Today, Wang Ruo wore a light cyan gauze dress with intertwining flower branches blooming luxuriantly along her sleeves and collar. Her black hair was loosely coiled up, with just two or three pink drooping crabapple blossoms tucked at her temples, creating an ineffable allure.

When she saw Huang Zixia arrive, her face instantly lit up with an irrepressible smile. Lifting her skirts, she quickly walked to the door to welcome her, her smile as radiant as flowers. Even Huang Zixia was infected by her warmth, and the two immediately became as familiar as old friends.

“This morning, Lady Su Qi already told me about the palace consorts, princes, princesses, and other royal relatives – there are so many, I can barely remember them all! Then Lady Su Qi said you have even more rules to teach me. Oh dear, I’m getting quite worried.”

Huang Zixia smiled reassuringly: “Don’t worry, with the Princess Consort’s intelligence and quick understanding, you’ll naturally learn very quickly.”

“Not at all! When I was young and learning the qin, even with the simplest piece like Liu… oh, Flowing Water, others learned faster than me. My nanny always said I was slow, it was so frustrating!” She seemed somewhat self-conscious as she spoke, and quickly asked, “Are the prince’s residence rules difficult to learn?”

“They should be manageable. The Princess Consort comes from a centuries-old noble family – perhaps your family rules are even more numerous,” Huang Zixia said, handing over the volumes she had brought. Seeing Wang Ruo’s troubled expression, she added, “This is just a portion of the prince’s residence regulations. Once you’ve finished these, I’ll bring the others next time.”

Throughout the afternoon, Huang Zixia ate snacks while watching Wang Ruo earnestly study the regulations, and nervously reviewed them herself. It would be embarrassing if the instructor knew less than the student.

However, studying the rules today was certainly less stressful than the previous night. As she read, her thoughts began to wander, her gaze drifting around the room until she noticed Wang Ruo holding her book motionless, lost in thought.

Seeing her stillness, Huang Zixia closed her book and asked: “What is the Princess Consort thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about… some things Lady Su Qi taught me,” she said hesitantly.

Huang Zixia smiled and asked: “What did Lady Su Qi say?”

“Lady Su Qi was telling me about the Spring Lanterns – Chapter on ‘Dedication.’ She said: ‘A virtuous woman does not marry twice, though a husband may remarry, a wife absolutely must not. In our dynasty, many women sought divorce from their husbands’ families due to dissatisfaction – this truly violates proper ethics. Women should value chastity and lifelong fidelity, and the royal family especially emphasizes this matter.'”

Huang Zixia nodded, saying: “The Precepts for Women is basic education for young ladies. Lady Su Qi was just following convention in mentioning it. Why does it trouble the Princess Consort?”

“I… had naturally read it before,” Wang Ruo quickly said. “It’s just that I suddenly thought of some things that I find puzzling.”

“What things? Would the Princess Consort share them with me?”

“Well… I heard that Empress Wu was once Emperor Taizong’s consort and Yang Guifei was Princess Shou…”  she said hesitantly.

Huang Zixia hadn’t expected such an age-old dilemma – one that thousands of historians couldn’t rationalize. What could she say? She could only smile wryly and respond: “In our dynasty… some things are indeed difficult to judge.”

“Then, in the Han Dynasty, wasn’t there also Emperor Wu’s mother Wang Zhi, who married and had a daughter outside the palace, then abandoned her husband and daughter, falsely claiming to be unwed when she entered the palace, and eventually became the mother of the empire… right?”

Huang Zixia was speechless for a long while, finally saying: “In our great Middle Kingdom’s thousands of years of history, there will always be a few exceptions, but they are truly rare.”

Wang Ruo lowered her eyes to the books on the table and asked hesitantly: “Then, Chonggu, what do you think would have happened to Empress Wang if Emperor Jing had discovered she had concealed her marriage history when entering the palace?”

Huang Zixia couldn’t help but smile, saying: “Why worry about ancient figures? Empress Wang eventually became Empress Dowager Wang, bringing great fortune to her family. Her son Emperor Wu later learned about his mother having a daughter with a commoner and personally visited her, calling her ‘sister.’ I think even the royal family has feelings and can be understood through normal reasoning.”

“Mm… I suppose you’re right.” She hugged the book to her chest, but her expression remained distant. Huang Zixia silently reviewed what she had just said but couldn’t pinpoint the key point. Following Wang Ruo’s gaze, she noticed a peony displayed on the table.

