When Xi Qingyue woke again, it was already dusk. She got up and washed herself before waking Xi Weilan.
“Big Sister, is it nighttime already?” Xi Weilan rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at her.
Xi Qingyue smiled and ruffled her hair. “Yes, it is. Once we finish everything tonight, we’ll get some proper rest. We can’t keep turning day and night upside down, or neither of us will grow any taller.”
“Really? That won’t do! Big Sister, I still want to grow really tall. I want to be taller than Big Sister Lu.” Xi Weilan was frightened that she truly might stop growing. She leaped in alarm.
Xi Qingyue laughed again. “Don’t worry. You’ll definitely grow taller than Big Sister Lu. Once we’ve cleared out all these shops tonight, we’ll make two more imperial edicts. After that, it’ll almost be time for us to leave the capital.”
Xi Weilan tilted her head back, curiosity shining in her eyes. “Big Sister, are those imperial edicts actually useful? If they are, why don’t we get ourselves official positions?”
At that, Xi Qingyue seriously considered the idea. It didn’t seem impossible. Having an official position to play around with might actually be fun.
The sisters exchanged a smile and settled the matter then and there. As for what positions they should take, they would have to ask Lu Qianning.
After eating in their room, the two of them sent all the servants away. Soon, only the sisters remained in the entire courtyard.
With Xi Weilan in her arms, Xi Qingyue vanished into the night. Before long, they arrived at a jewelry shop on the main street.
The shop was filled with hairpins, bracelets, and other ornaments. Several sets of exquisite jewelry were also on display. Xi Qingyue swept up every last item without the slightest hesitation.
In the blink of an eye, the entire jewelry shop had been emptied.
Next, they visited clothing stores, silk shops, porcelain shops, stationery stores, and all kinds of other businesses. Xi Qingyue had chosen each one according to the list of officials. Every shop belonged to someone who had wanted to harm the sisters.
If there hadn’t been so many of them, she would have preferred to kill them all and eliminate the problem at its roots.
After looting every shop along the street, they flew toward the imperial palace. The Imperial Guards had clearly been reinforced, and soldiers were constantly patrolling near the palace gates.
The palace’s defenses were child’s play to Xi Qingyue. Carrying Xi Weilan, she reached the Emperor’s bedchamber in no time.
Before the hidden guards inside could detect her presence, she had already knocked them unconscious. As for the Emperor, he was sleeping like a dead pig.
Xi Weilan ran to the side of the Emperor’s bed and stared at the man on the dragon couch for quite some time before shaking her head.
“He doesn’t look anything like Big Sister Lu. He’s old and ugly.”
Xi Qingyue froze when she heard that. How did this child manage to focus on something different every single time?
Forget it. She could think whatever she wanted.
Xi Qingyue searched the Emperor’s bedchamber first, but found nothing. Only then did she change locations.
She brought Xi Weilan to the place Lu Qianning had mentioned—the hall where the imperial jade seal was kept. The eunuchs guarding the entrance had already been knocked unconscious by her.
As Xi Qingyue stared at the tightly shut palace doors and prepared to find the key, Xi Weilan had already skillfully taken it from one of the unconscious eunuchs. She had also found some silver on him.
Xi Qingyue’s lips twitched. “Lan'er, we don’t need the silver. We’re not short of such a small amount.”
If they took the eunuch’s money, wouldn’t that be the same as announcing that someone had come here? It would be no different from directly asking the old emperor for imperial edicts. They should keep a low profile—take what they needed and leave.
Xi Weilan glanced at the silver in her hand, then obediently nodded. “All right. I’ll put it back.”
She crouched down and returned the silver exactly as she had found it.
Xi Qingyue pulled her inside. Once they entered, she took the imperial jade seal from its box and found several blank sheets of official edict paper, which she spread across the desk.
Holding the jade seal, she stamped several blank edicts in succession before finally stopping. With more than a hundred blank sheets stored there, no one would notice a few missing.
Xi Weilan asked from the side, “Big Sister, will five be enough?”
“It should be,” Xi Qingyue replied uncertainly. In any case, it never hurt to be prepared.
Once they had finished, the two of them returned the jade seal to its box exactly as they had found it. They locked the palace doors again and put the key back on the eunuch. After making sure everything was in order, they left the imperial palace.
The following day, when Lu Qianning saw the three blank imperial edicts bearing the jade seal laid out before her, she was momentarily stunned.
There was even an extra one.
“Big Sister Lu, Lan'er says she wants to become an official. What kind of position would be inconspicuous?” Xi Qingyue asked.
Lu Qianning’s mouth fell open. She didn’t even know what to say. One of them was eight years old and the other three—what official position could possibly be inconspicuous?
Looking at the sisters’ expectant faces, she helplessly replied, “How about you become a County Princess? That title isn’t too conspicuous. If you run into trouble, just take out the imperial edict. No one will dare to cause trouble for you.”
“Does it come with a fief?” Xi Qingyue asked again.
Lu Qianning was left speechless.
These sisters were making her question everything. The imperial edict was genuine, though one could also say it was fake. And now they wanted a fief?
She rubbed her temples and asked uncertainly, “Yue, are you sure? It’s easy enough to explain if there’s no fief. But if the edict names one, you’ll be in trouble if anyone becomes suspicious. That would be a grave crime—deceiving the Emperor.”
Xi Qingyue shook her head with a smile. “It’s fine, Big Sister Lu. Just give me a small town as my fief. Let’s use Sixi Town. Also, write a sample in the Emperor’s handwriting on a separate sheet of paper. I’ll study it whenever I have time.”
“All right. I’ll do whatever you say,” Lu Qianning agreed.
And so, while Lu Qianning wrote the imperial edict, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan watched from the side with great interest. Their eyes never left her, and they were both utterly engrossed.
Lu Qianning’s hand nearly trembled as she wrote. She realized that these two were utterly fearless. Who knew what kind of trouble they would cause next? Yet there was truly nothing she could do to control them.
“The edict will say that you healed my injuries. Since you’re also my sworn younger sister, Father was overjoyed and bestowed the title of County Princess upon you. That makes Lan'er the County Princess’s younger sister. Once word spreads beyond the capital that you healed me, not many people will suspect the edict is fake.”
What she didn’t say was that no one would suspect two children of daring to wave a fake imperial edict around and deceive people.
“Oh, and I’ll have someone notify the people in Sixi Town in advance. But if you encounter trouble elsewhere, you’ll have to rely on yourselves.”
After Lu Qianning finished speaking, she handed the completed edict to Xi Qingyue.
Xi Qingyue accepted it with a smile. “Thank you, Big Sister Lu. Don’t worry—Lan'er and I will be fine. The edict is genuine to begin with. Even if something unexpected happens, I can deal with it. This is only for convenience.”
Lu Qianning nodded with a smile. “All right. I’ll prepare everything appropriate for a County Princess. You can take it with you when you and Lan'er leave.”
Xi Weilan clapped excitedly. “Wonderful! Big Sister is a County Princess now! We have official positions!”
Her delighted expression made Lu Qianning unable to resist picking her up.
“Yes, your big sister is a County Princess now, so you count as an official too.”
Xi Qingyue pointed at the other two blank imperial edicts and said, “These two are for you. Use them however you like—just don’t lose your life over it.”
