The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 20

A light drizzle still fell outside the palace, though much less intense than yesterday, and the temperature remained rather low. Wanlan had her maidservant style her hair simply, and then, wearing a light, soft, pinkish-white wide-sleeved dress with a bright red-trimmed cloak over it, she led two palace maids out of Qinlan Palace.

What did the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven in the Northern Song Dynasty look like? It's a pity she couldn't witness it herself. Speaking of which, Zehua was supposed to accompany you west this morning, so why did he leave without a word?

A carriage was already waiting outside Qinlan Palace. Wanlan was a little surprised. Before she could step down the long steps in front of the palace, the young man in palace attire wearing a bamboo hat who was sitting in front of the carriage jumped down and knelt on one knee to greet her.

"Your Highness, please get in the carriage."

"How did you know I needed a car?" She hadn't told anyone she was going out, and she hadn't even asked anyone to prepare a car, had she?

The young man didn't even look up, and respectfully replied, "Before His Highness left, he instructed me to prepare a carriage to await the Princess."

Is it... Zehua?

Wanlan raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. Thinking of that gentle man, her red lips parted slightly, and she smiled shyly. Yesterday, she had feigned composure and insisted on keeping him, hoping to bring them closer. She never expected that even that refined man could lose control. She was only grateful that she had turned off the lights early last night; otherwise, she feared she wouldn't have had the courage to face him. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She had finally taken this step. She didn't know how long he could hold her, but she felt at peace and had made up her mind—even if she left or disappeared, she wanted to give him everything she could. He was so good to her; wasn't it worth it?

But why did he have a car prepared in advance?

"I never said I was going out. Why did Your Highness ask you to prepare a carriage?"

The young man looked up with a smile and replied cheerfully, "His Highness asked me to escort the Princess to Xijing to watch the sacrificial ceremony. I have been waiting here since early this morning. Please get in the carriage quickly, Princess, so that you may be able to catch up with His Highness."

Wanlan was truly astonished. How could Zehua give her such a surprise? No wonder he left so early in the morning without waking her up to say goodbye. Was this what he was planning?

But what would happen if she left Gong Xuer? Besides, she hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to the Empress.

"Wait a moment, I'll go and say goodbye to the Empress."

"Your Highness, wait a moment!" The young man in palace attire hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. "His Highness has already informed me of the Empress's situation, and the young master's affairs have been entirely entrusted to Yuan Niang. Please put your mind at ease, Your Highness, and quickly get into the carriage with me."

Wanlan was taken aback, not expecting that Zehua had already taken care of everything. However... she felt that something was wrong... but she couldn't figure out what it was. A maid opened an oil-paper umbrella, and after a slight hesitation, Wanlan and the maid stepped down the steps into the rain and silently boarded the carriage.

As soon as we were settled, the carriage started moving forward.

Wanlan sat silently inside the carriage, watching from the lifted curtain as it drove out of Anfu Palace and headed towards the palace gate. One of the two palace maids accompanying her sat outside the carriage with the young man in palace attire who was driving it. These two had been by Wanlan's side for the past two days since she returned to the palace, but their respectful yet distant attitude often reminded her of the lovely servants in the Prince of Qin's mansion. She should have brought Xuan'er with her.

Lost in thought, I soon came to see the Xuande Tower I had seen when I entered the palace. The vermilion gate, carved with dragons, phoenixes, and flying clouds and inlaid with gold nails, was covered with glazed tiles. Because of yesterday's washing, the tiles shone with a crystal clear blue light in the cool morning sun, which was so bright that it was almost blinding.

The carriage stopped shortly after leaving the palace gates. Before Wanlan could express her confusion, a palace maid waiting nearby opened the carriage door and leaned out to ask. In the blink of an eye, she returned to the carriage and explained, "His Majesty is going to Xijing for a sacrificial ceremony. To be on the safe side, the Imperial Guards are stationed along the way, and ordinary people are not allowed to pass freely. The Imperial Passage Street is blocked from here on out."

Wanlan was taken aback. They couldn't pass? What use was such a car to Zehua?

"Your Highness, what should we do now?"

What else could she do? The road ahead was blocked; she had no choice but to return to the palace. Besides, she had a nagging feeling of unease. She figured she'd better wait for Zehua to return in the palace, and send someone to inform him later.

"Go back—" Just as she opened her mouth, the carriage, which had been stationary, suddenly moved. Wanlan was caught off guard and nearly fell backward. Fortunately, the palace maid was quick-witted and hurriedly reached out to support her. Before Wanlan could speak, the maid opened the carriage door and shouted at the outside, "What's going on?"

A hearty laugh came from outside. It was the young man. "Sister Xiahe, don't panic. I just told the Imperial Guard Commander that the person in the carriage is Princess Qin, and he let us pass."

"You should have said something before you left! You almost made the princess fall!" Xia He rebuked her rudely.

