Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 75
by Little PandaVolume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place
Heartbreak
The two of them spoke for a good while as if playing a guessing game with riddles1; apart from themselves, no one knew what they were saying.
Although Xiao Zhengyun was the center of the topic, he knew even less what they were talking about.
The gifts he received daily numbered at least thirty, if not a hundred. All those items were handed over to the manor’s steward to be sent to the storeroom. How would he know who exactly sent them?
Moreover, the Fifth Imperial Princess was a person who stuck to old ways2. She sent gifts surreptitiously3, not wanting to use her status to pressure others, thinking that as long as she was sincere, Xiao Zhengyun would eventually see her good qualities. She had people deliver things without stating who the sender was. Consequently, the Xiao Manor’s steward defaulted to thinking some big spender4 was fond of their young master—the gifts were expensive and substantial, yet bore no name. If not a big spender, what else could it be?
Every time gifts arrived, without needing to report back to Xiao Zhengyun, the steward would take it upon himself to send the items to the storeroom.
Therefore, regarding these gifts, Xiao Zhengyun was not even as familiar with them as the butler in his manor.
When Xiao Qian wanted to take things to give to people, the steward would then carefully select from the gifts in the storeroom based on their value, and send them out.
As for the private markings the Fifth Imperial Princess engraved on those items—they were too small and inconspicuous, some even obscured by the inlaid objects on top. Who would know what they were?
Only a meticulous person like Ji Qingchi would, after confiscating jewelry and accessories, have people carefully search them to see if there were any private markings.
And indeed, this search yielded her a good result.
She had originally been worrying about how to make her Fifth Imperial Elder Sister see what kind of moral character the people in Chancellor Xiao’s manor possessed. With those jewelry pieces, she no longer had to worry about this. A plan quickly formed in her mind. Before coming to the banquet, she had already instructed her manor’s steward on everything, so all the items the steward brought were things her good elder sister had sent out.
Half of the Fifth Imperial Princess’s heart shattered.
The corners of Ji Qingchi’s lips curved up. Fearing she hadn’t provoked her enough, she deliberately said to Xiao Zhengyun, “Young Master Xiao, This Palace carved this wooden hairpin herself. Although the item isn’t valuable, it represents a piece of This Palace’s sentiment. I hope Young Master Xiao will not disdain it.”
Xiao Zhengyun quickly shook his head, “What is Your Highness saying? Since it is Your Highness’s sentiment, then this servant must accept it.”
After speaking, he had someone bring a brocade box and carefully put the item away.
Ji Qingchi cast a half-smiling glance at the Fifth Imperial Princess.
Fifth Imperial Elder Sister, it seems your judgment of men isn’t all that great either.
The Fifth Imperial Princess’s heart completely shattered into pieces.
This wasn’t the first time she had wanted to give Xiao Zhengyun something she carved herself. Previously, she had once sent a jade pendant she had carved. It was her painstaking work. She hadn’t had someone else deliver it but had personally intercepted Xiao Zhengyun to give it to him.
However, at that time, it was only the two of them. Xiao Zhengyun was concerned that if he privately accepted the Fifth Imperial Princess’s gift, then if rumors and gossip5 spread later, it might be difficult for him to get on good terms with the Ninth Imperial Princess. He wanted to establish connections with both sides, so he had refused the Fifth Imperial Princess.
But now, it was in full public view. The Ninth Imperial Princess gave him the item, and didn’t say anything about being devoted to him, only that it was a reward he deserved. Although everyone knew what it meant, since it wasn’t explicitly stated, he could still argue sophistically in front of the Fifth Imperial Princess in the future. Secondly, this way, he both accepted the Ninth Imperial Princess’s show of goodwill and wouldn’t offend the Fifth Imperial Princess.
This was Ji Qingchi’s brilliance: when gifting something, especially to someone you admire, you must find all sorts of reasons to make it so they cannot refuse, are unable to refuse, and will not refuse.
However, Xiao Zhengyun failed to see through Ji Qingchi’s ploy. He only thought that before coming to this banquet, his mother had already told him that this time, the goal was to get close to the Ninth Imperial Princess, make the Fifth Imperial Princess jealous, and incite conflict between the two Imperial Princesses. The current situation was exactly what he wanted6, saving him a lot of effort.
No matter how resourceful the Fifth Imperial Princess usually was, when hurt by someone she secretly loved, all those schemes in her mind vanished at this moment. She could only see Xiao Zhengyun accepting Ji Qingchi’s gift.
Her eyes slowly dimmed. She gave a cold smile without speaking, turned her face away from the crowd, found a seat for herself, and began to pour down wine incessantly.
The Second Imperial Princess, standing aside, pulled the Third Imperial Princess and the Seventh Imperial Princess to gossip quietly7, “I couldn’t tell, Little Nine’s flirting skills are so much higher than Fifth Imperial Younger Sister’s.”
