As seasons came and went, Liu Jinxing grew day by day.
From her earliest memories, she knew she was the young lady of the Princess's Manor. Her father was Liu Ming'an, her mother was Jiang Ning, and she had a grandmother named Lan Xu.
Her grandmother doted on her the most, often making her delicious treats, helping her with her hair and clothes, making her look pretty, and even personally crafting her clothes, shoes, handkerchiefs, and the fragrant sachets she wore at her waist.
Besides these three family members whom she saw daily, Liu Jinxing had two uncles, one surnamed Zhang and one surnamed Zhou.
Uncle Zhou had a wife who looked like a celestial maiden. Liu Jinxing called her Aunt Zhou, and she was the most beautiful woman Liu Jinxing had ever seen besides her mother.
Aunt Zhou had two daughters who were only eight months older than Liu Jinxing - Zhou Ruxing and Zhou Siyue. The adults called them "Star" and "Moon."
Uncle Zhang had a gentle wife, Aunt Zhang, and two sons named Zhang Haozhi and Zhang Huaiyue. Zhang Huaiyue was about the same age as Liu Jinxing.
The two uncles often visited her father, and their wives would bring their children along to chat.
Among the five children, Liu Jinxing was the youngest. Her mother wanted her to call the others "brother" and "sister," but she refused since Zhou Ruxing, Zhou Siyue, and Zhang Huaiyue were all around her age.
She only willingly called Zhang Haozhi "Brother Haozhi" because he was taller than her. She called all the others by their given names.
When Liu Jinxing was two, her father began teaching her to recognize characters. At three, he taught her how to hold a brush and write characters stroke by stroke. By four, he was teaching her poetry.
But her father didn't just teach her alone.
Uncle Zhou brought Zhou Ruxing and Zhou Siyue over, patting her father's shoulder saying, "Brother Liu, whether you're teaching one or three, it's all the same. Why don't you teach my two girls as well?"
After her father agreed, Uncle Zhang came the next day with Zhang Haozhi and Zhang Huaiyue: "Brother Liu, whether you're teaching three or five, it's all the same. Please teach my two boys too."
And so, the Princess's Manor often had five children sitting in a row, with Liu Ming'an sitting on a chair in front, diligently teaching them.
Her mother would laugh then: "Your father looks just like a kindergarten principal now."
Liu Jinxing didn't understand and asked what a kindergarten principal was, but her mother just smiled without answering.
However, her father still had duties at the Imperial Academy and wasn't always free. Moreover, both Aunt Zhou and Aunt Zhang said it would tire him to teach every day.
Later, the adults agreed that each family would hire tutors for basics, and her father would lecture them on the Four Books, Five Classics, and other classical texts every five days.
But Liu Jinxing found it boring to study alone and preferred learning with her brothers and sisters. The other four felt the same way.
After discussion, the adults arranged for the five children to rotate between houses for lessons - two days at the Zhou residence, two days at the Zhang residence, and two days at the Princess's Manor.
Sometimes, Aunt Zhou and her mother would teach them arithmetic, like multiplication tables - knowledge that even her father didn't possess. Among them, Zhang Huaiyue was the best at it, and Liu Jinxing once heard Aunt Zhou stroking his head and sighing: "This mind of his, he should be a mathematician."
Liu Jinxing grew up this way, studying and playing with her companions.
Besides the Zhou and Zhang residences and her own home, Liu Jinxing frequently visited Fuling Temple.
The people there were different from others she knew - they had shaved heads and wore plain gray clothes.
But Liu Jinxing loved it there because everyone was fond of her, calling her "little Jinxing" and referring to her mother as "little Ling'er."
"Mother, why do they call you little Ling'er?" Liu Jinxing found it curious.
Jiang Ning stroked her head and told her, "Because mother has another name - Lan Ling."
"Wow! Mother has two names! That's amazing!"
Jiang Ning laughed at this silly comment: "That's nothing special."
But Liu Jinxing thought it was incredible and wanted two names for herself.
This idea wouldn't leave her mind, but she didn't tell anyone because she wanted to surprise her parents by suddenly announcing her second name.
Four-year-old Liu Jinxing wracked her brains trying to think of a new name, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out how to choose one. So she secretly went to Zhang Haozhi for help.
"Brother Haozhi, I want another name."
Zhang Haozhi was eight years old and quite tall. To Liu Jinxing, he seemed like a young adult. Her father said he was clever with his studies and would surely pass the imperial examinations in the future.
