Chapter 3: The Rainbow Sticker
【My dinner is arranged by the Provisions Hall, so I don’t yet know what they’ll send. I’ll tell you when it arrives.】
【However, today’s medicinal broth is exceptionally bitter.】
Jiang Xue had almost finished her noodles when she was finally allowed to retrieve her diary. Upon opening it, she saw these two sentences. The first brought a smile to her face, but the second made it freeze.
“Oh my gosh! My pen pal isn’t well!” She immediately showed the diary to Xie Xitong. “She probably takes medicine before meals, right? Doesn’t this sound a bit like my stomach problems? I wonder if my medicine would work for her?”
“Even if you want to help, you need to know what you’re dealing with!” Xie Xitong took the diary and glanced at it, her eyebrows furrowing in a slightly exasperated but resigned way. “Even if you consult a doctor, you need to ask about her symptoms and how long they’ve lasted. It’s best to ask about her current prescriptions, too.”
“Most importantly, you need to ask her if she can actually receive things sent through the diary.”
“Right, right, right! Look at me, I was so worried I forgot all about that!” Jiang Xue grabbed her pen and quickly wrote down her concerns in order of importance.
This time, however, she wrote very slowly. She’d forgotten the traditional forms of some characters. Writing in simplified characters worried her; Xiao Luohan might not understand them or might misinterpret the meaning. Since it concerned her illness, she spent a long time just thinking about which words to use.
“…I think I’ll need to bring my phone to school.” Jiang Xue lowered her voice, feeling her face flush. Since learning about the strict no-phone rule, she hadn’t brought her phone to school in over two years!
“Bring it. Just keep it on silent and hidden,” Xie Xitong said nonchalantly. “As long as it doesn’t affect your grades, it’s not a big deal.”
By the time Jiang Xue had finally written down all her questions, it was almost time for evening self-study.
Before leaving, they petted the owner’s calico cat as usual, leaving only after they were satisfied with a sleeve full of cat fur.
Looking at the food brought to her table, Xiao Luohan truly didn’t know how to respond to the spirit.
Each dish was served in a small plate. While there was no shortage of delicacies, none of them were safe for her to eat.
Food that would cause her skin to break out in hives sat right in front of her, while the dishes specifically listed on her dietary restrictions were nowhere to be seen. She couldn’t bring herself to touch her chopsticks.
“Don’t you like any of it?”
The same palace maid from earlier was at it again, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She even raised her voice slightly, saying: “How delicate you are! These dishes are all gifts from His Highness, the Crown Prince. To show such ingratitude before you’re even married…”
Xiao Luohan found her irritating. She raised her eyes and gave the maid a look.
When her elder sister was still alive, Xiao Luohan, curious about her sister’s commanding presence, had begged her to teach her how to convey meaning with just her eyes.
This single glance, without a word uttered, sent a chill down the maid’s spine. The rest of her sentence died in her throat.
“I have perused the roster of servants assigned to Wangmei Pavilion. Fewer than thirty percent previously served His Highness.”
Since not all the servants were the Crown Prince’s people, word of this incident would spread sooner or later.
“Since you invoke the Crown Prince’s name, you should understand that every word and action implies his tacit approval.”
If the servants lacked virtue, it would reflect poorly on the Crown Prince, suggesting he lacked control over his household.
“To wantonly mock and ridicule a princess sent for a marriage alliance is narrow-minded and base. If anyone cared to pursue the matter, such behavior could be construed as contempt for the royal family. Considering you are merely a servant, and have faithfully served the Daying royal family for years, I will overlook this transgression. However, in the future, refrain from invoking the Crown Prince’s name to shield yourself from such grave offenses.”
Perhaps because she had already been abandoned by her own country, perhaps because she had so little time left to live, or perhaps simply because she’d been moved by the other world described in the spirit’s book, here in this foreign land, Xiao Luohan, contrary to her usual submissiveness, coldly voiced her true feelings.
Her words weren’t without calculation.
Although it was common knowledge that the Daying Crown Prince didn’t care for her, this defeated princess sent for a marriage alliance, she’d overheard her father mention before her departure that the Daying Emperor was quite pleased with the match.
—Beiliao sending a sickly, fragile “porcelain doll” who coughed every three steps, destined to spend her days confined to Wangmei Pavilion, meant she wouldn’t cause any trouble as a seductive beauty. Less worry for them.
Though the reasoning was absurd, it was because of this that the Provisions Hall still supplied her with provisions befitting a secondary consort to the Crown Prince. Even if the servants skimmed a bit off the top, Xiao Luohan had turned a blind eye.
However, tolerating such blatant disrespect would only encourage others to follow suit. There would be no point in asserting her authority later.
After these words, the palace maid’s face paled. The others exchanged glances, silently bowed to Xiao Luohan, and quickly removed the dishes, leaving only a bowl of impeccably fragrant rice.
Under Xiao Luohan’s watchful gaze, the servants withdrew from the chamber. A short while later, they returned with steaming dishes of light, bland food.
Xiao Luohan noticed that the disrespectful maid was gone.
She ate her dinner slowly, and only when she was alone again did she move to the desk and open the spirit’s book.
【Did Your Highness see anything fall out of the diary just now?】
【You take your medicine before meals, correct? Forgive my boldness, but I’m very concerned about your health. We have good medicine here. It’s also bitter, but it comes in pills and capsules, so you don’t have to drink a whole bowl of bitter liquid.】
Several paragraphs followed, filled with thoughtful inquiries and careful speculation about her condition.
