Song Shixue sat on the threshold of the woodshed, looking dejected as she held Xuetuan, who had already grown to six pounds.
It wasn't obvious when its eyes were fully open, but now its deep blue, flame-like tiger eyes unconsciously drew toward the middle. It was undoubtedly cross-eyed.
She sadly rubbed her chin against the fur on top of the little tiger's head, feeling terrible.
Song Anhao stumbled over and handed a candied hawthorn stick to Song Shixue to comfort her.
"Second Sister, don't be sad. I think Xuetuan is quite cute like this, looking all silly and adorable."
Song Shixue took the candied hawthorn but had no appetite to eat it.
"I don't think it's ugly; my heart just aches for it."
"Eldest Sister said that a tiger being cross-eyed will affect its vision. It won't be able to judge height or distance properly. It will choose to look at things with just one eye, and over time, the vision in the other eye will worsen, and it can't be cured."
Song Anhao rested his chin on his hand, pacing back and forth at the woodshed door like a little adult.
"Then just cover its eyes and make it switch which eye it uses every day. That way, its eyes won't get worse."
Song Shixue blinked. "That's actually a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?"
Song Anhao put his hands on his hips and lifted his chin high. "It means I'm smart. I'm a genius."
Song Shixue stood up and flicked his ear. "Do you even know what a genius means?"
Song Anhao tilted his head and widened his eyes. "Of course I know. Someone like Eldest Sister is a genius. The grandpa and grandma living next door all say so."
He puffed out his chest and declared loudly, "When I grow up, I want to be as amazing as Eldest Sister."
Song Shixue patted the top of his head, turned around to put Xuetuan back, and said, "Then you have to work hard. Eldest Sister is good at so many things. You have to start learning from a young age. Start memorizing books and practicing martial arts tomorrow, and maybe you'll catch up to her."
Not knowing the hardships of studying and practicing martial arts, Song Anhao immediately raised his hand and promised, "No problem, I'll start learning tomorrow."
So, early the next morning, Song Anhao purposely woke up early to exercise with Song Qiming and Song Shixue.
As a result, he collapsed on the ground in exhaustion after running only five laps around the garden, and he couldn't even hold the horse stance for half a cup of tea's time.
Before he even started reading, Song Shixue had only recited the Three Character Classic twice, and he was already getting sleepy, face-planting onto the small bed in the clinic to meet the Duke of Zhou in his dreams.
The Prince of Qi's Manor in the capital.
The guard in charge of tailing and tracking knelt down and reported, "Your Highness, these are the movements of the Duke of Qing over the past half month. We haven't found him getting close to any officials in the court. It's all normal official business, and they are all military officers."
Xiao Rongche quickly flipped through the records. "It seems that because Song Jinzhao helped him capture the Shuobei thieves, Chu Liuyun spoke up for her."
The guard asked, "In that case, should we pull our men back?"
Xiao Rongche threw the record book onto the table. "Withdraw them."
"Send someone to tell Yongjia the news that Chu Liuyun and Song Jinzhao have a close relationship. I shouldn't need to teach you how to say it!"
The guard lowered his head. "This subordinate understands."
Inside the Biluo Palace, Xiao Yongjia was sitting on the couch, intently embroidering the long river and bamboo forest in her hands.
Her delicate, fair fingers wove up and down the embroidery hoop. Looking at the gradually forming bamboo leaves, the corners of her mouth curled up like a newly blooming crabapple in spring, full of brightness and joy.
Two palace maids hurried in from outside. When they saw Xiao Yongjia's face full of smiles, they both slowed their steps.
The two exchanged a glance, both hesitating over whether to tell their master the matter.
After a long while, the maid with a coiled bun gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, walked to the couch, and whispered, "Princess, recently there are rumors in the palace that the Duke of Qing has fallen for a commoner woman and even requested the Emperor to confer her a title."
"Hiss!" Xiao Yongjia quickly pulled her hand out from under the embroidery hoop, a bright red bead of blood welling up from the tip of her index finger.
"Princess!" The maid's face trembled, and she fell to her knees with a thud.
Xiao Yongjia pressed a handkerchief against the bleeding needle prick. "It's fine. Who is this commoner woman you mentioned?"
The maid lowered her gaze, not daring to look directly into Xiao Yongjia's eyes.
"Her name is Song Jinzhao. I heard they met when she assisted the Duke of Qing in capturing the Shuobei thieves."
Xiao Yongjia's slender eyebrows furrowed slightly as she asked to confirm, "Is it the woman who built the hydraulic chain pump?"
The maid nodded and replied, "That's her. According to the eunuchs at the Hall of Preserving Harmony, before the new year, Song Jinzhao came up with an idea to grow fresh fruits and vegetables in the dead of winter. The Emperor was extremely pleased and wanted to reward her."
The maid's voice grew softer and softer, her face almost sinking to the stone tiles.
"Lord Fei of the Hanlin Academy proposed granting her a title, but the Prime Minister disagreed. The Duke of Qing hurriedly entered the palace to speak up for her, and in the end, the Emperor conferred Song Jinzhao the title of Lady Linghui."
"People in the palace are saying that the Duke of Qing wants to elevate Song Jinzhao's status so that he can marry her when she arrives in the capital."
Xiao Yongjia clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms until they turned red.
She subconsciously bit her lip, smudging her carefully applied pink lip rouge.
Xiao Yongjia's heart was in turmoil, a dozen different thoughts tangling together in her mind, making her completely unable to do anything else.
After pondering for nearly an hour, she stood up and walked outside. Thinking that court should not have dismissed yet, she took her attendants to wait outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
A loud, drawn-out announcement of the court's dismissal rang out, and the crowd poured out from the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Xiao Yongjia and her personal maid eagerly searched the crowd for Chu Liuyun's figure.
Chu Liuyun, who was descending the steps, looked up and saw a familiar figure.
Their eyes met. He slowed his pace, gradually falling to the very back of the crowd.
After almost everyone had left, Chu Liuyun finally turned right and strode over, stopping in front of Xiao Yongjia.
"This humble minister greets Your Royal Highness the Princess."
Xiao Yongjia raised her hand to signal him to dispense with the formalities, her peripheral vision drifting to the two personal maids standing beside her.
The two lowered their heads and tacitly led the others to wait a few paces away.
