In the imperial palace of the capital, the Crown Prince was hosting a banquet for his royal siblings in the Eastern Palace. His younger sister, Lin’an arrived early and was now sitting in a chair, swinging her feet beneath her skirt.

Today, she wasn’t wearing a red dress. Instead, she donned a magnificent purple gown with gold embroidered edges. On her head, she wore a ruby coral crown. The crown’s frame was coral, with two lifelike golden phoenixes flanking a central ruby. Six strands of pearl-studded tassels hung from it.

She also wore gold hair ornaments and jade hairpins, looking exquisitely adorned. Purple was a color often used by imperial consorts, accentuating the elegance and nobility of mature women. It wasn’t typically suitable for young girls, but Lin’an’s aura was so delicate that she gave the impression of a beautifully dressed doll.

With her round face and alluring peach blossom eyes, she exuded seductive charm and innocent pride. Various qualities blended within her, yet she managed to carry them all effortlessly.

There was still half an hour before lunch, and the princes and princesses were arriving at the Eastern Palace one after another. Everyone had long grown accustomed to Lin’an’s exquisitely beautiful appearance.

Among the four princesses, perhaps only she could pull off such elaborate attire. If any of the other princesses were to dress this way, they might not be able to carry such ornate clothing.

Huai Qing had sufficient beauty, but her temperament didn’t suit it.

“Hasn’t Huai Qing arrived yet?” Lin’an’s lively eyes darted around as she looked charmingly towards the door.

“An attendant has been sent to summon her. She’ll come later,” the Crown Prince said with a smile. Then, he coughed lightly and continued, “Today is the day when the chicken essence secretly prepared by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau goes on sale. They’ve also sent some to the palace. That’s why I’ve invited my brothers and sisters to come and taste it.”

Several days ago, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had already “presented” a batch of chicken essence to the imperial kitchen. The princes and princesses had all enjoyed this irresistible seasoning.

Mentioning this hot topic, the royal siblings began to discuss it with great interest.

“Speaking of this chicken essence, its taste is indeed irresistible, but it does make one thirsty.”

“Yesterday, Father Emperor said that one shouldn’t eat too much of it. A light diet is the way to maintain good health.”

As they spoke, several princes secretly grimaced, clearly disagreeing with Emperor Yuan Jing’s constant focus on health preservation. Only middle-aged people had to worry about putting wolfberries in their thermos flasks. Why should young people need to preserve their health?

Lin’an looked around and raised her round, fair chin. “Do you know who invented the chicken essence?”

At this moment, she was being a bit of a show-off, acting coquettishly.

The princes and princesses didn’t know the answer to this question. In the imperial palace, only three people knew about this: the Crown Prince, Lin’an, and Huai Qing. If these three didn’t say anything, no one else would know.

Under the questioning of her brothers and sisters, Lin’an raised her chin even higher and said with a charming smile, “It was Li Qi’an. He’s my subordinate.”

She emphasized the latter half of the sentence.

“Li Qi’an?” The Fourth Prince frowned. “Isn’t he Huai Qing’s man?”

The Fourth Prince was Huai Qing’s full brother.

“He’s my man now. He swore loyalty to me,” Lin’an boasted about poaching from Huai Qing.

In the eyes of her brothers and sisters, she had always been bullied by Huai Qing. Now that she had finally gained an upper hand, she couldn’t contain herself. The more outstanding Li Qi’an was, the happier she became, because it gave her a greater sense of achievement.

The princes and princesses laughed silently. The Fourth Prince secretly frowned, very displeased with Lin’an’s act of poaching from his full sister.

However, although he was the son of the Empress and should have had the highest status, the position of Crown Prince had ultimately been given to the eldest son of a concubine, the current Crown Prince, and Lin’an’s full brother.

At the same time, Emperor Yuan Jing treated his other children equally, but uniquely doted on Lin’an and didn’t particularly like Huai Qing. This made the Fourth Prince increasingly insecure.

His mother, the Empress, had said that Huai Qing was strong-willed and domineering, just like the Emperor in his youth, but her talent surpassed him by several measures. If she had been born a man, she might have been even more disliked by the Emperor.

“Whose man is Li Qi’an?”

At this moment, Huai Qing’s cold, textured, and pleasant voice came from outside the door. The eldest princess, wearing a moon-patterned palace dress, had arrived.

