Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Zhang Su, a man of strict propriety, naturally had to reply to the Third Prince’s letter.

The courier diligently traveled between Yunzhou and the capital. In early August, Qin Ren successfully received Zhang Su’s letter.

Knowing his imperial father disapproved of him skipping lessons, Qin Ren rarely ventured into the palace. He specifically waited until the fifth day of the eighth month, the day his sister was scheduled to visit the government offices. He arrived early at Donghua Gate, but after half an hour, his sister was nowhere in sight.

Qin Ren was perplexed. The weather was beautiful, and given his sister’s nature, she would never miss such an outing. Could she be ill?

Growing anxious, Qin Ren disregarded his father’s potential displeasure and informed the palace guards that he wished to enter the palace to pay respects to the Two Imperial Consorts.

The guards then dispatched a palace messenger to relay his request.

The Noble Consort was about to take her afternoon nap when she heard the Third Prince wished to pay his respects. She smiled and granted permission, then instructed her maidservant to wait outside the Western Palace. Upon seeing the Third Prince, the maid was to say that the Noble Consort was asleep and that he should proceed directly to pay respects to Consort Li.

Thus, Qin Ren saved himself a detour and first went through the motions at his own mother’s residence.

Consort Li, learning that her son had entered the palace out of concern for his sister’s absence, smiled and said, "Your sister is a bit unwell, but it’s not an illness. A day or two of rest will suffice."

Qin Ren, confused, asked, "What’s wrong with her? Has the imperial physician been consulted?"

Consort Li looked at her eighteen-year-old son, who would soon be granted an imperial marriage, and said with a hint of exasperation, "How can you be so clueless? Your sister has truly grown up."

Qin Ren still looked utterly bewildered.

Consort Li had no choice but to offer a brief explanation, lest her son say something foolish to his sister or embarrass himself before his future wife.

Qin Ren finally understood, immediately followed by embarrassment. "Then… should I still go see my sister?"

Consort Li replied, "What? Was she your sister when she was little but not anymore now that she’s grown? Just don’t say anything stupid to upset her."

Qin Ren genuinely wanted to know the exact nature of his sister’s discomfort, so he cautiously bypassed his father’s Qianyuan Palace and stealthily made his way to Jiuhua Palace.

Qingyang was resting in bed, feeling unwell in her stomach.

She had discovered stains of red on her undergarments upon waking that morning. With attendants like Qin Fang and Fu Liu by her side, and her mother having occasionally brought up the subject over the past two years, Qingyang was already fully aware of menstruation. When it actually happened, she was neither panicked nor afraid—just fascinated, though she did feel a slight ache in her lower abdomen.

Her mother had told her that it might take some time for a young woman to adjust during the first year of menstruation, and that the discomfort would lessen once it stabilized.

Though Qingyang was more learned than her mother, her mother had more experience in this matter. So, she requested a day off from her literary lessons from Mr. Guo and also informed the Imperial Guard headquarters, planning to rest in bed for the day.

That morning, her mother, the Noble Consort, and her elder sister-in-law had all visited her. After finishing his official documents, her father also came and sat with her for a while. The emperor, usually so composed, became uncharacteristically flustered, avoiding eye contact and stumbling over his words, which amused Qingyang so much that she laughed. Her father then laughed along and finally urged her to rest well and summon the imperial physician immediately if she felt unwell.

The physical changes, the relief and teasing from her mother, the Noble Consort, and her sister-in-law, and even her father’s slightly awkward concern—all of it felt quite novel to Qingyang.

"Your Highness, the Third Prince is here to see you."

Qingyang: "..."

She knew her mother was delighted. The Noble Consort and her sister-in-law had learned the news from her mother, but had her mother specifically informed Third Brother as well?

Since Third Brother had come, Qingyang certainly had to see him. She moved to the couch in the side room, leaning against it, and asked Qin Fang to usher him in.

Qin Ren, having hurried around the palace, entered with a face flushed from the sun. When he met his sister’s eyes, his face reddened even further. "You..."

