Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 58

Volume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place

Hoist by One’s Own Petard​¹

Everyone present turned pale with shock.

But calming down and thinking about it, it seemed the Eleventh Princess was only seven years old this year. The saying goes, “a child’s words carry no harm,”​²—yet, the young princess was, after all, a member of the imperial family. Given what she would normally see and hear​³, this couldn’t simply be dismissed as an ordinary child’s joke.

            

Could it be that the Emperor or Her Highness the Ninth Princess had instructed her?

This thought caused even greater alarm!

Thus, everyone’s gaze converged on Su Yi, who was busy burying her head in her food.

            

Suddenly becoming the focus of the entire hall, Su Yi felt immense pressure​⁴.

The young masters watched Su Yi unwillingly, their hearts blazing with fury. This is a woman, they thought, so what if she has a pretty face? The one Her Highness wants to marry is a Primary Consort!

And how is she good-looking anyway? Her features are just a bit regular, her skin a bit fair, that’s all!

            

Xiao Zhengyun still wore a smile, but the hand hidden beneath his sleeve was gripping the ribs of his fan so tightly they were about to deform. The Ninth Princess was truly messing around, and this Eleventh Princess really had no perception.

They had turned the moment of selecting a Primary Consort into such child’s play!

As everyone held their breath, afraid to make a sound, Su Yi blinked dazedly.

            

What’s going on? Why is everyone looking at me? Use your toes to think about it—I’m a woman, how could I possibly become the female protagonist’s Primary Consort?!

She didn’t dare want something so many people were eyeing like tigers​⁵, nor could she accept it!

Besides, the Emperor clearly intended this item for the female protagonist to give to her Primary Consort. How could she receive it!

            

Su Yi forced down the last piece of meat in her mouth, wiped her lips, and quickly waved her hands in refusal. “Your Highness the Eleventh Princess, this item cannot be given to this humble one​⁶.”

The little princess tilted her head, puzzled. “But in this hall, besides Ninth Sister, Su-jiejie is the prettiest. Should I give this to Ninth Sister instead?”

Although I’m very happy you said that, Your Highness, saying it in front of so many people in this hall puts me under immense pressure!

            

Su Yi quickly shook her head. “No, no, no, Your Highness, you’ve made a mistake. This humble one is a woman!”

“Hm?” The little princess was still very confused, seemingly about to ask why a woman couldn’t be a Primary Consort.

Before she could ask, the Emperor spoke calmly, “Ah Shi, don’t cause trouble. Come back and sit down.”

            

“Oh.” The Eleventh Princess, looking a bit wronged, took the Little Heir’s hand and slowly walked back, returning the pearl to Ji Qingchi. “Ninth Sister, Su-jiejie said she doesn’t want it.”

“Alright, Sister knows. Thank you for your trouble.” Ji Qingchi patted her head, put the pearl away properly, and glanced towards Su Yi.

Su Yi didn’t seem affected by the interruption just now. She… she was still eating!

            

But just as she took a bite, her mother caught her, and now she was hanging her head, receiving criticism.

Her pitiful appearance made Ji Qingchi’s heart soften.

Perhaps it’s because we’re in such a public setting, and in front of Marquis Pingyang, that Su Yi refused.

            

It must be the wrong time to give it, not that she doesn’t want to accept it.

Ji Qingchi smiled, praised the little dumpling a few times until she was beaming, then put the pearl away. “Mother Emperor, Your child​⁷ doesn’t know who to give it to for the moment. How about not giving it away?”

The Second Princess seized the opportunity to speak. “Mother Emperor, Your child also feels it would be too hasty for Little Ninth to give it away just like that. Family background and character must be carefully considered. Since Little Ninth can’t choose right now, perhaps let her take her time choosing later.”

            

Ostensibly, she was speaking up for Ji Qingchi, but between the lines​⁸, she was implying that she didn’t want to choose a Primary Consort either.

The Third Princess and Seventh Princess quickly nodded. “Your child thinks so too.”

They didn’t want to choose a Primary Consort either.

            

The Fifth Princess, “…”

She desired the throne. The Prime Minister’s son had the backing of the Prime Minister, that great tree. If she could ally with him, it would surely increase her leverage in the fight for succession.

