Chapter 11: Debugging

Pressed against the outside of her ankle beneath the silk stocking was a hefty slingshot made of refined iron.

Crafted entirely from jet-black refined iron, shaped like a tree branch—rounded and blunt—with a leather strap bound in the middle, it could be safely concealed around the ankle.

“It’s just a slingshot,” Jiang Luan said with a gentle smile, pulling off the silk stocking to reveal the full iron slingshot. “There’s a cat raised in the Lingfeng Hall that loves catching birds, but it’s too lazy and often jumps too low to catch any. I carry this slingshot with me to help my little pet Dot dot catch birds.”

Pei Xian listened without revealing any emotion, not believing a single word. “The slingshot is hidden at your ankle—where are the pellets?”

“Why must you pry into every detail?” Jiang Luan tore a pouch off the multicolored, gold-threaded belt around her waist. She emptied it onto the long table, scattering dozens of golden pellets of various sizes all over the surface.

“There, all right here.”

Pei Xian picked up one pellet and weighed it in his hand. “These aren’t light. Princess, you shoot birds with golden pellets like these?”

Jiang Luan replied modestly, “Just trying my luck. If I’m lucky, I can hit a few.”

Pei Xian aimed at a plum vase by the window, tossed a golden pellet in a perfect arc, and it landed squarely in the vase with a crisp, clear clink.

“A half tael gold pellet. Not just birds perched on branches—this could bring down hawks and falcons in the sky. Pellets this heavy require considerable wrist strength and precision. But I don’t see that kind of wrist power in you that could shoot down a hawk.”

“Whether I can hit or not is one thing, but practice is still necessary.” Jiang Luan took a half-tael gold pellet rolling on the table and held it in her palm. “This slingshot was bestowed by the late emperor, who also personally taught me how to shoot birds with it. It’s a rare heirloom. Ever since the late emperor passed, I miss him day and night. Keeping the slingshot close lets me remember him through the object.”

She casually pushed the slingshot forward. “You’ve checked the pellets, so why not check the slingshot?”

Pei Xian put down the pellet but didn’t take the slingshot. He said lightly, “The princess has invoked the late emperor’s heirloom. Only a traitor would dare confiscate such an item, denying the princess even the chance to remember him. The slingshot will stay in Lingfeng Hall.”

He took a few steps to retrieve a small soft-sheathed sword made of snakeskin from the floor. “I’ll take this short sword.”

Jiang Luan hooked her fingers around the leather strap on the slingshot. The empty string tightened, humming softly. With interest, she probed further, “You won’t take the slingshot, but won’t inspect it either? Is it because it was taken from my stocking close to my skin, and the commander dares not touch it? Didn’t you just say it’s too big an age gap, and you see me as a niece?”

Pei Xian seemed not to hear, fiddling with the newly confiscated small sword.

The two-foot-long sword, with a snakeskin sheath, had an extremely narrow and thin blade. It looked delicate and exquisite, more a toy for a young lady than a weapon.

Yet once drawn, it radiated cold light, the blade as clear as a pool of autumn water, capable of slicing hair effortlessly—a rare and valuable weapon worth thousands.

Pei Xian admired it for a moment, then slipped it into his sleeve and cast a sidelong glance.

“It’s a child’s plaything, a slingshot, not a weapon—no need to inspect it—” His words faltered as he took in the scene before him, his pupils contracting slightly.

Jiang Luan yawned, changed her position, curling up on the Luohan bed. Under the bright lamp, her elaborate and splendid silk skirt trailed at the bedside. Without the white silk stocking covering her delicate jade-like feet and a small section of slender calf, they gleamed brightly beneath the gown.

A noble flower nurtured in the palace for years, she rarely walked on foot, taking sedan chairs even for short distances.

Her feet, delicate as white jade, arched gracefully, with rounded nails shimmering faintly pink under the lamp.

“Commander Pei, I can’t find my stockings,” Jiang Luan said, tilting her head with her naturally downward-slanting, soft black almond eyes, looking all the more innocent and gentle in the lamplight. “They’re not on the Luohan bed, and it’s awkward to go out without them. Have you seen them?”

Pei Xian averted his gaze and rose without a trace of emotion, heading straight for the door.

Jiang Luan watched him go, suspecting he was trying to avoid trouble by leaving the hall. She chuckled silently, her lips sharp.

“Hey, why leave all of a sudden? You’ve only searched half my body and taken off one boot. Not going to check the other side? Not even help me find my stockings? How careless you are, commander.”

She jabbed a few more words without much force. Seeing no reaction, she clicked her tongue in boredom, stopped talking, and sat up to search for the stockings herself.

“If you can’t do what an elder should, then don’t keep insisting you’re one. Fine. I’ve always been understanding and don’t like to make things difficult. Command the palace maids in.”

Pei Xian’s footsteps halted at the wooden partition.

A thin smile curled his lips, cold and faint. “Princess, always understanding? Doesn’t like to cause trouble?”

