The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

Su Yaoyao was stunned for a moment.

The person before me had a bright red beauty mark at the corner of their eye that shone brightly in the sunlight, and their peach blossom eyes curved into two crescent moons as they smiled with captivating charm.

Her crimson robe was wide open, revealing a large expanse of her snow-white chest. Her long hair was loose, with gold rings swaying in it—she was alluring and seductive, like a beautiful ghost who had just escaped from a den of fairies.

The more I look at it, the more familiar it seems.

That... that slutty, cheeky, and irresistible vibe...

"You fucking are..." She put on an expression of utter shock.

"A ladyboy?!"

The gold-flecked folding fan fell to the ground with a "thud".

He Qing froze on the spot, a rare crack appearing on her usually charming face.

"Owner……"

His voice was filled with resentment, as aggrieved as a lapdog that had just been kicked by its owner.

"I... survived countless brushes with death, traveled thousands of miles, and returned under a different name to see you..."

He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, his voice harsh, "You're saying I'm... a transvestite?"

Su Yaoyao looked at him with amusement, sizing him up.

Although she resented He Qing for kidnapping her twice, she had a hunch that this person and Xiao Chenyuan not only knew each other, but also had some ulterior motives she didn't know about. Besides, he really was saving her at the horse farm that day...

She crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You're a grown man, dressed like this, and you call yourself a 'Princess'—isn't a Princess a man? Isn't that just your Western Liang princess? A male princess, what else could she be but a transvestite?"

He Qing: "..."

"Isn't this the custom of Xiliang!" He Qing felt even more aggrieved. "Men of Xiliang are required to groom themselves before going out, and this is already the most simple I can be!"

"Simple?" Su Yaoyao pointed at his lapel. "Your chest is almost up to your belly button! Aren't you cold in the middle of winter?"

"Master's mouth..." he chuckled, "is still so unforgiving."

Su Yaoyao stared at him without replying.

Wasn't He Qing a descendant of the Liang Kingdom? How did she suddenly become a princess of Xiliang? And even changed her surname to Helian?

There are too many questions, and I don't know where to begin.

She simply stopped asking.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a flat tone, as if she were asking someone she didn't know very well.

He Qing tilted her head, her fan obscuring the lower half of her face, revealing only a pair of smiling eyes: "Waiting for Master."

"Why are you waiting for me?"

"I missed you," he answered matter-of-factly, his voice soft and gentle. "I heard that Master went to the palace, so I thought... what if we could run into each other?"

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat, but she scoffed, "Don't give me that. You're a princess of Xiliang, sneaking around outside the Empress's palace like this. Aren't you afraid of being mistaken for a spy and arrested?"

"How could that be?" He Qing blinked. "I came to pay my respects to the Empress openly and honestly. It's just that I came at an inopportune time; Her Majesty is busy and asked me to wait outside."

As he spoke, he gestured towards the direction of Fengyi Palace, and sure enough, a young eunuch was waiting under the corridor, holding a tea tray in his hand.

Su Yaoyao looked at him suspiciously, "Then what's the deal with this mole? I don't remember having it before."

A fleeting pain crossed He Qing's eyes, which he quickly concealed. He sighed, closed his fan, took a step closer, and lowered his voice: "It seems Master is quite concerned about me... Master, please don't look at me like that, I can't bear it..."

The strong fragrance emanating from him wafted towards her, and Su Yaoyao subconsciously took a step back; she knew he was lying.

"Stay away from me, this fragrance is too strong. And stop calling me master." She frowned. "You are now the Princess of Xiliang, not..."

It wasn't He Qing, the one she threw into the Nanfeng Pavilion.

Not the He Qing who was outmaneuvered by her and called her "master".

He Qing's eyes darkened, but he still smiled: "Then what should I call you? Yaoyao? Miss Su? Or..." He paused, his voice even softer, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess?"

The last four words were pronounced very lightly, yet carried an indescribable bitterness.

Su Yaoyao didn't say anything.

In the distance, there were sounds of palace servants moving about, and faintly, the high-pitched voice of a eunuch announcing things.

He Qing suddenly laughed, reverting to his usual carefree demeanor: "Alright, I won't tease my master anymore."

He called out "Master" again, as if the brief moment of sadness had never happened.

Su Yaoyao looked at him and suddenly asked, "That day at the horse farm, did you already know the horse would go berserk?"

He Qing paused.

"Yes," he answered readily.

Su Yaoyao's heart sank: "Who did this?"

"That's not important." He Qing gently shook her head. "There won't be a next time."