However, she had mentioned it once before, and it had made Mother Emperor’s face darken, so she was smart enough not to bring it up now.

            

She might as well pretend she didn’t want to choose a Primary Consort either.

The Emperor listened to her daughters’ words without saying anything, merely sweeping her gaze silently over the officials below.

She had wanted her daughters to marry Primary Consorts to win over court officials. But just moments ago, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue had suddenly drawn a dagger, attempting to assassinate her two daughters. Others might not have seen clearly, but she had.

            

Winning over court officials presupposed that those people were worth winning over.

If those officials harbored disrespect for the imperial family, or even thoughts of subverting the state and replacing them, then there was no need to win them over.

Thinking this, the Emperor smiled gently. “Forget it, forget it. Since you all say so, let’s drop it this time. Alright, let’s not discuss these matters now. Let us continue the palace banquet.”

            

The other young masters who had been craning their necks in anticipation were suddenly disappointed.

Some even looked resentfully at Su Yi, perhaps blaming her for causing this scene, making the Ninth Princess feel unable to proceed and thus not choosing a Primary Consort.

Xiao Zhengyun snapped one of the ribs of the fan in his hand. Though his face still wore a smile, his heart was already burning with rage.

            

He had appeared so nonchalant and aloof​⁹ earlier, but now he had crashed and burned​¹⁰, losing a great deal of face. Not only that, Cui Jinliu, who had originally been jealous of Xiao Zhengyun potentially winning the Fifth Princess’s favor, now couldn’t help but mock him since neither the Fifth nor the Ninth Princess had chosen him as Primary Consort. “Aiya, Xiao-ge, it seems none of the Highnesses are interested. The confident words​¹¹ Xiao-ge spoke earlier seem to have come to nothing.”

Xiao Zhengyun shot him a vicious glare, then directed all his fury towards Su Yi.

He too believed Su Yi had hindered his chance of marrying a princess. Without Su Yi, the Ninth Princess might have chosen him as Primary Consort. His mind constantly plotted how to kill Su Yi. As the banquet ended, he devised a new scheme.

            

He clutched his fan, looking in Su Yi’s direction, thinking viciously, Just wait. Sooner or later, you’ll die by my hand!

---

The Emperor had no further intention of selecting Primary Consorts for her daughters, so this banquet ended exceptionally quickly.

After it concluded, the officials dispersed. The Emperor summoned her adult daughters to the Imperial Study.

            

She sat behind the imperial desk, swept her gaze over her daughters standing before her, and slowly began, “Xuan’er, that daughter of the Minister of Revenue, does she hold a grudge against you?”

The Fifth Princess, Ji Qingxuan, realized her mother had witnessed Cui Jinli’s assassination attempt earlier and immediately replied decisively​¹², “No.”

The Second Princess drawled, “Wasn’t the Minister of Revenue’s daughter abducted previously? I seem to recall it was Fifth Imperial Sister who rescued her.”

            

Because of this, the Fifth Princess had gained considerable renown. Although her sisters weren’t envious, some people always compared them, implicitly or explicitly, saying they were incompetent, which was truly infuriating.

“What does Second Imperial Sister mean?” Ji Qingxuan shot her a cold look. “It’s true that Cui Jinli was rescued by me, but I had my guards rescue her. I didn’t even exchange a word with her throughout the process. How could we have formed a grudge?”

The Seventh Princess smiled. “We were still investigating, yet Fifth Imperial Sister managed to rescue the person so quickly. What method did Fifth Imperial Sister use?”

            

“There was no particular method.” Targeted by several sisters jointly, the Fifth Princess sneered, “I simply received a tip from an informant saying they had seen traces of the abducted person, so I led troops there.”

The Third Princess asked, “Who was the informant?”

“This…” The Fifth Princess hesitated. At the time, she was only focused on achieving merit before her other sisters and hadn’t thought to investigate thoroughly. “That tip-off letter was delivered suddenly to my residence. I assumed it was a righteous person who couldn’t stand by, so I didn’t investigate the person’s identity.”

            

Although the Fifth Princess’s conduct was often criticized, she never told lies.

Ji Qingchi said gravely, “Perhaps it was the Yiyun Tower staging the whole thing, sending someone to deliver the information to Fifth Imperial Sister.”

