It was known to all sons of noble families that Zhong Li, the younger sister of Lady Zhong, was forced to death by Liu Ruoye—She turned fifteen this year—while she was laughing and talking. The sisters of the Huo Family had to treat Liu Ruoye carefully and greeted her politely, "Sister Liu, are you here to find us?"

Liu Ruoye smilingly looked at Wei Changying and Su Yuli, then she said, "I originally didn't dare to come over to disturb Sister-in-law Huo and Sister Qingling, yet I heard from Sister Yuyin of the Su Family that Sister-in-law Huo and Sister Wei seemed to misunderstand each other. So I ventured to come and make your peace. After all, today is the birthday of Princess Linchuan. Why should we disappoint Her Royal Highness for some small things?"

Mrs. Huo frowned slightly. Although the Liu Family of Eastern Hu was superior to the Huo Family, Mrs. Huo was a daughter-in-law of the Wei Family and she was older than Liu Ruoye, besides, she was already a mother—Wei Changying was also married. How could Liu Ruoye, a young unmarried girl, patch things up between Mrs. Huo and Wei Changying?

Furthermore, Mrs. Huo was deeply annoyed by her sister-in-law Wei Lingzi and the former didn't really smooth things over for the latter. At the moment, Mrs. Huo thought for a while and said evasively, "Thanks, Sister Liu. It's just that no one can say clearly about this matter now. I don't dare to make arbitrary decisions myself, so I'm about to go back to the hall to report this to my aunt!"

Liu Ruoye smiled and said, "Don't misunderstand, Sister-in-law Huo. Since I am young, how can I mediate between you and Sister Wei?" Then she lowered her voice, "Just now you had a conversation with Sister Wei in front of Qianqiu Pavilion and it seemed that someone from the palace passed by and heard it. I was told by the Empress to come over to you. She said that today was the birthday of His Royal Highness, and if there were any grudges between you, please talk about it when you left the palace."

Mrs. Huo's face changed, and she didn't know how to answer it for a moment. Huo Qingling, Fourteenth Miss of the Huo Family, explained on Mrs. Huo's behalf, "My eighth sister just listened to her aunt, thinking of being a sister-in-law, and invited third young madam of the Shen Family to the outside to ask her a few questions. Eighth sister never meant to make trouble here to disturb Her Highness."

Liu Ruoye held her forefinger to her lips, and her eyes were bright and soft. Then she said, "I think so. Sister-in-law Huo was always virtuous and sensible. Although I only met Sister Wei once, I still thought she was a good person. I wondered how you two could have deliberately disappointed Her Royal Highness. Most likely, that servant had misunderstood you."

After a pause, Liu Ruoye continued, "It was just that Sister Lingzi was crying outside the Weiyang Palace, which made servant pay attention to it. Otherwise, the Empress would not have thought too much."

Mrs. Huo scolded Wei Lingzi for being uneasy in her heart, and sighed. Then she said embarrassedly, "It was a misunderstanding. What happened was that third young madam of the Shen Family told something to Lingzi on the road. First Miss of the Song Family, the daughter of minister of the public, raised a Chausie and this Chausie ate her beloved parrot.... Lingzi’s heart was too soft, and she was so sad to cry for that parrot…." Now Mrs. Huo could only follow Wei Changying's words.

"So that was the case." Liu Ruoye nodded with a smile and said, "It was a real misunderstanding."

Then Liu Ruoye looked back at Wei Changying again, and Wei Changying was also looking in Liu Ruoye's way. Then Liu Ruoye suggested, "Why not Sister-in-law Huo and Sister Qingling go and talk to Sister Wei? Then the Empress will know that there is nothing wrong with you."

Mrs. Huo didn't dare to offend the Empress, so she said hurriedly, "Many thanks for your reminding, Sister Liu, otherwise...."

"What are you talking about, Sister-in-law Huo?" Liu Ruoye waved her hand with a smile and said, "It was also my presumptuousness. The person who was sent by the Empress originally told it to my tenth sister, but my tenth sister was tired. Therefore, I came on behalf of her. Also because I knew that you were kind so I dared to come here. I was not qualified to make your peace. I was relieved that you didn't care about it!"

Liu Ruoye said it innocently. Mrs. Huo couldn’t help but look for Liu Ruoyu in Qianqiu Pavilion, but she didn’t see her. Although she had heard vaguely that Liu Hai's two lineal daughters were not harmonious because of their different mothers, she guessed that Liu Ruoye said those words with the purpose of instigating her. She was still unhappy. She was thinking that if it hadn't been for Liu Ruoye's reminding, she would have offended the Empress....

