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Back at the banquet, Ning Wangfei carried herself with grace and poise, leaving no room for criticism. Princess Kangyang, seated beside her, noticed her attention on the newly returned Yun Fuyi and Lin Xiaowu and took it upon herself to explain. “Those two are the capital’s most notorious troublemakers—idle and always up to mischief. It’s best to keep your distance from them.”
Recalling the past friendship between Ning Wang and Fuyi, as well as her own grievances over how Yun Fuyi had bullied her darling chubby grandson, Princess Kangyang added with a scoff, “The one with the flying immortal hairstyle is the daughter of Minister Yun, and she’s especially troublesome and annoying.”
“You must be joking, Aunt. Minister Yun’s high reputation is well-known throughout the entire Great Long Dynasty…” Ning Wangfei tactfully responded.
But Princess Kangyang interrupted, “Yun Wangui indeed has a sterling reputation, but his daughter… hmph!” She managed to maintain her composure as a princess, refraining from openly cursing, but the grudge was real—she couldn’t count how many times that annoying girl had tormented her precious chubby grandson!
“Princess Kangyang seems to be glaring at you,” Lin Xiaowu whispered to Fuyi after noticing the princess’s gaze. “Did you bully Fatty Liu again recently?”
“He brought it on himself. He came to me and asked for insults, so I kindly obliged, that’s all.” Fuyi replied nonchalantly, showing no concern for whatever scolding Princess Kangyang might be muttering in her mind. She continued to eat cheerfully, waving her chopsticks.
“Fuyi, I remember you didn’t like this duck-flower soup cake before,” Lin Xiaowu remarked in surprise as she saw Fuyi take a bite of the dish.
Fuyi finished the small bowl in a few bites. “It’s actually not so bad.” Back then, she was young and ignorant, being overly picky about food. After falling from the cliff, she was rescued by local villagers, enduring hunger and hardship with them. It was during those days that she realized her wrong and became grateful for what she once took for granted.
Hearing this, Lin Xiaowu’s eyes filled with tears. “Fuyi…” She tightly held Fuyi’s hand, “you’ve been through so much.”
How much hardship had Fuyi endured to be able to eat a dish she once disliked? This best friend of hers used to be so particular—the room must be cleaned and lit with incense before every meal, and every single dish had to be exquisite and meticulously prepared.
Seeing Lin Xiaowu’s teary eyes, Fuyi sighed and gently patted her head. “Just enjoy your meal.”
“Please forgive us, Miss Yun,” an anxious voice suddenly interfered. “This servant made a mistake and brought you the wrong dish. We’ll replace it immediately…” The young eunuch who served their table hurried over with a plate of deep-fried glutinous cake, intending to switch out the soup cakes. But to his surprise, there was only an empty bowl in front of Fuyi, the cakes already gone.
Panicking, he knelt down. “This servant has committed a grave error.”
“Get up.” Fuyi noticed the eunuch was very young, only about twelve or thirteen years old. She picked up a tangerine from the table and slipped it into his sleeve. “Take this and enjoy it.”
“Thank you, Miss Yun, for your kindness.” Relieved that Fuyi hadn’t lost her temper, the young eunuch clutched the tangerine tightly, expressing his gratitude over and over.
The deep-fried glutinous cake was fragrant and sweet, clearly fresh from the kitchen when it was served to her. Fuyi picked up a piece and took a bite. It tasted just like she remembered, yet somehow, it also felt different.
“The supervisor at the Palace Food Bureau seems thoughtful, remembering your favorite treats,” Lin Xiaowu said, taking a piece of the glutinous cake and biting into it. “The flavor hasn’t changed; it’s still the same recipe.”
‘So, it hadn’t changed after all.’ Fuyi mused silently. She took a sip of the drink on the table and let out a soft sigh. Indeed, it was people who changed, not things. For example, she had become a bit less unruly.
“The Lu clan values promises and integrity, but some people just shift with the wind. Even if she’s not embarrassed, I’m feeling ashamed for her,” someone muttered nearby.
“How can one speak so boldly at an imperial banquet? Where is the sense of propriety?” Fuyi set down her cup and, without looking up, remarked, “Look at how graceful Ning Wangfei is. Hasn’t a certain someone here learned even a fraction of her manners?”
Well—she, Yun Fuyi, might have corrected some of her bad habits, but certainly not all of them.
