By the time Princess Jinse left her friend’s birthday banquet, dusk had already settled over the sky.
Twilight surged in from every direction, staining the palace walls a deep, somber red.
She had drunk seven or eight cups of flower wine, leaving her head pleasantly hazy and her steps unsteady. She only managed to climb into the carriage with the help of a palace maid.
All the way home, she leaned against the carriage wall, clutching the red-gold hairpin her friend had given her and humming a tuneless little song, in an exceptionally good mood.
When the carriage stopped at the palace gates, Princess Jinse lifted the curtain and glanced outside.
Just then, she saw the Third Prince jump down from another carriage. His pale green riding outfit gleamed with a soft luster in the fading light.
A wide smile immediately spread across her face. She poked her head out and called, “Third Imperial Brother! Why are you only getting back now? Where have you been running wild all day?”
The Third Prince turned around. When he saw his sister’s flushed little face peeking out of the carriage, the corners of his lips lifted slightly. He strode over and flicked her on the forehead.
“Smell yourself. You reek of alcohol. You had quite a bit again, didn’t you?”
Princess Jinse covered her forehead and let out an indignant hum. She jumped down from the carriage, but her feet stumbled, and she would have fallen if the Third Prince hadn’t caught her.
Once she had steadied herself, she looked up at his smiling eyes and suddenly noticed that he seemed to be in an unusually good mood today—so good that he couldn’t seem to suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.
“Third Imperial Brother, what good thing happened to you today? You’re smiling so happily. Did Father grant you a marriage, perhaps?”
Princess Jinse tilted her head, her eyes glinting with mischief as she studied him.
The Third Prince’s smile froze for an instant. He reached out and gave her a light smack on the head, his touch carrying the indulgent exasperation unique to an older brother.
“What nonsense are you talking about? A marriage? What on earth fills your head all day?”
Princess Jinse rubbed the spot he had smacked and pressed on, unwilling to let it go.
“Then why are you so happy? You never look like this when you come back. You always look as though someone owes you money.”
Unable to shake her off, the Third Prince’s smile deepened. His voice carried a hint of pride he could barely contain.
“There was a cuju match at the field today. Guess who showed up?”
Princess Jinse paused and tilted her head as she thought. Then, as if she had suddenly realized something, her eyes lit up and her voice rose several pitches.
“Shi Huai? Shi Huai went? Shi Huai played cuju?”
The Third Prince nodded. Watching his sister look as though she might leap into the air from excitement, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, his voice thick with even more smug satisfaction.
“Not only did he go, he played the entire match. And he was on my team. I even helped him steal the ball several times.”
When Princess Jinse heard “on my team” and “helped him steal the ball,” her eyes widened until they were perfectly round.
Her mouth fell slightly open. Her expression shifted from shock to envy, then from envy to jealousy.
She grabbed the Third Prince’s sleeve, her voice trembling with urgency.
“You were really on the same team? He really let you help him steal the ball? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
The Third Prince was pulled forward by her grip. After regaining his balance, he pried her fingers loose, his voice full of helpless disbelief.
“Why would I lie to you? He was carrying the ball when the other side blocked him. I rushed in from the side, stole it, and passed it to him. He even smiled at me and said, ‘Thank you.’”
When Princess Jinse heard the words “he smiled at me,” she froze as though struck by lightning.
“He smiled? He really smiled? Is he handsome when he smiles?”
The Third Prince looked at her dazed expression and twitched the corner of his mouth. He waved a hand in front of her face.
“Wake up. You’re drooling.”
Princess Jinse instinctively reached up to wipe the corner of her mouth, only to find nothing there. Realizing that her brother had tricked her, she angrily punched him.
The Third Prince dodged to the side, and his laughter echoed through the palace gates several times.
But before long, his laughter abruptly stopped.
He had spotted the Crown Prince’s carriage approaching from the direction of Chang’an Street. Its apricot-yellow banner stood out vividly against the twilight.
Princess Jinse followed his gaze and saw the Crown Prince’s carriage come to a stop at the palace gates.
The carriage door opened, and the Crown Prince jumped down. He wore a black riding outfit with a golden belt around his waist, making him look strikingly heroic.
She thought nothing of it at first and merely asked offhandedly, “Crown Prince, did you play cuju too?”
The Crown Prince’s footsteps paused. He turned to look at his sister, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before a smile appeared.
His smile was filled with undisguised pride and satisfaction.
“How did you know? Did you go as well? How could I not have seen you?”
Princess Jinse shook her head and explained that she had gone to a friend’s birthday banquet and hadn’t visited the cuju field at all.
She had only run into the Third Prince at the palace gates, where he had told her what happened at the match.
As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to think of something. Her gaze moved suspiciously back and forth between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince.
“Crown Prince, you didn’t play with Shi Huai too, did you?”
At that, the smile on the Crown Prince’s face deepened.
He walked over to Princess Jinse and reached out to straighten the crooked hairpin in her hair, his voice filled with effortless pride.
“Of course I did. Shi Huai learned from me, after all. It was his first time playing cuju. I taught him all the basic movements myself, hand over hand. He learned quickly, and he even scored a goal with the final kick.”
When Princess Jinse heard the words “hand over hand,” her mind exploded with a loud buzz.
She stared wide-eyed at the Crown Prince’s animated, triumphant face, her voice sounding faint and unsteady.
“Hand over hand? You mean you taught him cuju hand over hand? How close were you two?”
The Crown Prince blinked at the question, then answered casually, as though there were nothing strange about it.
“You have to stand close to correct someone’s form, don’t you?”
“I stood behind him and held his waist to help him adjust his posture. It only took about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before he learned.”
When Princess Jinse heard the words “held his waist,” it was as if something had struck her. Her body swayed, and she staggered half a step backward, catching herself against the palace wall.
Her eyes instantly reddened, tears shimmering in them. Her lips trembled, and after a long moment, she finally managed to choke out:
“You… How could you hold his waist? What right did you have to hold his waist?”
