The Promotion Record of a Crown Princess

9-17: Bringing the Prince Back Home

The Daughter's Day of the fifth month was connected to the Dragon's Boat Festival1, bringing mugwort leaves and five poison Daoist talismans. It was a summer tradition to return on May 1st and stay up until May 5th. The attitude of a young daughter was studied to the greatest extent to keep up appearances. Each and every married woman visited their parents and as such, it came to be known as Daughter's Day.

For the next couple of days, I was depressed over having to follow a group of ladies and mistresses in celebrating Daughter's Day.

The Qi Sheng who had been deep underwater for over three months had finally come up to the surface, saying he had to accompany me to visit my parents.

Returning, returning, returning to what, returning to who?

The night before the visit, Lu Li's heart seemed to be full of happiness as she arranged the luggage. I sat quietly on the couch, one hand supporting my cheek as I watched her scurry about like a butterfly. Lu Li was not at ease with leaving me unattended, and would look back to look at me from time to time. Seeing that I hadn't moved, she would go back to being busy once again.

I thought in my heart that in any case Qi Sheng was someone with a wife and concubines, yet Daughter's Day was but a few short days. He had so many father-in-laws, would he be able to get through them all? Originally I wanted to ask Lu Li, but then I thought about how I was already known as being half-crazy. If I were to carelessly ask such things, I'm afraid the day I'll be called a fool wouldn't be far away. Forget it, let's not give Lu Li a shock.

That's what I thought, but the moment this question arose within my heart it was like shutting a noisy, young cat inside. Afterwards, I really couldn't stand it anymore, so I took an indirect approach: "Lu Li ah, since we're going back home like this, what about Huang Liangyuan and Chen Liangdi?"

"Them?" Lu Li turned around to look at me. "Naturally they're going to stay in the Palace."

"They're not going to go back to their homes?" I wondered in surprise. "I'll be going back."

Lu Li replied: "How can they be compared to the Crown Princess? You are the wife, they are the concubines, you are the master, they are the servants!"

I saw the bit of disdain that showed on Lu Li's face as she talked about Huang Liangyuan and the others. Aiya little Lu Li, if we stay like this, sooner or later trouble will come. You are still too young, and completely don't understand us men. What master, what servant. Being fresh is the way of the king! Just like how a wife isn't as good as a concubine, and a concubine isn't as good as something stolen, ah!

I originally wanted to thoroughly educate Lu Li, but after giving it some thought I decided to let it go again, so I just continued to sit.

The words coming out of Lu Li's mouth however, seemed to increase. She busied about as she reminisced: "Ever since the last Daughter's Day, Crown Princess didn't go back home for a whole year. The esteemed Madame and Lady must have missed you silly, so this time going back there will be a lot to talk about. We also haven't seen the other girls at home for a while now, and we don't know if the younger little miss has grown taller......The trees and flowers in the garden at home are also the best, I wonder how they turned out this year......"

Lu Li continued with a low voice, face peaceful with a tender tone of voice. Listening to her my heart also relaxed, and I unwittingly started feeling a bit sleepy. Right in the middle of my drowsiness, I suddenly heard Lu Li's tone change as she bitterly complained: "The only hateful thing is that that slut Jiang-shi is also going back. There's no doubt she's going to tempt His Highness the Crown Prince again!"

I was shocked and subconsciously asked: "Return where?"

Lu Li replied with a hateful tone: "How can that person have any home, she's just going to thicken her face2 and return to ours."