Chapter 16

Why had she come?

Fu Ping’an wanted to speak, but the moment she tried, her throat burned dry and raw. She couldn’t force out even a single word.

She furrowed her brow, a strange rasp escaping her lips. Commandery Princess Yunping merely glanced at her, said nothing, didn’t even pour a cup of water. She simply stood up and left.

Fu Ping’an: “…!”

I detest her. That was what Fu Ping’an thought.

Not long after, however, Qin He and the other palace servants flooded in like a swarm of bees. Some poured water, some wiped her face, and soon they brought her a bowl of hot, sweet sheep’s milk. After drinking it, she felt almost human again—at least her fingers could move, and she could sit up, propped against the cushions.

But her panel still displayed—Physical Condition: Abnormal (Poisoned)

Bloodletting truly was useless!

At the same time, through the danmaku, she learned why Commandery Princess Yunping was here.

The girl was an auspicious omen. It was said that when she was born, the sky was filled with crimson clouds, a strange fragrance permeated the building, and a withered old tree in the courtyard sprouted new branches.

Consequently, it was believed that her presence by the Emperor’s side could help him awaken sooner. She was brought into the palace and ordered to attend to the ill.

Now that Fu Ping’an had woken up, it seemed to confirm the girl’s power.

Fu Ping’an, upon learning this, viewed her with newfound respect. But the danmaku said—

【Sleepless Days: Oh… an auspicious omen, huh? No wonder they used her to perform a sacrifice to Heaven.】

【Chang’an Flower: Don’t say things like that. She’s only a few years old, still a child. There’s no such thing as an auspicious omen; someone must’ve made it up. She’s pitiful, really.】

【Regardless of Wei and Jin: Why would someone make that up?】

【Sleepless Days: What do you think? Isn’t she the Prince Regent’s goddaughter?】

Fu Ping’an more or less gathered that the people in the danmaku held nothing but contempt for this “auspicious omen.” She herself wasn’t quite there yet, so she felt a degree of curiosity toward Commandery Princess Yunping. But although this person was supposedly living in a side hall of Jingui Palace, she practically never appeared before her—except for that brief period every dusk when she was forced to sit by her bedside.

When the princess sat there, she simply stared into space, doing nothing, saying nothing. Her eyes were vacant, like a clay doll. Fu Ping’an also stayed silent, just watching the danmaku chat.

Sometimes, watching them chat, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. In those moments, she’d glance awkwardly at Commandery Princess Yunping. Most of the time, the princess still showed no reaction. Only very occasionally would she glance back.

Two more days passed. The Empress Dowager sent over a girl named Bo Jiao’er, also claiming her eight characters were highly compatible with Fu Ping’an’s, and that she could be a playmate.

The danmaku had some very strange things to say about this—

【Off-Key Diva Wang Ami: I get it.】

【Sleepless Days: Heh heh, you catch on especially fast with this kind of thing.】

【Off-Key Diva Wang Ami: Doesn’t your reaction make it pretty obvious you get it too?】

【Chang’an Flower: The children are still little, don’t speak nonsense.】

【Sleepless Days: Didn’t ancient customs dictate that boys and girls shouldn’t share a mat after seven? Although they both look like girls, aren’t they technically two different genders?】

【Baby Ping’an is So Cute: If they haven’t differentiated, it shouldn’t matter… because they can’t do that sort of thing…】

Fu Ping’an truly didn’t quite understand. She only found Bo Jiao’er’s incessant chattering rather noisy. If she had to choose a companion between Commandery Princess Yunping and Bo Jiao’er, she’d much rather pick Commandery Princess Yunping.

Over a month passed like this. By the time Fu Ping’an could sit up in bed for a while, the verdict for the Heavenly Sacrifice Poisoned Wine Case was out.

The culprit was the deposed former Crown Prince, the Heir of Prince of Jin, Fu Li, who was now cultivating himself in self-reflection at Qingjing Pavilion, within the inner palace.

