Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 109

Chapter 109: An Unexpected Turn of Events

In the blink of an eye, Cui Zi Xuan jumped onto Jiang Mi’s carriage again.

Jiang Mi hesitated for a moment, then finally asked as he casually pulled down the carriage curtain and gently pulled her onto his lap, “Why are you on my carriage?”

Cui Zi Xuan leaned back gracefully, his arm resting on Jiang Mi’s waist, and said lazily, “If I don’t want your carriage, whose carriage should I have? Princess Qingyue’s?”

Jiang Mi rolled her eyes at him and replied, “You have your own carriage.”

Cui Zi Xuan chuckled, continuing lazily, “Ah’Mi, have you forgotten again? You yourself announced to the envoys of all the states that you’re my fiancée.”

Jiang Mi was speechless.

At this moment, the carriage continued to move steadily forward.

After Cui Zi Xuan took a small sip of wine, lay down on the tatami table, and soon fell into a deep sleep again, Jiang Mi picked up a book and began to read.

She had only flipped through a few pages when a commotion arose ahead. Peeking out, Jiang Mi saw a procession approaching from the side road on her left.

The procession was quite large; it was a merchant group. They had sent someone to negotiate.

After some discussion, Prince Kang ordered the procession to slow down. Soon after, Prince Kang, accompanied by a handsome young man, approached.

Shortly, they arrived outside Cui Zi Xuan’s carriage. The handsome young master that Prince Kang brought was about the same age as Prince Kang. This man had extremely deep-set eyes and was just as handsome as Prince Kang; he was a very charming man.

At this moment, the young master was clearly captivated by Jiang Mi, staring at her blankly.

Prince Kang quickly glanced at the young master, startling him back to reality. Then, Prince Kang gently asked Jiang Mi, “Young Lady Jiang, is Young Master Cui here?”

Jiang Mi was saying that Cui Zi Xuan was already asleep. A warmth enveloped her from behind as Cui Zi Xuan wrapped his arm around her waist, his voice low and languid with sleepiness as he asked, “I’m here. What’s it?”

Prince Kang said, “This gentleman beside me is Wang Yi, Young Master Wang, a relative of the former Shu Emperor. He’s currently leading a caravan to Shu State and happens to be traveling the same route as us. Young Master Wang wishes to join us, so I brought him here to see what Young Master Cui thinks.”

Hearing Prince Kang’s familiar tone, the two knew he was extremely familiar with Wang Yi. In this time of heightened suspicion, it seemed that Prince Kang would not have asked for someone he did not fully trust. At that moment, Cui Zi Xuan chuckled, “In that case, welcome, Young Master Wang, to join us!”

Wang Yi quickly bowed to Cui Zi Xuan.

The three exchanged a few more pleasantries, and finally Prince Kang, along with Young Master Wang, took their leave. After they had walked some distance, Jiang Mi noticed Wang Yi kept turning back to look at her.

Evening arrived quickly.

The caravan chose a suitable location and began to set up camp and rest. As Jiang Mi stepped off the carriage, a brilliant red sun sank below the horizon, painting the western half of the azure sky a blood-red hue—a truly magnificent sight.

Jiang Mi gazed at the horizon for a while, then turned back to look for Cui Zi Xuan. With this turn of her head, she saw Cui Zi Xuan walking towards the setting sun. The crimson rays of the setting sun shone on his snow-white clothes, complementing his already excessively handsome face and bearing. It was a beauty that pierced her heart!

The scene was so beautiful and stunning that, for a moment, not only Jiang Mi but even the old men in the caravan stared wide-eyed.

…

The camp was quickly set up, and Jiang Mi had just sat down when Cui Zi Xuan walked over, bathed in the setting sun. He sat down beside her, took a sip of wine, and then called over a guard captain, saying, “After I leave tomorrow, you must protect Young Lady Jiang well.”

Jiang Mi was startled.

She quickly turned to look at Cui Zi Xuan, stammering, “You…you’re leaving?”

Cui Zi Xuan looked at Jiang Mi.

Meeting her lingering gaze, Cui Zi Xuan’s lips curved into a slight smile. He nodded and said softly, “I have some things to take care of. You and Prince Kang go back to Shu first. I will come to pick you up soon.”

Seeing Jiang Mi still looking at him, Cui Zi Xuan gently pinched her cheek and whispered tenderly, “Sweetie, I will not keep you waiting too long.”

With that, Cui Zi Xuan stood up.

Seeing Cui Zi Xuan enter the crowd and instruct them to take care of her, Jiang Mi lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected.

After instructing the servants and guards, Cui Zi Xuan walked towards Prince Kang and the others.

A moment later, Prince Kang watched Cui Zi Xuan leave.

He turned and saw Princess Qingyue’s face was pale and ashen, her expression one of impending tears. Prince Kang frowned and said softly, “Now you’ve given up, have you not? Even the Cui Clan of Boling has agreed to their marriage, and Cui Zi Xuan even personally handled the wedding arrangements to show his seriousness… Ah’Yue, you must learn to forget those who can never be yours!”

Princess Qingyue remained silent, tears streaming down her face.

…

Having endured a tumultuous journey, her body was already aching. After dinner, Jiang Mi found her tent and collapsed into bed.

She slept so soundly that she didn’t even notice when the people outside had left. The next day, she awoke to the commotion, still a little sleepy.

