Qin Ge wore a blue robe, her long, dark hair mostly cascading over her shoulders, with the other half tied back with a blue silk ribbon. She wore no jewelry, hairpins, or cosmetics, yet her face was so beautiful that it was impossible to tell if she was male or female, so she looked perfectly natural dressed as a woman.
He sat at a stone table under the jacaranda tree in Fuying Courtyard. On the table was a chessboard with black and white pieces scattered across it. However, there was no one playing against him at the other end of the stone table. He was playing against himself, holding black in his left hand and white in his right.
Even after Yao's mother finished speaking, he remained calm and slowly placed a piece.
Madam Yao's expression immediately changed. She raised her voice and said, "Fourth Miss, are you even listening to this old servant?!"
Qin Ge's gaze remained fixed on the chessboard, not even glancing at Yao's mother. Her tone was as calm and unwavering as a jacaranda petal falling on her shoulder: "I understand. You may leave."
Madam Yao was a respected servant of the First Madam; who in the Prime Minister's mansion didn't give her some face?
Being ignored to this extent by the unfavored fourth young lady, Madam Yao was furious and said sarcastically, "I have already conveyed the message: that one in the palace is not easy to serve. I hope you will be careful, Fourth Young Lady!"
After saying that, Yao's mother turned and left.
The maid Qingzhu brought out a cup of tea and spat at Yao Mama's round and fat back, "Pah, that old woman always knows how to be a snob."
He served tea again and said in a low voice, "The one who should be going to the palace is clearly the Third Miss. The First Madam actually tried to substitute you for the Third Miss and have you go to the palace in her place. This is clearly deceiving the emperor... Young Master, do you have a plan in mind?"
Qingzhu knew Qin Ge's true identity.
This is a purely ancient world, not a matriarchal one. In a world where men are superior to women, Qin Ge is not insane or has a cross-dressing fetish, and he doesn't turn himself into a cross-dressing master.
It is now the 348th year of the Yong Dynasty. The imperial family has ruled the country for dozens of generations. The current emperor's reign title is Qingjia. He ascended the throne at the age of sixteen. During his five-year reign, no one in the Yong Dynasty was unaware of his cruel reputation.
Emperor Qingjia's given name was Jun Shenbi, but his personality was not as gentle and refined as his name suggested. He was cruel, bloodthirsty, and capricious. He once massacred the palace in one night. Moreover, he especially hated women. It is said that when a beautiful woman from the Western Regions tried to take advantage of the situation to climb into his bed, Emperor Qingjia stabbed her through with a sword and ordered that her skin be peeled off and made into a screen. He even replaced the dragon bed with a new one overnight.
During the Yong Dynasty, the name of a tyrant could stop a child from crying at night.
Not long ago, a minister proposed the selection of concubines for the first time in the Golden Palace. Jun Chenbi smiled brightly and said in a cold voice, "Since you are so eager to see me select concubines, why don't you send your daughter into the harem?"
And that's how a talent show came about.
As the daughter of the prime minister, she was of noble status. Unlike the daughters of ordinary eunuchs, she did not need to go through the selection process and was directly appointed to the palace as a principal wife.
Originally, the spot to enter the palace was meant for Qin Manwu, the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family, who was the daughter of the First Madam. However, it was said that Emperor Qingjia was cruel and tyrannical, had even skinned a beautiful woman, and disliked women. How could the First Madam bear to let her beloved daughter enter this cannibalistic palace?
In any case, the tyrant only issued an edict to allow the prime minister's daughter to enter the palace as a concubine, without specifying which one. So the first wife used a trick to substitute one daughter for another and deceive the emperor, letting the prime minister's illegitimate daughter enter the palace in place of Qin Manwu.
So, Madam Yao was representing the First Madam's wishes, coming to inform Qin Ge that he should prepare to... go to his death.
Let's talk about Qin Ge again—
He has been in this world for three years, and has had no choice but to dress as a cross-dressing man for those three years.
The original owner was raised as a girl from a young age because the national advisor of the Yong Dynasty had prophesied that the fourth son of the Qin family would overthrow the entire dynasty. To prevent the future disaster that would bring down the country, he had to be sent to a temple to be burned at birth to pray for a better afterlife.
Unfortunately, the original owner of this body happened to be the fourth son of the Qin family.
The original owner's biological mother was originally a courtesan in a brothel, the kind who sold her art but not her body. Later, she was redeemed and entered the Prime Minister's mansion, becoming one of the many concubines in the harem. Upon learning that the prophecy had come true for her own child, and after discovering the child's gender at birth, she made a decisive decision—
They announced that she had given birth to a girl!
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