After a few light showers, the flowers and trees in the courtyard grew with more and more vigour. In a flash, it was the day of the spring banquet held at the Prime Minister's residence.
Since Li Zhongqian was about to leave for war, Li Yaoying was too busy organizing his baggage to go to the banquet.
The Prime Minister's residence burned incense and hung hanging scrolls, the residence full of distinguished guests.
The young ladies of each family were in gorgeous makeup, dressed in bright and splendid clothing. When they heard that the Seventh Princess was not coming, their faces showed regret, but secretly they were relieved: If the Seventh Princess had come, who would have any mind to look at them?
Li Zhongqian remembered that he promised Yaoying last year that they'd go together to Qujiang to race horses. After taking care of military affairs, the two siblings only brought a few attendants and hid their identities, riding to Qujiang to run a few laps.
The day before the expedition, Li Zhongqian entered the palace to visit Noble Consort Xie.
Noble Consort Xie sat in front of the banister to watch the palace maids have fun on the swing.
Fragrant grass grew around the steps and the sunlight was pleasantly warm. She did not wear makeup. In a plain dress, talking to the palace maids with a smile, she looked peaceful.
Li Zhongqian approached her.
Just in time to hear the Noble Consort Xie beckon a young chamberlain: "Erlang, your hair is messy. Come here, Aniang will comb your hair."
The young chamberlain smiled and answered. When he reached the corridor, he bumped into the gloomy Li Zhongqian, and his face turned white. He took a few steps back and fell to his knees.
"Your Highness, forgive me!"
The young chamberlain did not dare to raise his head, trembling.
Noble Consort Xie often misidentified people, always identifying the palace maid Ah Wei as the Seventh Princess and the young chamberlain as the teenage Second Prince. When they did not respond to her, Noble Consort Xie would panic and be alarmed.
Later, the chief steward asked the young chamberlain and Ah Wei to follow along with Noble Consort Xie, pretending that they were the young imperial princess and prince. The seventh princess also told them to be at ease, saying that they would not be blamed, so his humble self dared to answer Noble Consort Xie's call of "erlang".
Li Zhongqian did not say a word.
Noble Consort Xie waited for a while. Not seeing the little chamberlain, she looked over with a puzzled face.
Li Zhongqian and his mother looked at each other for a moment.
Noble Consort Xie looked at a loss.
Li Zhongqian withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, "No matter. Noble Consort is calling you, go ahead."
The young chamberlain let out a long breath, got up and ran away in a flash.
Noble Consort Xie smiled and called out to him, "Erlang, walk slowly, don't fall."
Li Zhongqian stood in the corner for a long time, then turned around and left.
Ah Wei saw him out of the palace gate, and seeing that he looked cold, she couldn't help but explain: "Your Highness, you shouldn't blame Her Ladyship the Noble Consort...."
Li Zhongqian calmly interrupted her, "I don't blame Aniang."
He understood that Aniang was like this because she was ill.
The close guards waited outside the palace gate with their mounts. Li Zhongqian took the reins and his figure suddenly paused.
"I want to ask you one thing. You answer honestly, must not have the slightest concealment."
His tone was cold and imposing.
Ah Wei said respectfully, "Your Highness's question, I dare not conceal anything."
Li Zhongqian asked, "Has qiniang vomited blood again in the past few months like she did last year?"
Ah Wei was stunned, thought back for a moment, then shook her head.
"Your Highness, the princess has been consistently taking Ninglu pills and has not vomited blood."
Li Yaoying was sickly since childhood; even though her health had improved a lot in the past two years, she couldn't stop taking medicine. The medicine was a pill formulated with dozens of rare herbs given to the Emperor as tribute, called the Ninglu pill.
Li Zhongqian did not speak, but he relaxed a little.
Last year, Li Yaoying suddenly had spasms and vomited blood. Her life was hanging by a thread, and the Feng Yu was completely helpless.
Li Zhongqian felt that his little sister's illness was strange and guarded her for several days.
But Yaoying was not concerned, saying that she just ate raw fish and had an upset stomach.
Li Zhongqian had seen her pained look when she vomited blood, so naturally, he didn't believe her.
When he asked Feng Yu about it, the was unable to tell him the reason.
Afterward, Yaoying quickly recovered. Her whole body was glowing with health and vigour, not at all like she had been seriously ill.
Li Zhongqian had no choice but to put his doubts at the bottom of his heart.
He saddled up his horse and met with sinking twilight, gently sighing.
Regardless of what Yaoying was hiding from him, as long as she was okay, it was fine.