“But…” The Fifth Princess frowned. “If it was found to be Yiyun Tower’s fault, wouldn’t they also be punished?”

            

“Exactly.” The Second Princess smiled. “And so our Eighth Aunt died. Perfectly healthy, Eighth Aunt just died, and at such a critical juncture. Isn’t that too strange?”

The Third Princess also chimed in, “Indeed. And Yiyun Tower only got the manager exiled—yet just the other day, I saw that manager out buying rouge. Wasn’t she exiled? How can she still be comfortably staying in the capital buying rouge?”

The Seventh Princess thought for a moment and said, “It seems Lord Prime Minister secured her release? Said that Yiyun Tower contributes tens of thousands of wen in taxes each month, a great contribution to the state. After investigation cleared Yiyun Tower of abduction, the manager was deemed innocent, paid a fine, and was released.”

            

The Second Princess’s train of thought was rather unique. Hearing the Third Princess mention buying rouge, she raised an eyebrow. “Third Sister, what’s wrong with you? Isn’t writing poetry and painting all day enough? Have you taken a liking to rouge recently?”

The Third Princess blushed and said in a small voice, “Not at all. I… I recently took in an Attendant Lord​¹³… I saw her when I took him… took him shopping.”

Actually, it was a favored concubine, but she feared angering Mother Emperor by saying so, thus lied, calling her an Attendant Lord.

            

Hearing her say this, the Emperor and the other princesses didn’t suspect anything. Ji Qingchi summarized, “The Minister of Revenue, the Prime Minister… it seems there are quite a few tangled affairs​¹⁴ within our court.”

“This matter, you all go investigate it.” The Emperor had been listening quietly to her daughters’ analysis. She already had a plan in mind but said nothing, wanting to train them. She only looked encouragingly at her daughters and said, “I give you three months. No rush, take your time. There will be a great reward from me if you find out.”

---

The palace banquet was just a small interlude. Su Yi treated the Eleventh Princess’s words as merely those of an innocent child and didn’t take them to heart.

            

After sealing the poison with the Silver Pearl Kou, her health had improved significantly. She could digest food better than before, so every day she ate and drank as she pleased, feeling extremely happy.

Although the Yanxue Kingdom was considered powerful, people usually weren’t extravagant with food, only buying sumptuous meals during holidays.

After New Year’s Eve​¹⁵, the most anticipated day was the fifteenth of the first lunar month​¹⁶.

            

On this day, to celebrate with the people, the government specially hung lanterns throughout several market districts in the capital. The palace gates were opened wide, and there was no curfew.

The Tang Dynasty poet Su Weidao once wrote a poem describing the grandeur of Yuanxiao: “Trees of fire and flowers of silver merge, golden bridges and iron locks open.”​¹⁷

And Xin Qiji’s​¹⁸ ci poem said, “East wind blooms a thousand trees of flowers overnight, and blows down showers of stars.”​¹⁹

            

These lines were perfectly fitting to describe Yanxue Kingdom during Yuanxiao.

Su Yi had always been frail and sickly, never participating in these celebrations. This year, her health had finally improved a little, so how could she miss out? She had made preparations early, and when the day arrived, she happily went out onto the streets with her maids, guards, and Feng Ruoqing.

The streets were brightly lit, bustling with endless streams of pedestrians. If one ignored the fact that the lights were actually oil lamps, the scene at night was quite similar to the world she had lived in her previous life.

            

There were many street food vendors. Su Yi, having been deprived of street food for so many years due to her health, now wished she could eat her way across the land​²⁰ now that she felt better. Seeing the stalls, she quickly had Yan Can pay for some.

As they walked, Yan Can paid the whole way.

Reaching an arched bridge, they saw many lanterns hanging there, surrounded by a crowd. Su Yi was very curious. Chewing on a tanghulu​²¹, she asked indistinctly, “What are those people doing over there?”

            

“Guessing lantern riddles​²².” Yan Can, holding a pile of snacks, looked worriedly at Su Yi. “Miss, you’ve eaten so much again. What if you get a stomachache later?”

Su Yi declared shamelessly, “Don’t worry, isn’t Miss Feng here?”

