panic, Princess Yuliu grabbed whatever object was at hand and threw it at him. “Get out!”
The Yuliu prince turned and went out, listening to the sound of things hitting the floor behind him, his expression somewhat strange.
Although it was just a quick glimpse, he still saw it—Royal Sister had a bald patch on her head!
Bald!
Inside the room, Princess Lingque’s emotions were nearly collapsed. “Where is my hair? Where is my hair?”
“Princess, please calm down. You’ll hurt if you pull at the wound.”
“I’m asking you, where is my hair?” Princess Lingque pointed at the most conspicuous spot on her head and demanded.
One maid answered trembling with fear. “When the imperial physician treated your wound, he cut, cut it off.”
Under Princess Yuliu’s murderous glare, the maid nearly forgot how to say the word “cut.”
After another bout of commotion, the room finally quieted down. Princess Lingque stared fixedly at the glass mirror, her face so dark it could drip water.
After who knows how long, she called out coldly, “Royal Brother.”
The Yuliu prince, who had been waiting in the outer room, eagerly walked in.
He knew that regardless of whether their sibling affection was truly deep, in a foreign land he shouldn’t have a mindset of watching the spectacle, but faced with his royal sister who had a bald patch on her head, he couldn’t help himself.