Chapter 006

Lunchtime had arrived, and a sumptuous meal was laid out on the large table.

In truth, Yu Gege wasn't hungry at all, but she relished the grandeur of the palace's meal presentations. At this moment of the day, she truly felt like a princess. She was genuinely from the Aisin Gioro lineage.

At the centre of the round table was a large soup bowl adorned with colourful dragon and phoenix patterns, which caught Yu Gege's attention. She glanced at the bowl, and Fu, who stood by attentively, promptly stepped forward and uncovered the lid.

They were dumplings, each plump and white, and Yu Gege felt a tiny bit of appetite stir within her.

Sitting upright, Yu Gege waited for Fu to serve her, but Xi preempted by pouring some vinegar into her plate and adding a few mashed garlic.

"Gege, eating dumplings with garlic please," Xi pushed the plate towards Yu Gege with enthusiasm.

"In the palace, they've always avoided garlic. It's quite strong in flavour, and they worry about how it might affect the Emperor." Yu Gege said.

"In the future, things might change here with your arrival," Xi's words had a hidden meaning.

However, Yu Gege disliked the taste of garlic and pushed the plate away without hesitation, saying, "I won't eat it; I'm afraid it's too spicy."

"You should try it; it's not that spicy," Xi persistently brought the plate of garlic back in front of Yu Gege.

Yu Gege lifted her head to glare at Xi, who met her gaze with an insincere smile. Feeling overpowered, Yu Gege hesitated. She had realized, from the incident with the doll, that Xi wasn't just her maid but also a spy for the Empress.

"I'll take a bite of the dumpling first. You did say garlic should be eaten with the dumplings," Yu Gege adopted a submissive tone.

Xi exchanged a glance with Fu, and the latter quickly scooped a dumpling into Yu Gege's bowl.

Yu Gege took a bite, but a strong fishy smell overwhelmed her senses. A wave of nausea surged in her throat, and she promptly spat the mouthful onto the plate.

"What is this?" Yu Gege hurriedly rinsed her mouth with a cup of tea.

"Answering Your Highness, it's flounder dumplings."

The reply came from Fu, giving Yu Gege a bit of confidence to express herself, "You servant girl, don't you know I never eat seafood? Are you trying to harm me?"

Xi pushed Fu aside and continued her insincere smile. "Gege, after serving you for such a long time, your servant naturally knows you don't eat seafood. Today, serving flounder dumplings is for your own good. I hope you can understand our sincere intentions."

"For my own good?" Yu Gege was full of doubt, unsure of what these two maids were up to.

Xi pulled Fu and both of them kowtowed together, "Congratulations to Gege, joyful congratulations to Gege. Gege, you're greatly favoured."

Yu Gege's expression remained calm. More than two decades of life in the palace had taught her to keep her emotions hidden.

"The Emperor has chosen a marriage partner for you..."

"Really? Who did he choose?"

This time, Yu Gege couldn't sit still. For over two decades, living as a dependent in the palace, away from her mother and father, this was the day she had been waiting for.

"You are the Emperor's royal sister. How could the Emperor treat you unfairly? He has definitely selected a husband that suits your preferences..." Xi teased with suspense.

"Tell me quickly," Yu Gege couldn't bother with propriety.

"I heard that his grandfather was a top scholar, he himself was a successful scholar too, and he has held positions like Minister of Rites and Supervisor of Education."Unusually, Fu had his resume memorized so clearly.

Yu Gege felt a bit relieved hearing about his education and family background. He seemed to have a decent scholarly background and family status, perhaps even a high-ranking official. If her father and brother managed to regain their positions in the capital, he might be able to assist them.

"Why didn't you tell the most important part to Gege? This Mister Wu is currently a high-ranking official and serves as a Grand Councillor of the military affairs. He's temporarily stationed in Qingdao. That's why we thought it'd be good for Gege to eat fish and garlic. If you can't get the whole package, how can you become Mrs. Wu?"