Xiao Luohan hadn’t expected her casual mention of the bitter medicine to garner such attention!
Her earlier displeasure vanished. Under the dim lamplight, she read carefully.
Perhaps hoping to chat with her pen pal sooner, Jiang Xue was unusually efficient with her homework that evening.
As soon as the first evening self-study period ended, she placed all her assignments on the empty desk beside her and eagerly opened her diary.
【Today’s dinner consisted of the following…】
To make it easier for her to read, Xiao Luohan used modern punctuation.
The Third Princess listed a series of poetic-sounding dish names, but Jiang Xue couldn’t match a single one to an actual dish!
For example, what on earth was “Spring Moon Willow Catkins”?!
She stared at the list of dishes for a long time, puzzled, but decided that asking for an explanation might be rude. She continued reading.
【If you are referring to the small white inkstone at the bottom of the slender tube, it appeared from the book, and I have put it away safely.】
【My mother says this illness has been with me since birth. The old imperial physician, known as a modern-day Hua Tuo, declared that I would not live past eighteen.】
*Hua Tuo: a legendary surgeon at the end of the Han Dynasty*
【The two prescriptions I’ve recently taken are as follows…】
Even though she’d been told she wouldn’t live past eighteen, and was already seventeen, Jiang Xue could sense Xiao Luohan’s will to live.
It was subtle, expressed only through her factual answers to the questions.
But if she’d truly resigned herself to her fate, she wouldn’t have mentioned the medicine at all, or she would have lied when Jiang Xue noticed.
This princess wanted to live. Having glimpsed a flicker of hope, she was calmly reaching out to test it.
Therefore, Jiang Xue decided to reciprocate with the respect the princess deserved.
【Okay! I’ll ask my doctor when I get home! But my family doctor focuses on preventative care and goes to bed very early, so I might not have an answer until tomorrow.】
【There’s no rush.】
【There is a rush! In your time, many illnesses that could have been cured became terminal because they were left untreated!】
Jiang Xue was so worried that, after writing this, she suddenly realized that ancient people were generally more reserved. Talking so bluntly about life and death was incredibly rude!
She quickly drew a line through the word “terminal,” but her pen was too fine. To completely erase the word, she’d have to scribble back and forth.
Flustered, Jiang Xue’s face turned red. Just as she was debating whether to scribble over the word or find some tape to cover it, a blot of ink suddenly appeared, completely obscuring the offending word in a single stroke.
【Is this better?】
The Third Princess, whose impending death had just been mentioned so directly, was asking for her approval.
The brushstrokes were as neat as ever, showing no sign of being affected by the comment.
It was as if she were calmly saying: If you don’t like seeing it, I’ll cover it for you.
Jiang Xue’s mind momentarily short-circuited. When she finally processed what had happened, she immediately apologized:
【I’m so sorry! I said something incredibly rude!】
【Don’t worry, I don’t mind.】
【The chronic illness I suffer from is incurable. Even if we avoid mentioning it, I can feel my body deteriorating day by day. It’s… comforting to be able to talk about it.】
The Third Princess’s attitude was remarkably calm, but the less she seemed to care, the more uneasy Jiang Xue felt.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the unpleasant thoughts.
No! This was too depressing! She needed to change the subject!
Just then, the English class representative returned to the classroom with a stack of newspapers – the weekly practice papers filled with exam questions. They were being passed down the rows, group by group.
When the English paper reached Jiang Xue, it came with an extra copy, as usual.
She automatically tucked it into the empty desk next to her, as always. But a second later, she pulled it back out, quickly folded it, and slipped it into her diary while no one was looking.
Xiao Luohan coughed from the pungent smell of ink. When she recovered, she curiously unfolded the small square of paper.
While most of the characters in the spirit’s book merely lacked a few strokes, this large grey sheet was covered in symbols she couldn’t understand at all.
However, the four prominent characters at the top, 《英语周刊》 (English Weekly), provided a clue: this was the common language of the foreign land, also a “required subject” for the spirit.
Had the spirit given her a copy of their exam paper?
Did they want her to learn a little English?
With nothing else to do, Xiao Luohan happily spread the newspaper out on her desk and scanned it from beginning to end.
The symbols were neat and aesthetically pleasing. Even though she couldn’t understand their meaning, she couldn’t resist picking up her brush and copying a random sentence into the book:
【There is a rainbow in the sky.】
【What does this mean?】
The spirit replied quickly:
【“天空中有一道彩虹.” (There is a rainbow in the sky.)】
【Your Highness is interested in English? Hold on a second!】
Soon, a thick, bright red English-Chinese Dictionary appeared on the book, also smelling of ink, looking brand new.
Xiao Luohan reached for the dictionary. Before she could even open it, a thin sheet slipped out and landed on her lap.
It clearly depicted a rainbow! But as Xiao Luohan brought it closer, it was as if she were looking at a real sky and clouds.
The clouds were wispy and stretched across the sky, different from how they appeared from afar in her memory. The rainbow seemed to flow out of the clouds, cascading downwards towards an unknown destination.
She couldn’t tell if it was even a painting at all.
【This is a rainbow I photographed for a photography competition. Here, for you! I put it in the dictionary!】
【This is called a “sticker.” I think I mentioned it in my diary. The principle is hard to explain, but it lets you stick a “picture” you like onto special paper so you can carry it around.】
【If Your Highness wants to stick it somewhere, just peel off the white paper on the back. Be careful, it’s sticky~】
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