The moment Sumei Xue left, a tall, thin woman in a blue cotton dress completely lost her composure, slumping over and patting her chest. "Heavens, Steward Su is truly terrifying! When she was staring at me just now, I almost couldn't stay on my feet!"
She was a woman with delicate features and a hint of handsome charm. Shen Qing remembered her name was Chen Ying.
She seemed like a frank and straightforward person.
After speaking, Chen Ying looked excitedly at Shen Qing and Zhu Yuan, saying, "Hello, I'm Chen Ying! We all came in with the same group. We have to pass this half-month assessment and get to stay!"
Zhu Yuan was naturally bubbly and outgoing, so she immediately replied happily, "I'm Zhu Yuan!"
Shen Qing also nodded at Chen Ying. "My name is Shen Qing."
Chen Ying faltered for a moment, staring intently at Shen Qing, and said in a daze, "Shen Qing, you're so beautiful..."
It was no exaggeration to say that Shen Qing was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen!
She had skin so fair and delicate it seemed it might break at a touch. She had willow-leaf brows shaped like crescent moons, a small, elegant nose, and lips the color of cherry blossoms. Most stunning of all were her bright almond eyes, moist and clear, as if they could pull a person's soul right into them. A small mole at the corner of her left eye lent her a unique charm.
Truly, there wasn't a single part of her that wasn't beautiful, not a single feature that didn't draw the eye!
Shen Qing's lips couldn't help but curve up again, revealing a row of small, white teeth. She said, "Thank you. You're very pretty too."
Chen Ying's breath caught, and it felt as if her heart was about to melt from that smile.
Suddenly, a "huff" that was neither loud nor soft came from the side, filled with unmistakable disdain.
Chen Ying's attention was instantly pulled back. She turned to look at the woman in a beige cotton dress beside her and saw her face was terribly sour. The woman shot a cold glance at Shen Qing, then at Zhu Yuan and Chen Ying, and said, "No matter how pretty you are, you're still just a lowly Maid. Don't tell me you're actually thinking of seducing Prime Minister Yu?
Hah, get over yourself. Everyone knows Prime Minister Yu has impossibly high standards. Forget the former Prime Minister's wife; even the concubines he's taken in recently are one-in-a-million beauties, said to be no less stunning than the Concubines in the palace.
Someone like you isn't even worthy of carrying his shoes!"
Chen Ying's brow furrowed sharply, and she shouted, "Mu Shuangshuang! Do you have any idea what you're saying!"
But Mu Shuangshuang just gave Shen Qing another look of utter contempt before walking into their sleeping quarters.
Shen Qing watched her retreating figure, her eyes darkening slightly.
Chen Ying bit her lip and turned to Shen Qing. "Shen Qing, don't take it to heart. That one's always like this, so passive-aggressive. If we weren't from the same village, I wouldn't be able to stand her either.
Mu Shuangshuang has always thought very highly of herself because she's pretty. She probably just thinks you're prettier than her, so..."
Before meeting Shen Qing, she had indeed thought Mu Shuangshuang was good-looking.
But after seeing Shen Qing, Mu Shuangshuang couldn't even catch her eye anymore! There was simply no comparison to Shen Qing in any way! If she had to describe it, it was the difference between a celestial fairy and a common mortal on earth!
Zhu Yuan couldn't help but add angrily, "No matter what, what she said was too nasty! We... we didn't enter the Prime Minister's Mansion for *that* reason!"
Chen Ying pouted. "Exactly! Besides, how could we dare to have designs on Prime Minister Yu! Even though I've never seen him, I've heard he's a rare and dashing gentleman, with the looks of a deity. They say just one glance at him and you'll know what an Immortal from the heavens looks like!
I heard that a few years ago, when those barbarians from the north invaded Da Qi, Prime Minister Yu went on the campaign as a military supervisor. Just by standing on the city wall, he supposedly stunned the barbarian generals into a stupor.
But, I used to think Prime Minister Yu was deeply in love with his original wife. I mean, after the Prime Minister's wife suddenly disappeared ten years ago, he didn't remarry or take any concubines for seven whole years. I just never expected that in the last few years, he'd take in one concubine after another..."
Zhu Yuan quickly cut in, "Hey! Chen Ying, the Lord's affairs aren't for us to discuss! If Steward Su finds out, we'll be packing our bags and leaving tonight!"
Chen Ying nervously glanced around. Seeing no one else nearby, she patted her chest and whispered, "Of course I know that. I just couldn't hold it in for a moment. I won't dare to say it again..."
The two of them were deep in their conversation, not noticing that Shen Qing's thoughts had already drifted miles away.
'Ten years... it really can change so many things. It can even make the man I thought would never take a concubine bring one beautiful woman after another into his household.'
'In just three short years, the Prime Minister's Mansion, which hadn't even had a mistress, now had six beautiful concubines.'
Shen Qing's eyelids lowered slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line.
'But I suppose I have no right to blame him. After all, I was the one who left without a word, the one who was completely out of touch for ten whole years.'
'How many people could wait for someone else for ten long years without any resentment?'
'If it's true, I won't blame him. It would just mean... this is as far as we can go.'
Back then, she was a Space-Time Inspector working for the Space-Time Administration Bureau. Her main duty was to help worlds that were about to deviate from their proper course get back on track, preventing their collapse.
Seventeen years ago, she came to this world on a mission to help the Daqi Royal Family, which was on the brink of collapse, overcome its crisis and recover. According to this world's original trajectory, the Daqi Royal Family wasn't supposed to fall so soon; it should have ruled this land for at least another two hundred years.
To make things easier, she disguised herself as a man to get close to the Daqi Crown Prince at the time, and also to get close to the main culprit who would cause this world to deviate from its original path—Yu Jiuqing.
Yu Jiuqing was an overly dazzling star who had appeared out of nowhere in this world. Supremely gifted, a prodigy from a young age, and exceptionally capable, it seemed no praiseworthy word would be out of place in describing him.
However, a person like Yu Jiuqing was a bug in this world's system. Originally, without Shen Qing's intervention, as the Daqi Royal Family self-destructed amidst internal turmoil and external threats, it would have been Yu Jiuqing who stepped forward, led the heroes to end the chaotic era, and established a new dynasty.
But when Shen Qing arrived in this world, he was just a minor Inspector in Mei State. The same person who had amazed the world by becoming an Advanced Scholar at the age of thirteen was, at that time, merely a sixteen-year-old youth with a hint of immaturity.
Shen Qing only managed to meet him in her second year after arriving in this world.
She would never forget the first time she saw him.
At that time, she was under orders from the Crown Prince to go to Mei State to investigate the theft of official silver. It was there she first met the legendary Yu Jiuqing, said to be as aloof and noble as a banished immortal.
The seventeen-year-old youth had features as elegant as a painting but a demeanor as cold as ice. He stood in the government office, one half of his body bathed in the bright sunlight streaming in from the window, the other half hidden in the shadows of the room. The contrast of light and shadow seemed to split him in two, yet it only served to accentuate his even colder temperament.
His long, narrow phoenix eyes, almost too beautiful for a man, were slightly lowered. He offered Shen Qing a formal bow, and his voice, though colder than a winter river, was as crisp and pleasant as striking jade. "This subordinate greets Imperial Censor Shen. You have traveled a great distance; forgive this subordinate for this belated welcome."