What kind of friends he makes is entirely up to him; there’s no need to worry so much.

 

After this incident, Fang Linyuan considered that he had somewhat established a connection with the Fifth Prince, who looked like a painting.

After all, not even his own elder brother had ever copied books for him!

Fang Linyuan, well versed in repaying kindness, went home that day, took out the fine medicinal remedy his father had left at home, and the next day, slipped in front of Zhao Chu before the horsemanship lesson.

“Here, this is for you!” he said, handing over a small, simple-looking porcelain bottle that appeared quite rustic.

The Fifth Prince sitting there looked up at him, and for a moment the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs exchanged worried glances, hesitating to intervene yet afraid to approach Zhao Chu.

“This is a medicinal remedy. Using it can temporarily ease pain, and the flesh heals much faster,” Fang Linyuan explained sincerely, paying no attention to the wary glances of the palace attendants around him.

The Fifth Prince remained silent, only raising a hand lightly in a gesture that seemed to dismiss them.

“Eh…” Fang Linyuan took the gesture to be directed at him, and blankly stepped back two paces.

Then he noticed that no one else was around anymore.

Looking around in surprise, he saw that the silent Fifth Prince had already lowered his head and was unwrapping the gauze on his hand.

He was going to use the medicine Fang Linyuan had brought!

Excited, Fang Linyuan immediately moved closer and sat next to the Fifth Prince.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, this medicine works really well. My father left me plenty; I’ve used it myself whenever I got a bruise…”

As he spoke, he opened the bottle as if presenting a treasure.

Only after a moment did he notice that the Fifth Prince was quietly watching him.

After a brief shared glance, Fang Linyuan realized he was sitting right next to Zhao Chu. Embarrassed, he smiled awkwardly and shifted a little to the side.

The Fifth Prince still did not speak, lowering his eyes as he tore off the gauze from his hand.

The wound had begun to scab over, but the bright red still contrasted sharply with the whiteness of his hand, showing only the faint callus marks left from holding a brush and practicing the sword.

For a moment, Fang Linyuan didn’t know how to apply the medicine properly.

He braced himself, clumsily opened the bottle, and gently sprinkled the powder onto the wound…

But his hand shook, and a large heap of powder fell onto Zhao Chu’s hand.

Fang Linyuan: …

The young master, usually so brilliant, had never made such a blunder!

He looked at the messy pile on Zhao Chu’s hand in embarrassment, and after a moment, mustered the courage to look up at him…

And saw Zhao Chu smiling.

The frosty Fifth Prince lifted his eyes to him, and for the first time a smile blossomed in his features, like a cold plum shedding frost and snow.

In Fang Linyuan’s stunned gaze, he wrapped the gauze with one hand and neatly tied a knot over the back of his hand.

*

Fang Linyuan did not know that Dou Qingyi had already learned of this.

The palace maid following Zhao Chu reported anxiously, saying that the Second Young Master of the Anguo Duke’s household had brought something for the Fifth Prince, and when the prince dismissed them, she dared not ask further.

At that time, Dou Qingyi was reviewing memorials at the dragon desk, while the increasingly leisurely Grand Dowager Consort Su Yunshuang sat by the window behind a screen, flipping through a pile of scrolls.

At present, she was the most at-ease idle aristocrat in the palace.

When the late emperor reigned, she had been especially close to him, which everyone knew. After the current empress ascended the throne, other consorts lived reclused in the rear palace, but she remained much the same as before, only more flamboyant and unrestrained without rivals.

Thus, she could come and go freely in the empress’s study, and when granted an imperial order to visit family, she could openly return home for a few days.

Hearing the maid’s report, Dou Qingyi did not show any concern; instead, she lifted her eyes, and a rare glimmer of interest appeared in her expression.

From a short distance, Su Yunshuang also peeked forward.

“Chu’er playing well with that young master?” she asked. “That’s surprising. This child has always been solitary; I’ve never seen him close to anyone.”

The maid hesitated: “But… we’re only worried. If Second Young Master Fang brought herbs or food that might harm the prince’s health, what should we do…”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve instructed that he need not be pampered so richly,” Dou Qingyi said.

“Ah…” the maid hesitated further.

“That child, I’ve seen him. Lively and active, yes, but well brought up, and knows his limits,” Dou Qingyi continued. “Let them play. Even if something happens, there’s no need to report it to me.”

The palace maid, hearing this, did not dare say another word.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I obey your command.”

Once the maid had left, Su Yunshuang, holding two scrolls, approached Dou Qingyi’s dragon desk.

“Your Majesty isn’t worried?” she asked curiously.

“Worried about what?”

“Even a well-behaved child will inevitably get some bumps and scrapes,” Su Yunshuang reminded her.

Dou Qingyi smiled at this, lifting her eyes to look at her. “If you’re cautious about everything, you’ll raise a greenhouse flower. He’s already a big child; what friends he makes is entirely up to him. No need to meddle so much.”

Her gaze fell on the scrolls in Su Yunshuang’s hands, and Dou Qingyi paused slightly. “What are you holding that for?”

The scrolls in her hands had been specially selected and delivered to the palace by the Imperial Household Department.

On them were painted young gentlemen from well-chosen families and noble households, meticulously screened, so that the imperial harem would not be empty and lacking in decorum.

Dou Qingyi, finding pregnancy and childbirth burdensome, thought having Zhao Chu as her only child was sufficient. Yet in the previous dynasty, many used such petitions as excuses, hoping to send their own kin close to the emperor.

It seemed a trivial matter; to avoid fuss, Dou Qingyi consented.

Su Yunshuang glanced at the two scrolls in her arms, and a smile lit her features, instantly radiant and charming. “These scrolls were sent by the Imperial Household Department. I see all these young gentlemen are fine; adding them to the harem will surely make it lively.”

She placed the scrolls on Dou Qingyi’s desk and gave her a playful wink. “I especially like these two. Perhaps the empress could show mercy and bestow them upon you, meimei.” (NT: ‘little sister’: respectful but affectionate term)

 

Translator : DarNan