After the New Year, a funny and sharp poem appeared in the capital, mocking Li Chancellor's son, Li Chong. The poem talked about all of Li Chong's bad behavior. Because it was written in simple and catchy words, it quickly spread among the people.
It became so popular that someone brought it to the emperor's attention. The emperor became very angry after hearing it. He immediately ordered Li Chancellor to step down from his job. He told him to stay at home and teach his son properly. He wasn't allowed to go out until he did a good job raising him.
Li Chong was also ordered to stay inside the mansion and think about his actions. He was not allowed to step outside for five years.
Bad news spreads fast. Soon, everyone in the capital was talking about the chancellor's family.
"This punishment is too light for Li Chong," Vivi said. The story had already become big news, and she had heard plenty about it.
"Li Chancellor has a lot of power and supports the Third Prince. To keep things steady in the court, the emperor had to go easy on him," Lucas replied calmly, as if he already knew this would happen.
"Looks like this is already the best outcome," Vivi said with a sigh.
Lucas walked over to Vivi, picked up her calligraphy, and frowned. "Write this ten more times."
"What? Lucas, my hand is so sore. I can't write more," Vivi cried out.
"Your handwriting is lazy and messy. I can tell your mind isn't focused," Lucas said.
"Lucas, I've been busy with other things. That's why my writing's not good," Vivi admitted honestly.
"If you don't stay focused on your practice, then you deserve extra training," Lucas said, giving her a look with a half-smile.
Vivi pouted, lowered her head, and started writing again.
A few days later, a piece of rosewood that Vivi had asked Zhuren to get finally arrived outside the mansion.
Zhuren was the son of a servant. His father was in charge of buying food for the kitchen. His mother died during childbirth, so Zhuren had no brothers or extra "dads" like many others in the mansion. Wives often had more than one husband, and children called them Second Dad, Third Dad, and so on, based on the order.
When Vivi heard about Zhuren's family, she asked him to see if his father could help get a piece of rosewood for her.
Rosewood was expensive, and Vivi didn't make much money. She barely managed to collect enough money and still had to borrow some. She could only afford a small piece.
She met up with Zhuren and took the cloth-wrapped rosewood from him. She thanked him sincerely.
Zhuren laughed and said that if she ever needed to buy something else, she could ask him again.
Vivi told him she would. Zhuren was honest and friendly, someone worth being friends with.
Before leaving, Vivi told him that if he ever had trouble, he could come to her for help.
"Malia, you're back. Huh? What are you holding?" Wuner saw Vivi just as she came back and looked at the thing she was holding with curiosity.
"This is a secret. You can't see it," Vivi said as she held it tighter.
"Fine, I won't look. Sigh, girls grow up and start keeping secrets," Wuner said and walked away.
Vivi was speechless.
At first, Wuner seemed shy, but after getting to know him, she found out he was actually cheerful and full of energy.
Vivi opened the door to her room, took out the rosewood, and carefully unwrapped the white cloth.
Inside was a piece of rosewood about twenty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide. The surface was smooth, and the lines of the wood were clear.
Vivi smiled with joy. Even she, who didn't know much about wood, could tell this was a good piece. She wondered where Zhuren's father had found it.
She picked up a brush and started drawing. Soon, the design of a cloud-patterned hairpin appeared on the paper.
She compared the wood to the drawing and guessed the piece was enough to make three hairpins.
Why was she making a hairpin? That started a few days ago.
One afternoon, while training with Wuner, they saw Yinu walking by with a worried face. They chatted with him and found out what was bothering him.
Lucas's birthday was coming up. Madam Yon had sent someone to talk to Yinu, asking him to help convince Lucas to agree to a small birthday celebration this year.
Lucas hadn't had a proper birthday celebration in years. On his birthday, he usually stayed in his courtyard, ate some food, and didn't have many dishes, let alone a party.
It was easy to guess he would refuse to attend the celebration.
As expected, when Yinu told Lucas about it, Lucas said no right away.
This made things difficult for Yinu. Both Lucas and Madam Yon were his masters. He didn't want to upset either of them.
Even though it was hard, Yinu still had to go give an answer to Madam Yon.
Vivi was confused and asked why Lucas didn't celebrate his birthday anymore.
Yinu explained that after Lucas had an accident, the family had still held one or two birthday gatherings for him. Only close family came.
