Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was only through Ye Lan that I learned which escort agency that woman belonged to.

Ye Qing had saved her younger sister while investigating a case once, and the girl had fallen deeply in love with him. I heard their father had come to propose a marriage alliance, but Ye Qing refused.

Heartbroken, the sister stopped eating and drinking, which was why the older sister had resorted to such a desperate measure.

Not long after, the girl sent a letter apologizing for her sister’s behavior. She said she was too ashamed to show her face again and would be moving to her maternal grandparents’ home in Jiangnan.

Ye Lan remarked that she was the thirty-second woman to leave in sorrow because of his brother.

Hah! Ye Qing was practically a femme fatale in male form!

But Ye Qing started acting strange.

He looked at me as if I were some kind of monster or a predatory beast. The moment he saw me, he looked like he wanted to hide.

Now, that was a rarity.

I have a peculiar temperament: the more you try to avoid me, the more I enjoy loitering in front of you.

My mother used to say I was a nuisance.

My father scolded me for being thick-skinned.

Zhao Yu hadn’t gotten along with me at first either, but I’d worn him down exactly like this.

So, every few days, I would intercept Ye Qing on his way back to his manor, grinning widely and acting like a total hoodlum.

“Lord Ye, would you like a cup of tea?”

“Lord Ye, the peonies are in full bloom. Here, for you!”

“This frog has quite delicate features, doesn’t it? Want it for company?”

“Lord Ye, look! This bird can talk! It’ll keep you from getting bored!”

The bird flapped its wings, its voice raucous and ear-piercing: “Beauty! Beauty! Great beauty!”

At first, he thought these encounters were accidental and tried to pretend he didn’t see me, hoping to slip past. After I intentionally blocked his path a few times, his expression soured, and he would look at me with a dark, cold gaze.

Later, driven to his wit’s end, he shouted at me with reddened eyes, “Zhou Xuesheng! Can’t you just stay the hell away from me?”

“Stop bothering me! You’re a nuisance during the day, and a nuisance at night!”

Or: “Why do you keep provoking me? Why do you always have to provoke me!”

His eyes were full of struggle, his expression pained and conflicted, as if he were at his breaking point.

I found him incredibly strange.

He used to be as radiant as a peony, brilliant and magnificent. Now, he seemed shrouded in heavy dark clouds, with faint flashes of lightning and thunder within-like the tribulations legendary monsters face before taking human form.

Could it be that this man was doing the opposite and turning into a monster?

Heh, how interesting!

Chapter 17

The Empress did not intend to hold a grand celebration for her birthday, opting instead for a lively family banquet.

Ye Qing was among the guests.

His mother was the Empress’s biological sister.

Tsk. It really is a small world.

This family banquet wasn’t just for eating; it was also meant to create opportunities for eligible young men and women.

Ye Qing was the center of attention, with every conversation revolving around him.

Someone remarked that it was time for him to marry; men his age were already fathers.

Ye Qing kept a cold face, his “keep away” aura so strong that several young ladies started glaring at me with daggers in their eyes.

Oh, I had overheard them chatting earlier. They said it was all because of me that the gentle and elegant Lord Ye had become so cold and aloof.

I felt a pang of mock grief. “With his temperament, aren’t you beautiful ladies afraid that he’s just a gilded exterior with a rotten core? Don’t let a pretty face blind you!”

The girls turned around, gasped, and scurried away to put some distance between us.

Me: “…”

There was no need to be that repulsed.

I picked up a silk handkerchief from the ground. “Which lady dropped this?”

A young girl stepped forward with her head bowed, snatched the handkerchief away, and ducked behind the others.

I didn’t even get a good look at her, only catching a glimpse of a deep flush on her face.

I cupped my hands in a clumsy, mocking salute. “Ladies, sorry for the intrusion. Farewell.”

Turning around, I saw Ye Qing standing behind a cluster of red plum blossoms, looking like an icicle in the middle of winter. His eyes were flashing with a cold light, staring straight at me.

I couldn’t help but shiver.

This Ye Qing… why was he acting so sinister?

Thus, during the banquet, I didn’t hold back. “Lord Ye is as beautiful as a celestial being. He’s lovely to look at, certainly, but I fear he’s just a decorative pillow-good for show, but useless in practice.”

The banquet fell silent.

The Emperor was quite indulgent toward me, perhaps out of an excessive sense of guilt toward my mother. He broke the silence by asking, “Xuesheng seems to have quite a few grievances against Ye Qing. Why is that?”

I spread my hands and shrugged with a roguish air. “No, not at all. How could I have grievances? I like him too much! Uncle can just think of it as a child’s bad habit-when you like something, you just can’t help but mess with it.”

The room went silent again.

After a long pause, the Empress asked tentatively, “Xuesheng, you like Qing’er?”

I nodded and said nonchalantly, “I do. Lord Ye is as beautiful as a flower; who wouldn’t like him?”

I just loved disgusting him.

Hmph.

The remaining guests had various expressions, looking back and forth between me and Ye Qing.

The way they looked at me was like they were looking at some kind of freak.

After the banquet, I walked up to Ye Qing with a swaggering gait, grinning at him. “Beauty Ye is so stunningly attractive, you’ve truly won my heart.”

Ye Qing’s pupils shrank in shock and alarm. He turned and bolted.

If martial arts weren’t forbidden in the palace, I suspect he would have used his lightness skills to flee.

Seeing him run away as if I were the plague really made my day.

I burst into loud laughter behind him.