When Fu Yu descended the stairs, only two bruised maids remained slumped at the entrance of Zhuo Yue Tower. Qing Yao had vanished without a trace.
Approaching to inquire, Fu Yu watched as the two maids rubbed their sore limbs and staggered to their feet. They reported that Qing Yao had beaten them before leaving, but they had no idea where she had gone.
Fu Yu felt momentarily lost. Gazing at the serene lake and mountains beyond Zhuo Yue Tower, she grew somewhat disoriented. What should she do next?
Recalling everything that had happened in the sleeping quarters, she felt a headache coming on. Could she truly pry open Qing Yao’s heart and plant a seed of love within? Qing Yao always seemed impenetrable, her face a perfect mask of detachment. What life experiences had shaped her into such an expressionless person?
As she pondered this, a thought struck her, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to learn about Qing Yao’s past? This was the Fusheng Realm, the very place where Qing Yao had been born and raised three hundred years ago.
Perhaps she could visit Qing Yao’s home and see the environment in which she had grown up. With this idea in mind, she turned to Qing Li and asked, “Would it be strange if I paid a visit to Qing Yao’s home?”
Qing Li was utterly astonished. “Strange? It wouldn’t just be strange, it would be beyond bizarre. To put it plainly, the sun rising in the west would be less shocking than you visiting her home.”
Fu Yu let out a soft “ah” and thought to herself, So what if it’s strange? I’m the Zhao Hua Princess now. If I show up at her home, her family would probably treat me like royalty and fawn over me. As long as I don’t feel awkward, the awkwardness will fall on others.
With this reasoning, she immediately decided to barge into Qing Yao’s home and make her entire family squirm with discomfort.
But the moment she voiced this idea, Qing Li stopped her.
“Your Highness, there is a garden banquet in the palace today. You previously promised Her Majesty the Empress that you would attend.”
Garden banquet? Fu Yu silently asked Xiao Mei, What is this garden banquet?
Xiao Mei replied: [This event wasn’t mentioned in the original plot. It was triggered by your own actions, so I have no information about it. However, based on big data analysis from the novel world, a garden banquet is typically a social gathering where nobles and officials mingle while admiring the autumn scenery in the imperial gardens. If there’s no specific purpose for the banquet, it’s likely just a matchmaking event centered on food, drinks, and entertainment.]
Fu Yu understood and asked Qing Li, “Who will be attending the banquet today?”
Qing Li thought to herself, How could Her Highness have forgotten? The Empress discussed this with her half a month ago. But as a maid, what could she do? She had to answer dutifully: “Today’s banquet was specifically arranged by Her Majesty the Empress as a matchmaking event for young men and women. Most of the attendees will be promising young talents from the court and the sons and daughters of noble and official families. Her Majesty insisted on your attendance because she has your best interests at heart. She said that since Scholar Li refused the honor of marrying into the royal family, you should use this banquet to find another suitable consort.”
After hearing this, Fu Yu thought of Qing Yao. As the daughter of an official family, would she attend the banquet? She asked Qing Li, who inwardly sighed. How would she know whether Qing Yao would attend? But as the chief maid serving a notoriously willful and ruthless princess, she had to choose her words carefully: “Your Highness, Miss Qing Yao is introverted and usually avoids such events. However, she does make occasional appearances. So for this garden banquet, I cannot say for certain whether she will attend.”
Although the maid’s words had a sense of “listening to your speech feels just like listening to your speech,” it gave Fu Yu a bit of anticipation for the banquet, perhaps Qing Yao would be there.
Since she was going to attend the banquet, she naturally had to dress up meticulously. Surrounded by her maids, Fu Yu was carefully adorned. Standing before the full-length bronze mirror, she examined herself from side to side. Indeed, the princess was as radiant as a lotus, with an innate noble aura. However, she usually favored sharply arched, slender eyebrows, which made her appear somewhat severe.
She wiped off her eyebrows and picked up a piece of kohl to redraw them into soft, misty brows that followed the natural curve of her brow bone. With this change, her entire demeanor became much gentler.
