Chapter 5

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Chapter 5 – The Skies

Mei Li walked slowly, the meadows still as lush as before. She passed a few dwarf tees and climbed over the hills, the creak further down is still there and has not dried up.

She stopped and looked clear river flowing, soothed. She could not tell her feelings for a while, just like being reunited with a friend she has not met for so long. She forgot that a few years ago, when she was sad, she ran into this place to cry.

By chance, she found the beautiful scenery behind the hill. That’s why every time she came into the meadows, she would come here to take a look. So beautiful, she wanted to bring him here, too.

She silently walked to the slope by the river where wild flowers bloomed just right, no horses to trample over them. The mountain and plains were so beautiful she sighed. In fact, the flowers bloom so beautifully every spring, but she doesn’t know how to appreciate them enough.

She is lost in her thoughts when she heard a voice nearby. Then she also heard several footsteps, it’s already too close, too late for her to get away unnoticed anymore.

“A little bit better than before, but still boring. The little girl with a Jiangnan accent is still much better than her.”

Mei Li could not recognize whose voice it was, maybe only because she didn’t know a lot of people in the first place.

“I still think she used to be pretty funny. Even though she had an annoying temper, it will be exciting in be*.” Another man’s words drew people’s laughter. Some scolded him for being obscene but still laughed.”

“Can’t wait to get f*cked? Should have crawled into Jingxuan’s bed then.” Because there was no one around, these men jested around unscrupulously.

“But I guess the girl has already given up on him this time. Not to mention what happened back then, but now, based on her family’s status. how can she compare with the Yan Governor’s daughter? The Emperor and Lao Zuzong now need her father Zha Mulang and has conferred her a title of a Princess. Did you see that pendant on Suying’s waist? That’s a treasure that I’ve only been thinking of buying for more than half a year already!

“Ha! Where have you been looking at?” A malicious laughter roared again.

“Come on. Why do you think Suying had to choose Jingxuan? There are so many other good-looking men in the Qing Dynasty. Even I am no worse than him!” This guy laughed as he said these words.

The other men made fun of each other more.

“You should not behave like you lack women in front of Lao Zuzong. I’ve heard my mother say that Lao Zuzong is trying to matchmake Mei Li. You better behave to keep away from that bearer of misfortune[1].”

“What are you afraid of?” A man laughed carelessly, “Her downside is her low-grade personality, but with her looks, you can make her a side-wife[2].”

The men finished taking a leak and walked to the river to wash their hands. Only then did they find Mei Li sitting behind the slope, they were all stunned. Somebody just started talking about horses and they conversed along the new topic without batting an eyelash, washed their hands, and left. No one looked at her again.

Mei Li looked at the vast sky. When she was still in Anning Hall, she could only see a small piece of sky from the cut of the courtyard walls. But now, she can look above and clouds would actually take a long time to drift away until it’s out of sight

She breathed two mouthful of fresh air. Only in this way she will feel better.

Then, she heard footsteps again. Only this time, she had enough chance to find a good spot in hiding. After all, everyone she is even more embarrassed when the men from earlier saw her.

She stood up, and there is childish voice coming from behind the slope.

“You can’t climb, fool!”

The voice was also familiar. She turned around the slope and saw a boy and a girl— like two little dolls climbing on a wild Haitang tree, trying to pick some fruits.

“It’s dangerous!” She ran to support Qiu Yuan who was riding on Qiu Quan’s shoulders. They were the gandchildren of the Ninth Prince. They used to come and pester her to play with them.

“Mei Li Jiejie!” The two kids stared at her, “Is it really you?”

“Hmm.” Mei Li nodded hard not knowing what she was excited about. In the past, she used to annoy these two little devils the most.

“Mei Li Jiejie!” The two rushed and put their arms around her. “Didn’t you go far away? You’re finally back!”

Yes, she went from a really far away.

“Do you want a Haitang?” She changed the subject, as if she didn’t want to tell these children about her issues, “That one can’t be eaten, it’s very sour.”

“Do I like to eat sour food?” Qiu Yuan said in distress.

After all, the child is just a child. She will forget what she was upset about when she talks about the things she is interested in. She used to be the same.

“Mei Li Jiejie will pick for you.”

“Can you climb?” Qiu Quan obviously did not trust her capabilities much.

With these children, her past temperament seemed to come back a bit. She raised her eyebrows, deliberately pretended to be a little proud. “Look!” She stepped back, rushed over, and jumped up, grabbing the root of the lower branch. She went out today to join the hunting, so she’s wearing flat boots. With some effort, she propped up her body pedaling from the trunk.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” The children expressed their admiration.

Mei Li smiled and stood up on the tree trunk to pick the larger green fruits. The Haitang tree is not that sturdy. Even if she is thin, whenever she moves a bit, the whole tree will slightly tremble.

“What is happening?!” A low annoyed voice scared Mei Li who instinctively squatted into the branch of the tree trunk.

There were four to five people standing just under the tree. Jingxuan was looking up at her, his eyes cold. The frail girl Suying is behind him with hand covering her mouth, obviously finding the scene extremely interesting.

Yonghe is also there, looking at Mei Li with a smile. The Princess Yindi beside him glanced at her and said, “Just like before, she still likes to climb up and down, causing trouble.

“Mei Li Jiejie is just picking fruits for us. She is not causing trouble!” Qiu Yuan said, her chubby face bulging as she stared at Yindi.

“Come down!” Jingxuan shouted and frowned.

Mei Li knew that Jingxuan does not care about her. It seems that he only has a helpless habit of berating her. After two years, it’s still the same.

Mei Li nodded, it was really useless.

Yonghe took a step forward to help her down. She smiled and shook her head, grabbed the trunk and slid down the tree easily. Yonghe chuckled a few times.

“Why are you so good in climbing trees?”

Mei Li lowered her eyes, a smile appeared on her lips and said, “I learned it from the cold palace. There is a Persimmon tree in my yard.

Yindi and her cousin Sangzhu both laughed. Yindi did not miss this opportunity and said sarcastically, “Then putting you in the cold palace was not all for naught. You learned such skill.”

Abilty? That’s right.

When people are extremely lonely, they tend to behave strangely. Back then, she climbed the tall and straight Persimmon tree just to be able to see a wider sky. Sometimes, she can feel a burst of joy whenever she sees a palace lady or a eunuch walking by, the old woman or the middle-aged woman sitting in the neighboring palace. Nobody will understand this kind of joy.

With the sound of horns and drums, Suying pulled Jingxuan’s sleeves and said, “Let’s go back quickly. The hunt has just began.”

The sound made everyone excited. Even Qiu Quan and Qiu Yuan ran ahead of the crowd happily. Jingxuan and Yonghe also accelerated their pace.

Mei Li walked at the rear with a slow pace, eventually stopping. Silently, she watched them leave. No one looked back at her. Nobody realized that someone has been left behind.

She smiled. Just as they were not interested in her business, she decided she is not interested in theirs anymore. She used to cheer for these men— that is what she liked to do when she was younger.

Now… she would be rather alone. Looking up at the vast blue sky alone. This is the kind of enjoyment she has been waiting in the Anning Hall for a long long time.

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Notes:

[1] 扫把星 (saobaxing) literally a broomstar but can also mean trouble maker or jinxed person

[2] 侧福晋 (ce’fujin) a side-wife – not the main wife QAQ if you’re reading a lot of harem of ancient cnovels you will be familiar with this

T/N:

I’m sorry if I’m not consistent. Sometimes I retain the Chinese terms. Sometimes, I use the transliteration. I just use whatever I think fits the tone. But I’m sure some won’t agree. So apologies.

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