“Male, a man?!” Her voice rose sharply in Yun Che’s consciousness, full of disbelief. “You… you’re a man?
Then now… doesn’t that mean…”
She finally realized the key point far too late: a man’s consciousness was currently occupying and controlling the body of Tantai Mingyue, the 9th princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
This feeling… was far too improper! It was even more outrageous than the spirit possession in any storybook she had ever read!
Yun Che could clearly feel this body’s instinctive reaction: her cheeks were heating up rapidly, the roots of her ears were burning, and even her heartbeat skipped a beat.
That was the most instinctive shyness and panic of a young girl.
“You… why didn’t you say so earlier!” Tantai Mingyue’s voice carried accusation, but more than that, it held flustered embarrassment.
In all her life, apart from the Emperor Father and her brothers, she had hardly ever come into contact with other men, let alone this sort of… soul-level “intimate contact.”
“I… I’m only borrowing it temporarily. I’ll leave very soon, and I mean no harm.”
“B-but…” Tantai Mingyue kept saying “but” for a long time, and embarrassment won out. After a while, she seemed to force down her panic and searched for a way to accept the situation, then asked hurriedly:
“Then… what do you look like? Are you handsome?” When she asked that, her thoughts were full of complicated anticipation and a sliver of hope even she herself had not noticed… as if, if the other party met certain “conditions,” she might be able to accept things a little more easily.
Yun Che replied, “As for my looks… they’re all right, I guess. Just average handsome.”
Tantai Mingyue’s thoughts paused for a moment, as if she were carefully savoring his words.
Then the intense embarrassment and panic from before receded quickly like a tide, and her tone became light, even somewhat casual:
“Oh… I see.” She drew the words out with a tone that seemed to say, “I get it.” “Then forget it.”
Yun Che: “?” Wait, what was that reaction? She had been so panicked just a moment ago, and now that she heard he looked “all right” or “handsome,” she just said “forget it”? Wasn’t that logic jump a little too big?
He could not help but ask through their shared thoughts, “‘Forget it’ means what?”
“It means I won’t mind that you’re a man anymore,” Tantai Mingyue answered matter-of-factly, even sounding a little self-righteous. “You already look like that… um, I mean, you already said you looked ‘all right,’ so…
I… I can still accept that.”
Yun Che was stunned speechless. So in this Imperial Princess’s logic, how awkward it felt to be possessed by a stranger was directly tied to that man’s looks?
If the looks passed muster, the acceptance threshold could just be lowered by a huge amount?!
What… what kind of reasoning was that!
“You… your standard for judging people isn’t a little too…” Yun Che could not find the right words for a moment.
“Too what? It’s perfectly reasonable!” A trace of smugness entered Tantai Mingyue’s thoughts, as if she had just solved some great problem. “In the picture books I read, when the female lead meets the male lead… whether it’s a graceful young master or an unrivaled hero, the other person is always either a stunningly handsome young man or… anyway, never ugly!
If you weren’t good-looking, wouldn’t that be weird? Now it’s fine. It makes sense.”
Yun Che almost burst out laughing. This Imperial Princess’s mind was as clear as a mountain spring; you could see straight to the bottom at a glance.
She had clear likes and dislikes, and even had a cute little “looks-obsessed” streak.
In her own way, she had completed a perfectly self-consistent chain of logic: handsome ≈ fits the storybook setup ≈ acceptable.
Yun Che truly did not know whether to laugh or cry.
This Imperial Princess’s way of thinking was indeed fresh and unconventional, carrying the pure simplicity unique to a girl raised in a deep palace, mixed with innocence and strange common sense.
“Fine, whatever makes you happy.” Yun Che gave up arguing with her about this theory that “looks equal reasonableness.” “So, can we chat normally now, my Imperial Princess?”
“All right, but we have three conditions,” she said as if remembering something else, emphasizing, “you are not allowed to use my body to do strange things!
And you’re not allowed to peek… peek…”
She kept saying “peek” for a long time, but she still could not bring herself to say it outright.
“Relax, I have professional ethics.” Yun Che promised solemnly. “Do not look at what is improper, and do not do what is improper.
I’ll just be a quiet passerby and keep you company…
Mm, by chatting?”
Then… what should we play now?
Hearing “keep me company and chat,” Tantai Mingyue’s thoughts brightened again, and that little tangle of hesitation was immediately thrown to the back of her mind. “Chatting is great! We said you’d play with me!”
The girl’s voice was full of expectation. “Traveler, you’ve been to lots of places, right? You must know a lot. Tell me a story!”
Her expectations were so simple, yet so pure, like a small beast longing for companionship, carefully reaching out a paw.
Looking at this room, gorgeous yet cold, unable to hide its loneliness, and feeling that unguarded expectation in the sea of consciousness, something in Yun Che’s heart stirred softly.
Looking at this Imperial Princess, who was simple-minded, easy to coax, and easy to understand, Yun Che sighed inwardly.
This binding really had a bizarre style.
But… it seemed not bad either?
“All right, then I’ll tell you a story.” Yun Che found a lounge chair, leaned back in a more comfortable position, and began to tell it:
“This story is called The Match Made in Heaven. Long ago, very, very high in the sky, there was a palace countless times more magnificent and imposing than your imperial palace, and it was called the Heavenly Court.
The one who ruled the Heavenly Court was the supreme Jade Emperor.”
“The Jade Emperor?” Tantai Mingyue’s thoughts came with curiosity. “Is he as powerful as my Emperor Father? No, wait, he’s in the sky, so he must be much more powerful than my Emperor Father?”
