C2

Facing the morning sun, I walked slowly with the help of my maidservant to the luxurious carriage at the entrance of the palace, the hem of my dress trailing behind me. A group of attendants helped me carry it. Doggie was dressed in a large palace uniform, and was being supported by two palace maids. His face was pale, and he was clearly in pain.

It's my dog I killed, my eyes are misty again at the thought. Last night, after my stubborn temper was over, the Queen Mother sent someone to fetch the dog, but when I went to see the dog happily, I found that he had fainted from the pain. I heard the Queen Mother say that men could not enter the palace unless they were eunuchs.

I knew that no amount of crying could change the fact that the dog had become a eunuch. My heart was filled with resentment at the birth of my royal father and mother.

The dog woke up and didn't blame me. He cried and said that he had done it willingly, that as long as he could stay by my side, he would be willing to be a eunuch, even if he didn't have to pee anymore.

Seeing this dog that has always taken care of me turn out like a little brother, I clenched my fists tightly. I swore to myself that in this life, I would never call them 'royal father' and 'mother' again.

When I turned back to look at Doggie, he was looking at me in panic, so pale that he didn't even have the strength to speak. I think he must have been scared, anyone would have panicked at such a scene, not to mention that I couldn't even recognize myself with my makeup on, let alone Doggie.

I open my mouth and inhale into the sunlight, and though I'm no longer hungry, all I'm doing is trying to reassure the dog that beauty is still beauty, and that even if I become a fairy, it's still beauty.

As expected, Doggie's expression relaxed a lot as he slowly walked forward with the support of the palace maid.

The journey to the capital of the Great Sui Empire was a long one. I heard Grandma Si Li say that I was going to travel nine days and nine nights, but fortunately, I was riding in a large carriage and not jogging behind it like those servants.

I couldn't bear to see the dog suffer out there. I wanted to call him into the car for a ride, but Grandma Si Li wouldn't allow it. She said it was a rule. Although I was young, I had learned how to threaten in the past few days. Seeing that my mother-in-law was unwilling, I had no choice but to use my trump card.

"If you don't let the dog get in the car to relieve my boredom, then I'll get out of the car and walk with you!"

"This —" After weighing the pros and cons, Old Granny Si Li had a difficult expression on her face. In the end, she had no choice but to comply with me, but she still said with a straight face:

"Dogs get on the carriage to relieve the princess' boredom, but when it's time for great fun, Dogs have to get off the carriage and walk."

Her words were enough. Actually, Grandma Si Li was still a very reasonable person. She just stayed in the palace for more than half her life. Her thoughts were too dogmatic.

Leaving the capital, we headed west. The scenery along the way became more and more desolate, but to Doggie and I, who had never travelled far before, this was something new and strange.

It was a long journey, day and night, and the palace servants were tired to the point of swelling their feet, but the dog and I were in high spirits, gathering all the flowers and herbs we had not seen on the way and weaving them into little baskets.

The faster the carriage ran, the further away we went from Jiangnan. It was only when Grandma Si Li urged the dog to get off the carriage that I saw a city far bigger than the capital of the Kingdom of Liang.

"Princess, we're almost there."

Then, I saw a group of people in the distance. They were persevering in a gorgeous parade towards us, led by a man riding a big red horse. His white robe was fluttering in the wind and his appearance was very scholarly, probably my future husband, Yang Guang.

Sure enough, when the two lines were connected, the man on the horse jumped down. Through the curtain of the sedan chair, I heard his disdainful voice:

"The King of Sui and Jin, Yang Guang, has come to welcome Princess Yu Jian!"

Following the teachings of Grandma Si Li, I slowly stepped down from the sedan with the support of a palace maid. Yang Guang bowed to me, and I returned the gesture back to him with the gift of a woman.

"Thank you, Prince Jin, for welcoming us!"

I raised my head and looked into Yang Guang's eyes. He really did look as elegant as in the legends. There was a delicate and pretty air between his brows, but there was also a hint of unbridled arrogance hidden within it. Although the young me still don't understand the matters between a man and a woman, but many years later, in my memories, there was always this scene: Yang Guang elegantly saluted me, then his eyes filled with amazement and gradually fading disdain.