"Hehe!" The boy chuckled sheepishly, seemingly embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, Sister Xiahe. Is the Princess alright? I'll apologize to her—"

Hearing this, Wanlan was both amused and exasperated. The boy was really childish. She was about to tell the palace maid named Mingyue that she was alright when a head suddenly popped in from Xiahe's side. Seeing Wanlan's ambiguous smile, the boy opened his mouth wide and stared blankly for a while before saying, "Your Highness, are you alright?"

Wanlan shook her head. "I'm fine. Let's go."

The boy immediately beamed and turned his head back, "Yes!"

After Xia He closed the door again and sat back down, Wan Lanmo casually asked, "Who is this young man?"

Xia He paused slightly, glancing at her mistress with some confusion. "Your Highness, Xiao Luzi is the Prince's attendant. He's been with the Prince since childhood and is quite favored by him, so he's a bit arrogant and ignorant. Just now—"

“I don’t blame him.” Wanlan smiled. “I didn’t mind his attitude.” She just thought of the servants in the Qin Prince’s mansion and felt that Xiao Luzi was somewhat similar to them, which gave her the idea to investigate.

Looking out from behind the lifted curtain, one could see a guard standing every three steps or so along the way. The presence of this guard made the road very smooth. Meanwhile, a large crowd of commoners gathered around the outer edge of the Imperial Street. Unable to cross the road, they were very curious about the carriage that was the only one leisurely driving on the street, and they all stared at it with wide eyes.

"Oh! Isn't that Princess Deqing, who just married the Prince of Qin last year?"

"Yes, although I only caught a glimpse of her at the time, I remember this beautiful princess very clearly. She is Princess Deqing, the adopted daughter of the Empress!"

"But it seems different from last year. I don't remember her smiling this happily when she got married!"

"What do you know? It's only natural that His Highness the Prince of Qin and his Princess are deeply in love and living happily, so they should be smiling broadly!"

Wanlan paid no heed to the gazes directed at her, filled with envy, curiosity, or inquiry. She lifted the curtain with one hand, bringing her face close to the window, gazing at the ordinary, simple faces, and smiling contentedly. These people, originally from two different time periods, had been drawn together by fate to share the same world. She couldn't discern her own thoughts, but at this moment, looking at their faces and listening to their uninhibited conversation, she suddenly felt a sense of relief that she wasn't alone. In her world, she had always been alone. Although there were far more people in that time period than in this one, no one had ever paid her any attention. That era—an era where everyone swept the snow from their own doorstep—had long lost its simple, pure charm.

The carriage stopped in front of an inn. Wanlan looked at the four characters "Qiaofeng Inn" on the plaque, puzzled, and asked Xiahe beside her, "Why did we come here?"

Before Xia He could answer, the carriage door was opened, and Xiao Luzi poked his head in and said loudly, "Your Highness, it will take about four days to get to Xijing. This carriage is too small and has nothing in it. His Highness has prepared everything at the post station. Please move to another carriage."

Is she being too sensitive? She feels things are getting stranger and stranger. Zehua doesn't seem like the type to do these mysterious things.

With a slight frown, Wanlan silently got out of the carriage and let Xiao Luzi lead her to another green-canopied carriage not far away, followed by Xia He and another palace maid.

"Please get in the carriage, Your Highness. This carriage was carefully selected by the Prince. It is absolutely comfortable and the horses are fast. We will catch up with the Prince soon!" Xiao Luzi eagerly brought over a low stool for her to step on.

Wanlan raised her right foot and stepped onto the low stool. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the slightly flustered face of the palace maid standing behind Xiahe. Her thoughtful eyelids narrowed, and she became increasingly convinced that this matter was probably not arranged by Zehua at all.

Thinking this, she slowly pulled her feet back from the low stool. If it wasn't Zehua's arrangement, then who was it? Why would they lie to her about leaving the capital? The Emperor, the princes, and the civil and military officials were all accompanying the Emperor to Luoyang; who would be distracted at this crucial juncture to deceive her?

Seeing her step back, Xiao Luzi asked in surprise, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Hurry up and get in the carriage!"

Wanlan remained expressionless, staring intently at him. "You are the prince's attendant? Why have I never seen you before? None of the servants in the prince's mansion have ever mentioned you."

Xiao Luzi's expression visibly stiffened, and his smile became somewhat forced. "Your Highness, please get in the carriage. I will explain everything to you slowly in a moment. Please get in the carriage first."

Wanlan remained silent, seemingly lost in thought about Xiaoluzi's excuses. Suddenly, she smiled and said, "Alright, you can talk about it later. I left the palace in such a hurry today that I didn't even have time for breakfast. So—" She glanced at "Qiaofeng Inn," "Since we're already late, I'll have breakfast first and then go after them. It's okay if I'm a little late."