The days passed swiftly, and today was finally New Year’s Eve.
Ziqing rose early. Seeing Jun Beiyue still asleep, she didn’t disturb him, propping her head on one hand and lying on her side, simply watching him.
No matter how many times she looked at this man’s face, she never grew tired of it. He was too handsome—as though heaven itself had painstakingly carved him into a work of art, and by some accident, brought him to life.
His handsome brows, his high, straight nose bridge, his sensuous thin lips, the resolute, cold lines of his face even in sleep—seeing him this close, Ziqing found herself almost dazed, unable to help wondering how on earth she’d come to find a man so peerless in all the world.
She watched him silently, watched and watched, until she’d drifted into a daze of her own.
It wasn’t until Hongyi came to hurry her along that she snapped back to herself, carefully rising from the bed—only for Jun Beiyue to speak lazily. “Don’t go. This prince hasn’t looked his fill yet.”
At these words, Ziqing froze instantly—this man had been awake this whole time!
Seeing her reaction, Jun Beiyue burst out laughing, pulling Ziqing back into his arms with doting affection. “Won’t you sleep a little longer?”
“If I sleep any longer, I’ll guarantee you’re embarrassed today.” Ziqing said seriously.
“You—going to the Flower Queen Pageant looking just like this, this prince would still pick you!” Jun Beiyue declared, thoroughly domineering.
“What if I were even uglier?” Ziqing asked again.
Jun Beiyue shook his head immediately. “No good. This is already my absolute limit.”
The Flower Queen Pageant, New Year’s Eve, the eve of the new year’s arrival—he hoped to give her the greatest surprise of her life, a certain, settled identity, so that in the year to come, they could walk forward together with even greater resolve!
A shadow of gloom passed briefly through Ziqing’s eyes, but Jun Beiyue burst out laughing. “Just joking. All right, go get ready. I need to head into the palace first.”
As he spoke, he rose first to change, pressing a light kiss to Ziqing’s forehead before murmuring, “I’ll be waiting for you.”
For some reason, Ziqing felt a faint, nagging unease deep in her heart—perhaps it was simply because tonight she would finally tell him the truth, and that was what made her so anxious.
She smiled, her hands lightly massaging the back of Jun Beiyue’s neck, saying nothing—just a gentle squeeze before letting go. “Go on, then. Look closely tonight—don’t fail to recognize me!”
Everything she’d been preparing these past few days, he hadn’t asked about once—clearly, he wanted a surprise of his own.
Of course she could give him one. And it would have to be a truly stunning one!
Ziqing took a deep breath, steeling herself. “Hongyi, summon Situ Haonan and Autumn Mother. Time to begin the makeup and dressing!”
Soon, Situ Haonan and the old tailor Autumn Mother arrived. The old man brought two garments, both in shades of purple—one a cold, noble purple, the other an elegant, refined purple. All the hair ornaments and jewelry were likewise part of a matching purple set.
“Your Highness, please choose one of these two outfits.” The old man said respectfully.
Ziqing examined them carefully, and was just about to choose the elegant purple one—she hadn’t even applied her makeup yet—when Situ Haonan’s eyes went wide, and the old man let out an exclamation of admiration as well!
“Han Ziqing, today is undoubtedly going to be your day!” Situ Haonan said with a laugh, having just learned from Yingzi about Jun Beiyue’s plans for tonight.
Ziqing took her seat at the mirror stand, looking at her own reflection, a self-deprecating smile tugging at her lips. The more beautiful she appeared now, the more strikingly ugly the contrast would seem soon after—such a stark difference really would put Jun Beiyue in quite a difficult position. Thinking of this, she found herself growing ever more curious about how he’d react upon seeing her true face—whether his feelings for her would change, whether the words he’d spoken this morning would still hold true.
The makeup artist arrived respectfully and carefully explained to Ziqing how the makeup would be applied.
As for the Yanzi rouge, Ziqing genuinely liked it—she’d secretly tested it behind her ear the night before, and there’d been no adverse reaction at all, which set her mind at ease.
