Zhao Xing woke up with dark circles around her eyes, her current appearance resembled a virgin ghost who haunted the livings for revenge. She gazed blankly at the auspicious cloud carvings on the ceiling of her babu-styled canopy bed.

The babu-styled canopy bed made from the top quality huali wood. It’s painted in the darkest color of brown and exquisitely carved with auspicious cranes under the willow trees. In the extension area of the canopy bed was a pair of matching drawers, which was sat upon by a delicate incense burner. A pale violet, flimsy silk curtain embroidered with magpie birds and blooming peonies hung at the moon-shaped entrance of the canopy bed, giving privacy to one who was currently resting inside the bed.

During the night, she wasn’t able to sleep at all, she kept on tossing around on her bed. Every time she closed her eyes, the image of her and Gao Chang Gong hugging at the hot springs kept on flashing like a romantic movie. She still remembered his magnetic, smoky voice and his tempting, masculine scent. It was a subtle mixture between sandalwood and Chinese wisteria scents, soft and calming at the same time.

Zhao Xing was used to making a perfume sachet in her idle time, but she had to admit it was nothing compared to the fragrance on his body.

Like a fangirl, Zhao Xing squeled hysterically upon recalling that scene. However, when the girl remembered the moment she brought castration into their conversation, and accused the general for being a flower thief and wastrels, she felt like she want to bang her head on the wall.

The fact Zhao Xing came back alive and safely was already a miracle ah!

“Y-Young Miss, are you... alright?”

Xiao Yi asked, worried about her second young lady, who currently laid on the bed with a dull face. She seemed as if she no longer had the passion to continue her life.

There was no response from the young lady. The room turned silent.

Panicked, the young maid quickly rushed toward Wu Ruyi’s living quarters. In this kind of situation, which wasn’t the first time, only Wu Ruyi could help her second miss to be normal again!

Zhao Xing was still lost in her thoughts the moment Wu Ruyi arrived at her sleeping chambers. Clad in his usual all-black attire, the man wore an anxious expression, lines of creases could be faintly seen on his jade-like eyebrows.

Since they arrived at the capital city, his miss was always being caught in troubling schemes. Now, what other troubles was she currently facing?

“Xiao Xing?” Wu Ruyi called her name gently as he sat at the edge of her bed. “Come, get up and tell me what happened.”

The transmigrator obediently rose and sat beside the man. With a quivering lips as though she wanted to cry, the girl wailed dramatically at the handsome man, “Ruyi, I don’t want to live anymore ah! What’s the point of living now! Wuwuwu!”

Wu Ruyi became alarmingly frightened at her tone. He sat on the bed, stunned. He’s never seen her like this before. Since she never once cried like this, the male didn’t have a clue on how to comfort her!

“What happened?” Wu Ruyi became more perplexed. He placed his hands on Zhao Xing’s shoulders and turned her body so he could clearly look at her.

“Did that witch bully you again? Be good, stop crying and tell me what exactly happened.”

Zhao Xing suddenly stopped crying. Naturally, she couldn’t tell the last night’s incident to Wu Ruyi. Or else he wouldn’t let her leave the manor again in the future!

The young lady wiped her non-existent tears with her sleeves before replying pitifully, “It’s nothing. Let’s forget it.”

The transmigrator left her bed and Ruyi, dragging her feet over to the round tea table at. Sitting at the pumpkin-shaped wooden stool, the second miss poured herself some tea as she ordered her maid, “Xiao Yi-ah, can you please help this pitiful young miss of yours to get some food from the kitchen? I’m starving to death!”

Ruyi, naturally, wouldn’t let this matter slide away. Sitting in front of his miss, the male scanned her face as he asked, “Did something happened last night?”

“Pff-” The lu’an melon seed tea inside Zhao Xing’s mouth immediately spurted out.

This reaction only made Ruyi feel even more suspicious, and the anxiety keep crawling around his spine as his hands restlessly gripped at his robes. Squinting his pair of seductive eyes, he asked one more time. This time, his tone sounded a little bit intimidating, laced with threats, “Something did happen, right?”

Zhao Xing blinked her eyes and forcefully swallowed her saliva. She was silently making up a stories inside her brain. Ruyi couldn’t know the last night’s incident at any cost, or else he would really locked her inside the manor forever!

“I-”

Just before Zhao Xing could add one more lie, she was saved by a second-rank servant that suddenly entered her chambers. Oh, how Zhao Xing wanted to thank the servant now and reward her abundantly!

Bowing her head, the maid reported, “Miss, Eunuch Lin is here with His Highness’ carriage. Eunuch Lin said His Highness is waiting for Young Miss at the Qiutian Envoy House.”

