A piece of Japanese incense

I felt like I was being carried into the carriage by my father.

After getting in the car, I leaned my head against the window, playing with the medicine box that Aunt Hong stuffed into my hand before she left, with a look of helplessness in my eyes.

"Didn't your grandfather teach you what etiquette is? A woman should sit upright on a chair with her back straight, feet together, and hands placed naturally on her knees or clasped in front of her stomach. Look at the way you sit slumped down. How can you be as dignified and graceful as a girl?"

I rolled my eyes at him and sat up straight: "What does this have to do with my grandfather?"

"Why don't you wear earrings?"

I coughed, cleared my throat and said, "Because I don't have pierced ears at all!"

"Accessories are used to restrain women's behavior and regulate their posture. Alas! Your grandfather is really too pampering to you. Which girl has such improper manners like you?"

"Daddy, girls wear head ornaments and earrings to look good! If they wear them to look graceful, then they are just shackles on their beauty. Daddy has been bossing He'er around since we got in the car. Does Daddy not love He'er anymore?"

(Even though I was angry, I still had to keep smiling and shake my dog ​​dad’s arm to please him.)

My father patted my head gently and said, "The palace is dangerous, you must always be vigilant. I will take you to the Changle Palace to meet your brother first. He will go to school with you. In the future, you must support each other. He is your only relative in the palace. Do you understand?"

"Yes, He'er understands."

After passing many checkpoints, the carriage finally stopped. With the help of my father, I trembled and got off the carriage. As soon as I entered Changle Palace, a strong fragrance hit me, accompanied by the fragrance of various flowers. The weather was still cold, but the courtyard was covered with green grass and flowers, and I felt like I was in a sea of ​​flowers.

"Princess! The prince consort is here with his daughter!"

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman wearing a silk jacket with cloud patterns and a satin skirt with hundreds of golden butterflies on it. She had a fair face and two blushes on her cheeks, as gorgeous as red and white peach blossoms. She was scattering fish food in a pavilion. The rockery, flowing water and small bridge behind her formed a picturesque scene.

"Go and call Qi'er out! Yihe! This is the first time we meet! I heard you were sick, let's go inside!"

As I was about to bow, the princess enthusiastically half-pulled, half-dragged me into the palace.

The interior of the palace is spacious and bright, with extremely luxurious decorations. The walls are inlaid with gold wire carvings that are delicate and lifelike.

My father sat casually on the chair in the middle, sipping tea leisurely. The princess touched my forehead with her cool hand and asked a series of questions: "Yihe, are you still feeling uncomfortable? Have you had breakfast? What medicine did your grandfather prescribe for you? Have you taken it?"

I was answering the questions politely when I heard a few coughs outside the door and a little boy came in. He was thin, with pale complexion and an appearance that was difficult to conceal illness. On his indifferent face, his eyebrows were sparse, his eyes were long and narrow, his eyeballs were yellow, and his thin lips were bloodless.

He walked slowly and weakly to me, and before I could bow to him, he had already cupped his hands and said, "Hello, sister. I am Siqi."

"Hello...Hello! I...I'm Yihe." I felt a little embarrassed for some reason.

"Okay, two sick kids, sit down quickly!" The princess tucked Siqi's collar and said, "Yihe, my Changle Palace is very close to the study room. Why don't you stay in my palace? You and your brother can go to school together every day, okay?"

"No need. I have already ordered someone to send her luggage to the girls' school. She is the companion of Princess Tingzhu. According to the rules, she should eat and live with the princess."

After hearing what her father said, the princess stopped talking and sat on a chair beside her. The hall fell silent for a moment.

"Father, mother, it's getting late. My sister and I should go to the study."

Siqi broke the silence. After bidding farewell to the princess and my father, I followed him out of Changle Palace.

"Didn't they say that Changle Palace is very close to the upper study? How come we haven't arrived yet?" I couldn't walk any more. Every breath I took felt burning and painful. I felt dry, arid, anxious, and painful. I panted and squatted against the wall, leaning my head against the wall, thinking, "Why is this different from what's shown in the TV series? There's not even a sedan chair?"

Siqi tilted her head and put her hands on her waist and looked at me: "Sister He, how come you are weaker than me? How long have we been walking?"

No, isn’t this the young man with elegant manners just now?

"I am sick and have a fever!" As soon as I opened my mouth, cold air blew in, choking me and making me cough. My throat was already sore, and now when I coughed, it hurt so much that it felt like my entire throat was about to split.

"Your maid is as weak as you!" He pointed at Yu Tuan who was also squatting against the wall and breathing heavily.

Yutuan, you are such a disappointment!

I stood up angrily and continued walking forward.

Finally I arrived at the place. My forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, but my body felt cold and the whole world became blurry.

"Hello, sir! This is my elder sister, Zhi Yihe. She will be the tutor of Princess Tingzhu from now on."

I listened to the humming sound and felt as if my body was restrained by an invisible force. Every inch of my muscle became stiff and weak. I hurriedly bowed to the old man.

"Okay! Okay! You can sit in the seat where Miss Ge sat before!"

I was led to a seat by the window and sat down.

I felt an itch in my nose and my nose was running. I wiped it with a handkerchief. My nose was sore and my eyes were swollen and I wanted to cry. The wind outside the window blew gently, and the coldness rose from the soles of my feet. I held back the sneeze I was about to sneeze. I closed the window tightly, thinking that I had to go to see Princess Tingzhu after class, so I chewed a pill into my stomach. I raised my head and thought for a long time, repeatedly opened my mouth, and wanted to sneeze, but I couldn't, so I could only rub my sore nose.

With a "click", a glass snuff bottle as white as mutton-fat jade was thrown onto my desk. I looked around and saw that everyone was quietly reading. The round bottle was delicately carved with lotus flowers, and the veins of the lotus leaves could be clearly seen.

I pulled out the blue lid of the pot that imitated tourmaline color, and the fragrant smoke of jasmine came to my nose, "Ah~chiu!" I couldn't help but sneeze, and my nose seemed to be hit by a strong electric current, and a warm current gushed out of my nostrils.

There were bursts of laughter around me, but I didn't take it seriously.

Then I sneezed again, and snot flowed down like two clear springs. I quickly wiped it with a handkerchief, but found that the handkerchief was already wet.

I quickly wrapped the handkerchief with rice paper and prepared to throw it away after school. Then I crumpled the paper into a ball and rubbed it to make it softer, wanting to blow my nose, but a handkerchief with a few flying butterflies embroidered on it passed to me from the left, vivid and lifelike.

I looked at the desk on the left. A girl who looked about my age was wearing a light green shirt, with curved eyebrows, a small nose that was slightly upturned, and a face as white as jade. Her clothes were not very luxurious, but she had a string of pearls hanging around her neck, which emitted a faint halo, making her look even more like a jade sculpture. The sunlight came in through the window, shining on her. Her cheeks were red and crystal clear in the sunlight. She nodded at me.

Looking at the delicate handkerchief, I was reluctant to waste it, but my snotty nose did not allow me to hesitate. I nodded and smiled at her, and used the handkerchief to plug my nose which was running like a faucet.