Because I was young, the emperor and queen of Big Sui didn't allow me to marry Yang Guang, but first arranged for me to be engaged to marry him in my prime. In the next few years, I will live in the palace and be raised by Queen Dugu.

Although I had already seen the magnificence of Liang's imperial palace before I came here, the comparison was that the imperial palace of Big Sui really made a country boy like me speechless. The towering palaces covered the entire imperial city in layers, rows upon rows of glazed roof tiles shone with dazzling light under the sunlight, and groups of palace girls weaved through the long corridors, each palace, each palace was either luxurious or extravagant, or filled with beautiful and disorderly eyes. After staying in the palace for nearly half a month, Doggie and I would often get lost.

I was assigned to Wangyou Pavilion, the place closest to Empress Dugu's Yongan Palace. Every morning, the first thing I did when I woke up was to pay my respects to Empress Dugu and receive her teachings.

Empress Dugu was an extremely bold woman, and the imperial harem of Big Sui was very peaceful under her rule. According to the people of the palace, any matters concerning which the emperor could not make a decision were all planned by the empress. Whether it was the imperial harem or the previous dynasty, Empress Dugu's ability to rule over the country was well-known.

Today, I went to the Yongan Palace as usual to pay my respects. I could hear laughter and laughter from afar in the main hall, and my heart was filled with gloom. Ever since I entered the palace, whenever I came here, the empress would either be reading or making flowers.

"Greetings to Your Highness!"

My long sleeves drew a perfect arc in the air, and my body fell forward.

"Little Ling'er, no need to be so polite. Come sit in front of me." The empress's tone was joyful, and my mood lightened as well. Although everyone in the palace knew that the empress doted on me, my respect for this lofty and imposing woman was still greater than my respect for her kindness.

With my greetings, the cheers and laughter from just now temporarily stopped. When I raised my head to look, I saw a girl of about my age sitting to the left of the empress. To the right of the empress, there was an older boy, both of them were staring at me curiously with their large eyes that were like black grapes.

I have never seen them before, and secretly guessed their identities. To be able to sit next to the empress, they must be princes and princesses, but I haven't seen them in the academy these days. The empress, seeing my confusion, smiled and said,

"This is the little girl I've just told you all about. She will be your sister-in-law in the future. Li Jun, Su'er, you still don't greet me courteously? "

After listening to the queen's introduction, Li Jun jumped down from the chair and grabbed my hand. She praised,

"I heard from the empress that a beautiful little princess came to the palace. I thought the empress was lying to me, but it turned out to be true!"

Yang Liang made a face at me, and when the empress caught sight of him and glared at him, Yang Liang was so frightened that he stuck out his tongue and we all burst out laughing.

I only found out later that the young prince and princess of Sui Yu went to the Royal Tomb to guard it for a month and came back today.

The empress seemed to be in a good mood. Today, I made an exception and didn't have anyone teach me how to be a woman, but read poetry and play the zither to us. To be honest, the empress was not only politically intelligent, but also very talented. When I saw Li Jun and Yang Liang, one on each side, nestling against the Empress's lap, I suddenly felt a sense of jealousy. I had such a mother before, and I had also played like this with her, but now I had nothing, and even my relationship with my mother was denied.

Who said that young people don't know how to feel? Layers of sadness and longing filled my heart. I want to be like them, leaning on my mother...

"Mother, she's crying." Yang Liang pointed at my face. I quickly wiped away the tears, but I could still see the concern in Yang Liang's eyes through the gaps of his fingers. In the suffering of the countryside, I lived very simply, but after leaving the suffering, the little me quickly adapted to see the color of words, my mother-in-law often said, I am a villain.

"Little Ling'Er, come here." The queen holds out a hand and pulls me over to sit with her, her fingers as smooth as jade and warm, even though she is not my mother.

"Little'er, are you thinking of your royal father and mother now?" the queen asked gently, taking me in her arms.

No, why should I think of them? A trace of hatred rose in his heart as he replied:

"Your Highness, you're so much closer to me than my mother. Why would I want to think about them?"

The empress's lips curved up in a smile. "Little girl, your little mouth is so sweet. I've heard that you grew up in the countryside, but this is good as well. Only after experiencing the hardships of the countryside will you value your current position and life more."

I nodded, vaguely understanding. Everything was fated, even if I wanted to go back to living in the countryside, it would be impossible.