The princes and princesses saw Lin’an’s arrogant air deflate in an instant. At first, she seemed unwilling to back down, as if wanting to stand her ground, but then she quickly became submissive. With puffed cheeks, she said loudly, “We share him!”

She used the most arrogant tone to say the most cowardly words.

Huai Qing let out a “hmph.”

She knew about Li Qi’an’s tactic of pleasing both sides and tolerated it, mainly because Lin’an was a foolish sister who posed no threat. She was only trying to snatch people to spite her.

If it had been any other prince who dared to snatch her people like this, Huai Qing would have retaliated. It would have been a merciless retaliation, not just intimidation like she did with Lin’an.

Huai Qing walked up to Lin’an and looked down at her, saying coldly, “Move aside. I want to sit here.”

Lin’an looked up and could only see Huai Qing’s eyes, unable to see the lower half of her face because those annoying few pounds of flesh on Huai Qing’s chest blocked her view.

This made her feel deflated. This sister not only had more talent than her but also a better figure. Except for their father’s favor, she couldn’t compare to Huai Qing in any aspect.

Lin’an was a delicate girl. Being bullied by Huai Qing like this made her feel wrong, and she turned her head away.

There was nothing she could do. She couldn’t win in a fight, and arguing would be unbecoming of a princess. Moreover, Huai Qing was a scholar who never used vulgar language. She was no match for her.

The Crown Prince coughed lightly, trying to ease the tension. “Huai Qing, don’t pick on Lin’an. You’re the elder sister.”

Only then did Huai Qing leave Lin’an alone, no longer bullying her younger sister.

…

During the meal, the Crown Prince casually asked, “Have you heard about what happened in the Imperial Study today?”

The Fourth Prince immediately said, “The Warning Stele and the Department of Canal Transportation?”

The Crown Prince nodded and smiled. “We don’t need to comment on the matter of the Department of Canal Transportation. The court officials and Father Emperor will make the decisions. But the matter of the Warning Stele is truly admirable.”

The Fourth Prince nodded. “You eat your salary, the people’s fat and blood. The common people are easily oppressed, but Heaven is hard to deceive!”

“What a great poem!” Huai Qing’s eyes lit up, her beautiful face radiating brilliance.

She usually didn’t speak while eating or resting, but the core meaning contained in this poem made the eldest princess’s heart surge. She liked it even more “After getting drunk, not knowing the sky is in the water, a faint fragrance floats as the moon turns yellow at dusk.”

What a terrible poem, it has no artistic conception at all… Lin’an thought to herself.

Huai Qing stared at the Fourth Prince and asked, “Who wrote this poem?”

She never paid attention to the news in the palace.

The Crown Prince answered for him: “It was Li Qi’an.”

“Great poem!” Lin’an clapped her hands on the table, praising loudly.

“That’s his temperament,” Huai Qing smiled.

“What do you mean by his temperament? You talk as if you know him so well,” Lin’an habitually disagreed.

Huai Qing originally didn’t want to respond, but seeing that several princes were looking at her, she pondered for a moment and said:

“Li Qi’an is a man who hates evil as if it were a personal enemy. He may disregard minor matters but never compromises on major principles. He’s different from those scholars who only speak high-sounding words.”

“Are you referring to the incident where he beheaded the silver gong?” the Crown Prince smiled.

“The other day, I was chatting with Duke Wei about this man,” Huai Qing glanced at the princes. “Duke Wei said that since Li Qi’an took office, he has never embezzled even a single coin.”

“Then why do you say he disregards minor matters?” Lin’an felt that Huai Qing was slandering her beloved dog.

She glared fiercely at Huai Qing.

Princess Huai Qing said, “Li Qi’an is addicted to the imperial brothels, stays out all night, and has a close relationship with Fu Xiang, the top courtesan of Yingmei Pavilion.”

The smile on Lin’an’s face gradually disappeared. She widened her peach blossom eyes and shouted, “You’re lying!”

She sullenly ate a few mouthfuls of rice, feeling that the food had lost its taste. She threw down her chopsticks and said angrily, “I’m not eating anymore.”

She stood up, lifted her skirt, and left with her personal palace maid.

…

Lin’an had left in anger, but it didn’t affect everyone else’s meal. The Crown Prince felt a bit awkward and smiled as he raised his wine cup, letting the banquet continue.

After the banquet ended, Huai Qing returned to her palace garden. She gulped down a large bowl of tea and then sat in meditation in her boudoir.

