18 Assistance

The only place where they could run around flying kites was the main courtyard of the Consort’s residence, which was quite spacious.

In the very center of the Consort’s courtyard stood a pomegranate tree in full bloom, its flowers radiant and vivid. The dense green leaves served only as a backdrop, unable to outshine the brilliant red clusters that adorned the branches.

“Cousin, why did you suddenly think of finding me to fly kites?” Yu Yan considered their relationship to be a gentlemanly friendship, simple and unpretentious. Having studied together in Yinzhen’s study for three months, enduring a few scoldings or slaps on the hand at most, it didn’t seem likely that this boy would go out of his way to come to Li’s courtyard to find her.

Xing De was honest and straightforward. As he ran a few steps, ready to launch the kite, he stopped upon hearing Yu Yan’s question and replied, “Auntie said it’s no good for me to be cooped up in the courtyard all the time, and she noticed you don’t have many playmates when you’re free, so she thought we could play together.”

“Do you really want to play with me?” Yu Yan asked.

Xing De looked at her with a blank expression.

Qing Dai and Song Lan exchanged glances. There were no other children around the Fourth Prince’s residence who were close to Xing De’s age. He would sit day after day in the backyard, lost in thought. The Consort feared that such a child might become dull and dull-witted, so she sent him to find Yu Yan.

“Don’t you have your own opinions?” Yu Yan stomped her foot, grabbed the scissors prepared for cutting the kite string on the stone table, and snipped the line. The kite immediately lost its tether and flew soaring into the sky.

She shoved the scissors into Xing De’s hand. “If you’re not sincere about playing with me, then I won’t play with you.”

Yu Yan knew the Consort’s intentions were kind, but she disliked Xing De’s push-and-pull personality. Besides, she herself was not exactly a child in the traditional sense and didn’t crave peers to play with, so she had no desire to force herself.

Song Lan quickly smiled apologetically. “Second Miss, please don’t be angry...”

Yu Yan turned to leave, but a gentle tug caught her sleeve. She looked back to see Xing De timidly clutching the corner of her garment. The child’s clear, moist eyes were filled with longing, softening her heart, but her voice remained sharp: “Why are you pulling me?”

“I want to play with you, but you always wake up close to lunchtime, and you have to study in the afternoon. I can’t find you.”

Xing De explained in a quiet voice, “After noon, you have to practice horseback archery. I don’t dare disturb you.”

Yu Yan calculated her daily schedule and felt a pang of guilt. Although Yinzhen often protested her habit of sleeping until the sun was high, her mother, Lady Li, had once firmly stood up for her in front of her father, winning Yu Yan the right to sleep in. Since then, she had gotten later and later, rising groggily just before lunch unless it was the first day of the month when she had to greet the Consort early.

“Then you can come practice horseback archery with me.” Yu Yan looked him over and nodded in approval, seeing his slender arms and legs. “Cousin, you’re a boy. Don’t stay cooped up in the courtyard all day.”

Qing Dai and Song Lan breathed a sigh of relief at Yu Yan’s change of heart.

Xing De nodded and imitated her by cutting the kite string. “Cousin, what shall we play next?”

“Do you know how to jump rope?” Yu Yan looked into his bright eyes and suddenly had a bold idea. Suppressing the smile curving her lips, she feigned innocence.

Xing De shook his head. Yu Yan smiled and said, “Cousin, jumping rope is simple and great for exercise. You’re always sick, aren’t you? If you jump with me more often, you’ll get better.”

There were no toys suitable for children their age in the Consort’s courtyard, but Lady Li’s courtyard had several ropes of just the right length. The two circled around and returned to where they started.

Lady Li had been feeling unwell lately and was taking a nap with Hong Feng. Aunt Chen found two colorful ropes for them. Since the age of four, Yu Yan had used jumping rope as a daily form of exercise. She handed a rope to Xing De and demonstrated the motions.

Once Xing De began to jump properly, Yu Yan blinked and said, “Cousin, let’s have a contest. If you lose, will you grant me a favor?”

“What favor?” he asked.

Yu Yan leaned close and whispered, “Father assigned me some calligraphy practice last time, but I forgot to do it. If you lose, could you write two sheets for me?”

“But won’t Uncle recognize it?” Xing De hesitated.

Yu Yan clicked her tongue. “Father is too busy to look over each sheet carefully.”

She wasn’t lazy exactly, but the Fifth Princess had recently assigned her some demanding political essays, which took up most of her homework time. In comparison, the calligraphy practice seemed dull.

Yu Yan couldn’t straightforwardly tell her father she found the homework boring; no matter how much Yinzhen doted on her, she would probably be scolded.

It was the first time Yu Yan asked Xing De for help. He was a little scared but hopeful. Maybe Uncle was too busy to check the calligraphy. So he boldly agreed, “Okay.”

Yu Yan’s face lit up with joy. She pinched his soft, girlish cheeks and said, “Thank you, cousin!”

Xing De blushed deeply and stammered, “You’re welcome...”

Yu Tao brought out a sand timer from Yu Yan’s room. Yu Yan explained, “We’ll jump for the time the sand runs out. Yu Tao and Shan Zhi will count for us. Whoever jumps the most by the end wins.”

Xing De was unusually sharp. “They’re your maids. What if they’re unfair?”

Yu Yan waved her hand. “Then how about this: Yu Tao counts for you, and Sister Song Lan counts for me. Fair, right?”

Xing De blinked and found no objection.

