On the way back to the palace, the Empress Dowager obtained sufficient information from her palace servant. It turned out that the Fifth Princess was the daughter of the Honorable Lady Lan who previously gave birth to the foolish prince that year. The fact that her presence was barely known truly showed that the status and the living conditions of the Fifth Princess in the palace was rather unsatisfactory.
Thus, Empress Dowager did not perceive Lin Feilu’s behavior to please Lin Nianzhi as a surprise.
The Empress Dowager became worried because the little girl was so young, but she already seemed to have malicious intentions. Within a year, an obscure princess was able to have an entire state banquet granted by the Emperor. Not only that, but she even managed to soften the harsh look on his face into a mellower gaze in such a short amount of time.
Consort Hui didn’t say much. She always acted vigilantly, so she considered her goal for today was achieved once she saw the displeased expression portrayed on the Empress Dowager’s face. After having another cup of tea, she excused herself and left.
The Yiqing Palace no longer allowed anyone else to enter its gates. No one was to disturb the Empress Dowager’s rest, especially after greeting this many concubines.
After dinner, the Empress Dowager went out for a walk with the help of the palace staff.
As it was near the end of spring, the palace was full of bloomed flowers and the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. She was used to seeing the deserted landscapes of Mount Wutai, so she was rather satisfied to see a world of luxury and wealth every once in a while.
When she passed by the Begonia Flower Garden, she heard an ongoing quarrel. The sound was sharp and slightly hitched, sounding slightly similar to a little girl’s voice.
The Empress Dowager walked over slowly. There, she saw a small silhouette behind the shadows of the Begonia Flowers. The two side buns on the little girl’s head was quite a familiar sight.
However, this very silhouette was wiping away her tears. The Empress Dowager heard her intermittently speaking as she sobbed, “You have… you have ignored me for 98 days.”
The Empress Dowager didn’t realise that there was another person in front of her. She changed her hiding spot in surprise, only to notice yet a person standing not far away from the little girl. Just by looking at her back, the other girl resembled Lin Nianzhi.
As she was gazing at them, she heard Lin Nianzhi’s dull voice, “I wasn’t ignoring you.”
The childish yet silky voice choked back a sob before she retorted, “You were! I waved to you but you ignored me! I called you but you ignored me! When you saw me just now, you even ran away…”
The more she spoke, the sadder she became. Finally, she ended up sitting on the ground as she covered her face and wailed loudly.
Lin Nianzhi stamped her feet twice as she had no choice but to turn around and walk back towards Lin Feilu. When she stood right before the little girl, she crouched down and took out the handkerchief in her arms. As she wiped Lin Feilu’s tears, she soothed Lin Feilu, “Oh, don’t cry! Stop crying… Lin Feilu! Stop crying this instant!”
The cries stopped almost immediately.
The little girl pursed her lips aggrievedly and looked up at her with a pitiful expression.
Lin Nianzhi’s facial expression was hard to read, however. She dabbed the handkerchief to wipe away the tears from the Fifth Princess’s face. Then, she pulled the Little Bean up from the ground and patted the dust over her backside to clean her attire.
Lin Feilu tugged at the cuffs of her sleeves, eagerly expressing herself, “Sister…Are you still angry with me?”