Princess Zhaoyang, Zhao Lingxi, was the imperial palace’s pampered darling, mischievous and always getting into trouble. The only person she loved to pester was Lu Zhaoyan, heir to the Duke of Ying’s residence. Childhood friends who grew up together, she was always tugging at his sleeve, wheedling and acting spoiled, then making him take the blame whenever she caused trouble. He appeared proper and stern, but saved all his indulgence for her. He let her disrupt his archery practice with candied hawthorns and quietly cleaned up the messes she made.
Lu Zhaoyan dreamed of serving his country and refused to be confined to the comfort of the duke’s residence, so he volunteered to start as an ordinary soldier on the frontier. Zhao Lingxi protested stubbornly, but in secret she packed his things overnight, stuffed them full of his favorite snacks, and awkwardly slipped him an embroidered handkerchief. On the eve of his departure, he pressed his family’s heirloom jade pendant into her hand, claiming it was “to keep you out of trouble.” She said it was ugly, but wore it close to her heart every day.
As the fighting on the frontier intensified, Zhao Lingxi shed her spoiled ways and spent each day anxiously watching for battle reports. She even climbed hundreds of steps on foot to pray for his safety, and word of her tear-streaked face spread throughout the court. Then disaster struck: news that Lu Zhaoyan had died on the battlefield shattered her. She shut herself away, unable to eat or drink.
Just when the entire palace thought the princess had lost all hope, Lu Zhaoyan appeared at the palace gates, dusty and wounded, looking utterly foolish. It turned out there had been a mix-up in the reports. He had already earned a promotion to general through his military achievements and returned victorious. Seeing the person she thought she had lost for good, Zhao Lingxi burst into laughter through her tears, rushing over to hit and scold him as all the feelings she’d kept bottled up finally poured out.