Half an shichen later, Li Zhongqian returned to the wangfu.
The front courtyard was crowded with people, laughing and talking. The wide expanse of the front hall was packed with a dense mass of people inside and out.
The Chief Historian guided Li Zhongqian around the front courtyard and laughed: "Your Highness, the front courtyard is giving out rewards."
The corner of Li Zhongqian's mouth hooked: "Qiniang ordered this?"
The Chief Historian nodded. Whenever the second prince went to war or was triumphant, the seventh princess would order the steward to give rewards to the inner and outer servants of the residence.
The front courtyard was a cacophony of voices, and the inner courtyard was also a busy scene, with open boxes and chests piled up in the corridor. The maidservants carried bunches of boxes in and out, a mess of footsteps.
Yaoying was standing in front of the door directing the maidservants.
The glorious glow of the setting sun filtered through the blossoming branches of the trees, lightly enveloping her body.
The shadow of the flowers were rippling. She stood in front of the steps, her posture graceful, vermilion lips and teeth as even as pomegranate seeds. When she looked back and saw Li Zhongqian approaching, her eyebrows were slightly curved.
The naturally charming eyes half-contained limpid autumn water, thick eyelashes flashing, eyes rippling with spring.
"Elder brother."
She called for him softly, smiling brightly.
As if absorbing the gorgeous light from her appearance, the garden's flower sprays trembled gently in the evening breeze.
The corners of Li Zhongqian's mouth quirked as he raised his hand to brush away an apricot flower petal that had fallen on Yaoying's temples.
His younger sister, whom he protected and pampered, had grown up.
Yaoying pushed Li Zhongqian into the house: "You're going to battle tomorrow, sleep early tonight! Regardless of who send a post, you are not allowed to go out and drink!"
Drinking would be a mistake. He was drunk once when he went on an expedition, and all the officials who sent him off gave him a sideways glance.
Li Zhongqian raised his eyebrows and dragged out his voice, "Got it, housekeeper!"
Yaoying glared at him with feigned anger.
She took care of everything, inspected the baggage, staying busy until nighttime before she fell asleep.
Perhaps it was because she had been thinking too much the past two days, but Yaoying slept very restlessly.
She had a dream.
In the dream, heavy rain was pouring down and she was buried under corpses, unable to breathe and unable to turn over.
There were dead people everywhere, and she was soaked in rainwater, stained red with blood, ice-cold all over.
"Little seventh! Little seventh!"
A voice shouted her name anxiously.
The eleven-year-old boy, with a clear and young voice, shivered as he shouted out over and over again, "Little seventh!"
In the downpour, he shouted until his voice was hoarse, kneeling directly into the piles of the dead bodies, hands skinned and split, turning the decaying corpses over one by one.
"Don't be afraid...."
"Elder brother's coming...."
"Little seventh, don't be afraid...."
Yaoying wanted to call out to him, but her throat was choked up, and not a sound could come out.
The long rainy night passed. The rain still did not stop, but the youth was still persistently looking.
After an unknown amount of time passed, the dead corpse of the guard pressing down Yaoying's body was moved away and bright light poured down.
The eleven-year-old Li Zhongqian knelt in front of her, his two eyes scarlet red.
Yaoying looked at his face and unable to continue suppressing her fear, her tears fell down: "Elder brother.... I'm afraid..."
Li Zhongqian's lips trembled a few times. His whole body shivering, he hugged her tightly.
"Little seventh, don't be afraid. Elder brother has come to pick you up."
Yaoying clutched his lapel and cried out.
The next moment, the eleven-year-old boy went far away. Yaoying found herself standing in the middle of a barren sandy land.
The wind roared past her ears. The sky was vast and yellow sand stretched in all directions.
A light black stallion leaped down the hill like a stray arrow. The young man on the horse's back was strong and upright, with sword brows and phoenix eyes, in full dazzling golden armor and a helmet that glistened under the scorching sun.
The war drums rumbled, and a group of cavalry in dark armor suddenly rushed out from the shadows, like a big net, swooping towards him.
The young man laughed loudly, his phoenix eyes rippling with a bloodthirsty, cold aura. Wielding a pair of drums and gold hammers, he charged forward without fear, his snow-white cloak flying out.
Yaoying staggeringly ran towards him.
"Elder brother!"
She shouted at him in desperation, her throat hurting like it was scraped by a knife, "Elder brother! Turn back quickly! It's a trap!"
Li Zhongqian could not hear anything, swinging his sledgehammer and continuing forward.