The sun was already high in the sky when I slowly woke. A maid smiled as she brought in the green-stem rice porridge and delicate pastries that my birth mother had specially set aside in her little kitchen. “Madam said Second Miss sleeps a lot, so she should have something warm and nourishing.”
When I went to pay my respects to my birth mother, she was looking over the accounts. As soon as she saw me, she beckoned me over, not to quiz me on my studies, but to invite me to try some new pre-Qingming Longjing tea. “Your palate is the sharpest. What do you think of this?” I took a sip and made up some nonsense: “Mm, it tastes like grass warmed in the spring sunshine.” My birth mother thought it was a wonderful description and had someone write it down.
When my elder sister, the Crown Princess, returned home for a visit, she brought back fashionable silks and pastries from the palace and asked for me first. “Where’s my lazy little sister? Take her this soft blanket. She knows how to enjoy herself. It’ll be so comfortable spread over her chaise longue.” I thanked her with a grin, then promptly wrapped myself in the new blanket and fell asleep beneath the covered walkway while reading a storybook.
My elder brother and younger full brother made names for themselves out in the world, but their letters home always included a line: “Is Second Sister/Little Sister doing well? If there’s nothing new in the capital, we can buy something for you and send it over to ease the boredom of having nothing to do.” When I heard that, I rolled my eyes, then carefully wrote out a long shopping list.
The writing is really good, making no money, living leisurely, with the confidence given by the family, and the expectations of the aunt. In ancient times, sometimes living a leisurely life was a luxury.
It's so beautiful. The life of the heroine is my dream. It's all about eating, drinking, having fun, and having fun. It makes me not even want to go to class!