Feng Ruoqing glanced at her. “Feng Mou​²³ helps Miss Su suppress the poison, not so Miss Su can stuff herself recklessly and get sick again.”

            

“Aiya, I have no great ambitions and few hobbies. What am I supposed to do if I don’t eat?” Su Yi acted cute and playful, stubbornly refusing to give up the snacks in her hand. To avoid revealing this to her mother, she even distributed all the beef skewers Yan Can was holding to the others. When it was Feng Ruoqing’s turn, there weren’t enough beef skewers, so she stuffed a tanghulu into her hand instead.

Seeing everyone’s troubled expressions, she grinned slyly. “Now we’re all accomplices, no one can blame anyone else. Alright, alright, we finally got out for a trip, let’s not spoil the fun. Let’s go see if those lantern riddles are interesting.”

Su Yi was now the treasure held in the palm of the entire Marquis household. Who would dare disobey her? They could only follow her wishes, and the group headed towards the lantern riddles.

            

Solving a riddle earned a lantern. To try solving one, you first had to pay five wen. Afterward, no matter how many you guessed correctly, you didn’t need to pay again and could take the lanterns directly. This was much cheaper than buying lanterns on the market, so many people had gathered.

Those who guessed correctly took their lanterns home happily. Those who couldn’t guess could pay an extra twenty wen to buy the lantern.

Su Yi felt her brain wasn’t particularly sharp, so she quickly had Yan Can prepare money, ready to buy the lanterns if she couldn’t guess.

            

Feng Ruoqing smiled. “How does Miss Su know she can’t do it without trying?”

Saying this, she reached out, took down a lantern from where it hung, and unfolded the paper with the riddle. “Miss Su, care to guess?”

Su Yi leaned her small head closer. “‘Crosses rivers with waves, passes trees with sound, rings bells over houses, relieves heat and thirst.’ Guess an object.”

            

Feng Ruoqing frowned in thought, then shook her head after a moment. “Feng Mou truly has no talent for these things, I can’t guess it.”

Su Yi poked her shoulder with a slender finger and smiled. “Aiya, this is you, Feng-jiejie. Guess again.”

Feng Ruoqing shook her head with a smile. “Miss Su, please stop keeping me in suspense. Feng Mou genuinely cannot guess it.”

            

“It’s ‘wind’​²⁴!” Su Yi gave the answer to the stall owner, received a lotus-shaped lantern, and smilingly handed it to her. “A lantern of ‘wind’ for Feng-jiejie.”

Feng Ruoqing was pleasantly surprised and quickly accepted it. “Many thanks.”

“You’re welcome. We’re out to have fun, being happy is the most important thing.” After solving one riddle, Su Yi’s confidence surged. She strove to win a lantern for everyone accompanying her, so she followed the line of hanging lanterns, guessing along the way.

            

Ancient people’s lives revolved around only a few things; give a keyword, and one could guess what it was. Plus, Su Yi had participated in riddle competitions in elementary school. Dealing with these was more than enough for her. So, walking down the line, she actually managed to win over a dozen lanterns.

The lantern maker gave her the lanterns with a wry smile. “Miss is truly too clever! If you keep guessing, this humble one​²⁵ will probably have to drink the northwest wind​²⁶.”

Each lantern cost fifteen wen to make. Su Yi had won over a dozen, paying only five wen. Altogether, the owner had lost two hundred thirty or forty wen, which was half a month’s living expenses for his family.

            

Having had too much fun and nearly ruining the man’s livelihood, Su Yi smiled apologetically at the owner and pointed to the lanterns without riddles attached. “So sorry, boss. All those lanterns without riddles, I’ll take them all.”

Yan Can, laden with snacks, managed to poke her face out with difficulty. “Miss, there are only thirteen of us, and you’ve already won sixteen lanterns. Why buy so many more?”

Su Yi pinched her chin. “Hmm… Gifts?”

            

Yan Can couldn’t understand. Ever since Miss started earning money, she’d gotten carried away​²⁷. She didn’t spend money as stingily as before. Although… she kind of missed the formerly stingy Miss, at least she wouldn’t buy so many things at once, making them carry everything until they could barely see the road!

