Thinking that she hadn’t seen Lin Nianzhi for a while, Lin Feilu went straight to the Du Residence after leaving the palace.
Lin Jingyuan complained, “Eldest Imperial sister’s temper has gotten worse since she got married, so what’s there to see? Go by yourself; I’m going to choose a land!”
After that, he jumped out of the carriage and ran.
The carriage then took Lin Feilu to the gates of the Du Residence. When the doorman saw the Fifth Princess get out of the carriage, he hurriedly greeted her and saluted. Lin Feilu asked as she walked in, “What is my eldest Imperial sister doing?”
The little servant looked a little embarrassed. Only after they both entered the courtyard did he start to answer her reluctantly, “Replying to the Fifth Princess’s question, the eldest Imperial Princess is not in residence right now.”
Lin Feilu glanced at him, “Where is she?”
Just as they were talking, Du Jingruo came out of the house.
Back then, the youngster in green had become a handsome young man— just like the husband that Lin Nianzhi was looking forward to back then.
Lin Feilu called out to him, “Brother-in-law.”
Du Jingruo bowed slightly before he spoke warmly, “The Fifth Princess is here to find Nianzhi? She moved back to her residence a few days ago and is not here now.”
Lin Feilu understood as soon as she heard it, “Are you two quarreling again?”
A helpless smile appeared on Du Jingruo’s face.
Lin Feilu asked, “What’s the reason this time?”
Du Jingruo hesitated, but he didn’t say anything in the end. He merely replied, “If the Fifth Princess is looking for Nianzhi, please relay a word to her from me. Mother’s words are not my thoughts, so she need not mind it.”
Lin Feilu nodded at him before turning and making her way to the Eldest Princess’s Residence.
The Eldest Princess’s Residence was built in the year when Lin Nianzhi came of age(1). This was the rule of the Great Lin Empire’s Royal Family— the Princes and Princesses must have a residence built outside the palace once they became adults. However, after Lin Nianzhi got married, she lived with Du Jingruo in the Du’s Residence. Hence, the Eldest Princess’s Residence only had a few servants taking care of it, so most of the time, it remained empty.
(T/N: The term is ‘Ji An’ in Chinese. In ancient times, girls who turned 15 were considered adults. From then, there were different hairstyles, outfits, accessories, and customs they would have to follow because they were now mature)
But it was apparent that Lin Nianzhi regarded this place as her maiden’s home— every time she quarreled with Du Jingruo, she would pack up and move back to her residence.
After Lin Feilu entered the house, she followed the maid to the courtyard door. The maid relayed the message, and Lin Nianzhi’s angry voice echoed from the room, “No, no, no! Sweep out all the people of the Du family with the brooms! This Princess will not meet anyone!”
Lin Feilu smiled and asked, “You won’t see me either?”
Suddenly, there was nothing but an awkward atmosphere of silence. It took a long while before Lin Nianzhi’s unhappy voice rang out, “What are you doing outside if you’re not going to come in?!”
Lin Feilu asked the maid to return to her post as she pushed open the door and walked in. She saw Lin Nianzhi lying on the soft couch when she entered the room. She snacked on some fruits while struggling to solve a nine-chain ring puzzle(2). Hearing her sister’s movements, she didn’t lift her eyelids and just muttered, “Why did you leave the palace again?”
(T/N: This particular game contains nine rings cleverly attached to a long metal loop. One has to figure out a way to unlock all the rings, and it is a pretty challenging puzzle. Each ring increased the difficulty of the game, so nine rings is kind of tricky)
Lin Feilu sat down across from her and looked at the highly complicated nine-chain ring puzzles in her hand, “I came out with Brother Jingyuan.”