"Why do you want another name?" Zhang Haozhi was puzzled.
Liu Jinxing hugged his leg and pleaded, "Oh, don't ask so many questions, just help me think of a pretty name!"
Zhang Haozhi had to agree and asked what kind of name she wanted. Liu Jinxing said she wanted a beautiful one.
"My mother's second name is very pretty, I want one like that. Also, the second name shouldn't have the surname Liu."
"Oh? Then what surname do you want?"
Zhang Haozhi had thought of two names with the surname Liu, but was surprised that Liu Jinxing wanted to change her surname too.
"Hmm... let me think," Liu Jinxing pondered for a while but couldn't decide. "Why don't I use your surname?"
"That works."
Zhang Haozhi just wanted to get it over with. Remembering a line from the Book of Songs he had memorized yesterday - "There is a beautiful person, pure and graceful" - and since Liu Jinxing was a little beauty herself, it seemed fitting.
"How about Zhang Qingwan?"
"Zhang Qingwan..." Liu Jinxing repeated it, not sure if it was good or bad, but she trusted Zhang Haozhi wouldn't deceive her.
"Perfect! My second name will be Zhang Qingwan!"
After finishing lessons at the Zhang residence, Liu Jinxing happily returned home and ran to her parents' courtyard.
"Father! Mother!"
As soon as Liu Jinxing entered the courtyard, she saw her mother suddenly push her father back, her face as red as a tomato. When she got closer, she noticed her mother's lips were also red.
"Why are you running so fast?" Jiang Ning tried to sound natural as she watched her daughter being lifted up by Liu Ming'an.
Liu Jinxing, nestled in Liu Ming'an's arms, announced excitedly while waving her arms and legs: "I have two names now!"
"Oh? What's your other name?" Liu Ming'an pinched her chubby cheek.
"Listen carefully..." Liu Jinxing said proudly: "My other name is Zhang Qingwan!"
Liu Ming'an was confused, not understanding what his little girl was up to, but Jiang Ning immediately realized that she thought having two names was impressive, so she had created another name for herself.
Jiang Ning quietly explained the situation to Liu Ming'an, who suddenly understood. Liu Jinxing was still in his arms, blinking expectantly at them both, so Liu Ming'an played along: "Wow! My dear daughter, you have two names, that's amazing!"
"Hee hee hee..." Liu Jinxing beamed with pride.
After her excitement subsided a bit, Liu Ming'an asked: "How did you come up with this name? Did Zhang Haozhi give it to you?"
The characters "Qingwan" were from the Book of Songs, and Liu Ming'an knew immediately that she couldn't have thought of it herself. Combined with the surname Zhang, it had to be Zhang Haozhi's doing.
"Yes, yes!" Liu Jinxing nodded, hugging Liu Ming'an's neck in admiration: "Father, you're so clever to know that!"
"Of course, though your father doesn't have two names like us, he's still very impressive," Jiang Ning said, pinching Liu Jinxing's round cheek.
Liu Jinxing giggled: "Then I'll ask Brother Haozhi to give father another name too, so we'll all have two names!"
"Uh..." Liu Ming'an's face stiffened as he firmly refused: "I don't want one!"
"Why not? Don't you want to become more impressive, father?"
Seeing the child about to persist with her questions, Jiang Ning took her from Liu Ming'an's arms and changed the subject: "Why don't you go find grandmother? She's made some treats for you."
"Really? I'm going right now!" Liu Jinxing's eyes lit up, and she pattered out of the courtyard, with her maid hurrying after her.
"She runs quite fast!" Jiang Ning watched Liu Jinxing's retreating figure and smiled, "Just like a little bunny."
As soon as she finished speaking, a familiar arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into a warm embrace. Warm fingers tilted her chin up as an intimate voice whispered in her ear, "Ning, come, let's continue."
Thinking about how their daughter had almost caught them earlier, Jiang Ning blushed and punched Liu Ming'an's shoulder, "Back to the bedroom. Don't get handsy with me outside anymore."
"Alright!"
Liu Ming'an pulled her along, though once they were in the room, it wouldn't stop at just a kiss.
Meanwhile, Liu Jinxing bounced her way to Lan Xu and told her about having two names as well.
Lan Xu responded with a warm smile, pulling the child onto her lap. She undid Liu Jinxing's messy pigtails that had come loose from running and redid them with red hair ties.