“Your Highness, we’ll use Yanzi as the base, then add a touch of rouge red, light makeup to match this outfit—will that do?” The makeup artist asked.
Ziqing nodded. The makeup artist immediately fetched the Yanzi rouge and dabbed it onto four points on Ziqing’s face, slowly blending it in. Though all of it was being applied to the thin membrane covering Ziqing’s face, even with such direct contact, the makeup artist never noticed the membrane’s presence at all.
Ziqing had studied this thin membrane before and knew only that it was remarkably mysterious—she still had no idea what it actually was.
At this very moment, the palace was already bustling with festive energy. In truth, the Flower Queen Pageant had originally been just one segment of the imperial New Year’s Eve feast. Unfortunately, Jun Beiyue hadn’t been in the mood to dine in the palace this year, and had chosen instead to hold the Flower Queen Pageant as a standalone event—which meant the timing had been moved up considerably.
Though it was still technically New Year’s Eve, the event would actually begin in the early evening and wouldn’t take up the entire night, since this particular evening was, after all, the single most important night of the year.
At this moment, all the women participating in the Flower Queen Pageant were, like Ziqing, meticulously preparing themselves!
Yet there was one woman who had already finished dressing early—clad entirely in purple, wearing light makeup, her hair arranged in a noble, upswept style pointing toward heaven. At this very moment, she was making her way leisurely through a hidden passage beneath the inn, toward a secret chamber.
This woman was none other than Yanzi!
“How long has he been awake?” she asked coldly, an entirely different woman from the amiable Yanzi of before.
“About an hour now.” The purple-clad maidservant answered honestly, pushing open the stone door.
Within the secret chamber lay only a single stone couch, upon which lay a man in purple robes, his body streaked with dried blood, his silver hair disheveled, utterly wretched.
Yet his voice, when he spoke, remained clear and pleasant to hear. “Just who are you?”
He was none other than Xuanyuan Lige, rescued that day from Liuxian Island!
“Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that I’m the one who saved your life.” Yanzi said with a smile, settling herself onto the edge of the stone couch, her jade fingers—adorned with a purple flower ring—gently stroking through Xuanyuan Lige’s silver hair.
“Get away from me.” Xuanyuan Lige said coldly, wanting to raise a hand to push her off but finding himself utterly without strength. Even the slightest movement sent waves of agonizing pain tearing through every wound covering his body.
Yanzi paid no mind at all to Xuanyuan Lige’s anger, saying with unhurried patience, “You play Lishang so beautifully—how about becoming my personal musician?”
“Just who are you!” Beneath his disheveled silver hair, Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes were sharp as blades. He had no idea who this woman was, but he understood perfectly well that whoever had rescued him under those circumstances could be no ordinary person.
“Don’t get so worked up. I went to such trouble pulling you back from the brink of death—if you keep straining yourself like this, every single wound on your body will slowly tear back open, and then I really won’t be able to save you a second time.” Yanzi said, unable to suppress a soft, seemingly delighted laugh.
“You’re a guardian of the Solitary Island ruins!” Xuanyuan Lige wasn’t foolish—she was here for Lishang.
“You should have guessed that already. Heh, but it’s not too late to know now.” Yanzi said, pleased, and finally, with what seemed like genuine care, brushed all of Xuanyuan Lige’s silver hair back, revealing his devastatingly beautiful face, ghostly pale in a way that was almost frightening to behold.
“I will not allow you to lay a single finger on Han Ziqing!” Xuanyuan Lige said icily at once. Every single guardian of the Solitary Island ruins could never tolerate the existence of an orphan of the Solitary Island.
“Tsk, tsk, such deep devotion. Xuanyuan Lige, why bother, really? You’re bound to end up on opposite sides no matter what—why go to such trouble both harming and protecting her at once?” Yanzi laughed. The moment she’d discovered Han Ziqing’s existence, she’d investigated everything there was to know. Nothing escaped her notice.