CH 7

Chapter 7 – Did You See All Of It?

Qi Yang was still thinking of Lu Qipei in her heart, but she didn’t dare to look eager to leave in front of the Emperor, so she accompanied him for a chat for a long time. It was only when the Emperor started showing signs of fatigue that she took the chance to leave.

When she returned to Jingchen palace, Qi Yang’s footsteps were excited, and she couldn’t help but worry about the person who was suddenly brought into the palace and left alone.

However, everything seemed as usual in Jingchen palace. When she returned, the maids on duty greeted and saluted her.

Her footsteps did not step as she passed through the path that the maids opened. When she entered the main hall, Qi Yang glanced left and right but did not see that familiar figure, so she asked, “Where is Prince Con… Lu Qipei?”

Zhi Ting appeared and quietly reported, “Your Highness, Young Master Lu is taking a bath.”

Qi Yang was surprised when she heard this answer. Then, she immediately realized that it was not uncommon to wear beautiful silk clothes in the palace. On the contrary, Lu Qipei’s patched brown shorts were more eye-catching.

Zhi Ting didn’t know which of Qi Yang’s previous words were true and which were just jokes, but if she allowed Lu Qipei to wander around Jingchen palace dressed like that, it would only attract people’s attention. It was better to have her clean up quickly so people wouldn’t doubt Her Highness’s vision.

Qi Yang naturally had no objection to this. After all, seeing Lu Qipei’s dusty appearance today, other than feeling amused, she also felt some heartache. Others might not understand, but she knew what Lu Qipei was running away from.

Glancing sideways at the dusk sky, Qi Yang ordered, “Prepare dinner, and have it delivered after she finished bathing.”

Hearing this, Zhi Ting looked at Zhi Yang and felt puzzled again, but did not dare to ask too much. She bowed down and was about to leave to hall to pass on the instructions when Her Highness suddenly asked again, “By the way, Zhi Ting, where did you settle her?”

Quickly stopping her steps from leaving, Zhi Ting turned her back and replied, “I1 was presumptuous and settled Young Master Lu in the side hall.”

Qi Yang was favored by the Emperor, and her deceased mother2’s position was not low. The whole Jingchen palace was her territory. Although it was not very large, it still had seven or eight side halls combined. The side hall Zhi Ting mentioned was the closest hall to Qi Yang’s sleeping chambers, but it was also an independent hall. Unless the closeness and affection shown by Her Highness was fake, she couldn’t have gone wrong with this arrangement.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with it. Qi Yang wouldn’t mind Lu Qipei living close to her, if anything, she would only think that it wasn’t close enough! However, such a distance was indeed just right before she really became the Prince Consort. Her actions today had already been too impatient.

She waved her hand to dismiss Zhi Ting. Qi Yang quietly drank a cup of tea in the main hall, but she couldn’t sit still in the end. She had a high status and did not need to worry about the eyes of others, so she walked out of the main hall and went straight to the side hall next door.

As the hot water soaking her body washed away her fatigue, Lu Qipei leaned against the edge of the bathtub and let out a deep breath. She really didn’t know how things ended up this way. It was one thing to sneak into the palace with Her Royal Highness in the heat of the moment, but what should she do in the future?

Was she going to stay or leave? Should she say something to remind her, or should they never see each other again?

Lu Qipei felt a little conflicted. At first, she thought it was best to stay away from Qi Yang from the start and never appear in front of her. But now, they met ahead of time and the little princess showed deeper affection for her from the beginning. She was really afraid that if she left, Her Royal Highness The Princess might send people to look for her, and accidentally found Lu Qicheng who looked exactly like her!

She believed that with Lu Qicheng’s scheming nature, he would definitely not let go of such a great opportunity and would impersonate her identity.

If that was the case, wouldn’t it harm the princess’s life again?

Lu Qipei closed her eyes and meditated for a moment. In the end, she was too worried, and all thoughts of fleeing the place disappeared.

But what if she didn’t run away? Setting aside how risky it was for her to stay in the palace or how likely it was for her to be found by the Lu family if she left, what was the point of staying? Was it possible that she wanted to stay and be the princess’s Prince Consort again?

Thinking of this, Lu Qipei could not help laughing. She really felt that she had thought too much because of the little princess’s words.

She had a lot of ideas in her mind, but still couldn’t think of a perfect solution. She slowly lowered her body as she fretted and immersed her whole face in water until she could not hold her breath anymore. Only then did she pull out from the water and wiped her face. She decided to take things step by step and see what happened next.

Lu Qipei leisurely took a bath then properly did her hair and dressed herself. Although she had some worries, she was still in a good mood. After all, she was the Prince Consort in her previous life, and it wasn’t the first time she came here. She had a bit less natural fear of the Imperial Palace compared to regular people. This was why she dared to follow Qi Yang to make a fool of herself, and never showed any signs of panic ever since entering the palace.

