A piece of Japanese incense

"Uncle, please don't spread rumors! I didn't even see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" I hurriedly explained.

A sly light flashed in the cousin's eyes, and there was a hint of teasing in his words: "Oh? It was you who talked with His Highness Zhixu in this pavilion before, right?"

I was a little exasperated and didn't want to argue with him, so I turned and walked towards the slightly old window, intending to climb back in.

"Hey! Go through the front door! Uncle Li already knew you were coming."

My mind was buzzing, and his words echoed in my ears like thunder. "You already knew"? When did you know? Did you overhear the conversation between Ah Ban and me?

I responded guiltily and left Wenyuan Pavilion in a hurry.

It turns out that there is no wall that is impenetrable. In this palace, it seems that there are eyes everywhere, monitoring every corner, reminding me that I must be more careful in what I say and do in the future.

During the winter's Minor Cold season, although the sun was shining brightly, the air was still chilly. I wrapped myself in a thick cotton robe, a warm hat, and soft gloves, and walked slowly along the palace path. Every step seemed to create a quiet rhythm unique to winter.

"Girl, you see, if we give Princess Qi such an expensive pipa as a gift, she will definitely refuse it, 'No, no! It's too expensive, how can I afford it...'" Yu Tuan imitated Princess Qi's tone and gestures, making Yu Yi and I laugh.

This ivory-wood pipa was bought by my grandmother one year during the Chinese New Year when I was accompanying my grandmother on her tour of a medicine shop. We met an old man hawking his wares on the street in a snowstorm. My grandmother felt sorry for him and gave him five hundred taels of silver to buy it for me.

At first, we thought it was just an ordinary pipa. However, when we got home and looked at it carefully, we found that the head of the pipa was in the shape of a wooden butterfly, the neck was wrapped with ox bone pieces thinner than ivory, and the back was decorated with a tortoise shell pattern made of more than 110 hexagonal ivory pieces, and was carved with different patterns such as flowers, figures, birds and animals.

I can imagine that the craftsman who made the pipa must have poured all his efforts into it, just like the masters in novels, forging a peerless sword that shocks the world.

After searching for the old man in vain, my grandmother kept the pipa safely in the treasure house of her home.

When we were in music theory class, everyone had their own musical instrument, but Princess Qi had an old zither that had been there for many years and had never been repaired. The carvings on the headstock even had cracks, and some of the pegs were even loose. Although the strings were still strong, they were not tight enough, and occasionally when they were plucked, they would make a dull and slightly hoarse sound.

The day before, when I returned to the study because I had forgotten the dried fruits, I happened to see Princess Qi quietly plucking the strings of Princess Tingzhu's zither. A thought suddenly occurred to me that perhaps she also longed for a musical instrument to express her feelings.

As Yu Tuan expected, Princess Qi refused again, and only after I threatened to break up with her did she reluctantly accept.

Princess Qi's birthday was celebrated simply. Only Yutuan, Yuyi and I brought various delicacies and a large piece of specially made Dingsheng cake to celebrate for her.

We closed the doors and windows and turned off all the lights, leaving only a single candle, which we handed to Princess Qi. Suddenly the room became dark, with only her face shining in the darkness.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Princess Qi asked curiously.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you~Happy birthday to Xiaoqi~..."

Princess Qi's lips curled up slightly, with a sparkling light in her eyes.

"Make a wish! Make a wish!" Yutuan and I cheered in unison.

"Make a wish?" Princess Qi looked a little confused.

"Our girl once said that on your birthday, make three wishes to the candlelight, blow out the candles, and then the wishes will come true!" Yu Yi explained happily.

Princess Qi closed her eyes, the flickering candlelight illuminated her peaceful face. As she took a deep breath and blew lightly, the candlelight went out, and we all applauded. Cheers and blessings filled the entire room.

"It's so lively!" Feng Zhixu pushed open the door and poked his head out.

"Feng Zhixu?! You're back!" I grabbed him excitedly and started spinning around happily.

"Yeah, you're such a heartless person. I wrote you so many letters, but you didn't reply to any of them!"

I paused and asked in confusion, "You wrote me a letter?"

"Hmm? You didn't get it?"

I was stunned, and my gaze shifted from Yu Tuan and Yu Yi to Feng Zhixu. We all had a look of astonishment on our faces.

"Forget it, let's talk about this later! What are you busy with?" Feng Zhixu's attention was attracted by the pastries on the table, and his eyes lit up.

"We are celebrating Princess Qi's birthday, and now is the time to cut the cake." Yu Yi answered him with a smile.

"What is a cake? Is it Xiaoqi's birthday? I remember you seem to be one year younger than me. You should be... fourteen this year?"

I didn't want to listen to Feng Zhixu's nagging, so I put my arm around Princess Qi's slender waist and handed her a delicate knife: "Sir, come and cut this Dingsheng cake! After eating it, we will definitely succeed in the annual assessment!"

Princess Qi cut the Dingsheng cake with the blade, with an expectant smile on her face.

"Hmm! So sweet! Not greasy at all!" Feng Zhixu ate two pieces in a row and kept praising it.

"Try this bite-sized pastry. It's a new product invented in our shop!" I recommended it to them with the plate in hand.

……

The birthday party ended successfully. On the way back to the Girls' School, Feng Zhixu sent us back, and we talked about the letters.

"Is it your problem or mine? What did you write? Why didn't I receive any letter?" I asked him.

"In fact, the journey I took to accompany my mother back to the border was quite tortuous. We encountered four ambushes, big and small. Originally, I didn't have to come back, but my father thought that the New Year was approaching, so he ordered me to come back to fulfill my filial duty on his behalf."

"Where's your mother?"

"She didn't come back."

"You came back by yourself? Was your journey safe?" I asked worriedly.

"I disguised myself as a merchant and returned to Beijing secretly."

"Have you reported this to His Majesty?"

Feng Zhixu shook his head, then said with a playful smile: "I came to look for you as soon as I returned to the palace. I'm being nice, right~"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, looking around while remaining alert: "I always have a feeling that I'm being stared at by invisible eyes. Are we under some kind of secret surveillance?"

He replied calmly, "Don't worry. I am returning with Second Uncle Fu this time. He is my father's most trusted general and he must have cleared all obstacles for me."

I was so surprised that I couldn't close my mouth. "He had been at the border before? Did His Majesty call him back?"