Chapter 103: Speculations

Chapter 103: Speculations

Led by a palace maid, Song Ran cautiously entered the inner hall. She barely glimpsed a few vague figures before kneeling to perform a grand salutation.

"Commoner Song Ran pays respects to the Empress Dowager!"

As she knelt, her body curled up, making her appear even younger and more timid.

But the Empress did not feel any pity for her. She first ordered Song Ran to rise, then had someone bring a cushioned stool for her to sit on, before smiling and asking, "What books has Miss Song studied?"

Song Ran sat on the stool, eyes fixed on the intricate embroidery of the Empress's robe, and replied softly, "When I was young, I studied 'The Family Teachings of Tai Gong' with my father."

"The Family Teachings of Tai Gong" is a common primer used in Great Zhou to enlighten young children.

The Empress nodded, "Not bad. Have you studied anything else?"

Song Ran quietly said, "In Jinzhou, I also studied a bit of 'Xu Gu Qian Wen,' but I didn’t learn it well."

"'Xu Gu Qian Wen'?" The Empress's interest piqued, her tone growing warmer, "That's a history book. Miss Song has been well taught."

Seemingly unsure how to respond, Song Ran continued to lower her head in silence.

"Miss Song, there's no need to be nervous." Xia Chan offered Song Ran a cup of hot tea with a gentle voice, "Please, have some tea."

The tea had been prepared in advance, but as soon as Song Ran entered, she did nothing but perform a courtesy and sat on the embroidered stool, not daring to touch the tea snacks placed on the small table beside her.

Hearing this, Song Ran stiffly picked up the teacup, lifted the lid to skim off the froth, cautiously took a sip, and then gently placed the cup down without making a sound.

After chatting for a while, it was almost noon. The Empress wanted to invite Song Ran for lunch, but before she could reply, a sweet and glutinous voice came from outside the curtain —

"Mother! Wuh and Sister Zhou are back!"

A palace maid lifted the bead curtain at the entrance, and the Grand Princess, dressed in a tender yellow Luo skirt, walked in with Zhou Zhen, who was taller than her. Without performing any formalities, she rushed to the Empress, hugged her waist, and cooed, "Mother, did you miss Wuh? I've been thinking about you all day at the Chongwen Pavilion!"

The Empress embraced her with a radiant smile, teasingly saying, "I think, you little monkey, just missed the meals in Fengyi Palace!"

The Grand Princess giggled, stepped back from the Empress's embrace, performed a respectful bow, and said, "Wuh was just incidentally thinking about lunch."

This amused everyone in the hall, bringing smiles to their faces.

"Alright, lunch is ready in the warm pavilion. You go ahead with Zhen," the Empress said with a smile.

The Grand Princess loudly agreed, turned around, and noticed another girl in the room she hadn't seen before. She stepped closer, pointed at Song Ran, and asked, "Mother, who is this beautiful sister?"

Song Ran stood up from the embroidered stool, appearing somewhat bewildered.

The Empress then said, "This is Miss Song. Wuh, you can just call her Auntie Song."

"Auntie?" The princess turned back in slight confusion, looking at the empress without asking why, and smilingly took Song Ran's hand, "Has Auntie Song been in the palace these days? Shall the three of us go play at the Taiye Pool together?"

Song Ran stammered, unsure of how to respond, while the empress softly said, "Wu'er, don't be mischievous. Miss Song needs to return home."

Song Ran's clasped hands tightened briefly before relaxing back to their original state, as if she hadn't understood a thing.

The princess then pesters the empress for a while longer. Seeing the empress remain unmoved, she reluctantly says, "Then, can we at least have Auntie Song join us for lunch?"

The empress, with indulgence, says, "We were going to invite her for the meal anyway."

The esteemed mother and daughter concluded their conversation. Song Ran, who had prepared excuses, found no chance to voice them. She finished lunch in the warm chamber and, led by Nanny Qing and accompanied by little Xing, left the palace through Chaoyang Gate.

The carriage headed towards Prince Ying's mansion. Song Ran entered through a side gate, passed the Moon Gate, and walked through several courtyards along the cloistered corridor before finally reaching her residence.

It was only then that Xiao Xing dared to speak up. Her eyes sparkled with hope as she asked, "Miss, will we be living in the palace from now on?"

"The palace?" Song Ran no longer bore the timidity she had in the palace; her thin face was grim, not at all like that of a naive and adorable child.

After her family's downfall and the loss of her parents, she was swindled out of her remaining fortune by her clan due to having no brothers. Then, after escaping from a so-called distant uncle who intended to sell her off, she disguised herself and begged her way to the county's orphanage. How could she still be an innocent and adorable child?

"We can't even afford to stay in this small courtyard, and you're dreaming of the palace?"

Song Ran poured herself some cool tea, sitting in a chair with her petite frame, reminiscing about every word and deed in the Fengyi Palace.

However, the princess's bell-like laughter kept echoing in her ears, bringing visions of the princess's exquisite clothes, luxurious jewelry, and a bright, untroubled smile. The laughter now seemed piercing to her.

"Can't afford to stay?" Xiao Xing was startled and hurried to Song Ran, grabbing her hand and pleading, "Miss, you must think of something!"

Song Ran shook off Xiao Xing's hand, took another sip of the cool tea, and suppressed the resentment in her heart before murmuring, "I acted so cowardly, yet made no mistakes in manners and etiquette. With such a status, I shouldn't be sent back to my hometown like the others..."

"Status..." She recalled the expression on Qing Mama's face when they first met, identical to that of the Empress Dowager's lady-in-waiting. "Do I resemble someone? Is that why I was given this status..."

"Miss...?" Xiao Xing hesitated.

Song Ran paid her no heed, lost in her thoughts.

"The Empress Dowager is dead, and whatever her intentions, she should be irrelevant now... But today in Fengyi Palace, would the Empress summon me just because I am the adopted daughter of the late Empress Dowager? Would she be so cordial, have the maids and eunuchs probe me secretly, and invite me for lunch?"

"Since both the Empress Dowager and the Empress treated me differently because of my appearance... then the person I resemble must be someone from the palace, and someone of high status at that. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager wouldn't have gone to such lengths to find me."

"When I was in Jinzhou, I learned from my aunt that the Emperor's eldest child is only five years old, and the late Emperor had no grown daughters..."

"Could it be... one of the imperial concubines?"

"If it's a concubine, and the Empress Dowager could not act directly and had to seek me out indirectly, then it must be a particularly favored one..."

"In that case, the Emperor himself would surely react to my appearance... but I am still too young..."

Song Ran suddenly smiled, knowing what she had to do.

"Miss?" Xiao Xing, seeing her smile, breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "I heard that homeless children are sent to the Ciyou Bureau. If we can't stay here, will we be sent there too?"

Xiao Xing gazed intently at Song Ran. She was already thirteen years old. While Song Ran might still be admitted, she certainly wouldn't be.

"No," Song Ran reassured her with a smile, her face full of conviction. "I don’t know where we’ll go, but it definitely won't be the Ciyou Bureau."

"Wherever we go doesn't matter. After experiencing the grandeur of the imperial city, who would want to spend their life anywhere else?"