The two tugged and hauled at each other, neither able to overpower the other. The Second Prince was worn out, never imagining that Tao Chuyi possessed such surprising strength beneath that slender frame.
“Stop it.”
Nangong Yunshang arrived at the main gate with her attendants. Seizing the moment when the Second Prince eased his grip, Tao Chuyi slipped away and darted behind Nangong Yunshang.
“Your Highness the Princess, he bullied me.” Tao Chuyi poked half her head out, pointing at the Second Prince as she lodged her complaint.
The Second Prince glared at her. “Hey, Third Brother-in-Law—no, I was just inviting you to take a bath. Who’s bullying you?”
Nangong Yunshang shot him a displeased glance. “The Prince Consort is simple and childlike. Second Royal Brother, don’t stoop to his level. The Prince Consort never bathes outside the residence, so Second Royal Brother should find someone else.”
“That’s right, find someone else,” Tao Chuyi chimed in.
The Second Prince glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Fine, this prince will go alone then. No need for Third Imperial Sister to see me off.”
Once the unwelcome guest had departed, Nangong Yunshang led Tao Chuyi all the way back to her bedchamber.
After closing the door, Tao Chuyi immediately began to wheedle. “Sister!”
Nangong Yunshang sighed helplessly. “You absolutely mustn’t go bathe outside. Old monsters will come and snatch you away.”
Tao Chuyi nodded vigorously. She had known her father hadn’t been lying, and now even her Fairy Sister was saying the same. Those old monsters had to be real.
“Good girl.”
Nangong Yunshang pinched her cheek, leaving a red mark, and thought to herself how incredibly soft her skin was. Suddenly, she recalled the wounds on her back. How much pain must this little fool have endured back then?
“Later, we’ll go fly kites in the outskirts. It’s warmer out there than in the Capital City.”
Tao Chuyi had been clamoring to head to the suburbs ever since lunch. Sure enough, Fairy Sister hadn’t lied to her. The spot they went to even had patches of green grass. While the Capital City was gripped by midwinter, this place felt like early autumn.
The river hadn’t frozen over yet, and waterfalls cascaded down the mountainsides, sending sparkling ripples across the water below.
As soon as they arrived, Tao Chuyi ran wild with joy, with Xichan and Fendie chasing after her. Nangong Yunshang sat down a short distance away, while Yinghong spread out a prayer mat on the ground.
“The Prince Consort certainly has boundless energy.”
Yinghong watched as she pulled out a kite, her gaze following the butterfly kite.
But Nangong Yunshang’s eyes tracked the figure darting to and fro.
“At eighteen years old, that’s only natural.”
“You’re only a year older than the Prince Consort yourself, Your Highness, yet you sound just like an elder.”
Yinghong couldn’t resist teasing her. Their princess had once been innocent and carefree too.
“Xichan! Chase me!”
Tao Chuyi shot off like an arrow, her kite soaring high into the sky.
Xichan chased after her, panting and out of breath until she could run no more and knelt on the ground, gasping for air.
“F-Fendie, quick, catch up to the young master.”
In the end, only Fendie could barely keep pace.
The mountain winds were fierce, snapping the kite string. The butterfly kite fluttered away toward the back hills, and Tao Chuyi chased after it until she vanished from sight.
“Butterfly, Butterfly!”
She searched for ages before finding it caught in some tree branches. Just as she was about to climb up, a shadow beat her to it.
Fendie handed the kite back to her. “Young master, here it is.”
Tao Chuyi ran over and took her beloved kite, hugging it happily.
“Young master, you’re nothing like her.”
Tao Chuyi looked up in confusion and saw Fendie staring at her with distant eyes, lost in thought about who knew what.
“Fendie?”
“She never smiled so carefree and joyous.”
Fendie stared, entranced, and reached out absently as if to stroke her cheek.
Tao Chuyi instinctively dodged back. She wasn’t Fairy Sister—no one else could touch her.
Fendie’s hand hung in midair. She gave a self-mocking smile. “I’m sorry, young master. I startled you. It’s just… you really look like an old friend of mine. Unfortunately, you’re a man, and she was a woman.”
She was a woman too, Tao Chuyi thought, but she didn’t say it aloud.
“Oh, were you close?”
Fendie seemed to sink into memories. “She was wonderful. When we were little, she always listened to me.”
Before she could finish reminiscing, Nangong Yunshang arrived with the others. Seeing that Tao Chuyi was fine, the group escorted her away from the back hills, leaving only Fendie trailing behind, her expression desolate.
Even after boarding the carriage, Tao Chuyi clutched the tattered butterfly kite.
Nangong Yunshang took it from her at once and set it aside. “If the kite’s broken, we’ll get a new one. I’ll have someone make you a phoenix kite when we get back.”
Tao Chuyi perked up at that and promptly forgot all about the butterfly kite, her mind now fixed eagerly on the phoenix kite.
The streets bustled with clamor, throngs of pedestrians streaming by. Crowds gathered around the stalls, chattering away more noisily than Little Eight.
Tao Chuyi lifted the curtain and spotted two women deep in animated conversation about weddings and consummation.
“Sister.”
Nangong Yunshang turned to her. “What is it?”
Tao Chuyi looked back with earnest sincerity. “What’s consummation?”
Nangong Yunshang flushed slightly. “That’s not something for children to worry about.”
But Tao Chuyi wouldn’t let it go. She scooted closer and tugged at her sleeve, shaking it. “I’m eighteen. I’m not a child anymore.”
Nangong Yunshang’s head began to ache from the pestering. She blurted out a hasty explanation. “It’s when two people sleep in a round house.”