Ignoring Yan Can’s resentful face, Su Yi bought all the remaining lanterns from the owner and even gave him an extra two hundred wen as a tip.

The owner was overjoyed and immediately offered to weave her a large lotus lantern on the spot as a free gift.

            

Su Yi smiled and shook her head, taking the money pouch from Yan Can and pulling out some loose silver. “No need…”

Before she finished speaking, thump, a grey figure diagonally opposite slammed hard into her shoulder, making her stumble.

“Hiss…” While she was bent over, clutching her shoulder in pain, Gancao shouted, “Catch the thief! She stole our Miss’s money pouch!”

            

Hearing this, the guards immediately shot forward. Feng Ruoqing quickly steadied the bent-over Su Yi. “Miss Su, are you alright?”

Yan Can, hands full of things and unable to support her Miss, also asked anxiously, “Miss, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Her body was weak and couldn’t withstand even the slightest injury; her shoulder was probably already bruised.

            

To keep them from worrying, Su Yi forced a smile, straightened up, and looked at her hand. The money pouch was indeed gone. “That person just now, was it intentional?”

“Of course it was!” Yan Can said angrily. “The guards have gone to catch her. Just wait until they catch her, see if we don’t teach her a lesson! Miss’s body is so weak, getting bumped like that must feel awful.”

The figure was very agile, clearly a habitual offender. However, she hadn’t practiced martial arts and was no match for the guards. She was quickly caught and brought before Su Yi.

            

The thief appeared to be a woman by her figure, painfully thin. On such a cold day, she wore only a single layer of tattered clothing, revealing several ribs and skin turned purple from the cold. She wore no shoes.

On her face was a low-quality pig-head mask. The string tie was worn almost to breaking point, reattached with a blade of grass. It looked like something someone had discarded, which she had picked up.

Yan Can fumed, “Well, well! This little thief remembered to wear a mask while stealing! I don’t even know if you have any shame left! Guard sisters, take off her mask! If you’re going to be a thief, you should have the awareness of a thief!”

            

The woman struggled under the guards’ hold, thrashing even more violently when she heard Yan Can’s words. Su Yi frowned, looking at her frail form, thinking perhaps they should just let it go, but a guard had already removed her mask.

“Ah…” Yan Can let out a soft cry, much of her blazing anger dissipating.

The woman’s face was covered in crisscrossing scars; her features were completely ruined.

            

“Woo…” The woman whimpered, trying to cover her face with her hands, but the guards held her arms tightly, hoisting her up. Unable to move, she began to sob in frustration.

Su Yi noticed she could only make breathy sounds; even her crying was silent. Feng Ruoqing, seeing this, said gravely, “Her tongue… is likely gone.”

By now, many people had noticed them and gathered around to watch the spectacle, pointing fingers at the captured woman.

            

Su Yi’s heart felt heavy. She picked up the mask the guard had thrown on the ground, slowly walked over to the woman, and fastened it back on her face.

Protected by the mask, the woman quieted down.

Last night’s snow had just melted. She was thinly clad, her exposed skin bluish, her whole body shivering uncontrollably in the guards’ grip, looking exceptionally pitiful.

            

Su Yi said, “Let her go.”

The guards released her as instructed. The woman didn’t run, however, just hugged herself, teeth chattering. A pair of dark eyes hidden behind the mask watched Su Yi, full of wariness.

Su Yi took off her own Dachang​²⁸, walked up to her, and seeing the woman didn’t resist, draped the cloak over her.

            

The wariness in the woman’s eyes lessened considerably. Su Yi smiled gently at her. “Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?”

Fearing she wouldn’t understand, Su Yi deliberately made an eating gesture.

The woman stared at her for a long moment, then slowly nodded.

            

“Sister Guard, please take her to get something to eat. But don’t let her eat too much at once. She’s likely been starving; eating too much too quickly could harm her.” Su Yi gave thirty liang of silver to one of the guards. “Also, take her to buy a warm set of clothes and boots. After everything is done, you don’t need to come back to me. Take her back to the residence.”

“Yes.” The guard quickly complied. After Su Yi’s kind explanation, the woman left with her.

As she walked away with the guard, she could be seen frequently turning back to look at Su Yi.

            

Yan Can asked, “Miss, are you going to take her in?”

