The next morning, I hurried to greet the first day of the third month. After simply grooming and dressing, I went to the ancestral shrine to burn incense.
While having breakfast with my family, my father's gaze fell upon me, occasionally looking me up and down.
I put down my chopsticks, and before I could ask what he was examining, I heard him speak with a half-mocking tone,
"Other girls your age dress in vibrant reds and greens. But you always appear so plain."
I glanced down at my lake-blue robe without any cloud patterns, not even wearing a single piece of jewelry, and smiled.
It's not that I dislike dressing up, but anything beautiful comes at a cost.
To look glamorous requires carefully coordinating colors and layers, resulting in an accumulation of burdens that confine oneself.
It may appear beautiful, but such a burden is uninteresting.
"Father, do you think my attire is unappealing?" I asked.
"It looks fine, but today you will be entering the palace to meet the Empress. This plain dress seems too humble."
I was about to respond, but my mother straightened my collar and spoke to my father ahead of me:
"Wan'er is going to the palace to pay respects to the Empress, not to outshine others with her dress. Standing out would only draw unwanted attention."
This is typical in our family - my father likes to display wealth in public, while my mother is exceptionally modest. Just by looking at her plain attire, one can see that she and I share the same mindset.
With that, my father had no more to say.
Before leaving after the meal, my mother secretly pulled me aside and whispered,
"This is your first time entering the palace to meet the Empress. Be mindful of everything, and if you can delight the Empress, it would be wonderful."
I've heard from my brother that whenever my mother enters the palace, she attends to the Empress diligently like a servant, which he finds infuriating.
But everyone knows my mother's good intentions - as our ancestors never had a daughter serve as a consort in the palace, there are many things that cannot be helped by the palace ladies. My mother tries to please the Empress so she can contribute her small efforts to help my father.
If any unpleasant incident arises in the future, the Empress would remember her past kindness and put in a good word for my father in front of the Emperor.
As a daughter of the Ning family, I should understand my mother's concerns, so I nodded in agreement to put her mind at ease.
After entering the palace with my father, he went to the Study Hall to meet the Emperor, while I and other officials' wives were taken to the Feng Luan Palace to pay respects to the Empress.
This was my first time seeing the Empress. In her forties, her face showed no trace of aging, and she was dressed in a dignified and stately manner.
She wore a bright yellow phoenix robe and an elaborate Kunshan Feng Ying hairstyle. The hairstyle was beautiful but intricate, requiring over an hour of preparation just to style it properly.
I secretly thought that despite the Empress' noble status, her resting time was even shorter than mine. Just looking at it made me feel weary.
After paying respects, the Empress invited everyone to view the flowers in her palace. I originally intended to stay close to her and personally attend to her.
However, I had underestimated the situation. While the Ning family wanted to curry favor with the Empress, the other officials' wives had the same intention.
Before I could move closer, the Empress was already surrounded by people, and through some unseen jostling, I found myself pushed to the outermost edge.
Seeing this commotion, I realized it was futile to try to attend to the Empress, so I decided to simply stand back and avoid any issues.
While admiring the flowers with the group, I suddenly heard the Empress mutter something about losing her finger ring.
Her words immediately drew everyone's attention to the ground as they all bent down to search carefully.
After a while with no success, I heard the attendant near the Empress say:
"Your Majesty was viewing the forsythia flowers at the Guangyang Gate earlier. Perhaps it fell there?"
The Empress' expression showed urgency. "Ah yes, I was careless. You go and search there."
Guangyang Gate...
Upon hearing that location, my ears perked up involuntarily.
Today, among all the officials' wives who entered the palace, I was the only one accompanying my father. The officials' wives were not permitted to wander around after paying respects to the Empress. Meanwhile, my father was in the Study Hall discussing the campaign against Zhu Yin with the Emperor. He had reported to the Empress and the Internal Affairs Ministry in advance, allowing me to wait for him outside the Guangyang Gate after paying respects, so we could return home together.
No one else could go there, only I could. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to delight the Empress?
So I hurried out from the crowd, respectfully bowed to the Empress, and said,
"Your Majesty, this subject is about to go to the Guangyang Gate to wait for my father to return home together. May I assist in searching for Your Majesty's ring as well?"
I did not dare raise my head to see the Empress' expression, but I could feel her gaze fixed upon me.
"You are Wanshuang? Ning General's daughter?"
"Your Majesty is correct, I am."
"Your mother has raised you well. You are a thoughtful and considerate girl. Since you are willing, you may go."
With the Empress' permission, I left the Feng Luan Palace amid the envious and jealous looks of the other wives, feeling that I had at least gained some favor in the Empress' eyes, not disappointing my mother's wishes.
However, halfway there, my maid Yinxiang suddenly asked me:
"Miss... do you know what the Empress' finger ring looks like?"
I smiled, "This is the first time I've seen her. I can't even remember her appearance, let alone her ring."
Yinxiang's expression turned even more embarrassed. "...Then how are we going to find it?"
Upon hearing this, I was momentarily stumped. But seeing the numerous palace maids sweeping along the way, I said:
"There are so many palace maids sweeping along this route towards the Guangyang Gate. We can simply ask some of them to join the search. Since it's the Empress' matter, they wouldn't dare neglect it."
"That's true, but earlier the Empress seemed so anxious about losing her ring. Why would she now feel at ease letting you search for it alone?"
Yinxiang's words made me ponder as well.
But we had already come this far, so there was no point in turning back. I could only harden my resolve and quicken my pace.
Until we reached the Guangyang Gate, I realized that for some reason, there was not a single palace maid in sight.
Instead, the only thing present was the seemingly endless rows of flowering trees lining the path.
The branches were covered in pale purple blossoms, and with the wind, they formed an enchanting sea of flowers as far as the eye could see.
I stood rooted to the spot, momentarily dazed.
Yingxiang also pointed at the flowering tree in delight, saying:
"Miss, look! This tree has only flowers and no leaves, it's so beautiful, and fragrant too!"
Such a beautiful sight captivated me, and I couldn't help but start dancing amidst the flowers, utterly forgetting why I had come here.
Midway through my dance, I suddenly heard crisp applause from behind.
Startled, I immediately stopped and turned around somewhat awkwardly.
I saw a tall, handsome man standing at the edge of the flower field.
He was standing with his hands behind his back, facing me, with a gentle smile on his lips.
I was certain I had never seen him before,
Yet at that one glance, my heart inexplicably wrenched painfully,
Aching terribly.
