"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, don't frighten us, please come out!"
"Your Highness, stop hiding, it's time for your meal!"
"..."
The Grand Princess sat on a osmanthus tree in the imperial garden, watching the palace attendants rush about like ants on a hot pan, her young face sporting a mischievous smile.
The smile lingered until she was discovered by the palace attendants and carried down from the tree, only then did it slowly fade.
"Nonsense!"
The man in the golden dragon robe's face was filled with anger. "Zhaozhao, you are the Grand Princess of Anguo, you should have the demeanor of a princess. How can you be so naughty and reckless? You've greatly disappointed your father."
With that, the man flicked his sleeve and left in a huff.
The young Grand Princess was left standing there, bewildered. She didn't understand why her father was so angry.
A few days ago, her brothers had fought fiercely in the imperial garden, and even uprooted many precious flowers, yet their father had merely chuckled. Why was he so angry with her?
The Grand Princess, filled with confusion, went to her mother's palace.
"Mother!"
Seeing her elegant and dignified mother, the Grand Princess smiled and moved to approach her, only to be stopped by the head palace maid beside her.
The Grand Princess was stunned. "Mother?"
The Empress waved her hand, dismissing the palace maid, and asked gently, "Zhaozhao, do you know you were wrong?"
"I, I don't," the Grand Princess said stubbornly, looking at the Empress.
The Empress's brow furrowed slightly, but then smoothed out again. She beckoned the Grand Princess to her side and whispered, "Zhaozhao, you are our eldest daughter. From the moment you were born, you received unparalleled favor. The Retired Emperor even personally chose your name, Xu Yi. You should be even more cautious in your words and actions, so as not to tarnish the name of the Grand Princess."
Xu Yi, the Grand Princess, looked lost. She followed the Empress's words and asked, "Then what should I do?"
"It's simple," the Empress said with a gentle smile, signaling the palace attendants outside to bring things in. She then displayed them one by one before Xu Yi.
"A Grand Princess should be beautiful and intelligent. Not only should you be skilled in qin, go, calligraphy, and painting, but your etiquette and needlework should also be impeccable. You have already passed your seventh birthday. From tomorrow, you will begin studying with various tutors to become a true Grand Princess."
Xu Yi nodded her head dazedly in agreement.
The Empress smiled gently, and Xu Yi smiled along with her, yet she felt a tightness in her chest, a sense of indescribable discomfort.
The next day, Xu Yi began studying with various tutors, her schedule packed from morning till night.
As she no longer went out to play, her father and mother looked at her with increasing satisfaction and gentleness.
Seeing this, Xu Yi could only redouble her efforts in her studies. But in the quiet of the night, she would always stare at the bed curtains in a daze.
She disliked embroidery and needlework, and even more so, the rule of not smiling too broadly. Even the amount of food she ate and the number of steps she took were strictly controlled.
Xu Yi was not happy at all, but she had heard her mother say that this was what every princess had to do.
She believed that for the sake of royal dignity, she had to do it.
However, as time slowly passed, she realized how difficult it was to achieve these things.
Especially when her third imperial brother snatched her favorite Huoyun Whip in front of her tutors and palace attendants, and everyone advised her to yield, she could no longer contain herself. She punched her third imperial brother down and snatched the Huoyun Whip back.
When Xu Yi was summoned to her father's palace, her heart felt incredibly light. She had already determined what she wanted.
"Kneel!"
Xu Yi had been studying royal etiquette for some time. Upon hearing her father's reprimand, she instinctively wanted to kneel, but after just a moment of bending her knees, she straightened them forcefully.
She looked directly at her father's imperial face. "I have done nothing wrong. Why should I kneel?"
"You dare to talk back!"
The Emperor was furious. Seeing Xu Yi's unrepentant demeanor, he vented his anger on the Empress.
"Is this the Grand Princess you have educated? Resorting to violence against your younger brother! If this gets out, she will bring disgrace to the royal family of Anguo."
The Empress was also furious at this moment. "Zhaozhao, have you forgotten what Mother told you before?"
"I haven't forgotten, but I don't want to study these things! I want to study and practice martial arts like my brothers!"
Xu Yi had secretly learned about the situations of her imperial brothers. She knew that they did not study in isolation in their rooms but together at a place called the Imperial College, and they would also gather to practice martial arts and ride horses.
Xu Yi was extremely envious and wished she could live such a life.
"Absurd! You are a woman, how can you study outside like the princes?" The Emperor of Anguo looked at Xu Yi as if she were an anomaly.
The Empress was also astonished by Xu Yi's defiance of convention.
In the end, the two decided that they must discipline Xu Yi strictly and correct all her bad habits.
From that day on, the palace attendants around Xu Yi were replaced by stout and robust palace maids.
Whenever Xu Yi intended to go out or refused to follow her tutors' instructions, these palace maids would confine her to her chambers, withholding meals, and forcing her to admit her mistakes.
The Emperor and Empress of Anguo believed that Xu Yi was just an eight-year-old child. No matter how stubborn she was, she would eventually be afraid.
A few missed meals would make her fearful, and then she would become sensible.
However, they had underestimated Xu Yi's resolve.
Although Xu Yi was confined to her chambers, she never gave up. When the door was locked, she would climb out the window. When the window was sealed, she would climb the wall posts and pry off the tiles.
When she could no longer escape, she truly refused to eat and did not complain of hunger, until she fainted from hunger. The frightened palace maids would then rush her out and hastily call for imperial physicians to treat her.
After a few such incidents, the Emperor and Empress compromised.
Xu Yi was, after all, their first child, and they would never truly watch her ruin her own health.
However, they were also heartbroken by the unyielding Xu Yi and shifted their focus away from her.
Although the title of Grand Princess Xu Yi remained, she could no longer enjoy the treatment of a Grand Princess.
Her chambers were moved to the most secluded corner of the imperial palace. Apart from two elderly palace maids, no one else served her.
Although Xu Yi was somewhat disappointed, she was extremely satisfied with a life free from restraint.
She no longer thought about how to please her father and mother, but instead began to find ways to study literature and practice martial arts.
Fortunately, one of the palace maids by her side was literate, being the daughter of a scholar.
Xu Yi began to learn calligraphy from her.
However, the problem of learning literature was solved, but how should she practice martial arts?
Xu Yi pondered for several days but could not come up with a solution. She then turned her attention to her third imperial brother, whom she had once beaten.
"If you beg me, I might consider helping you."
Although her third imperial brother was two years younger than her, he already had his own little schemes. Hearing Xu Yi ask for his help, he immediately remembered the humiliation of that day and began to threaten Xu Yi.
"Beg you?"
Xu Yi glanced at the palace attendants who were farther away. She immediately stepped forward, covered her third imperial brother's mouth, and beat him again.
Only when he was begging for mercy did Xu Yi release him.
From then on, she disguised herself and followed her third imperial brother in and out of the imperial palace, posing as his personal guard to practice martial arts together.