Eunuch Lin was Crown Prince Xian’s personal servant, he served the prince since he was child and was one of his most trusted confidants. Thus, when Chen Yu sent the eunuch to personally pick Zhao Xing, evenmore with his carriage, it truly indicated that he placed such importance on this one and only cousin of his.

Hearing the report, Zhao Xing suddenly remembered she had an appointment with her Cousin Brother. She had promised to bring him strolling around the capital city. Slapping her forehead, the girl quickly rose from her seat and dashed toward the bathroom, she even left Ruyi speechless at the tea table.

The handsome man slowly turned to the servant girl who still stood in her place. “Make sure she eats her breakfast before she goes.”

Wu Ruyi then quietly left the chamber with a heart full of curiosity and a mind filled with restless thoughts.

● ● ●

Northern Qi has four envoy houses located at a premium area near the imperial palace and the city center. Each of the envoy houses were named according to the four seasons, Qiutian, Chuntian, Xiatian, and Dongtian Envoy House.

Since the founding day of the dynasty, Qiutian Envoy House was already dedicated to important guests from Great Chen. The super large inn adopted the concept of Great Chen’s signature building in order to make the esteemed envoys feel close to their home.

Chen Yu had been waiting at the guest hall when Zhao Xing arrived at Qiutian Envoy House. Clad in a maroon-colored beizi[1] embroidered with mythical creatures, the young crown prince sipped his tea elegantly while reading several scrolls. He immediately lifted his head the moment he noticed his cousin’s arrival.

“Xing’er looks so beautiful today! Even the flowers in my garden are less vibrant compared than Xin’er’s beauty!” Crown Prince Xian unsealed his golden mouth as he rose from his seat and greeted his cousin.

Zhao Xing grinned gleefully upon hearing that compliment. After all, who didn’t like to be praised? In the modern world, the only person who praised her like that was... herself! Hence, when the young lady finally received a compliment regarding her looks, she finally felt content and a little bit proud. However, looking at her character, it seemed this feeling wouldn’t last long. Most certainly, there would come a time when she would be fed up upon hearing such praises. Moreover, it wasn’t her original body...

“Cousin Brother also looks handsome and cool as always!” Zhao Xing raised her thumbs up and answered bluntly.

Chuckling, the young crown prince quickly led the girl to take a seat. Chen Yu also personally poured some tea to Zhao Xing’s porcelain cup.

“Xing’er, this longjing tea is a local product from Great Chen. Have a taste!”

Zhao Xing’s eyes gleamed as Chen Yu mentioned the tea’s origin. She was a big fan of tea, naturally she was excited to taste the original longjing tea.

Bringing the cup near her nose, the girl inspected the sweet scent of the beverage. A bright smile appeared as she felt very satisfied with the aroma. Soon, girl brought the cup up to her cherry-lips, blowing on it before finally sipping the tea slowly.

Right at this moment, a familiar masked  man with a towering stature suddenly entered the guest hall. With a long stride, he walked over to their direction as his left hand held his infamous Han Jian Sword. Even though he was using a silken cloth mask to cover the lower-half of his face, he still couldn’t hide his pair of alluring phoenix eyes that were curved like a crescent moon, indication a smile before the mask.

The man dressed up in a space blue-colored beizi lined with a premium white fox fur. With silver roaring tigers embroidery on his cloak, the man looked more dashing and heroic. His jet black hair was pulled up in a silver, exquisitely carved coronet inlaid with sapphire stones. A matching colored jinbu hung from the silken belt that encirled his waist, making him appeared more noble.

At the moment, there was no chilly or murderous aura that usually emitted from him. He looked unusually... warm?

Naturally, Zhao Xing recognized the man from a glance. His otherworldly face stilled played on her mind as though her brain didn’t want to erase him from her memories. And for the second time in that day, the girl spurted out her tea.

“Pff-”

Just before the masked man could greet his good friend, the crown prince, Zhao Xing quickly sat down her tea cup and gaped, “G-Gao... Chang Gong?”

The transmigrator’s exclamation shocked both men, they even turned their heads over to Zhao Xing in unison. One of them was shocked because of her unexpected presence, while the other one was surprise because his cousin and his best friend already knew each other.

Gao Chang Gong naturally knew Zhao Xing was Crown Prince Xian’s cousin, but he didn’t expect they would meet again in this place.

“You guys already knew each other?” Chen Yu asked in a teasing tone. He scanned the pair’s expression and chuckled upon realizing something interesting. “Look, the two of you even wore matching outfits! It seems like there’s something between you guys this prince doesn’t know yet!”

Zhao Xing looked down at herself and blanked out instantly. She just realized her ruqun[2] indeed matched with Gao Chang Gong’s current outfit.

