My ceremony of adulthood was held on my fifteenth birthday, the thirteenth day of August of that year. Together with the First Jinming Princess who was the eldest daughter of the late Langya's emperor, the queen of the incumbent emperor hosted my ceremony. The wife of crown prince led wives of other dukes and marquis to celebrate my adulthood. Ladies of noble families in our capital sent celebration cards to me.

In the grand hall, I wore brilliant attire with assorted accessories. Trailing my long and board skirt of the attire on ground, I walked slow up to hall steps which were covered with gorgeous blanket. Before me, pictures of my ancestors of generations hung. I held my breath and kneeled and kowtow with my palm holding together up to eyebrow.

The First Jinming Princess was my mother, the sister of the incumbent emperor, who wore long and golden attire with embroidered and yellow phoenix. Phoenix-shape pendant wavered on her head and her eye brimmed with tear.

The grandly-dressed queen, my aunt, stepped elegantly down from her high phoenix seat and stared at me with a smile.

My mother held up my long hair and wore it into a high bun.

My aunt inserted into my bun a gold hairpin that was bestowed on me by the incumbent emperor, and then used an eighteen-pearl hair clasp to hold my fringe back; thus my smooth and white forehead was exposed.

My mother, smiling with tears, gazed at me kneeling to our ancestors, the queen, my father, herself and elder brother while ceremony officials chanted. The ceremony having finished, I rose slowly and looked up and around.

All participants remained silent in the splendidly bedecked hall.

High candles and lanterns shed bright light. It produced my shadow on bright palace bricks. My bun stands high and my body grew slim and graceful.

My every step drew all gazes and made ceremony staffs forget to chant.

I am alone to stand in a brilliant highlight.

I raised my head slightly under the gazes, and felt lonely, independent and proud.

It was my first time to stand under the gazes, without parents and elder brother standing before me for protecting.

At the moment, all people seemed so far from me and left me alone here.

Among the gazes, there was not gaze of my love.

His eyes were tender and smiley for good.

At this moment in time, I knew that the old time had gone.

On the next day, Auntie Xu waked up me in early morning before sunrise. I had to dress, wash and put on made-up.

That day, it was my first time to greet parents with adulthood etiquette.

After makeup, Auntie Xu, Jin'er and other maids stared at me, dumbfounded.

In mirror, I am a girl with flying-fairy topknot, wearing green phoenix-pattern skirt and rosy and thin gown.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It was me but did not look like me.

It was fine in the morning after night rain and breeze blew Osmanthus trees beside corridors, whose flowers fell down like showers, covering ground and smelling fragrant.

Turning at the end of west corridor, I met my elder brother in white and loose shirt, which billowed in wind.

To his surprise, he turned around me, uttering an "ee", his brows rising highly.

Deliberately, I also raised my head and brows high, squinting and smiling at him. Let him see me.

"Beautiful is your smile and attractive are your eyes... What a beauty." He chanted with a weird smile and pretended to be a stud.

Tightening my lips and rolling my eyes to check him, I wondered what his trick was.

He tapped his feather fan and chanted "Qi Duke's Daughter, Wei Marquis' wife, Prince's sister, Xing Duke's aunt, Tang Marquis' ..."

Before the word of "sister" was uttered, I grabbed his fan and whacked him with it.

With loud laughter, he sheered my attack and teased me. "Where is Wei Marquis? Where is my little Afu's Wei?"

I bit my lip and flushed from ears to cheeks.

"Daddy isn't Qi Duke and You not the crown prince." Glaring at him, I said.

"Nonsense. If he heard it, he would break your legs!"

"Though we are not, we will be soon. Ain't you a sister of prince?" As seeing my flushing, the nuisance got smugger and approached me. "I, your bro, did a divination for you yesterday. The divination predicted your marriage -- you, my little Afu, will marry a nice man this year!"

I stamped in displeasure and reached his armpit to tickle him. He could not bear the tickle and hasten to jump aside. We tangled.

Jin'er and other maids saw our tangling and retreated aside with giggles.

Auntie Xu was both amused and annoyed. "Stop, my little infanta... the lord has been home. If he saw you tangling, he would punish us!"

While Aunie Xu held me, my brother escaped and ran far in laughter.

I looked back to her. "Auntie Xu, every time you are biased to him!"

Elegantly, Aunt Xu smiled, covering her mouth with a sleeve. She tenderly said, "Bride-to-be is a happy thing. Why are you annoyed?"

I gave her a sudden glare, not knowing myself was delighted or annoyed, since even Auntie Xu teased me.

"The lord still stays in the front hall and you firstly greet the princess," Jin'er smiled and said, saving me from the embarrassment.

"All right." I pretended not to care and turned to leave. I lowered my head to hide second flush on cheeks.

We had been indeed naughty since our childhood.

In others' eyes, my brother was handsome and charming and I am beautiful and noble, both of who were their envies.

However, the aristocrat, the charm and the handsomeness, these were the fronts.

In private, we were family like common people's. We played tricks and quarreled about trivia. In front of parents, we were always children, pampered and capricious. Sometime we became joyless and resigned, keeping a secret.

In a blow of breeze, the little yellow flowers fell down like showers and gave off strong fragrance.

That year Osmanthus trees bloomed early and at this time the flowers started falling.

I walked, my head lowering, and my brother's words triggered my emotion. Suddenly I felt lost.

What's my marriage? My husband-to-be served now as a filial guardian of the late emperor's mausoleum and the guardian term was three years. How could he marry me in this year?

Three year was very long.

I took a dazed look at the far-flung and misty sky, letting out a soft sigh.

The remote mausoleum sit mountain after mountain, where it should be autumn now.