The person who had spoken earlier seemed caught off guard by Fuyi’s direct response in such a setting. Blushing, she retorted, “I wasn’t talking about you. Why are you taking it personally?”
“And I wasn’t talking about you either, so why are you responding?” Fuyi shot back.
“Yes, why are you responding?” Lin Xiaowu added with a mocking laugh. “What does it have to do with you?”
Those around the woman quickly tried to calm her down, worried that she might escalate things with Fuyi.
Someone whispered in her ear, “You haven’t even been drinking. Why say such things?!”
Another said, “Why provoke her out of nowhere? Are you out of your mind?”
“Is it because your elder brother got beaten up a while back? But if he hadn’t been involved in harassing a commoner girl along with Wang Yanhua, would your father have punished him?”
Miss Chen had never expected that the young ladies with whom she had a good relationship would criticize her so harshly. She turned red with anger, and tears brimmed in her eyes. Yun Fuyi wasn’t a princess—she didn’t even hold a title, so what was there to fear?
“A few days ago, didn’t you teach some shameless scoundrels a lesson and then report them to their family elders?” Lin Xiaowu explained to Fuyi, guessing that she might not recognize the person. “She’s the sister of one of those men, a Miss Chen. Her family was transferred to the capital two years ago.”
“That explains it.” Fuyi nodded lightly. No wonder someone dared to be so passive-aggressive in such a setting—turns out this young lady didn’t know her well enough.
Seeing Miss Chen’s face turn red with anger, Fuyi gave her a playful tilt of the head and smiled charmingly.
“Look at that, she’s even mocking me now!” Miss Chen fumed, pulling her friends closer to complain once again.
“You’re misunderstanding. She’s smiling at you because… well, she just naturally loves to smile.”
“Yes, yes, that’s it. That’s how she is—everyone knows Miss Yun has a cheerful nature. Don’t think too much about it.”
One of the girls gently turned Miss Chen’s head away, keeping her from glaring at Fuyi any longer. Fortunately, at that moment, performers from the Music Bureau entered the hall and started the entertainment, providing a welcome distraction that broke the tension.
For the safety of the distinguished guests, many objects were prohibited from entering the banquet hall, so the performances tended to be conservative and proper—lacking the thrilling excitement of the more daring street performances. Fuyi and Lin Xiaowu, two expert idlers who had tasted all kinds of entertainment, found it rather dull.
However, when an elderly man entered and began performing a peacock act, Fuyi’s interest suddenly perked up, her eyes fixed intensely on the two peacocks.
Lin Xiaowu was puzzled; her family had owned a few peacocks before, but Fuyi had never shown much interest. What was it about these peacocks today that had caught her attention?
As the birds finished their dance, one of them shook its colorful tail feathers, fanning them out in a stunning display, and repeatedly bowed in the direction of the Empress.
“The peacock, in the presence of the true phoenix, pays its respect and wishes Her Majesty a long life,” the performer knelt down, bowing deeply. The two peacocks followed suit, kneeling alongside him. This spectacle drew exclamations of wonder from the audience.
Just then, a sharp whistle pierced the air from outside the hall. The peacocks, which had been displaying their fanned feathers moments earlier, suddenly went wild, flapping madly as they flew toward the Empress.
“Protect Her Majesty!”
Amidst the commotion, a red figure dashed through the hall, and a slender hand caught one of the peacocks mid-flight, pressing it down firmly onto the ground. The bird managed only a sharp squawk before losing consciousness.
In a swift movement, she also grabbed the second peacock, which flailed wildly, sending feathers flying everywhere.
With a firm grip, Fuyi held onto both peacocks and proceeded to tightly bundle them together using her shawl. Her eyes filled with worry, she turned back to the Empress and asked, “Your Majesty, are you alright?”
“Nothing,” the Empress replied, stepping forward to inspect Fuyi. “Are you injured?”
“Your Majesty, handling these feathered creatures is hardly a challenge for your subject,” Fuyi lightly patted the feathers clinging to her dress.
She hadn’t done anything special—just a matter of practice. After she fell off the cliff years ago, she couldn’t do farm work, so to avoid being seen as a freeloader by the villagers, she spent her days helping them by herding chickens, catching ducks, chasing geese, and keeping stray dogs away. Now, whenever she saw a feathered creature trying to escape, her first instinct was to catch it.
Indeed, it was the harshness of life that had forged her strong, unyielding spirit!
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Author’s Note:
Fuyi: “What made me so strong? Of course, it’s life itself.”
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