He only looked at her and did not answer.
Rongyao hesitated for a moment before asking again, “Big Brother, can you tell me your name?”
The young man lowered his head in a daze and looked at the little girl before him, dressed in a goose-yellow robe.
The girl was somewhat plump, with chubby cheeks and a short stature, so that one had to lower one’s head to see her properly. Her complexion was fair, and her eyes were exceptionally bright. She looked as though she had been carved from jade. Stretching out both hands to block his way, she refused to let him leave and questioned him.
What a pleasing appearance.
The young man bent down and asked, “Who are you? What is your name?”
Rongyao said, “I asked you first.”
The young man leaned forward slightly. A hint of amusement gleamed in his distinct black-and-white eyes as he answered, “Gu Shen’an.”
Rongyao gazed blankly up at the young man before her. Gu Shen’an? His name was Gu Shen’an, not Qi Shen.
Yet his face was clearly so similar to Qi Shen’s.
Aside from their faces and their ages, however, the two had nothing else in common. Qi Shen never smiled like this. His smiles were always sinister and chilling, enough to make anyone shudder… Perhaps this young man merely resembled Qi Shen in appearance. Or perhaps Qi Shen and Gu Shen’an were related.
Rongyao asked again, “Have you ever heard of Qi Shen?”
Gu Shen’an replied, “I have not. Who is he? And which family are you from, little girl?”
Rongyao pressed her lips together and gazed at the refined young man, Gu Shen’an, feeling somewhat lost.
When she had first encountered Qi Shen in the palace, he had already been a favorite of the emperor. He had a terrible temper and loved nothing more than tormenting people and frightening them—especially her, the little fool. But that was all she knew about him. He had never mentioned his background or past. Perhaps he had gone by another name before entering the palace, but she knew nothing of it. She had only heard that he entered the palace at the end of the third year of Xuande and that he was from the capital.
During this period, she had also sent people to investigate anyone in the capital named Qi Shen, but they had found no information about him.
The Gu Shen’an before her looked very much like the young Gu Shen’an she had imagined.
Aside from his appearance, however, there was another way to verify whether he was Qi Shen.
Qi Shen had a scar on his right hand.
Rongyao looked at Gu Shen’an, her gaze falling upon his right hand. His five fingers were long and his knuckles sharply defined, but half of the hand was concealed by his sleeve, making it impossible to see the place she wanted to examine.
Rongyao lowered her head and rummaged through the pouch at her waist. She took out a piece of candied fruit coated in sugar and held it out to Gu Shen’an. Looking up at him with innocent sincerity, she said in her childish voice, “Here, you can eat this.”
The smile on Gu Shen’an’s lips deepened, and the corners of his eyes lifted slightly. “For me? Why are you giving it to me?”
Rongyao said, “Because you’re handsome, Big Brother.”
The smile on Gu Shen’an’s face grew even wider. He naturally extended his right hand and held it out before Rongyao, palm up. “Thank you.”
Rongyao’s eyes followed his movement. When he opened his palm, she saw that it was smooth and fair, without the scar she remembered.
A trace of disappointment passed through Rongyao’s eyes.
There was a long scar across Qi Shen’s right palm, running through the entire length of it. She had once asked him how he had gotten it, and he had said that it had been there since he was too young to remember.
But the man before her had no such scar, and he was not named Qi Shen.
Gu Shen’an asked, “What is it? You don’t want to give it to me anymore?”
Rongyao gathered her thoughts, placed the candied fruit in his outstretched palm, and quickly withdrew her hand. She smiled at Gu Shen’an.
“Yao’y ao, how did you run all the way here?”
Cui Huaiyin hurried over and pulled her daughter into her arms. Pretending to be angry, she scolded, “There are so many people here. How could you run around on your own? If you were lost, what would your mother do?”
Rongyao felt a little guilty as well. Seeing the fragrant sweat beading on her mother’s brow, she reached out and wiped it away. “It’s Yao’yao’s fault. Yao’yao won’t do it again.”
Seeing that her daughter had admitted her mistake so readily, Cui Huaiyin gave her hand a symbolic pat. She then turned to the two young men before her and said politely, “My daughter is young and does not know her limits. I hope she did not disturb you two young gentlemen just now.”
Gu Shen’an clenched his right hand into a fist and hid it behind his back. Then he quickly straightened and said, “She did not disturb us at all. Little Auntie, you are being overly concerned.”
Gu Shen’an’s second brother, Gu Yuan’an, also said that it was nothing.
Cui Huaiyin smiled and nodded. “It is getting late. You two are young and should return home soon. We shall take our leave as well.”
With that, Cui Huaiyin nodded farewell to the two young men, took her daughter’s hand, and led her away.
