"Yuzhi, do you know? There's fighting in the north! The Eighth Imperial Princess has won another battle!"
Her eyes were shining as she waved her hands excitedly. "In the future I want to be just like her—become a great general and protect the country and the people!"
When Father heard this, he was so frightened his face turned pale. "Xiao'er! What nonsense are you saying! Don't talk about fighting and killing in front of Yuzhi… Besides, are these things something you can even discuss?"
Su Xiao stuck out her tongue and ran off.
But I remembered the title "Eighth Imperial Princess."
Later, from the fragmented idle chatter of Second Sister and Su Xiao, I pieced together some of the current situation of the imperial family: Her Majesty the Empress had nine imperial daughters, with factions standing against one another.
The First Imperial Princess was the Crown Princess, the Eighth Imperial Princess was brave and skilled in battle, and the Third Imperial Princess…
"The Third Imperial Princess?" Su Xiao curled her lips. "Her? She's kind of gloomy, not favored, always staying alone in a corner. I saw her at the last palace banquet—her clothes were even older than the other imperial princesses'."
For some reason, when I heard "Third Imperial Princess," something in my heart stirred. Perhaps it was because words like "not favored" and "alone" touched some subtle resonance in me as another kind of "outsider."
Of course, most of the time I was still the pampered young master of the Prime Minister's residence.
My food, clothing, and daily necessities were the best. In summer there was iced sour plum soup cooled with ice chests; in winter, silver-thread charcoal warmed the underfloor heating until it was cozy. My clothes were made of cloud brocade and Hangzhou silk, scented with faint orchid fragrance. The courtyard where I played was carefully cleaned—no pebbles to trip on, no thorny branches.
I also gradually learned how to cautiously stretch my limbs inside this delicate cage.
For example, I "discovered" an interesting game—using leftover scraps from Father's embroidery work, along with fruit pits and small wooden sticks from meals, to "build" all kinds of things in my room: little bridges, houses, even simple models of construction sites from my memories.
Father thought it inelegant at first, but seeing how earnestly I did it and how I never dirtied my clothes, he let me be. One time Mother came in and saw it; unusually, she did not scold me. Instead she stopped to look for a moment and asked, "What is Yuzhi building?"
"It's… it's a house," I said softly, my heart pounding.
Mother looked for a long while, her eyes dark, and finally only said, "A clever mind," before leaving.
I let out a breath. That counted as a kind of tacit approval.
For another example, I "accidentally" showed some interest in medicine. It started when some medicinal herbs were sent from the south as New Year's gifts, among them a plant said to be very effective for calming the mind, called "Dream-Guide Grass."
I curiously leaned close to smell it, and that crisp, slightly bitter medicinal scent reminded me of the cooling oil always kept at construction sites in my previous life.
So I began to "pester" the elders in the household who knew some pharmacology, asking this and that—what herbs cured headaches, what flowers calmed the nerves, why the heat when boiling medicine had to be controlled… They took it as the idle curiosity of a young master and told me some simple things.
I learned seriously. Deep down, I always felt that in this body that looked pampered but was actually full of hidden risks, knowing a bit more about staying alive could never be a bad thing.
Days flowed by like water. I grew to five years old.
My appearance indeed developed just as Father wished, becoming more and more delicate. Fair skin, features like a painting, and when I smiled, two shallow dimples appeared on my cheeks. Anyone who saw me would have to praise, "What a jade-snow, adorable young master."
Only I knew that deep inside those eyes in the bronze mirror hid a soul that did not belong to this world, quietly observing and carefully calculating.
On my fifth birthday, many guests came to the residence. I wore a brand-new sapphire-blue brocade robe and a small jade crown, holding Father's hand as I moved among the guests—smiling, bowing, offering auspicious words, playing the role of an impeccable Prime Minister's son.
Halfway through the banquet, I felt stifled. While Father was exchanging pleasantries, I slipped away to behind the garden rockery to catch my breath.
The moonlight was beautiful, and the garden was quiet. I leaned against the cold rocks and looked up at the moon in the sky, no different from the one in my previous life.
Suddenly, from the other side of the rockery came hushed voices—two women, sounding like the family members of some officials.
"…Did you hear? A few days ago in the imperial study, the Third Imperial Princess was publicly reprimanded by Her Majesty over her proposal on river management."
"Sigh, that princess really is… why insist on those thankless matters? The First Imperial Princess and the Eighth Imperial Princess are both in the limelight. With no maternal clan backing her, wouldn't it be better for her to keep her head down?"
"That's not quite right. I actually think the Third Imperial Princess's proposal was practical, it's just that…"
The voices gradually faded away.
I stood there as the night wind made me shiver.
The Third Imperial Princess.
That name again.
The princess who was said to be "not favored," "gloomy," "always alone."
For some reason, that subtle sense of resonance in my heart deepened. In this world where everyone told me to keep in line, to submit, to live as others expected, that figure who stubbornly clung to "thankless matters" inexplicably made me feel a trace of… closeness?
"Yuzhi? Why did you run over here?"
Father's anxious voice came. He found me, picked me up, and wrapped me tightly in his warm cloak.
"The night air is chilly. Be careful not to catch cold," he scolded gently, worry filling his eyes.
I leaned against Father's shoulder and took one last look at the moon.
The Third Imperial Princess.
I silently repeated that name in my heart.