The noble ladies around laughed even more happily: “Oh my! Princess’ sister hasn’t even gotten married yet, and she’s already protective!”
Liu Ruofu was so embarrassed her ears turned red, her beautiful eyes sparkling with shy charm: “If you keep talking nonsense like this, I won’t pay attention to you anymore!”
“Oh dear! Oh dear! Everyone, stop talking! Be careful that Great Liang’s Fourth Prince might hear later and think we’re bullying the Princess. He might blame us…” Lu Baohua covered her lips and laughed.
Though she was being teased, Liu Ruofu was happy in her heart.
Especially hearing that yesterday, Great Liang’s Fourth Prince had knelt to seek her hand in marriage and vowed that from now on he would not take side consorts or concubines, Liu Ruofu was truly moved.
Today, seeing that Great Liang’s Fourth Prince was born so handsome and extraordinary, she also felt in her heart that, as her father had said, this was indeed a good marriage match.
“The Zhenguo Princess has arrived…”
“The Zhenguo Princess is here too!”
Bai Qingyan and her fourth sister, Bai Jinzhi, followed beside Dong Shi. Zhen Zeping, who was exchanging pleasantries with colleagues, saw Bai Qingyan and hurriedly called his wife and daughter forward to greet them: “Wife, Zhenguo Princess, Gaoyi County Lord!”
Dong Shi smiled and curtsied in return. Zhen Zeping’s wife looked at Bai Qingyan with eyes full of reverence, pulling her daughter’s wrist to bring her before Bai Qingyan to greet her.
Hearing the whispered conversations among the ladies, Liu Ruofu turned her head toward the entrance of the great hall, but saw a group of military officers and their families surrounding the entrance greeting Bai Qingyan, perfectly blocking Liu Ruofu’s line of sight so she couldn’t see Bai Qingyan’s appearance.
Hearing the eunuch loudly announce the arrival of His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Crown Princess.
The military officers and their families who had been exchanging pleasantries with Dong Shi, Bai Qingyan, and Bai Jinzhi hurriedly retreated to both sides and bowed to the entering Crown Prince.
Last night, the Crown Prince had sent someone to deliver a message to the Zhenguo Princess’s mansion, informing Bai Qingyan that… Li Zhijie indeed only had the thumb ring in his possession. His original intention was merely to sow discord between their Jin Kingdom’s ruler and subjects. He hadn’t expected Bai Qingyan’s unwavering loyalty in telling the Crown Prince himself about this matter, which could be considered breaking Li Zhijie’s scheme.
The Crown Prince had someone convey his words to her, telling her to restrain her grief. Not only that, he also sent generous gifts.
She raised her eyes and saw Xiao Rongyan following beside the Crown Prince. Thinking of Xiao Rongyan’s ambiguous words on the pleasure boat yesterday, she lowered her eyes to avoid his gaze.
Xiao Rongyan smiled lightly and bowed deeply to Dong Shi and Bai Qingyan with great respect.
The Crown Princess looked toward Bai Qingyan, her gaze also falling on Xiao Rongyan beside the Crown Prince. She covered her lips with a handkerchief and laughed softly: “Madam, Zhenguo Princess, and Gaoyi County Lord, please take your seats quickly. Father Emperor and Mother Empress will arrive soon.”
“Yes!” Dong Shi lowered her head and nodded, following behind the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, leading Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi toward the front seats.
The ladies who had never seen Xiao Rongyan before all whispered in discussion, speculating about his identity.
Xiao Rongyan wore a white straight robe with a jade-green belt at his waist – an extremely simple outfit that couldn’t conceal the magnificent noble bearing emanating from him. His appearance was extremely handsome, with high, prominent brow bones that made his eyes appear broad and deep, his gaze quiet and profound. Yet that person had a smile at the corner of his lips and carried himself with a scholar’s elegant demeanor – truly stunning.
