"Is this your young mistress?" Ning Yue's sharp gaze fell upon the wet nurse, carrying a hint of battlefield ferocity.
The wet nurse trembled, her wrinkled face appearing as though it might crumble. She quickly knelt to beg for forgiveness, "It is this servant's negligence. I don't know what happened, but the young mistress offended the General. I beg the General for mercy!"
Ning Yue glanced thoughtfully at the little girl clinging tightly to her, then sternly asked, "Whose young mistress is this?"
The wet nurse trembled even more violently and replied fearfully, "It is the Sixteenth Princess. His Majesty... no, the late Emperor bestowed the name, and her given name is Yu Nian."
"Oh? And this is how you care for your young mistress? I observe that your young mistress seems to fear you greatly." Ning Yue said with a half-smile, each word placing unimaginable pressure on the wet nurse.
Having learned what she wanted to know, Ning Yue, with a cold expression, gestured to the surrounding guards. They understood instantly, lifted the wet nurse, and dragged her outside.
The single charge of harming an imperial heir was enough to seal her fate.
Perhaps sensing her impending doom, the wet nurse attempted to sow discord. "General, you have no right to interfere in the Emperor's harem. If I am to be punished, it should not be by you."
"Then I shall!" Xing Yuan's voice suddenly cut in. She had watched the drama unfold from the corner. She didn't care about others, but anyone who dared bully her wife was deserving of death.
She commanded, "Show no mercy. Such a disloyal servant should be beaten to death with sticks!"
"Yes!" The guards, from somewhere, produced a cloth and stuffed it into the wet nurse's mouth.
She was doomed, and they still wished to live.
The little girl's eyes lit up as she witnessed Xing Yuan's imposing and domineering display. She gazed at Xing Yuan with unwavering attention, her eyes filled with adoration.
Xing Yuan unceremoniously grabbed the girl, who was supposedly her imperial sister, by the scruff of her neck and set her aside. Xing Yuan herself then slumped onto Ning Yue as if boneless.
Sister is hers, and no one else can have her.
The little girl blinked and suddenly called out to Xing Yuan, her voice clear and crisp, "Sister!"
Xing Yuan looked down at the short figure in confusion, thinking she was about to snatch her sister away. She glared at the girl with a hint of annoyance.
The little girl's expression turned dejected. She then raised her head again and said earnestly, "Sister, I am the Sixteenth. My name is Feng Yu Nian, and I came specifically to find you."
Xing Yuan was even more perplexed. She had no memory of this person.
Ning Yue gently squeezed Xing Yuan's hand, her eyes signaling for her to go inside and talk.
After all, it was an imperial matter, and it was not good for others to make a spectacle of it.
The little girl's previous silence vanished. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at her imperial sister, her expression one of pure admiration.
"Sister, I came specifically to find you. It was not easy for me to sneak in. You said that if I was ever bullied, I could come and find you."
Feng Yu Nian spoke excitedly about things Xing Yuan had no recollection of. Yet, she inexplicably felt that perhaps she had indeed said such a thing, at least she detected no trace of falsehood from Feng Yu Nian.
Xing Yuan smiled awkwardly and asked, "I may not remember clearly. May I know your father's..."
Feng Yu Nian nodded like a little adult and replied, "Imperial Sister is the Emperor now, and you are so busy every day that it's normal for you to forget me. My father is Consort Yun, who had a good relationship with the late Emperor's consort. I met Imperial Sister a few times when I was young."
Xing Yuan had a faint recollection. Consort Yun, she remembered, had secretly helped her a few times after she fell into misfortune. However, her rank was not high, and she disappeared after being discovered by others.
"You, is your father well?" Although she was grateful for Consort Yun's past secret assistance, Xing Yuan was not a particularly emotional person.
Feng Yu Nian lowered her head and sniffled softly, "My father passed away two years ago. Before he died, he asked me to find you."
Xing Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Since that is the case, you shall follow me from now on! I will have someone prepare a palace for you."
Xing Yuan was not particularly concerned about the imperial siblings with whom she shared a blood relation in the harem. As long as they did not bother her, Xing Yuan would pretend they did not exist. However, if they truly emerged and feigned "sisterly affection," she would not be willing.
Still, she always repaid kindness with kindness and was not incapable of supporting someone, so Xing Yuan agreed quite casually.
