When the last apricot blossom in the Capital City of Nanchu withered, Hua Yan indeed arrived as promised at the gates of the Capital.
Ever since the butler, Lai Fu, had received Yun Chi's instruction about the significance of the Apricot Flower Branch sent to Hua Yan, he had ordered the servants to rush the Eastern Palace's carriage to the south city gate and wait there, instructing that once the Crown Princess Consort entered the Capital, she must be brought immediately to the Eastern Palace.
The coachman held a painting scroll copied from the list of candidates for the Crown Prince's consort, handpicked by the Empress Dowager, and vigilantly scoured the city gate each day to match any lady entering the Capital with the image of the Crown Princess Consort in the album.
The coachman had been standing guard for five days and had not found anyone.
On the sixth day, close to midday, someone reported at the gate, "Chief Steward, Miss Zhao has come to deliver books to the Crown Prince."
Lai Fu, mistaking the arrival for Hua Yan, felt a wave of disappointment but upon hearing it was Zhao Qingxi, did not dare to neglect her and quickly said, "Please invite Miss Zhao to the Baotang Hall to sit. His Highness is currently unoccupied at the residence today, and I will go to inform His Highness." As he finished speaking, he also ordered those around, "Go quickly to the Baotang Hall to prepare tea. Make sure to brew the fine Quchenxiang Tea."
Someone immediately acquiesced and departed.
Lai Fu hastily made his way to the study.
Yun Chi was busy perusing petitions. The emperor had fallen ill again recently, and all court affairs had been delegated to Yun Chi; naturally, all the court officials' petitions were also brought to the Eastern Palace, piling a thick stack on Yun Chi's desk.
Standing at the door, Lai Fu reported, "Your Highness, Miss Zhao has come to deliver books to you."
Yun Chi hummed in acknowledgment, his eyes not leaving the petitions, and ordered, "Just accept them on my behalf."
Lai Fu complied, seeing that Yun Chi had no intention of meeting her, and promptly left.
Zhao Qingxi was the sole daughter of the Zhao family, renowned not only in the Capital of Nanchu but also across the entire land for her excellence in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and her extensive knowledge of poetry, songs, the Four Books and Five Classics. Moreover, with her beautiful appearance and kind temperament, she truly epitomized the model of a lady from a distinguished family.
Last year, when the Empress Dowager was selecting a spouse for the Crown Prince, many believed she was the undeniable choice for the Crown Princess Consort.
It was said that when the Empress Dowager instructed the imperial painter to compile the album of candidates, she specifically asked for Zhao Qingxi's portrait to be placed on the first page, so that the Crown Prince would see her first upon opening it.
However, to everyone's surprise, on the day the Crown Prince chose his consort, he unexpectedly flipped through the album haphazardly, flipping past most of the contents and stopped at the less-known Hua Family's youngest daughter from Lin'an, Hua Yan, causing quite a stir.
Lai Fu arrived at the Baotang Hall, greeted Zhao Qingxi with a beaming smile, and said, "The Crown Prince is currently reviewing petitions and has instructed me to accept the book, so your personal trip here wasn't necessary; you could have simply sent a servant with the book."
Zhao Qingxi handed him the book with a gentle smile, "This book is a unique copy; sending it with a servant would have worried me, lest it be lost or damaged. Besides, it's no trouble for me to come in person, as I have nothing pressing to do."
Accepting the book, Lai Fu smiled and said, "Where could you possibly have no matters to attend to? I have heard that you have been helping the lady of the house with the preparations for Mr. Zhao's longevity banquet. With the date of Mr. Zhao's birthday drawing near and the lady of the house busily employed every day, how could you possibly have any leisure time?"
Zhao Qingxi smiled, "With my mother taking charge, there is no effort on my part."
Lai Fu chortled, "Mrs. Zhao of the Zhao family is indeed quite capable; everyone in the Capital who mentions her could only give a thumbs up."
Zhao Qingxi responded with a smile, "This year, my father's birthday banquet coincidentally fell during the emperor's ailment. Initially, my father suggested we should not celebrate, but upon hearing this, the emperor insisted that he should. The emperor expressed a desire to leave the palace for some fresh air and visit our residence, hoping it might help his condition improve. Upon hearing this, my mother immediately took it upon herself to make the necessary arrangements."
Lai Fu sighed, "The emperor falls seriously ill once every year, and this time he's been sick for particularly long. It's been several months now, and the Crown Prince has been overexerting himself with the court affairs, looking noticeably thinner as of late."
Zhao Qingxi inquired tentatively, "Now that the Capital is peaceful and the world stable, are the court affairs still so burdensome for His Highness?"
