Palace of Dignity, Imperial Capital
For the first time, peals of laughter filled the air of the prince's palace. He was sitting on a comfy silk quilt with his waist on his knees, nearly lying. In front of him, Princess Lin was setting the game up excitedly. She had never seen such shiny, carved stones from the Weiqi.
"Brother, you possess the finest of all things." She was impressed by the beauty of her brother's palace; it gave her an inferiority complex.
"You liked my palace?" Prince Ming asked in an unserious tone. "A lot!" Princess Lin replied, awestruck. Seeing her so excited, Prince Ming smirked and said, raising his eyes, "You can take anything and everything you want from here."
"Aaa…Brother, are you kidding me? Are you sure!?" Princess Lin hopped like a bunny. "Yes." He chuckled faintly, seeing how happy his sister was.
"Can I take this game?" She asked.
He nodded.
"Can I take that inkstone?" She hurried to the study table and asked.
He nodded.
"Can I take this…" She was interrupted by Prince Ming, "Lin'er, you don't need my permission to take the things." Hearing his words, Princess Lin froze for a while, "Are you mad at me?"
"No, I am not mad at you," Prince Ming answered, capturing the smile that slowly brightened her face. "So, I can take anything without permission?" She asked.
"Yes, you can!" He replied. Playing with his youngest sibling, Prince Ming could not keep track of time, and he nearly forgot that the Imperial Noble Consort had sent a concubine to his inner chambers.
"Your Highness, you must go and visit her now." Eunuch Su advised leaning forward. Prince Ming placed his pawn forward and glanced at him angrily, "You love your head, right?" he warned him.
Prince Ming knew very well that his father's consort was after him and now she was targeting his other siblings, and he was determined to protect them. Perhaps the cruellest man in the empire was emotionally weak or perhaps he was being protective and compassionate.
"Brother Ming, are you getting a consort too?" Princess Lin questioned curiously as Eunuch Su left disappointed. He was worried about Prince Ming and whether he would ever marry at all.
"No, not yet…" Prince Ming replied, placing the stones forward on the board.
"Do you have any fair maidens in mind?" She asked, settling down on the quilt. "I do have one, how did you know?"
"Don't get me wrong but you always seem to be thinking about her…" Princess Lin spoke, "What is her name? Is she the daughter of a nobleman or a slave?"
"You are so little…don't you feel shame talking about this..?" Prince Ming asked holding his smile back.
"No, Mother often tells me how to behave when I get married four years later." Princess Lin answered. "Who are you marrying?" Prince Ming asked, feeling extremely weird hearing a little kid talk about her marriage so seriously.
"Duke Kang's son, Prince Kang Wei." She replied.
"Do you want to get married to him?" Prince Ming asked.
"I will speak the truth because you are a good brother, keep it to yourself and never expose me." She came closer to her brother and whispered, "I don't want to marry, I want to become someone like Princess Lan,"
"Why, Princess Lan?" Prince Ming stood up from his place, picked up the inkstone and handed it to one of the servants, giving a silent command to send the item to Princess Lin's palace.
"Because she is strong and independent." She chuckled excitedly, Princess Lin had spent time with the only female minister at the last official banquet and was highly motivated by her.
"So you want to become a female minister?" Prince Ming hinted at her as he proceeded to his garden, leaving the game.
"Yes, I want to share my father's burden like an elder brother and you do. I don't want to be like Sister Meng." Prince Ming laughed at her tone of voice.
"What did Princess Meng do?" He asked.
"She is always tensed and stressed, managing her household and taking care of her mother-in-law." She said concern for her sister was clearly visible. Princess Meng and Princess Lin were biological sisters of the same mother, consort Jiang.
"Isn't it a good thing…" Prince Ming asked as he strolled in the garden with his sister, who didn't realise that she was now walking in the garden with her brother.
"No, getting wrinkles is no good thing…" She said in such a lovely voice that Prince Ming felt guilty that he never spent much time with his youngest sister.
"You will get more lines of stress if you become a minister. It is no child's play." He replied, joking with her, however, it was a fact too.
"No, Princess Lan has been serving for years, yet she looks so young and beautiful." She said it as if, in her eyes, she could see the said princess of second rank.
"Fine, if you want to become a minister, you must study well and pass the imperial exam." Prince Ming advised.
"But Princess Lan didn't take any exam."
"She didn't?"
"You didn't know?"
"No, but you will have to take the exam so start preparing."
"But I don't know how to write, I can only read."
"What? Why?"
"Mother said it was not important."
"It is important and your mother is teaching you all this."
"Mother Jiang, my mother, not my main mother." She said.
"Consort Jiang…" he clicked his tongue and stared at the ceiling, pondering something.
"You don't worry, I will take your exam, and get you the minister role when you are eligible."
"Okay, but how will I study?" She was excited at the thought of getting stationery for her study room.
"You don't have to worry about that." Prince Ming said as he strolled in the garden.
"Your Highness, Imperial Noble Consort, has summoned Princess Lin for daily greeting." A maid from the Imperial Noble Consort's palace came and reported.
"She won't go, tell her that Princess Lin is no longer her responsibility." Prince Ming strictly commanded.
"You go back to your mother." Prince Ming turned to his sister and spoke in a sweet, sugary voice.
"Su, send Princess Lin back to Consort Jiang and tell her that she must raise her own child rather than dumping her responsibility on the poor imperial noble consort." He turned back and said. Eunuch Su nodded with his head lowered.
"Su, Princess Lin can visit my private library anytime. And contact Master Hui, and ask her to tutor her." He ordered. Master Hui was someone he recruited from the Western region and the only woman he ever talked to.
"Yes, Your Highness." Eunuch Su replied, he was one of those people who always suspected that Master Hui and Prince Ming had a thing. However, it was one of the groundless rumours, just like how Qin Feng, the general and Prince Ming were more than friends.