Wei Yi’s words brought an immense joy to Lu Jiang’s heart. He hurriedly ordered the servants to prepare a meal, and hand picked a few maids to be at Ji Yunshu and Wei Yi’s disposal. Not only they, he even made sure that they had a few sets of new clothes to change into; it was indeed attentive and thorough.
On the other side of the city, Li Shiyan was having a blast strolling down the street. For someone, who had never seen the wares from Great Lin, it was natural to be very curious about every object he saw. But, he seemed to have forgotten about something important as he wandered down the street. Xiao Luzi, who followed him on the side, brought it up. “Young Master, we… lost them!”
“Lost what?” Li Shiyan said as he tried on a Guan Yu1 mask.
“That Shu’er girl! We lost them. Their carriage had disappeared.”
‘Oh!’ Li Shiyan’s pupils dilated upon realizing what had happened. He searched left and right, but could find no trace of Jing Rong’s group anywhere.
He vented out his frustration with a blow onto Xiao Luzi’s head. “Why did you just tell me now! You useless junk.”
Xiao Luzi covered his head with his hands and protested his innocence. “This humble one… this humble has just remembered it. Come to think of it, if it wasn’t because of you looking all over the place, we wouldn’t have lost them in the first place.”
“Are you blaming me for this?”
“Nonono!” Li Shiyan panted angrily, but he was usually optimistic, so he quickly snapped out of it. He sighed and waved his hand. “Well, forget about it. Let’s find some place to stay here. As long as they are in the capital, we’ll find them somehow.” As he finished speaking, he had already regained his usual confidence.
Compared to the bustling main streets, the imperial palace was a much calmer place. In the gardens of Zhihan hall, even the flowers bloomed amidst the cold winter. A few maids stood reverently on the side, and although they seemed impassive, one would be able to notice their nervous prudence; it was no easy task to serve in the palace. Plus, one could easily lose their head if they are not careful.
Concubine Xiao stood in front of a pot of flowers called ruby crown2. Her long hair reached all the way down to her waist, and, along with the gold ornaments and the silver hairpin, a jade pendant on the side, mirroring the emerald gem hanging from her ears, completed the pictures. Although the jewelry was not overly lavish, the robe that she wore was truly shocking. The robe had a violet front and as it moved towards the sleeves, it transitioned into a redder wine color. Embroidered upon it were bamboos and orchids of a turquoise colour. Right on her chest laid willow branches which extended down to her waist. The bottom of the robe was split, just like the petals of a flower from the bud, along with the two long sleeves. If one looked at it carefully enough, they can see that the patterns looked like a phoenix. It wasn’t displayed that blatantly, but more so like an imitation.
One could guess at Concubine Xiao’s audacity for wearing such a robe, but also be impressed by her carefulness. Her fingernails were painted in a bright scarlet, which were as vivid as the blossoms around her. She picked up a pair of scissors and started to trim the bushes and the flowers in the garden carelessly. With a content smile on her face, she asked out.
“Why hasn’t Yi’er3 entered the palace recently?”
A maid answered. “Your Ladyship, it will soon be your birthday. Prince Yi is surely preparing a wonderful gift for you.”
“Ah, he is such a dutiful child.” Everytime she talked about her child, Concubine Xiao always had a sweet smile.
Concubine Xiao turned around and asked, “Did anything interesting happen in the capital recently?”
The maid bowed down and answered, “There have been rumors that many young misses from various influential families in the capital have vanished, and nothing has been found until now.”
“Oh, quite interesting indeed!” She dropped the blades of the scissors she held onto the stem of a flower. Swish- The bud fell to the ground with from a clean cut.
1.Guan Yu is a famous general of the Shu from the three kingdom era. ?
2.Ruby Crown flowers don’t exist in real life. ?
3.Yi’er is an affectionate name that Concubine Xiao uses to call her son, Jing Yi, and not Wei Yi.