The peacock, also known as the "dragon bird", has slender and graceful necks with feathers that glimmer with a faint green light. During the mating season, when a male peacock fans out its tail, it presents a breathtakingly gorgeous sight.
In later times, most of the commonly - seen peacocks were "blue peacocks" introduced from overseas for meat consumption.
The genuine native "green peacocks" were used for making peacock gold thread or the "flower - trimmed hats" worn by officials.
However, green peacocks mostly inhabit deep mountains and old forests. They have been naturally shy of humans since ancient times. Only a few were raised in the imperial gardens.
In this era before the introduction of blue peacocks, ordinary people might spend their entire lives without ever getting a chance to witness the magnificent sight of a peacock fanning out its tail. Some even thought that this "king of birds" was the legendary phoenix, a divine bird that did not exist in the real world.
It was no easy feat to find so many green peacocks and spin peacock gold thread within just a few days.
Just as Li Ying and Lu Xunguang were at their wits' end, they heard A Man's charming laughter from outside the door.
"Sister, sister! I finally have some free time today! I've missed you so much!"
In the past few days, Li Ying had just returned from searching for the Calophyllum inophyllum and then rushed to Nanyang with Lu Xunguang for military training. She had been so busy that she was hardly ever seen.
As for A Man, who was assigned the task of teaching the queen "post - natal yoga", how could she be idle?
The two sisters, who used to be inseparable, were now making a name for themselves in the capital, but it had become increasingly difficult for them to meet.
Li Ying couldn't help but feel a twinge of emotion.
A Man was simple - minded and as innocent and carefree as ever. Her eyes were curved like crescent moons. After bowing, she cheerfully squeezed next to Li Ying, unceremoniously pushing Lu Xunguang aside.
"Dear brother - in - law, I haven't seen sister for so long, while you're with her day and night. Please be kind and let me have sister for a while!"
A Man spoke as if it were the most natural thing. Her pink little face was full of innocent charm.
Lu Xunguang couldn't help but laugh. He rubbed his temples and nodded. The slightly helpless smile on his face was softened by A Man's repeated calls of "brother - in - law". He just gave them a few words of advice before leaving.
Li Ying scolded playfully, "You're such a big girl, but still so flighty."
A Man casually squeezed next to Li Ying, swinging her legs leisurely.
Before long, a servant, following Lu Xunguang's orders, brought some snacks and tea. Presumably, he knew that the two sisters would stay up late chatting and thus prepared these in advance.
A Man wasn't polite either. She picked up a sweet cake and nibbled on it bit by bit. After washing it down with a few sips of sweet tea, she said in a muffled voice, "Sister, brother - in - law Lu is really devoted to you. Even after coming to the capital, his love for you remains unchanged. I can finally rest assured."
Her mature - beyond - her - years look made Li Ying laugh.
Before Li Ying could say anything, A Man's eyes suddenly fell on the wooden box in the corner.
A corner of the "peacock - feathered robe" was sticking out of the box.
A Man let out a startled cry. She dropped the snack in her hand and excitedly ran over. Squatting down, she looked at the round peacock - feather eyes.
"Sister, where did you get this dragon bird? Did brother - in - law Lu go to my hometown on business recently? Did my father send any message?"
She couldn't hide the joy in her eyes as she looked at Li Ying excitedly.
Li Ying was slightly stunned at first but quickly came to her senses.
Right!
A Man's hometown was located on the south - western border, with a lot of sandy land. A "spiritual spring" ran through the forest, and the areas on both sides were rarely visited by humans.
Wasn't this the perfect habitat for native green peacocks!
No wonder she recognized it at a glance!
Li Ying chose her words carefully. Thinking that A Man might be homesick and not wanting to see the wistful look in her eyes, she said gently, "This 'peacock - feathered robe' was prepared by the Cao textile official as a birthday gift for the empress dowager..."
A Man was straightforward. Hearing this, she just waved her hand and didn't take it to heart.
Li Ying simply took the cloak out of the box and showed A Man the dark holes on it.
"Sister, isn't it just peacock feathers? What's so difficult about that?"
"I'll take you back to the village. I'll let my father know. With Maomao by our side, we'll surely find large flocks of peacock dragon birds. Then, mending this 'peacock - feathered robe' will be a piece of cake!"
Li Ying saw the eager look on her face and understood.
Now, A Man walked freely in the queen's palace and even received a token from the queen. Everyone in the palace knew that she was in the queen's favor and respectfully called her "Sister A Man".
But just like Li Ying, this little girl didn't like the elaborate etiquette in the capital.
In this deep palace, achieving success and being respected by others was far less enjoyable than playing freely in the mountains and forests.
Setting off to look for peacock feathers would also allow A Man to return to her hometown. It was a win - win situation.
However, the south - western border was far away. Even if they found a large number of green peacocks, there would be no time to spin them into thread and mend the peacock - feathered robe.
Moreover, the empress dowager's birthday was approaching, and Li Ying was ordered to prepare the dishes for the birthday banquet. She was really stretched too thin...
A Man saw the hesitation on Li Ying's face. But she was so homesick and eager to volunteer, "Sister, if you can't go, let me go in your place!"
"The queen's health has improved a lot. She doesn't need me to serve her in the palace every day. She even gave me a ten - day leave today. Sister, please let me go!"
"Sister, don't worry. I will surely fulfill my mission!"
Li Ying knew how homesick A Man was. Looking at the excited and expectant look in A Man's eyes, she finally couldn't bear to dampen the little girl's enthusiasm. She nodded and agreed.
"A Man, this time is very urgent."
"I'll ask Brother Lu to send a reliable team to go with you. If you're lucky enough to find green peacocks, hand them over to them. They should travel day and night and return to the capital immediately. You can rest at home for a few days and just come back before the empress dowager's birthday."
A Man's eyes immediately sparkled.
"Thank you, sister! I'll go and call Shi Hu right away. He's used to traveling the business routes back home. With him leading the way, we'll take some shortcuts and surely come back early!"
She no longer had the mood to chat with Li Ying. She stuffed a few more snacks into her mouth and rushed out of the door in a hurry.
Li Ying watched her impatient back and couldn't help but smile. She let out a soft sigh.
Although she got A Man's assurance, there was still a heavy stone weighing on her heart. She couldn't relax.
Green peacocks were like elves hiding in the mountains and forests. It was really hard to be sure that they could find their traces.
To prevent any changes on the empress dowager's birthday, after much thought, she still had to make two - pronged preparations to ensure everything went smoothly.