Xu Zhaoyi turned to Ming Jing and said, "Take these and put them away. In the next few days, make them into meals for me to taste."
"Yes," Ming Jing replied and took the items away with the help of others.
Xu Zhaoyi took the wet towel Ming Xin handed her, wiped her hands, returned it, and then looked at the food box, "What have you brought, sister?"
Lian Hua, with a radiant look, uncovered the food box and brought out its contents, "Osmanthus cake and hawthorn cake. Please, Sister Zhaoyi, have a taste."
After laying the items out, she looked eagerly at Xu Zhaoyi, hoping she would try them.
Seeing this melted Xu Zhaoyi’s heart; the young girl before her was just like her own sister, soft and endearing, even their gazes were similar.
When her sister wanted her to do something, she would wear that same expression.
Xu Zhaoyi couldn’t resist any longer, she reached out and caressed Lian Hua’s cheek, bending down to gaze at her on the same level, "Call me sister."
With the title of Zhaoyi, it felt very distant.
After saying this, Xu Zhaoyi didn’t wait for Lian Hua to react, stood straight, and picked up a piece of osmanthus cake to taste it.
Lian Hua was startled, touching the cheek Xu Zhaoyi had caressed. Besides His Majesty, Sister Zhaoyi was the second person in the palace to touch her face, which felt somewhat embarrassing.
Sister Zhaoyi’s hand had a thin callus, slightly prickly, feeling completely different from when His Majesty touched her.
His Majesty’s hands were robust with distinct knuckles, whereas Sister Zhaoyi’s hands were also firm, but not as much.
How to put it? When Sister Zhaoyi touched her face, it felt very intimate to her, almost like a brother or sister, and she didn’t mind it at all.
"It’s very good, did you make this yourself?" Xu Zhaoyi asked.
Lian Hua honestly admitted, "I prepared the ingredients, but Xiao Qing did most of the work. Grandma wouldn’t let me do it..." She shyly touched her head.
Xu Zhaoyi smiled warmly, finding her so well-behaved and couldn’t help but ruffle her hair with her left hand, "Won’t you have a piece too, sister?"
Lian Hua shook her head, "No need, this is for Sister... Zhaoyi." She caught herself after almost saying ’Zhaoyi’ again.
Seeing her understanding nature, Xu Zhaoyi liked her even more and, without ceremony, stuffed another piece of the cake into her mouth, "It’s fine, eat it."
Lian Hua hastily caught the falling crumbs and put the cake into her mouth. It was sweet and aromatic. She hadn’t eaten any since she made it, having brought it all over.
Xiao Jizi and the other two servants had been standing by all this while, watching their master and Xu Zhaoyi interact.
Seeing Xu Zhaoyi give a piece of cake to Lian Hua and not discerning which sort it was, Xiao Jizi hastily called out, "Master!"
The master was pregnant, and hawthorn cake was forbidden. Huang Zude’s words were clear in his memory. Fearing Lian Hua might eat it by mistake and too worried about propriety, he called out.
Munching on the cake, Lian Hua turned back and saw Xiao Jizi’s worried face, smiled, shook her head, and mumbled with her mouth full, "It’s osmanthus cake."
Xiao Jizi was relieved and apologized to Xu Zhaoyi, "Consort, the master should not eat hawthorn cake. This servant was too anxious and acted out of turn."
"Don’t worry about it," Xu Zhaoyi said thoughtfully, glancing at him, then turned back to lovingly watch Lian Hua, who had a sweetly contented look while eating.
After eating, Xu Zhaoyi wiped her hands and looked towards the final box, pressing the clasp directly to open it.
The highlight had arrived!
After the affectionate gestures of Xu Zhaoyi, Lian Hua had relaxed considerably, but now she couldn’t help but tense up, straightening her posture, focusing intently on every single move of Xu Zhaoyi.
What this box contained was the Peach Wood Sword she had spent much time and effort to make, hoping earnestly that Xu Zhaoyi would like it.
Xu Zhaoyi looked inside the box and slowly reached to pick up the wooden sword from within. The scabbard carved with auspicious clouds was astonishingly exquisite, and the top of the hilt, still an auspicious cloud, was exceptional. The guard revealed at the upper part of the scabbard bore an unusual engraving—the Qiankun Eight Trigrams Map.
She immediately understood that this must be a Peach Wood Sword thoughtfully prepared by Xiao Lian Hua as a gift for her, carrying auspicious meanings.
She weakly smiled at Lian Hua, her right hand grasping the middle of the scabbard, while her left hand took hold of the hilt to draw the entire wooden sword out.
When she saw the design on the blade, she paused for a moment.
The relief carving at the top of the sword was entirely different from what she had imagined—it wasn’t auspicious clouds or lucky beasts but a complete Sun, Moon, and Mountains Rivers Map; the front depicted mountains and rivers under the sun, and the reverse side, mountains and rivers under the moon.
Xu Zhaoyi felt as if her heart had been struck, and she became motionless, gazing fixedly at the Peach Wood Sword, inspecting slowly up the blade.
She murmured a question, "What is this sword called, and what does it signify..."
Lian Hua hurriedly explained, "Sister, I have named this Peach Wood Sword the Qiankun Sword. Look here, the guard represents Qiankun, below are the mountains and rivers. It symbolizes having all within one’s heart, and guarding the mountains and rivers. This is the interpretation by His Majesty."
She lacked such eloquence.
This Peach Wood Sword had His Majesty’s touch; knowing Sister Zhaoyi came from a military family, she probably wouldn’t have liked generic auspicious beasts carved on it. After days of hesitation and contemplating several patterns, she finally decided on one side with the pattern of mountains and rivers, and the other with the Big Dipper formation, akin to Sister Zhaoyi’s extraordinary presence.
But with her limited drawing skills, had she based it on her own drawing, what mess would it have become.
Therefore, she sought His Majesty, asking him to help find a template of mountains and rivers.
She only remembered that when she told His Majesty what she wanted to do, he was extremely surprised, kissed her, and commented that she had an innocent heart but was not foolish at all.
Thinking about it now, his words seemed off, as if His Majesty was teasing her, but before she could react at the time, His Majesty suggested changing the reverse side’s Big Dipper formation to mountains and rivers as well, and provided her with two templates of such landscapes. Thus, the final decision was made to carve the sun on one side and the moon on the other.
His Majesty had said that Sister Zhaoyi would surely like it.
After she finished the carving and showed it to His Majesty, he said something—it wasn’t clear if he was commenting on the Peach Wood Sword or something else—but he told her, "Having all within one’s heart, and guarding the mountains and rivers, she truly deserves the admiration of the world."
She thought this phrase sounded so good; the Qiankun Eight Trigrams Map was engraved on it, as well as the mountains, rivers, sun, and moon, and since a sword’s primary purpose is to ensure safety, His Majesty’s words perfectly interpreted this Peach Wood Sword, so she adopted them.
Later, when His Majesty asked if she had named the Peach Wood Sword, she realized she hadn’t, and decided it was time to think of one.
So after some thought, she settled on the name Qiankun Sword, to which His Majesty nodded his approval.
Therefore, explaining it to Sister Zhaoyi was now exceptionally smooth.
"Having all within one’s heart, and guarding the mountains and rivers..." Xu Zhaoyi murmured to herself, lost in thought.
Xu Zhaoyi looked absently at the Peach Wood Sword in her hands and, as she came to the end, she bowed her head, her eyes dampened, and her voice thick with emotion, suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed.