Reality.
The rear courtyard of the Qin envoy's residence in the Zhou Kingdom's Imperial Capital.
A young woman in a pale pink dress sat on a stone stool in the courtyard.
With her head bowed, she carefully stitched a pair of shoes.
Her personal maid, Mingyue, stood beside her sovereign, watching without blinking.
Mingyue could not quite understand why, ever since Her Majesty had arrived in the Imperial Capital, she had spent every spare moment sitting in the courtyard making shoes, when she was not studying the Zhou Kingdom's etiquette and customs or handling affairs of state from the Qin Kingdom.
And what puzzled Mingyue most was this.
Ever since she had begun serving Her Majesty, she had never seen her make shoes. Yet now, it seemed as though Her Majesty had made countless pairs, every stitch so practiced.
"There, finally finished."
As the last stitch fell into place, Qin Siyao picked up the shoes, tugged and stretched them, then inspected them closely, worried that some of the stitching might be imperfect.
Only after making certain there was nothing wrong did Qin Siyao slowly set them down.
"Your Maj—Your Highness, are these shoes for a man?" Mingyue asked curiously.
"Of course." Qin Siyao's lips curved. "You silly girl, have you ever seen a woman with feet this big?"
"Could Your Highness be giving these shoes to the Zhou Kingdom's ruler?" Mingyue seemed to have understood something.
Since they were men's shoes, Her Majesty could only be giving them to the Zhou Kingdom's ruler.
"Yes." Qin Siyao stood and packed the shoes into a box. "Come on, accompany me to the palace. I'm going to see His Majesty, my dear big brother."
With that, Qin Siyao carried the box herself and strode happily out of the courtyard, her long legs moving