Tao Chuyi fell silent at the explanation, lost in thought. She and Fairy Sister had held their wedding ceremony, so that counted as marriage. But they hadn’t slept in a round house yet.
“Then when are we going to consummate?”
Before the words were fully out, Nangong Yunshang stuffed a piece of pastry into her mouth. Tao Chuyi let out muffled sounds, too occupied to speak further.
Back at the residence, Tao Chuyi promptly forgot about consummation. Who knew what had influenced her, but she started grabbing the young manservants to play house.
“You, be the big horse!”
She pointed a stick at Liuzi. “You, be the general. Charge!”
Liuzi was exhausted, forced to play big horse one moment, general the next, then foot soldier after that. He had it better than some—the other manservants had been horses the whole time and collapsed from fatigue.
When he slowed down even a little, Tao Chuyi smacked his backside with the stick.
“No good! Do it over!”
Liuzi grimaced, drenched in sweat despite the winter chill.
“Your Highness the Prince Consort, couldn’t you play with the maids instead? You’ve nearly worn us out.”
Tao Chuyi tilted her head in thought, then shook it. “No, you can’t hit girls.”
Liuzi’s jaw dropped. “How chivalrous of you.”
Xichan and Fendie snickered nearby, occasionally popping fruit into Tao Chuyi’s mouth.
Liuzi finally spotted the princess emerging and collapsed to the ground, pretending to be dead, as if beholding his savior.
Nangong Yunshang beckoned to them. Tao Chuyi immediately dropped the stick and ran over.
“In this servant’s humble opinion, the Prince Consort has the makings of a future general.”
Even half-dead with exhaustion, Liuzi wouldn’t miss a chance to flatter.
Nangong Yunshang fed her a piece of soft cheese and chuckled. “I think she has the makings of an eater.”
Tao Chuyi figured being good at eating was a talent too, so she took Nangong Yunshang’s words as praise and beamed widely.
With great effort, she swallowed the pastry and proudly pulled out a wooden box like a treasure. She opened it and held up a paper windmill—though it had somehow been folded in half.
Tao Chuyi switched to puppy-dog eyes. “It’s broken…”
Nangong Yunshang shook her head and had Yinghong fetch colored paper, thin bamboo, and string. Right there on the spot, she made Tao Chuyi a new paper windmill. She did it effortlessly—this had been her only toy as a child.
“Here, go play.”
Tao Chuyi took it, puffed out her cheeks, and blew hard. The windmill whirred around several times.
“Sister’s the best!”
She jumped up, showing off the windmill all around before leaping back to Nangong Yunshang’s side and blowing on it nonstop.
Nangong Yunshang gently tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear, letting her play.
At that moment, a guard hurried into the rear courtyard and bowed. “Reporting to Your Highness: Last night, the Vice Minister of Personnel died at home. The case has been reported to the throne, and His Majesty has ordered the Dali Temple to solve it within seven days.”
News of the Vice Minister of Personnel’s death had spread like wildfire, stirring up a storm at court. After all, he was an imperial official heading a ministry division—how could his sudden death not raise suspicions?
The Dali Temple’s autopsy report soon arrived at the Princess Mansion, stating that the Vice Minister of Personnel had been poisoned. Traces of toxin were found in the teacup in his study. The study’s doors and windows had been tightly shut at the time, so suspicion fell on the servants who had handled the tea—from brewing to serving, five in total.
Nangong Yunshang closed the folder. “Report back once the interrogations are complete.”
“Sister, my rattle drum is gone.”
Tao Chuyi sidled up and buried her big head in Nangong Yunshang’s bosom, searching around.
Nangong Yunshang grabbed the back of her collar and hauled her out. They were both girls, so there was no need for such formalities, but she didn’t have to act so completely at home.
“Is the rattle drum in my bosom, by any chance?”
Tao Chuyi grinned foolishly. “I want to lie in Sister’s bosom.”
Nangong Yunshang was speechless. Give her an inch, and she’d take a mile.
“Come on, let’s go to the market and buy a rattle drum.”
Tao Chuyi cheered, and at the market, she wanted everything she laid eyes on—candy figures, wooden carvings, even a treasure sword from the weapons shop. If Xichan hadn’t held her back, she might have cleared out half the street.
“Rattle drum!”
She pointed excitedly at a stall laden with rattle drums in all sorts—some topped with rabbits, others with kittens and puppies.
Nangong Yunshang signaled to her attendants to pay. “Which one do you like? We’ll buy it for you.”
Tao Chuyi picked up the Puppy Rattle Drum and the Parrot Rattle Drum, torn between the two since she wanted them both. Unable to decide, Tao Chuyi stood there frozen, big eyes blinking pitifully as she gazed over, an expression brimming with utter fragility filling her face.
“Then we’ll take both.”
Nangong Yunshang paid for them and led Tao Chuyi to the restaurant next door for a meal.
They had barely stepped inside when they ran into a vaguely familiar face at the stairs leading to the second floor. It was Ruan Xiaowei, a thoroughly arrogant fellow whose martial skills were nothing special, even if his self-confidence knew no bounds. During an earlier hunt, he had kept shooting glances Nangong Yunshang’s way, but she had paid him no mind.
“Your Highness the Princess?”
Ruan Xiaowei’s eyes gleamed as he hurried forward with a bow, that same uncomfortable stare fixed on her as always.
Tao Chuyi narrowed her eyes and shot him a glare. What’re you staring at? Keep it up and I’ll gouge your eyes out to kick around like balls.
Standing tall with chest puffed out, Tao Chuyi blocked Ruan Xiaowei’s line of sight and followed Nangong Yunshang into the private room. Much to their surprise, he persisted relentlessly, like a ghost that refused to leave, and trailed right after them.