Beside her, Qing Li secretly clicked her tongue in surprise. What force could make the usually sharp and critical princess restrain her true nature? She recalled the scene from the previous night when she had escorted Qing Yao into Fu Yu’s bedchamber and couldn’t help but sigh.
When Fu Yu arrived at the imperial garden, the banquet was still being prepared. People were strolling and chatting in small groups. She first went to pay her respects to the Empress, who promptly took hold of her and scrutinized her face before smiling. “Oh, your look today is quite nice, much gentler,” she said, then leaned in to whisper by her ear, “Today, keep an eye out and see if anyone catches your fancy. If not Scholar Li, there’s always Scholar Zhang or Chamberlain Wang. With such a vast forest, there’s no shortage of potential consorts. Don’t let yourself stumble over just one horse. There’s one thing your mother must tell you: if you happen to meet someone you like, you must rein in your temper so you don’t scare them off again.”
Fu Yu thought to herself that the princess’s mother was truly long-winded, worrying endlessly over her daughter’s marriage prospects. It reminded her quite a bit of her own mother’s constant urging to go on blind dates.
Empathizing with the motherly concern, Fu Yu replied gently, “Don’t worry, Mother. Your child has grown up now.”
Fu Yu was then urged to mingle freely and scope out potential consorts.
It was autumn, a time when most flowers had withered, but the begonias bloomed in vibrant red. Fu Yu paid no attention to the scenery, instead searching for Qing Yao along the way. Occasionally, someone would approach to greet her, and she would respond perfunctorily, her eyes scanning the surroundings as she continued her search.
Someone who noticed her expression, upon encountering Scholar Li, couldn’t resist whispering a warning: “Scholar Li, you’d best avoid the Dewlight Pavilion. Princess Zhao Hua just passed by, and she seemed to be looking for someone along the way. I suspect it might be you. Be careful, sister.”
Scholar Li was the candidate Princess Zhao Hua had previously favored for marriage. Later, Li had risked her official position and even her life by publicly refusing the imperial marriage decree, and the princess had pestered her relentlessly, making it utterly unbearable. Fortunately, the Emperor was wise and had not dismissed her because of it.
Now, at this garden banquet, why was the princess looking for her again? Could it be that she still hadn’t given up?
Well, there was no avoiding it forever. Rather than evade the issue, she decided to take the initiative and seek out the princess to make things clear: Li, a humble scholar from a poor family, was truly unworthy of becoming her consort.
With this thought in mind, she headed straight for the Dewlight Pavilion.
As she approached the pavilion, she spotted Princess Zhao Hua through a few clusters of withered, drooping willow branches. She was sitting alone inside the pavilion, her maids standing outside awaiting orders. The princess faced the Dewlight Pond to the west, seemingly gazing at the withered lotus flowers in the water.
For some reason, Princess Zhao Hua seemed different today. Her expression lacked its usual fierceness. Sitting there quietly, she exuded the delicate beauty of a begonia in tranquil bloom.
Scholar Li was momentarily dazed before remembering her purpose. However, if she were to approach first and bring up the matter, it might come off as presumptuous. So, she decided to pretend she was just passing by the pavilion unintentionally.
She strolled over, but the person in the pavilion didn’t notice her, perhaps too engrossed in admiring the withered lotus. So, she kicked a pebble underfoot, sending it clattering against the stone steps of the Dewlight Pavilion with just the right amount of noise. Sure enough, the person in the pavilion turned around.
Li Hanlin’s hands clenched abruptly, the usual mix of aversion and fear toward this princess instinctively rising to the surface.
But the princess merely glanced at her casually before turning away again. Li Hanlin was taken aback. Why did the princess’s gaze seem as if she were looking at a stranger?
Had she let her go just like that? For a moment, Li Hanlin felt a sense of relief, finally, this capricious and eccentric princess wouldn’t pester her anymore. But immediately afterward, a faint emptiness crept in, as though something that had been clinging tightly to her had been abruptly torn away, leaving the spot feeling hollow and chilled.