“Yes, I didn’t expect Little Nine to be so deeply hidden.” The Seventh Imperial Princess nodded. “She doesn’t have anyone by her side, while Fifth Imperial Elder Sister has many Attendant Lords, yet in this aspect, she’s actually somewhat worse off than Little Nine.”
The Third Imperial Princess looked at the expressions and postures of her two imperial younger sisters, feeling strange inwardly. She could tell that Ninth Imperial Younger Sister had no interest in this Young Master Xiao; on the contrary, she seemed much more attentive to that Miss Su beside her. She didn’t know what kind of drama this was today.
“Why is everyone stunned?” Seeing people gathered around her, Ji Qingchi smiled, “Young Master Xiao just said it’s rare fine spring light, everyone must not let it down. Come, come, let’s continue drinking and chatting.”
Since the Ninth Imperial Princess had spoken, those present naturally dared not disobey.
Everyone toasted each other and chatted, and for a time it was extremely lively. However, the number of noble ladies surrounding Xiao Zhengyun had decreased significantly.
Having seen the earlier scene, everyone understood the intentions of the Ninth and Fifth Imperial Princesses. Who would still dare to compete with an Imperial Princess?
Ji Qingchi, as if nothing had happened, nodded in acknowledgment to everyone and walked back to her seat with a smile.
Just as she sat down and removed her mask, a maidservant wearing a wild ox mask8 approached her, carrying wine. “Your Highness, please have some wine.”
A somewhat familiar voice made Ji Qingchi look up in surprise, right into a pair of eyes beneath the mask, brimming with mischievous laughter.
“Ke ke9… You… This Palace…” How long has she been here? Did she see everything that just happened?
Ji Qingchi nearly choked on her own saliva. Subconsciously wanting to explain, her peripheral vision caught some people paying attention to her side, so she quickly stopped her words and instead straightened her back, “You… you come here, pour wine for This Palace.”
“Yes.” The maidservant slowly walked over. The moment she bent down, her hand was suddenly grabbed. Ji Qingchi shifted her body slightly, blocking the gazes that were looking their way.
Struggling twice but unable to break free, the maidservant let out a light hmph, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Your Highness, please conduct yourself with dignity.”
“My actions just now were forced by circumstances; the words I said and things I did were not from the heart.” Ji Qingchi held onto her, refusing to let go, and quickly clarified. Feeling for her hand inside her sleeve, she caressed it, slowly guiding it to her own heart. “If you don’t believe me, listen. It only beats this fiercely when it sees you.”
The maidservant didn’t speak, only let out another light hmph, and taking advantage of the situation, patted her there.
“Ke ke… Are you trying to commit murder?” Ji Qingchi managed with great difficulty to suppress the coughs that almost escaped, and abruptly pulled her hand back to clutch the attacked spot on her left side.
Her eyes glistening with unshed tears, she looked at the culprit, “How come you’re here? Now that you’ve hit This Palace, are you feeling a bit better?”
“So-so.” The maidservant smiled lightly, raised an eyebrow, and taking a step back, was about to continue pouring wine.
Ji Qingchi quickly grabbed her again, “Then did you hear This Palace’s heartfelt voice?”
The maidservant chuckled lightly, dodging her touch, “It’s so noisy here, what heartfelt voice or not, I can’t hear it.”
Ji Qingchi couldn’t quite gauge her attitude, and with so many people watching, it wasn’t good to press further. So, she had to let go of her, but her eyes remained locked on her, and she said in a low voice, “This Palace is sincere. This Palace was merely provoking Fifth Imperial Elder Sister just now. This Palace is not interested in that Young Master Xiao.”
However, the maidservant ignored her. After pouring her wine, she stood up properly and was about to leave.
Not hearing her reply, Ji Qingchi felt uneasy and grabbed her, not allowing her to leave. During their struggle, the maidservant didn’t hold the wine pot steady, and the wine hualala10 spilled onto Ji Qingchi’s clothes.
The maidservant quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe it, “This servant deserves death, this servant deserves death.”
Ji Qingchi took the opportunity to stand up, “This Palace’s clothes are soaked. I’ll go change first.”
Her gaze shifted to the maidservant, “You, follow This Palace out. Since you’re the one who got these clothes wet, you shall be the one to change them for This Palace.”
“Yes.” The maidservant, with a docile and submissive look, put down the wine pot and followed behind her.
The Eldest Imperial Prince, seeing the commotion here, hurried over and looked her up and down with concern. “This maidservant is insensible, This Palace will punish her later! Is Imperial Younger Sister alright?”
Last time, that incident with Su Tianci happened in his residence. Although the Mother Emperor didn’t punish him in the end, it had scared the Eldest Imperial Prince badly. For this banquet, he had specially increased the number of guards. The slightest sign of trouble11 would make him come over to check, fearing a repeat of last time’s event.
Ji Qingchi shook her head, “My clothes just got wet, that’s all. This Palace will go change. Eldest Imperial Brother’s guest rooms should still have clothes for This Palace, right?”
“Naturally, they do. Attendants, take the Ninth Highness to a guest room.”