Feng Yu Nian had heard many stories about her imperial sister when she was young, all deliberately taught by her father to make her appealing to Xing Yuan.
However, over time, Feng Yu Nian came to believe them. She genuinely looked forward to meeting Xing Yuan.
But her wet nurse had changed overnight. She waited for a long time before finally getting this chance to escape her wet nurse and see her imperial sister.
Although her imperial sister did not seem to match what her father had described, and did not seem to like her very much, Feng Yu Nian was still very happy because she found that she really liked this kind of imperial sister.
She obediently followed the guards to the palace Xing Yuan had arranged, striving to make a good impression on her imperial sister.
Xing Yuan patted her chest, looking as though she had been relieved of a great burden.
She pouted and said, "Sister~ you're not allowed to like her. You can only like me."
"Alright! Sister doesn't like her, only likes our A Yuan." Ning Yue chuckled, her tone completely indulgent.
Satisfied, Xing Yuan leaned in and kissed her, saying, "This is a reward for Sister."
"Is that so?" Ning Yue suddenly wore a half-smile and began to settle accounts with Xing Yuan.
"But why do I feel like A Yuan doesn't just like Sister? I heard that when Sister was not around, A Yuan secretly did some bad things that Sister dislikes?"
"How could that be?" Xing Yuan's gaze darted away, refusing to admit it.
"Oh? Then was it false when A Yuan promised Sister not to indulge in sensual pleasures before?" Ning Yue's eyes twinkled with amusement as she gently scratched Xing Yuan's chin.
Long ago, Ning Yue had discovered that Xing Yuan's chin was a sensitive spot.
So, as soon as she touched it, Xing Yuan tensed and pulled back slightly, her eyes showing a hint of pleading.
"Sister~ I was wrong! There won't be a next time." Xing Yuan earnestly repeated the words she seemed to have said many times before.
"Wrong? Wrong about what?"
Seeing Xing Yuan's timid demeanor, Ning Yue couldn't resist leaning in and kissing her cheek.
Xing Yuan, having been in the wrong, dared not retort. She merely looked at Ning Yue with innocent, pitiful, and somewhat angry eyes.
A chuckle escaped Ning Yue's throat. She couldn't help but kiss Xing Yuan's neck again.
Xing Yuan's expression became even more sorrowful. Finally, as if she could bear it no longer, she bit Ning Yue's earlobe while Ning Yue was kissing her neck.
Anger fueling her, Xing Yuan's bite made Ning Yue gasp and lift her head.
"Don't kiss," Xing Yuan said fiercely. But seeing Ning Yue's disappointed eyes, she quickly added, "I need to explain first, then you can kiss me."
Ning Yue smiled. She looked into Xing Yuan's eyes and said earnestly, "No need. I believe A Yuan! However, since A Yuan has been so naughty, Sister will have to punish you."
And then...
The border war had just ended, and Ning Yue had nothing to do. Xing Yuan also did not attend the morning court. The two of them were indulging in each other in bed.
"Sister~ do you want to get up?" Xing Yuan lazily leaned against Ning Yue and pouted.
Ning Yue covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head in disapproval. "Shh! Don't speak! Sister wants to... punish A Yuan again."
By the time the two of them got out of bed, it was already noon. They slowly began to eat their lunch, feeding each other.
After lunch, Ning Yue suddenly remembered Feng Yu Nian from yesterday and asked Xing Yuan, "What do you plan to do with your imperial sister?"
Ning Yue never believed in coincidences. Moreover, Xing Yuan had always been very possessive of her territory. How could a penniless orphan, whom even her wet nurse could bully at will, have avoided the guards and entered the palace?
Ning Yue felt that if she hadn't impulsively entered the palace today and disrupted the plans of the person behind this, Feng Yu Nian would likely have already gained Xing Yuan's attention. This was because her childhood experiences were too similar to Xing Yuan's.
When Xing Yuan was with her, it was inevitable that she would be reminded of the past.
Although Xing Yuan was not the type of person who would offer an umbrella to others just because she had been caught in the rain, she would still feel some pity for a young girl.
But now, Xing Yuan was playing with Ning Yue's not-so-smooth hand and casually said, "Why are you asking me, Sister? I am yours, so of course, Sister decides such matters!"