Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Damn it, she must have seen Father Emperor coming...

In the third month of spring, the warm sunlight gently shines down, making the water surface shimmer.

A boat shattered the calm water, creating a splashing sound.

The clattering footsteps made the small boat tilt, eliciting a soft exclamation: "Princess, slow down!"

A young girl dressed in an apricot-red gauze dress with gold trim ran out from the bow of the boat. Behind her, a palace maid named Liuying, wearing a grape-purple blouse embroidered with small sunflower branches, hurriedly caught up and supported the girl's swaying figure. A look of disapproval appeared on the girl's round, innocent face: "Princess, please be careful. Running so fast on this small boat, what if you fall off?"

"Alright, alright, I know what I'm doing." Feng Mian was standing on tiptoe looking across the river when she took a moment to turn back and give Liu Ying a reassuring smile.

A sliver of spring sunlight filtered through the swaying leaves on the shore, dancing across Feng Mian's delicate features and falling into her dark, moist eyes, making them appear as clear as water.

After being looked at like that, Liu Ying lost all her temper and followed her gaze to the opposite bank, wondering, "What is the county princess looking at?"

On the opposite bank, the water and trees are clear and bright, with the occasional chirping of orioles and swallows, but not a single person can be seen.

Liu Ying glanced at her and then looked away. With concern, she was about to wrap the apricot-yellow embroidered silver butterfly cloak draped over Feng Mian's arm: "The early spring wind is cool. The county princess has just recovered from her cough. You should tie the cloak properly and be careful not to catch a cold."

“Good firefly, I’m not cold now. We’ll talk when the wind picks up.” Feng Mian pulled the cloak into his arms before answering firefly’s previous question, “Didn’t Uncle host a spring banquet today, inviting all the newly appointed scholars to tour the Qionglin Garden? I came to join the fun. But… where are they?”

There was still no movement on the other side. Fengmian frowned, recalling the words he had seen in his dream last night—

"In the third month of spring in the sixteenth year of Chengping, the Emperor held a spring banquet at Qionglin Garden. The weather was warm and the wind was gentle, and all the flowers were in full bloom. Princess Qingping, accompanied by her maid, went boating and playing. She was wearing an apricot-red gauze dress with gold trim. Her eyes were like the morning glow reflecting snow. The top scholar Gu Xuzhi caught a glimpse of her on the shore and could not forget her. Three days later, he personally knocked on the palace gate to ask for her hand in marriage."

The sunlight filtering through the leaves, like shimmering water, clearly illuminated the few lines of ink-colored text in my swaying vision.

In her dream, she quickly turned to the next page of the book in her hand, and the first line of words was deeply imprinted in her mind: "After forty years of harmonious marriage, the couple grew old together, which became a beautiful story."

After waking up, she hurriedly changed her clothes and rushed to Qionglin Garden, taking a small boat to meet the top scholar mentioned in the book.

Feng Mian has reached marriageable age. Recently, Consort Rou and the Empress Dowager have been frequently concerned about her marriage. The portraits they bring are either of those who are all show and no substance or of their own incompetent nephews and nieces. It is clear that they want to use her marriage to torment and exploit her.

Marriage is a matter of life and death for a woman; how could she allow herself to be manipulated by others? In the past few days, she had been secretly gathering information on the talented young men of Shengjing and had selected a few decent young men. She was thinking about how to get her uncle, the emperor, to arrange her marriage first when she dreamed of going to the future.

This was a dream she had occasionally since her father's death. She would dream of a strange place, completely different from the Dayong where she lived, with bizarre clothing, peculiar houses, and many wondrous things she had never seen before—

Bright, dazzling glass lamps; smooth, wide streets and overpasses; armored vehicles speeding by every day…

At first, she was terrified and cried so much that she fell seriously ill, almost scaring the people around her into having health problems as well. Later, she gradually came to understand that the other world was thousands of years away from Dayong, and dynasties had changed several times. Dayong had become just a record in history books.

She once wondered if it was just Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly, and that it was all just her imagination.

But in her dream she saw a history book about the Dayong Dynasty. When she woke up, she only remembered a few insignificant fragments, such as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review being dismissed for corruption, and the introduction of hazelnuts from foreign countries by the Siyiguan in the tenth year of Chengping...

