"I heard that the Duke was injured, and although I’m just a servant, I also find it hard to eat and sleep in peace... The Duke defends the country, and although I don’t have the fortune to be his child, I am also under his protection... Moreover, the Second Miss Tang let me learn to read and write, so I can also do something for the Duke."
"I humbly request Second Miss Tang to allow this!"
Ah Yuan didn’t look well, with dark circles under his eyes and slight swelling, but his gaze was firm and unwavering.
The news of the Duke Yan’s injury came just two days ago, and the order to copy scriptures behind closed doors was issued only yesterday—
Tang Xiaobai glanced at the stack of manuscripts in his arms.
Could it be that this child stayed up all night copying?
"Second Miss Tang..." Ah Yuan called out to her again, his eyes moist with genuine yearning.
"Of course!" Tang Xiaobai snapped back to reality, "Put it down!" She took another look at his large dark circles, feeling a bit sorry, "It’s good you have the heart, but there’s no need to stay up all night copying."
This dedication makes even her, the legitimate second daughter of Duke Yan, feel ashamed, and probably the eldest daughter too.
"Anyway, there’s no school these days, copy as much as you want, just don’t exhaust yourself. Go and get some sleep now, listen to me! I will mention your intentions to Father!" Tang Xiaobai coaxed Ah Yuan back with gentle words, feeling quite emotional inside.
"Ah Yuan seems to greatly admire the Duke," someone nearby commented softly.
Tang Xiaobai nodded unconsciously, "He’s so young, yet he understands the hardships of soldiers at the border, he is truly sensible."
Ah Yuan’s words really struck a chord with her.
No matter which faction Duke Yan and his son belonged to in the original story, their actions of defending the country and recovering lost territories are genuine, and just that is enough to command admiration.
But after saying this, she could clearly feel the atmosphere around her change.
Looking up, she saw Ah Xiao’s eyes turn slightly cold, with a shadow between his brows.
"What’s wrong?" Tang Xiaobai knew he didn’t like her praising Ah Yuan, but this time she didn’t want to back down, "If you don’t want to copy, then forget it—" she said as she reached for the pen in his hand.
Li Mu raised his hand to avoid her movement, randomly grabbed a handful of blank paper, and lowered his head to write swiftly without even glancing at the sutra.
Tang Xiaobai leaned in to take a look and couldn’t help but click her tongue twice.
Her little genius really is a top student; who knows when he memorized this whole scroll of the ’Medicine Buddha Sutra’ by heart.
He writes so quickly, and his handwriting is so beautiful!
Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but say, "Write carefully, these scriptures are meant for the temple in Tingzhou as an offering, maybe my father will see them!"
Initially, she wanted to find Mr. Zhang to back Ah Xiao, but Mr. Zhang only praised him without taking any concrete actions, so she had to make other plans.
If Ah Xiao could earn Duke Yan’s favor, it wouldn’t be bad either.
That’s someone whose memorial even the emperor complies with; even if Xiao Bai’s identity were exposed, Duke Yan should have a way to cover it!
Moving forward, when the main characters appear and dominate the world, Ah Xiao, as the heroine’s brother, could also protect the Duke Yan Mansion—
This is much better than following Mr. Zhang!
"The Duke probably will only notice the one mentioned by Second Miss Tang." Li Mu said sullenly.
Miss Tang laughed, "Of course, I’ll mention you too! Your handwriting is so beautiful, my father will surely be impressed, maybe... hehe!"
Li Mu, although not concerned about whether he caught Duke Yan’s attention, couldn’t help but slow down, making his writing more proper...
...
Three days later, over a hundred hand-copied scriptures were packed and loaded onto horses, leaving the capital city under the admiring gazes of the citizens.
Tang Xiaobai, having exceeded the task, clapped her hands in satisfaction and walked back home.
Upon returning, she was assigned another task—
"You’re almost ten now, stop idling at home, write a gift list for the Crown Prince’s birthday!" Tang Jiaojiao, busy flipping through invitation cards that had arrived over the past few days, gave the task without even looking up.
Tang Xiaobai gladly accepted, retrieved a copy of last year’s gift list, and went to the storeroom with her confidants to pick out gifts.
There was little connection between the Duke Yan Mansion and the Crown Prince Mansion, nor was there a need for any, so for official gifts like this, adhering to norms would suffice.
With precedence to follow, selecting gifts wasn’t difficult, just adding slight variations—
"The Jade Pillow... let’s go with the lotus pattern one!" She remembered the curtains in the pavilion where the Crown Prince lived also had lotus patterns, he might like it.
"Stationery... get the set with the tortoise and crane!" Wishing for longevity! Hoping the Young Crown Prince gets better.
"Fabrics..." Just as she was pondering, she suddenly noticed Ah Xiao staring at her intently and casually asked, "Which type of fabric to choose?"
"Wu Cotton."
Tang Xiaobai was about to have someone write it down when Tao Zi interrupted, "Wu Cotton won’t do, it’s too ordinary!" She cast Ah Xiao a sidelong glance, "Don’t make suggestions if you don’t understand! For the Crown Prince, it has to be Shu brocade, Peacock Luo, or similar, otherwise, our Duke Yan Mansion would lose face."
"Wu Cotton is comfortable."
Tao Zi sneered, "You’re not the Crown Prince, how do you know if he’d find it comfortable or not?"
Li Mu ceased arguing, looking at Tang Xiaobai.
Tang Xiaobai touched the Wu Cotton, hesitating a bit.
Wu Cotton is soft, indeed comfortable, and the Crown Prince, being weak, would prioritize comfort.
But—
For this gift selection, her main concern was the family’s reputation, whether the Crown Prince would be comfortable seemed irrelevant to her?
Tang Xiaobai thought for a moment, then instructed, "Write down both Wu Cotton and Shu brocade!"
Only poor kids make choices; rich kids from Duke Yan Mansion get everything!
Li Mu observed this, his lips curled slightly, and he softly asked, "Second Miss doesn’t blame... him?"
"What? Blame who?" Tang Xiaobai asked, puzzled.
"Didn’t you say... birthdays are mistimed?"
Tang Xiaobai awkwardly chuckled, "I was just speaking offhandedly, when can a birthday ever be mistimed? Moreover, if someone takes advantage of his birthday to cause trouble, what does it have to do with him?"
After saying this, she saw the youthful corners of his mouth curl into a smile, and his dark eyes sparkled warmly...
...
In the Crown Prince Mansion, Li Mu touched the Wu Cotton sent by the Duke Yan Mansion and couldn’t help but smile again.
"The birthday gift from the Duke Yan Mansion, I like it very much," he thought for a bit, "Go reward them with my two Rouge Horses."
With the winter hunt approaching, the Second Miss Tang had recently been clamoring to learn horseback riding, only missing a good steed.
Those two Rouge Horses were foals just born last year, one red, the other black; the young girl would look very spirited riding them.
Cao He went off to carry out the order.
Just as he reached the door, he was called back by the Crown Prince.
"Gift one horse, the red one," Li Mu corrected himself.
She can only ride one, wouldn’t it be a waste if the other ended up with someone else?
One will do.
Cao He agreed again.
This time he slowed his steps instead of hurrying to make arrangements.
Sure enough, he was called back by the Crown Prince again.
"Last time the Second Miss Tang was aggrieved at the Crown Prince Mansion, at tonight’s palace banquet, ask the Empress Dowager to look after her—"