Chapter Ten: I Will Protect My Own Son

After a hearty meal, Su Jingluo began to wash and dress herself. She was entering the palace, though she had no idea why; yet seeing the maids and old servants so earnest in preparing her, she became inexplicably nervous. She had a maid cover the wound on her forehead with thick powder, but it was still quite visible. So, she simply picked up the scissors and trimmed herself a neat fringe, which turned out to be rather pretty. Su Jingluo exhaled deeply, trying to compose herself and not appear so uneasy.

Yunbai was nervous as well. There had only been three people in their small courtyard before, but in the past few days, she had met many others and experienced upheavals that left the little one shaken. Now, they faced an even greater challenge.

Just as Su Jingluo finished getting ready, Xiao Jingxuan entered. Seeing Su Jingluo before him, he stood rooted to the spot. She was dressed in simple blue, the breeze stirring her garments. Her proud expression and bearing seemed almost otherworldly, like a fairy not of this realm.

"Young Master, once you’re inside the palace, don’t run about, don’t touch things, don’t speak out of turn. Do not look directly at His Majesty, Her Majesty, or the Empress Dowager. Keep your head lowered at all times unless they tell you to raise it," an old servant woman admonished repeatedly.

Su Jingluo frowned.

"He’s just a child; how can he remember so much? You keep repeating yourselves, and you’re only making Yunbai more anxious," she said, thinking that bringing a child into the palace was nothing short of a torment.

"Madam, you don’t understand. If trouble arises, what then?" The old woman, a senior in the household, was aware of the lady’s recent demeanor and the staff’s murmured complaints about her harshness and boldness. There was a hint of disdain in her tone.

"If trouble comes, his father is there. Besides, is glancing or touching something really such a catastrophe?" She reasoned that while it was wise to tread carefully in another’s domain, if the emperor were to quibble with a child, he could hardly be considered magnanimous.

"Oh, Madam, you can’t say that! This is the imperial palace. If trouble comes, even His Lordship can’t help you," the old woman retorted, clearly unconvinced and suspecting the lady would stir things up in the palace as well.

"Madam is right. I will naturally protect my child." Those words—‘his father is there’—stirred a sudden sense of pride in Xiao Jingxuan’s chest, and he immediately stepped in to support her.

He glanced at the old servant, who was dressing Yunbai rather roughly. "You’ve served in the prince’s manor for some years, haven’t you?"

The old woman, puzzled, answered affirmatively.

"Tomorrow you may retire at home," he declared. She froze, mouth open as if to cry, but before she could make a sound, Xiao Jingxuan frowned and added, "My decision will not change. You failed to serve the young master with care. Sending you home is already generous. Do not make a fuss, or bear the consequences yourself. The rest of you, remember: a master is a master. Do you understand?"

The servants hurriedly assented, all wondering if the prince had been bewitched; this had been the central rumor among the maids and servants these past days.

Su Jingluo was quite pleased with Xiao Jingxuan’s response. Yunbai tilted her head, half understanding, watching this villainous father. It seemed he wasn’t so bad after all, and the palace didn’t seem so frightening.

Still, Yunbai worried about this villainous father bullying her mother. Today, her mother looked especially beautiful, and if the villainous father took a fancy to her, it would be troublesome. So, on the carriage, Yunbai wedged herself firmly between Xiao Jingxuan and Su Jingluo, and upon alighting, she clung tightly to her mother’s hand.

Su Jingluo assumed Yunbai was simply nervous, for she herself was tense. Faced with the looming palace, its grandeur stark against the bare winter trees, she felt an icy, solemn majesty. Lacking any literary refinement, Su Jingluo composed a crude rhyme in her heart: The palace is vast, the buildings abundant, the palace folk scurry like mindless ants, heads bowed, hurrying to and fro.

While she was still awash in emotion, suddenly she paused; Yunbai stopped walking as well.