Chapter 13

Si Yunqin genuinely wanted to get to know that author. Si Yin had quietly inquired for a long time but hadn’t uncovered any leads.

The author’s updates were fairly consistent, roughly once every ten days, and the amount updated each time wasn’t particularly small, but for those waiting, it still felt too slow.

Yuwen Luo came to Si Yunqin’s palace every day. How complicated could the lessons for a three-year-old child be?

Yuwen Luo was well-behaved, so teaching him wasn’t particularly strenuous for Si Yunqin. She didn’t have much else to do—she simply reviewed whatever the Grand Tutor taught each day. Whenever Yuwen Luo encountered something he didn’t understand, Si Yunqin would ask him about it and then explain it to him.

The Grand Tutor was an old man, and sometimes his explanations for a child were still too profound.

Si Yunqin had studied under him before and knew this old man’s teaching style. At least in Si Yunqin’s view, it still required considerable effort to comprehend.

Another month passed. On Si Yin’s end, there was finally some news. They only knew that these things were coming from the Bright Palace.

“The Bright Palace.” Si Yunqin opened a booklet that recorded who the mistress of each palace was and who resided there.

The Bright Palace had been personally named by the late emperor. Only three people lived there. The mistress of one of its palaces was Consort Yu. Consort Yu’s real name was Xi Fengyu, and she was the daughter of the Prefect of Dunhuang Prefecture.

Back then, when the late emperor first saw her, he was stunned by her beauty, lamenting that the world could possess such a beautiful person. Then he took her as a consort. What a dog of a man.

Thinking about this, Si Yunqin began to wonder again: just what kind of stunning beauty was she?

Si Yunqin looked over the residents of the Bright Palace and felt that Xi Fengyu was the most likely candidate.

Dunhuang was located in a remote area, and its etiquette was not so strict. She always felt that only someone who had witnessed the solitary smoke of the great desert could have such free-thinking ideas.

The other two were ordinary women from bureaucratic families. Their clans held no high official positions, so their status in the palace was also low.

Nevertheless, Si Yunqin still felt that making such a direct judgment on her own was a bit hasty.

Her eyes turned thoughtfully, and she decided to first find out what the three consorts in the Bright Palace were like.

When Consort Chen came to her palace for lessons the other day, Si Yunqin was, as usual, embroidering her handkerchief on the side while watching Consort Chen practice calligraphy.

After Consort Chen finished her practice and rested, she looked at the embroidered handkerchief Si Yunqin had completed and asked curiously, “Yunqin, you’ve been working on this handkerchief for a month now, haven’t you?”

Si Yunqin coughed lightly, a bit embarrassed. “This is the third one.”

“What happened to the first two?” Consort Chen examined the flowers; they didn’t seem any different.

Si Yunqin rubbed her nose and took out her finished piece. “This flower pattern is complicated. Back home, I only knew how to embroider little daisies. Grand Consort Xi drew this pattern for me. I mean, how could my embroidery skills possibly succeed on the first try?”

Consort Chen took the finished piece and looked it over, then couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s passable. At least there’s improvement,” Consort Chen praised.

Si Yunqin smiled awkwardly. “If there were no improvement, then the stitching would have been wasted.”

“True.” Consort Chen returned the handkerchief to her.

Every day, Consort Chen practiced calligraphy while Si Yunqin kept embroidering. Consort Chen showed her today’s characters, and Si Yunqin nodded approvingly: “Sister Consort Chen is amazing. Your writing is getting more and more beautiful.”

Consort Chen poked her forehead. “You and your sweet tongue.”

Si Yunqin smiled. Now that Consort Chen could gradually read on her own, Si Yunqin didn’t have to worry about as many things. If an adult is determined to learn something, it’s still easier to manage than a child. Of course, children have their own advantages; it’s different.

“Sister, I want to ask you about a few people.” Seeing that Consort Chen had finished today’s practice, Si Yunqin looked at her with a bright smile, ready to ask about the Bright Palace.

“What do you want to ask? Go ahead,” Consort Chen said with a smile, also a little curious.

“It’s just that the three sisters in the Bright Palace—why aren’t they seen often?” Si Yunqin asked.

“You mean Consort Yu?”

“No, I mean all of them.”

Consort Chen sat down across from her, and Si Yunqin quickly poured her a cup of tea.

“Yunqin, in your daily comings and goings, you mostly interact with the Consort Dowagers or the consorts who are close to the Consort Dowagers. Consort Yu doesn’t like to go out. She usually stays in her own palace reading books, rarely setting foot elsewhere. Moreover, she’s not close to the Consort Dowagers, so naturally, you never see her.”

Si Yunqin already knew this, but she was curious why Consort Yu had poor relations with the Consort Dowagers.

“Soon after Consort Yu entered the palace, the late emperor fell gravely ill. Although he granted her the title of consort, the timing of her entry into the palace was really bad. Everyone was busy with their own affairs; who had time to care for a newcomer who had just entered the palace?” Consort Chen said with a smile.

Si Yunqin frowned slightly. “But I heard Consort Yu is extremely beautiful. No one was curious?”

“Curious? Of course there was curiosity. When I first saw Consort Yu, I was also stunned by her beauty—a woman of such beauty in this world. But she has a cold temperament, her maternal clan is far away in remote Dunhuang, she doesn’t vie for favor, and she doesn’t get involved in court affairs. When the late emperor was critically ill, she gradually faded from everyone’s sight. I imagine entering the palace was not her wish,” Consort Chen said with a sigh.

There were not a few people in this palace who had not entered voluntarily.

Si Yunqin understood this, but she was still somewhat surprised that Consort Chen would say it so directly.