“No need, This Palace will just follow her.” Ji Qingchi smiled and pointed to the maidservant beside her. “It’s just changing clothes, nothing major. There are many people here with wagging tongues. Eldest Imperial Brother should focus on watching over things here.”
The Eldest Imperial Prince strongly agreed and didn’t concern himself with her further. Thus, Ji Qingchi and the maidservant slowly walked out of the waterside pavilion.
The interlude between them was just a matter of a few sentences. There were many people in the waterside pavilion. Although the crowd around Xiao Zhengyun had thinned a bit, there were still seven or eight people. After exchanging a few perfunctory words with each of them, he looked up to find that the Ninth Imperial Princess was gone.
He frowned, summoned a young servant, and asked, only to find out that the Ninth Imperial Princess had gone to a guest room to change her clothes.
Guest room! Changing clothes!
Keenly capturing these two phrases, Xiao Zhengyun’s eyes lit up. It seemed an opportunity had come.
He held his wine cup and deliberately walked slowly to the Fifth Imperial Princess’s table, saying to the Fifth Imperial Princess who was drinking sullenly, “It must be too lonely for Your Highness to drink alone.”
He turned his head to look elsewhere, saw the other three Imperial Princesses completely surrounded by young masters and noble ladies, unable to even get through12, and shook his head, “It seems the other Highnesses are too busy to drink with Fifth Highness. If Fifth Highness doesn’t mind, this servant will drink with Your Highness?”
The Fifth Imperial Princess glanced at him, said nothing, and didn’t drive him away.
Xiao Zhengyun knew this meant she was allowing him to stay, so he smiled faintly, took a pot of wine in each hand, and began to drink with her.
After a few cups, he shook his head and supported his forehead, “Why am I so dizzy?”
As his words fell, the two wine pots in his hands dropped, and the wine spilled onto his and the Fifth Imperial Princess’s clothes.
“Aiya.” At this moment, he seemed to struggle to regain some clarity. “This servant was truly careless and soiled Your Highness’s clothes.”
Although it was already Lichun13, the winter chill had not yet dissipated. A gust of wind blew in from the window, and Xiao Zhengyun shivered.
“This Palace is fine, but Young Master Xiao’s constitution is delicate. You mustn’t catch a cold14.” Alcohol amplified her usual emotions several times over. The Fifth Imperial Princess looked at his slender figure, feeling extremely distressed for him, and stood up unsteadily, “Come, This Palace will take Young Master Xiao to a guest room. Eldest Imperial Brother has spare clothes prepared there.”
Footnotes
- 打哑谜 | dǎ yǎmí | Lit. “to play a mute riddle”; Fig. to speak in riddles; to communicate in an indirect or enigmatic way.
- 因循守旧 | yīnxúnshǒujiù | Lit. “to follow old routines and guard the old”; Fig. to be conservative; to stick to conventions; to be hidebound.
- 暗搓搓 | àncuōcuō | Adverb, colloquial: secretly; stealthily; surreptitiously. Often implies a slightly furtive or mischievous manner.
- 冤大头 | yuāndàtóu | Lit. “wronged big head”; Fig. a spendthrift who is easily taken advantage of; a sucker; someone who spends money foolishly or extravagantly without getting fair value, often for others.
- 风言风语 | fēngyánfēngyǔ | Lit. “wind words, wind speech”; Fig. rumors, gossip, slanderous talk.
- 正中下怀 | zhèngzhòng xiàhuái | Lit. “to hit squarely one’s lower bosom (i.e., heart’s desire)”; Fig. to be exactly what one hopes for; to fit in perfectly with one’s wishes.
- 悄咪咪八卦 | qiāomīmī bāguà | Qiāomīmī (悄咪咪) means quietly, secretly, stealthily (colloquial). Bāguà (八卦) means gossip (colloquial usage, derived from the Eight Trigrams but now commonly refers to idle talk about others’ private affairs).
- 野牛面具 | yěniú miànjù | Wild ox mask. Yěniú (野牛) can refer to various wild bovines, including bison or wild buffalo, depending on the specific context which is not provided here. “Wild ox” is a general translation.
- 咳咳 | Ké ké | Sound of coughing.
- 哗啦啦 | huālālā | Sound of rushing water, heavy rain, or things collapsing/clattering down. Here, the sound of wine splashing or pouring out.
- 风吹草动 | fēngchuīcǎodòng | Lit. “wind blows, grass moves”; Fig. the slightest sign of trouble; a rustle of grass in the wind.
- 水泄不通 | shuǐxièbùtōng | Lit. “not even water can seep through”; Fig. so crowded that it’s impenetrable; jam-packed.
- 立春 | Lìchūn | “Start of Spring,” the first solar term in the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, usually falling around February 4th or 5th. It marks the traditional beginning of spring.
- 风寒 | fēnghán | Lit. “wind-cold”; In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this refers to an illness, often the common cold or flu, believed to be caused by exposure to pathogenic wind and cold. Symptoms can include chills, fever, headache, and body aches.
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