Rongyao glanced once more at Gu Shen’an’s face. She smiled and waved goodbye to him as well, and mother and daughter were soon swallowed up by the crowd.
“Why did that little girl give you candied fruit and no one else?” Once they were gone, Gu Yuan’an patted Gu Shen’an on the shoulder and asked unhappily.
Gu Shen’an stared ahead without answering his second brother’s question. Instead, he asked, “Second Brother, do you know which family those two came from?”
Gu Yuan’an glanced in the direction the mother and daughter had left and shook his head. “I don’t know either. If you’re curious, you can send someone to find out. What is it? Did you think that little girl was pretty and want to get closer to her?”
Gu Shen’an’s expression darkened. He shot his second brother a cold glance and walked away.
Gu Yuan’an hurried after him. “Don’t leave. Second Brother was only joking. Why take it so seriously?”
Rongyao turned her head and looked once more in the direction where Gu Shen’an had been standing. There were far too many people in front of the examination compound, and the young man who so resembled Qi Shen had long since vanished from sight.
As soon as mother and daughter boarded the carriage, Chenxiang climbed in after them. She exchanged a glance with Cui Huaiyin before closing the carriage door.
“Miss, I found out. Those two are young masters of the Marquis of Zhenxi’s residence.”
Cui Huaiyin looked surprised. “They are the Marquis of Zhenxi’s sons?”
“Yes,” Chenxiang replied. “The Marquis of Zhenxi has four sons and one daughter in total. I made inquiries, and the two we saw just now were the second and fourth young masters. They had come to see their eldest brother off to the examination compound.”
Cui Huaiyin said, “I have heard that all the Marquis of Zhenxi’s children are exceptional, and that every one of them is handsome or beautiful. Seeing them today, it seems the rumors are true. I heard that his eldest and second sons are both excellent scholars, while his third daughter is learned and proper, earning everyone’s praise. His fourth and fifth sons are still young, yet already possess impressive martial skills. Most admirable of all, the Marquis of Zhenxi has never taken a concubine. From beginning to end, he has had only one wife.”
“That is true,” Chenxiang said. “Many people in the capital envy the Marchioness of Zhenxi. The Marquis of Zhenxi’s residence is flourishing, and every one of its young masters and misses is outstanding. Everyone says that the family’s prosperity will last for generations.”
“The Marquis of Zhenxi?”
As mistress and servant continued their conversation, a childish voice suddenly reached their ears. Both turned to look at Rongyao, who still had crumbs of pastry clinging to the corners of her mouth.
Cui Huaiyin let out a soft laugh, then helplessly took out a handkerchief and wiped her daughter’s mouth. “What is it? Are you curious about who the Marquis of Zhenxi is?”
Rongyao hesitated before nodding.
Cui Huaiyin said, “The Marquis of Zhenxi is a famous general of Great Zhou. He has never been defeated in battle, and he is both brave and resourceful—a truly remarkable man. If Yao’yao ever meets him one day, you must show proper respect to such a hero.”
Her mother patiently explained the Marquis of Zhenxi, but Rongyao barely listened.
The Marquis of Zhenxi… In her previous life, after she entered the palace, the Marquis of Zhenxi no longer seemed to exist in the capital, and neither did his residence. In her previous life, she had heard rumors that the Marquis of Zhenxi had defected to the enemy and colluded with foreign forces.
Before long, the Marquis of Zhenxi would no longer be hailed as a hero, but condemned as a criminal.
Yet in her previous life, many years later, the Marquis of Zhenxi had been exonerated. He had been wrongfully accused and framed by treacherous officials, and because of the affair, the Emperor had even issued an imperial edict condemning himself.
Rongyao asked, “Mother, the Marquis of Zhenxi is so formidable. Where is he now?”
Cui Huaiyin replied, “Of course he’s guarding our Great Zhou at the frontier. I heard that the Marquis of Zhenxi is leading a great army in battle against the Western Rong.”
Rongyao lowered her gaze to her small, childlike hands. For a moment, she had no idea what she should do.
Even though she was clever now, she was still young. She was afraid of running into kidnappers if she went out onto the streets. Her elder uncle’s imperial examinations, her mother’s entry into the palace, and the raid that would befall the Cui family had yet to be dealt with.
She did not know when the Marquis of Zhenxi would be wrongfully accused. She could neither help him nor help Great Zhou win that war.
If only she were a princess—like Princess Shengping, so majestic and imposing, able to do whatever she pleased!
Rongyao took a bite of the pastry in her hand, then glanced at her mother and counted the days.
There were still ten days before her mother entered the palace.
Since her mother was about to enter the palace, surely it wouldn’t be long before she became a princess too, would it?