After washing up, Jiang Mi boarded the carriage.

Soon afterward, the convoy started moving. As the carriage swayed, Jiang Mi suddenly remembered something and abruptly lifted the curtain.

Looking at the empty Official Road to one side, Jiang Mi’s throat tightened. She asked a soldier, “Young Master Cui…he…”

Before she could finish, the soldier replied immediately, “Young Master Cui left early this morning. He left something for Young Lady before he left.”

Jiang Mi paused, then took a cloth bag from another soldier.

Drawing the curtain closed, Jiang Mi opened the bag.

Inside the bag was a painting. In the painting, a figure dressed in snow-white robes, a young master, stood atop a mountain peak, turning back with a smile. To his left was a peach orchard, with peach blossoms fluttering down.

The white-clad young master in the painting was none other than Cui Zi Xuan!

Jiang Mi stared at the scroll for a while, then inadvertently flipped it to the back and discovered a line of poetry: “Whose young man is so dashing on the roadside? I intend to marry him, for life.”

Who…who wants to marry him?

Jiang Mi blushed and thought bitterly: This person was gone, yet he left behind a painting and such a line to mock her!

After a moment of shame and indignation, Jiang Mi could not help but flip the scroll back to the front. She stared blankly at the clearly defined Cui Zi Xuan in the painting. After a long, long time, Jiang Mi slowly lowered her head and carefully pressed her face against the face of the person in the painting…

…

Meanwhile, in Shu State.

Emperor Shu, gazing at the temple nestled among ancient trees, asked, “Is Abbot Jingming in the temple?”

A young monk immediately clasped his hands in prayer and respectfully replied, “Your Majesty, Abbot has been waiting at the temple for some time.”

It turned out that this Abbot Jingming was a renowned monk. Emperor Shu had long heard of Abbot Jingming’s extraordinary magical powers, capable of discerning social status. Currently troubled by the matter of choosing an empress, upon hearing that Abbot Jingming had arrived in Shu State, he immediately brought his entourage to pay his respects.

Legend had it that this Abbot Jingming was the senior brother, the teacher of the Buddhist Monk Jingyuan. Was this rumor true or false?

While pondering this, the Emperor of Shu, led by the young monk, entered the side room.

Upon entering, the Emperor of Shu saw an old monk with a flowing white beard chanting scriptures. He waited a moment until the old monk opened his eyes before stepping forward, bowing respectfully, and saying, “I have long heard of Abbot’s illustrious reputation; it’s an honor to meet you today.”

The old monk clasped his hands together and returned the bow, saying, “You flatter me, Benefactor Meng.”

Emperor of Shu nodded, then turned and took a tray from a eunuch. Inside the tray were several small slips of paper. Emperor Shu bowed again to the old monk and said, “Here are the birth dates of several of my favorite consorts. Please, Abbot, take a look and see who’s worthy of being empress?”

The old monk walked to the side, washed his hands, and then took the dates.

In front of Emperor Shu, the old monk began to calculate.

After a while, he returned the tray, saying, “These benefactors all have the destiny of a phoenix, but they are not true phoenixes.”

Not true phoenixes? Then they were unfit to be empresses!

Emperor of Shu frowned and said, “But in my harem, only these few are somewhat presentable. Does this mean that it’s not yet appropriate for me to establish an empress?”

The old monk clasped his hands together and said, “Two years ago, I visited Cheng Capital and saw a young lady whose destiny was extraordinary.”

The Emperor of Shu was greatly surprised and quickly asked, “May I ask which young lady she was?”

The old monk said, “That young lady’s surname is Jiang. It’s said my junior brother once analyzed her fate.”

Surname Jiang? The Buddhist Monk Jingyuan analyzed her fate?

Before the Emperor of Shu could speak, the eunuch could not help but whisper, “Abbot, could you be referring to Princess Yihua?”

Yes, yes, it was Princess Yihua!

Emperor of Shu had always known that the fake Princess he had personally appointed was very lucky, a fact personally verified by many powerful figures in Shu Capital.

But he had not expected that even Abbot Jingming would specifically mention her!

…Even after leaving the temple, the Emperor of Shu’s brow was still slightly furrowed.

The eunuch following behind him, who understood his thoughts best, quickly whispered, “Your Majesty, as the Emperor, could easily take any woman he desires into the harem, let alone a mere imposter daughter?”

Reminded of this, the Emperor of Shu understood. He nodded and said, “You’re right. Although I have bestowed upon that Jiang woman the title of Princess, I have never publicly declared her my daughter.”

At this point, Emperor of Shu decreed, “Issue my decree: declaring that Princess Yihua possesses both talent and virtue, and that I greatly admire her. She’s hereby granted the title of Consort, and a date will be chosen for her entry into the palace!”

The eunuch was about to agree when he caught a glimpse of the guard’s lips. He hesitated and said, “Your Majesty, I heard that Princess Yihua’s not currently in the mansion.”

“Not in the mansion? Where’s she now?”

The eunuch bowed his head and said, “I will go check immediately.”

“Okay, go check.”

“Yes.”

“Princess Yihua has no relatives in Shu Capital. She’s going to be the Empress… How about this: have Wang Cheng recognize her as his daughter and register her in the Wang Clan genealogy!”

“Yes, I will do it right away.”