J'ai passé mon bras autour de la taille fine de l'homme fort

Chapitre 10

“Oh, Huaiji,” she called out my name so naturally, as if we had known each other for a long time, “You’ve come!”

I took a few steps closer, paid my respects to the princess, and also greeted the three young ladies.

"Rise, rise," the princess said with a smile. It was the first time I had ever heard a noblewoman in the palace say those two words so cheerfully, despite their previous reserved manner. "Huaiji, you guess too."

I didn't pay close attention to her final movement of transferring the coins, so I didn't have a clear idea of whether the coins in her hand were positive or negative. However, I noticed that at this moment, her hands that were pressing down on the coins were not placed side by side, but rather one hand was placed on top of the other, and the back of the upper hand was slightly arched.

So I came up with a unique answer: "I do not know the exact positive or negative number, but I do know that one of the coins should be neither positive nor negative."

“Oh,” she asked, taken aback, “how did you know?”

She released her grip, revealing a vertical copper coin between the thumb and forefinger of her other hand; it was neither positive nor negative.

I smiled and replied, "I was just guessing."

She didn't press the matter further, and happily smiled as she reached out her hands to the girls: "You've all guessed wrong, give me the money!"

Miao Zhaorong deliberately scolded her: "How can you use both hands to hold money! Not only did you break the rules, but you also had the nerve to ask the girls for money."

Miss Fan laughed and said, "That's right, I can't give you this money."

After saying this, he pretended to take back the copper coins he had used as chips. The princess panicked and rushed over, grabbing and sweeping with both hands, laughing as she snatched the money, "Put it down! Put it down! It's all mine!"

Everyone was just teasing her, and in the end, they all let her get the money.

The princess gathered the money in front of her, nodded with great satisfaction, and then turned to me and said, "Huaiji, this money is for you."

I lowered my eyes and said, "I only guessed one correctly, not all of them, so I don't deserve the reward."

She thought for a moment and said, "That's true." She pushed the money toward her companion and laughed, "Then you guys split it, I'm not playing anymore." She then stood up and skipped over to me, "Come with me, I have something to ask you."

After saying this, she walked out first. Before I could take a step, four or five eunuchs and maids wanted to follow me. The princess stopped, turned around, and ordered them: "None of you are allowed to move! Only Huaiji is allowed to follow me."

The palace servants looked at each other in bewilderment, but the princess didn't care. She turned around and took my hand, saying, "Let's go."

I felt quite embarrassed and wanted to withdraw my hand, but I was afraid that it would be impolite to her. Before I could even finish hesitating, she had already pulled me out of the room.

She pulled me to the Yaojin Pond in the back garden before stopping, her eyes bright and curious as she asked, "Who is Ban Jieyu?"

The abrupt question startled me, and I realized it was related to the defense I had prepared for her. I couldn't help but smile and ask, "Hasn't she been mentioned in any of the stories of virtuous women the princess has heard?"

“No.” She shook her head. “I asked my sister later, but she didn’t know. I asked her again, but she said I would never encounter something like what happened to Ban Jieyu in my life, so there was no need for me to know. Finally, I asked my father, and he asked me in return: ‘Do you remember the story of the Grand Princess of Wei that I told you yesterday? Write it down for your father to see.’”

Princess Wei, the eldest princess of the Wei Kingdom, was the daughter of Emperor Taizong, the aunt of the current emperor, and the great-aunt of Princess Fukang. She was virtuous and kind, beyond reproach, and was repeatedly praised by civil officials as a model of women in the dynasty. There are naturally many stories describing how she was filial, virtuous, reasonable, and kind.

"Did the princess write it?" I asked.

She answered confidently, "Yes, I wrote it."

Seeing the answer was clearly beyond my expectations, she smiled smugly: "I only wrote a few words: The Grand Princess of Wei is good, very good, extremely good."

I was speechless, struggling to suppress the urge to laugh under the constraints of the palace etiquette.

She ran to the steps of the white jade bridge by the pond and sat down so that her eyes were level with mine. Then she instructed me, "Quickly tell me the story of Ban Jieyu."

I hesitated for a moment, but finally slowly told her about Ban Jieyu, about her talent and virtue, her avoidance of the imperial carriage, her autumn fan, her "Song of Lament" and "Lament of Changxin Palace", and also briefly mentioned Zhao Feiyan.

"I see," she nodded thoughtfully after listening, then suddenly seemed to realize something: "You were right when you said Madam Zhang was Zhao Feiyan!"

I was startled, but I didn't know how to explain the inappropriateness of my words to her, so I could only whisper, "Princess, please be careful with your words."

She laughed, not covering her mouth, revealing a few pearly white teeth, neat and adorable.

She was quite different from the palace maids I occasionally encountered. Etiquette and manners seemed to have left little mark on her. Sitting peacefully among the lotus flowers and willows of Taiye Lake, she enjoyed the freedom to express her joys and sorrows.

"Huaiji, you've been telling stories for so long, aren't you thirsty?" the princess suddenly asked.

"I am not thirsty... Would the princess like some water?" I immediately stood up straight, ready to go back and fetch some water.

"Don't go, don't go!" she hurriedly stopped me. "There's no need for us to go ourselves."

I looked around and saw that there was no one else around.

She winked at me, her lips still curved in a meaningful smile.

I was still trying to figure out what she meant when she stood up, turned around, and ran towards the middle of the bridge. When she reached the center, she made a gesture as if she was about to climb over the stone bridge railing.

I immediately went over to stop her, but in that instant, three or four people appeared out of nowhere and rushed over before me to pull her away from the railing.

After that, people kept arriving, some with clothes, some with towels and combs, some with snacks, some with fresh fruits... and of course, there were also those carrying kettles and teacups.

So this is what a princess's procession looks like. They were hiding somewhere we couldn't see them before.

The princess stopped, turned around gracefully, raised an eyebrow and pointed at the shackles, then smiled at me. This time, however, her expression held a hint of helplessness and loneliness.

The Lonely City Closed (A Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) At that moment, upon meeting, I had already taken notice. 9. The Current Emperor

Chapter word count: 4768 Update time: 08-09-13 15:34

The next day I met Dong Qiuhe, the lady-in-waiting of the Yifeng Pavilion.

She came to do Consort Miao's makeup. It was just dawn, and Consort Miao had not yet risen, but she was already waiting in the courtyard of the pavilion. An old palace maid called her name and invited her in, but she just smiled and said softly, "Wait a little longer."

She wore a round-necked blue robe, curved shoes, a red belt around her waist, and a black gauze soft-winged headdress without any emerald green embellishment. She was dressed in the most ordinary attire of a female official. Her fair face was also plain and without makeup, except for a pair of crescent-shaped white pearl ornaments pasted on her temples.

Qiu He, slender and delicate, stood beside the purple bamboo in the courtyard, holding a box in her hands. Frosty branches and snowy trunks, thin smoke and twilight, the early winter morning light erased another layer of color from the scene, making it resemble a freehand ink painting.

After Consort Miao and the princess got up, I led Qiuhe inside. Because there were other people around, I didn't have a chance to mention Cui Bai to her.