“Yes, much more powerful than your Emperor Father. He governed all things under heaven and earth, and even the immortals had to obey him.” Yun Che continued, “The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother had seven very beautiful daughters, and people called them the Seven Fairies.
They were the princesses of the Heavenly Court, living in palaces adorned with colorful clouds, stars, and precious jade, attended every day by celestial maids, wearing feather robes woven from rainbow light, and drinking jade nectar and celestial wine.”
“Seven princesses!” Tantai Mingyue asked curiously. “Did they get along well?”
Yun Che: “Yes, they got along very well.”
Tantai Mingyue’s mood seemed a little low, but also a little envious. “Oh, my Emperor Father has many daughters, but none of them treat me well.
Either they ignore me, or they often bully me.”
Yun Che sensed the loneliness in her words, and his heart stirred with compassion. “Aren’t I here now?”
Yun Che continued, “The Seven Fairies lived a divine life, but the rules of the Heavenly Court were strict and boring.
The seven princesses could not leave the Heavenly Court at will, and the things they did every day were mostly the same. After a long time, the youngest of the seven princesses felt especially stifled and longed for the mortal world.”
“Right.” Yun Che’s voice slowed and took on a storytelling rhythm. “One day, the seventh princess finally found a chance and sneaked out of the South Heavenly Gate with her sisters, arriving in the mortal world.
They took on the appearance of mortal girls and played by a clear river.
The river reflected their peerless beauty, and even the wildflowers on the bank bloomed for them.
The seventh princess had a wonderful time; it was a happiness she had never known in the Heavenly Court.”
Tantai Mingyue listened so intently that it seemed as if she had followed the seventh princess to that riverbank herself.
“But just then, the seventh princess accidentally dropped one of her most treasured possessions… a celestial silk ribbon woven by the Weaving Maiden from clouds and starlight… into the river.” Yun Che added a little twist at the right moment.
“Ah! What happened then? Did she get it back?” Tantai Mingyue asked anxiously.
“The celestial silk ribbon drifted away with the current. The seventh princess hurried along the riverbank to chase after it. She chased and chased until she reached the area near a quiet village. Then she saw a person.”
“What person?”
“A young man was working by the river.
He wore coarse cloth clothes and had the air of a scholar, and as for his looks… well, by your standards, he’d probably count as ‘all right.’” Yun Che teased a little.
“He saw a shimmering ribbon floating in the river and thought it was strange, so he casually picked it up.”
“Was it this young man who picked up the celestial silk ribbon?” Tantai Mingyue pressed.
“Yes. The seventh princess caught up to him and asked for it back. The young man was very honest and immediately returned the celestial silk ribbon to her.
Only then did the seventh princess look closely at him and realize that although he wore plain clothes, his eyes were clear and his smile was sincere. He was nothing like the lofty, inscrutable immortals she had seen in the Heavenly Court.”
Yun Che paused, letting Tantai Mingyue digest that. “This young man’s name was Dong Yong, and he was a very filial and kind person.
His family was poor, his parents died early, and in order to bury his father, he sold himself to a landlord’s household as a long-term laborer and was working hard to repay the debt.”
“Sold into slavery?” Tantai Mingyue’s voice was full of sympathy. “He’s so pitiful… even more pitiful than me; at least I don’t have to work.” Her way of comparing things was still very princess-like.
“The seventh princess thought so too. As she watched Dong Yong’s industrious figure and listened to the villagers praise his character, a feeling she had never experienced before rose in her heart.
She felt that this mortal man was more real than those immortals in the sky, and that he stirred her heart more.” Yun Che’s voice grew even gentler as he described that budding affection.
“So the seventh princess made a bold decision… she was not going back to the Heavenly Court!
She was going to stay in the mortal world and keep company with this mortal named Dong Yong.”
“Ah?! She didn’t go back?” Tantai Mingyue cried out. “Then if the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother found out, wouldn’t they be furious? The heavenly laws definitely wouldn’t allow that!”
“Of course they wouldn’t allow it. How could a princess of the Heavenly Court marry a mortal, let alone a mortal who had sold himself into servitude?” Yun Che confirmed Tantai Mingyue’s guess. “But the seventh princess was very determined. She found ways to get close to Dong Yong, helped him work, and took care of him.
Her kindness and beauty also moved Dong Yong. The two of them shared hardships, and their feelings gradually deepened.
Later, with the old pagoda tree as witness, they became husband and wife.”
“They got married?!” Tantai Mingyue’s voice carried both the joy of seeing lovers end up together and a hint of worry about the consequences. “Then the Heavenly Court…”
“The Heavenly Court soon found out.” Yun Che’s tone turned solemn. “The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother flew into a rage, believing that the seventh princess had broken the gravest heavenly law and stained the dignity of the Heavenly Court.
They sent down heavenly soldiers and generals to forcibly seize the seventh princess and bring her back to the Heavenly Court, and they intended to severely punish Dong Yong.”
Tantai Mingyue’s thoughts tensed, as if she were there in person. “Then what happened? Could the seventh princess and Dong Yong resist?”
“Resist? How could a mortal body stand against heavenly soldiers and generals?” Yun Che portrayed the tragic scene. “The seventh princess was escorted away by the heavenly generals and was forced to leave her beloved husband.
Dong Yong chased after her desperately on the ground, crying out her name, but he could only watch helplessly as the auspicious clouds drifted away.
It was truly… a separation between immortals and mortals, with hearts torn apart.”
In the sea of consciousness, Tantai Mingyue’s thoughts carried clear sorrow. “…How tragic. Was there really no way?
Could the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother not show some leniency? They were the seventh princess’s parents, after all!”
What happened next? What happened next?