Golden-hearted words and smiles from Xi and Fu made Yu Gege feel a twinge of guilt. It turned out she had misunderstood their good intentions.

"This Mister Wu is already seventy years old. After you marry him, you must take good care of this elderly man."

"Naturally, that goes without saying. May I inquire, how many sons does Mister Wu have?"

"Why are you asking about this, Gege?" Xi feigned ignorance.

"I should know who I'm marrying to…"

Xi smiled, "Gege, you've misunderstood. His Majesty didn't choose one of Mr. Wu's sons for you. His Majesty chose Mr. Wu himself for you."

With a loud clatter, the teacup in Yu Gege's hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Xi and Fu exchanged glances, and after a round of eye signals, Xi awkwardly approached Yu Gege.

"Gege, do you dislike Mr. Wu because of his age? Older men are good, you know. They can be caring."

"Why don't you find a half-buried coffin for yourself and enjoy being pampered by the earthenware core?"

Yu Gege's interjection caught Xi off guard, and her patience quickly waned. "Gege, you're of imperial blood. Naturally, you must be more sensible than us. A princess's marriage can't be decided solely based on personal preferences; it must consider the welfare of the nation and the dynasty. "

Xi's words had a certain rough wisdom, leaving Yu Gege with no room for a counterattack.

"Besides, do you even know what's happening in your own family? Have you considered the situation?"

Xi hit a sore spot, and Yu Gege exploded in anger.

"Do I know? I only know that I bear the surname Aisin Gioro. I am the granddaughter of Duke Duan, and my elder brother is the Grand Prince appointed by Empress Dowager Cixi herself. Marrying a Han man, no matter how high his rank, means surrendering myself! I'm being married off!"

Xi was somewhat taken aback by Yu Gege's fierce momentum and struggled to respond for a while.

Seeing this, Fu timidly stepped forward, "Gege, please calm down. We truly have your best interests at heart. Consider this, you're already in your thirties. If you don't marry now, opportunities will slip away. Time is running out."

Fu's words were like a needle pricking a balloon, and Yu Gege's anger began to hiss and deflate.

However, halfway through her outburst, Yu Gege suddenly snapped back to reality. She couldn't just let things slide like this. Even if it meant putting on an act, she had to do something.

"I want to see the Emperor," Yu Gege stated firmly, leaving no room for doubt.

"The Emperor isn't someone you can just see whenever you want," Xi replied, regaining her role as a defiant servant.

"Whether I can see him or not is the Emperor's business. Whether the message gets through is yours," Yu Gege retorted sharply to Xi, showing her determination.

The tension in the room escalated as Xi remained silent. The cicadas in the trees seemed even louder now, adding to the cacophony.

Fu was so nervous that she didn't know where to place her hands or where to put her feet. With her humble status, she didn't dare to intervene or appease either Yu Gege or Xi, and she definitely didn't want to offend either of them.

The blazing sun outside suddenly dimmed, as if it was being besieged by dark clouds. A gust of wind swept through, carrying a few dry leaves from the courtyard into the main room.

Fu finally found a topic to talk about, "Finally, there's some wind. This weather is so unbearable, it's too hot to have any appetite. Do you still need your meal, Gege? If not, I'll have it removed. Leaving it here will only attract flies."

However, Yu Gege didn't pay much attention to the ladder Fu offered. She continued to glare fiercely at Xi. Her intense gaze seemed to last for an eternity, and in that moment, she felt as if there was another person standing behind Xi.

Fu's face burned as she pressed it against her master's cold bottom, and she could only withdraw her hands and feet, silenced like a wooden puppet. She stared at the few dry leaves that had blown in, hoping for either Yu Gege or Xi, whoever it might be, to give in soon.

The dry leaves rustled again, creating a small whirlpool.

"It's great, the wind is picking up again. Hopefully, it will blow stronger, and it would be even better if it could rain," Fu mumbled to herself. Her gaze drifted to the begonia tree in the courtyard. Its palm-sized leaves remained still, devoid of any movement, resembling Yu Gege's delicate embroidery work, lacking any vitality.