After the simple clean-up, Lu Qipei’s long hair was still slightly dripping with water, and she left the bathroom in an inner robe3.

The layout of the palace was always the same. Lu Qipei once accompanied Qi Yang back to the palace for a short stay. Therefore, she was still familiar with Jingchen palace. She knew that there was always a small door in the bathroom beside the main door, so the owner of the bedroom can return there directly after bathing.

She had taken a look before. This side hall had not had an owner for a long time, so no maids would be waiting in the bedchamber to serve her. In addition, the bathroom was full of steam after the bath, which made it uncomfortable. She planned to return to the empty bedroom before continuing to dress up.

But to her surprise, as soon as she stepped through the small door to the bedroom, she saw a slim figure standing in the hall!

Looking at the dress on that figure’s back, Lu Qipei recognized her as Qi Yang. But no matter who it was who came, there was no way she could be seen in such inappropriate clothes. Lu Qipei subconsciously wanted to turn around and return to the bathroom, but Qi Yang had already heard her movements and turned around to look.

Right now, Lu Qipei was only wearing a snow-white inner robe. Her cheeks were stained crimson from the heat, but her eyes were clear and bright as if they had been washed clean by the water. Her ink-colored hair was still dripping with water, and it had unknowingly made her clothes wet. The soaked cloth stuck to her skin, and the front of her clothes were slightly disheveled. Right now, from Qi Yang’s point of view, the scenery under those clothes was vaguely visible…

Qi Yang’s breath stopped, and her originally smiling eyes stopped on Lu Qipei, unable to look away. Seeing her face blushing red like blood, Lu Qipei subconsciously wrapped her arm on her chest and asked with some embarrassment, “How come Your Highness is here?”

After blinking and blinking again, Qi Yang finally moved her eyes again.

Did the atmosphere seem awkward? Not really, as long as someone played stupid.

Just like right now, Qiyang’s face quickly turned to look as if nothing had happened as soon as she took back her gaze, and she naturally replied, “It’s getting late. I had someone prepare a meal and came here to wait for you to have dinner.”

Lu Qipei did not doubt Qiyang at all, because in her heart, her little princess was innocent and would never lie to her. Her face cleared up a little, but she was still feeling a little embarrassed. She did not know whether she should put down the hand in front of her chest or not.

After a moment of silence, she said, “Then, can Your Highness return to the main hall first? I will go after I change my clothes.”

Qi Yang didn’t embarrass her either. She pretended to be innocent, nodded and walked out of the bedroom. But there was something Lu Qipei, who was standing behind her, could not see. As soon as she stepped out of the hall door, Her Royal Highness The Princess covered her face with her hands. The excitement she tried to endure immediately rose to her cheeks. She immediately scolded herself in her heart – she didn’t even get to see that much, so why did she blush and have her heart beating like this? Hopeless!

The hopeless Royal Princess stood at the door feeling the breeze for a long time until the cold wind of early spring cooled down her hands and face. After hesitating for a long time, Lu Qipei changed her clothes and did her hair again, then walked out.

The clothes she wore were ready-made clothes that Zhi Ting picked up from the Royal Tailor. Borrowing some random prince’s informal clothes temporarily wasn’t something unusual. The princesses would occasionally wear men’s clothes and go out of the palace to play. The snow-white brocaded clothes, the silver dark lining and the white jade crown tying up her black hair that flowed like clouds made the youth look bright and handsome. It was really similar to how she was dressed when they first met in their previous life.

Qi Yang looked at the person who looked exactly the same as the one in her memory, and fell into a short trance.

Lu Qipei, however, still remembered her embarrassment. Seeing that Qi Yang was staring at herself again, she coughed softly and said, “Why didn’t Your Highness go back to the main hall? You’re been standing here in the cold breeze for a long time, please be careful so you don’t catch a cold.”

Qi Yang came back to her senses and answered haphazardly, and wanted to lead her back for dinner. But just when she walked a couple steps away, she felt her sleeves being tugged.

Lu Qipei just pinched the edge of Qi Yang’s sleeve, her face looking somewhat troubled and embarrassed. After turning her eyes right and left and seeing that there were no maids nearby, she asked in a low voice, “Your Highness, did you see (through) all of it?”

Author notes:

Qi Yang (pretending to be serious): I’m not, I didn’t! I’m an upright person, I wouldn’t peep just because you’re pretty!!!

Lu Qipei (with an indescribable look): Your Highness, I just wanted to ask if you knew my identity…

Translator notes:

It’s a “middle” clothing worn between your outer robes and your undergarments.

On a side note, bathrooms in ancient Chinese settings are usually mostly similar to a regular room, and just have a big wooden bathtub placed inside for bathing.