Mrs. Huo thought so and her face showed a little, but Huo Qingling looked calm. She fanned herself and said with a smile, "I didn't say hello to third young madam of the Shen Family just now. Let's go later."

On the one hand, the two sisters of the Huo Family were attracted by Liu Ruoye; On the other hand, Wei Changying was swayed first by Liu Ruoye and she also moved a few steps forward. Then when the both sides came together, Mrs. Huo and Wei Changying were very polite to each other. Mrs. Huo said firstly, "Sister Wei, it was really a big misunderstanding! I just chatted with you and sighed with emotion that Lingzi's heart was so soft that she even cried for the parrot which had been eaten by Chausie when she heard the story...You see, the Empress had also heard of it."

Wei Changying got the excuse, so she naturally followed it and apologized, "It was all my fault. I hadn't asked in advance about Sister Lingzi's temperament, so I told it to her as a joke! I didn't expect that it would spoil her interests in entering the palace!"

"Never mind, Sister Wei. You were new to the capital and we hadn't seen much before. As the saying goes, ignorance can be forgiven...."

"Your words made me more and more uncomfortable, sister-in-law. I should have asked you about Lingzi. I was so silly that I just paid attention to talking and laughing when Sister Lingzi invited me to chat...."

Therefore, surrounded by Su Yuli, Huo Qingling and others, the two exchanged greetings pleasantly and rather politely. Mrs. Huo took the initiative to take the hand of Wei Changying and they went to see Princess Linchuan's pictures on the desk together.

Liu Ruoye smiled and said behind them, "As I expected, Sister-in-law Huo and Sister Wei were both virtuous people, and you were both from the Wei Family. Who could say that Sister-in-law Huo and Sister Wei were at odds? It was known to us all that Duke Changshan was on good terms with Marquis Jingcheng. Last year, Marquis Jingcheng retired because of his illness, and he was asked by Duke Changshan to live an easy life in Fengzhou.... Since your grandfathers were close friends, how could you, the younger generation, be on bad terms?"

Marquis Jingcheng's retirement was a great blow to people of Zhiben Hall. In particular, the position of vice-premier was acquired by Wei Yu of Ruiyu Hall...No matter how many grudges Mrs. Huo bore against her mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law, she couldn't help but hold her handkerchief more tightly.

After all, without Marquis Jingcheng's support in the Royal Court, her husband Wei Lingde's future would be much harder than before...

Su Yuli happened to be walking side by side with her, and she echoed Liu Ruoye with a smile, "Sister Liu, you are right."

Shen Cangning, Su Yufei and Su Yuyin all enjoyed wearing bizarre makeup and loved to amuse themselves. Although they were at the same age of Liu Ruoye, they couldn't compare themselves with Liu Ruoye because the latter was "young but mature, thoughtful and considerate". Therefore, they were all daughters of gentlefolks, but they weren't the same sort of people. Besides, being young, they were too lazy to be like Su Yuli. Even if Su Yuli was not familiar with Liu Ruoye, she still replied the latter politely. However, the other three just ignored Liu Ruoye and continued their own talking.

As a result, Mrs. Huo and Wei Changying had to turn back and thank Liu Ruoye after hearing her words…. Liu Ruoye, of course, was very humble in her reply.

At this time, three sides of Princess Linchuan's desk were packed solid with people. No one stood in front of the desk for fear that the sunlight might be blocked.

Now those who had arrived at the Qianqiu Pavilion were all young ladies or daughters of eminent families. They didn't dare to jostle each other before the princess. Mrs. Huo and Wei Changying's people walked over. Wei Changying was tall, so she could see the side faces of Princess Linchuan and the girl in the magenta upper shirt. Except for Wei Changying, the rest of them could see nothing.

The three of Shen Cangning hadn't grown up yet. After standing on tiptoe to look for a while, they felt too tired, so Shen Cangning said, "Since we can't see the pictures, let's go back to front courtyard."

Wei Changying deemed that although the three of them were mischievous, they weren't those who didn't behave themselves. Furthermore, they were familiar with Weiyang Palace—She just promised to appreciate Princess Linchuan's inscription with Mrs. Huo, so it was not appropriate for her to leave with her younger sister-in-law. Therefore, she told Shen Cangning, "Help me report this to mother."

Shen Cangning answered and ran out with her two cousins.

Wei Changying then turned back and continued to look into the crowd. She saw that a painting had been spread on Princess Linchuan's desk. It was about three feet long and one foot high. On the painting, the scene of a pond encircled in the grass and lotus flowers in full bloom was painted in meticulous and delicate brushwork. In the upper right corner of the painting, there were dots of distant mountains. Although Wei Changying couldn't see the picture clearly because of the crowd, the bright colors in the painting were apparent, which was prosperous.

