The door was pushed open, and a round-faced maid entered holding an invitation. Seeing Su Yaoyao sitting there, she first beamed with joy.
“Young Miss, you’re awake! That’s wonderful…”
Then her gaze fell upon Su Yaoyao—
Her young miss was simply sitting before the dressing table with her outer robe draped over her shoulders, her figure curves breathtakingly dramatic, her waist astonishingly slender.
And that pair of ample curves, bound for so many years, now stood proudly upright, so dazzlingly white that it nearly blinded her…
“Young… Young Miss!” Chuntao nearly dropped the invitation in her hand, her face instantly flushing crimson. “How… how could you remove the binding cloth…”
“It was suffocating me. Should I have let it strangle me to death?” Su Yaoyao disdainfully held up the heavy binding cloth, her voice lazy.
Chuntao stamped her foot anxiously. “If the concubine finds out, she’ll surely say you… say you lack propriety…”
“Lack propriety?” Su Yaoyao flashed her a gentle smile.
That smile left Chuntao stunned.
The young miss’s face was still the same face, but her eyes… they were different.
In the past, the young miss would always avoid eye contact, afraid of saying a single wrong word.
But now, those almond-shaped eyes shimmered with light, sparkling, even carrying a hint of… an indescribable charm and allure…
“Chuntao,”
Su Yaoyao suddenly called her, her voice softening slightly. “You were left by my mother, right?”
Chuntao’s eyes grew warm. “Yes, this servant was brought back by the madam from her maternal family. Before her passing, the madam entrusted me to take good care of you, Young Miss…”
“Then listen carefully.”
Su Yaoyao looked at her earnestly.
“From today onward, I will no longer bind my chest. I won’t miss a single meal either. My figure, Su Yaoyao’s figure, is not for others to gossip about.”
“But Young Miss, the Second Prince… he doesn’t like this…”
“The Second Prince?” Su Yaoyao stood up, with an indescribable mix of allure and mockery.
“What is he worth?”
Chuntao was utterly dumbfounded. Hadn’t the young miss always cared most about the Second Prince’s opinion?
She suddenly recalled the expressions of the Second Prince and Su Yun’er after the young miss fainted yesterday, and thought of all the grievances the young miss had endured over the years.
A surge of heat rushed to her head. Chuntao nodded firmly. “This servant will listen to you, Young Miss!”
“Good.” Su Yaoyao smiled, a smile so radiant it left Chuntao stunned once more.
“You mentioned earlier that an invitation arrived from the palace?”
Su Yaoyao picked up a comb and leisurely began to smooth her somewhat dry long hair.
“Ah… yes, yes!” Chuntao snapped back to attention and handed over the invitation in her hand.
“It says that three days from now, Her Majesty the Empress will host a banquet in the palace to welcome back His Highness the Crown Prince. All eligible… young ladies from each household are to attend.”
She paused, then added in a low voice,
“In previous years, the concubine always declined on the grounds of your poor health, but this time Her Majesty personally requested your presence…”
Su Yaoyao took the invitation, her fingertip tracing over the characters “Crown Prince Xiao Chenyuan.”
Memories belonging to the original host surged in her mind—
Information about that Crown Prince was pitifully scarce. It was only known that he was the legitimate son of the late Empress, raised since childhood by the current Empress, who was also Su Yaoyao’s aunt. However, he was devoted to Buddhism, often away for spiritual cultivation, aloof in temperament, indifferent to women, and still unmarried past the age of twenty.
It seemed her aunt the Empress was growing anxious, intending to use the welcome banquet as a pretext for a disguised selection of consorts.
“Prepare a bath for me.” She set down the invitation and rose, walking toward the wardrobe.
Chuntao quickly agreed, but then hesitated, “Miss, are you really going? Your health… hasn’t fully recovered yet, and besides…”
She looked at Su Yaoyao, whose allure couldn’t be concealed even under her outer robe, and her face flushed again. “And if you go like this, won’t it…”
“Won’t it be too eye-catching?” Su Yaoyao finished for her, pulling open the wardrobe with a rustle.
Then, she fell silent.
Inside the wardrobe, everything was a dull, dusty gray.
The fabric was decent enough, but the styles… were as old-fashioned as they could get.
“These were all chosen by the concubine… She said that with your figure, Miss, wearing these would make you look dignified and inconspicuous…” Chuntao’s voice grew softer as she spoke.
“Dignified?” Su Yaoyao casually picked up a ruqun and sneered, “Hah, she certainly knows how to pick.”
That concubine of the original host had truly mastered the art of “hiding a needle in cotton”—using the ugliest clothes to ruin a naturally beautiful figure, turning her into a country bumpkin.
“Throw all of these away. Not a single piece stays.”