"Thank you, grandmother!" Liu Jinxing sweetly expressed her gratitude.
"You're welcome." Lan Xu tapped her nose affectionately, eyes full of love.
In truth, Liu Jinxing's favorite and closest person was Lan Xu. She hadn't often slept with her parents, but until she was five, she had almost always slept with Lan Xu.
Lan Xu would sing lullabies, recite nursery rhymes, tell her stories, fan her in summer, and hold her close in winter so she wouldn't feel cold.
Liu Ming'an was deeply grateful for his mother-in-law's dedication, sometimes feeling inadequate as a father, but Lan Xu would wave it off, saying, "Oh, what's there to discuss between family? I love Jinxing, I'm happy to have her company."
But Lan Xu had another consideration: she knew her daughter and son-in-law were deeply in love, and having a child between them would make it inconvenient for intimate moments. So she kept Liu Jinxing by her side, giving the young couple their space, hoping perhaps in a few years she might have another grandchild to dote on.
On this day, it was time for lessons at the Zhou residence. The guards from the manor escorted Liu Jinxing to the Zhou family's gate before departing.
As Liu Jinxing followed a maid toward the study courtyard, she became distracted by the flower beds along the way.
"Wow! How beautiful!" She changed course and ran to the blooming flowers. "How did so many flowers suddenly appear? They weren't here last time!"
To Liu Jinxing, both the Zhou and Zhang households were as familiar as her own home, and she remembered exactly how all the flowers and trees usually looked.
The maid, who treated Liu Jinxing with the same respect as her own young mistress, explained, "Young Miss Liu might not know, but in a month it will be our young madam's birthday. These flowers were specially brought in by the young master from elsewhere. They're particularly beautiful and attract many butterflies."
Liu Jinxing knew that by "young master" she meant Uncle Zhou, and "young madam" referred to Aunt Zhou.
A golden butterfly fluttered up from the flower bed, captivating Liu Jinxing. Forgetting all about her tutor and lessons, she chased after it.
"Oh, Young Miss Liu, please be careful!" The maid followed anxiously, worried she might fall.
The startled butterfly flew erratically through the garden, through an archway, and into another courtyard.
Liu Jinxing, focused only on looking up at the butterfly, didn't notice her surroundings until she suddenly collided with someone around a corner.
"Watch out!"
As she was about to fall, the person quickly grabbed her arm and steadied her.
The maid who had followed hurriedly bowed, respectfully addressing the man: "Prime Minister."
After regaining her balance, Liu Jinxing looked up at the person she had bumped into and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry for running into you. Are you hurt?"
"I'm not hurt, don't worry," Nangong Ya smiled, knowing a four-year-old couldn't have much impact.
Then he asked curiously, "Whose child are you? How did you end up here?"
Liu Jinxing answered honestly, "I'm from the Princess's manor. I came here to catch butterflies."
Nangong Ya's expression instantly froze. He took a deep breath and slowly crouched down to meet Liu Jinxing at eye level.
"Are you... Liu Jinxing? Princess Hening's daughter?"
Though he didn't really need to ask, Nangong Ya could already tell by looking at the little face before him.
Among his three children, Jiang Ning had resembled him the most, and Liu Jinxing shared five parts of her looks. In this young face, Nangong Ya could see his own bloodline.
This was his granddaughter whom he had never met.
When he learned that Jiang Ning had given birth, Nangong Ya had actually sent his calling card to the Princess's manor, hoping to see his daughter and granddaughter, but was unsurprisingly refused.
Jiang Ning had only been made a princess for saving the Emperor's life; she wasn't truly part of the Yu Wen Family. She never attended palace banquets or socialized with other officials' wives, choosing instead to live a secluded life these past few years, making it nearly impossible for Nangong Ya to see her.
Even the name "Liu Jinxing" he had learned only by specifically asking Liu Ming'an at the Hanlin Academy.
Liu Jinxing looked at Nangong Ya crouching before her and obediently answered, "Yes, I'm Liu Jinxing."
Remembering what the maid had called him earlier, she asked with a smile, "So you're the Prime Minister? Then you must be Zhou Ruxing and Zhou Siyue's grandfather!"
Nangong Ya opened his mouth, wanting to say he was her grandfather too, but something made him hesitate. A shadow of sadness crossed his eyes, and he swallowed the words.