It was that glass peony, now kept in a large crystal bowl with shallow water just touching the stem to preserve the flower. But the bloom had wilted, its petals beginning to curl and a few had already fallen.

When Wang Ruo noticed her staring at the flower, her face suddenly flushed red. She lowered her head to fiddle with the book, showing an awkward shyness.

How strange – from this behavior, it seemed she truly had feelings for Prince Kui. Huang Zixia pondered silently, deeply sensing Wang Ruo’s maiden infatuation with Li Shubai. She felt momentarily confused as if infected by the girl’s emotions.

Wang Ruo gently stroked the glass peony in the water and said softly, timidly: “Chonggu, you must be laughing at me inside.”

“What would I laugh at?” Huang Zixia smiled.

She shyly covered her face with her hands and said quietly: “I don’t know if you can understand my feelings… I had always imagined what my future husband would be like, what kind of life I would lead, what sort of person would be my support… But the moment I was led into the back hall and looked up to see Prince Kui, I understood everything. In that instant, it was as if I could see my entire life’s path ahead, and I wasn’t afraid of the future at all… I saw him standing in the light, holding that peony, his whole being as pure as jade… In that moment I knew, he was the one for my whole life…”

Huang Zixia recalled Wang Ruo’s first meeting with Li Shubai and felt it hadn’t been quite like that, but still smiled and said: “I could tell from your expression at the time.”

“You mustn’t tell anyone else.”

“Of course not.” Huang Zixia sat beside her, looking at her flushed cheeks and earnest yearning. Suddenly, like a dream, she flashed back to an early summer evening by a dragonfly-filled pond, when she had turned her head, arms full of lotus flowers, to see that youth gazing at her from afar.

Unconsciously, she fell into a dreamy mood. When she came to her senses, she felt a slight pain in her chest. She turned to see the setting sun and slowly stood up, saying: “I should head back now. The Princess Consort can keep these volumes to study – they’re quite good for bedtime reading.”

“Alright.” Wang Ruo’s hand still absently stroked the peony petals, only making the flower appear more damaged.

At the doorway, Huang Zixia saw wisteria blooming throughout the small courtyard, its bewitching purple swirling like mist around the trellis. The spring sunset was a dazzling gold, illuminating the wisteria until the entire courtyard was awash in purple and gold splendor. At that moment, her heart was moved as she felt Wang Ruo’s shy joy.

So she turned back to Wang Ruo and smiled, saying: “Don’t worry, Princess Consort, I won’t tell anyone else – I’ll only tell the Prince that you still treasure the glass peony he gave you.”

Wang Ruo was both embarrassed and annoyed, standing up to stamp her foot: “Oh, you…”

Huang Zixia laughed as she left.

The Prince Kui residence’s carriage was already waiting at the Wang family gate. She boarded it and traveled through Chang’an’s streets until, near the Eastern Market, the carriage suddenly stopped. She was about to see who dared stop Prince Kui’s carriage when she lifted the curtain and discovered they had stopped beside a restaurant. Above, someone was standing at a second-floor window looking down. In the sunset, his purple robes caught the light, as dazzling as the intoxicating purple and gold wisteria in Wang Ruo’s courtyard. He gazed down at her in the carriage with his usual nonchalant look, his features appearing even more profound in the sunset, yet without any expression that might reveal his emotions.

With her employer Li Shubai watching from above, she naturally dared not delay. Jumping down from the carriage, she entered the restaurant and went upstairs to knock at the private room. The door was immediately opened by Jing You, the eunuch who usually attended Li Shubai. Still not fully recovered from his cold, he instructed Huang Zixia to carefully attend to the Prince, then closed the door and left.

Inside the private room were not only she and Li Shubai but also Prince Zhao Li Rui and Prince E Li Run in casual dress, as well as a woman slowly plucking at a qin. The woman appeared to be in her forties, with very beautiful features, though her face showed signs of weariness. Seeing Huang Zixia enter, she said nothing but nodded slightly, continuing to play the qin with graceful ease, producing clear, moving notes.

Seeing her studying the woman, Li Shubai said: “She is Chen Nianniang, a second-generation disciple of Dong Tinglan. The other day, Prince Zhao mentioned she had arrived in Chang’an, so Prince E and I arranged to come to hear her play.”

Since the dynasty began, Western and Hu-style instruments and music had become extremely popular, while the seven-stringed qin was often neglected as “ancient sounds lack flavor, unsuited to modern tastes.” However, during the High Tang, Dong Tinglan had earned great praise for his superior qin artistry. Gao Shi had even written a poem for him: “Don’t worry that the road ahead holds no kindred spirit / Who in the world does not know your name?”