Once both tightened their ropes and were ready, Aunt Chen set the sand timer upright. As the sand began to fall, Yu Yan whipped her rope quickly.

In elementary school, she had been on the jump rope team, effortlessly performing cross jumps, single-leg jumps, spins, and even double jumps.

When the timer was halfway done, Yu Yan had already jumped about seventy or eighty times. She kept an eye on Xing De, whose coordination was lacking; he often stopped after a couple of jumps, either tripping on the rope or the rope moving faster than him.

When the timer ended, Yu Yan had jumped a hundred and forty times, while Xing De had barely reached sixty.

Seeing him look dejected, Yu Yan felt a rare pang of conscience and comforted him, “It’s okay, cousin. I jump every day. It’s normal that you can’t keep up. If you beat me on your first try, how would I save face?”

Xing De glanced at her hesitantly and whispered, “So I really have to write the calligraphy?”

“You already agreed!” Yu Yan winked at him. “A bet’s a bet.”

Xing De sensed something was off but couldn’t put his finger on it. He sulked, tugged his rope, and looked at the smiling Yu Yan, feeling like he was being teased by his little cousin.

Satisfied after achieving her goal, Yu Yan put down the rope. She and Xing De ran about picking flowers and chasing each other, even trying to coax him into climbing a tree. Just as he was about to try, Lady Li, awakened, called out, “Be careful, or your father will come and spank you both!”

At this, Xing De immediately withdrew his hands from the tree. Yu Yan’s eyes brightened as she ran up to Lady Li. “Mother, you’re awake?”

“I am. It’s strange—I’ve been feeling warm and sleepy these past few days, probably because the weather is getting hotter,” Lady Li yawned. “You two have been playing in the yard so long, and the sun is nearly down. Aren’t you hungry?”

Yu Yan hadn’t felt it, but hearing Lady Li say so, her previously calm stomach suddenly growled.

Lady Li chuckled and asked the two maids near Xing De, “Does the boy want to eat with us or go back to the Consort’s residence after?”

Xing De looked at Qing Dai and Song Lan. Though Lady Li and the Consort bore no ill will, they both served the same master. Qing Dai hesitated, but Song Lan smiled and said, “The boy should thank the Consort.”

For Lady Li, one more child was just one more bowl and pair of chopsticks. Hong Feng, now two years old, walked steadily and smiled with open arms at Yu Yan. “Sister, hold me!”

Following the Eighth Consort’s advice, Yu Yan had been pulling the horn bow Yinzhen had given her as a token of apology, growing stronger. Though she couldn’t lift her brother fully, she could raise him off the ground.

“Why doesn’t little brother gain weight?” Yu Yan pinched Hong Feng’s cheeks and asked Lady Li.

“He’s always sick, so he can’t grow properly. He doesn’t like to walk. If Auntie Qi didn’t always tease him with toys, your brother would sit in bed all day,” Lady Li explained.

“Why is Hong Feng so lazy?” Yu Yan asked him.

Hong Feng pouted, “Not lazy! Sister’s mean!”

“Sister’s mean every day, but I’m still your sister!” Yu Yan snorted, then turned to sit at her usual place at the table. She caught Xing De staring blankly at them and nudged the dazed child. “Why are you just sitting there? Aren’t you hungry?”

“A little,” Xing De said softly. “I don’t know how to use chopsticks...”

His face flushed red as he admitted this. His younger cousin, though a bit younger in age, handled chopsticks and spoons deftly. Meanwhile, he was still fed by Auntie Qi in the Consort’s residence. Compared to that, this cousin seemed rather useless.

“You’ll learn by using them,” Yu Yan said between bites, “You can hold a brush, so chopsticks can’t be that hard.”

As she spoke, she reached for steamed dumplings in the box—thin, translucent skins revealing the pink shrimp inside. After a few bites, she sipped chilled rose syrup from a crystal glass. Watching her eat heartily, Xing De tried harder with his chopsticks, finishing about seventy to eighty percent of his meal, though he usually only ate lightly.

By evening, at the hour of You (early evening), the sky was still bright with the approach of summer, but Xing De had to return to the Consort’s residence. Reluctantly, he said, “Cousin, I’ll come find you after noon tomorrow. Please remember.”

Yu Yan nodded generously. He was a well-behaved child, and if she ever needed help, she could count on him.

Shortly after Xing De left, Lady Li reclined on the couch, her eyes half-closed, seemingly ready to fall asleep again. It was only after Zhenzhu returned with news of Yinzhen’s whereabouts that she opened her eyes, suppressing the bitterness in her heart. “Did Father stay at Madam Wu’s again today?”

With Nurse Xie absent, Aunt Chen watched over the playing Hong Feng in the gauze cabinet. The room fell into a heavy silence.

Lady Li could not express her thoughts clearly but felt deeply wronged. She threw her handkerchief down on the couch and tears began to fall. She did not cry aloud—there was no place for that in the palace. So she bit her lip and sobbed quietly. Yu Yan stood beside her, unsure how to comfort her.

In other words, no words seemed to ease Lady Li’s pain.

As a line from “Du Shiniang” goes, chivalry only exists in books, true love only in plays.

Her father was a noble of high rank. In this feudal era, he could never truly favor one woman alone. Yu Yan could not understand why Lady Li’s reaction was so intense. Perhaps it was because she had never experienced love herself, but Yu Yan still tried to understand her. She moved beside Lady Li, embraced her waist gently, and said, “Mother, don’t cry. Lin Zhu is here.”

Lady Li’s tears fell like broken pearls.