Fu's scalp tingled, and then she heard the increasingly loud chirping of cicadas in the tree. "It's hot, so hot. Bring some wind, please, bring some wind..."

Fu turned her head, her eyes filled with terror. Those few dry leaves were unmistakably still swaying gently, riding the breeze like little boats sailing toward the end of the river.

"Ah!" Fu let out a terrified scream and rushed over to tightly embrace Xi.

"You foolish girl, what's with your sudden fright? Aren't you afraid of scaring Gege?" An unsettled Xi scolded Fu angrily.

Fu buried her head on Xi's shoulder, trembling like a sieve. "Ghost, there's a ghost!"

"In broad daylight, how could there be ghosts? I think you're the one acting like a ghost, all mysterious," Yu Gege feigned calmness.

"There really is a ghost, look at the leaves, the leaves on the ground." Fu raised her hand and pointed in a random direction.

Yu Gege lowered her head and quickly noticed something unusual.

The behaviour of those leaves was too suspicious; they fluttered up and down, never rising above calf height. Their trajectory was clear, heading straight for the backyard of the Third Northern Palace.

Almost instantly, Yu Gege could almost be certain that a man had passed by them. He must have been dignified and proud, capable of leading these leaves in pursuit.

As if guided by an inexplicable force, Yu Gege stood up and began to follow those leaves step by step.

"Gege, don't go! Be careful, Gege!"

The words had just left their lips when Xi pulled Fu along and followed. After all, the days in the palace were boring and lonely. Whenever there was a chance to witness something exciting, they couldn't care less about their fear of ghosts.

Yu Gege continued following the leaves until she reached a parrot perch. There, she saw the parrot called Ling, its little head lifting with a feeble response to the commotion. Its eyes conveyed a sense of hopelessness as it looked at her, then it suddenly toppled over, plummeting to the ground.

Just as Ling crashed to the ground, a swift motion occurred, as if a hand appeared out of thin air to catch it. Then, both Ling and the person vanished together.

Yu Gege could hardly believe her eyes.

She was convinced that Ling must have fallen somewhere in the garden, so she frantically searched through the bushes and flowerpots. She was in the midst of this search when Xi and Fu appeared before her.

"Gege, what's wrong?" Xi's voice brought Yu Gege back to her senses. She straightened up, looking at the two maids.

"Where's the parrot?"

Even if given ten thousand chances, Xi wouldn't have anticipated that Yu Gege would start the conversation with the parrot. Xi instintively shifted the blame to Fu and turned to ask if she had fed the bird today.

Fu stammered in response.

"So you didn't feed it today. What about yesterday? Did you feed it yesterday?"

Fu dared not look at Xi.

"It wasn't fed yesterday either. You incompetent servant! That parrot belongs to the Empress Dowager. You've starved it to death!"

Xi was about to strike Fu when Yu Gege raised her hand to stop her. "Who said Ling starved to death? She flew away."

"Yes, yes, she flew away, she flew away," Fu echoed Yu Gege's words like a parrot.

"The Empress Dowager's bird has flown away. This is a big deal. We can't keep this from the Emperor. Xi, go report it. Say that I want to see him, and I need to have a talk with him. Even birds know how to choose a good tree to perch on , let alone me."

After finishing her words, Yu Gege walked away, leaving Xi and Fu behind. After a few steps, she turned back. "From now on, my meals must absolutely be free of garlic and seafood. I'm not going to Qingdao, so there's no need for you to make me smell like a bunch of oysters."

As Yu Gege's figure disappeared from view, Xi finally understood. She raised her thumb and sincerely marvelled, "This person is truly a tough character."

"Xi, what does this mean?" Fu asked with a clueless expression.

"What does it mean? I wanted to watch a play about Zhong Kui, the demon queller, but she gave me a drama of her own. She caught a silly bird, and with that, she's going to see the Emperor."