Princess Linchuan rolled up her sleeves in the gold bracelet, revealing a large part of her snow-white wrist. Holding a purple brush, she dipped it in the inkstone held by the girl in the magenta upper shirt. After a little thought, she unrestrainedly wrote the characters in the blank space of the painting— "Chun Cao Hu Fu"(Chinese of Ode to Spring Grass Lake).

Those four characters were done at one stretch, and they were forceful but soft, rendered with strong vigorousness.

Princess Linchuan was being urged by the crowd to inscribe words. Though Wei Changying was far away, she also felt that it was not all flattery because Princess Linchuan's handwriting was really excellent.

Wei Changying thought so in her heart. Everyone around her had already cheered in chorus when Princess Linchuan finished writing the word "Fu"!

The girl holding the inkstone in the magenta upper shirt smiled and said, "I haven't seen you in a few days, My Highness. The character ‘Chun’ was improved a lot!" She didn't mention the other three characters, but Princess Linchuan's eyes lit up. After finishing the writing, Princess Linchuan smiled and said, "Yinuo, you know my handwriting best anyway. Indeed, in the past few days, the character ‘Chun’ was included in the words I had been practicing. And suddenly I was enlightened when I remembered the hundreds of peonies blooming in the imperial garden this year. The word ‘Chun’ is my favorite now. You deliberately asked for Chun Cao Hu Fu today. If it were not for the word ‘Chun’ in this ode, I would not have written such a long ode."

Princess Linchuan said that the girl asked for Chun Cao Hu Fu and the former called the nickname of the latter, so the girl should be Min Yinuo. It was very likely that she was the miss of the Min Family who had been offended by Nian Shengyao. She seemed to be sixteen or seventeen and had ordinary appearance. Although her skin was white and clean, her face was not outstanding, which could only compare with Princess Linchuan's appearance. However, her fresh scholarliness was naturally revealed in her manners and speech. Though she was flattering the princess, she didn't show any pretentiousness. Instead, she seemed to be a confidante of Princess Linchuan, which made her very generous.

At the moment, after listening Princess Linchuan's words, Min Yinuo said with a smile, "You are really playful, My Highness. You had been practicing writing all the time, how could you be afraid of writing too much?"

Princess Linchuan dipped in ink again and continued to write the main text of the ode, saying in her mouth, "That's different. Today is my birthday and I don't want to be tired!"

"Then it's my fault." Min Yinuo smiled gently. She said so, but she put the inkstone on the desk, picked the ink stick, and grinded it slowly.

After finishing writing the first line, Princess Linchuan looked up and pretended to scold Min Yinuo, "You said so just for fear that I would leave this painting behind! You said one thing and did another, then you hastened to grind the ink stick with the purpose of pushing me to continue my writing...You said it was your fault, then what mistakes had you made?"

Min Yinuo smiled leisurely and said, "I had already made mistakes before. Now My Highness is inscribing, how can I not grind the ink well?"

"Either way, you have your own reasons. You're getting increasingly mischievous as you get older!" Princess Linchuan said slightly—Even so, it was apparent that Min Yinuo and Princess Linchuan were quite familiar with each other. They were like ordinary close friends or fellow siblings. People couldn't find the differences between a princess and a miss.

Someone in the crowd laughed and said, "Sister Min loves playing a trick with Our Highness best."

Wei Changying recognized it was Wei Changjuan's voice. Min Yinuo turned her head back to look at Wei Changjuan with a meaningful smile, then she said, "You are making a fool of me! Don't regret it!"

Wearing an apricot red shirt as well as a green and white skirt tied straightly to the armpit, Wei Changjuan seemed to be extraordinarily delicate and exquisite when the soft wind blew up her skirt. She tilted her head and smiled innocently, "Why should I regret?"

"You will know in a moment." Min Yinuo waved her hands. When Princess Linchuan finished her writing, Min Yinuo stepped forward, carefully dried the ink, and put it away meticulously—Wei Changjuan continued to ask, "Sister Min, you didn't give me your answer yet. Why should I regret?"

Min Yinuo gently patted the scroll in her palm and sighed, "Someone's birthday was supposed to be in next month. I was thinking of sending a special gift. It turned out that the person didn't seem to want the gift very much...."

Wei Changjuan jumped up and said, "Oh dear! Give it to me!"

... It was originally prepared for Wei Changjuan.