Early in the morning, A’Luo was woken by the chattering noise outside. All the way from Linnan to Fengcheng, she had been travelling nonstop, and sitting in the carriage for so long had made her sick and bored. She had finally gotten to sleep comfortably under new sheets and new blankets, sleeping deeply without a single dream — and now, in the dead of winter, just as she wanted to laze in bed a little longer, she was woken up. She listened carefully to the noise outside: the First Madam’s maid, the Fifth Madam’s servant girl, and it seemed someone delivering clothes as well. A’Luo stretched, took a deep breath, and let out a sharp, petulant shout: “What flies have gathered here so early in the morning — Liu Ying!…”

In the courtyard, Liu Ying and Xiao Yu had been watching, heads aching, as a crowd of women held up all sorts of mismatched gifts, each trying to outdo the other. Hearing A’Luo’s call, Liu Ying’s face darkened and he glared, snapping in a low voice: “How dare you be so disrespectful to the future Princess Consort of Pingnan?! Where are your manners?!”

The noise cut off instantly.

A’Luo glanced at the hourglass — ah, that felt right. Did they think she was still the same doormat she used to be? Lazily, she curled back under the covers.

Liu Ying suppressed a burst of laughter and waggled his eyebrows at Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu, beaming, said gently, “Everyone, our Third Miss dislikes crowds most of all. Please be quiet, and come forward one at a time.”

The First Madam’s maid glanced carefully at Liu Ying, then held up a jewelry box, saying softly, “My mistress said the Third Miss should dress more elegantly, so she sent these ornaments.”

“Mm, on behalf of the Third Miss, I thank the First Madam for going to such trouble to prepare such a precious gift! The Third Miss instructed beforehand that all the ladies’ good intentions must be accepted in full, and thanked properly.” Xiao Yu opened the box and looked — dazzling with pearls and jade, clearly valuable goods.

“I— I’ll go report back to the First Madam.” The little maid scurried off.

In no time at all, Xiao Yu made quick work of the rest. She exchanged a glance and a smile with Liu Ying, then dashed off to find A’Luo. “Miss, so many beautiful gifts!”

A’Luo threw off the blankets and got up. “Have they all left? Come on, let’s go treasure-hunting.”

Before long, A’Luo, her hair loose, pulled Xiao Yu into the main hall. The two of them rifled through everything, looking this way and that, and A’Luo laughed. “Good — not returning a single piece, it’s all ours now! Xiao Yu, take whatever you like. If it’s not useful, just exchange it all for silver notes!”

Xiao Yu agreed cheerfully. Liu Ying stood there a little dazed — since when did the Third Miss run out with her hair down like this? What kind of behavior was this? Had she taken a liking to his master’s wealth and power?

A’Luo clapped him on the shoulder. “You too — take whatever you like, and if it’s not useful, exchange it all for silver notes!”

Liu Ying startled. Did she have no sense of propriety at all, being so careless around a man?

A’Luo had already stopped paying him any mind. Together with Xiao Yu, she picked out some plain fabrics and simple jewelry and set them down in front of Liu Ying. “Have someone send these to my mother. And remember — your master gave you to me, so now I’m your master. If you go behind my back reporting to him every day, that’s disloyalty!” With that, she and Xiao Yu carried off the things they liked, laughing.

Liu Ying stood stunned for a long while, looking at the room strewn with scattered belongings, and sighed as he tidied everything up one by one. It hadn’t quite sunk in yet, but the Third Miss wasn’t wrong — she was his new master now.

A’Luo sat before the mirror while Xiao Yu combed her hair, smiling as she asked, “Miss, we’re going to Prince Anqing’s residence today — how do you want to dress?”

What kind of person would this Prince Anqing be? A’Luo mused to herself. Hard to say, but certainly no simple figure. “Keep it low-key. Since I don’t know what to expect, let’s keep it simple for now. Oh, and call Liu Ying over — I almost forgot, I can ask him.”

Liu Ying stood before A’Luo, neither servile nor arrogant. “The old prince is a good man!”

“That’s it?” A’Luo was unsatisfied. That was all the intelligence she’d get? She glared at him. “Don’t forget — if I can’t win over Liu Jue’s father, if Prince Anqing doesn’t take a liking to me, what will your master do then?”

A’Luo looked at Liu Ying with a beguiling smile, thinking to herself, I refuse to believe there’s no more information to be had.

