Ling Xueying and Yun Moxin quickly went from strangers to familiars, rapidly developing a deep mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship. If not for the strong opposition from Ning Shuchen and Ning Fei, Yun Moxin would have moved in to have late-night talks with Xueying on the very night they arrived in Lu City. In the following days, the two men took turns keeping this overly enthusiastic pair of in-laws within a safe distance, until…
One day, Ning Fei came to Xueying’s room early in the morning. Just as he was about to knock, he heard laughter from inside. “That’s right, so whenever he dares to be fierce with you, you just deal with him like this,” Ning Fei felt weak; this voice was so familiar he’d never forget it even in his next life—it was his mother, who seemed to favor her daughter-in-law over her son. “Okay!” came Xueying’s excited voice. “He’s quite nice usually, it’s only when I bring up learning to use a knife that he gets upset with me.” “That’s easy,” Yun Moxin said smugly, “You just need to…”
At this point, Ning Fei couldn’t bear it anymore and flung open the door. The excited discussion in the room quickly changed direction. “…, dark red, pomegranate, mountain flowers, and su fang wood can all be used to make rouge—Oh? Fei, why are you here so early?” Yun Moxin was applying rouge to Xueying’s face, only raising her eyelashes to glance at him before continuing animatedly, “There’s a flower called hong lan.
When it blooms, you pick the whole flower and pound it repeatedly in a stone mortar, wash away the yellow juice, and the remaining red juice, when dried in the shade, will congeal into another kind of thick, smooth cream. Press it into thin sheets, and it becomes the imperial golden flower rouge.” Xueying exclaimed in surprise, “People always said that the imperial golden flower rouge was made from the essence of a hundred rare flowers, but it turns out the process is so simple—Ning Fei, don’t stand there, you’re blocking the light!”
Ning Fei stood beside Yun Moxin, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “Mother, why are you up so early?” Yun Moxin carefully wiped away excess powder from Xueying’s face with a silk cloth and replied, “Aren’t your in-laws arriving today? If I got up late, your father would keep me busy with this and that, and I wouldn’t have time to go with you to greet them.”
Ning Fei scratched his head embarrassedly, “Actually, Mother, you could just wait at home…” “Oh my! Where did this come from?” Yun Moxin suddenly exclaimed, picking up a piece of blue-green eyebrow pigment from the dressing table. “I’ve never seen this sold in the market.” Xueying said happily, “Father brought it back from his last trip. We have quite a few at home. If your Mother-in-law doesn’t mind that it’s been used, please take this one for now. When I go to the capital, I’ll bring more from home.”
“How could I?” Yun Moxin waved her hand hurriedly. “Besides, such a rare eyebrow pigment would be wasted on an old woman like me. Ah, if I didn’t have to appear in public so often, at my age, I wouldn’t bother with makeup and let people laugh…” “How could that be?” Xueying smiled, her eyes curving. “Standing next to you, Mother-in-law, people would think we were sisters. How could anyone laugh? Besides, I think my Mother-in-law’s eyebrows are drawn beautifully. I’ve been wanting to learn from you—if it’s a waste for you to use this eyebrow pigment, I certainly can’t afford to use it.”
These words delighted Yun Moxin. She turned to Ning Fei with a broad smile and slapped his chest hard. “I’ve always heard it’s better to have a daughter-in-law than a son—see? Xueying is so thoughtful. Not like you, always making your mother angry.” Ning Fei was caught off guard, choked, and started coughing.
Xueying hurried over to pat his back. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly coughing?” Yun Moxin also came over concernedly. “You haven’t been overworking yourself these past few days, have you? Why don’t you go back and rest? Your mother and Xueying can manage.” Ning Fei, still coughing awkwardly, mumbled, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.” Seeing Yun Moxin about to speak again, he stepped back. “I’ll… I’ll go wake Father up,” he said, quickly fleeing the room.
Behind him came the triumphant laughter of the two women.
Xia Jingshi sat quietly in his study. A wisp of smoke still rose from the incense burner, and outside the window, the spotted bamboo swayed in the wind. In the corridor outside, the gray starling kept repeating, “Your Highness should rest, Your Highness should rest…” He suddenly laughed out loud. The servant grinding ink beside him looked at his smile in bewilderment but didn’t dare to ask why.