"I’m fine. I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need to say it out loud," Qingyang quickly interrupted him, preventing any words that might embarrass them both.

Qin Ren let out a sigh of relief and sat on the edge of the couch near his sister’s feet. Looking at her, he said, "Actually, I came to pick you up outside the palace. When you didn’t show up for so long, I came in to check. I had no idea..."

Qingyang asked curiously, "Pick me up for what?" The pass to the government offices was only for her use. She wouldn’t bring Third Brother along, and he had no interest in it anyway.

Annoyed, Qin Ren stood up and took out Zhang Su’s letter from his robe, handing it to his sister. "Look at this! I wrote Zhang Su a letter over twenty pages long, and he only wrote me one page in return!"

Qingyang first laughed, then pulled out the thin sheet of letter paper. Seeing the familiar, elegant handwriting, Zhang Su’s jade-like, handsome yet reserved and introverted face naturally surfaced in her mind.

The single page, not even fully filled, roughly stated that he had initially found it hard to adjust to Yunzhou’s weather but had grown accustomed to it soon enough. He had no worries about food or drink and was in good health. He also mentioned often reminiscing about the time spent as Third Prince’s study companion and hoped that, even in his absence, Third Prince would focus on his studies and take care of his health. Finally, Zhang Su mentioned that while touring the region with the Duke of Ding and the Yunzhou Prefect, he had come across tea farmers selling fresh Pu’er tea. He had bought four tins of it—a small gift for Third Prince to enjoy.

Qingyang held the letter to her nose, inhaling the faint scent of ink, and then said to her brother, "There aren’t many words, but it’s more than he’s said to you personally in years. Besides, he even sent you famous Pu’er tea. Unlike me—I always took him along whenever I left the palace, yet he didn’t mention me once in his letter, nor did he send any tea gifts for me."

Qin Ren hurriedly defended Zhang Su: "He’s always been properly behaved. He usually doesn’t even dare to look directly at you—how could he dare put words of longing on paper? What if I misunderstood, or if the letter got lost and someone else misunderstood?"

The three of them had grown up together. Qin Ren refused to believe that Zhang Su only missed him and not his sister. It was just that propriety was deeply ingrained in him.

The little princess still seemed unhappy.

Qin Ren continued to comfort her: "There are four tins of tea. How could I possibly drink that much alone? Surely two of them are intended for you. I’ll bring them for you when I come to the palace for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Qingyang scoffed, "If he gave them to you, they’re yours. I don’t want them."

Having come to the palace only to upset his sister, Qin Ren sighed. After returning to his residence, he took up his brush to write a reply to Zhang Su and instructed Fu Quan to prepare a Mid-Autumn Festival gift.

The Mid-Autumn Festival gift did not reach Zhang Su until the tenth month.

He read the letter first.

Perhaps the Third Prince had already expressed enough sadness and longing in his first letter, for this time he wrote only five pages. He mentioned the little princess twice. The first time was to say that she could now hit the target center eight out of ten times on a sixty-step target and had begun practicing on a hundred-step target. She could also defeat him with a sword, earning him another round of disdain from the emperor.

Reading this, Zhang Su smiled. The Third Prince was lazy when it came to martial practice and lacked the will to fight during sparring, always avoiding it if possible. Naturally, he would lose to the little princess, whose arm strength and sword skills were steadily improving.

The second mention was that the little princess was upset because Zhang Su hadn’t sent her any tea. The Third Prince reminded him to prepare a separate gift next time, one that was unmistakably for the little princess.

Zhang Su looked out the window. Four tins of tea...

The image of a pair of mischievous yet domineering eyes surfaced in his mind. Zhang Su shook his head and put away the letter.

.

Given his third son’s lack of ambition, Emperor Xingwu did not assign Qin Ren a new study companion after Zhang Su left the capital.

Qin Ren didn’t need a study companion anyway. He diligently studied on his own, practiced martial arts lazily when he could, spent his time meeting with scholarly friends or accompanying his sister on outings during rest days, and looked forward to letters from his good friend Zhang Su from distant Yunzhou.