She had recently secretly advanced to the Qi Condensation realm, and the day she “casually chatted” with Wei Yuan was for this matter.

Huai Qing had excellent talent, but she had always been holding back, not showing her abilities. However, as she grew older, she felt it was appropriate to improve her cultivation level.

Mainly because, for the entire year, Emperor Yuan Jing hadn’t mentioned anything about the princesses’ marriages.

The Emperor was cultivating immortality, and the Empress was even more laid-back. If the Emperor didn’t bring it up, she was too lazy to care… The Empress had always been like this, showing no enthusiasm for her duties and status as the mother of the nation.

“Your Highness, a letter has arrived from your mansion, sent from Qingzhou,” a guard hurriedly entered.

The mansion referred to Princess Huai Qing’s residence in the imperial city.

Letters for the princesses and princes usually couldn’t enter the imperial palace and would be delivered to their respective mansions.

Qingzhou? Princess Huai Qing thought it might be a letter from the Hermit of Ziyang. She nodded and said, “Bring it here.”

The guard respectfully handed over the letter and retreated.

Huai Qing opened the envelope. The first sentence read: As I write this letter, I have already reached the border of Qingzhou…

Huai Qing immediately knew that the letter was from Li Qi’an. The letter was very long, a full two pages. She concentrated as she read on, her expression becoming grave when she reached the part about the corruption case in the Yuzhou Department of Canal Transportation.

As she read further, the tone suddenly became less formal. The subsequent content didn’t sound like a subordinate reporting to a superior, but more like a man expressing his feelings to a woman he admired…

“Rising from the mud without being stained, rinsed in clear ripples without being seductive, upright within and without, neither creeping nor branching, its fragrance growing purer with distance, standing tall and pure, can be admired from afar but not trifled with…”

Princess Huai Qing murmured, immersed in the beautiful words, as the image of a blooming lotus flower appeared in her mind.

“It’s a pity Li Ning Yan doesn’t study literature, such a pity…” After saying this, Princess Huai Qing tilted the envelope, and a dried, flattened lotus petal slid out.

Is this little rascal expressing his love for me through this letter? Princess Huai Qing fell into deep thought.

If I were to pass this letter to the imperial palace, his ten heads wouldn’t be enough to chop off.

She folded the envelope neatly and tucked it between some books she rarely read for safekeeping.

Then, with great interest, she called for a palace maid to grind ink. She wrote down the golden sentences about the lotus from the letter and hung them in her study.

Looking at this piece of writing, Huai Qing’s lips curled up slightly.

…

“What’s wrong with Her Highness?”

“I don’t know. She’s been gloomy ever since she returned from the Crown Prince’s place.”

“Could it be that she was bullied by the eldest princess… But it doesn’t seem like it. If she had been bullied by the eldest princess, Her Highness would be cursing loudly by now, and then forget about it after venting.”

In the courtyard, several palace maids gathered to talk. Lin’an had just finished throwing a tantrum, and only two personal maids were accompanying her in the bedroom. The others didn’t dare to go and risk her bad mood.

“Why does Her Highness need to be upset with Princess Huai Qing…” a personal maid tried to persuade.

“It’s not her!” Lin’an said angrily. “It’s that dog slave.”

The two palace maids were stunned for a moment before realizing who the “dog slave” referred to. One of them had even had her buttocks patted by Li Qi’an before.

The palace maids exchanged glances, their expressions puzzled. They thought to themselves that Her Highness’s dog slave had left the capital more than half a month ago.

“How did he offend Her Highness again?”

“I don’t know either,” Lin’an’s expression was gloomy. “I just feel uncomfortable in my heart.”

“???”

At this moment, a guard came to the courtyard, requesting to see Princess Lin’an. Seeing that it was a guard from their mansion, the palace maid had to steel herself and knock on the door:

“Your Highness, a guard from the mansion is requesting an audience. He says there’s a letter for you from Qingzhou.”

A letter from Qingzhou? Lin’an was stunned. Her social circle was very small, limited to her brothers and sisters in the imperial palace, relatives from the imperial clan, and occasionally some family members of officials who would write to her, inviting her to private tea parties held in ladies’ boudoirs.

But this didn’t include Qingzhou.

“Who sent the letter?” The palace maid asked on her behalf.

“I don’t know,” the palace maid outside replied.

The personal maid looked at Lin’an, saw her nod, and then turned to shout, “Bring it in.”