“Regardless, she probably wouldn’t survive this winter. Besides, it’s not like our household lacks the food for one more mouth. Let her watch the gate at the residence.”

Su Yi smiled and turned around. “Alright, alright, enough about that. What should we do with all these lanterns?”

            

“Didn’t Miss say you were giving them away?”

“That’s true.” Su Yi looked up and scanned the area. “But it feels like everyone already has a lantern… Sending them off seems difficult… Hmm, I have an idea! Boss, do you have paper and a brush? Could I borrow them?”

The owner quickly brought out ink and brush for his benefactor. “Miss, please.”

            

“Good.” Su Yi held the brush, racking her brain for riddles and brain teasers. After writing them down, she had Yan Can paste the papers onto the lanterns and hang them up.

Writing the answers down for the owner, Su Yi smiled very kindly. “Boss, I guarantee you’ll earn a fortune from these lanterns tonight!”

---

For the rare Yuanxiao festival, the Emperor only held a family banquet, attended solely by the princesses and their Attendant Lords. Afterward, the Emperor went to review memorials​²⁹. The princesses, having finished the banquet in the palace and thinking of the lively scene in the city, decided to go out together to watch the fireworks.

            

Compared to the palace, which was ornate​³⁰ but lacked the breath of life, the world outside the palace walls was both bustling and cheerful.

The Seventh Princess loved trinkets from the common folk, wanting to touch and look at everything she saw. Spotting a large crowd gathered under the lantern rack by the arched bridge from afar, she smiled. “Hey, it’s lantern riddles! Third Imperial… cough, Third Sister, aren’t you very good at those? Let’s go take a look.”

“Alright.” The Third Princess readily agreed. The other princesses also found it interesting, so the group walked over together.

            

Quite a few people had already gathered there, each scratching their heads​³¹. The owner was collecting money until his hands were sore, beaming as he handed lantern after lantern to those challenging the riddles.

People were seen challenging, but none were seen solving them.

Seeing this, the Seventh Princess raised an eyebrow. “Boss, your riddles are quite difficult.”

            

“Aren’t they just!” The owner beamed happily. She had initially thought Su Yi was exaggerating, but who knew that just two ke​³² after she left, seventeen or eighteen people had come, failed to guess the riddles, and bought lanterns in frustration before leaving.

She had earned nearly two hundred wen in such a short time; who wouldn’t be happy?

“Alright then, give us the lanterns.”

            

“Customers, you need to pay five wen first.”

The Seventh Princess paid, and the owner gave them four lanterns.

The Seventh Princess didn’t understand the riddle upon looking at it and asked the Third Princess. The Third Princess looked at the lantern, pondered for a long time, and shook her head. The Second Princess also shook her head.

            

All four of them tried guessing over a dozen lanterns each with the same result. It was truly infuriating. To think they were daughters of the Son of Heaven​³³, yet they were worse than a street vendor!

Ji Qingchi guessed several answers, all wrong. Feeling her confidence take a hit, she frowned. “Could you tell us the answers?”

The owner smiled and shook her head. “That won’t do. This is how I make my living. If you ladies want lanterns, you can buy them.”

            

The Seventh Princess said, “We don’t want the lanterns, we just want to know the answers.”

“No, no. If you customers don’t want lanterns, then please don’t delay my business.”

“How about this: one hundred wen per answer. Deal?” The Second Princess took out her money pouch.

            

The owner shook her head. Only two hundred wen? She could earn that back in less than half an hour. This was a losing deal; she wouldn’t take it.

The Second Princess gritted her teeth. “Two hundred wen?”

“No deal.”

            

“Three hundred wen?”

“No deal.”

…

            

“Two liang of silver each, that should be acceptable, right?” The Second Princess nearly ground her teeth to dust. It was the first time in her life she felt so aggrieved spending money. Wasn’t this indirectly admitting their sisters’ intelligence wasn’t up to par? “There are dozens of lanterns here. You’ll net nearly a hundred liang. Isn’t that enough?”

The owner also felt she couldn’t keep raising the price​³⁴, or she might anger the customers and jeopardize her future business.

So, she took the Second Princess’s silver, brought out the answers Su Yi had written, and gave them with a smile. “Here you go, ladies, take these.”