“So I’m not very familiar with her either.”

“What about the other two in the Bright Palace?” Si Yunqin asked curiously.

“One is the daughter of a prefect, from a small family. The other, I heard, her father was just a scholar. The late emperor fancied her appearance, granted her father an official position, and then he rose rapidly.”

After her inquiries, Si Yunqin became even more convinced that Xi Fengyu was the only one who could have written those books.

Based on Consort Chen’s description, the other two consorts were people who followed the rules strictly, so they logically couldn’t write such storybooks.

“Why are you asking about all this?” Consort Chen asked curiously.

Si Yunqin smiled sheepishly. “A few days ago, I heard that Sister Consort Yu has a breathtaking appearance, so I was curious.”

Consort Chen gently tapped her head. “A little girl with such a pretty face, calling everyone ‘sister’—you’re mixing up the seniority.”

Si Yunqin’s eyes curved slightly; those peach blossom eyes were incredibly beautiful. “But Sister, you’re not very old. I only use it in private. Yunqin knows her limits.”

“That’s good to hear,” Consort Chen said softly. “The emperor is young and hasn’t taken any consorts yet. In the palace, there’s only you alone. We are all faded flowers, not worth mentioning. But the former court is in turmoil, the harem won’t always have just you. From now on, when dealing with others, remember not to reveal everything about yourself.”

She truly cared for Si Yunqin and spoke these words out of genuine goodwill.

After hearing this, Si Yunqin nodded seriously. “Yunqin will remember. Thank you for your guidance, Sister Consort Chen.”

“I finished the book you gave me the day before yesterday. I forgot to return it today. If I remember tomorrow, I’ll bring it back to you.” Consort Chen changed the subject.

Si Yunqin smiled carelessly. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t get lost anyway.”

With that, she fished out another simpler storybook. “Sister, you can return it to me after you finish it. The Four Books and Five Classics are hard to study. It’s not like you’re taking the imperial exams. We don’t need to start with such profound books.”

When she smiled, a small dimple appeared on her cheek. Her eyes were clear and sincere. She was naturally delicate, with bright eyes and white teeth, lively and charming—endearing enough to win anyone over.

Consort Chen took the book and flipped through it. “Alright. Well, it’s getting late. If you really want to meet Consort Yu, tomorrow I’ll invite several consorts to appreciate the flowers. You come too.”

Si Yunqin’s face lit up with joy, and she thanked her sweetly.

She had somehow become the little darling of the entire palace.

Xi Fengyu was reading a book in her own palace when her head palace maid suddenly informed her that Consort Chen had sent someone with a message, inviting her to join a flower appreciation gathering the next day.

After hearing this, Xi Fengyu was baffled. The high-ranking consorts in the palace usually never thought of her existence. Why would they suddenly invite her today?

Despite her confusion, Xi Fengyu still accepted.

The next day, Consort Chen organized the flower appreciation event, and many consorts in the palace attended. Consort Chen truly lived up to her reputation as the former overseer of harem affairs.

Even with only one day to prepare an impromptu event, there were quite a few attendees, but everything was still orderly.

Appreciating flowers, reciting poems, and sipping some wine—it was quite pleasant.

Si Yunqin stayed by her side, watching the various consorts as they arrived one after another, thoroughly enjoying the scene.

It wasn’t until just before the event officially began that the person Si Yunqin had been eagerly awaiting finally appeared.

Si Yunqin’s eyes lit up immediately at the sight of the woman in a red and blue dress with her hair styled in a cloud-shaped bun.

She was indeed a peerless beauty. Her features were more sculpted than average, and when Si Yunqin looked over, those eyes happened to meet hers. Si Yunqin loved eyes like those—they seemed to hold stories.

Their gazes locked, and Si Yunqin felt a bit awkward. Staring at someone like that was terribly rude.

Xi Fengyu, however, didn’t think much of it. She stepped forward and performed a courtesy: “Greetings to the Empress.”

Although she was a consort of the late emperor, her rank was not high, and Si Yunqin was ultimately the master of the harem.

Si Yunqin quickly gestured for her to rise. “Consort Yu, no need for such formalities.”

Xi Fengyu rose and then took her designated seat, quietly observing Si Yunqin, who was seated in the main position.

Si Yunqin had been in the palace for some time now, and Xi Fengyu had heard bits and pieces about her personality. Everyone said the Empress was quite an interesting person.

Seeing her today, Xi Fengyu breathed a sigh of relief. She was indeed a good person. If their identities were put aside, perhaps there would be no problem associating with her, right?

But thoughts aside, everything required an opportunity. And people could only truly know whether they could connect through personal interaction.

Soon everyone had arrived. Consort Chen presided over the banquet. They started by eating some desserts and making small talk.

As they chatted, someone suggested composing poems on the theme of flowers.

Si Yunqin had no strong opinion on this. Her poetry skills were truly nothing to write home about.

At most, she understood the so-called tonal patterns; judging poems was fine, but writing one herself? That would be overreaching.

Consort Chen started off. Si Yunqin wanted to dodge it, but everyone was looking at her. Feeling awkward, and unwilling to pretend to have talent by borrowing from her past life’s knowledge, she gritted her teeth and composed a plain, mediocre poem.

Xi Fengyu was somewhat surprised after hearing it. After all, there were so many poems and lyrics from her past life; even if one couldn’t compose, one could always recite.

Si Yunqin would rather write an ordinary poem of her own than plagiarize the masterpieces of predecessors. For some reason, this act made Xi Fengyu’s opinion of her improve.

Perhaps it was a habit left over from her past life.