Early morning.
Princess Grandma was dressed up in her finest.
She looked even more beautiful than yesterday.
If power is a man's beauty buff, then love is a woman's cosmetic surgery.
Before yesterday, she had been listless, unkempt, and disheveled, believing there was no one left in the world who cared about her. She dressed like a black fish or a large bird, carelessly throwing on whatever without concern.
But today.
Even though she had been on the toilet half the night, she still got up early to dress up.
She wanted her own son to see his mother in her best state.
She wanted to set an example of a princess for her dear granddaughter.
Princess Huiyun looked at herself in the mirror and was momentarily dazed.
Time seemed to have been kind to her.
Even with the scars on her face, they didn't detract from the beauty of the person in the mirror.
In fact, they added a sense of allure and mystery.
She thought it was because she had found her child again, rekindling her vitality and bringing her back to life.
Now she really wanted to live.
Full of fighting spirit.
She had somewhat forgotten what she used to look like.
She only knew that everyone praised her for being beautiful.
Princess Huiyun once affectedly said: I don't know what beauty is.
Beautiful without knowing it, because she wasn't sure if people praised her because she was truly beautiful or because she was a princess.
The winter day was very cold.
Mianmian looked at Princess Grandma and always felt that Grandma had a murderous aura about her, a bit like a female version of the Monkey King...
She curiously asked, "Grandma, don't you feel anything special?"
Usually, drinking from the Spirit Spring would cause diarrhea and such. Seeing how vibrant Princess Grandma looked, it must have had an effect, but as for other side effects, they hadn't been discovered yet.
Mianmian felt that the Spirit Spring must have some side effects, more or less, different for each person.
After Elder Sister drank from the Spirit Spring, she could eat anything. The side effect might be that her nerves became insensitive, and poisonous things couldn't poison her anymore, losing the happiness of being intoxicated.
For example, if others ate a certain plant, they could see fairies undressing and dancing, but Elder Sister couldn't see it after eating it, losing out on a lot of joy.
Elder Brother drank from the Spirit Spring and suspected he had been reborn, but while others who were reborn had various opportunities to change their fate, seeing many development trends and defying destiny, Elder Brother's rebirth only showed him an endless long life of death, with the side effect of being afraid of the dark.
Mom drank from the Spirit Spring, and the side effect was becoming too sensitive. If Mianmian had even a slightly naughty thought, sensitive Mom would discover it and react with an overly aggressive urge to spank her.
Father drank from the Spirit Spring, and the side effect was occasionally feeling a bit effeminate, but that might be an illusion. He was her biological father after all, so she couldn't say that.
As for herself, after drinking from the Spirit Spring, the side effect was probably ADHD. All her senses were stronger than others', so she couldn't sit still, was hyperactive, couldn't study properly, and just wanted to play...
"Didn't you say we were going to meet your father after court? Let's go," Princess Huiyun said to the little one who seemed to be daydreaming again.
She didn't know if she looked good or not.
But the little one was truly beautiful.
Especially when she wasn't talking.
"Grandma, your carriage is a princess's carriage, right? It must be very impressive. I fell asleep yesterday, so I want to ride in it properly today. Later, we'll drive to the entrance of the court meeting and pick up Father there. Oh, and we'll pick up Elder Brother too. This way, Father and Elder Brother's colleagues will know that Father has connections, and they'll be bullied less in the future."
"Who dares!" Huiyun was always caught off guard by the little one's words.
The princess's palanquin was second only to the Emperor's, much more prestigious than Minister Lu's.
After all, no matter how high-ranking Minister Lu was, he was still just a high-level employee.
While the princess was the boss's younger sister.
The court meeting was in session inside, but the princess's palanquin entered leisurely.
No one stopped it.
The Emperor had given his word that the princess could go anywhere, and no one was to stop her.
The princess didn't want to deal with others, so she sat in the palanquin without getting out.
She was just waiting for the court to end, to pick up her son and grandson.
It was also to officially announce their identities.
Seeing a guard enter the court, Jiang Mianmian curiously asked, "Grandma, when they're having a court meeting, do the guards go in to arrest people?"
Huiyun sent someone to check, while explaining to the little one, "If someone has made a mistake, they will be arrested. It's always those messy affairs."
But the servant returned in an instant.
Princess Huiyun's face immediately turned red.
She lifted the carriage curtain and jumped down from the carriage.
Mianmian also jumped down after her.