            

The group took the answers, compared them, and the expressions on their faces became quite subtle.

“‘In front of the government office lies a patch of grass.’ Guess a flower name. Plum Blossom (梅花).”​³⁵

“‘Ugly is you, beautiful is you.’ Guess an object name. Mirror (镜子).”​³⁶

            

…

“These riddles…” Ji Qingchi felt the style of these riddles resembled the feeling a certain person gave her.

The Second Princess saw the answers, became furious, and slammed the table, questioning the owner. “I was seriously analyzing characters and components to guess the answers, and you’re playing ‘is your brain fast enough?’ with me here? Even swindling money requires some method!”

            

“Aiya, ladies, you’ve wronged me,” the owner quickly clarified. “I didn’t write these answers. A young lady helped me write them.”

“A young lady?” Ji Qingchi had a guess in mind. She smiled and asked the owner, “Was she a frail-looking woman with devastatingly beautiful features?”

“Yes, yes! Customer, you may not be great at guessing riddles, but you’re spot on at guessing people!”

            

Seeing Ji Qingchi’s sharp glance fly her way, the owner quickly corrected herself, “No, no, I mean, customer, you are incredibly perceptive​³⁷. It was indeed a sickly-looking young lady, beautiful like a celestial maiden stepping out of a painting.”

Hearing this, the group immediately knew who it was.

“So Miss Su came out to play too,” the Seventh Princess marveled. “Miss Su’s brain really works differently from others. How did she come up with these answers?”

            

The Second Princess’s anger subsided. “Forget it. Losing to Miss Su, I accept it.”

The Third Princess also smiled. “Miss Su is truly exceptionally intelligent. I concede defeat​³⁸.”

Ji Qingchi smiled and asked the owner, “May I ask the shopkeeper, where did that young lady go?”

            

---

The woman’s pig-head mask earlier had triggered Su Yi’s bitter memories of being mocked while wearing a pig-head mask at the First Prince’s residence. Taking advantage of the numerous mask stalls during today’s Yuanxiao festival, she picked out a majestic King Yama​³⁹ mask to wear.

Next to the Yama mask were several little ghost masks. Su Yi bought them all and had Yan Can, Feng Ruoqing, and the others put them on.

There would be fireworks at the Zi hour​⁴⁰. It was Su Yi’s first time seeing ancient fireworks, and she was extremely excited, following the crowd towards the square where the fireworks would be set off.

            

“Miss, be careful.”

Yan Can’s voice fell far behind. Su Yi was jostled by the people beside her, stumbled sideways, and fell against a woman.

She turned her head, saw the same mask as Feng Ruoqing’s, and smiled. “Good thing you’re here, Feng-jiejie. If I fell here, I’d probably be trampled into paste.”

            

“Miss Su.” The woman supported her, slowly took off her mask, revealing an equally devastatingly beautiful face. “It is This Palace.”

Su Yi, “…What a coincidence, Your Highness. So you are here too.”

Ji Qingchi raised an eyebrow. “Why do I feel that Miss Su doesn’t seem very happy to see me?”

            

“How could that be?” Su Yi quickly stood up straight from her embrace. “It’s just that Your Highness is busy with official duties, I didn’t expect you would come out to play like this humble one.”

Staring fixedly at her, Ji Qingchi said faintly, “I am also human.”

Being human means having emotions and desires​⁴¹.

            

Looking for a moment, she was surprised to find Su Yi was only wearing an outer robe, without the wind-blocking Dachang. She didn’t know if Su Yi had taken it off feeling hot or had simply forgotten to wear it.

“Is Miss Su cold?”

“A little.”

            

She had given the Dachang to that woman earlier and forgotten to have someone send another one back. She hadn’t felt it while walking, but stopping to talk made her feel the chill.

Su Yi exhaled a puff of white air, her pale face looking exceptionally fragile in the night.

Ji Qingchi untied her own Huqiu​⁴² and was about to drape it over her. Su Yi shifted uncomfortably from side to side. What is the female protagonist doing? This is so intimate, I’m really not used to it!

            

“Don’t move.” Ji Qingchi gently chided. Su Yi immediately stopped fidgeting. Satisfied, Ji Qingchi wrapped Su Yi up in the fox fur cloak.