Liu Ying had originally meant to give A’Luo a hard time — the whole journey she had worn him ragged. Now that he finally had the chance, with her needing something from him, he softened at her words. “The old prince loves wine! It’s rare for him to be back at the residence, and whenever he is, he likes to tease the young prince, likes to toy with him for fun.”

“How does he toy with him?” A’Luo’s interest was piqued.

Liu Ying’s face reddened. “Testing his martial skill, yes… the two of them… just having fun together.” Liu Ying would rather die than say more — he thought that if Prince Pingnan ever found out he’d handed over this, his number-one mole, on his own accord, it would not end well for him.

A’Luo eyed him suspiciously, but decided not to press further. It sounded like Prince Anqing was a man who loved fun and had a playful heart. By common reasoning, since his princess consort had passed and he hadn’t remarried, and he’d spent so many years stationed at the border town — wasn’t that just a lonely, affectionate man with an open heart? Liu Ying was, after all, Liu Jue’s trusted aide, and he wouldn’t dare say too much about the embarrassing antics of father and son. She smiled faintly. “I understand. It’s hard to say more, and I won’t press you further. Only — since you’ve followed me now, it would be best if you forgot your old master sooner rather than later. Otherwise, don’t follow me at all!”

Liu Ying dropped to his knees with a thud and answered firmly, “Liu Ying is now the Third Miss’s personal guard. I have nothing more to do with Prince Pingnan! This life belongs to the Third Miss — if you don’t believe me, you may take it at any time!”

A’Luo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and was also moved — this was the one good thing about ancient times, people here were foolishly loyal! She smiled. “Since you’re mine now, I command you to treat Xiao Yu well, to be good to her, and to protect her for the rest of her life. Can you do that?”

Liu Ying’s face flushed as if it would bleed, and he didn’t dare look at Xiao Yu, answering in a low voice, “Liu Ying obeys.”

A’Luo put on a silvery-blue gauze skirt and braided her hair before leaving. Before she left, Chancellor Li and the various madams looked her over from every angle, feeling something was off but unable to say what. A’Luo looked radiant, her dress a little unconventional, yet strikingly beautiful — especially the pearls threaded through her long braid, which set off her black hair with a faint luster, matching the glow of her glassy eyes.

The First Madam’s heart gave a pang — why had her pearl necklace been taken apart and turned into a hair ornament? She’d been thinking she would get it back from A’Luo once she was done with it. She couldn’t help blurting, “A’Luo, dear, that pearl necklace…”

“Oh! Thank you, Auntie, for the pearl necklace — A’Luo loves it especially. I remember that when Second Sister married, you weren’t even willing to give it to her, yet you gave it to me. Auntie, you’re too kind!”

The First Madam gave an awkward laugh and said nothing more.

Once outside the residence gate, A’Luo finally laughed aloud. With the First Madam silenced, there was no chance any of the other madams would get their things back either. She thought smugly to herself — once she returned to Fengcheng, she wouldn’t even need to open a restaurant; with so many people currying favor with her, she’d become a rich woman on her own.

Prince Anqing sat restlessly inside his residence, deeply curious to meet this Third Miss of the Chancellor’s household — what kind of woman had that wretched boy taken a liking to? A marriage alliance with Chancellor Li was not something he welcomed. After all, two of the Li family’s daughters had already aligned themselves with the Crown Prince’s camp, while Prince Ning favored the Fourth Prince, Liu Fei. He had specifically ordered that Liu Jue not return to Fengcheng until Prince Ning’s passing. And yet Liu Jue had gone so far as to send his top expert from the Xuan Group of the Black-Cloth Cavalry personally to deliver a sealed letter, begging over and over that he take good care of this Third Miss. He had even given her Liu Ying, the captain of the Qing Group, as her personal guard.

Prince Anqing found this all rather troublesome. Not having met this Third Miss yet, he was truly uneasy. He secretly resolved — if she turned out to be in collusion with Chancellor Li, he would never let Liu Jue have his way, not even if it killed him. He had plenty of ways to see that this marriage never happened!

A’Luo entered Prince Anqing’s residence with easy composure, and the attendant led her toward the reception hall, Xiao Yu and Liu Ying close behind. Liu Ying kept his eyes straight ahead — he had grown up in this residence for over twenty years and knew every blade of grass here intimately, yet he kept strictly to his role, acting as though he were a stranger.

Prince Anqing sat sprawled imposingly. The moment A’Luo entered, he let out a shout of approval — the wretched boy had good taste, undeniably a beauty, and unlike the usual coy young ladies, her dress was clean and graceful without being stingy. She bowed generously and smiled, waiting for him to speak. His eyes turned to Liu Ying, who dropped to one knee. “Liu Ying pays respects to the prince!” After the bow, he rose and stood behind A’Luo.

