"It's you again."
Miss Jun wanted to say the same thing.
"Princely Heir Zhu, what a coincidence," she said, looking at Zhu Zan.
Zhu Zan glared at her and pointed his finger at her.
"Enough is enough," he said. "I'm not interested in married women."
Miss Jun couldn't help but laugh.
Every time their conversations began, she wondered how he came up with his opening remarks.
"I'm not a married woman," she laughed. "If you inquire about what happened in Yangcheng, you'll know."
Zhu Zan scoffed and stepped aside.
"Whether you are or not, I have no interest in your affairs," he said, glaring at Miss Jun. "Stop following me."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Miss Jun laughed, but what was he doing here?
She watched Zhu Zan walk away and then glanced at the alley behind Guan Temple not far off, following after him.
"Zhu Zan," she called out.
Zhu Zan seemed not to hear and quickened his pace.
"Zhu Zan," Miss Jun laughed and called out again, also quickening her steps.
Zhu Zan simply started to run and Miss Jun ran after him.
"Zhu Zan, if you keep running, I'll shout," she called out.
Shout?
Shout what?
Shout harassment? Back in Runan, he was the one who had shouted. What came of it?
"Now we're in the capital; don't think it's Runan," Zhu Zan stopped, turned around, and came back to stand before Miss Jun.
Miss Jun looked at him and smiled.
"Yes, I know," she said.
"What do you want?" Zhu Zan frowned.
"How coincidental that I run into you everywhere I go," Miss Jun asked teasingly. "Is this fate?"
Zhu Zan gave a dry laugh.
"There's no such thing as fate in this world, only deliberate actions," he said, his laugh fading. "What are you really after following me?"
Deliberate?
She really hadn't meant to follow him; who knew why they always bumped into each other.
Deliberate actions—were they destined for the same thing after all?
That was even less likely.
Miss Jun just smiled.
"I'm just curious," she said. "Do you know where in the capital I can find the tastiest red bean cake?"
Zhu Zan glared at her and turned his head with a spit.
"I don't know," he said, turning away and striding off.
"You do know, you're so familiar with the capital," Miss Jun said with a smile.
Zhu Zan didn't look back again and disappeared into an alley.
Miss Jun smiled to herself, her mood not ruined at all. Instead, thanks to this little diversion, her melancholy was lifted, and she leisurely walked down the street.
She never found red bean cake to be tasty at all, yet her sister adored it, truly a peculiar taste.
...
As a maid placed a small dish before her, Princess Jiuli laughed at the neatly cut little squares of red bean cake inside.
"Princess, please have a taste," a maidservant said with a flattering smile.
Princess Jiuli picked up a piece of the cake with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
"Mmm, it's from Duke Dingyuan's Mansion," she said, looking to the side.
Lu Yunqi, standing nearby, grunted in acknowledgement.
"Princess is so discerning. This was made especially by a cook from Duke Dingyuan's Mansion," the maidservant said with a smile.
Princess Jiuli didn't reply but ate two pieces before setting down her chopsticks.
"The taste hasn't changed at all from before," she said. "You should try some."
Lu Yunqi didn't move.
"I don't eat this," he stated. "As long as the princess is happy, that's what matters."
Princess Jiuli picked up her chopsticks again.
"You don't eat this either, such a delicious thing and yet you dislike it, truly a peculiar taste," she said, smiling, and looked at Lu Yunqi. "Thank you for being considerate, for remembering what she said."
Though she didn't specify whom she meant, everyone present understood.
The maids lowered their heads.
There was a peaceful atmosphere in the room, with the couple showing each other mutual respect—one sitting, one standing.
They truly respected each other.
```
To this day, the marriage had not been consummated.
The maidservants all knew this, and there was no deliberate attempt to hide it; it seemed everything was as it should be.
"The princess is happy, that's what matters," Lu Yunqi said.
Princess Jiuli smiled and nodded.
"Good," she said.
Lu Yunqi bowed.
"I'll take my leave now," he said.
Princess Jiuli responded with a smile, nodding as she watched Lu Yunqi walk out.
