Chapter 23.3
The next morning, before the dawn had fully broken, Zhao Heng woke up.
The red candles in the twin lotus lamps by the bed had not yet burned out completely. She got up, put on her shoes, and walked over to blow out the candles.
Before long, Bing Tao also woke up and came to help her with her morning routine.
"It seems that the Princesses are coming to the Eastern Palace today."
As Bing Tao opened the wardrobe and saw the array of plain-colored clothes inside, she furrowed her brow in confusion, "Why has His Highness prepared plain-colored clothes for you?"
Zhao Heng fell silent for a moment before replying, "Because my grandmother passed away."
With a soft "clatter," the stack of clothing in Bing Tao's hands fell to the floor. Zhao Heng looked at her quietly for a moment, then picked up a pearl hairpin from the dressing table and carefully inserted it into her hair, forcing herself not to look at Bing Tao.
Bing Tao hurriedly picked up the scattered clothes, placed them on the nearby rack, and then took out a set of pale blue gown for Zhao Heng to change into.
"W-what's the matter?" Bing Tao's fingers trembled as she helped Zhao Heng change, her fingertips unintentionally brushing against her slender neck. Zhao Heng winced, clutching her neck, and took a sharp breath.
"Sorry," Bing Tao exclaimed, checking on her.
Zhao Heng turned her body slightly, still holding the back of her neck, and said, "The elderly are more prone to accidents as they age."
Bing Tao's heartbeat paused briefly, and she looked at Zhao Heng with a stutter, "Forgive me, may you find comfort in your sorrow."
Zhao Heng let out a sigh of relief and didn't say anything.
Just as she finished tidying up, Lin Mama came in and said that several princesses had already arrived.
The main hall was full of princesses and noble ladies who had come to watch the excitement, all waiting for Zhao Heng to come out and greet them. Originally, they didn't need them to come personally to see Zhaoxun. But as soon as she entered the palace yesterday, the Empress called the Third Princess to go and visit Zhao Heng today.
The Third Princess was the Empress's eldest daughter, and the Crown Prince's own sister. When she arrived, the other sisters heard the news and followed suit.
The palace maids announced that Zhaoxun had arrived, and everyone in the hall immediately fell silent, stopping their chattering and eagerly looking towards the door. The hall doors swung open, and Zhao Heng, dressed in a pale blue long dress, slowly walked in from a distance.
The warm spring sunlight filtered through the carved window lattice, falling on her like scattered floating gold, creating a flowing light that made her look ethereal.
The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.
The Eighth Princess, Li Nanxi, who was only seven years old, couldn't take her eyes off her swaying figure and whispered to the Third Princess, "Wow, she's so beautiful."
Zhao Heng gracefully walked up to the princesses, paying proper respects, poised and flawless.
Lin Mama was pleasantly surprised. On the way there, she had described the features of the palace princesses to Zhao Heng only once, and she was worried that she wouldn't remember, but she didn't make a mistake with any of them.
Not only that, but there were also a few women who often walked in the palace with the Third Princesses, and she didn't get any of them wrong either.
The Emperor's harem was not very full, with only one Empress, two concubines, and one Consort.
The Empress An, was the daughter of his mentor and wife from a young age, giving birth to a son and two daughters, the Crown Prince Li Wenjian, the Third Princess Li Junning, and the Eighth Princess Li Nanxi.
The Noble Consort, Li, was taken in during the march, and had only one son, Li Yicheng. Ever since he followed the army to the Northern Frontier a few years ago, the Noble Consort had secluded herself, rarely leaving the palace.
The Concubine Mei Ning of Jiangdong Noble, had four princes, Li Jiayan, and the Fifth Princess Li Shuyan.
After the country was settled, the Emperor ascended the throne, and only one Consort was established, An Xie, who didn't have a noble background and was originally a distant relative of the Empress Dowager.
Later, for some reason, she was made a Consort, giving birth to twins, the Sixth Prince Li Chengxuan, and the Seventh Princess Li Shuyi.