Looking at the white bundle in front of her, Ji Qingchi asked with a smile, “Are you still cold now?”

Su Yi carefully considered. “It’s better. Without the wind getting in, I don’t feel cold.”

            

“That’s good.” Ji Qingchi smiled and took out the item she had kept on her person.

It was that South Sea Blood Pearl.

However, Ji Qingchi had asked the palace artisans to work on it. It was now adorned with Hetian jade​⁴³ around the edges, with light cyan gems embedded on both sides, fashioned into a necklace.

            

Trying hard to suppress the nervousness in her heart, she handed the item to Su Yi. “This… is for you.”

Su Yi looked at the pearl necklace crafted from gold and jade, having no spare thought to estimate its value.

Instead, her heart was filled with panic. What’s going on? What does the female protagonist mean by giving me this?

            

She’s not a child like the Eleventh Princess anymore! Can this kind of thing be given away casually?!

“Your… Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?”

“I…” Su Yi’s eyes were so pure, it made Ji Qingchi too embarrassed to look into them. She stammered, “I… I like Miss Su very much, so… so…”

            

Before she could finish, the garrisoned capital guards lit the fireworks in the square, illuminating the sky with myriad colors. Crackling sounds filled the air.

Amidst the clamor, Su Yi understood what she was trying to say.

She was horrified, feeling only slightly better than if she were being chased by a ghost.

            

The female protagonist likes her? No way, how could the female protagonist like her? If the female protagonist likes her, what about her future harem?

Could it be she just wants to play with emotions casually, as practice for gathering her harem later, only to cruelly discard her after tiring of her?

Besides, how could the female protagonist like her? Although they’ve interacted a lot, has anything happened that would cause feelings to change like this? Shouldn’t she like the Prime Minister’s son or someone similar?

            

Su Yi felt her brain suddenly crash​⁴⁴.

Ji Qingchi, quite embarrassed, continued to confess her feelings using lines from love poems she had recently read, “To fly wing to wing with my lord, to share my lord’s sorrows, I—”​⁴⁵

“Your Highness.” Although Su Yi’s brain hadn’t caught up, she still managed to interrupt her in time. “Please forgive this humble one, but I cannot accept Your Highness’s offer.”

            

“Is it because we are both women?” Ji Qingchi wasn’t surprised by the rejection. Because both she and Su Yi were women, and one was a princess while the other would eventually be a Marquis, if they got together, there might be no one to inherit their family lines later. “You need not worry about heirs. Marquis Su has many grandchildren anyway; you can just adopt one then. I will also adopt one eventually, we won’t lack successors.”

Su Yi said with difficulty, “It’s not because of that.”

Ji Qingchi frowned. “Then what is it?”

            

“It’s because… because this humble one’s heart belongs to my deceased husband. He… although he has been gone for a long time, this humble one constantly thinks of him. As the saying goes, ‘having seen the vast ocean, it’s hard to be impressed by mere streams; having known Mount Wu’s clouds, no other clouds seem beautiful.’​⁴⁶ In this lifetime… this lifetime, this humble one wants no one but him.”

Su Yi transformed into a drama queen​⁴⁷, covering her eyes with her sleeve and fake-sobbing loudly. “Wuwuwu, Your Highness knows too, my Fulang and I shared a deep marital bond. I never thought he would leave just like that, leaving this humble one alone in the world, only increasing my longing. Even now, thinking of him, my heart aches… I wish I could have followed him. Wuwuwu, my Fulang, why did you leave so early? What am I to do left all alone… Fulang, wuwuwu, Fulang…”

Su Yi wailed earnestly, perfectly mimicking the appearance of a devoted widow who couldn’t forget her deceased husband.

            

Ji Qingchi stood there holding the pearl necklace, her face ashen.

She thought about how she had lived for so many years and never truly known what it meant to be hoist by one’s own petard.

Now, not only did she know, but she could also truly feel the consequences of being hit by that stone.

            

Her heart felt heavy.

And it hurt.

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LP: Imagine being your own rival

            

[Note: The images for the cloaks might not be entirely accurate]

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📌WILL RESUME ON MAY 15/16

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