Gluttonous Crown Princess

She didn’t know anything about musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting, nor did she know embroidery and flower arrangement. Instead, she loved things like wielding swords and playing with cats and dogs. In addition, this dynasty’s standard of beauty was slenderness and fairness. Xu Wenchan was fat and dark-skinned… People like her were simply outliers in the noble ladies’ circuit.

At a certain banquet, Xu Wenchan was made to drink by the noble ladies for fun, which made her feel bad and aggrieved. Just then, the original body appeared—

She didn’t stand up for Xu Wenchan, but only handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

However, this small act of kindness made Xu Wenchan immensely grateful. From then on, she regarded the original body as her first good friend in Chang’an City.

As for the original body’s attitude towards Xu Wenchan, according to the memory remaining in her mind, um, it was neither like nor dislike… They could just about be considered friends.

Tao Ti opened the invitation; the contents were very simple— Eldest Maiden Xu wanted to come to spend time with her three days from now.

After a moment’s thought, Tao Ti said to Linglong, “Bring me a writing brush and some paper, I’ll reply to this one myself. As for the rest, sort them out. For those that need gifts, send them according to the regulations.”

“Understood,” replied Linglong. She quickly returned with a brush, pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Tao Ti bit the tip of the pen and thought for a while. Then, she put brush to paper, telling Xu Wenchan she was welcome to come to spend time in the East Palace.

It was very likely that she would be spending her whole life in the Great Yuan dynasty, and she couldn’t possibly spend it alone. Although she might not remarry after the divorce, she could have a few good friends.

She thought that this Eldest Maiden Xu was pretty good. She was warm and sincere, much better than the bunch of plastic sisters in the Marquis of Yongwei’s residence.

Linglong was slightly surprised to see the Crown Princess replying personally, “Crown Princess, are you and Eldest Maiden Xu close?”

Tao Ti gave a soft “mhm”, then carefully handed the written reply to Linglong and asked her to send it out with everything else.

****

Night fell; the sky was a thick inky colour, moonless and starless.

Zixia Hall.

After serving Pei Yan his medicine, Fu Xirui came out with the bowl and saw Li Gui, Emperor Zhaokang’s chief steward, coming in the night.

Fu Xirui hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, “Chief Steward Li, what brings you here at this hour?”

Holding his horsetail whisk, Li Gui said, “Has His Highness turned in for the day?”

Fu Xirui said, “He just had his medicine, and is still inside reading at this moment.”

“His Highness is really hardworking. But you should also persuade him more— studies are important, but health is even more important.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Fu Xirui agreed, then asked, “Chief Steward Li, so, you…?”

Li Gui chuckled, then said, “Yesterday, the Fifth Prince got a portion of the pastries made by a cook from the East Palace, and he liked them very much. But there weren’t many, and the Fifth Prince didn’t get his fill. Seeing how he was craving it, His Majesty said if the Fifth Prince can memorise the book he asked him to, he would get the East Palace’s cook to make another portion for him. Guess what, the Fifth Prince really cooped up in his room and memorised the book for an entire day. Although he didn’t recite it very smoothly, His Majesty was very happy… So, he quickly asked me to come to fetch the cook.”

At this point, Li Gui smiled at Fu Xirui, “I wonder who the cook is? For his pastry to make the masters so satisfied, he’s struck it big this time!”

But Fu Xirui was confused. Cook? What cook? The Fifth Prince never came to the East Palace at all, so how did he get pastries from here?

“I wonder what the name of the pastry is? What did it look like?”

“It’s round, about so small, golden and beautiful. Tsk tsk, it was really fragrant too. I was standing by the side, and just smelling it made me want to eat it.”

Fu Xirui’s expression stiffened. Listen to this description, could it be… the salted egg yolk pastries the Crown Princess made yesterday?

Inside the hall, Pei Yan was wearing a thin robe, and a long light green tunic embroidered with a bamboo leaf pattern was draped across his broad shoulders. His black hair was tied up, and in the warm yellow candlelight, his excessively handsome face was so beautiful that he didn’t seem mortal.

Upon seeing Li Gui, he coughed lightly a couple of times, then broke into a gentle smile, “Chief Steward Li, are you here on behalf of Imperial Father?”

Li Gui hurriedly explained the purpose of this visit, not forgetting to show his concern at the end, “Although it’s already spring, it’s still a little cold at night. Your Highness, you should wear more clothes.”

Pei Yan acknowledged his statement. Fu Xirui said cautiously, “Your Highness, this servant thinks… the pastry the Fifth Prince wants to eat should be the salted egg yolk pastry the Crown Princess made.”

Li Gui was shocked, “That was actually made by the Crown Princess?”

Pei Yan smiled lightly, “She likes to make snacks when she’s free. She must have given one box to Xiao Liu yesterday, but I don’t how why Xiao Liu gave them to Fifth Brother.”

Li Gui was in a conundrum.  If it were an ordinary cook, he could just take him directly to Mingyue Palace. But now, it’s the Crown Princess who made those pastries!

Pei Yan naturally knew about Li Gui’s dilemma, and said softly, “Chief Steward Li, how about making a trip to Yaoguang Hall with me to see if there are any leftovers? You can bring them back to fulfil your errand.”

Naturally, Li Gui couldn’t wish for anything better, and hurriedly gave thanks.

Fu Xirui followed behind them. He was a little confused—His Highness could’ve just sent him to go to Yaoguang Hall for something like this. Why was there a need for him to go there in person?
Could it be… Was His Highness thinking of the Crown Princess, and wanted to stay overnight in Yaoguang Hall again?!

****