Seeing the tray that the palace maid behind Fu Rou was carrying, Prince Zhou looked over casually. “I see that Her Majesty rewarded you again. She has given you the Precious Hawksbill Comb. There are only two pieces of this comb and they were given to Her Majesty and my mother. Her Majesty seems to really adore you.”
Fu Rou suddenly remembered something. She remembered telling Prince Zhou that the Crown Princess wanted her to alter the dance outfit. Soon after, Prince Zhou wrote about <<Admonishing Extravagance>>. The timing was too coincidental.
“Prince Zhou, you really know everything that happens in the palace.” She thought that he truly meant to advise her, but he was actually getting inspiration for himself.
“To live well here, one has to see and hear everything. Sigh, it is actually pretty tiring. So I have to think of ways to help myself relax.” Prince Zhou’s tone changed. “Let’s go to Lingxiao Palace.”
“Again?” Fu Rou blurted out. “For what?”
“Of course. I need to relax.” Without waiting for Fu Rou’s response, Prince Zhou turned and left. He was confident that she would follow.
Fu Rou laughed bitterly and shook her head. She sent the palace maid back to the Seamstress Department before taking her own sweet time to follow Prince Zhou. When she entered Lingxiao Palace, she noticed numerous flower buds. It seemed like spring was about to arrive.
Prince Zhou noticed that she was assessing her surroundings and explained, “The Emperor ordered the gardeners to plant this recently in order to ask me to stay for a while longer.”
“The Emperor really dotes on you.” He was the only prince that could still remain in Chang’an after coming of age. “Your Highness, what did you call me here for?”
Prince Zhou moved to the side. “For this.”
A beautiful rainbow swing swayed in the wind. Fu Rou’s expression did not change. “Your Highness, please forgive me but I do not enjoy children’s toys.”
Prince Zhou did not seem bothered. “That’s right, I made a children’s toy. However, Head Seamstress Fu, do you know how swings come about?” Fu Rou was speechless. Even he admitted that it was for children.
“Swings are used for prayers.” Prince Zhou answered his own question. “During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), it was part of a tradition of Northern tribes. It was introduced into the palace during Emperor Wu’s reign. During the Qingming festival, the rainbow ropes would then be tied to tree branches. They were also used to celebrate the Qianqiu birthdays. Hence, while its original name was Qianqiu (千秋) it was eventually changed to Qiuqian (秋千) to prevent confusion.”
Prince Zhou saw Fu Rou’s attention turn to him.
“Playing on the swing gives one the feeling of flying through the air and that feeling is often referred to as the happiness of half immortals. Hence, it became a long-standing tradition to play on a swing while praying for a long life for people you care about.” Prince Zhou smiled but did not truly feel happy. The only way he could get her attention was to make use of the one she cared about.
Fu Rou looked hopeful. “Can it really…grant a long and peaceful life to those I care about?”
Prince Zhou walked up to the swing and made a sign of invitation.
Fu Rou hesitated before walking up to the swing. After spending so many days and nights missing and thinking of Sheng Chumu, her imagination started to run wild. She needed something to comfort herself, even if it seemed imaginary.
Prince Zhou said that the higher one swung, the more likely their prayers were to come through. Hearing what he said, Fu Rou did not stop Prince Zhou from pushing the swing and even requested for him to push her higher. She prayed that Sheng Chumu would return safely and live to a hundred. She closed her eyes as she prayed, momentarily forgetting that she was high up in the air. She placed her palms together and was immediately thrown off the swing.
Prince Zhou reacted quickly as he quickly caught her. He shouted in shock, “Rou’er!”
Fu Rou had not been startled from falling from the swing but from hearing him shout “Rou’er”. She shivered as she immediately pulled herself out of Prince Zhou’s grasp and took a few steps backwards.
She spoke seriously, “Rou’er is my intimate name and only those who are close to me are allowed to call me that. Please speak cautiously, Your Highness.”
Looking at his empty hands, Prince Zhou looked up and laughed. “Okay, I will listen to you on this. However, you have to listen to me for the next thing I am going to say. Let’s go ride horses tomorrow.”
Fu Rou frowned. “Your Highness is too demanding. I am a female official in the Ministry of Works, not a palace maid in Lingxiao Palace.” Should she not have let Prince Zhou bring her out to visit her family? Now it feels like she was controlled by him.
“All the palace maids in Lingxiao Palace passed the Internal Entry Examination. It seems like the Office of Rites was very strict during Head Seamstress Fu’s Internal Entry Examination. Would you like me to ask His Majesty for a favour and let you become a palace lady earlier?” Prince Zhou obviously knew what had happened. “To avoid serving His Majesty, you intentionally collaborated with Official Situ in the Office of Rites to fail the examination. Isn’t this despicable? I was curious. Official Situ has such poor relationships with others. Why would Head Seamstress Fu help her out when she was in trouble in the Eastern Palace? I became curious and went to investigate. I found out that the two had made a pact. No wonder.”
“Don’t make it sound so bad. Official Situ is cold on the outside but sincere on the inside. She is a good person.” There were friendships in the Royal Palace. On the other hand, Prince Zhou’s ability to obtain information was scary.
“Okay, you are all good people. I am the bad one. Then let me outrightly threaten you. Tomorrow, you shall go ride horses with me.” He finally understood. Currently, he could only use his status to threaten her. But as long as he doesn’t give up, he could achieve anything.
Fu Rou was unwilling. “…Understood.”
Prince Zhou’s eyes turned into a crescent shape as he smiled. “Head Seamstress Fu.”
Fu Rou was in a bad mood. “What other instructions do you have for me?”
Prince Zhou’s eyes glittered. “Did you know that you look especially cute when you are angry?”
Fu Rou stared at him. She opened her mouth but eventually left without saying a single word.
Chapter 17.3: Swing
The following day, Fu Rou was once again dressed up as Prince Zhou’s bodyguard as she left the palace with him. They were in the outskirts of the city. Sunlight shone down on rice seedlings as the first signs of green burst through the brown earth. Spring had just arrived.
“Head Seamstress Fu really knows how to do a lot of things.” Prince Zhou, however, was only focused on the sight of Fu Rou on her horse.
“My brother learned how to ride and shoot, I know a little from him.” Fu Rou turned away from appreciating the scenery to look at Prince Zhou. She did not see his handsome features but could only focus on his evil smile.
“There aren’t as many rules outside the palace and it would sound weird to other people if they overheard us. Let’s call each other casually.” Prince Zhou wanted to get closer.
Fu Rou obeyed. “I have done as you requested. With regard to the Internal Entry Examination, can you promise to keep it a secret?”
“Well, it depends on whether I am happy with your company today.” Prince Zhou’s eyes narrowed. “It looks like you can improve on your horse-riding skills. Let me teach you.”