Chapter 9

    'Xiao Yihan' looked at the design of the stone dam on the table again after Zhang Xianze finished speaking. 

    "Did you design this by yourself?" 

    The smile that had lingered on Zhang Xianze's face slowly faded, visibly. Despite the Emperor's impassive face, his eyes betrayed a hint of skepticism that made Xianze shudder inwardly. 

    Zhang Xianze swallowed hard before replying, 

    "Somebody suggested the idea to me... regarding the sluice gate, Your Majesty." 

    Xiao Yihan looked at Zhang Xianze's face before lowering his eyes to the part of the design that showed the sluice gate— 

    arguably the most crucial part of the design. 

    As expected, it turned out to be someone else’s work. 

    "Who thought of it?" 

    "Uh... it was one of the maids, named Xiaoxi, Your Majesty."

    "Concubine, Head Seamstress Ma requests an audience,"

    reported Xiaoya as she approached Sisi, who was lounging on a daybed. 

    "Let her come in," Sisi said, before putting on the socks she had taken off next to her, followed by embroidered silk shoes. She walked from her bedroom to the reception room and saw Head Seamstress Ma already waiting in a bow. 

    "Head Seamstress Ma, no need for such formality. You may leave now," after speaking to Head Seamstress Ma, Sisi ordered Xiaoya to leave. 

    Once only the two of them were left, Sisi cheerfully asked, 

    "Have you made up your mind?" 

    "Yes, Your Highness," Ma Yechao answered, nodding with a relieved smile on her beautiful face. "I accept the consort’s proposal. I will leave the palace, Your Highness."

    "A good choice," Sisi smiled back at her and continued, "On the day you leave the palace, I will have a sedan chair ready to take you to the store to meet my sister. She's managing the store in my stead now." 

    Ma Yechao thanked her and after discussing a few more details, she excused herself as she had many arrangements to make before she could leave the palace.

    Sisi removed her shoes and socks again, the ornaments in her hair beginning to weigh on her neck. She called for Xiaoya and Minmin to help her remove them, letting her glossy black hair flow freely as she lazily twisted her body. Just then, Xiaoping walked in with a small wide-mouthed ceramic pot.

    Sisi peered delightedly at the reddish-pink substance in the pot and asked,

    "Has it set?"

    "Yes, miss," Xiaoping replied, handing the pot containing the red rouge to Sisi. She sniffed it before scooping out a bit with her finger and rubbing it between her thumb and index finger. She then passed the pot to Minmin and Xiaoya to check.

    "It smells wonderful, miss," Minmin exclaimed excitedly.

    "And the color is very durable too, it doesn’t come off the fingers at all," Xiaoya added emphatically.

    Minmin continued, "If we sell this at Miss's Xiuxiang store, it would sell like hotcakes. This batch didn't even cost us much in materials. It's all profit. Miss truly has the Midas touch in business."

    Sisi laughed at her maids' comments; it was true, her uncle always teased that she could find profit in anything—even ashes.

    "Let’s wait for Xiaoai to visit me next time, we'll show her this sample. Maybe she’ll have some suggestions. Although I’m adept at trade, I’m not much for beauty products."

    Minmin nodded in agreement; her miss would indeed look even more stunning with a bit of makeup, especially now that her complexion was as fair and smooth as ever. However, she preferred simple attire, letting her hair down and often went barefoot, much to the dismay of her servants who had now resigned to her ways.

    Ma Yechao had returned to the palace at Concubine Dong's summons.

    The concubine was particularly fond of her tailoring skills. After Ma Yechao had left, the tailoring department failed to create garments that pleased the concubine. Eventually, the concubine called Ma Yechao back, allowing her special access to the palace. Every month, she was permitted to enter the palace for two days to take measurements and adjust the designs. She also brought along two apprentices.

    This was Ma Yechao's first visit to the palace since her departure. She brought a finished garment for the concubine to try on in the morning and then returned to her shop to make adjustments, planning to deliver it the next day.

    Ma Yechao's carriage moved from the palace gate to the front of the Xiuxiang store. As the coachman stopped the horses and set down a small wooden step, a petite woman in light blue attire stepped down gracefully. She smiled joyously upon seeing her sister coming out to greet her from the store.

    "Big sister!" Siai exclaimed joyfully, causing Sisi to touch her lips with a finger, signaling her to lower her voice. Nevertheless, a smile remained on her delicate face.

    Siai's eyes widened as she realized she had gotten carried away, then she quickly led her elder sister upstairs to the second floor of the store, followed by Ma Yechao and Xiaoping.

    Once they reached the private room on the second floor, Ma Yechao excused herself to look after the store in place of Siai, while Xiaoping went to watch the front of the store. The sisters then had a moment to talk privately.

    "How have you been? Is the business still doing well?"

    "I'm fine, and the business is doing even better," Siai reported before pulling out a ledger to show her sister. However, Sisi pushed it back to her and said,

    "You're grown up now. From now on, you manage the store on your own without showing me the accounts anymore. I trust you."