As Qin Ren had anticipated, Zhang Su’s second reply arrived in the capital around mid-December. The letter was still short—just one page—and even his New Year’s greetings were expressed simply. However, the gifts accompanying the letter were more plentiful this time: four tins of Pu’er tea, four boxes of local flower cakes, four boxes of dried matsutake mushrooms, and four bolts of colorful, intricately patterned shaluo brocade.

Tea, cakes, and mushrooms could be enjoyed by both men and women, but among the four bolts of shaluo brocade, one with a red-orange base and another divided into vibrant, rainbow-like sections were clearly meant for his sister.

And there were four of each item—two for him and two for his sister, making it easy to divide!

Qin Ren picked a day to bring all four gifts to the palace for his sister.

The attendants around Qingyang gathered around the two bolts of shaluo brocade, exclaiming with surprise, "There’s actually brocade like this?"

The little princess, who had been reading extensively about Yunzhou’s local customs this year, smiled and explained the clothing traditions of some local tribes, including how such shaluo brocade should be made into beautiful garments.

"Put them away for now. We won’t be using them immediately," Qingyang instructed after they had admired the brocade sufficiently.

The tea and mushrooms were stored away. Qingyang kept one box of flower cakes for herself and asked Qin Fang to take the other box to share with Fu Liu and the others.

Qin Ren smiled and asked, "Are you happy now, little sister?"

Qingyang glanced at her brother. "Happy about what? I bet it was you who told him to prepare something for me. If you hadn’t reminded him, he would never have thought of it."

Qin Ren: "..."

.

After several letters were exchanged, the New Year's Eve passed, and it was now the fifteenth year of the Xingwu era.

On the fourth day of the fourth month, the young princess, celebrating her fourteenth birthday, received another small wooden figurine from Zhang Su, delivered by her third brother.

Each year, the small wooden figurine was carved by Zhang Su based on how she looked at some point during the previous year. And throughout the entire last year, Zhang Su had only seen her briefly at dawn on the sixth day of the first month.

That day, Qingyang had worn a cloak to keep warm, and so this year’s small wooden figurine was also cloaked. That day, Jie Yu had been the one holding the lantern, and now the small wooden figurine held a palace lantern in its hand. That day, Qingyang had gone to see him off. While waiting, she had turned her back to the Qianyuan Palace and looked up at the stars in the night sky. And so, the small wooden figurine before her now also looked up high, as if gazing at the stars, rather than the slight upward glance Zhang Su had given her as they passed each other.

So, Zhang Su was telling her that he had not carved the moment of the young princess seeing him off from the capital. Not that moment. The young princess might not remember the slightly improper glance he had cast her way, and that meant that, as a subject, he had no intention of hoping the young princess would remember that glance. Thus, Zhang Su remained dutiful and proper. Sending the small wooden figurine was simply a way to celebrate the young princess’s birthday—not a means to convey hidden feelings through an object.

Qingyang gently touched the eyes of the small wooden figurine.

Zhang Su was indeed proper in his conduct. But when he held these small wooden figurines in his hands, when he carefully carved her eyes and brows stroke by stroke, did he see only a palm-sized piece of wood?

And on that day when she went to the Qianyuan Palace to see him off, Zhang Su had clearly been walking at the very back. She had turned around as soon as Deng Chong approached. If Zhang Su hadn’t recognized her early on and been watching her intently the whole time, how would he have known she was stargazing?

Did he think she was still too young to see through his deeply concealed thoughts or feelings? Or was he afraid that, as she grew older and they were separated for too long, she might forget, so he didn't dare overstep in any way through his gifts?

Qingyang walked into her study and opened the cabinet dedicated to storing the small wooden figurines.

It had five shelves in total. The middle shelf was already full. After a moment’s thought, Qingyang placed the cloaked small wooden figurine on the shelf above.

There it stood alone, gazing southward.