Chapter 1 â What Do I Like the Most?
When the last ray of light in the sky disappeared at dusk, the massive mansion of Princess Qiyang was still deserted, and only the main hall was brightly lit.
Princess Qiyang sat upright in the main hall, in front of a table full of food that had already gone cold.
The person Princess Qiyang was waiting for obviously hadnât come back yet, but her face remained unmoved, with no sign of impatience. She just stared at the empty courtyard outside quietly, and no one could tell what kind of thoughts were reflected in her eyes.
The senior maid close to her, Zhi Ting, finally couldnât stand it any longer and stepped forward to persuade her. âYour Highness, itâs getting late. Prince Consort probably wonât be coming today.â
Qiyang didnât bat her eyes when she heard it, and continued sitting upright like before, just staring at the depth of night outside the hall without saying anything.
Zhi Ting knew that it was useless to say anything else. She didnât know when it started, but Her Royal Highness gradually smiled less, and she became silent, deep and stubborn. Now, even she who grew up with her couldnât tell what she was thinking.
So when did this change start? Zhi Ting couldnât help trying to recall it carefully. In the end, she could only think that it happened after Her Highness and the Prince Consort got married. Maybe it was a year after the wedding, or maybe half a year? Or perhaps it was only a few months after the wedding that she suddenly became silent. After a few years, she could no longer find her innocent and cheerful appearance.
Everyone said that it was time to grow up after you got married. Maybe that was what happened with Her Royal Highness too. But for some reason, she always felt a little distressed when she looked at her being so silentâ¦
The night gradually deepened, but Zhi Ting turned out to be wrong â the Prince Consort did come tonight.
Shortly after the wedding, Prince Qiyang somehow got sick of her Prince Consort. At first, the Prince Consort would often come to the Princessâs mansion, hoping to change her mind. But later on, as the Prince Consortâs position in the court stabilized, his visits became less often. Later on, when the Prince Consort secretly made connections with the Third Prince, he would appear even less in the Princessâs mansion. Right now, the last time he appeared here was a month ago.
No one knew why Princess Qiyang suddenly called the Prince Consort tonight. This rare occasion surprised not just the people in the Princessâs mansion, but also the Prince Consort Lu Qicheng himself. So even though it was already late when he left the Third Princeâs mansion, he still rushed back.
When he entered the main hall, Lu Qicheng raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw the table full of cold food.
Zhi Ting said from the side with a wink. âPrince Consort has finally returned, Her Highness has been waiting for you for a long time. The food is already cold, so letâs get it replaced with new ones.â As she said that, she called a group of maids and soon the cold food on the table was taken away.
There was only one pot of wine left behind, which Princess Qiyang kept from being taken away herself. Neither Lu Qicheng nor Zhi Ting minded.
When the outsiders in the main hall had all left, Lu Qicheng gave Qiyang a slight bow and asked, âYour Highness the Princess seem to be in good spirits tonight. I wonder for what reason have you called me1?â
The years have worn down all of Lu Qichengâs patience. Even though Princess Qiyang was of noble birth and born beautiful, if the beauty didnât mince her words, then there was no way he could please her. After a long time, he gradually lost his patience. Whatâs more, his position in the court was now stable. Even if it wasnât to the point that he could move a hundred men with one word, he was no longer afraid of her, a mere princess!
Qiyang didnât care about the frank and rude tone of Lu Qichengâs words, and finally looked up at the person in front of her. It was the first time she looked so seriously in several years, her eyes scanned his face inch by inch â from a teenager to a young man, the boyâs once androgynous face now looked a bit more tough and the face of handsome boy who used to be indifferent now looked a bit more tough and sharp, but it was still 80% similar.
Looking at this familiar face, Qiyangâs deep black eyes were gradually filled with turbulent emotions. But before Lu Qicheng could see something in her eyes, the emotions that surged just a moment ago instantly disappeared, so fast that people would think it was just an illusion.
Lu Qicheng felt inexplicably uncomfortable, and he also had a bad feeling in his heart so he called out again. âYour Highness?â
Qiyang finally withdrew her gaze and raised her chin slightly, still as arrogant as before. She gestured to the seat across her with her eyes and said with a flat tone, âSit.â
Lu Qicheng was confused, but he sat down on the chair following her words. After waiting for a while, there was still no one else but Princess Qiyang who kept staying silent. This made him feel a little depressed, so he asked again, âFor what reason has Your Highness summoned me here today?â
Qiyang picked up the pot and poured a cup for herself and the person in front of her while casually saying, âI2Â havenât seen my Prince Consort for a long time, so I asked you to come so I can take a look at you. Is there any problem with that?â A wine cup was pushed towards of Lu Qicheng.