    Siai blinked rapidly at her sister’s words before her smile widened uncontrollably, a sight Sisi found both beautiful and endearing.

    "And how about you, elder sister?"

    "If you don't count the occasional boredom, everything else is fine."

    "Isn't it too risky for you to sneak out of the palace like this?"

    Though she was happy to see her big sister, if it were discovered that she had left the palace without permission, she would certainly be severely punished.

    "It's okay, I sneaked out with Miss Ma, disguised as one of her apprentices. The actual apprentice is hiding in the palace until I return. She is one of Miss Ma's trusted people, and Minmin is keeping an eye on her, so there's definitely no problem."

    As they were talking, the door to the room opened, and both sisters of the Dong family turned to see who it was. It was Luen, the elder twin.

    "Big sister!" He called out and walked over to them. His handsome and striking face brightened up the small room even more, enhancing the already dazzling presence. Indeed, just seeing beautiful people filled the heart with joy, and today she saw two beautiful siblings she dearly loved, making her not want to return to the royal palace at all.

    "How did you manage to come out of the palace?"

    Upon arriving, Luen directly asked about the situation he was curious about, and Sisi explained it to him, before adding,

    "Siai told me that you have started teaching at the academy."

    "Yes, that’s right, but I only teach the children," he replied, somewhat sheepishly.

    "You're still a kid yourself, how could you teach adults? You're already far ahead of other young men of your age," Sisi playfully teased and praised him.

    Luen, only sixteen this year, had become a teacher at the royal academy, an outstanding achievement compared to his peers. His twin brother, Lulin, of the same age, was still unfocused, spending his days in leisure, so the future of the Dong family seemed to depend solely on Luen.

    "Big sister, I need to go back to the academy soon, so I must leave now,"

    Luen said, his voice tinged with regret. As a man, it was not convenient for him to visit her at the palace, so seeing his elder sister this time was indeed a stroke of luck.

    "Luen, wait a moment,"

    The older twin who was about to leave then turned back to look at his sister once more. She smiled at him and said,

    “I’ll walk you to the academy.”

    Throughout the walk to the academy, both young women and older ladies cast admiring glances at Luen. Many even daringly dropped their handkerchiefs in front of him. Although Luen, being a gentleman, made a motion to pick them up, Sisi raised her hand to stop him, and he nonchalantly walked past, following his sister.

    Upon reaching the main gate of the academy, Sisi warned her brother with a concerned look,

    “The exams are coming up soon. You must not get distracted by the ladies, absolutely no wavering, understand?”

    “I understand, big sister,” Luen responded firmly, determination visible in his eyes, which somewhat reassured Sisi.

    “Focus well on your teaching. Next time I come out, I will visit you again.”

    Luen nodded before turning to enter the academy, with Sisi watching him until he was out of sight. Then the young woman turned to her personal maid and said,

    “Xiaoping, it’s been a while since we’ve been out. Let’s go explore the market.”

    “Yes, miss.”

    The two then walked to the market, which was bustling that day. Sisi strolled from stall to stall, casually noting the prices of various items. Suddenly, she felt something being snatched from her waist.

    “Thief!” Xiaoping shouted loudly, poised to chase after the man in gray who had grabbed Sisi’s pouch, but her miss held her back before she could pursue.

    “Don’t follow. I don’t want us to draw attention. It only had some coins I exchanged; the real money is still in my sleeve pocket.”

    Xiaoping nodded in understanding, abandoning her initial intention to chase the thief.

    Sisi briefly caught sight of the thief’s back as he ran into several bystanders, causing them to step aside to avoid getting hurt.

    Suddenly, the thief, thinking he had escaped, crashed into a wall when a large watermelon unexpectedly struck him on the head.

    Thud!

    “Ouch!” He cried out in pain before falling unconscious, his face and head splattered with watermelon flesh and juice. A tall man in dark blue attire approached, bent down to retrieve the pouch from the thief’s hand, and then walked gracefully towards Sisi like a dignified scholar.

    “The lady’s pouch,”

    he said, stopping in front of her. Sisi noticed he was a handsome man with a sharp, pale face, a high nose, thin lips, and a small mole under his left eye that added to his charm.

    “Thank you, Master, for your help,” Sisi thanked him with an open smile. It was rare for her to encounter such a kind-hearted person. “It’s a pity I have nothing to offer you in return right now.”

    “That’s alright, my lady. It was only right for me to help,” he said simply, then bowed his head and quickly walked away like a breeze, leaving Sisi to gaze after him with a faint smile, clutching her retrieved pouch.

    "Consort!"

    Xiaozu, gasping for breath, rushed into the palace and shouted in a way that was rarely seen. Her long face was visibly panicked.

    "Take it easy, speak slowly," Sisi said, patting the back of the gasping girl.

    Xiaozu pointed towards the entrance and said,

    "His Majesty is on his way here!"