Chapter 2
Chapter 2.1: Looks that Brings Down Cities
The Blue Waves Kingdom was a kingdom that sat beside mountains and lay by the water, with an highly advantageous geographical location. Its population was numerous, its people honest and guileless. Hence, under the current situation where three countries stood in balance against each other, they still held a slight edge over the other two kingdoms.
The reason that Blue Wave Kingdom had such an advantage was not just due to its superior geographical location but also in part because they had a farsighted Emperor.
The Blue Wave Kingdom also had the Duke of Eternal Peace who was invincible in battle. With just the name of Yan Su there in the kingdom, it already drove fear into the hearts of the generals from the other countries.
In recent years, his eldest son Yan Xi Cheng’s reputation had been rising fast as well, having followed the Duke of Eternal Peace to win quite a bit of merit in battle. Just twenty years of age and he had already been bestowed with the title of a general, the place the Yan Family had in the Emperor’s heart clearly evident.
“Princess, his Highness and the general will be returning back to the capital today and the entire place is already filled with citizens outside but you do not seem to be anxious in the slightest.” A servant maid with two hairpins stuck in her hair muttered as she put on the last pearl hairpin for the lady.
The lady before the bronze mirror looked up, and it was an amazing sight.
The first thing that shone out before one’s eyes was upon the flawlessly fair skin on her forehead, there was a faint pinkish bloom, that looked exquisitely enchanting.
That was not a result of deliberate embellishment upon that fair skin, but a pristine and saintly flower that she had been born with, and that flower had a beautiful name, called Ardent Violet.
A daughter born to the Eternal Peace Duke’s Manor sixteen years ago, where a good half of the the sky had turned red then, the shape of the colourful clouds had formed to resemble a soaring phoenix.
The Blue Wave Emperor had been delighted and he immediately bestowed upon the newborn the title of Princess “Phoenix Essence”, where he even went on to order a pre arranged engagement to the Crown Prince, Xuanyuan Che in marriage.
Yan Ning Luo proved to become worthy of being like a phoenix. She was gifted and intelligent, her body’s constitution highly outstanding, and she attracted the attention of the Faint Mist Sect’s Sect Leader, which was among the three biggest sects, who took her in as a direct disciple.
To the Blue Wave Kingdom, this was a matter of unparalleled honour and glory.
Yan Ning Luo was also an example the distinguished daughters of other noble families looked up to and not only men were infatuated and besotted with her, even the ladies could not resist her charms and allure.
Added to that, Yan Ning Luo’s personality was a little on the cold side. The countenance that could bring down cities together with that icy and snow cold demeanor, made her seem like a untainted celestial goddess descended, which made it all so reasonable that she was so highly sought after and revered.
The servant maid at her back was still muttering on when Yan Ning Luo suddenly stood up, which made the servant girl jump in shock. Just as her eyes were staring wide and looking highly helpless, the lady’s voice that was filled with grace and allure slowly wafted over. “Let’s go.”
The servant girl then managed to react, fumbling as she hurried to pick up a thin veil at the side. “Princess, would you like to veil your countenance? There’s so many people out there today, if you go out just like that, you will definitely cause a great furore.”
“No worries, I will not show myself.” Yan Ning Luo said indifferently, and then went walking out of the room. Her gaze then suddenly turned towards a particular corner, where her eyes then darkened and she went on to order the help. “On a day like this, remember to watch them closely. Better not allow them to leave the house at all.”
“Yes, Princess.”
The Duke of Eternal Peace was highly favoured by the Emperor and in terms of all things material like food, clothes and expenditure, no one else could compare to him except for the Imperial Palace itself.
But within the vast Duke’s Manor, where everything was splendorous and majestic, a single place in there did not fit in with everything else at all. The place was remote and quiet, and besides the place the servants lived in, that was about the most crudely simple place in the entire manor.
Although the little courtyard was remote and very simple, but it was fantastically quiet and tranquil, a place where not many people would usually come.