An Qinghan examined Zhao Heng's face and couldn't help asking, "You look familiar, have we met somewhere before?"
Everyone looked at An Qinghan in surprise.
Zhao Heng calmly gazed back at her, as if trying to remember who she was. The Third Princess intervened, "She's our cousin, An Qinghan from the Duke's Mansion."
Zhao Heng understood, her voice gentle, "Perhaps we have met at the Duke's Mansion. Last month, I served the old master in the mansion."
"Oh! I remember now, you're the palace maid who was so frightened by the Crown Prince that you could barely speak!" An Qinghan suddenly exclaimed, "I was behind you at the time, and I vaguely saw you..."
The atmosphere in the room became awkward for a moment.
An Qinglan tugged at An Qinghan's sleeve and gave her a reproachful look. An Qinghan realized her mistake and instinctively covered her mouth.
Zhao Heng had a faint smile on her face, neither humble nor overbearing, speaking in a warm and gentle manner, "I must have amused you, it was indeed quite a moment of disarray when I first met His Highness."
Zhao Heng's voice was naturally soft and sweet, and when she spoke gently and softly, it was like basking in the spring breeze.
Li Nanxi stared at her eagerly, her eyes shining brighter, and whispered, "Are you also afraid of Big Brother?"
Zhao Heng smiled lightly and said, "It's not fear, Your Highness is as majestic as a towering mountain, which is awe-inspiring."
Li Nanxi felt like she had found a kindred spirit and held the Third Princess's hand, saying, "I told you Big Brother is scary, even Zhaoxun is afraid of him."
Meanwhile, the others in the room caught onto a crucial piece of information - Zhao Heng had previously been just a palace maid.
Xie Tinghuan's heart felt sour, wondering how her luck was so good that a mere palace maid could gain the favor of the Crown Prince and rise to such heights.
Although she was just a Zhaoxun, he was still the Crown Prince, untainted and pure like an immortal for over twenty years.
He was the deep-seated dream man of countless noble ladies, willing to be by his side even without status.
She watched Zhao Heng's figure, gently biting her lip, her expression not quite right.
*
The Third Princess didn't stay long in the Changqiu Hall, they showed their faces and once they recognized each other, they all left with Li Nanxi. The other princesses also followed suit and left.
The room finally quieted down.
Just as Zhao Heng got up, a palace maid with paper, pen, and books came in, saying, "Zhaoxun, His Highness has sent some things over."
Zhao Heng saw the items on the tray, various writing tools, and a few books. She looked up with a radiant smile, caressing the delicate paper and said, "Just leave them there."
Lin Mama, seeing her light and smiling demeanor, was surprised. Yesterday, she saw so many gold and silver treasures, but she didn't see this smile on her face. It was these few books and sheets of paper that made her smile so brightly.
Zhao Heng took the books back to her room, spread them out on the desk, and had Lin Mama teach her how to read letter by letter. After learning, she cut paper, ground ink, and carefully wrote each stroke.
After the Third Princess took Li Nanxi back, she went straight to the Changming Palace to pay respects to the Empress.
After explaining everything to the Empress in detail, the Third Princess added, "She used to be a palace maid in the East Palace, and she even went to the Duke's Mansion last month to serve the elderly. Qinglan and the others recognized her."
The Empress nodded, looking at the Third Princess, urging her to continue.
The Third Princess glanced at her, and added, "She is very proper and courteous, just dresses a bit too plain."
Li Nanxi's eyes sparkled brightly as she chimed in, "She's very beautiful!"
The Third Princess, feeling exasperated, poked Li Nanxi's head, "I didn't say she wasn't beautiful! It's just that you have no self-control, you're practically drooling over her."
The Empress chuckled softly, reaching out to pat her head, "Our Nanxi loves beauty so much, when she grows up, she'll surely be a great beauty."
