Chapter 22

Li Mu thought that since they had gone to bed late last night, they would both sleep in the next day. However, after only a few hours of sleep, she was awakened by Lin Que getting up and changing clothes.

Li Mu was bewildered, as it was still dark outside.

Lin Que wasn’t feeling great either. After dressing and tying his hair, he sat by the bed and placed his cold hand on Li Mu’s warm, sleepy face.

Li Mu removed his hand and asked, “Why so early?”

Lin Que grabbed her hand, holding it in his palm as if he needed something warm to hold: “Opening the city gates in the middle of the night is no small matter. I have to attend the morning court session today.”

Morning court?

Li Mu’s closed eyes opened again, and sure enough, Lin Que was wearing his crimson robe.

Without thinking, Li Mu blurted out, “Looks good.”

Lin Que, who was grumpy from waking up early, couldn’t help but smile. Receiving this compliment made losing a few hours of sleep worth it.

After speaking, Li Mu fully woke up and, trying to maintain her composure, regretted once again having a mouth.

After Lin Que left, Li Mu kicked the blanket and closed her eyes again, drifting in and out of sleep. When she finally woke up, it was almost noon, and Lin Que hadn’t returned. She also heard that Grand Princess Zhaoming was still in the mansion, exhausted from her journey and still asleep, likely until the afternoon.

Knowing the grand princess was still there made Li Mu anxious. She had lunch alone, feeling restless, and decided to follow her usual routine of walking to aid digestion, then reading and practicing calligraphy to distract herself.

Perhaps because of the increased time spent on lessons and homework, Li Mu felt her vision was affected. If it was just eye strain, it would recover with rest, but she feared becoming nearsighted. To prevent this, she developed a habit of doing eye exercises, followed by warm-up exercises and Baduanjin, before changing into more suitable clothes and shoes to go horseback riding. She could now ride at a fast pace, not very fast, but steady enough.

The racetrack was also a place to practice riding and archery. While Li Mu was riding her horse around the track, Lin Qiwu and Li Yunxi were taking their riding and archery lessons. The two girls complemented each other well. One was academically gifted, able to draw inferences from one instance to another, writing essays and poems that were impressive for her young age, often making the teachers marvel at her talent, though they lamented she wasn’t a boy. However, she could only ride a horse at a slow pace. The other struggled with academics, but she was swift as a shooting star when it came to riding, and her archery skills were astonishing.

Given that Grand Princess Zhaoming, a renowned military figure was present, none of the riding and archery instructors dared to say to Lin Qiwu, “It’s a pity you’re not a boy.”

With a twang, another arrow hit the bullseye, the fletching quivering.

Li Mu often encountered them during their riding and archery lessons and noticed Lin Qiwu had been working harder than usual lately. Despite the chilly autumn wind, she rode her horse until she was sweating, quickly wiping her forehead and drinking some water before getting back on her horse. Only when Li Yunxi got tired did Lin Qiwu bring her to the side to rest.

Li Mu had taken a break earlier than them and, seeing them approach, poured two cups of cooled water for them.

“Thank you, Fifth Sister!”

“Thank you, Sister-in-law!”

The two girls drank the water, sat down to rest, and ate some fruit, chatting energetically.

They talked about everything from their studies to the weather, from people they disliked to their favorite snacks and drinks. Eventually, Li Yunxi advised Lin Qiwu not to rush her riding and archery practice, warning that haste makes waste and expressing concern for her health.

Lin Qiwu didn’t want to listen and stubbornly said, “I just don’t want to lose.”

Lose what?

Li Mu was curious. Noticing her expression, Li Yunxi explained to Li Mu, “Qiwu made a bet with Seventh Sister.”

Li Yunxi’s seventh sister was Li Ying.

Lin Qiwu: “I said that when I grow up, I will lead troops into battle like Auntie. Li Ying said Auntie is Auntie, and I am me. She doesn’t believe I can do it. If I can, she will give me all her monthly allowance.”

Lin Qiwu had told Lin Que that she was willing to be friends with Li Yunxi and Li Mu because even if they knew her identity, they wouldn’t change their attitude towards her. In fact, there was another person like that, Li Ying, but they just couldn’t get along. They were fine when they didn’t talk, but once they did, it always escalated into an argument. If it weren’t for the bandit-catching game Li Mu invented, which required many people to play, Lin Qiwu would have stopped interacting with her long ago and wouldn’t have been provoked by her words.

After explaining the situation, Lin Qiwu declared, “I’m definitely getting her monthly allowance!”

Li Mu made a small observation.

Isn’t Li Ying a bit of a gambler? When she was with Li Yunxi, Li Ying often played backgammon and guessing games with her, even betting on standing an egg upright. Now, she was betting her monthly allowance in an argument with Lin Qiwu.

Hmm—Is this really okay?

As Li Mu pondered this, she heard Li Yunxi say, “But my second uncle has already punished her for this. He said she couldn’t bet with anyone anymore. Does this still count?”

