Chapter 51 - 50 Early Rising
As night fell. In Yongjia Square, located in the northeast of Chang’an City, stood Prince Zhao Mansion.
Princess Le’an, named Li Nanlei, wrapped in a light goose-yellow gauze, sat alone in the courtyard, threading a needle and embroidering. The pattern she embroidered was a phoenix facing a sunbird, with the character "Shan" stitched in the corner.
The sound of soft footsteps arose from the covered walkway. Without turning her head, Li Nanlei casually spoke, "Has cousin gone to bed?"
"Yong Er has already retired," the female official replied respectfully. She was the same one who had appeared at the hostel outside Chang’an City during the day. Bowing slightly, her fair countenance devoid of expression, she added, "He hasn’t felt nauseous again."
"Is that so?" Li Nanlei remarked, her voice devoid of emotion. "It seems that Doctor Li from Yizhou does have some skill."
The female official respectfully stood in place, just like any other maid.
Outside, the chirping of insects filled the air. A pure white moth, drawn by the bright candlelight on the stone table, fluttered closer. The female official silently lifted her gaze, giving the moth a fleeting, indifferent look. Instantly, the moth froze mid-air, its wings still poised to beat, yet it couldn’t advance another inch. BUZZ— The moth split in two and fell silently into the grass beside the stone table, not disturbing Li Nanlei, who remained engrossed in her embroidery.
"Are you curious?" Li Nanlei asked, as if she hadn’t noticed the moth’s demise. "Why I brought Yong Er here, even though the Yong Family clearly wishes to avoid any entanglement with the Prince Mansion?"
The female official remained standing, her gaze lowered in a display of perfect composure—eyes focused on her nose, nose on her mouth, mouth on her heart—and remained silent.
Alas, I have no choice but to find help. The female official did not respond, and Li Nanlei didn’t seem to care, muttering to herself, My uncle, the Governor of Xiangzhou, deliberately keeps his distance from the Prince Mansion and the Right Martial Guard to avoid accusations from the Imperial Censor of forming cliques. He doesn’t realize that even if he refrains from associating, the Imperial Censors could still impeach him if they wished. Next year or the year after, Brother Shan is to be enfeoffed. The fiefdom will likely be in Du State or Wuzhou, near Xiangzhou. If my uncle were smart, he would realize what it means for me to have brought Yong Er to the Prince Mansion.