There was a stone table in the yard outside, and a young youth was seated there, quietly reading a book. He looked to be roughly about thirteen or fourteen years of age, with a pair of exquisite looking eyes, the ends slanting upwards attractively that were bright and lively. He had clear smooth skin, a pair of light pink lips under that straight high bridged nose.
Chapter 2.2: Looks that Brings Down Cities
The doors of the house inside the place were suddenly opened and the youth subconsciously raised his head up to look, when he then froze.
He saw the slender figure of a youth, the purple clothes on him complimenting the jade like complexion of his face, exceptionally handsome looking. His long hair was bound up high with a hair ribbon, neatly without a single strand out of place. His looks were highly similar to the other youth, but compared to that dazzling and eye catching youth filled with kindly righteousness, the ends of this youth’s eyes slanted up slightly higher, giving him an added devilish allure, just like a sly and crafty fox.
The first youth was stunned for quite a while before he then said in bewilderment: “Qing Yu?”
This fine looking youth here, isn’t that Qing Yu cross dressed as a male?
Since her own biological younger brother could not properly recognize her, it was then thought that other people would not notice a thing even if she was face to face with them.
“Why are you dressed like this for?”
Qing Yu glanced at him. “Your Royal father has returned, aren’t you going out to welcome him?”
“He is also your Royal father.” Qing Bei retorted with his brows creased together.
“I’ve said it many times. I am not the real Qing Yu. I came from another world, and am similarly named Qing Yu, and that is all.”
“I don’t care where you came from. You are Qing Yu, and you’re my elder sister. Even if you are not, you are now occupying Qing Yu’s body and that is something you cannot deny.”
In the six years since Qing Yu had come to this strange world, this same charade would replay every once in awhile in their conversations with each other.
Especially from the moment after she healed his legs and he had stood up anew from his wheelchair, the eyes that stared at Qing Yu had suddenly seemed to have decided on something in that instant, where he had then since stuck to her like a plaster, while doing it and proclaiming it to be only proper and right.
The thing that Qing Bei could be certain of, was that this person definitely was not Qing Yu, and there were too many secrets on her that nobody knew anything about.
Like how she had managed to heal his crippled legs when even the palace’s Imperial Physicians had been helpless with, and also when black robed assassins had sneaked in to kill them but were dealt with by Qing Yu without alarming anyone in the end.
He only knew that she would not harm him, or she wouldn’t have saved him back then with no regard for her own safety.
Qing Yu met his eyes quietly for a while, before turning her head away as she said indifferently: “Change clothes. Go out.”
For a girl about thirteen fourteen years of age, it was thought that few were as tall and slender as Qing Yu. Hence, with her dressed as a male, nothing seemed out of place, but instead looked more like a male than the true blue boy that Qing Bei was.
Anyway, Qing Bei had never ever met any girl that could be so….. straightforward and candid.
With two such outstanding looking youths appearing upon the streets, they immediately caused quite a bout of furore.
Especially Qing Yu’s pair of incredibly alluring eyes even when she did not deliberately tempt people, a mere casual glance from those eyes would easily crumble a great part of the people.
All the young girls who eyes were shining brightly with hearts aflutter, they seemed to have forgotten that today was the day they were to welcome the Duke of Eternal Peace returning back to the Imperial Capital, their attention completely captivated, waiting for one single glance from the youth to rest on them.
Because his sudden appearance among them had made them mad with delight, the response they got only left them all the more disappointed and frustrated.
— Gathered Cloud Loft —
Finally escaping out from the squeezy crowd after much difficulty, even Qing Bei was feeling slightly out of breath at that moment.
It had already been two years since his legs had recovered but in order to not draw eyes and ears to himself, he never stood up to walk when anyone was around. With such a bout of exertion, he was clearly finding it a tad bit hard to withstand.
And the chief culprit that caused all of it in the first place, was not even rosy cheeked nor out of breath in the slightest.