Chapter 18
It wasn’t yet nighttime, but Zheng Xuening had summoned the Left Prime Minister today.
The Left Prime Minister was Zheng Xuening’s maternal grandfather. He was also one of the few people who had not been afraid of the Crown Princess’s fearsome reputation over the years.
The Left Prime Minister, Liao Ying, had white hair and a white beard. Years of toil in the court had made him look much older than his peers, but his authority was immense.
He looked at the Crown Princess before him with his eagle-like eyes and said with disappointment, “You have already missed morning court for three consecutive days. The court is now abuzz with discussion. How do you explain this?”
He was old. In recent years, His Majesty had clearly become wary of the Liao family, growing more and more guarded. He knew that his Liao family, being the maternal family of the Empress and the Crown Princess, had become too powerful. The Son of Heaven was aging, and he was afraid he could no longer tolerate them.
Zheng Xuening took the booklet the Left Prime Minister had brought in and scanned it ten lines at a glance, her eyes indifferent.
“Does Grandfather think that this Princess still has a place in the court today? What difference does it make whether I go or not?”
The Left Prime Minister was silent.
Yes, both he and his granddaughter understood that the current sovereign had long had the intention of deposing the Crown Princess. The Son of Heaven’s affections had always been faint. Even if he had doted on the Empress back then and sworn an oath to be good to their only daughter and to pass the throne to Zheng Xuening, more than a decade had passed. The Son of Heaven’s momentary oath had long lost its sincerity. Perhaps even the Son of Heaven himself had forgotten this paternal love.
And everyone at court was saying that the heir of the Chaoying Kingdom, the future Son of Heaven, absolutely could not be someone with a hidden illness that was often exposed, someone who could not maintain a clear mind.
This made Zheng Xuening’s position even more precarious.
Her headaches grew more severe each year. Now that she wasn’t even attending morning court, it would only lead to more discussion, with people speculating whether the Crown Princess could no longer even maintain her composure in public.
“But we cannot just sit and wait for death,” the Left Prime Minister said.
Zheng Xuening was about to reply when she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.
She felt her soul being gently pulled by a force, as if it were about to leave this body again.
Having already had a few experiences, she immediately knew the reason for this.
“Grandfather should return for now. We will discuss this matter another day.”
After saying this, Zheng Xuening used her willpower to wave her hand, then made a gesture as if her head was hurting and she needed to rest.
Immediately, a serving lady came in and carefully asked the Left Prime Minister to leave the hall.
Everyone thought that the Crown Princess’s headache had been triggered by overthinking.
“Left Prime Minister, please leave the hall.”
The serving lady lowered her voice and spoke respectfully.
The Left Prime Minister also knew that his granddaughter had a strange illness that made her prone to headaches, so he didn’t say much more, simply rising to leave.
He took a few steps, his heart filled with worry. He looked back and saw the Crown Princess’s thin figure sitting alone in the empty hall, looking very desolate and lonely.
Sigh. He flicked his sleeve and departed, his back seeming to stoop a great deal in that instant.
If the Crown Princess’s headaches couldn’t be cured, how could she fight against others? If her hold on the throne was unstable, waiting below were ravenous tigers and wolves. The slightest misstep would result in being crushed to pieces.
The hall was now empty. Although the serving ladies were worried, they didn’t dare make a sound while the Crown Princess had a headache, so they too quietly withdrew from the main hall.
…
Zheng Xuening felt her soul seem to fly across the grand hall, drifting toward a remote corner eave.
In just a daze, she felt her soul land on solid ground again.
Fatigue made her not want to move. But for some reason, the moment she realized she was back by Lu Dieqing’s side, turned into a little doll under a dilapidated roof, her heart actually felt a little more at ease.
Perhaps it was because she knew Lu Dieqing had no intention of harming anyone; she was a little rabbit that could barely even protect herself. People would be wary of wolves and tigers, but who would be wary of a gentle and cute rabbit hopping around them?
Zheng Xuening smelled a faint incense, the same as the last time she had smelled it.
“Xinxin?”
A familiar voice sounded by her ear.
The little girl who had just spoken to her this morning was now staring at her eagerly, her eyes filled with both anticipation and nervousness.
Zheng Xuening surveyed her surroundings and found that she was on the only table in the room. Beside her was a lit stick of incense, and the Little Princess of the Shan Kingdom was standing there, watching her.
Can a wooden doll have facial expressions?
Zheng Xuening herself didn’t know, but when her gaze fell upon Lu Dieqing, she clearly saw the look of joyful surprise on the little girl’s face.
Evidently, the little girl had sensed her arrival.
Lu Dieqing cautiously probed, “Xinxin? Can you hear me speak?”
Lu Dieqing felt an indescribable charm suddenly appear on the doll, making the wooden figure on the table seem a little more spirited, but she couldn’t be sure. After several disappointments, her hope had grown faint.
“Mhm, I can hear you.” Zheng Xuening replied, her own thoughts a jumble she couldn’t quite decipher.
Within an hour of seeing Lu Dieqing in the Library Pavilion and returning to Changning Palace, she had already figured out the little girl’s entire identity.
—The Little Princess, born to the princess sent from the Shan Kingdom.
The women of the Shan Kingdom actually had a fierce streak in their bones. Perhaps because women held a respected status, they were more responsible and had more character. But Lu Dieqing looked like a soft little creature, one that could be easily kneaded and shaped in anyone’s hands.
Zheng Xuening found it hard to imagine what kind of personality this girl would have developed if she hadn’t been born as a hostage in the Chaoying Kingdom, but in her homeland of Shan. Would she still be so soft, speak in such a quiet voice, and always have such a timid demeanor?
Before more thoughts about Lu Dieqing could surface in her mind, the girl standing by the table, having received a response, had her eyes light up, sparkling as brightly as all the stars in a winter night.
“That’s great! I succeeded in the spiritual awakening again!”
Lu Dieqing was so happy she joyfully skipped a small circle around the bed, like a cheerful little lark.
Her happiness was so simple, yet so illusory.
Zheng Xuening observed her seriously, comparing every detail of their interaction in the Library Pavilion today with this very moment.
She found that she still preferred the current Lu Dieqing.
Not so constrained, able to smile, with two little dimples appearing on her face, her lashes fluttering, looking so full of life.
Zheng Xuening remembered that when her mother, the Empress, was still alive, she had raised a pure white cat. That cat was timid, with round eyes, and would often hide in a corner to peek at her.
Lu Dieqing occasionally reminded Zheng Xuening of the days when her mother was still alive, of that timid white cat that loved to secretly watch her. Its long, snow-white fur looked soft and smooth. It appeared agile, but it ran slowly, not at all as fast as other mouse-catching cats. If a palace servant tried to catch it, even if it puffed up its fur and arched its back, it still couldn’t escape. It didn’t even know how to scratch people with its claws, yet it would still pretend to be fierce.
But Lu Dieqing seemed even clumsier than that white cat.
Being bullied by a wicked servant like Matron Li, even with her waist token in hand, she had just let the person go. Not even knowing how to use borrowed power to punish her enemies—what was that if not clumsy?
The scene of the little girl surrounded by a group of wicked servants, nearly being bullied.
Zheng Xuening had seen it all.
She was somewhat surprised that she, a person with such a cold heart, had actually felt anger at that moment.
