After driving Yu Miao Qi away, Yu Xiang smiled and said, "Let's talk about it, why did you come to me?"
"Today is the full moon[1] of my little nephew and niece. My sister-in-law asked me to invite you to their full moon reception."
"I have already received the invitation, what's the need for you to come invite me personally? Your face is pointy now, there must be something hidden in your heart?"
As she spoke, Tao Hong served a plate of pastries and kept herself far away with the two court ladies. The Ninth Princess has been laden with anxiety recently and refused to open her mouth when she was asked. Seeing the soft flesh on her cheeks no longer able to be pinched, the Empress was burning with concern and decided to let her out of the Imperial Palace to drive her anxiety away after a consultation.
As expected, she immediately came looking for Yu Xiang to pour her trouble out.
Looking around and seeing no one nearby, the Ninth Princess leaned towards Yu Xiang then simultaneously pulled open her collar and whispered, "I've been having a lot of pain here lately, and it's so uncomfortably swollen that I don't even dare move around in my sleep. Can you help take a look if there are any malignant sores. I've been using safflower oil every day but it's not working at all, instead it's getting worse."
Although the Ninth Princess doesn't know much matters, she does know that this part is absolutely too bashful to speak about to anyone. She has not been allowing the court ladies to wait upon her during her daily bath and will wrap herself up hurriedly in her underclothes then bore under the quilt on bed before secretly rubbing while shedding tears. The scene is just too miserable and sad. It's not easy to get a bottle of the safflower oil yet not only was it useless instead it caused that part to ache like fire scorched while the swelling is getting bigger than before.
Thus, she became more afraid to tell anyone and hurriedly rushed to find Yu Xiang as soon as she left the Imperial Palace.
Yu Xiang peeked inside her collar and saw two red slight bulges on her chest with a strong scent of safflower oil. Promptly turning her head away, Yu Xiang fanned the air and as she did so, she eventually lied prone on the stone table and laughed, so much so that she almost rolled out of her wheelchair.
The Ninth Princess stared at her with increased trepidation that even her breathing became lightened, "Can this strange disease of mine be cured?"
"No, it can't." Yu Xiang laughed so hard that she gasped.
The Ninth Princess's eyes were tearing up with anxiety and despair, "Then how many days do I have left to live? How should I tell my Emperor Father, Empress Mother and my Elder Brother?" By nature, she knows that illness in such a place can not be told to others, or else why would it have to be covered up with dudou[2] from a young age?
"Wait, wait, I'll talk to you after I've caught my breath." Yu Xiang waved her hand and laughed for a while more before pointing at her own chest as she spoke, "Take a good look, see any difference between you and me?"
She is wearing a transparent blouse made of chiffon gauze with a rounded embroidery tube top and a misty silk skirt. This is the most fashionable wear in the Great Han Dynasty currently. The close-fitting tailoring outlines the perfect body curve of a girl; protruded round breast with tiny waist that is within a grasp and cow's milk-like snowy-white smooth skin vaguely concealed within the blouse that without careful scrutinized, it is still fine but under close examined, pent-up heat would evoke from the eyeballs.
The Ninth Princess merely felt somewhat thirsty when she stared unwavering at the white smooth chest of Lotus Seed Cake.
"Can you give me a cup of honeyed tea?" When she said that, her eyeballs did not move away at all.
"Silly girl. I'm asking you a question. Answer first before drinking your tea. Can't you see what's the difference between you and me?" Feeling piqued, Yu Xiang poked her forehead then leaned towards her and pulled her own neckline lower, revealing a deep cleavage.
Licking her lips, the Ninth Princess murmured, "So, so big."
Yu Xiang ignored the blouse that slipped off her shoulders, exposing her faintly glowing jade-smooth arms under the sunlight as she smiled complacently, "Have you seen clearly? You are not sick but having puberty which can't be cured nor should it be cured. Every woman at your age will experience it once. It will be terrible if there's no sensation. The pain means this part of yours is growing which is normal and you should be happy. I have a few ways to relieve the pain and will write them down for you later. You can tell the Empress honestly when you return to the Imperial Palace, she will surely be very happy. Our little Qiu'er is finally grown up."
The Ninth Princess eyed Yu Xiang covetously when eventually she could not resist reaching out to caress the smooth satiny shoulder. Staring at her chest, she asked, "Will mine grow as big as yours too?"
"When you go back, eat more papaya milk, beans, meat, seafood, animal offal and others. Don't keep rubbing it then it will grow." Yu Xiang covered her mouth and snickered.
Unable to remember all that, the Ninth Princess pleaded, "Why don't you write these down for me too? Write in detail without the tiniest bit of difference like how you eat them." After the words faltered, she also covered her mouth with secret delight. Won't she be able to get married after growing up? Then she must let her Emperor Father marry herself to the top scholar.
Yu Xiang nodded then waved to Tao Hong, Liu Lu and the two court ladies who were standing in the distance.
Complying to her order, Tao Hong and Liu Lu went to get the writing material while the two court ladies looked at her anxiously.
Yu Xiang could not help but laughed again, pointing at her own chest, she explained, "Don't worry. Your Princess has grown up. There is some swelling and pain here. Oh, by the way, you must keep a close eye on the safflower oil from now on. It's okay to rub it on your temples, but wouldn't it be a torture to rub it there? It's still early, go to my courtyard and ask the servants to prepare water for the princess to wash up. She might be feeling very uncomfortable now."
Seeing the light suddenly, both the court ladies' eyes exuded a little smile. As it turns out that is the case. No wonder their master has been refusing adamantly for anyone to serve her lately. The Empress is bound to have a good laugh when they tell her.
Tugging her collars tightly, the Ninth Princess' face flushed red.
