Chapter 063: Female Supremacy 4

Liu Qingyun walked briskly toward the palace gates.

Xiao Liu hurried after him, saying, “Young Master, just now Her Majesty the Consort said that your mother would come fetch you. Shouldn’t you wait?”

“My mother always places affairs of state above all else. I can’t let her make a special trip for something so trivial,” Liu Qingyun replied solemnly. Yet, when he saw the attendants on duty outside the palace, his posture weakened, and he seemed frail once again.

The attendants, knowing he was the Prime Minister’s son, dared not show the slightest neglect. When they heard he wished to return home, they hesitated. “Her Majesty instructed us to wait until the Prime Minister arrives, then send you home in a sedan chair.”

Liu Qingyun had no intention of waiting for his mother. He repeated what he’d just told Xiao Liu, and the attendants believed him, nodding at his sensible reasoning.

Thus, a sedan chair was soon prepared for his departure from the palace.

Once inside, Liu Qingyun grew languid, secretly pondering that he would have to be ill for at least half a month after this return.

The sedan moved slowly out from the palace. White gauzy curtains fluttered on both sides, rising and falling with the spring breeze.

Le Yixian emerged from the restroom, her face expressionless, unwilling to recall the scene she’d just witnessed. She missed modern life dearly—imagine, needing to relieve yourself while attendants waited just outside the door. The feeling was truly unpleasant.

From a distance, she spotted a sedan chair being carried. Without a second thought, she turned down another corridor to avoid it. After the recent privy incident, she had no desire to encounter any more palace servants; besides, anyone able to ride in a sedan within the palace was surely an important supporting character in this story—quite possibly one of the heroine’s admirers. It was best not to get entangled.

Inside the sedan, Liu Qingyun yawned. At dawn, his father had dragged him out of bed to dress and groom him; he barely had a say in anything.

He turned his head, eyes half-closed. Unintentionally, he caught sight of a figure in blue at the distant colonnade, and his heart gave a sudden flutter.

It was as if something deep within was calling out to him.

“Stop!” he called.

The sedan halted. Liu Qingyun stepped out, staring dazedly at the distant figure.

“Young Master?” Xiao Liu’s face was puzzled.

Liu Qingyun snapped out of it just as the figure in blue turned a corner. Bathed in the sunlight of spring, that person’s appearance stunned his tranquil heart, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

He hurried after.

“Young Master!” Xiao Liu cried in alarm, quickly following.

When Liu Qingyun reached the spot, the corridor was already empty.

“Young Master, what’s wrong?” Xiao Liu asked anxiously, feeling that something had seemed off ever since they’d entered the palace. He reminded, “We’re in the palace; we can’t wander about. It would be bad to startle any nobles.”

“It’s nothing,” Liu Qingyun shook his head gently. “Let’s go home.”

All the way home, Liu Qingyun was absent-minded.

Seeing this, Father Liu grew concerned. After summoning Xiao Liu to ask about what had happened in the palace, he assumed his son had been frightened and hurried to comfort him.

“Father, besides the young gentlemen of the noble families, which young ladies did Her Majesty the Consort invite to this year’s Spring Blossom Banquet?”

Father Liu was momentarily taken aback by the question, then closely observed his son’s expression—there was a hint of anticipation in Liu Qingyun’s eyes, a faint blush on his cheeks.

That look made everything clear to Father Liu: his son must have taken a liking to a certain young lady.

He had always been open-minded—as long as his son didn’t marry the princess, who could be deposed at any time, any other noble young lady was acceptable. With the status of a main wife, even marrying into a powerful family, others wouldn’t dare to bully his son easily. More importantly, if his son had someone in his heart, he could quickly arrange a betrothal and Her Majesty would have no pretext to pair him with the princess.

With these thoughts, Father Liu’s mood lightened considerably, his worry fading. “The Spring Blossom Banquet is an annual event at the palace. Her Majesty invites all the eligible young ladies and gentlemen from the prominent families of the capital.”

At this, Liu Qingyun’s expression darkened. There were so many prominent families in the capital—how could he possibly find that person?

“Did you meet someone you like at the banquet?” Father Liu asked, a smile in his eyes.

Liu Qingyun’s face turned crimson. “No… I didn’t.”

“Which family is she from? Tell me.”

Liu Qingyun was speechless—he didn’t know!

When he found out his son didn’t even know the lady’s name, Father Liu found the matter even more amusing.

“I’ll help you find out which young ladies attended the banquet. Do you recall any distinguishing features?”

“Extremely beautiful,” Liu Qingyun answered, ears turning pink.

Father Liu couldn’t help but chuckle.

—

In the days that followed, Liu Qingyun remained listless.

Seeing this, Xiao Liu suggested, “Young Master, today is the temple fair on the third day of the third lunar month in the east of the city. Shall we go have some fun?”

Liu Qingyun’s spirits lifted at once. “Let’s go.”

The two disguised themselves and slipped out quietly through the back gate.

Le Yixian had spent several days in the palace without encountering her little darling, and concluded he must not be there.

She decided to take a stroll outside the palace. She simply didn’t believe her little darling’s radar wouldn’t detect her presence.

When she saw her little darling on the bustling street, eating a skewer of candied hawthorn with obvious delight, she couldn’t help but smile.

Truly, her little darling made things difficult for her. She wondered whether, upon returning to the real world, he would still have memories of this. If he did, would he want to find a wall to bang his head against? But, knowing Ke Yuandao’s thick-skinned nature in reality, he’d probably just feel proud.

At that moment, her little darling, just thirteen, was dressed in a pink Qiru skirt, his jet-black hair styled into two lively buns, adorned with soft pink ribbons. The ribbons and his skirt swayed with his every movement.

This adorable getup completely melted Le Yixian’s heart.

Too cute.

Standing before her beloved, Le Yixian silently brought a hand to her nose, regretting yet again that she lacked a photonic brain—otherwise, she could have taken a picture.

Then she remembered something: Gou Sheng.

“Madam, I’m here.” Gou Sheng’s voice sounded in her mind.

“Can you take pictures now?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Good, take lots of pictures of your master, so he can admire them slowly later.”

“Understood, Madam. Taking pictures now.”

Liu Qingyun felt a constant gaze following him. Annoyed, he turned while biting into his candied hawthorn, meeting a pair of eyes brimming with laughter.

He froze.

It was her—the young lady!

Liu Qingyun was overwhelmed with excitement but, remembering his current state, was also a little shy.

Based on all the human-interest novels he’d read, when a young nobleman disguised as a woman meets the unforgettable lady of his dreams at a temple fair, a tragic yet beautiful love story is sure to unfold.