These facts were confirmed one by one after she woke up.

Feng Mian gradually discovered that only things related to her could make her remember them clearly after waking up from a dream.

This is a gift from heaven, an opportunity to take control of her own destiny, and she will certainly not let it down.

So when she dreamt last night of historical materials mentioning her marriage, she read them with extra care.

Gu Chunwen, the top scholar of this imperial examination, is indeed a rare young talent. It is said that during the palace examination, the emperor only glanced at him once and intended to appoint him as the third-ranked scholar. Later, seeing that his writing was even more outstanding than his appearance, he appointed him as the top scholar.

Feng Mian had chosen his name among the future husbands she had selected for herself.

If this succeeds, my biggest worry will be solved!

Feng Mian was immersed in a wonderful fantasy of a bright future when suddenly the sound of waves arose, followed by a strong impact, and the small boat beneath his feet shook violently. Feng Mian felt someone push him from behind, and he fell against the awning, followed by a splash as he fell into the water behind him.

She grabbed the boat awning and quickly turned around, only to find that the spot where the firefly had stood was now empty.

Just now, at the critical moment, it was Liuying who pushed Fengmian towards the boat awning, while she herself fell into the water.

Terrified, Feng Mian jumped into the water without thinking.

Fireflies don't float on water!

The lake water was still icy cold in early spring, enveloping her from all sides. She struggled to open her eyes in the current and saw a figure helplessly falling.

The firefly was startled when it fell into the water, choked on the water, and fainted.

Fengmian swam over with all her might and grabbed Liuying's soft, powerless hand.

The two people who broke out of the water fell to the shore. The boatman who rowed for Feng Mian knelt down beside Feng Mian with a thud, trembling all over, but dared not say a word.

Following the first aid methods she had seen in her dream, Feng Mian pressed on Liu Ying's chest, and in her haste, glared at the boatman: "What are you standing there for? Go and call the imperial physician!"

The boatman lay prostrate on the ground, trembling and not daring to move.

"Why did you get into such a mess, little sister?" A familiar arrogant voice came, and Feng Mian looked up at the sound.

A small boat, awning and shoving, pushed aside Feng Mian's small boat without regard for her. Standing at the bow was Princess Zhaoning, Chu Jinglian, adorned with jade earrings. She looked down at him arrogantly, her eyebrows slightly raised, a triumphant smile hidden in her eyes. She held an ivory-handled fan in one hand, fanning herself idly.

Why is it her again?

Feng Mian frowned inwardly. Chu Jinglian was the daughter of Consort Rou, who had enjoyed the Emperor's favor for many years. She had been pampered since childhood, but because Feng Mian received more of the Emperor's attention, she had always been jealous of Feng Mian. The two had been at odds since they were young.

Feng Mian has been feeling down these past few days, and has been avoiding Chu Jinglian. It's not that she's afraid of her, but she doesn't want to add another troublesome person to her already troublesome situation; that would be truly unbearable.

Today, Feng Mian deliberately kept a low profile, only taking Liu Ying with her and borrowing a boatman from the Chi Yuan Si (a government office). Now that Chu Jinglian and his men have blocked her way here, it's unlikely anyone will dare to go find the imperial physician for her.

Feng Mian continued her rescue efforts without stopping. She glanced at the distance between herself and Chu Jinglian, thinking that if things really got too bad, she would rush onto the boat and push Chu Jinglian into the water as well, to see if they would still call for the imperial physician.

Fortunately, at that moment, Liu Ying choked on some water and woke up.

"You're awake? How are you feeling? Can you get up?" Feng Mian instantly forgot about Chu Jinglian and helped Liu Ying up. "Come, I'll take you back. I'll ask the imperial physician to come and examine you later."

Liu Ying groggily got up with Feng Mian, only then realizing that Feng Mian was soaking wet, her wet hair clinging messily to her face, and the arm supporting her felt bone-chillingly cold. Realizing that she had been saved by Feng Mian, her eyes immediately reddened, and she anxiously blamed herself: "Princess, how could you jump down to save me! You are so cold, you will definitely fall ill again when you go back!"