Prince Anqing thought, I’ll make an example of Liu Ying. He snorted. “I raised you all these years, and now, without your master’s word, you just get up on your own? Since when did you learn such manners?”

A’Luo thought, ah, killing the chicken to scare the monkey. She wasn’t angered, and smiled. “If he still regards you as his master, that would be disloyal to me. Does Prince Pingnan not keep his word?”

This girl had some nerve, daring to argue with him? And turning it right back onto his own head? Like father, like son? If Liu Jue didn’t keep his word, wasn’t that a jab at him too? Prince Anqing wondered how she’d managed to gain the upper hand the moment she walked in. He could only say, “Liu Ying, now that you’ve left my residence, you needn’t perform such a grand bow anymore.”

Liu Ying cupped his hands and bowed. “Thank you, my prince, for your understanding!”

Prince Anqing changed to a smiling face. “Girl, come sit beside me!”

A’Luo walked over lightly and sat beside him, raising her smiling face to look at him. This Prince Anqing bore some resemblance to Liu Jue — she suddenly realized that not just Liu Jue, but Zili and the Crown Prince too shared some similarities, all with sharply defined noses and firm, well-cut mouths. Prince Anqing looked dignified, yet his eyes were extremely gentle. Was he, like Liu Jue, a kind-hearted man at heart? Suddenly she heard Prince Anqing ask her, “Had a good look? Tell me, what kind of man do you think I am?”

A’Luo blushed. “I’m sorry, it’s rude of me to stare like that. I was just curious what kind of father Liu Jue had!”

A’Luo’s frankness and charming innocence won Prince Anqing’s favor. Perhaps his son liked her precisely because she wasn’t pretentious. “Just speak honestly — what kind of man do you think I am?”

A’Luo thought to herself — was it because she felt fond of Liu Jue that she’d come to Prince Anqing’s residence with fewer defenses and less scheming than usual? She naturally felt an affinity for Prince Anqing. She decided to speak plainly: “You’re a good man!”

“How so?”

A’Luo looked at him, puzzled. “Isn’t Liu Jue a good person? At the very least, kind-hearted — isn’t that the result of how you raised him from childhood?”

“This old man has killed countless men on the battlefield — is that also being a good man?”

A’Luo said seriously, “On the battlefield, everyone serves their own lord, protecting their own people — swords and blades have no eyes. Does fighting and killing enemies on the battlefield mean one can’t be a good man? Above, not failing one’s ruler; below, not failing the common people. As the poem goes, when alive, be among the outstanding; when dead, be a hero among ghosts. To guard the border for the sake of the nation and its people for so many years — that is the most lovable kind of person…” A’Luo thought, if only there were a Great Wall here, she would sing him a song about it.

This flattery landed extremely well. Prince Anqing’s brows lifted with delight. “Well said — alive among the outstanding, dead a hero among ghosts. What else?”

“You’re also an old fox!”

Liu Ying, listening, froze. This Third Miss! Flattering him one moment, and now switching tunes?

“You’ve been meaning to see for yourself what your son sees in me, thinking of ways to size me up.”

Prince Anqing’s beard twitched upward. “So you say this without fear that I’ll fly into a rage?”

A’Luo smiled charmingly. “I’m quite afraid, actually — but what kind of man is the prince? Commander of a thousand troops, ten thousand horses — whether I spoke the truth or not, you’d see through it at a glance. Besides, you wouldn’t quarrel with a young girl, would you?”

More flattery — keep it coming. Sure enough, Prince Anqing laughed heartily. “I’ll take that as a compliment! Go on.”

“And — you’re also a petty man!” A’Luo said, her expression unchanged.

Liu Ying broke into a cold sweat. This Third Miss really would say anything!

Prince Anqing’s face darkened with anger. “You’re calling this prince petty?!”

A’Luo stood and paced a few steps. “What does the prince consider a petty man to be?”

“Treacherous, cunning, narrow-minded, selfish! A flattering sycophant!”

A’Luo smiled. “That’s the prince’s idea of pettiness — the kind of person who grovels shamelessly and still manages to feel smug about it for all twenty-four hours of the day. Such a person inspires cold contempt and disgust. Yet, difficult as this vile art is, there are plenty who don’t shrink from it and throw themselves into it eagerly. Wanting to be that kind of petty man — I can’t do it, and the prince, no matter how he tried, couldn’t either.”