But even then, people looked at him with pity, sympathy, or even secret joy. After that, Lucas never held a birthday party again.
He didn't want one. Even a simple birthday became something that made him uncomfortable. He just wanted the day to pass quietly.
Vivi understood everything now and felt a wave of sympathy for Lucas.
After hearing from Yinu when Lucas's birthday was, she started preparing a gift, planning to surprise him on that day.
She decided to make a wooden hairpin for him using purple sandalwood, so she asked Zhuren to help her get the wood.
Now that the purple sandalwood was in her hands, she couldn't wait to try carving it.
Vivi had been thinking about the design for several days, and she already had a clear image in her mind.
This was her first time making a wooden hairpin. She couldn't handle complicated designs, so she decided to go with a simple curling cloud pattern.
She brought out the carving tools she had prepared earlier, carefully carved out a rectangular piece the length of a hairpin, sketched the design onto the surface, and began to carve with precision.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, several days had gone by.
Under the candlelight, the finished hairpin looked dark and shiny, with a sense of vintage elegance. Vivi admired it for a moment and felt quite satisfied with her work.
All those nights of staying up were worth it. The hairpin she had dreamed about was finally completed two days before Lucas's birthday.
She had thought there would be some purple sandalwood left, but due to her clumsiness, she ruined the first two attempts. Thankfully, she succeeded with the last piece of wood.
Otherwise, all her efforts would've been wasted.
Very soon, Lucas's birthday arrived.
Vivi wasn't someone who liked creating a festive atmosphere. Lucas's birthdays had always been quiet and simple, so she didn't plan to change that or ask others in the courtyard to celebrate with him.
Just like any other day, she walked quietly into the study with a book in her arms. But unlike usual, this time she had a hairpin hidden in her sleeve.
Lucas didn't seem any different than usual. His voice was calm, but his explanations were clear and patient.
When Vivi was lying on the desk doing the homework he assigned, she noticed him sitting by the window, looking outside.
His face had no expression, but Vivi somehow felt that he seemed a little unhappy.
She gently touched the wooden hairpin she had been hiding and gripping tightly in her sleeve.
Lucas hadn't been paying too much attention to her that day, so she had managed to keep the hairpin hidden.
"This time, you didn't do your homework carelessly," Lucas said while checking her work. "You can go. No copying as punishment today."
"Yes."
The price Vivi paid for staying up late every night to work on the hairpin was being distracted in class, so her assignments were done carelessly.
As a result, she had been punished with copying after class several days in a row.
Luckily, now that the hairpin was finished, she caught up on sleep, felt more alert in class, and the quality of her homework improved.
"Lucas, this is for you." Vivi spoke a bit awkwardly as she took out the wooden hairpin from her sleeve.
"What's this?" Lucas looked at the simple yet elegant hairpin, confused.
"It's your birthday gift," Vivi explained.
"How did you know today is my birthday?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry about that. I have my ways," Vivi pouted slightly.
"You're getting bolder…" Lucas chuckled and took the hairpin to look at it closely.
At first, he thought she had bought a sandalwood hairpin.
But upon closer inspection, he noticed a few small imperfections. He looked up and asked, "You made this?"
"Yes. It's my first time doing this kind of work, so it might not be very good. I hope you don't mind." Vivi blushed, like a student getting her homework checked — nervous but hopeful.
"I like it. Thank you." Lucas's guess had been confirmed, and he felt noticeably happier.
Receiving the handmade hairpin from Vivi didn't make Lucas think too deeply.
He was eleven years older than her and always treated her like a child.
Now that she gave him a gift, it felt more like a daughter growing up and knowing to give her father a birthday present.
Seeing that Lucas accepted the hairpin, Vivi's eyes sparkled with joy.
She had poured her feelings into this gift. Seeing Lucas take it kindly without noticing her true thoughts gave her a sense of relief.
"Lucas, if there's nothing else, I'll leave now." Vivi noticed that Lucas seemed to be in a better mood after receiving her gift, which also made her feel more cheerful.
Lucas waved his hand to signal she could go.
His earlier irritation slowly faded as Vivi left.
This year's birthday didn't feel as unpleasant as before. Even though he always told others he didn't celebrate it, the truth was, he had long grown used to enduring it alone.
But even a wounded cat hiding in the dark eventually longs for the warmth of the light.