Chapter 7

Nine crystal bowls sat on the table, each containing crickets prepared in a different style: pan-fried, stir-fried, boiled, deep-fried, stewed, braised, steamed, simmered, and cold-tossed.

Tao Chuyi immediately burst into tears and wailed at the top of her lungs. No one could console her.

By contrast, Nangong Yunshang rose from the table after the meal and departed, leaving Tao Chuyi alone with that spread of nine cricket delicacies.

When Xichan hurried over, the sight that greeted her was her young master sobbing over the cricket corpses. Tears streamed down Tao Chuyi’s face like pear blossoms battered by rain, and she smeared them across her cheeks with her paws, turning herself into a little tabby cat.

“Young master, be good. Don’t cry. This servant will help you bury the crickets, all right?”

Tao Chuyi paid no mind to such coaxing. She howled with all her might, her cries echoing through heaven and earth and alarming the entire Princess Mansion.

“Cricket! My cricket! Hic! Cricket!”

Seeing that words were useless, Xichan simply crouched beside her and murmured soft reassurances.

“The Princess did this because she’s afraid of bugs. It’s not because she dislikes you.”

When Tao Chuyi kept crying, Xichan tried again. “How about this—tomorrow, this servant will get Liuzi to catch more crickets for you to play with? We won’t play with the Princess anymore.”

Little by little, the sobs faded. Xichan finally breathed a sigh of relief and went to summon her young master back to bed for a rest. To her surprise, Tao Chuyi had fallen straight asleep after her crying jag, without a pause in between.

The next day, Tao Chuyi acted as if nothing had happened. She climbed trees to steal bird eggs as usual, sending the pageboys and maids chasing her all over the courtyard in exhaustion.

“Ancestor! Please come down!”

Xichan craned her neck and shouted up at her with great effort.

Tao Chuyi dangled her legs from the branch, her eyes still red and puffy from the day before.

“Liuzi, catch crickets for me! Xichan, build a fire for me!”

Xichan and Liuzi agreed at once. But once they had, the two exchanged bewildered glances. What did catching crickets have to do with lighting a fire?

Though they couldn’t make sense of it, for the sake of getting their little ancestor down safely, the pair split up and carried out her orders with all possible speed.

As Nangong Yunshang passed through the back courtyard, she spotted Tao Chuyi hanging from the tree. Hearing the frantic cries of the servants below, she snorted coldly to herself. What a little fool. She had cried her heart out yesterday, and today she had already forgotten all about it.

“Your Highness, why don’t we go take a look?” Yinghong suggested thoughtfully.

Nangong Yunshang turned away. “No need.”

Just as they were on the verge of leaving, Tao Chuyi came rocketing down the tree faster than a thunderbolt, vaulted the wooden railing, and barreled right up to Nangong Yunshang.

Grinning dopily, Tao Chuyi held out a round bamboo box as if to offer it over.

Forewarned by the previous incident, Nangong Yunshang eyed her warily this time and made no move to accept.

When the other woman failed to take it, Tao Chuyi popped open the lid herself. Inside lay crickets that had just been deep-fried.

“Bugs are naughty. I fried them up, so Your Highness the Princess won’t be scared anymore.”

Nangong Yunshang froze for a moment before recovering. With uncertainty in her voice, she asked, “You don’t like crickets anymore?”

Tao Chuyi thought it over, then flashed a big, beaming smile. “I like Your Highness the Princess even more.”

The two of them stood there in stalemate for a good while before Nangong Yunshang flicked her sleeve and swept away. Before she went, however, she left behind a single remark.

“There’s no need to fry them from now on.”

The investigation into the missing persons cases dragged on with no notable progress. Nangong Yunshang had made frequent inquiries about it, even deploying some of her private resources, yet she still found no way to break through. Those who had vanished might as well have evaporated into thin air—no trace of them remained anywhere.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival drawing near, every household began making mooncakes in preparation for family reunions and moon-gazing. For Tao Chuyi, who adored sweets, it was nothing short of a heavenly blessing.

After lunch, she crept stealthily into the kitchen in hopes of locating some finished mooncakes to sample ahead of time.

