Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn

Chapter 59

I sighed, put down the embroidery in my hand, and Yin Yan looked up and glanced at it, saying, "It's alright, the bamboo leaves you embroidered this time are somewhat decent, it's just that the colors are wrong."

I wailed, "Sister Yinyan, can't you even tell that it's an orchid?"

Yin Yan shook her head honestly. I picked it up and looked at it carefully again. It was clearly an orchid. Although it didn't look very much like one, it didn't look like a bamboo leaf either!

Yin Yan shook her head, puzzled, and said, "The flower patterns you drew are all quite good, so why don't they look like the real thing when you embroider them?"

Listening to Yin Yan's words, I felt like crying but had no tears left. I also wanted to know why.

Disheartened, he picked out a piece of dark purple fabric from the bamboo basket, picked up a paintbrush, and carefully drew a Snoopy, thinking to himself: If this embroidery still doesn't look like Snoopy, then something really bad is going to happen.

Using pale gold thread, I embroidered and unraveled until I finally finished a single-color Snoopy. The design was about 80-90% accurate, but the satin was ruined by my needlework; it was all fuzzy and lacked any real feel. Still, it was progress, and I proudly showed it to Yin Yan. She glanced at it and scoffed, "I don't even know what it is." Then I realized Yin Yan didn't recognize Snoopy, the famous cartoon character. She really does react negatively to everything I say!

I carefully cut out the purple satin embroidered with Snoopy and sewed it into a small purse, intending to give it to Zinuo. This was his older sister's first official piece of work, and I was sure he would be overjoyed. Holding the purse and admiring it with pride, I was suddenly taken from my hand. When I turned around, I saw that it was Shen Haoyu.

Shen Haoyu tossed the purse in his hand a couple of times, then scoffed and asked, "You made this?"

I nodded with a frown.

"What a waste of such fine silk and my family's silk thread." Shen Haoyu glanced at me sideways, and I knew he wouldn't say anything nice.

I said without ceremony, "In that case, please put it down quickly, Your Highness, so as not to dirty your hands."

Shen Haoyu laughed and said, "Such an eyesore should be destroyed as soon as possible to avoid making a fool of yourself."

I said angrily, "What the young prince says makes sense. I will dismantle it now and please return it to me, young prince."

Shen Haoyu shook his head and said, "I'm afraid you'll just pay lip service and not actually destroy it. Let Xiao Wang take it and burn it." With that, he took the Snoopy pouch and left, leaving me staring blankly. But then I heard Yin Yan's voice drift into my ears: "Don't worry, I won't really burn it."

I sat down sullenly, found another piece of navy blue satin, carefully drew Mickey Mouse on it, and slowly began to embroider.

That evening, Zinuo came to see me again. I proudly presented her with the Mickey Mouse pouch, and she looked delighted. In a slightly hoarse voice, she asked, "Sister, did you make this?"

I nodded, looking at him expectantly. Zinuo has grown very quickly this year and is already as tall as me. I believe it won't be long before he's much taller than me.

Zinuo carefully took the purse and said, "This is really nice." I was overjoyed. Zinuo always understood me the best; he could even appreciate something as nice as a Mickey Mouse.

"I originally made a purple one for you, but unfortunately the young prince saw it and said it was too ugly and wanted to burn it." I pouted and said, "Well, this one is indeed much prettier than that one."

Zinuo smiled wryly, lowering her delicate eyelids, her thoughts unreadable. I quickly said, "I promise, this one is really better than that one."

Zi Nuo shook her head and laughed, "I know, I was just thinking that the young prince is too ignorant. How could my sister's things be bad?"

I smiled and pushed Zinuo out the door, saying, "You're so sweet-talking. Go back and get some rest." Zinuo smiled, turned, and left.

Early in the morning of the first day of the ninth month, Yinyan ran over and woke me up, saying that the princess was going to Qingxin Temple to offer incense that day, and Shen Haoyu wanted me to accompany her and protect her closely. I was puzzled. When did the princesses need me to accompany them when they went out?

Yin Yan seemed to have read my mind and smiled, "Now that everyone knows you are a girl, it would be most convenient for you to accompany the princess."

I nodded in agreement, but I still didn't quite understand. Yin Yan and Yu Ying were both quite skilled; there was no reason why the princess's maids wouldn't be capable of protecting her. Oh well, they said I had to go, so how could I refuse?

After washing and dressing, I waited early outside the gate. Forty-odd guards were already waiting, standing neatly in two rows. Soon, I saw the Princess emerge gracefully in her brocade robes, exuding a more dignified air than when I last saw her. Two maids followed closely beside her, their clothes gleaming, indicating their high status. Behind the Princess were Yun Ruo and Yun Shang, and a beautiful young woman I had never seen before, presumably Yun Yue. Each of them had a young maid with her, but I didn't see any of the other wives of Prince Qing.

