Chapter Forty-Five
Ling Xueying and Yun Moxin quickly went from strangers to close friends, forming a deep bond as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. If not for the strong objections of Ning Shuchen and Ning Fei, Yun Moxin would have moved in with Xueying on the very night they arrived in Lucheng for a heart-to-heart talk by candlelight. In the following days, the two men tacitly took turns keeping the overly enthusiastic pair at a safe distance—until...
One morning, Ning Fei arrived early outside Xueying’s door. Just as he was about to knock, he heard laughter inside.
"That’s right! So if he dares to be harsh with you, just handle him like this—"
Ning Fei felt a wave of weakness. He would recognize that voice even in his next lifetime—it belonged to his mother, who had always favored her daughter-in-law over her own son.
"Got it!" Xueying’s excited voice chimed in. "Actually, he’s usually quite good to me. He only gets upset when I mention wanting to learn swordsmanship."
"That’s easy to deal with," Yun Moxin said smugly. "All you have to do is—"
Hearing this, Ning Fei could no longer hold back and pushed the door open. The lively discussion inside quickly shifted.
"...Actually, madder, pomegranate, safflower, and sappanwood can all be used to make rouge—Oh? Fei, why are you here so early?"
Yun Moxin was holding a delicate piece of rouge as she applied it to Xueying’s face. She merely glanced at him with raised lashes before continuing enthusiastically, "There’s a flower called safflower. When it blooms, you pluck the whole blossom and pound it repeatedly in a stone mortar. After filtering out the yellow juice, the remaining red liquid is dried in the shade until it thickens into a smooth paste. Pressed into thin sheets, it becomes the imperial tribute—golden flower rouge."
Xueying gasped in surprise. "People always say the imperial golden flower rouge is refined from a hundred rare blossoms. I never knew the process was so simple—Ning Fei, don’t just stand there, you’re blocking the light!"
Ning Fei stood beside Yun Moxin, torn between laughter and exasperation. "Mother, why are you up so early?"
Yun Moxin carefully wiped away excess powder from Xueying’s face with a silk handkerchief. "Aren’t your in-laws arriving today? If I wake up late, your father will keep me busy with chores, and I won’t have time to go with you to greet them."
Ning Fei scratched his head awkwardly. "Actually, Mother, you could just wait at home..."
"Ah! Where did you get this?" 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 beamed. "Father brought it back from his last trip. We still have plenty at home. If you don’t mind that it’s been used, please take this for now. When I go to the Imperial City, I’ll bring back more for you."
"Oh, I couldn’t possibly," Yun Moxin waved her hand hastily. "Besides, such rare pigment would be wasted on an old woman like me. Sigh, if I didn’t have to appear in public so often, I wouldn’t even bother with makeup at my age—people would just laugh..."
"Not at all!" Xueying grinned, her eyes curving like crescents. "Standing next to you, people would think we’re sisters. Who would dare laugh? Besides, I’ve always admired how beautifully you shape your brows and wanted to learn from you. If such pigment is wasted on you, then I certainly don’t deserve to use it either."The words made Yun Moxin beam with joy. Turning with a wide smile, she gave Ning Fei a hearty slap on the chest. "They say having a son is not as good as getting a daughter-in-law—see how sensible Xueying is? Unlike you, always making your mother angry!" Caught off guard, Ning Fei choked on his breath and began coughing violently.
Xueying hurried over to pat his back. "What's wrong? Why are you coughing all of a sudden?" Yun Moxin also leaned in with concern. "Don't tell me you've overworked yourself these past few days. Maybe you should go rest. Your mother and Xueying can handle things here." Still coughing awkwardly, Ning Fei mumbled, "I'm fine, I'm fine." Seeing Yun Moxin about to speak again, he took two steps back. "I... I'll go wake Father up." With that, he fled the room in haste.
Behind him, the triumphant laughter of the two women echoed.
Xia Jingshi sat quietly in his study. A wisp of incense smoke curled upward from the burner, while outside the window, mottled bamboo swayed in the wind. Beneath the corridor, Han Gao repeated incessantly, "Your Highness should rest, Your Highness should rest..." Suddenly, he chuckled. The attendant grinding ink beside him stared blankly at his smile but dared not ask the reason.