Lai Fu spoke in a lower voice, "Nanchu is indeed peaceful, but there have been disturbances in the small kingdoms of the Southwest. Lately, His Highness has been preoccupied with these matters. Even though he is resting at home today, he is still not at leisure."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingxi said, "You must urge the Crown Prince to take care of himself. His health is of utmost importance, and he mustn't overburden himself to the point of illness."
The butler nodded repeatedly.
Zhao Qingxi then tentatively asked, "Does that mean His Highness the Crown Prince will probably be too busy to visit our residence during Father's birthday banquet this year?"
The butler replied, "The Crown Prince has always attended the birthday banquet every year. His Highness hasn't said anything yet, but if he's free, I'm sure he will come."
Zhao Qingxi smiled and nodded.
After some idle chat with Zhao Qingxi, the butler was about to head out when someone came to report at the doorway, panting heavily, "Chief... Chief Steward, the Crown Princess Consort is here..."
The butler was first shocked, then overjoyed, and quickly hurried to the doorway to ask the person, "Has the Crown Princess Consort entered the Capital? Did the carriage drivers pick someone up at the city gate?"
The man, gasping for breath, said, "Not at the city gate, but at... at the front gate of our residence... Two women came by themselves, and one of them says she is Hua Yan from Lin'an..."
Hearing this, the butler was stunned and quickly said, "Hurry, which gate? Take me there to see."
The man led the way, saying at the same time, "The North Gate."
The butler started running, then remembering that Zhao Qingxi was still in the Baotang Hall, he hurried back and said, "Miss Zhao, please take a seat, I must excuse myself for a moment."
Zhao Qingxi nodded with a smile, "I will leave after sitting for a while, go ahead with your duties, butler."
No longer concerned about Zhao Qingxi, the butler sprinted out of the Baotang Hall and after a few steps, instructed someone, "Quickly, go inform the Crown Prince and tell him the Crown Princess Consort has arrived."
Someone acknowledged and ran towards the study.
The butler hurried to the North Gate without seeing anyone. He asked the gatekeeper, "Where is the Crown Princess Consort?"
The gatekeeper bowed to the butler, then turned towards the wall and, with utmost respect yet embarrassment, said, "The Crown Princess Consort is sitting on the wall."
The butler was taken aback and looked up to see a woman sitting on the wall. At that moment, the sunlight was just right, and the warm breeze gently blew. The woman on the wall wore a teal long dress with a pale blue silk shawl draped over her shoulders. Her hair was loosely held up with a green jade hairpin, without any decorative flowers or swaying steps, and she didn't wear any earrings. Other than a jade bracelet on her wrist, she had no other jewelry. Her figure was graceful and slender, and she sat on the wall with a leg casually cocked, without any makeup, yet her natural beauty was breathtaking, peerless in appearance.
The butler thought the woman sitting on the wall - like the sun and the moon gathered at that spot - was captivating and almost impossible to look away from. After staring for a moment, he came to his senses, secretly feeling that only such beauty was worthy of the Crown Prince and deserved the name Hua Yan. At the same time, he felt embarrassed; no one had ever dared to climb the walls of the Eastern Palace before her.
He quickly lowered his head and respectfully bowed, "I, Lai Fu, greet the Crown Princess Consort."
Hua Yan smiled, "So it's the Chief Steward of the Eastern Palace. Thank you for coming to meet me." With that, she lightly hopped down from the wall and stood in front of Lai Fu. Smiling, she said to him, "I was tired from walking, and since there were no chairs at the gate, I rested my feet on the wall."
Lai Fu hurriedly said, "His Highness mentioned that you would arrive in these few days, and I have sent carriages to the city gate to pick you up daily, yet we failed to meet you. The drivers were negligent, and I will certainly inform His Highness to punish them severely."
Hua Yan blinked her eyes, "When I entered the Capital, I really didn't see any carriage drivers at the North City Gate."
Lai Fu was taken aback, "Didn't you come through the South City Gate?"
Hua Yan shook her head, "From the North City Gate."
Lai Fu, puzzled, said, "You should have entered the Capital through the South City Gate coming from Lin'an... How did you end up entering from the North City Gate? It's no wonder the drivers couldn't find you."
With a smile, Hua Yan said, "I heard that thirty miles north of the Capital, there's a Qingshui Temple on Banbi Mountain, famous for highly accurate Marriage Destiny Fortune Sticks. I took a detour to try my luck." As she finished speaking, she took out a stick from her sleeve and handed it to Lai Fu, "Since my fate is tied to the Crown Prince, you should show this to him. This extremely inauspicious fortune doesn't seem to be a good omen. Since I haven't entered the Eastern Palace yet, you might want to ask him if he wants to choose someone else as the Crown Princess Consort?"