Rongyao stared at the chest in stunned silence. Gu Shen'an knew her birthday? He had even prepared a birthday gift for her in advance.
The chest was enormous—big enough to fit her inside.
Rongyao asked Wu Wanning, “Did you tell Gu Shen'an that today is my birthday?”
Wu Wanning shook her head vigorously. “Of course not! You told me not to tell anyone.”
Rongyao stared at the chest. “Then... shall we open it and take a look?”
Wu Wanning gritted her teeth. A look of regret flashed across her face as she shook her head. “Not now.”
Rongyao asked, “Why not? Aren’t you curious about what’s inside?”
Wu Wanning’s face flushed with anger. Her hands clenched tightly as she glared at the chest and said through gritted teeth, “Gu Shen'an and I competed in archery today. I lost, so I agreed to deliver this chest to you. I also promised him that I wouldn’t look inside.”
Rongyao stared blankly at Wu Wanning. “Why did you compete with him in archery? You can beat him at anything else—whether it’s holding a stance or sprinting.”
Wu Wanning stood up angrily, both hands balled into fists. “I just couldn’t accept losing! I’m so strong, so why couldn’t I beat him at archery? I wanted to compete with him again. Who would have thought... who would have thought I’d lose to him again?”
Rongyao comfortingly patted Wu Wanning on the shoulder. “Your aim is the only thing you’re not as good at as he is. You’re amazing at everything else! You know how to use a tasselled spear, a broadsword, and even a sword! Next time, compete with him in something else. You won’t lose then.”
Wu Wanning’s fighting spirit flared. “That’s right! I definitely won’t lose at anything else!”
As she spoke, Wu Wanning gave the chest a regretful glance. She picked it up with both arms and said to Rongyao, “I’ll honor my wager today. Since I lost, I absolutely won’t look inside. I’ll carry this chest to your room first. You can look at it yourself—I won’t go back on my word!”
Rongyao said, “...All right.”
The chest looked rather heavy. When Sister Wanning set it down, it landed with a heavy thud.
After putting it down, Wu Wanning left with great determination, looking as though she truly wouldn’t spare it another glance.
That left Rongyao alone in the room.
Rongyao stared at the chest, hesitated, then knocked on it a few times before opening it curiously.
The contents inside nearly blinded her with their brilliance.
They were... silver ingots!
Huge silver ingots—so many of them.
The entire chest was filled with fifty-tael silver ingots. She counted them and found there were a full twenty.
That was one thousand taels of silver!
Apart from the twenty neatly arranged fifty-tael ingots, there was also some loose silver.
Rongyao counted it all. Altogether, there were one thousand two hundred taels.
Gu Shen'an was only ten years old. How could he have so much money?
Even the annual salary of a third-rank minister was less than one thousand taels.
Where had all this money come from?
Was this the birthday gift he had given her?
Rongyao rummaged through the chest and discovered a scroll tucked against one side. Curious, she opened it. The moment she saw the painting, her eyes widened.
The child in the painting was six or seven years old, short in stature and dressed in riding attire. She sat atop a horse, holding a riding crop, and wore a somewhat foolish smile.
The person in the painting was... her?
It was her riding a horse.
But she had never been that short!
Besides, she had only just learned how to ride. Her imperial father had taught her personally, and she had never ridden in front of Gu Shen'an. So how did he know?
Rongyao stared at the painting, unable to stop the corners of her lips from curving upward. She looked at it for a long while before carefully putting it away.
This was her very first portrait.
She had to keep it safe.
After putting away the portrait, Rongyao gazed at the more than one thousand taels of silver in the chest with sparkling eyes.
She loved silver the most!
Gu Shen'an had given her this money, so it was hers now.
How should she put it to use? She couldn’t just leave it sitting there forever...
Rongyao propped her chin on her hand and thought for a while as she sat at the desk. Then, as though she had suddenly thought of something, she smacked the table!
She was going to farm! She was going to grow the best fields in all the world!
Excited, Rongyao wrote a letter to her Second Uncle.
She was a princess. If a princess was going to farm, then she had to cultivate the finest land and grow the most unusual crops. She had heard that her Second Uncle would be traveling south in a few days and would even get to see the sea described in the books. In that case, she would have him bring back some excellent seeds that couldn’t be found in the capital. She would plant them in the capital!
She would buy lots of land and fill it all with crops!
She would establish a Princess Fuxi Granary!
Rongyao happily counted the silver. Only after she had admired it enough did she close the chest. It took all her strength to push it beneath the bed.
She handed the letter she had written to a young eunuch from Changle Palace and asked him to deliver it to the Cui residence. Then Rongyao happily ran outside, intending to continue swinging on the swing.
But when she saw the person standing at the entrance of Changle Palace, the smile disappeared from her face.
It was Princess Shengping.
What had she come for?
“Elder Sister!” Princess Shengping called out.
Rongyao walked over and stopped five paces away from Princess Shengping. “What are you doing here?”
Princess Shengping smiled as she approached. After glancing into the courtyard of Changle Palace, she held out the box in her hands toward Rongyao. “I heard that today is your birthday, so I came especially to give you a birthday gift.”
Rongyao glanced at the box in Princess Shengping’s hands and had Daoxiang take it.
“Is there anything else?”
Princess Shengping smiled. “Since I’ve come to Changle Palace, I should at least pay my respects to Consort Cui.”
Rongyao said, “My mother consort is asleep. You can’t see her.”
Princess Shengping’s expression darkened. Why would she be sleeping in broad daylight?
Why was this Princess Fuxi so guarded against her? She hadn’t done anything to her, had she? Had Noble Consort Cui said something to her?
“But, Elder Sister, today I...” Princess Shengping began.
Rongyao cut her off fiercely. “I’m going back to rest. Changle Palace doesn’t welcome you. You’re not allowed to enter and disturb my mother consort or me while we sleep! Otherwise, I’ll tell Father that you’re trying to harm my mother consort!”
With that, Rongyao returned to Changle Palace and had Daoxiang close the gates. She instructed her absolutely not to let Princess Shengping inside.
Standing outside the gates of Changle Palace, Princess Shengping stared at the closed doors, her head covered in black lines and her eyes filled with hatred.
Dantai Rongyao!
How could such a young child be so vicious?
This was bullying! She was bullying her!
She was so young, yet she had already learned to lie. Sure enough, some people were simply born rotten!
Aside from having a good birth, she was utterly useless. Princess Shengping had initially been afraid that perhaps she had misjudged her, and that Princess Fuxi might truly be the Purple Star. But now, it seemed utterly absurd!
Princess Fuxi had no kindness or benevolence in her at all. She could never become the future emperor!
Princess Shengping gnashed her teeth and left.
Rongyao glanced at the box Daoxiang was holding but did not open it immediately. Instead, she summoned Sister Mingyi and asked her to inspect the box and check whether there was anything wrong with its contents.
In her previous life, whenever Princess Shengping disliked someone, she would take revenge on them. Giving people poisoned objects was something she did all the time.
Rongyao would never believe that Princess Shengping had sincerely come to give her a birthday gift.
Chu Mingyi opened the box and found a jade hairpin inside. After examining it carefully, she raised her head and said, “Princess, there is nothing harmful about this item.”
Rongyao stared at the jade hairpin and tilted her head, studying it for a long while.
“Aunt Daoxiang, what has Princess Shengping been doing lately?”
Daoxiang: “I’ve had people keeping watch the whole time. Princess Shengping has indeed been acting strangely lately. She’s been looking for some hay and stones, and has even asked the Imperial Kitchen for a great deal of salt.”
Rongyao shot to her feet.
Salt!