“Th-throw them away?” Chuntao’s eyes widened.
Su Yaoyao turned and sat down at the dressing table, examining her sallow face in the bronze mirror.
“Chuntao, tell me honestly—do you think I was beautiful before?”
Chuntao opened her mouth, her eyes suddenly reddening.
She knelt down with a thud:
“Miss… You, you shouldn’t have been like that! Your mother was once the most beautiful woman in the capital, and when you were little, you were as lovely as jade and snow—who didn’t praise you? But ever since Madam passed away and the concubine took charge, she’s always said you were lacking in this or that…”
“Get up,” Su Yaoyao reached out to help her.
“Since you know it shouldn’t be that way, listen to me from now on.”
“Yes!” Chuntao wiped her tears. “But, Miss, you still have to attend the palace banquet soon. What will you do if you have no clothes to wear…”
“Then we’ll have them made now!”
Su Yaoyao sat at the desk, picked up paper and a brush—
and quickly sketched a simple design for a dress.
The lines were clean and straightforward, without any unnecessary frills, yet it featured subtle designs at the chest and waist—accentuating the curves without appearing frivolous.
“Take this to the best tailor.”
Chuntao took the sketch, her eyes wide with astonishment. “Th-this style… I’ve never seen anything like it…”
“Just have it made as shown.”
Of course, Su Yaoyao wouldn’t say that she had learned this in her previous life to charm a high-end fashion designer.
Su Yaoyao pulled out another sheet of paper and began writing a list. “Also, go and gather all these items.”
Chuntao leaned in to look.
Written on the paper were:
Rosewater, cow’s milk, pearl powder, honey…
A dozen or so items in total.
“Miss, what are these for…”
“For a facial mask,” Su Yaoyao touched her still slightly sallow cheeks.
This body had an excellent foundation, but due to long-term malnutrition, the skin was dull, dry, and the hair brittle.
But it didn’t matter.
She had fought her way through the entertainment industry in her past life—what beauty secret hadn’t she tried? In three days, she could still nourish this body back to a radiant state.
As for her figure…
Su Yaoyao lowered her head, looking at the full, alluring curves of her chest, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips.
The original host was truly foolish.
This body was born to shine brilliantly—why should it be hidden away?
“Oh, right,” she finished writing the last item and looked up. “Where is the list of my mother’s dowry?”
Chuntao’s face changed. “It’s… it’s with the concubine… Miss, why do you ask?”
Su Yaoyao spoke in a light tone, “I’ve come of age, so it’s time to take it back.”
Chuntao’s palms were sweating: “But Madam over there… I’m afraid…”
“That’s not up to her!” Su Yaoyao’s eyes flashed, “What about my maternal grandfather’s family, the Grand Tutor’s residence—have there been any movements recently?”
Chuntao was taken aback, “They sent someone with tonics the day before yesterday, but Madam intercepted them…”
“Hah.” Su Yaoyao sneered coldly.
“Next time someone from the Grand Tutor’s residence comes, bring them directly to me,” she said calmly.
“And also, I’ll write a letter. Have someone deliver it to my grandfather later.”
The Grand Tutor’s residence—such a towering tree—and the original owner actually listened to that Madam’s words and cut off contact for so many years?!
She wasn’t the original owner, that easily manipulated soft bun. Her own family’s towering tree—she had to cling to it tightly no matter what.
She paused, then added, “By the way, also go and find out which places His Highness the Crown Prince frequents after returning to the palace.”
Chuntao was stunned: “His Highness the Crown Prince? Why is Miss asking about this?”
Su Yaoyao faced the bronze mirror, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. The reflection in the mirror showed eyes brimming with charm, a coquettish allure radiating from her.
“Naturally… to run into him by chance.”
“But… but Miss still has a marriage arrangement with the Second Prince…”
“Marriage arrangement?” Su Yaoyao scoffed,
“It won’t be long before it’s gone.”
Chuntao looked at her young mistress’s back and suddenly felt as if her young mistress was glowing all over—
it was a kind of free-spirited, vibrant light she had never seen on any noble lady in the capital.
“What are you still standing there for?” Su Yaoyao turned to look at her, “Hurry up.”
“Yes, yes!”
Chuntao, clutching the list and filled with shock, ran out.
The room fell quiet.
Su Yaoyao’s fingertip traced over the characters “Donggong” on the invitation.
Crown Prince Xiao Chenyuan…
“The aloof Buddha-son…”
She curled her lips, her fingertip lightly tracing over the handwriting on the invitation,
“I like that the most.”
She looked at her plump figure in the mirror.
The more ascetic a person is… the more indulgent they become…
Just as she was thinking this, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
Immediately after, a delicate, sweet voice rang out: “Is Sister awake? I specially brewed some ginseng soup to see you—”