Prince Anqing found this rather pleasing to the ear, his face softening.

A’Luo continued, “What A’Luo means is a different kind of pettiness. They say white sand mixed with mud stays gray, and reeds growing among hemp grow straight — but what of mud within mud, hemp within hemp, and people within people? No one can remain pure and detached within the complexity of human nature. Only by withdrawing from the world entirely could one escape it, but wherever there are people, there is no true escape — even hiding in plain sight amid the crowd cannot escape the world. To keep oneself pure is also a kind of extravagant wish, a self-deceiving evasion! We are all, relatively speaking, petty people. Regarding the prince as sovereign, and the sovereign as father, we eat the sovereign’s provisions and worry over the sovereign’s cares. Compared to the greatness of the sovereign, we are small.”

Prince Anqing fell into thought. A’Luo went on, “A person is just a person — neither beast nor god — and human nature is simply human nature, nothing inherently wrong with it. Sometimes, the many factors in our living environment carve up this space where we might breathe and fly freely until our wings can barely spread and our breath grows stifled, and so we have no choice but to make ourselves smaller — only by becoming smaller can we make our living space relatively larger. Good causes do not always yield good fruit; a heart without selfishness does not always earn public standing — both can cause a person’s spirit to shrink, for not everyone has the patience to wait for good fruit to ripen from good causes. But a great man, standing in this world, has things he will do, and things he will not!”

Her face shone with an inner light. “The prince is exactly the kind of petty man A’Luo speaks of — able to bend, able to stand tall, able to laugh, able to rage. Even as a petty man, still open and forthright, still honest and upright!”

Liu Ying let out a long breath, his eyes turning to A’Luo with respect. If before he had followed A’Luo only out of love and command from his master, this speech on pettiness had truly moved him. Who doesn’t wish to be a person, and to live with dignity as one? But the hardships of life, the drifting and displacement, force people to depend on others, to become petty. Yet that need not stop one from carrying an honest, great-hearted spirit within! Unconsciously, he straightened his back further.

Prince Anqing stared at A’Luo in shock — a girl of seventeen or eighteen, standing radiant in the hall, her eyes open and sincere! Indeed, we are all petty people, each striving for a little more room for ourselves and our loved ones. With such insight, his son really hadn’t misjudged her. He burst into laughter. “Bring the wine! This old man wants a good drink!”

A’Luo stopped reasoning and said sweetly, “I hear the prince loves wine — but does the prince truly understand wine?”

Prince Anqing glared. “How much is there to understand about wine? This old man just likes to drink his fill!”

A’Luo smiled without answering. Before long, wine and dishes were brought to the hall. A’Luo lifted a cup and drank, then thought a moment. “Is this the prince’s favorite wine?”

Prince Anqing said proudly, “This old man loves best the wine brewed at the border town — spicy and strong enough!”

Something that couldn’t even compare to cheap grain liquor? A’Luo thought disdainfully — if she could get her hands on a bottle of Moutai, wouldn’t he end up hugging the bottle and sniffing its aroma to sleep every night?

She knew how to brew wine too? Prince Anqing’s curiosity was set on fire, his beard bouncing with delight. The old man and the young woman ate and chatted. A’Luo carefully recounted what she knew about wine — grapes and fine wine and moonlit cups, one must drink grape wine from crystal glasses; the wine-shop banner flutters amid pear blossoms, white liquor should be drunk from celadon cups… The old man’s eyebrows danced with delight, wishing he could taste every single one. “Do you know how to make them all?”

A’Luo secretly laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know how!”

Prince Anqing was annoyed. “Then what’s the use of saying so much? I still can’t drink any of it!”

Indeed, she couldn’t drink it — but wasn’t the fact that she couldn’t part of what made it appealing? A’Luo smiled sweetly. “I seem to remember there’s a brewing method called distillation. Let me think it over carefully.” She wasn’t confident, but it was worth a try.

Prince Anqing’s eyes lit up, and he gazed at her eagerly. “Shall we try it tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow — but I haven’t even gone home yet, and my eldest sister is already pressing me to enter the palace. If I mention this wine, I’d love to brew it for fun too, but if I get held up in the palace, what then?” A’Luo put on a troubled expression.

“Just say there’s urgent business at my residence.” Prince Anqing thumped his chest, volunteering himself as her shield.

That was exactly the line she’d been fishing for. So being a petty schemer really wasn’t so simple after all. Delay entering the palace a little longer and get you settled first! You, old man, are now her special pass. A’Luo chuckled to herself, unable to stop.