Princess Fuyao, the Eldest Princess!
She wasn't Emperor Xia's daughter, but his youngest sister. Since they shared the same mother and she was exceptionally clever, she had earned the emperor's deep trust and affection.
In recent years, Emperor Xia had devoted himself to cultivating immortality and had no time to attend court, so he entrusted the government to two of his most trusted subordinates.
One was Eunuch Cao, the "Ninth Grand Duke" of the Eastern Depot!
The other was the Eldest Princess, Fuyao!
A princess wielding power was unprecedented in Great Xia's eight-hundred-year history.
Princess Fuyao was only twenty-five that year. She was still unmarried, yet she governed a vast realm and held the power of life and death.
They said she was so beautiful she could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, and had once been one of the Four Great Beauties of the Imperial City. Combined with her unparalleled intelligence, she should have enjoyed an excellent reputation.
But once she took power, she used ruthless measures to eliminate her opponents and crush every force that stood against her.
In the span of a month, hundreds of officials had been dismissed, and some had even been exiled to the Border Wasteland.
In addition, Princess Fuyao oversaw Great Xia's foremost intelligence agency—the Dragon Guard Pavilion!
What was the Dragon Guard Pavilion?
Put simply, it handled what the Eastern Depot didn't dare to!
It killed those the Eastern Depot didn't dare to kill!
By imperial decree, it could execute first and report later!
Those who followed her prospered; those who opposed her perished!!!
Thus, with her ruthless methods and the power of the Dragon Guard Pavilion, Princess Fuyao had cowed the entire court. By now, no one dared oppose her. She was truly second only to one person.
There were also some rumors about Princess Fuyao.
They said that although she was breathtakingly beautiful, she was wanton and licentious, with countless male lovers. Many scholars and talented young men in the Imperial Capital had fallen at her feet.
Of course, these were only rumors, with no solid evidence to support them.
"Young Master! Princess Fuyao arrived this morning and is now staying at the estate. She also sent someone to inform us that she wants to meet you ahead of time!" Huangli said.
"Understood!"
Xiao Yang nodded, but couldn't help feeling troubled.
He'd thought His Majesty would appoint a member of the imperial family as the Imperial Envoy.
He hadn't expected Princess Fuyao to set aside the affairs of state and deign to come in person to the Northern Territory for the engagement banquet!
"Is it because of Father King?"
"Father King commands the Northern Territory's eight hundred thousand troops, after all. He's ambitious and can't be underestimated!"
"Or has she come for Ning Hongye?"
"Could news of her plans to rebel have leaked, and reached Princess Fuyao?"
Xiao Yang thought it over for a moment, then shook his head.
He couldn't guess what she was after.
But she hadn't come in peace, so he had to handle this carefully!
A moment later.
Xiao Yang arrived at the second-largest palace in the estate, called Phoenix Dwelling Hall. It was surpassed only by the residence of King Zhenbei.
But as soon as he approached, he heard a woman's displeased voice from inside.
"This tea is too bitter! I only drink Da Hong Pao from the mother tree on Wuyi Mountain, brewed with dew from the Summit of Tianshan Mountain..."
"This incense is too weak! I want dragon's-breath incense from the North Sea, burned in the Nine-Coiled Bronze Furnace..."
"I don't like the decor in this room! The bed is too hard, the lighting too dim, and the maids are too ugly..."
Her voice was perfectly calm.
She wasn't deliberately finding fault. She sounded as though she were simply describing things exactly as they ought to be.
It wasn't that she was wrong!
The King Zhenbei's Mansion was wrong!
He hadn't even seen her, only heard her voice, yet Xiao Yang had already formed a first impression of the legendary Eldest Princess.
Arrogant!
Picky!
Used to having her way!
With a personality like that, and the status of a noblewoman, she was all the more impossible to offend.
"Your Highness, I am Xiao Yang, the Ninth Young Master of King Zhenbei's Mansion. I respectfully request an audience!" He bowed with cupped hands.
"Come in!"
The woman's voice sounded again from within.
Bang!
Only then did Xiao Yang push the door open. On the soft couch in the main hall reclined a young woman.
She wore a Crimson and Gold Brocade Robe, its hem embroidered with nine Black Phoenixes in peacock-feather thread. A magnificent phoenix crown adorned her head, lending her an air of supreme nobility.
Her figure, however, was exceptionally full, like a ripe peach, with curves no young girl could possess.
