Transmigrated Female Official

Everyone knows that the Empress favors the Eighth Princess, so if the Empress were to make the decision, the Eighth Princess would have the best chance of winning. The Sixth Princess, of course, couldn't agree to this and immediately said, "To take such a small matter to the Emperor would be making a mountain out of a molehill. Besides, if word gets out... three princesses fighting over one man? Wouldn't that make us a laughingstock?"

The fourth princess quickly chimed in, "That's right, it's no big deal!"

The Eighth Princess snorted coldly: "Then don't try to take it from me!"

Seeing the tense situation, Chu Qingluo had no choice but to step forward and say, "Princesses, could you please sit down and have some tea before listening to me?"

The sixth princess smiled and slowly sat down. "Lord Chu, please speak."

The fourth princess also sat down. Upon seeing this, the attendants of Yun Palace immediately served tea.

Chu Qinglu then said, "In my opinion, all three princesses are quite reasonable. To be fair, why don't we let the Heavenly Goddess make the decision? What do you princesses think?"

"The Heavenly Goddess?" The Fourth Princess asked, puzzled.

“Yes,” Chu Qingluo explained, “Marriage is always preordained by fate, so we will seal our love with words.”

“Interesting, continue.” The Sixth Princess showed great interest.

"Please have each of the three princesses use one word to explain two things. First, what do you most want from Chu Yilin? Second, what can you give him? Finally, let Chu Yilin choose the word. Only if he chooses the same princess for both words will it be considered destiny."

Directly suggesting that Chu Yilin choose one of the three of them would be utterly impossible. Drawing lots or something similar was too risky; this was the only relatively viable method Chu Qingluo could think of in the heat of the moment.

The meaning behind the words reveals the intentions of the people. The Sixth Princess and Chu Yilin were already familiar with each other, so they shouldn't have made the wrong choice.

Without much thought, the Eighth Princess objected: "That's not fair! Everyone knows that Sixth Sister's handwriting is outstanding, and she'll easily be chosen at a glance!"

Chu Qingluo explained with a smile, "After the princesses finish writing their characters, they are all copied by the same attendant. Chu Yilin then selects characters from those written by the attendant." Seeing that the Eighth Princess looked like she was still looking for trouble, she added, "The characters cannot contain any name related to anyone, nor can they contain any hints about one's own identity. The Heavenly Goddess has the final say. Is that fair?"

The Eighth Princess was still processing Chu Qingluo's words and remained silent. The Fourth Princess, however, was somewhat puzzled: "What if the words Chu Yilin chose were written by two of us?"

"...I haven't thought of a better solution yet, so I can only...choose another one." Chu Qingluo spoke the truth. She couldn't very well teach the ancients how to play rock-paper-scissors, could she?!

While this idea isn't 100% certain, it's still better than drawing lots or having Yu Fei match their birth dates and times. What if Chu Yilin's birth chart happens to be the most compatible with the Eighth Princess's? Wouldn't that leave them with even less of a way out?

It's all Chu Yilin's fault for refusing to learn the basics. Whether we can help him or not is up to us to gamble and leave it to fate.

Seeing that the Fourth Princess and the Eighth Princess were still hesitant and unwilling to agree, the Sixth Princess could only declare domineeringly: "If he does not choose my calligraphy this time, it proves that we are not on the same page, and I will immediately give up and not compete with you anymore."

Hearing this, the Eighth Princess asked suspiciously, "Sixth Sister, is what you said true?"

"Of course! If it's not a preordained fate, why force it?" The Sixth Princess replied readily.

The Eighth Princess then turned to the Fourth Princess and asked, "What about Fourth Sister?"

The Fourth Princess coughed twice and said, "If he doesn't choose my calligraphy either, I won't take it." She was just joining in the fun, and it would be a loss if she competed with the Eighth Princess alone.

"Very well!" The Eighth Princess slammed her hand on the table and declared, "If the Heavenly Goddess doesn't give a clear answer this time, then Chu Yilin is mine!"

"Alright!" The Sixth Princess knew that only in this way would the Eighth Princess agree to Chu Qingluo's idea.

Then, the attendants brought out writing brushes and ink, placing them in front of the three princesses. The three looked at each other, none of them willing to make the first move.

Chu Qingluo helplessly beckoned to her attendants, instructing two of them to stand between the three of them to act as a barrier. Only then did the princesses feel at ease enough to pick up their brushes…

The ink had already stained the paper when I realized that the two things Chu Qingluo had mentioned... it wouldn't be easy to describe them in just one word.

What do you want to get from Chu Yilin?

What can you give Chu Yilin?

At this moment, the Fourth Princess's expression appeared very casual, the Sixth Princess was also calm and composed, only the Eighth Princess kept chewing on her pen.

About fifteen minutes later, the princesses finished writing the two characters and had them all copied by the same male attendant. To avoid suspicion, Chu Qingluo didn't touch the characters at all and didn't know what the princesses had written. She directly sent someone into the inner hall to invite Chu Yilin out.

Chu Yilin had already bathed and changed, now wearing a lake-blue robe, looking quite refreshed and handsome. Unaware of the situation, he stared at the three words placed before him and asked, "What does this mean?"

Chu Qingluo replied, "These three words you see now are what the three noble princesses want to obtain from you." After saying that, she explained the rules of the bet they had just set to him again.

Chu Yilin gasped, moved closer to Chu Qingluo, and whispered through gritted teeth, "You want to kill me?!"

Chu Qingluo mimicked him, her lips seemingly not moving, yet she uttered a sound: "Do you have a better way?"

"..." Chu Yilin was helpless; there was nothing he could do.

He silently picked up the papers and looked at the first word. "Joy?" He raised an eyebrow and put the paper down. Then he picked up the second paper: "Love?!" He couldn't help but smile, almost certain that the word "love" came from the Eighth Princess.

It wasn't that he thought the Eighth Princess was particularly obsessed with him, but rather that probably only she would believe that using that word could move him.

Seeing him pick it up and put it down again, the Eighth Princess became a little anxious, her hand constantly gripping the blank paper on the table, crumpling it into a ball.

Chu Yilin stared at the third character for a long time before laughing and saying, "What a wonderful character, 'nothingness'!" Without saying another word, he handed the character to Chu Qingluo and said, "I've chosen."

Chu Qinglu nodded and had her attendant bring over the other three words. "This time, it's about what the princesses can give you."

Chu Yilin looked at each word again and read them aloud: "Noble." It was nothing more than power and wealth, which he had no use for.

"...All?" Does "all" mean everything? Does it mean she can give him everything? He sneered. This domineering word is probably the style of the Eighth Princess again.

Chu Yilin glanced at the last word, his eyes suddenly lighting up: "Divorce?!" He laughed, a laugh that was utterly unrestrained. He picked up the paper and waved it around, declaring confidently, "That's it!"

The two words he chose were 'nothing' and 'separation'. Among the three princesses, the only one who was most likely not to want anything from him and could give him the freedom to leave was the sixth princess.