Had it not been for that accident years ago, the imperial crown so fiercely coveted by many might truly have fallen upon his head. The Han Gao hanging outside his corridor would then echo the one outside the Holy Emperor's study, calling out ceaselessly, "Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty..."
Yixiao had likely never seen a talking bird before. As she approached, the Han Gao fell silent. Curious, she tilted her head up, eyes fixed on the fluttering wings inside the cage. Suddenly, she clucked at it like one would to a chicken, teasing, "Cluck cluck, say it again! Say, 'Long live Your Majesty,' come on..." Her odd tone made him stifle a laugh. Though Xiao Weiran struggled to maintain a solemn expression, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. Ning Fei, meanwhile, was already leaning halfway onto Weiran's back with laughter—until he abruptly straightened up. The Holy Emperor had appeared at the study door, clearly having heard the commotion outside, his eyes brimming with amusement.
When the Holy Emperor bestowed his rewards, Fu Yixiao hesitated before stepping forward. After a long pause, she finally mumbled shyly, "Could this humble subject exchange these rewards for that bird outside?" Before she even finished, a palace attendant scolded loudly, "How dare you! In His Majesty's presence—" But the Holy Emperor merely waved a hand and asked, "What do you want the Han Gao for?" Blushing, she squeezed out a reply, "Because... I've never seen such an amusing bird before." The Holy Emperor smiled. "The one outside is already trained and cannot be given to you. How about I grant you another, untrained one?" Overjoyed, Yixiao immediately kowtowed in gratitude.
Returning to Lucheng with the Han Gao and a set of training instructions copied from the palace birdkeeper, Yixiao requested leave and locked herself in her residence. Amused yet concerned, he sent people to check on her, only to receive the same reply each time: "Captain Fu says she's in seclusion and asks Your Highness to wait patiently."A month had passed when Yixiao burst into his study carrying a large cage covered with black cloth. She had visibly lost weight, only her eyes still frighteningly bright. Before he could ask anything, she raised a finger to her lips in a hushing gesture and gently lifted the black cloth covering the cage—Han Gao was hopping up and down inside but refused to speak no matter how they coaxed it. Frustrated, Yixiao slapped the cage as if explaining or complaining, "What's going on? It clearly learned, so why did it go mute the moment we entered the inner city?"
Seeing her drenched in sweat from running, he poured her a cup of tea. She was clearly parched, gulping it down in one go like a cricket drinking water, then wiped her lips with her sleeve. Frowning, she stared blankly at the birdcage when the neglected Han Gao suddenly called out clearly, "His Highness should rest, His Highness should rest!"
Yixiao froze for a moment before suddenly cheering and throwing herself into his arms, shaking him excitedly. "Did you hear that, did you hear that, did you hear that?!" She tugged at him, jumping and laughing. "It spoke just now, it can talk now! Hahaha!"
Rare is the priceless treasure, rarer still the sincere heart.
At that moment, his heart overflowed with tenderness...
"Husband," Feng Xiyang called as she pushed open the study door. The instant she looked up, the unguarded smile on Xia Jingshi's face lashed at her heart like a whip.
Such a tender smile—of course it couldn't have been for her.
She lowered her head as if she hadn't seen anything and presented the gift list in her hands to Xia Jingshi. "This is the gift list Xiyang prepared. Would husband like to review it?" Xia Jingshi gave a slight nod and took it. After reading just a few lines, he frowned, picking up a silver-tipped purple bamboo brush to make corrections. "One plate each of gold, jade, coral, and blue jasper court beads is enough. Ten gold hairpins and flat pins each, two pairs each of gold, green jade, white jade, gold-inlaid pearl, and gold-inlaid coral bracelets. One pair each of coral, red jasper, genuine pearl, green jade, eaglewood, and purple gold ingot wristlets. Cross out all the rest—" He glanced up at Feng Xiyang. "How can we bestow hundreds of jewelry pieces in dozens of varieties for just a second-rank noblewoman?"
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