His gaze moved upward. She wore a white veil over her face.
Only her dark, sharply defined eyes were visible, but they held an unmistakable air of authority.
"You're Xiao Yang? Raise your head and let me have a good look at you," Princess Fuyao said, her voice cool.
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Only then did Xiao Yang dare to lift his head and meet her gaze.
"Hmm, just as I imagined. You're handsome and dashing, with an imposing bearing. You live up to your reputation!"
Princess Fuyao nodded, lavish with her praise.
"Your Highness, you've heard of me?" Xiao Yang asked, puzzled.
He'd been a complete nobody back at the estate...
"A few days ago, you composed a hundred poems over a jug of wine at the Lanting Poetry Gathering! Those lines made their way to the Imperial Capital and stirred the literary world. Naturally, I read them," Princess Fuyao said.
So that was it!
Xiao Yang finally understood.
At the time, he'd shown off in front of everyone and written countless timeless masterpieces from his previous life, astounding the people of this world.
"Xiao Jiulang, I summoned you today because I want you to write a poem for me. What do you say?"
Princess Fuyao phrased it as a question, but her tone left no room for refusal.
"Certainly."
Xiao Yang had pride, but he wasn't a fool.
He couldn't discern Princess Fuyao's cultivation, but as the head of the Dragon Guard Pavilion, she was no ordinary person. She must have peerless experts guarding her.
If he angered her, he'd bring himself a great deal of trouble.
"However..."
Xiao Yang furrowed his brow.
"However what?" Princess Fuyao asked at once.
"Your Highness, I haven't seen your face. I'm afraid I can't write a poem that truly suits you," Xiao Yang explained.
"You want to see what I look like?"
Princess Fuyao raised an eyebrow. "Do you know that ever since I took charge of the court, those sour scholars have called me a femme fatale who would bring ruin to the nation? So I put on this veil, and even swore an oath—"
"From now on, only my husband will see my true face!"
"I didn't know. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
Xiao Yang quickly bowed with cupped hands. He hadn't meant to step on such a land mine.
Unexpectedly, Princess Fuyao then said, "Never mind. I'll make an exception today!"
She waved to the maids in the hall. "You may all leave. Don't disturb us without my permission!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The dozen or so maids filed out of the hall and closed the door behind them.
"Xiao Jiulang, come here."
Princess Fuyao beckoned him over.
Xiao Yang stepped forward, but stopped seven or eight paces from the soft couch where she sat.
"Come closer... I'm not some wild beast! How can you see my face clearly enough to write me a poem if you don't come closer?" Princess Fuyao said.
"Very well."
Xiao Yang could only steel himself and approach. He stopped when he was just one step away.
"Open your eyes wide and take a good look!"
The next moment, Princess Fuyao raised a slender hand and untied her white veil.
A peerless face appeared before Xiao Yang's eyes.
Her delicate oval face was as smooth as ice and jade. Her lips were naturally red, and her brows naturally dark and graceful.
Her features were flawless. Together, they were like a priceless work of fine porcelain, so beautiful they made others feel unworthy and afraid to profane her.
Xiao Yang couldn't help comparing her in his mind to Ning Hongye and Yan Ruyu.
Ning Hongye was like a snow lotus on the Summit of Tianshan Mountain, pure and pristine, blooming in the wind.
Yan Ruyu was like a narcissus, still in bud, its fragrance seeming to drift on its own.
But Princess Fuyao before him was a regal, magnificent peony—the undisputed queen of flowers!
"Xiao Jiulang, why aren't you saying anything? Has my appearance disappointed you?"
Princess Fuyao's lips curved into a faint smile.
The bewitching charm of that downward glance was enough to make every flower pale.
Xiao Yang stared, dumbstruck, and blurted out, "One glance back, and a hundred charms are born; all the beauties of the palace lose their color!"
What a poem!
Princess Fuyao's eyes lit up.
She was peerlessly intelligent and gifted in literature, so she naturally recognized this as another timeless masterpiece.
Though the poem was supposed to describe an imperial consort, it suited her, an Eldest Princess, perfectly well.
The next moment, Princess Fuyao fixed her gaze on Xiao Yang and casually extended one jade-white foot, gently swinging it.
Then she parted her moist red lips and said something astonishing—
"Jiulang, I admire you greatly. Would you be willing to become my submissive?!"
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