Huiyun wanted the little one to wait in the carriage, but thinking it impossible - who knows what this child would do if not watched - she simply let her come along.
So while the Emperor was still sitting on his dragon throne,
Rubbing his brows, preparing to wait for the ministers to take their leave before leaving himself,
Suddenly, a eunuch cried out in a thin, effeminate voice: "Princess Huiyun has arrived."
The ears of all the court officials were pierced by this sharp voice.
Minister Lu felt even more of a headache, and a bit dizzy.
The older court officials all knew who Princess Huiyun was.
There was an entire era dominated by Princess Huiyun.
In that era, women constantly had Princess Huiyun's name on their lips.
The woman most frequently mentioned by sisters, mothers, and wives was Princess Huiyun.
Even if they had never seen her, her name was familiar to all.
The younger generation of officials knew less about her.
Princess Huiyun was more like a legendary figure to them.
But now in the great court.
A princess just appeared like this.
A legendary figure.
Renowned.
Legendary beyond compare.
The Emperor sitting on the dragon throne was also stunned for a moment.
Then came endless nervousness, even wanting to find a mirror to look at himself, to see what he looked like at this very moment.
Why had Huiyun come now?
And to the court, no less.
Had Huiyun suffered some grievance?
Had she come to find him?
For a moment, the Emperor even wanted to stand up.
Fortunately, his slow body controlled his agitated heart.
Preventing him from losing composure in front of his court officials.
Mianmian was a bit nervous.
Wasn't it said they were going to meet Elder Brother and Father after work?
How did they end up coming directly to where people worked?
But she was very curious.
Might as well take a look since they were here.
Basically everyone present was a top student, top scorers in the imperial exams over the years, or children of the nobility, relatives of the Emperor...
It was quite an eye-opening experience.
She'd have to tell Mom and Elder Sister all about it when she got back.
Jiang Mianmian's expression was serious, but her heart was as happy as could be.
Meanwhile, Princess Huiyun was emanating a murderous aura, directly charging into the court with her sword in hand.
Princess Huiyun was allowed to see the Emperor, and even enter the palace without giving up her weapons, as per the Emperor's personal decree.
In the great hall, the full court of civil and military officials were arrayed on the left and right.
Princess Huiyun walked forward step by step.
In the past, Princess Huiyun had been arrogant, but she had never burst into court like this.
Today, Princess Huiyun appeared before all the court officials.
Those who had seen her before, those who hadn't, the curious, the very curious, all turned their gazes upon her.
Princess Huiyun was a very self-centered person.
She knew she couldn't make everyone like her or be satisfied with her.
Because if she wanted everyone to like her, it would mean giving power to the people who disliked her the most.
It would mean she'd have to curry favor with that group of people who didn't like her.
She didn't need that.
She had always ignored that group.
She only needed the people who liked her, who were compatible with her, who shared her ideals, to like her.
She was imperious.
She looked down on everything.
She was born a princess.
Her aura was unmatched.
People thought they would see a disfigured, decrepit old woman.
After all, Princess Huiyun's era had passed long ago.
So long ago that everyone had almost forgotten about it.
What would a person who had lived with only a dim lamp and Buddha for company look like?
All the great families seemed to have such people.
White hair, wrinkles, aged, lonely...
But now there was a flame spreading through the court.
Young and old alike felt that heat.
There was such a woman, walking on the Golden Dragon Path of the court, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She wore a red robe embroidered with intertwining dragons and phoenixes, adorned with magnificent jewels, even her boots studded with gems. She was gorgeous, dazzling, luxurious.
Yet all of this couldn't overshadow her face.
She wore a golden half-mask, like a goddess descending to earth.
Time hadn't left a single mark on her.
It was as if the years had come to a standstill.
She walked slowly.
Not slow, rather quite fast.
But to some of the officials, it was like time flowing backwards.
As if they had returned to the era dominated by Princess Huiyun.
The Emperor sat on his dragon throne, watching that figure come closer and closer.
From hazy to clear, it was as if he had been transported back to his youth.
Sunrise and sunset, the turning of the stars, yet Huiyun seemed utterly unchanged. No, she had changed - she had become more beautiful, more radiant, more uninhibited.
Princess Huiyun walked to the front of the court.
She saw everyone standing, except for a single man who was kneeling.
He wore a shabby, dark blue robe of the fourth rank, kneeling there.
Everyone else was standing, while my son was kneeling.
Everyone else was standing, while my son was kneeling.
Very well, very well!
...
