Xue Qinghe Is a Woman!

Ripples spread across the Magic Mirror's surface, and then its fawning voice rang out. "My incomparably noble master, your wisdom shines as brilliantly as the stars! That foolish Ning Fengzhi thought he had placed an exquisite chess piece in your palm, never realizing that he had personally pushed his crown prince into the trap you wove. At this very moment, he must be praying that his student can successfully move you. How laughable and pitiful mortals are!"

"Move me?" Eva could not help but sneer. Then she tipped back her head and drained the wine from her cup. A drop of dark red liquid slid down her graceful chin and disappeared into the hollow of her collarbone.

"With a fledgling like Xue Qinghe?"

Eva set down her cup, her fingertips gently brushing across her flawless cheek. Her eyes gleamed with a hunter's excitement.

"Still, I have enjoyed playing along with Xue Qinghe's little act. Watching that stiff smile every time she deliberately arranged an encounter, listening to those carefully prepared yet utterly flawed words of concern, seeing her ears turn red and her hands and feet flail helplessly from a single look or teasing remark from me... It has been far more interesting than watching those dull court musicians perform."

Eva licked her lips. "Especially that humiliation in her eyes, and the struggle of having no choice but to endure it. Truly delicious."

The doors to the bedchamber silently opened.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—"

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, suppressing the tumultuous emotions in her heart, and stepped into Eva's bedchamber.

The moment she entered, Qian Renxue felt a rich, cool fragrance envelop her, making her breath catch slightly.

Ever since her conversation with Ning Fengzhi at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect that day, she had sent Uncle Yu Long out to gather books on how to win a woman's heart and gain a woman's affection.

During this time, she had carefully studied those books and followed their teachings bit by bit in her interactions with Eva. Though she found much of the advice rather strange, it had proven exceptionally effective on Eva.

It even made Qian Renxue wonder whether she had played a man for so long that she had forgotten she was a woman herself.

She thought that whenever she had nothing to do in the future, she should return to her female identity. She could not let herself become abnormal just because she was playing Xue Qinghe.

If Eva had known what Qian Renxue was thinking, she would probably have burst out laughing.

With Qian Renxue's behavior over this period, if Eva had not already been somewhat interested in her, she would have long since crushed her to pieces.

In Eva's eyes, Qian Renxue's actions had been even more greasy and obnoxious than Snow Night's.

"Greetings, Lady Eva."

Qian Renxue lowered her gaze and bowed respectfully to Eva.

"There is no need for such formality, Your Highness."

Eva's voice carried a lazy huskiness, like lovers whispering to one another.

"Your Highness is practically a regular guest at Emerald Palace now. If you continue to be so distant, it will make me seem cold and unfeeling."

She lightly patted the soft couch beside her. "Come, sit closer so we can talk. Try this Crimson Dream. It is a rare treasure newly presented as tribute from the southern border. They say it can make one forget all worries and fall into the most beautiful illusion."

Looking at Eva's utterly unguarded posture and her direct gaze, Qian Renxue's heart uncontrollably skipped a beat.

Instinctively, she wanted to refuse. "I appreciate your kind offer, my lady. However, Qinghe is not good with alcohol. I fear I would waste such fine wine and spoil your refined enjoyment."

"Oh?"

Eva raised her brows slightly, amusement flashing through her eyes. She propped herself up, and the neckline of her robe slipped lower, yet she paid it no mind.

"Is Your Highness afraid? Afraid that I poisoned the wine? Or afraid that, alone with me, you might lose control?"

A faint blush instantly spread across Qian Renxue's cheeks. She had never met a woman like Eva.

Back at Martial Soul Hall, she had been the inheritor of the Six-Winged Angel. Her father had been the Pope, Qian Xunji, and her grandfather had been Qian Daoliu, the chief elder of Elder Hall. Everyone had treated her with utmost respect, except for her mother, Bibi Dong, who had always been cold toward her.

She had no idea how to handle such a situation. Thus, she forcibly suppressed the urge to leave and reminded herself that this was her plan, her mission.

She had to endure it! She could not let all her efforts go to waste!

"You jest, my lady." Qian Renxue did her best to keep her voice calm and even.

"It is simply that I truly cannot hold my liquor."

"It is only one cup. It will be fine."

Eva's coquettish tone brooked no refusal.

She personally picked up the cup, walked before Qian Renxue, and held it to her lips.

Qian Renxue could only feel the rich sweetness mingling with the cool fragrance as it washed over her.

"Consider it giving me some face. Or is Your Highness unwilling to grant even such a small request?"

Qian Renxue's body stiffened. Looking at the breathtakingly beautiful face so close to her and the cup of wine at her lips, she felt trapped between two impossible choices.

If she refused, it would seem far too deliberate and might arouse suspicion.

If she drank it, she had no idea what the consequences might be.

In the end, beneath Eva's gaze, Qian Renxue gritted her teeth, accepted the cup, closed her eyes, and drained the dark red liquid in one gulp.

The wine was icy upon entering her mouth, then immediately turned into a searing line of fire that slid down her throat, carrying a strange fruity fragrance and a faint, nearly imperceptible bitterness.

"That's more like it." Eva smiled in satisfaction, her fingertips seemingly brushing over the back of Qian Renxue's hand by accident.

After that, under Eva's coaxing, Qian Renxue drank cup after cup of wine.

Whenever Qian Renxue tried to refuse Eva's wine, Eva would lean closer. Looking into Eva's eyes, Qian Renxue drank one cup after another.

Before her consciousness completely faded, all she saw was Eva's gorgeous face.

Eva swiftly caught the collapsing Qian Renxue, preventing her from falling to the floor.

The seductive charm on her face vanished in an instant. She lifted Qian Renxue in her arms and laid her upon the broad, velvet-covered soft couch.

"Finally quiet."

Eva gave a soft snort and looked down at the crown prince on the couch.

She extended a slender finger, and with a trace of curiosity and malicious amusement, lightly brushed the skin at Qian Renxue's neck.

The touch was delicate, but it seemed a little too smooth.

A thread of dark magical energy gathered at Eva's fingertips and silently swept across Qian Renxue's body.

"Oh! Something is unusual."

The discovery brought the interest in Eva's eyes to its peak. Without hesitation, she continued examining Qian Renxue's body.

The Angel Spirit Bone's disguise became impossible to conceal beneath the perception of magic.

"Ha!" Eva let out a short, delighted laugh.

"Xue Qinghe, the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, is actually a woman! This truly is... an enormous surprise!"

Eva immediately summoned the Magic Mirror and asked, "Magic Mirror, tell me: what exactly is the true identity of the Xue Qinghe lying here? Where does she come from? What is her purpose?"