As he spoke, he took something out of his sleeve and handed it to her.

It was a jade pendant, smooth and lustrous, engraved with intricate patterns. On one side of the pendant, there was a uniform cut mark, as if it were missing half...

"This is a lucky charm I've worn since I was little." He Qing's voice was unusually serious. "Wearing it can ward off evil spirits."

Su Yaoyao didn't take it: "I have the Crown Prince's Buddhist prayer beads."

He Qing smiled, not insisting, and put the jade token back into his sleeve: "Then forget it."

He stepped back, unfolded the folding fan again, covering half his face, and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye shone brightly in the sunlight.

"Master, you should go back now." He said lazily, "If you stand here any longer, His Highness the Crown Prince might come and arrest you personally."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of steady footsteps came from afar.

Su Yaoyao turned her head and saw Xiao Chenyuan walking towards her.

He was dressed in a dark robe with a dragon motif and a jade belt, exuding a chilling aura. His phoenix eyes swept across her face before landing on He Qing, their coldness piercing to the bone.

He Qing remained calm and bowed to him, saying, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Xiao Chenyuan ignored him and walked straight to Su Yaoyao's side, taking her hand in his: "Why did it take so long?"

The voice was relatively calm, but the force was clearly a bit heavier.

Su Yaoyao sighed inwardly.

I'm jealous again.

"Her Majesty the Empress asked me to speak with her." She softened her voice, "What brings Your Highness here?"

"I heard you went to the palace after court," Xiao Chenyuan said succinctly. "I've come to pick you up."

He Qing chuckled softly from the side: "His Highness the Crown Prince is truly inseparable from Miss Su."

Xiao Chenyuan then looked at him, his gaze as cold as ice: "Does the Princess have something to say?"

"It's nothing serious," He Qing said, fanning himself. "I just happened to run into Miss Su and we exchanged a few words."

"Are you done talking?"

"That's all."

"Then the princess may leave."

He Qing raised an eyebrow, not annoyed at all, and waved to Su Yaoyao with a smile: "Master, until we meet again."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the Phoenix Palace, his crimson robes fluttering in the wind, both alluring and unrestrained.

Xiao Chenyuan stared at his retreating figure, tightening his grip on Su Yaoyao's hand even more.

She sighed and took his hand.

"Your Highness."

"……Um."

"Are you planning to lock me up again?"

Xiao Chenyuan remained silent for a moment, then honestly replied, "Yes."

He looked down at her, his eyes swirling with suppressed emotions: "The way he looks at you makes me very uncomfortable."

Su Yaoyao was already used to his jealousy, so she wasn't annoyed. Instead, she smiled and poked his chest: "Then what kind of look did Your Highness give me?"

Xiao Chenyuan took her hand, kissed it, and said in a low, husky voice, "The look in your eyes that says I'd give my life for you."

Su Yaoyao felt a mix of sweetness and sourness in her heart.

She suddenly leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Does Your Highness know what kind of look I give you?"

Xiao Chenyuan raised his eyes.

"I wanted to..." she paused, then mischievously drew out her words, "to give His Highness a look that would devour him from head to toe."

Xiao Chenyuan's ears turned red in an instant.

Su Yaoyao looked at him with satisfaction at his abstinent and restrained appearance, and laughed as she fell into his arms.

---

The two walked side by side toward the palace gate.

After taking a few steps, Su Yaoyao suddenly turned around.

At the entrance of Fengyi Palace, He Qing stood under the corridor, seemingly watching her as well. Across the layers of palaces, across the swirling catkins of a spring afternoon, the beauty mark at the corner of his eye resembled a tear about to fall.

When he saw her turn around, he smiled and his eyes crinkled.

Su Yaoyao turned around, leaving that smile behind.

He Qing stood there, watching the two figures gradually walk away until they finally disappeared at the end of the vermilion palace gate.

He looked away, down at the half jade pendant in his palm, and gently rubbed it with his fingertips.

"Young Master." A man in black appeared silently behind him. "What about He Cong..."

"Keep a close eye on him," He Qing said calmly. "Don't give him another chance."

"Yes."

The man in black paused, then said in a low voice, "Young Master did all this for Miss Su... She doesn't know about it."

He Qing didn't speak.

After a while, he put the jade pendant back into his sleeve, turned around and stepped into the shadows of Fengyi Palace.

"There's no need for her to know. Oh, by the way..."

He Qing felt somewhat embarrassed, "Give me some different face powder..."

The man in black: "...Huh?"

"She... said I look like a transvestite... I should choose something simpler..."

The man in black: "..."