Chapter Seventeen: The Talented Girl

  On this day, the wind and sun were beautiful, and Han Shuxiao arrived early at "Mù Qīng Xiǎo Zhú" to study poetry with Qing Xuyu. This Qing Xuyu is the second daughter of the current Minister of Rites, who has been knowledgeable and talented since childhood, with quick thinking and clever ideas. After her hairpinning ceremony, she became famous for her poetry in Luoyang, along with Zhou Xinyu as one of the two great female talents of Luoyang. As for Qing Xuyu's appearance, it is possible that she has been living in seclusion, accompanying books and poetry, and not many people know about it, but according to those who know her, her appearance is not inferior to Zhou Xinyu's.

  Many princes and young nobles came to propose, but she didn't like any of them. Instead, she was annoyed by the many suitors and, being a quiet person who longed for the beautiful scenery of the northwest grasslands, she moved here to escape. The family of this gentleman's residence had been acquainted with Ni Minna, Han Shuoxiao's mother, so when her daughter was in Wuwei, she couldn't help but ask Ni Minna to take care of her.

  Ni Minna admired Qiong Shuyu's talent and asked her to teach Han Shuxiao poetry and books. Qiong Shuyu was happy to oblige. As both were women and talented, Han Shuxiao and Qiong Shuyu soon became close sisters.

  As she entered, Qing Yu was dressed in a simple yet elegant narrow-sleeved cheongsam, sitting upright and eating her breakfast with poise.

  "You arrived so early today, Shu Xiao."

  Han Shuxiao smiled and said: "If there's something to ask of sister, it's only natural to come earlier."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Let's talk after sister finishes eating." Han Shuxiao walked closer to Qing Xiu Yu and said, "Sister, what delicious food do we have today?"

  "Try some of this 'Hua Hua Bing'." Qing Xueyu put down what she was eating and handed a untouched 'Hua Hua Bing' to Han Shu Xiao's mouth with her delicate fingers as white as frost.

  "Hmm! It's not sweet at all. You'd better keep it for yourself, sis. I don't like eating this."

  "You still like sweet things, I'll get the kitchen to make some yam cakes for you later." After finishing speaking, she handed the 'Pagoda Flower Cake' that Han Shuxiao had bitten into her fragrant mouth and ate it, then said: "Okay, sister has finished eating, what's the matter?"

  Han Shuxiao handed over the character she wrote: "I wrote a word and asked sister to frame it."

  "You took out the jade and opened it to take a look, saying: 'Why did you think of writing this poem by Du Fu?'"

  Han Shuxiao smiled and said: "Every day with a talented sister like you, I naturally thought of writing this poem."

  "You! Your learning hasn't improved, but your mouth has!"

  You carefully looked at the words and smiled, nodding: "Hmm! It's better than what you wrote before."

  At this time, the maid brought over two cups of fragrant tea. Han Shu Xiao picked up the "Rain after Clear Sky" style cup, which was thin and seemed almost transparent, and admired it saying: "Sister's teacups are better than ours at home."

  You gazed at Han Shuxiao with a horizontal autumn wave, your red lips lightly opened, and your white teeth slightly showed a smile: "You! Everything is good for sister."

  Han Shuxiao took a sip of tea and seemed to remember something: "Sister, it seems that I won't be able to accompany you in the future."

  "What's wrong?" asked Qing Xunyu.

  "My father has already married me off." Han Shuxiao sighed and said.

  "What? Send someone away? How can Uncle be like this?" Qing Xiu Yu exclaimed, "Uncle sent you to whom?"

  "It's Prince Liao, he says he wants me to be his concubine." Han Shuoxiao said.

  "A talented person." Qīng Xù Yù's eyebrows furrowed slightly, he still had some understanding of the empire's system, and naturally knew what "talented person" meant. "Shū Xiǎo, what's your opinion?"

  "What can I say, sister? I don't know if we'll ever meet again in the future?"

  ……

  Ye Er, as Yang Chengfeng's personal maid, takes care of his daily life every day. At this moment, she is busy in Yang Chengfeng's room.

  She replaced the five-panel painting screen in Yang Chengfeng's house with a six-panel painting screen depicting Biyi birds.

  The bed was replaced with a new one made of Siamese red wood, carved with the words "Lan Yin Xu Guo. Yu Qing Shen" in ancient Qin and Han characters. The canopy above the bed was also changed to a "Sea Sky Color" canopy. This kind of canopy is white with a hint of red, hazy and semi-transparent, with excellent breathability, making people feel not stuffy at all when sleeping under it.

  "This 'Sea and Sky Color' is a royal product made by the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau. The bed was covered with a mat made of Xiangfei bamboo, and on top of it was placed a pair of pillows with a soft and hard silk fabric embroidered with intertwined mandarin ducks, produced in the Western Regions."

  Ye Er finished everything with a joyful heart, almond eyes scanning the room, as if thinking of something missing, just about to go out and fetch it again, but retreated back to say: "Let's get it later tonight." Ye Er looked at her own newly decorated house with a mix of shyness and joy for a long time before leaving.

  Yang Chengfeng handled the military affairs properly and went straight into his own room, where he saw a bright star.

  At this time Ye Er came in.

  "Yèr, how did all the things in my room get changed?" Yang Chengfeng asked.

  "Your Highness, do you like it?" Ye Er's face turned slightly red as she asked.

  Yang Chengfeng nodded slightly.

  The night is cool as water, the moon is like a golden hook, the stars are dotted, and the breeze is gentle.

  Ye'er changed her clothes and put on a thick red candle on her arm, then arrived at Yang Chengfeng's small courtyard.

  Yang Chengfeng saw that the room was empty, and knew that Yang Chengfeng had gone to do something again. She gently shook her jade-like head, smiled and lit the dragon and phoenix red candles, then sat on the bed waiting quietly for Yang Chengfeng's return.

  Looking at the flame of the red candle, Nangong Huahui's heart was also drifting.

  Before long, Yang Chengfeng returned, saw Ye Er, smiled slightly, walked over and sat down beside Ye Er.

  She wore a thin, almost transparent pale pink gauze. Her curvaceous and alluring figure, exuding a youthful aura, seemed to be hiding and revealing itself under the gauze, with her smooth and lustrous skin shining like jade. A head of long, black hair cascaded down like lacquer. Underneath the gauze, she wore a pure white camisole, with her plump and rounded arms exposed outside. Perhaps due to the way she wore her camisole and the tight-fitting pink undergarment, the upper half of her delicate and snowy-white breasts were revealed, including the tip of her proud and full bosom. Deep within, a glimpse of white could be seen. She wore a pair of pale yellow knee-length pants below, with her slender and fair legs lightly placed beside the couch.

  Ye is so beautiful that she can't be any more beautiful. Any man who sees her will become distracted and have all sorts of thoughts.

  Yang Chengfeng had never seen Ye'er dressed up like this before, he wasn't that ignorant of a young boy anymore. Plus, with the intention of taking Ye'er as his concubine (one of the 81 imperial consorts), he was being polite, let out a loud roar and pounced forward.