Perhaps Zhao Hua hadn’t seen her clearly? So, she kicked another pebble. Zhao Hua turned around again as she wished, and this time, her gaze lingered on Li Hanlin’s face. Yet it still seemed to carry that same detached look, as if observing a stranger.
Their eyes locked for a moment, both waiting for the other to speak first. After a while, Li Hanlin conceded defeat, retreating silently without uttering a word.
Fu Yu watched the woman in the crimson official robe and asked Xiao Mei, “Who is that?”
Xiao Mei promptly retrieved the character data: [That’s Li Hanlin, the one Zhao Hua took a liking to earlier.]
Fu Yu was surprised: “A woman? I thought it was a man.”
Xiao Mei: [Li Hanlin is a wooden spirit. They can pair with wood spirits, flower spirits, or leaf spirits, gender isn’t a constraint.]
Fu Yu: “Zhao Hua has good taste. Li Hanlin is indeed outstanding, with a distinct scholarly aura. By the way, she just passed by, and I forgot to greet her. Could that have given me away?”
Xiao Mei: [Probably not. She likely just thinks you’ve grown tired of the old and forgotten about her already.]
Fu Yu said, “That’s good then,” and continued eavesdropping on the gossip.
Earlier, while passing through the bougainvillea corridor west of the Dewlight Pond, she had seen a group of noble ladies and scions discussing Qing Yao. But as she approached, they fell silent and cautiously bowed to her.
As Fu Yu left, she secretly cast a listening spell from her fingertips onto a bougainvillea blossom. The flower acted like a tiny radio, continuously gathering their voices and transmitting them to Fu Yu’s ears:
“Is Qing Yao not coming?”
“It seems not. I haven’t seen her so far.”
“Ah, it’s been a while since I last saw her. I miss her.”
Several voices chimed in agreement.
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
Fu Yu thought, “That’s just how Qing Yao is, beloved by her peers in the Guiyu Sect and adored in the mortal realm, even if she never smiles at you.”
The little radio continued:
“When Zhao Hua passed by earlier, it gave me quite a scare. I was really worried she’d overhear us talking about Qing Yao.”
“Yeah, I wish it were her who hadn’t come.”
Again, several voices echoed in agreement.
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
Fu Yu felt a bit awkward.
But not too awkward, after all, she wasn’t Zhao Hua herself, merely borrowing her skin for a while.
The little radio kept transmitting the idle chatter from under the bougainvillea corridor:
“Ah, I miss the days of our childhood when Qing Yao used to tell us jokes.”
“Wasn’t she just the best? She told them so hilariously.”
“I really don’t understand. Even when everyone is laughing, she always manages to keep a straight face and finishes telling the joke without cracking a smile.”
“Probably just her naturally cool temperament.”
Then came some gossip:
“I heard that a couple of years ago, when her own grandmother passed away, she didn’t shed a single tear, just maintained her usual expression.”
“So some people think she’s heartless.”
“I don’t think so. Look, when she was younger, she used to tell us jokes. It’s just that now that she’s older, she doesn’t tell them anymore and doesn’t get as close to us.”
“But it’s fine. When you talk to her, it’s not like she ignores you. Her aloofness isn’t the arrogant kind, it’s a gentle, compassionate kind of coolness. And most importantly, she’s beautiful. Just looking at her is a treat.”
“Exactly.”
“Exactly.”
“Exactly.”
Fu Yu was secretly surprised. So, Qing Yao used to tell jokes? Truly, one should never judge a book by its cover.
“Why do you think Zhao Hua has always targeted Qing Yao since they were kids?”
“What other reason could there be? It must be because Qing Yao is more outstanding than her, even though she’s a princess.”
“I’m not so sure. I recently read a play with that kind of love-hate dynamic. Do you think… maybe Zhao Hua’s hatred stems from love?”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone expressed that this perspective was too unconventional and they couldn’t agree.
Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly called out, “Qing Yao, you’re here?”
Fu Yu, who had been eavesdropping in the pavilion, sprang to her feet and looked across the pond of withered lotus flowers toward the opposite shore.