Liu Ruofu’s attention was drawn to the man beside the Crown Prince. Before she could collect herself, Great Liang’s Fourth Prince Wei Qiheng, who had already been seated, suddenly stood up, hitting the table so hard that the lid of the three-legged auspicious beast incense burner rattled loudly.
Wei Qiheng steadied the table, his face flushed red as he hurriedly got up and rushed toward Bai Qingyan’s direction, blocking her path head-on and bowing: “Princess…”
Liu Ruofu’s gaze followed Wei Qiheng and fell upon Bai Qingyan. She was stunned… her breathing stopped, nearly tearing the handkerchief in her hands.
She had thought Bai Qingyan was merely somewhat attractive, never imagining… she would be such an ethereally beautiful woman. Under the palace lantern’s illumination, that woman’s skin was so delicate it was nearly transparent, completely unlike someone who had campaigned in Nan Jiang for over a month. Her bone structure and contours were gracefully elongated and beautiful, carrying a frail, sickly appearance completely unlike someone who practiced martial arts. Only those deep, tranquil black eyes, dark as a deep pool, made one feel she possessed the tenacity of a martial artist, profound and composed.
Delicate beauty and strength combined in one body, beautiful, noble, and substantial.
Liu Ruofu’s breathing became somewhat labored. She heard the ladies’ whispered conversations around her that she couldn’t quite make out clearly, but vaguely caught that others were praising Bai Qingyan as more beautiful than her, which made her feel extremely embarrassed.
“This Zhenguo Princess has such stunning beauty. We never knew before. Those playboys weren’t lying – she truly… deserves to be called the world’s greatest beauty!”
“That so-called Jin Kingdom’s foremost beauty sitting over there… just now implied that Lu Yuanpeng developed romantic feelings because the Zhenguo Princess could lead troops in battle, which is why he found her beautiful. Now that she’s seen the Zhenguo Princess in person, why isn’t she saying anything?”
“Exactly! She relies on her title as the foremost beauty, always condescendingly instructing others on their clothing and appearance. Look at the Zhenguo Princess… wearing plain clothes without powder or rouge – that’s true devastating beauty!”
Some bold noble ladies even looked at her with mocking eyes. Liu Ruofu’s ears burned terribly…
“Don’t mind those people!” Lu Baohua glared at those gossiping. “No matter what, your marriage match is something others can only envy! Men… are naturally in awe of invincible generals who fight on battlefields. This shows Great Liang’s Fourth Prince doesn’t look down on women – it’s a good thing!”
Hearing Lu Baohua say this, Liu Ruofu felt somewhat better. She curved her lips in a smile, laughing with anger in her heart: “Yes, most men admire generals skilled in battle. However, the military is full of men. I’m afraid few men would have the courage to marry home a woman who has mingled in the army… Oh… except for that Qin Lang!”
Lu Baohua didn’t quite agree with Liu Ruofu’s last statement, but knowing Liu Ruofu was upset, she smiled and remained silent.
“In my opinion, this Zhenguo Princess probably didn’t win by actually fighting on the battlefield. With that kind of appearance standing on the battlefield… which man would bear to harm her? One glance from her would probably make their legs go weak! As the Princess said, the military is full of men… who knows what might happen? If one truly married a woman who mingled in military camps, it would probably bring disaster to the family.”
A noble lady friendly with Liu Ruofu laughed softly, then continued: “Look, the Qin family didn’t believe in this and married Bai Jinxiu, but see how unlucky the Qin family has become now. First the Marquis Zhongyong’s wife was sent to the nunnery, then Marquis Zhongyong died, and the Qin family even lost their noble title!”
Liu Ruofu covered her lips with her handkerchief and laughed softly, feeling much better: “Those words do have some merit.”
Bai Qingyan looked inexplicably at Wei Qiheng with his burning gaze, her expression unchanged as she curtsied in return, then unhurriedly followed behind Dong Shi toward their seats.
This was the first time Wei Qiheng had been ignored by a beauty. His bright gaze obsessively followed Bai Qingyan’s retreating figure…