In the quiet of the room, the maidservants held their breath, and Princess Jiuli serenely ate her red bean cake.
"Being married is quite nice," she said with a smile to the maidservant beside her, "from now on, I can eat red bean cake whenever I want."
Was that a joke?
The maidservant gave a forced laugh.
"If the princess likes it, just ask Sir to keep the cook from Duke Dingyuan's Mansion," she said with a smile.
"A gentleman does not covet what others enjoy," Princess Jiuli commented as she finished the last piece of red bean cake, "besides, even the most delicious things become uninteresting if you have them all the time."
Whatever the case, Princess Jiuli had an especially good temperament, royal in her grace, but without a hint of arrogance. She had never rebuked or troubled the servants.
The maidservants gradually became less restrained in her presence.
Hearing her say this, they all laughed.
"The princess speaks wisely," they agreed.
Princess Jiuli put down her chopsticks, picked up her needle and thread, and continued to sit before her embroidery frame.
Unlike other princesses who prided themselves on their love of reading and writing, she only enjoyed needlework, spending most of her day at it.
The maidservants in the room quietly began to tiptoe as they cleared the tableware and left.
In the courtyard, a maidservant approached.
"Sir has gone out again," she whispered.
The maidservant shook her head.
"He's gone over there again, hasn't he?" she asked quietly.
The maidservant nodded.
The maidservant let out another sigh and glanced back at where Princess Jiuli was.
"Regardless, Sir never spends the night out," she whispered, "With the recent marriage, and the fact she's his aunt, it's no wonder she feels uncomfortable. There's plenty of time for them to get more familiar."
The young maid gave an acknowledgement, her eyes still worried.
"But those women outside..." she couldn't help but whisper, "there are more and more of them."
The maidservant gave her a sharp glance.
"So what if there are many? They are outsiders without any significant status, nothing more than playthings," she said, "Can they compare with our princess? She is a princess, and hers was a marriage bestowed by the emperor."
The young maid agreed.
"Don't let your mind wander and talk nonsense," the maidservant warned in a low voice.
The young maid quickly turned and left.
The maidservant looked back once more to the quiet and slightly lonely room of Princess Jiuli.
Meanwhile, the streets bustled with life, as noisy and lively as ever.
Miss Jun stood amidst the crowd waiting for the vendor in front. The steaming red bean cake, fresh from the pan, was swiftly cut into small pieces with a large knife and packed into paper parcels.
The surrounding crowd passed over their money one by one, each receiving a package.
Finally, Miss Jun received the very last piece from the batch.
Just at that moment, a rush of hoofbeats echoed through the street, and the crowds parted like the tide, with Miss Jun being jostled about, causing her red bean cake to fall to the ground.
"Hey, don't step on it," she yelled, desperately trying to fend off the crowd.
"Quiet down, quiet down, Thousand-Man Commander Lu is coming," the noisy crowd shouted.
The commotion caused the masses to descend into further chaos, and as Miss Jun bent down, she was pushed back, watching as her paper-wrapped red bean cake was trampled.
She looked up as Thousand-Man Commander Lu, surrounded by the Jinyiwei, raced past.
As Lu Yunqi passed, the crowd surged back onto the street, pointing and chattering about the departing Jinyiwei.
The area around the stall cleared out quite a bit.
Miss Jun stood there, staring down at her crushed red bean cake.
Once, during an argument with her sister, she had deliberately dropped her sister's red bean cake and ran off, leading to her mother and the governess chasing her around the garden, intending to give her a thrashing.
Miss Jun crouched down, carefully trying to pick up the trampled red bean cake.
A pair of feet stopped beside the smashed cake.
One foot lifted and tapped her knee.
"Hey, hey."
The voice of Zhu Zan descended from above.
Miss Jun looked up to see Zhu Zan standing beside her, cutting a shadow across the sunlight, his face indistinct in the mingling of light and dark.
"Don't embarrass yourself," his voice was full of disdain, "You're Miss of De Sheng Chang, someone who plays with money like toys, what's with this act of frugality?"
```
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Good morning~ A greeting from a writer stuck with writer's block.