After they boarded the carriage, the lead guard gave an order, and the guards mounted their horses one after another, and the carriage began to move forward. I stood there awkwardly and shouted to the leader, "Brother, what should I do?" The maids all followed their mistresses into the carriage, and no one paid any attention to me. They said they were protecting the princess, but the princess didn't even glance at me.

The leader glanced at me and asked, "Which branch are you from?"

"It's Qiufeng Garden. The young prince wants me to accompany the princess to offer incense today, but no one has made arrangements," I answered truthfully.

The leader had someone bring me another horse. I thanked him, mounted the horse, and rode to the princess's carriage, following quietly behind.

After leaving the east gate and traveling another twenty or thirty li, we arrived at Qifeng Mountain. Qingxin Temple was located on this mountain, and its incense was very prosperous. Many high-ranking officials and nobles from the capital city liked to come here. When we reached the mountainside, the carriage could not go any further, so someone carried four sedan chairs for the princess and her entourage to ride in. I carefully looked at them and saw that the sedan chairs were rented, and the people carrying them were guards from the Prince's Mansion. There shouldn't be any problems, so I felt a little relieved and carefully led my horse to follow beside them.

On the way, Yunruo lifted the curtain several times to look at me, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent, only scrutinizing me. We went to Yaoshan together last year; I wondered if she still remembered me. Seeing me like this, she must be quite surprised. After traveling a while longer, Yunruo asked to get out of the sedan chair, saying the bumpy mountain road was uncomfortable and she'd rather walk and enjoy the scenery. The princess agreed, and Yunruo jumped down before the sedan chair was even lowered, causing the guards carrying it to scramble. Yunruo chuckled and walked towards me, joining me.

"I never expected you to be a girl," Yun Ruo said bluntly.

I smiled and said, "Please forgive me, Princess. Huai En had his reasons for deceiving the Prince's Mansion."

Yun Ru shook her head and said indifferently, "It's nothing. But some people are overjoyed to know you're a girl."

I smiled and didn't reply, but then I heard Yunruo say, "I went to my brother and asked him to come and keep me company, but he just wouldn't agree."

"Thank you for your kind words, Princess. I suppose it's because Huai En is of humble talent that the young prince is worried I might corrupt you." I slightly curtsied and bowed to Yun Ruo.

"Don't I know my brother?" Yun Ruo said in a rising tone, "We played together last time, so I know you're a lot of fun. It's a pity that apart from Xiao Yu, the girls in my courtyard are all like blocks of wood."

Isn't that because Qiufengyuan has fewer rules? If I went there, I'd probably have to carefully measure my steps even when walking.

The two walked and chatted along the way. Yunruo was very happy and didn't seem tired at all despite walking such a long mountain path. Finally, they arrived at Qingxin Temple and could smell the wisps of sandalwood incense lingering in the mountain air.

It was still early, but several sedan chairs were already parked in the open space in front of the temple. Inside the hall, there were even more people, presumably most of whom had walked up. Most of the guards were waiting outside the hall, with only a few following them inside. I carefully followed behind, watching the princess devoutly offer incense and worship, before being led by a young monk to a side courtyard. The three Yun sisters were left in the outer hall of the side courtyard, while the princess instructed me to follow one of her maids to a meditation room in the back courtyard.

"Green Robe, come in with me to listen to Master Wu's lecture on Zen. You wait outside," the princess said. I stood respectfully outside the door with my head bowed. Green Robe knocked on the door, and an old voice came from inside saying, "Please come in." Only then did the princess and Green Robe enter.

I stood idly at the door for a while, feeling incredibly bored, so I squatted down under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard and counted the ants on the ground. After counting the ants, I counted the bumps on the tree bark. As I was counting, something fell from the sky and landed heavily in front of me, startling me so much that I jumped up from the ground. When I looked again, I saw a man wearing a blue robe, his clothes stained with blood.

Seriously? I can't believe I've run into someone falling from the sky like this? I was just thinking about whether to check if he was hurt when I saw him raise his head. What a handsome face! He looked so gentle and unassuming. Compared to Song Zhixuan's mildness, he had a more scholarly air about him.

"Help me, someone's chasing us," he said weakly.

Seeing that he didn't look like a bad person, but rather like a young scholar being bullied by a thug, my chivalrous heart was stirred. Looking around the small courtyard and seeing that there was nowhere to hide, I helped him up and made him sit cross-legged with his back to the outside at the entrance of the meditation room. I then put the cloak that the princess had just taken off on him on. Just as I finished, I heard the sound of fabric rustling from above, and then I heard someone ask, "Miss, have you seen an injured man in blue pass by?"

I shook my head and said, "If you fly around in the sky like this and don't make a sound, and if I don't look up, how would I know that someone just flew over my head? It's very impolite of you to keep flying over people's heads..."

Before I could finish speaking, the person who asked the question had already disappeared, and then several more figures flew overhead.

Once the noise from the sky subsided, I asked, "Were they the ones chasing you?"