Liu Ying wanted to take off her outer robe and put it on Feng Mian, but then she realized that she was also soaked. The discomfort of being drowned disappeared instantly. After a moment of flustered activity, she turned to support Feng Mian and hurriedly wanted to take her back to her bedroom.

Chu Jinglian, furious at being completely ignored by the master and servant, shouted, "How rude! Did I, the princess, say you could leave?"

Four palace maids disembarked at the call and blocked the path of Feng Mian and his companion.

I hadn't felt it when I was rescuing people, but now, wearing wet clothes and being blown by the wind, it was truly bone-chillingly cold. The plain gauze undergarment clung to my skin, feeling damp and stuffy, making my breathing a little heavier.

Feng Mian just wanted to get back to her palace quickly, take a hot bath, and have a bowl of ginger soup to ward off the cold. Not wanting to get entangled with Chu Jinglian any longer, she said directly, "You know my health. If I stay out in the wind for a while, I'll fall ill when I get back. My uncle will definitely ask about it, and I won't cover for you."

"If my uncle finds out that you were the one who knocked me off the boat, he will forbid the imperial physician from being called and will surely punish you. But if you move aside now, I can pretend this never happened."

In the past, whenever Chu Jinglian provoked someone, she would always be reprimanded by Emperor Jiayu. Therefore, whenever Feng Mian mentioned Emperor Jiayu, even if Chu Jinglian was angry, she would still have some reservations. But today, for some reason, after hearing Feng Mian's words, she almost jumped up and down: "So what if Father Emperor finds out! Don't think that just because Father Emperor favors you, I won't dare to touch you! I am a princess, do you think I'm afraid of you!"

A shrill voice, brimming with anger, pierced her closed eardrums, and her head began to throb.

Since they won't let her leave, then she might as well stay. The Spring Banquet is today; the Emperor will arrive sooner or later with all the successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and then…

Under Chu Jinglian's shocked gaze, Feng Mian pulled Liu Ying down to sit on the ground and calmly asked, "So what do you want?"

Chu Jinglian was speechless for a moment.

Upon seeing Feng Mian on the boat, Chu Jinglian had already planned to knock her overboard. Seeing her frantically searching for a royal physician, he decided against granting her wish. She wanted to leave, but he was determined to keep her there.

But now that Feng Mian is not leaving, Chu Jinglian doesn't know what to do with her.

You can't... you can't just rush up and beat her up, can you?

An eerie silence spread, and Feng Mian and Chu Jinglian stared at each other wide-eyed.

Feng Mian almost laughed out of anger at Chu Jinglian: "What, are you just going to keep this up with me like this?"

His head was buzzing, and the not-so-scorching sunlight formed large white patches in front of his eyes. Feng Mian blinked uncontrollably and turned his head to avoid the direct sunlight.

Chu Jinglian noticed this subtle movement, and she immediately raised her chin proudly, saying arrogantly, "That's right, this princess will watch right here and let the sun burn you to death!"

His tone was fierce; anyone who didn't know better would think it was the scorching heat of July, not the warm spring of March.

Bitao, the personal maidservant attending Chu Jinglian, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the princess really ordered them, these servants, to do this or that to the county princess, and they ended up hurting her and angering the emperor, things would really get out of hand.

Excellent! A silent standoff will suffice. The princess will get bored in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Then they can slip away and quietly have the palace servants escort the county princess back...

Bitao's beautiful fantasy came to an abrupt end. She stared wide-eyed at the shore and grabbed Chu Jinglian's arm in alarm: "Your Highness, the County Princess has fainted!"

On the shore, Feng Mian, who had been sitting perfectly still, fell into Liu Ying's arms with a thud, like a willow branch broken by the wind.

Liu Ying was also stunned, fluttering her wings like a frightened old hen and hugging Feng Mian: "Princess? Princess, don't scare this servant!"

Chu Jinglian, forcing himself to remain calm, grabbed Bitao's hand and gestured for another palace maid to go and check the situation: "Don't panic, she's definitely faking it! Wake up for me right now!"

Just then, a puzzled voice came from the other side of the shore behind them: "Zhaoning? What are you doing here?"

Chu Jinglian stood frozen in place, his fear turning into angry glares as he stared at the unconscious Feng Mian: Damn it, she must have seen Father Emperor coming and deliberately fainted!

A note from the author:

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