ili and her brothers were once again enroute to the palace. They had been invited to ride with the Second Prince and the princess, who were now hosting Prince Nur’s sister, Princess Sofya, as well as the grasslands Prince.
ili was very pleased to be riding Tufei through the streets, rather than travelling in the uncomfortable palanquin.
As she rode by, people openly stopped and stared at her, and she started to wish she’d worn a veil. She might not have noticed it, but her brothers all heard the whispers of ’Wang Zhaojun’, which had beco her nickna across the capital.
Third Brother shook his head in dismay. He liked it better when she stayed in the inner courtyards... He glared fiercely at anyone who looked at her, especially n. Which ant that he spent the whole ride glaring at people. The offenders bowed their heads hurriedly when the fierce young noble caught them staring. The i boys’ reputations as ferociously protective older brothers had also spread across the city.
ili hadn’t thought she’d ever be asked back to the palace after the famous fa gao food fight. That had also beco legendary... She would have been quite happy if that was the case, as the palace, and the people in it, frightened her.
The princess had sent her a note telling her that the food fight was the most fun she’d ever had, and it would beco a New Year tradition at the palace.
ili was just glad she hadn’t been in too much trouble at ho. Her father and brothers all said she did the right thing by defending herself against Li Fengfeng’s bullying. Her mother didn’t disagree with them, but she did object to ili’s thods, which could have resulted in her being in danger.
They dismounted at the palace gates and lead their horses through to the extensive fields and parkland that ford part of the palace grounds.
When they arrived, ili imdiately spotted Bai Li walking and talking with a very beautiful woman. Their heads were bent together intimately, and the young lady gestured with animation as she talked with him. ili heard the man laugh, a rare sound.
She suddenly felt sour, without knowing why. She hoped this wasn’t jealousy. That would be a very petty emotion for her to feel for a man she hoped to have as a close friend. As for his romantic life, that was none of her business, unless she could be of assistance to him.
Bai Li caught sight of them and brought the woman over to et them.
"Princess Sofya," he said, "these are the five i brothers. I think it’s easiest for now if I introduce you to them as First through Fifth Brother. And this is their only sister, Miss i ili."
Bai Li took the princess through introductions to each of the i brothers. She smiled prettily at them as she greeted them, wondering how one family could be so blessed in the looks departnt. Excellent breeding, was the thought of the horsewoman from the steppes.
ili couldn’t take her eyes off the young woman. She had the most beautiful face, broader than the won of the empire, with soft pink cheeks and wide but gently sloping eyes that danced with energy and light. Her generous lips made her seem exotic yet strangely familiar.
She wore a grasslands outfit of the sort ili had worn which made her mother cross with her. It was a beautiful silk dress with wide sleeves and a scalloped shawl across her head, hung with tiny silver bells which tinkled with every step she took. The outfit was the deepest forest green, which brought out the hint of green in her hazel eyes.
Now ili really was jealous. She wished she could look just the sa as this dainty beauty. She imagined it was a real inconvenience to Bai Li chaperoning her about...
"Miss i ... Miss i," Bai Li brought her back from her depressing imaginings. "I said this is Princess Sofya."
She curtsied a belated a greeting and gave the girl a reserved, "nice to et you Princess".
Her brothers all looked at her. That wasn’t a tone they heard her use. She was a very kind and warm girl, especially to those she thought were in need of her help. Third Brother smiled to himself as he wondered if she might be jealous of the royal girl. Two beauties competing for the attentions of one man. Lucky devil! he thought.
The Second Prince was already out riding with Prince Nur, and the brothers mounted up and rode off to join them, leaving Bai Li and Princess Sofya with ili.
"Miss i, I hear the fa gao baking turned into a food fight," said Bai Li with a small smile. "I hope you were okay?"
"I was fine thank you Commander Bai," she said frostily, looking into the distance and not bothering to make small talk.
"Princess Sofya grew up riding and shooting, so she has very similar interests to you Miss i," he tried again.
"Mm," she murmured with obvious disinterest.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat. "Perhaps you’d like to share the tale of your recent adventures on the royal hunt?" he ploughed on.
"Commander Bai," she snapped. "Those events were traumatic and terrifying for . Not sothing I care to relive as a party trick so you can entertain your guest."
Princess Sofya raised her eyebrows. What a rude young lady. How could she treat the handso commander like that?
Bai Li scratched his head in puzzlent. She’d either rembered their conversation of the other night and was angry at him, or she was jealous of the princess. He rather hoped it was the latter.
Princess Lingling rode up to them with Tan Wentian, saving him from wading through more conversational mud.
"Princess Sofya," she inclined her head. "It’s lovely to see you this morning. I trust Commander Bai has done a good job looking after you?"
"He has thank you Princess Lingling, he’s a most attentive host. Very caring and kind," she looked pointedly at i ili.
I’ll bet he is, thought ili resentfully. He seed to have a habit of being caring and kind to young won. That must be his approach with the opposite sex. He had obviously perfected this ’modus operandi’. Now she felt stupid for thinking she might be special.
"Of course, he’s the perfect gentleman," said Princess Lingling. "As you can imagine, half the young ladies in the capital are swooning over him," she laughed.
Bai Li looked at i ili, whose scowl had deepened. Perhaps she was jealous? he reflected happily.
"Yes," agreed ili, "I hear he’s extrely popular with the young ladies. He’s quite the knight in shining armour," she said with not so hidden inferences that he was a ladies’ man.
Princess Lingling looked at ili with surprise, not sure what had got into the guileless young woman today. Had Bai Li done sothing to offend her?
Ouch, that hurt, he thought. Where did that co from? His face turned cold.
"I’m sorry if my recent attentions to you in troubled tis have been unwelco, Miss i. I’ll keep that in mind next ti you find yourself in danger... Which seems to be quite regularly," he muttered to himself.
"I don’t need you to save Bai Li!" she flashed angrily. "I’m not so damsel in distress."
"I beg to differ."
"I can look after myself. I get really tired of these Confucian fantasies you n harbour about won."
He might as well know who she really was, she thought. An unattractive fiery woman who didn’t want to be bound by Empress Xu’s Instructions for the Inner Quarters.
"You’ll have to elucidate on which of Confucius’s principles I’m deluded by Miss i," he narrowed his eyes at her.
"So other ti perhaps Commander. I thought we ca out here to ride and shoot?"
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