Li Nanxi turned to look at the Empress, extremely satisfied with her words. After a moment of thought, she asked, "Mother, can I go play with her in the future?"
"Do you really like her, Nanxi?" The Empress looked at her with gentle eyes, a hint of soft smile in her gaze.
Li Nanxi replied, "My sister said that playing with beautiful people will make one even more beautiful when they grow up."
The Empress turned her gaze to the Third Princess.
Feeling embarrassed, the Third Princess muttered softly, "Mother, don't listen to her nonsense, I didn't..."
Li Nanxi didn't give her a chance to argue, saying, "You said it yourself that day when you went to find Xiao Zheng Hanlin secretly!"
The Third Princess blushed, her heart pounding nervously. She quickly covered Li Nanxi's mouth, squeezing out two words from between her teeth, "Shut up!"
The Empress raised her hand, signaling with just a look, and the Third Princess released Li Nanxi. She immediately turned around and playfully made faces at the Third Princess, leaving her fuming.
The Empress said to Li Nanxi, "You can go play after finishing your lessons."
Li Nanxi looked up, feeling a bit disappointed, "I'm not going to be the top scholar, why do I always have to study!"
The Empress smiled at her, and Li Nanxi knew that her mother always had the final say. She gave up on trying to negotiate.
After sorting things out, Li Nanxi hurried back to her chambers to practice calligraphy.
The Third Princess's secret was revealed by Li Nanxi, her neck still flushed red. She stammered, "Mother... I, I'll take my leave first."
"Go ahead," the Empress picked up a scroll from the desk, "When you have time, go see your father. He mentioned that he hadn't seen you in a while yesterday."
The Third Princess quickly agreed and hurried off.
Watching the Third Princess run off, the Empress felt a moment of nostalgia.
Her cheeks flushed, a shy and modest expression on her face, reminiscent of her younger self.
That day when His Majesty first visited the An Residence, it was in the midst of spring, she was sitting under the honeysuckle vine outside the corridor.
He walked past the corridor and smiled at her.
It was the first time she had seen such a handsome young man, so she blushed and ran off, stopping at the Moon Gate, suppressing the excitement in her heart, stealing glances at his figure.
To hide her embarrassment, she held onto the honeysuckle vine, looking at the flowers while also watching him.
Over twenty years had passed since she first met His Majesty at the window between day and night.
A smile formed on her lips as she reached up to pat her temple, instructing the palace maid, "Tell His Majesty that the crabapples in the garden have bloomed, and I invite him to admire the flowers."
After her nap, Zhao Heng went to the Chengming Hall to find Li Wenjian.
Tomorrow was her grandmother's 27th memorial day, but she hadn't prepared incense paper money yet. She wanted to ask Li Wenjian if Fei Yu or someone else could prepare some for her.
Fei Yu was in front of the hall, and when he saw Zhao Heng, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Highness is in a meeting, please wait in the East Pavilion for a moment."
Last time, His Highness had asked her to wait in the East Pavilion. Now that she was Zhaoxun, there shouldn't be any problem, Fei Yu thought as he watched her retreating figure.
Zhao Heng went straight to the East Pavilion and pushed open the door.
She didn't expect anyone in the room.
The curtains were drawn, dimming the room. Li Wenjian's surprised expression was clear to her.
Even with the ability to remain calm in the face of Mount Tai crumbling, it was impossible for Li Wenjian to maintain composure when someone suddenly interrupted while changing clothes.
Zhao Heng stood frozen, feeling her fingers losing strength.
She should leave now.
Looking at the silhouette of Li Wenjian against the light, she thought.
Her feet felt like they were stuck in heavy mud, unable to move.
"Have you seen enough?"
Just as she moved slightly, she suddenly heard his cold question.
She lowered her eyes, dare not lift them, and whispered, "Enough!"
No, she shook her head, "No..."
Li Wenjian picked up the robe hanging on the back of the chair and draped it over himself, covering his blurry silhouette. "Go outside and wait for me."