“What a handsome face!”
Qing Ya couldn't help but exclaim internally; it was her first time seeing a man with such an unparalleled appearance.
Subconsciously, she even thought of the Second Imperial Princess of Great Wu.
“She’s truly lucky. With such a face for a future husband, she’ll never grow tired of him in the boudoir…”
At this thought, Qing Ya’s cheeks flushed. How could she think of such things? She quickly averted her gaze.
Qing Ya didn't know why such jumbled thoughts appeared in her mind.
She quickly stopped them, then returned to her natural composure.
“Young Master, your appearance is truly outstanding. I imagine you could compete to be the most handsome man in the capital!”
Qing Ya smiled. There were busybodies in the capital who had created a ranking for the handsome men and beautiful women.
Four individuals were chosen for each gender, known as the Four Great Beauties and Four Great Handsome Men of the capital.
Although the titles were a bit vulgar, the eight people on the list, regardless of gender, all possessed an otherworldly beauty and temperament.
“So, Qing Ya Guniang has met the so-called Four Great Handsome Men of the capital!”
Xia Chen poured himself a cup of tea, not at all polite, almost as if he were the host.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to meet one, but compared to the Young Master, he’s still slightly inferior!”
Qing Ya, accompanied by a fragrant breeze, proactively sat down beside Xia Chen. Her words were not flattery but the truth. Moreover, according to information from her Imperial City Bureau, this Xia Chen was only 17 years old this year. In another year or two, when Xia Chen reached his coming-of-age, his appearance would become even more outstanding, reaching a peak.
Xia Chen couldn't help but chuckle at her words. Good heavens, had he become a male version of Yang Guifei?
“Born with natural beauty, hard to abandon, kept in a deep boudoir, unknown to anyone! Will this sudden emergence from the manor shock the world?”
This poem suddenly appeared in Xia Chen's mind. Indeed, for the past 17 years, he had rarely left the Marquis Manor, and few outsiders knew him.
Then Xia Chen thought of his future empress fiancée. He really did seem to have a chance to become the 'Yang Guifei' of another world!
“Damn, the pseudonym I just took also has the surname Yang. Everything aligns.”
Xia Chen got lost in thought, a little dazed. A casually chosen pseudonym, yet it felt as if it contained some profound karma.
“What is the Young Master thinking?”
Seeing Xia Chen's gaze wander, Qing Ya was a little curious. Hadn't she just praised his appearance from the bottom of her heart?
How could he be distracted!
“Nothing!”
Xia Chen regained his composure, sitting upright, which made the Qing Ya across from him smile.
This kid couldn't really be visiting such a place for the first time, could he!
“Young Master, it’s a long night. Drinking tea is so boring. There’s fine wine here!”
Qing Ya’s beautiful eyes sparkled, finding it somewhat amusing. She picked up a pot of fine wine from the table and poured a cup for Xia Chen.
“I wonder how beautiful the Four Great Beauties Qing Ya Guniang mentioned truly are!”
Xia Chen found a topic. He indeed knew very little about such capital gossip.
“The Young Master doesn’t know this?” Qing Ya was a little surprised. Don’t men find these things most interesting?
But very quickly, her professional demeanor overcame her inner questions.
She slowly began to speak.
“These Four Great Beauties all come from extraordinary backgrounds, even more convincing than the so-called Four Great Handsome Men, completely undisputed.
One is the personal disciple of the current Tianshi of the Tianshi Mansion, and another is the current Buddhist Daughter of Tianlong Temple.
The other two are secular individuals. One is the legitimate daughter of Prime Minister Lin Hanpu, and the other is the Second Imperial Princess of the current Emperor, Princess Yaoguang.
Oh, and I heard recently that Princess Yaoguang has already been betrothed. It seems to be to a legitimate son of the Zhendong Marquis Manor.”
When Qing Ya mentioned the Second Imperial Princess, she deliberately added an extra sentence, then carefully observed Xia Chen's expression. But to her disappointment, Xia Chen’s face remained unperturbed, as if that legitimate son of the Marquis Manor wasn't him.
“People from the Tianshi Mansion and Tianlong Temple also participate in the selection?”
Xia Chen was curious. The Tianshi Mansion and Tianlong Temple were the sacred lands of Taoism and Buddhism in the Great Wu Dynasty, and could even be considered the sacred lands of Buddhism and Taoism under heaven.
They were the orthodox representatives of both Buddhist and Taoist schools.
The Tianshi of the Tianshi Mansion and the Abbot of Tianlong Temple were both the pinnacles of their time, but neither sect participated in secular affairs. These two sects were located one in the east and one in the west of the capital, as if confronting each other.
“They didn’t participate, but some busybodies couldn’t help but rank these two among them.”
Qing Ya said softly and slowly, with a charm reminiscent of Jiangnan.
“How does Qing Ya Guniang’s appearance compare to these four?”
“How can this servant compare to those four!”
Qing Ya was startled, but then quickly shook her head and chuckled softly.
“Young Master, please don’t tease this servant. Whether it’s status, appearance, or temperament, this servant is worlds apart from them and unworthy of comparison.”
Qing Ya said self-deprecatingly with a soft voice, then slowly stood up.
“Young Master, it’s late. Does the Young Master truly intend to talk through the night with this servant at the table tonight?”
Qing Ya seemed unwilling to discuss that topic further. She proactively walked to the side of the bed, lifted her jade foot, and stepped onto the bed.
Her demeanor instantly changed. From the refined young lady and aloof goddess she was before, she transformed into the most enchanting succubus in the world.
Her eyes were like silken threads, seemingly radiating alluring light. The atmosphere in the room instantly became ambiguous. Xia Chen smiled, his steps light as he moved towards the bed.
“It seems Qing Ya Guniang can’t endure it any longer. Why are you so impatient!”
Xia Chen teased, directly sitting on the bed and looking at the beauty so close to him.
“Or is it that the Young Master is too hard-hearted? With such a beautiful night, you only care about talking to me and aren’t proactive enough to play with this servant!”
Qing Ya’s eyes were filled with resentment, the contrast simply overwhelming.
Xia Chen smiled, then intended to pounce, to embrace and devour this refined young lady who was full of contrasting charm.
But as soon as he made a move, his entire body went limp. He collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
“Bah! Men are indeed no good. As soon as he gets engaged and leaves the manor, he’s in a rush to come to places like this.”
Xiao Lian walked in from outside the door, spitting, like a little lioness.
She had been guarding the door the entire time. She knew Xia Chen’s identity and had heard Qing Ya proactively mention the Second Imperial Princess’s marriage to Xia Chen earlier.
“I didn’t expect him to come to me, but it just gave me an opportunity. Perhaps we can use his hand to provide some information to the Lantern Bearers. Recently, the Lantern Bearers have been investigating too aggressively, and our dark network in the capital has suffered heavy losses. If this continues, there might be big problems!”
Qing Ya sighed, glancing at the unconscious Xia Chen. She got off the bed, having already regained her dignified and elegant posture. The previous allure had completely vanished.
She appeared serene and ethereal!
Xiao Lian angrily said, “Those damned Great Feng people! If we hadn't intervened back then, they would have been annihilated by Great Wu long ago. But now that they’ve recovered, they dare to stab us in the back, stealing the military defense map and framing us.”
Xiao Lian was indignant. Many of their people had been captured recently. Although they were mostly peripheral members, if this continued, they would eventually be caught themselves.
More crucially, the spies from the Feng Country Surveillance Institute even leaked information about their Imperial City Bureau’s spies in Great Wu to the Lantern Bearers, causing severe losses for their Imperial City Bureau.
…