Walking a few steps farther into the open space, he spotted the white silk stocking carelessly kicked off beside the Luohan bed. He bent to pick it up and retraced his steps.

“I always see things through to the end. Here, your stocking.” He lifted his robe and knelt on one knee by the Luohan bed, holding out his palm to signal Jiang Luan to extend her foot.

“It’s late, be careful not to catch a chill barefoot.”

Jiang Luan sighed in disappointment at missing the drama of a half-complete search and a sudden escape, lowered her skirt to cover her pale ankle, then lazily stretched out the slender arch of her foot to rest on his outstretched palm.

“Good. Put it on.”

The premium white silk foot bag was newly made this spring by the Imperial Clothing Bureau, perfectly fitted to her foot and slipped on effortlessly.

The foot bag had a few tiny slits near the top, through which a slender apricot-colored silk cord was threaded to tie securely around the ankle, preventing it from slipping off while walking.

Jiang Luan reclined against the luxurious embroidered bolster at the head of the Luohan bed, her gaze dropping over the new, composed high minister of the court before her.

His features blurred by the backlight, only the shadows of his cheekbones were visible.

By looks alone, Pei Xian was exceptionally handsome. His phoenix-shaped eyes were narrow and sharp, his demeanor calm and commanding. Even in her vague memories of a previous life, when political enemies assailed him, they couldn’t help but admit he possessed a “handsome and elegant bearing.”

But the pressure he radiated was overwhelming, and his words and actions left no room for mercy—his few words always struck straight to the point. In his former life as chancellor, those before him often struggled under his questioning, sweating profusely, leaving no time to scrutinize his appearance.

Now, his broad palm supported the arch of her foot, his long fingers roughened with calluses deftly lifting the silk ribbons on both sides, his usual sharp gaze shifting downward to the slender ties. After a moment’s thought, he tied a firm knot commonly used for battlefield bandages.

Pei Xian frowned, studying the foot bag’s laces while Jiang Luan tilted her head, watching him.

He likely never imagined encountering such an absurd scene when arriving at Lingfeng Hall at midnight. She couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Having the commander help me put on and tie my stockings,” she bit her rosy nails with a smile, “makes for quite the story to tell. Being searched in the palace tonight was worth it.”

Pei Xian glanced up, ignoring her words. He got up, walked a few steps, pulled aside the double-layered curtains hanging at the diamond-shaped partition, and then opened several tightly closed southern windows in turn.

The night breeze swept in, dispersing the lingering incense smoke inside the hall, revealing the dark courtyard guarded by the imperial troops.

He turned with his hands behind his back, eyes fixed on the oil lamp on the long table.

“The youngest daughter favored by the late emperor, a golden branch and jade leaf of noble status—where did you learn such a shabby method of threatening and extorting with a hand crossbow tied to your person?”

Jiang Luan yawned lazily. “Hmm? Commander really thinks of himself as my elder? Even scolding me now.”

Pei Xian cracked a faint smile. “Princess, have you always been this way since childhood? A bit undisciplined.”

Just then, Yuan Mama arrived with several palace maids, hurrying into the hall. Pei Xian addressed her.

“Though the princess has reached fifteen, she has yet to undergo the coming-of-age ceremony. She is not yet an adult and needs supervision. I have a niece of similar age who is strictly disciplined at home, very obedient and well-mannered. I hope you will keep a close watch.”

“The defenses at Lingfeng Hall will be reinforced. From today, Ding Jian is recalled to the outer city. When Wen Jing returns tomorrow, he and Xue Duo will jointly guard Lingfeng Hall to ensure the princess’s safety.”

He stepped back two paces and bowed according to palace protocol. “I take my leave.”

Unaware of what had transpired inside the hall, Yuan Mama, hearing Pei Xian’s sudden assumption of an elder’s role and the increased imperial guard, saw the princess lying sideways on the Luohan bed in a willful, indifferent manner. Yuan Mama stepped forward, standing protectively in front of her charge, returning the bow cautiously.

“Commander, take care.”

Jiang Luan curled up on the Luohan bed, picked up the round fan nearby, and casually fanned herself.

The fan concealed most of her beautiful face as she heard the phrase “not yet come of age, not yet an adult” again and clicked her tongue.

Her half-written daily journal lay before her. She took up the brush and continued writing on the blank side of the paper, which had only the date and weather:

“April first... pear blossoms cover the ground, the wind passes through the wooden corridor.”

“Nothing happened today at Liangyi Hall. Second brother left the palace safely, much relief and joy.”

“Pei Xian came at midnight, confiscated a treasured hand crossbow, two priceless short swords, lectured me past midnight—what a monster!”

“Thank you, commander, for your midnight visit.” She set the journal back on the table, shielding the fresh words with her palm, casually shaking the fan.

“If the princess’s residence is granted smoothly, I will heed your advice in due course.”