Li Ying’s nanny, fearing that Li Ying would disrespect the princess, told the second master of the Li family about it, hoping that after being punished, Li Ying would restrain herself and not act recklessly in front of important people.

Lin Qiwu felt awkward and shouted, “Of course it counts!”

Then she asked, “She, she was punished? Was it severe?”

Li Yunxi took a bite of the fruit on the table: “She knelt in the ancestral hall for a long time, bruising her knees.”

Lin Qiwu was frustrated: “I’ll get a bottle of medicinal wine. You take it to her for me.”

Li Yunxi knew Li Ying well: “She definitely won’t accept it.”

Hearing that Li Ying was still the same after being punished, Lin Qiwu felt inexplicably better: “Whether she wants it or not, you take it to her for me and tell her to save her monthly allowance for me.”

Li Yunxi nodded: “Alright.”

Lin Qiwu rested enough and went for another round of horse riding.

Li Yunxi watched her with admiration and asked Li Mu, “Fifth Sister, do you think Qiwu will win?”

Li Mu nodded, “Yes.”

“Yes,” Li Yunxi said. “Although I feel sorry for Seventh Sister, I also think Qiwu will win.”

“So envious…” Li Yunxi sighed, her wistful tone contrasting with her childish voice.

“I wish I were good at riding and archery, too,” Li Yunxi said.

Li Mu thought for a moment, “You’re good at studying.” She also had a talent for writing essays and poetry, something An Ying had praised many times.

Li Yunxi noticed that her Fifth Sister had been talking more since coming to King Yan’s mansion, which made her happy. She smiled, but her smile couldn’t hide her frustration: “But I’m a girl. As they say, what’s the use of being good at studying?”

Although there were female officials in the palace, they couldn’t participate in political affairs.

Initially, Li Yunxi hadn’t thought much about it. She was just a child, unaware of worries. But people kept telling her that girls studying were useless, constantly expressing regret for her. No matter how young she was, hearing it repeatedly made her unhappy.

Li Mu was horrified: No, no, no, no, no!! You can’t think like that! Don’t listen to their nonsense! Girls studying is not useless! Girls mastering knowledge is the most amazing thing!!

Li Mu reached out and held Li Yunxi’s arm, looking at her seriously, and said, “When the Grand Princess was young, there must have been people who regretted she wasn’t a boy.”

“She didn’t listen to them, and neither should you.”

“That’s right.” A familiar voice came from behind, startling Li Mu. She turned around and saw that it was indeed Grand Princess Zhaoming, who had stayed at King Yan’s mansion the previous night.

Li Mu hadn’t expected to meet her while talking about her, feeling guilty.

Grand Princess Zhaoming, radiant and sharp, made the autumn sun seem dimmer in comparison. She sat beside Li Mu and told Li Yunxi, “When I was young, people often told me that as a princess, wielding weapons was unseemly, and no matter how good I was at martial arts, it was useless.”

“I didn’t listen, and neither should you.”

Li Yunxi nodded blankly, then looked at Li Mu and the Grand Princess, slowly understanding, and happily responded, “Yes!”

“Auntie!” Lin Qiwu also saw Grand Princess Zhaoming and rode over to greet her.

Grand Princess Zhaoming had heard that Lin Qiwu had been working too hard lately and was worried she might have been wronged, so she came to check on her. After eavesdropping for a while, she learned that Lin Qiwu had made a bet with someone and decided not to interfere further. She simply advised Lin Qiwu to know her limits and not to hurt herself. If she injured herself, no amount of practice would help.

Lin Qiwu listened to her aunt’s advice and nodded, saying, “I understand.”

Then she wanted to take Li Yunxi to see the fledgling she had spotted under a tree and asked Li Yunxi to help her put the little bird back in its nest. Seeing that Grand Princess Zhaoming didn’t object, the two children ran off together, leaving Li Mu and Grand Princess Zhaoming alone.

Every cell in Li Mu’s body was tense. She couldn’t remember whether she had greeted her when she served her tea or even if she had addressed her at all. She only remembered the Grand Princess’s face. Since then, she had always addressed her as “Your Highness,” so after some hesitation, she called out, “Your Highness.”

Over the past few months, although they hadn’t interacted much, Grand Princess Zhaoming had come to understand her daughter-in-law’s quirks. If Li Mu didn’t speak, she would quietly stay by her side, watching Qiwu and Li Yunxi climb trees from a distance. When Li Mu spoke, she would respond and make a small suggestion: “Call me ‘Mother’ and let me hear it?”

Li Mu: “…Mother.”

“Good girl,” Grand Princess Zhaoming sighed. “I can’t believe our family has such a well-behaved child.”

Thinking of her eldest son, who was difficult to describe, her younger son, who was as tight-lipped as his father, her niece, who was following in her own rebellious footsteps, her grandson, who was flirting with danger in a cult, and her sister, who collected men like art pieces, her tone carried a hint of weariness that couldn’t be shared with outsiders.

“It’s really not easy.”