After the burning hot safflower oil was washed off, the skin around her chest emanated hints of coolness which beget some relief from the weather of the late spring and early summer seasons. After putting on her underclothes, the Ninth Princess let out a long sigh of satisfaction.
Yu Xiang ordered Tao Hong to dig out the clothes she wore when she was twelve or thirteen years old and chose a few unworn sets then spread them out on the bed for the Ninth Princess to choose for herself.
Biting her lips, the Ninth Princess picked one up to look at, then flipped another and sniffed, bustling for a long while.
"When you are choosing the clothes, just pick one, what are you sniffing at? Do you think you are choosing a pastry?" Yu Xiang packed the two written note papers into a small pouch and handed it to the two court ladies.
"It smells so good. All of them smell like you." The Ninth Princess grinned and nodded her head. She brushed aside several pieces of clothing then opened her mouth with a blush, "Lotus seed cake, are there any other clothes?"
"Indeed has grown up and is actually keen to dress prettily. Back then, you attended class in the study room with a mouthful of greasy residue without even washing your face and still refusing to let me wipe it off for you, saying that you were saving it for your next meal." Recalling those embarrassing incidents, Yu Xiang could not stop laughing for a while.
"That~that's because some rice grains affixed during my meals. My Emperor Father did not allow me to wipe it off when he saw it and said to keep it for the next meal. How old was I then, so I naturally believed it." The Ninth Princess' cheeks were flushing red like dripping blood, if a scoop of water was to pour on her, white smoke would emit from the top of her head. These days, she seems to have suddenly grown up and is always pinching her fleshy double chin in front of the bronze mirror then revealing a face full of sadness.
No one, however, can understand her sorrow. Not to mention Yu Xiang, who was rocking with laughter, even the two court ladies also shrugged their shoulders to hold their laughter back.
After Yu Xiang had laughed enough, she ordered someone to open all her clothes trunks to let her pick.
The Ninth Princess couldn't care less about her blushing. She picked and chose from the trunks before finally took out a set of lavender dresses. Yu Xiang gazed at her intently. It was actually a tube top floor-length dress with a translucent blouse of butterflies and flowers that both the style and fabric were absolutely elegant.
This set of dresses was newly made and might be a little too big for the pubescent Ninth Princess to hold up. Yu Xiang, however, did not say anything to stop her. She simply let her wear it yet pursed her small mouth tightly, lest she would accidentally burst out laughing.
Under the care of the two court ladies, the Ninth Princess finally put the dress on. It was originally a floor-length skirt, so it did not matter if the hemline was long or short but the area around the chest was too flat and empty, the excess fabric gathered and creased into a clump which appeared very comical.
The Ninth Princess looked down at herself then glanced sideways at Lotus seed cake again. The little secret joy she had a while ago all disappeared without a trace. How can the same clothes be worn with such a big difference?
In dead earnest, Yu Xiang pointed at her chest, "How about I stuff two steamed buns inside here to hold the fabric up?"
Eyes lit up, the Ninth Princess clapped her hands, "Yes, that would look much better and I can take it out for a bite or two if I'm hungry."
Imagining the scene where a chubby girl fished out the small buns from her chest and eating them one by one, Yu Xiang's face gradually distorted before lying on the dresser to hide her face in the crook of her arms while her shoulders shrugged violently.
Feeling somewhat flustered, the Ninth Princess went over to gently pat her, "Lotus seed cake, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying when everything is alright?"
Yu Xiang's shoulders were shaking more and more severely. Tao Hong, Liu Lu and both of the court ladies had long run to the courtyard. They covered their mouths while turning around and jerked exactly like having cramps.
Looking at Yu Xiang then at the girls outside the window, the Ninth Princess became more confused, "What is wrong with all of you? Are you sick?"
"No~it's okay," Yu Xiang took a few deep breaths before she dared to look up again, the corners of her eyes were red as if she had been crying when she spoke earnestly, "Qiu'er, the steamed buns will turned into gooey lumps if muffled on your chest and would be so uncomfortable. Let's not stuff the steamed buns. This set of clothes is beautiful but it's somewhat too large for you. I will help you pick another set then put on some makeup for you which guarantees that whoever sees you will compliment you beautifully when you go out."
Tugging the hem of her dress with extreme unwillingness, the Ninth Princess was moved only after hearing the last few sentences and stammered, "Really? Can I be as beautiful as you?"
"Even more beautiful than me. You are the red flower while I am the green leaf that complement you." Yu Xiang squeezed her chubby hand.
"No, we are both red flowers." The Ninth Princess retorted very seriously.
Yu Xiang was so happy that she wrapped her arms around her neck and shook her from side to side before finally kissing her hard on the cheeks.
While the West Courtyard was laughing and talking in ease, the principal courtyard was actually enshrouded densely with dark clouds. After she left the sights of those few people, Yu Miao Qi dropped the hands covering her face. There was not a drop of tears in her eyes, merely full of resentment. She walked back along the level path and laughed sarcastically all of the sudden when she saw the marble paved slides on both sides of the steps.
There are no trails paved with gravels in this Marquis Yongle manor, only smooth level paths; whenever one encounters flight of steps, there will always be a slide by the side; the middle section of the threshold for each room is filled and leveled up. All these tedious modifications were made for Yu Xiang's wheelchair to easily reach any place in the Marquis manor.
She has no legs yet is able to get around the Marquis manor without any obstruction. With no blood ties, she is able to gain everyone's favors. Unlike herself, who obviously is an able-bodied and undoubtedly has the same blood flowing in her body yet she can't get a foothold here.
Why is that? And on what basis?
Walking up step by step along the slide, blood dripped along the way from the wounds that were carved out on Yu Miao Qi's palms.