If not for that accident years ago, the imperial crown that everyone dreamed of and fought for might have truly fallen on his head. The gray starling hanging in the corridor now should have been like the one outside the Holy Emperor’s study, constantly calling out, “Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty”…
Yi Xiao had probably never seen a talking bird before. When that gray starling saw people approaching, it had already fallen silent. She curiously tilted her head up, staring intently at the bird flapping its wings in the cage. Suddenly, she started clucking like she was calling chickens, “Cluck cluck cluck, say it again, say ‘Long live Your Majesty’, say it…” Her strange emphasis made him laugh softly. With the Holy Emperor so close by, Xiao Wei Ran managed to maintain a somewhat serious expression, but the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. Ning Fei was already laughing so hard he was half-leaning on Wei Ran’s back. As they laughed, Ning Fei suddenly stood at attention—the Holy Emperor had appeared at the study door, apparently having heard the sounds from outside, his eyes filled with amusement.
When the Holy Emperor bestowed rewards, Yi Xiao was reluctant to come forward to receive them. After a long while, she shyly made a small request, “May this humble servant exchange these rewards for that bird outside?” As soon as she spoke, a palace attendant loudly rebuked, “How dare you, in front of His Majesty…” But the Holy Emperor waved his hand dismissively and asked, “What do you want the gray starling for?” She blushed and squeezed out a sentence, “Because… this servant has never seen such an interesting bird.” The Holy Emperor smiled, “The one outside is already trained and can’t be given to you. How about I give you an untrained one instead?” Yi Xiao was already kowtowing in joy.
Returning to Lu City with the gray starling and the training instructions copied by the palace bird trainer, Yi Xiao asked for leave and shut herself in the mansion. He was both amused and worried. Every time he sent someone to check on her, the answer was always the same, “Colonel Fu said she’s in seclusion and asks Your Highness to wait patiently.”
When Yi Xiao burst into his study carrying a large cage covered with black cloth, it was already a month later. She had visibly lost weight, but her eyes were still frighteningly bright. Before he could ask, she made a gesture for silence and gently lifted the black cloth covering the cage—the gray starling hopped up and down in the cage, but no matter how much she coaxed, it refused to speak. Yi Xiao dejectedly patted the cage, as if explaining and complaining, “What’s going on? It had learned, why has it gone mute since entering the inner city?”
Seeing Yi Xiao running with sweat all over her face, he poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. She was very thirsty and drank it all in one gulp like a cricket. She wiped the water from her lips with her sleeve and frowned, staring at the birdcage. The neglected gray starling suddenly called out clearly, “Your Highness should rest, Your Highness should rest!”
Yi Xiao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly cheered, throwing herself into his arms and shaking him vigorously. “Did you hear that? Did you hear that? Did you hear that?!” She pulled him, jumping and laughing. “It just spoke, it can speak! Hahaha!”
It’s easy to find priceless treasures, but hard to find someone who truly cares.
At that moment, his heart was filled with tenderness…
“Husband,” Feng Xi Yang called, pushing open the door of the study. In that instant when she raised her eyes, the smile that Xia Jingshi hadn’t had time to hide on his face struck her heart like a whip.
Such a gentle smile, of course, was not for her.
She lowered her head, as if she hadn’t seen anything, and handed the ceremonial note to Xia Jingshi. “This is the gift list I drafted. Would you like to look at it, husband?” Xia Jingshi nodded slightly and took it. After just a few lines, he frowned and picked up the purple bamboo silver-tipped brush to make changes to the note. “One plate each of gold and jade, coral, and blue-green prayer beads is enough. Ten each of gold long hairpins and flat hairpins. Two pairs each of gold, green jade, white jade, gold inlaid with pearls, and gold inlaid with coral bracelets. One pair each of coral, red-green, pearl, green jade, agarwood, and purple gold ingot bracelets. Cross out everything else—” He looked up at Feng Xi Yang. “For a second-rank noble lady, how can we bestow several dozen types and hundreds of pieces of jewelry alone?”