Huang Zixia quickly nodded respectfully to the lady.

Beside her, Prince Zhao Li Rui smiled and said: “Fourth Brother, this young eunuch seems to have earned your deep trust. What business brings him back today?”

“His memory is excellent. I had him go to the Wang residence to teach the residence rules.”

“Oh? Besides solving cases, does he also have Fourth Brother’s perfect memory?” Li Rui asked with a smile.

Li Shubai merely gave a slight “mm” in response and said no more. Huang Zixia noticed the sunset shining directly in Chen Nianniang’s eyes, making her furrow her brows as she looked down, so she went over to gently lower the bamboo blinds before her.

Li Rui laughed again: “This young eunuch is truly attentive.”

Chen Nianniang’s piece was reaching its finale, the clear tones resonating purely, making one forget worldly concerns. No one responded to Li Rui’s comment. They only listened as the lingering notes gradually faded, gentle and harmonious, while Chen Nianniang rested her hands on the qin, took a moment to compose herself, and then rose to bow to everyone.

Li Run praised: “Magnificent – one can imagine the style of Master Dong in his day.”

Li Rui also said: “Truly well played. Would you consider joining the Imperial Music Bureau? Perhaps we could recommend you.”

Chen Nianniang slowly shook her head: “I am already advanced in years. I now teach qin at the Yunshaoyuan in Jiangnan, living without worry. I fear I could no longer adapt to the Music Bureau.”

Li Rui asked: “Then what brings you to the capital?”

Chen Nianniang said: “Years ago, I studied under our teacher with my senior apprentice sister Feng Yinian. We were very close. For many years afterward, we supported and accompanied each other. A few months ago, Yinian suddenly bid me farewell, saying she needed to escort a friend’s daughter to Chang’an – three or four months at most, or as little as one or two months before returning. But now it’s been over five months with no word from her. What’s more, I’ve asked everyone but found that no one knows why she came to Chang’an or whom she was escorting. I had no choice but to come to the capital myself to search for news. But not only have I found no trace of her, I’ve also exhausted my travel funds. Fortunately, I met some former fellow disciples who introduced me to perform here, allowing me to meet such noble persons.”

Li Run smiled and said: “I understand – you hope we can help find your senior apprentice sister, correct?”

“Exactly! If I could learn of my senior sister’s whereabouts, I would be eternally grateful!”

Li Run said: “Well, Chang’an is neither large nor small. How about this – I’ll write you a letter, and you can go to the Ministry of Personnel to have them create a portrait to aid in the search.”

Chen Nianniang was overjoyed and bowed deeply to him, then said: “There’s no need to trouble them with creating a portrait. I have a small portrait that my senior sister and I drew together a few years ago. I’ve kept it with me – we look very similar, so they can use that for reference.”

“That’s even better. Give us the portrait, and I’ll write the letter first.”

At a glance from Li Shubai, Huang Zixia obediently went to the door to request brush and ink from the establishment. As Li Run wrote the letter, Chen Nianniang sat at the qin, adjusting each string. Huang Zixia sat across from her, helping to open the rosin powder box and carefully applying it to the strings.

Chen Nianniang had taken a liking to her due to her earlier thoughtfulness. Looking at her hands, she asked: “Young eunuch, do you play the qin?”

“I previously learned pipa and konghou, but lacked patience, so I only learned a little before giving up.”

“What a pity – your hands are very well-suited for playing the qin.”

Huang Zixia was somewhat surprised and said: “No one has ever said my hands were attractive before.”

“But your palms appear strong, and for playing qin or pipa, slightly larger hands are better – they can stretch further when pressing the strings.”

Huang Zixia smiled and said: “Probably because I used to enjoy playing polo, so they became like this.”

At the mention of polo, Li Rui came over: “Oh? This young eunuch likes polo too? Next time we play, we’ll include you.”

Huang Zixia quickly said: “I only played once or twice before.”

“Hard to believe that such a slight frame would dare play polo – that’s the kind of thing where you could easily lose an arm or break a leg.” Li Rui reached out to squeeze her shoulder, but Huang Zixia shifted slightly backward, glancing at Li Shubai, who appeared not to notice and only gave a light cough.

Li Rui smiled awkwardly and turned to sit beside Li Shubai. Huang Zixia continued arranging the rosin powder, occasionally looking up to see Chen Nianniang’s downturned face, her high nose bridge, and small chin. She thought to herself that the woman’s features were somewhat similar to her own mother’s.