She wore a pale, baby blue jacket, lined with a spotless white fur, and a space-blue colored skirt with silver butterflies embroidery. If the two of them stood side by side, people would undoubtedly misunderstand them as a pair of couples or newlyweds!

Suddenly, Zhao Xing wanted to bang her head against the red-painted pillar that stood behind her. This accidental matching outfit was so embarassing, the general might think she did it on purpose ah!

The girl didn’t realized that under his mask, Gao Chang Gong’s cheeks were already tinted with a faint crimson color as his mind flew back to last night’s incident, when she stood closely against his chest. Her sweet fragrance still lingered on his nose, unconsciously becoming calming and addictive. Even after the night, her subtle fragrance still faintly remained on his body and brought him to a really peaceful sleep.

The general’s cheeks heated even more upon remembering how close their faces were last night, how his hands covered her soft, delicate lips, and how she held his hands tightly and brought him to the poolside. Gao Chang Gong swore to himself Zhao Xing was the only girl who dared to do that so boldly to him, a great general.

Yet oddly enough, he didn’t feel disgusted at all. It was... quite a peculiar thing.

“Ahem!” the crown prince cleared his throat loudly to break the awkward air around them. He suddenly felt like he was a third wheel.

“Actually, I wanted to introduce you to each other, but it seems like I won’t need to do that anymore. Turned out, Xing’er and Senior Brother were already close to each other!”

“C-Cousin, please don’t misunderstand. There’s nothing between the two of us.”

The second miss waved her hands as she quickly added, “A-As a good citizen of Northern Qi, n-naturally I would recognize the general. Who doesn’t? And for our outfits... I think it’s the current trend ah! Right, people love to wear blue-colored outfits lately! The fact General Gao and I are wearing it, isn’t it proof of the trend? Didn’t you say I looked rather beautiful today? This cousin of yours is telling you, wearing blue is definitely fashionable in this set of time!”

“Oh?” Chen Yu lifted his eyebrows, he suddenly wanted to tease these people in front of him... but seeing how Zhao Xing retorted back with a bit of an easy-going tone, he slightly faltered.

“Hmm... but if I were Northern Qi’s citizens, I don’t think I could recognize Senior Brother in a glance like Cousin Sister. Moreover, Senior Brother just arrived at the capital and always wears his terrifying mask!”

“Ahahaha!” Laughing awkwardly, Zhao Xing slapped Chen Yu’s arms gently and tried to divert his attention, “Cousin Brother, the sun is hanging high in the sky. Seems like we have to hurry!”

Chen Yu chuckled at his adorable cousin sister. He slightly turned his head to Eunuch Lin standing behind him and immediately whispered, “Eunuch Lin, get a veiled-hat for Xing’er. This prince doesn’t want any naughty eyes stealing glances at her later in the streets.”

Since the day he reunited with Zhao Xing, the young prince felt like he grew a sister complex instantly. This cousin of his needed to be protected at any cost!

“Senior Brother, this Junior Brother of yours has just reunited with his Cousin Sister. Senior Brother wouldn’t mind if this Junior Brother brings her with us, right?” Chen Yu asked as he looked at Gao Chang Gong.

Gao Chang Gong stole a glance at the girl before answered almost instantly, “Naturally.”

Also, how could he say no? He just witnessed the prince whispering to his servant to bring Zhao Xing a hat, it seems like Chen Yu was deadest on bringing her with them no matter what.

Hearing that, Zhao Xing was nervous and awkward at the same time. She decided to converse with her cousin to divert her attention. With bright eyes, the young lady asked excitedly, “Which kind of place does Cousin Brother want to visit? A restaurant? Tea house? Or maybe the market?”

“Mmm...” Chen Yu thought for several moments before finally responding, “Xing’er can decide! Both Senior Brother and I aren’t that familiar with the capital city. Senior Brother spent his life at the borders, and I rarely visit Northern Qi. Between the three of us, Xing’er is the one who knows capital the best.”

“Me? My dear cousin, I’m also not that familiar with capital city ah. I just arrived here several-” Zhao Xing realized she was spilling something that shouldn’t be said. Biting her tongue, the girl quickly rectified her sentence, “I-I mean, I rarely go out from the manor, so I’m not so familiar with this place either. And I just came back from the mountains, I’m a bit shy when going to these sorts of places myself!”

Zhao Xing’s statements suddenly reminded the young prince that he needed to make some calculation with the prime minister.

Smiling gently, Chen Yu decided, “Alright, then let’s go to the most famous restaurant in the capital!”

 

Author’s Note:

[1] A cloak common to both men and women

[2] A common form of attire for women