The dimly lit kitchen yielded her prize after all. There was a whole box of them: salted egg yolk filling and fresh flower filling. She preferred the flower ones.

Tao Chuyi wrapped several of the flower mooncakes in her robe and tiptoed back toward the courtyard. Unfortunately, she had only taken a few steps before she ran smack into Nangong Yunshang coming the other way. She whipped around to flee, only to be called back.

“Tao Chuyi, what are you running from? Does this palace look so terrifying?”

Nangong Yunshang spoke in an icy tone. This rascal used to stare at her with wide-eyed fixation, but now she bolted as if confronting a raging flood or savage beast.

Tao Chuyi turned back around slowly, pasting an apologetic smile on her face. Before she could utter a word, however, the mooncakes hidden in her robe came tumbling out in disarray onto the ground.

It was all over…

“Your Highness the Princess.”

Tao Chuyi stood ramrod straight, every inch the obedient little darling.

Nangong Yunshang’s gaze flickered back and forth before she finally understood why this one fled at the sight of her: a thief’s guilty conscience.

A child gone quiet was surely up to no good.

“Who went and starved our Prince Consort?”

The servants all bowed their heads and kept silent, determined not to take the blame.

Nangong Yunshang instructed a maid to deliver a full steamer of mooncakes to the room.

“Is that enough for our Prince Consort now?”

“More than enough!”

Tao Chuyi beamed with joy and dashed toward her mooncakes, her steps those of one who recognized no family ties.

Halfway there, Nangong Yunshang blocked her path. “Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. There will be a banquet in the palace, and you are to attend with this palace. No causing trouble or making any mistakes, understand?”

At the mention of a palace banquet, Tao Chuyi immediately recalled her unpleasant memories from the last one and shook her head vigorously.

Nangong Yunshang soothed her patiently. “This time, as long as you don’t wander off alone, this palace promises no one will bully you. When we return, this palace will have the kitchen prepare plenty more mooncakes—the kind you like.”

Mooncakes!

Tao Chuyi agreed without hesitation. She completely forgot about that odious Third Prince; her mind was filled only with thoughts of her mooncakes.

The next day, the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet commenced right on schedule. Royals and nobles, civil and military officials all arrived in succession. Among them were Prince Ning’s recently wed youngest daughter, Rongrong County Princess, and her County Consort.

Prince Ning doted on this daughter beyond all measure; even the Emperor held special favor for the niece, and her honors outshone those of the Third Princess. Rongrong County Princess was pretty and poised, with talents aplenty. Her only flaw was her jealousy—she eyed everyone as if they were some floozy trying to steal her husband.

Tao Chuyi followed Nangong Yunshang to their seats. Her eyes darted about in curiosity at everything, but she had promised Fairy Sister that she would eat more and talk less.

The sounds of strings and pipes rose as the dancers entered the hall to perform. Fine wines and exquisite dishes covered the tables as sovereign and subjects celebrated together, toasting and exchanging cups amid the lively revelry.

Palace lanterns hung high overhead. Tao Chuyi was utterly captivated by their riot of colors and failed to notice the gazes fixed on her from across the way.

The dancers’ waists were slim and supple, their sheer veils and gossamer drapes swaying in time. Tassels glittered at their hips, and the bells at their ankles chimed merrily with the music.

The eyes of many ministers lingered on the dancers, but some gazes instead alighted on the Third Princess.

As a newlywed, the County Consort was attending a palace banquet from such close quarters for the first time. When he caught sight of one who seemed a celestial fairy, he stared without blinking. Everyone knew the Third Princess languished out of favor, so he grew all the bolder.

Nangong Rong let out a cold snort and slammed her wine cup down on the table, snapping the County Consort back to his senses.

The hall was full of beautiful ladies, but Tao Chuyi paid none of them any mind. After all, the most radiant of all sat right beside her.

“Your Highness the Princess, I want some wine.”

Nangong Yunshang whisked the wine jug away. “No.”

Tao Chuyi let her face fall. “Oh.”

At that moment, Rongrong County Princess across from them suddenly raised her cup toward the pair, her smile sweet and charming.

“Third Cousin, it’s been ages. You’ve gotten married too. And what a fine specimen your Third Cousin-in-law is—a true pillar of the nation.”