The danmaku exploded into chaos upon learning this result—

【Regardless of Wei and Jin: This is absolutely a scapegoat, right?】

【Sleepless Days: The novel didn’t even mention this person. Did I miss something?】

【Crane Leaves Green Mountain: I also feel like this person doesn’t exist in the novel.】

【Off-Key Diva Wang Ami: Like I said, the novel and the real world aren’t necessarily a one-to-one match.】

【Crane Leaves Green Mountain: No, but in the novel, this is a huge, distressing mess. How was it solved so easily here? And they even found some person we don’t even know.】

【Taro Boba Milk Tea: It’s hard to say. It seems like he really might’ve had a reason.】

A different thought stirred in Fu Ping’an’s mind at that moment.

It was the first time she’d learned that the Heir of Prince of Jin was still in the palace.

Inexplicably, a curiosity grew within her.

The curiosity was even stronger than her anger.

She wanted to meet the Heir of Prince of Jin.

When she raised this request before the Empress Dowager and the Prince Regent, both their expressions turned rather strange.

It was hard to describe their expressions. To use the danmaku’s words, it was a bit “awkward.”

The Empress Dowager, wearing that slightly awkward smile, looked at her and asked, “Why do you want to see him? Are you very angry?”

Fu Ping’an replied, “Of course I’m angry.”

The Prince Regent, who usually couldn’t even be bothered to put on an expression, actually revealed a faint smile. “He already knows he was wrong about this matter. We have decided to punish him by sending him to Qianliang Mountain for closed-door cultivation and reflection. He is forbidden from leaving the mountain for life.”

Fu Ping’an’s face showed some surprise, and she couldn’t help but blurt out, “…That’s it?”

It was a punishment so mild that even she, a nine-year-old, could sense it was barely a punishment at all.

【Sleepless Days: ??? What do these two old women mean by this?】

【Off-Key Diva Wang Ami: Hey, no personal attacks. They both look around thirty, in the prime of life, okay?】

【Taro Boba Milk Tea: Attempted poisoning of the Emperor, and the only punishment is lifelong reflection? Have these two reached some kind of cooperative agreement?】

The Prince Regent let out a long sigh. “Your Majesty, you are, after all, unharmed. Prince Jin has demoted himself to Commoner for this matter. The Prince of Jin’s line has only this one descendant left.”

Fu Ping’an glanced at the “Status: Abnormal” on her panel and retorted, almost to herself, “I’m unharmed?”

The Empress Dowager said, “The physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau have all examined you. They say the toxins in your body have been cleared. You’re just a little weak still.”

Fu Ping’an: “…” She didn’t know how to explain that she was still clearly poisoned. She tried to speak, stopping and starting several times.

The Empress Dowager then added, “Recovery from illness is like drawing silk from a cocoon. It’s perfectly normal for the Emperor to still feel unwell.”

The little Fu Ping’an sighed. “Fine. I won’t blame my brother. I just wanted to ask him why he did it.”

【Taro Boba Milk Tea: Why was the sentence so light? Do they both know the Heir of Prince of Jin is innocent?】

The Empress Dowager held her hand to console her: “He has already been sent to Qianliang Mountain. The Emperor should not dwell on this matter. You should rest properly. Oh yes, we were afraid you’d be bored, so we specially called Jiao’er to keep you company. Are you two getting along well?”

Fu Ping’an realized the Empress Dowager didn’t want to continue this conversation. She had no choice but to force a smile and say, “It’s alright.”

The Empress Dowager said, “I’ve watched Jiao’er grow from a swaddling infant. She was like a little snow-white dumpling when she was born, and now she’s the most adorable among her sisters.”

She glanced at the Prince Regent and continued, “Yunping is also not bad, only her temperament is a bit too cold. She doesn’t like to talk.”

The Prince Regent seemed unwilling to discuss this topic. She stood up and said, “There are still some matters in the Outer Court. Your servant shall take her leave. Ah, yes, there’s also the matter of reorganizing Tianlu Pavilion. Tomorrow I will submit a memorial listing the names and backgrounds of several teachers. Your Majesty can look it over yourself.”

Fu Ping’an froze for a moment, then stirred with excitement.

She could attend classes again!

And so, after the Qixi Festival passed, Fu Ping’an declared her convalescence over and resumed her lessons.

Because of this incident, a shadow inevitably fell over Fu Ping’an’s heart. Moreover, through the danmaku, she understood that the true culprit might never have been found at all—the true culprit was most likely either the Prince Regent or the Empress Dowager, or perhaps both…

But there was nothing the current Fu Ping’an could do about this matter now.

Before ascending the throne, she had thought that becoming the Child of Heaven would make her the ruler of all under Heaven. Now it seemed, that was clearly still very far from the truth.

Fortunately, she had only drunk half the poisoned wine that day. After a long period of recuperation, her physical status changed to “Mildly Abnormal (Light Poisoning),” with the only lingering aftereffects being a poor appetite and occasional headaches.

On the first day of class, Fu Ping’an had a bit of a headache.

But she suspected that, besides the aftereffects of the poisoned wine, Bo Jiao’er being too noisy might also have been a contributing factor.

The teacher for the first day was Prime Minister Fan Yi.

Tianlu Pavilion was actually a library. For fire prevention, it was surrounded by water on three sides. By the time Fu Ping’an, with Bo Jiao’er in tow, arrived, Fan Yi was already there, standing by the water’s edge, his long beard fluttering in the wind, carrying the carefree air of a man who had transcended the mundane world. But when he saw Fu Ping’an approaching, Fan Yi immediately came to offer his greetings. Fu Ping’an quickly gestured to stop him from kneeling further. “Sir, please don’t stand on ceremony.”

Fan Yi was reputedly very erudite and had previously been a teacher at the Imperial Academy. Fu Ping’an began the lesson with a sense of anticipation. This anticipation quickly turned into doubt.

During the first lesson, Fan Yi didn’t even test her existing knowledge. He immediately started making her recite the Annals of the Sacred Warrior, a biography about how Emperor Gaozu built his fortune and founded the dynasty. After Fan Yi finished reciting, he told her to memorize it, then went to sit off to the side to read his own book.

【Sleepless Days: What is he even teaching? He’s worse than that long-faced Chief Clerk.】

【Chang’an Flower: I’m starting to miss Chief Clerk Bo a little too.】

【Regardless of Wei and Jin: The rest of us haven’t ever seen Chief Clerk Bo. I really want to see her.】

The danmaku was discussing, while behind her, Bo Jiao’er, who had stubbornly insisted on coming along, was pestering the palace maids for food: “I’m hungry. I want peach blossom pastry. I want to eat sweet melon.”

Bo Jiao’er was only seven years old. All day long, she followed Fu Ping’an around like a little shadow, crying if she wasn’t allowed to tag along. Fu Ping’an secretly found her annoying, but understood that she, in truth, represented the Empress Dowager. She couldn’t do anything to her.

She turned her head. “Then go back to the palace.”

Bo Jiao’er shook her head. “Then Your Majesty, older sister, come back with me! Let’s go back and play. It’s so hot here.”

【Sleepless Days: This little girl is really dislikable. So noisy.】

【Chang’an Flower: Not at all, she’s cute-looking.】

Every time the danmaku mentioned Bo Jiao’er was cute, Fu Ping’an would look her over from head to toe. But probably because she herself was also a child, no matter how she looked, she only saw that the other girl was slightly paler than her, and aside from that, just had two eyes and a mouth, nothing special.

After class ended that day, Fu Ping’an felt she had learned practically nothing. To her dismay, the Empress Dowager came by and asked Fan Yi how the lesson went. Fan Yi launched into a wildly exaggerated string of compliments, calling her “naturally brilliant, intelligent, and eager to learn.” Fu Ping’an was baffled. She had done nothing but sit off to the side memorizing the book all day.

The Empress Dowager was very satisfied. Fan Yi was very satisfied. Bo Jiao’er was very satisfied that they could finally leave. Only Fu Ping’an was dissatisfied. When she returned to her palace, she felt frustrated no matter what she did. Just then, Commandery Princess Yunping arrived for her customary visit. The two stared at each other. After a moment, Commandery Princess Yunping turned the chair she usually sat in around, sat down with her back facing Fu Ping’an.

Fu Ping’an: “…”

She’s crazy too!!!

Fu Ping’an was furious.

Luckily, just then, someone said something that diverted her attention—

【Crane Leaves Green Mountain: Hey, I have to say, I’ve discovered that the e-books in the Mall don’t require shipping to buy.】