Lu Qicheng was dumbfounded, feeling that it was strange to hear these words from Princess Qiyangâs mouth. But these noble princes and princesses are born arrogant, and whatever they wanted to do, who dared object? Although Lu Qicheng said that he wasnât afraid of her because his position was stable now, there was no need to offend the other party. So, he didnât say anything and took a sip of the wine.
Qiyang glanced at the half empty wine cup, then suddenly stood up and walked towards Lu Qicheng.
Just when Lu Qichengâs face showed a look of confusion, a delicate hand stroked his cheek. The white and slender fingers stroked his face lightly, from his handsome eyebrows down to the bridge of his nose. The movements were gentle and intimate, as if it was being affectionate.
It wasnât until the fingertips touched the stubbles on his chin that it quickly curled back as if it had been pricked. But after a while, that hand couldnât help but caress between his eyebrows gently, as if being nostalgicâ¦
Lu Qichengâs heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. He looked up at Qiyang. Her Royal Highness the Princessâs beauty was undeniably enough to make any man fall in love. He was naturally attracted to her at the start, but unfortunately she was too cold and no matter what methods he used, she seemed to be wrapped in ice and didnât care about it.
Could it be that today, the princess finally realized his good points and took the initiative to break the ice?
Lu Qicheng was a little excited and also a little content. As his heartbeat grew faster, he stretched out his hand to grab Qiyangâs hand. But in the end, he only grabbed empty air, and his heart felt inexplicably empty. He looked at her blankly and called out, âYour Highness?â
Qiyang looked at him, and suddenly asked. âDo you know what This Palace likes the most about you?â
When Lu Qicheng heard the word âlikeâ, his heart began beating loudly again. He was obviously no longer a young brat anymore, and he had had a taste of women somewhere else, but he still felt uncontrollably excited right now. He raised his hand and pressed on his beating chest. He always felt that he didnât like Princess Qiyang that much, but his heart couldnât help beating so fast because of her words.
With this inexplicable emotion in his heart, Lu Qicheng unconsciously followed Qiyangâs words and asked, âI donât know, what does Your Highness like the most?â
Qiyang smiled, her eyes still on Lu Qichengâs handsome face, and replied, âOf course I like your face the most.â Her eyes suddenly lost their warmth, and her gaze became cold and sharp. âI like your face the most. This face that used to look exactly like hers.â
As soon as these words came out, Lu Qichengâs eyes widened. The secret that had been hidden for many years was suddenly revealed, and it was by the princess herself. His heart couldnât stop pounding, making it hurt a little.
Thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind, and his first though was to kill her. But he was in the Princessâs mansion right now, and he was completely unprepared. It was impossible for him to kill her, and it was even more impossible to clean up afterwards. So the idea of killing had to be thrown out temporarily. He decided to play the fool and forced a smile, âWhat does Your Highness mean by that? Who am Iâ¦â
There were thousands of thoughts in his mind, and Lu Qichengâs first thought was to kill someone. But now he is in the princessâ mansion, and since he is completely unprepared, he canât kill her, and it is even more impossible for him to clean himself after killing her. So the idea of ââkilling people had to be temporarily suppressed. He decided to pretend to be stupid and forced a smile: âWhat does the princess mean by this? Who do I look likeâ¦â
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Qicheng suddenly spurted out a mouthful of blood. The dark red liquid splashed the corner of Qiyangâs skirt, as if it was stained with red plums.
âPrincess, youâ¦â Lu Qicheng looked at Qiyang in disbelief, pressing his beating heart tightly with one hand. It was only at this moment that he realized that his heart hadnât been beating wildly because of excitement or shock, but because he had been poisoned a long time ago!
The poisoned wine had been prepared for him from the start, and she never wanted to listen to his explanations.
Qiyang just looked at him coldly, watching him vomit blood and fall to the ground, pressing on his chest as the light on his eyes gradually fadedâ¦
Lu Qicheng didnât even ask why. He didnât understand why Princess Qiyang would attack him until he died. To avenge that person? But why would Princess Qiyang avenge her?
Qiyang naturally had no interest on answering the questions of a dead man. Looking at Lu Qichengâs corpse turning cold, the emotions in her eyes ranged from the joy of accomplishing a great revenge, to the sorrow of having lost everything, to a daze from not knowing where things will go. She looked inexplicably pitiful.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhi Ting finally came back with warm food. As soon as she entered the door, she saw the Prince Consort lying dead on the ground. She covered her mouth in shock and looked at the blood on the corner of Her Highnessâs skirt, and called out in a trembling voice, âYour Highnessâ¦â
Qiyang flicked her sleeves and turned to leave. âClean it up.â
Translator Notes: