Chapter 28

The Imperial Crown Princess’s holiday life was very full. Every day, she accompanied her elders at home or went out with her two younger sisters; sometimes she even followed Chu Yu to handle certain imperial affairs. By past experience, days like these would have made Chu Yunmiao thoroughly content, with no room in her mind for anything else. But this time was different. In the midst of that busy holiday life, she would occasionally, against her own will, start looking forward to her upcoming twentieth birthday banquet.

Chu Yunmiao didn’t know why she was like this. She could only convince herself that turning twenty really was the most important coming-of-age ceremony for every person in the stars. Because of that, she rarely made a point of setting aside more time to help her grandmother prepare for it. At times, even the Dowager Empress was a little surprised by how invested she was.

“I didn’t expect you to like this sort of thing.” The Dowager Empress stroked her eldest granddaughter’s hair. “Our precious Yunmiao may have a talent for putting on banquets after all. If there’s a chance in the future, Grandma can let you try hosting and organizing a royal feast on your own.”

Chu Yunmiao quickly waved both hands. “I don’t want that.”

She cooed softly, “I still have so many things I need to learn from you.”

The Dowager Empress laughed until she beamed. “Grandma learned from other elders too. But once I learned it, I fell in love with it; that’s why I’ve been the one handling the royal banquets all these years.

“Don’t think a banquet is just a place for everyone to have fun and socialize. There’s a lot to learn in here. If even one part goes wrong, it’ll make outsiders laugh at our royal family.”

Chu Yunmiao praised her sincerely. “That’s why Grandma is amazing. Over the years, the royal family has enjoyed such high support and approval among the common people; the effort you’ve put in can’t be any less than Mother’s.”

The Dowager Empress raised her brows and, as always, lightly put down her biological daughter. “Of course. On this front, your mother still has a lot to learn.” She bent over to sign her name on a document. “Fortunately, Yanyan and all of you came these past few years, and that’s finally taken a lot of the burden off me.”

Chu Yunmiao smiled. “It’s only right that we help you.”

The Dowager Empress was very pleased by that.

Then suddenly, she saw a familiar yet unfamiliar name on the guest list. “Huh? Yu Changning? You invited that child from the Yu Family too?”

For some reason, Chu Yunmiao’s heart skipped a beat.

She nodded as if nothing were wrong, then tested her grandmother’s attitude. “Yes. Chang... cough, Ah Ning hasn’t been to the Imperial Palace in a long time. Grandma still remembers her?”

“Of course.” The Dowager Empress nodded. “You two used to be inseparable. Later, it was because she had to go study on another planet that you drifted apart, right?” Recalling the past, the Dowager Empress suddenly grinned. “And you were the one questioning my memory. Then let Grandma quiz you: do you still remember how you met that child from the Yu Family?”

Chu Yunmiao froze.

“How we met?”

That question really stumped her.

It seemed that from the time she first had memories, she and Yu Changning had already been good friends. Yu Changning was like a precious gift that had suddenly appeared before her when she was young; after that, the two of them kept each other company for years.

The Dowager Empress didn’t keep her guessing for long. “It was because of me!”

She proudly straightened her chest. “Back then, your mother and Yanyan were holding their wedding, and they needed two little flower children. The alternatives that were sent up from below were all children the same age as you at the time. I was worried those pampered noble kids would bully you, so I rejected the whole list and picked an older child myself; that was this child from the Yu Family.

“At the time I thought that child was five years older than you and had a steady personality. She could play the flower child and look after you at the same time, so I made the decision right away and chose her. Who knew that after that wedding, your feelings would only grow deeper, and you’d actually become friends for so many years!”

Chu Yunmiao’s eyes widened a little as she listened.

She didn’t remember much from when she was little. She hadn’t expected that she and Yu Changning had met for this reason.

The Dowager Empress was still happily talking to herself. “Thinking about it now, that wedding may have made two couples after all. One was your mother and Yanyan; the other was you and Yu Changning.”

Chu Yunmiao felt a little awkward and hurriedly said, “Grandma, you can’t say things like that carelessly.”

“What’s wrong with that?” The Dowager Empress didn’t think there was anything bad about it. “You and she are both Alpha; are you still afraid Grandma is joking?”

“Alpha...” At the mention of this, Chu Yunmiao felt a little guilty. After all, among the few people she loved most right now, only Grandma and Mommy still didn’t know her true secondary sex. Both of them doted on her dearly; if they learned the truth, they would definitely not agree to her leaving the Imperial Star to attend such a strict school. Chu Yunmiao had her unavoidable reasons for hiding it from them, but she still felt guilty.

The Dowager Empress didn’t notice anything odd about her eldest granddaughter and continued along her own train of thought. “But speaking of which, it was probably just as well that you’re Alpha. If you were Omega...”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but her brows furrowed.

Chu Yunmiao was confused. “O... Omega, what about Omega?”

The Dowager Empress tapped the tip of her delicate nose. “If you were Omega, you couldn’t get too close to that Yu Family child.”

Chu Yunmiao still didn’t understand. “Why?”

The Dowager Empress seemed to recall certain things from the past. “That child from the Yu Family... has too strong a possessiveness. Not good.” She suddenly brought up a knot in Chu Yunmiao’s mind that she had never been able to untangle. “Your mother also came to me about it a few times. I disliked her meddling, but I couldn’t help observing for a while. That child was very perceptive; it seemed she noticed, and after that she slowly learned how to disguise it. But... you were both still young then. I thought, what’s there to fear about two children? So I didn’t interfere.”

She paused, then added, “Fortunately, Yu Changning later went off to university on another planet; and fortunately, you differentiated into Alpha. Otherwise...”

It felt as if a string in Chu Yunmiao’s mind had snapped. “Otherwise what?”

The Dowager Empress snorted. “Otherwise, Grandma would have had to stop you two from seeing each other.”

Chu Yunmiao felt her face stiffen from having held her smile for too long. “Huh? Grandma thinks Changning is terrible?”

“It’s not really a question of terrible or not.” The Dowager Empress took her hand. “You’re Grandma’s precious good granddaughter; I can’t bear to have you get sorted into someone else’s family so quickly. That child from the Yu Family is very opinionated. What if, in the future, she hides you away at home and won’t let Grandma see you?”

Chu Yunmiao finally snapped back to her senses and could only smile helplessly. “How could that be? Changning isn’t that kind of person.”

“Tch.” The Dowager Empress was disdainful. “You’re an Alpha yourself. Don’t you understand Alpha thoughts? If she hasn’t done it, it’s only because she doesn’t want to. If there’s a chance, and the other side is willing, just see whether she’d dare.” The topic made the Dowager Empress a little unhappy, so she forcefully ended it there. “Forget it. You’re a proper Alpha now; we don’t need to worry about that.”

But then she grew worried again. “Uh... actually, sex isn’t really an obstacle either. Isn’t there a push now for free love that ignores first and second sex completely? Yunmiao, you wouldn’t...”

Chu Yunmiao shook her head furiously. “I wouldn’t!”

She answered too quickly; it sounded a little fake, and the Dowager Empress found that odd.

But she didn’t dig deeper. Very soon, she pushed that little detail to the back of her mind and began discussing the banquet arrangements with Chu Yunmiao again.

That night, after Chu Yunmiao returned to her room, she let all her strength go and collapsed onto the bed. Thinking back on her conversation with the Dowager Empress that day, she felt as if she had touched some sort of truth. But the conclusion was too absurd; she didn’t want to suspect her most revered mother for no reason, so she could only keep dragging her runaway thoughts back again and again.

Looking at a certain date in the electronic calendar that was drawing closer and closer, she suddenly felt a bit worried.

But a Crown Princess’s thoughts could not make time slow down. Chu Yunmiao’s twentieth birthday banquet arrived as scheduled.

The day before the birthday banquet, she returned from outside with Shu Yan’yan and her two younger sisters, and happened to see several servants in the Imperial Palace carrying things around. Shu Yan’yan asked about it casually and only then learned that some foreign imperial heirs had arrived.

Third Princess Chu Yunhuan was a little puzzled. “Foreign imperial heirs? Isn’t there a place arranged for them at the embassy? Why are they coming to the Imperial Palace?”

The maids shook their heads and said they didn’t know; they’d only been told by the people above.

The four of them didn’t think much of it. Chu Yunhuan urged them twice, and the four then left and returned to the palace to eat.

It wasn’t until the next day, on the birthday banquet itself, that Chu Yunmiao learned who those people were.

At that time, the meticulously dressed Crown Princess appeared in the Banquet Hall and drew everyone’s gaze at once. She wore a water-blue gown whose hem was covered in diamond-like stars, shining brighter than the river of stars across the sky. Of course, even more dazzling was the blue gemstone on the crown atop her head, declaring the entire royal family’s regard for her.

No one doubted that, if no accidents occurred, this Crown Princess would surely become the next Emperor of Huáqí Empire.

But before the guests could admire her enough, Chu Yunmiao was called away by the Emperor.

“Yunmiao, come here.” Chu Yu beckoned her eldest daughter over. Once she stood before her, she introduced the two strangers beside her. “These are two imperial heirs from Mingxing Empire, Mr. Xibin and Ms. Lucy.”

Chu Yunmiao politely nodded to them, but she also felt a little strange inside.

Mingxing Empire?

Wasn’t that the country to which the mercenaries who kidnapped her on the assessment planet belonged?

Thinking of that, Chu Yunmiao couldn’t help feeling a little sympathy for the two people in front of her.

She understood Chu Yu’s temper. Her own mother had a very proud personality; apart from her own mother and grandmother, she basically never suffered losses when dealing with anyone else. For Mingxing Empire to still appear at her birthday banquet after offending her, that could only mean one thing—

Mingxing Empire had paid a considerable “peace fee” for it.

This kind of move not only vented her anger, it could also bring considerable benefits to the Empire. Chu Yunmiao couldn’t help feeling a little happy; her attitude toward these two pitiful imperial heirs also improved quite a bit.

However, very soon, she noticed that Chu Yu’s state was a little off.

“Ms. Lucy is a Beta, but she’s extremely outstanding, no less than any Alpha or Omega. Ms. Lucy even held a painting exhibition here in our Imperial Star before, didn’t she? Truly accomplished at such a young age.”

That Beta princess curtsied with her skirt in hand, a little shyly. “Thank you for your praise, Emperor. I only held the exhibition out of personal interest; my abilities are still lacking, and I have much more to improve.”

Chu Yu smiled. “You’re only this old; you’re just two years older than Yunmiao, aren’t you? To be able to achieve this much at your age is already very good.”

She gestured to Yunmiao. “Yunmiao, you should learn more from Ms. Lucy too.”

Chu Yunmiao was still a little dazed, but she wasn’t about to undermine her mother. “Of course. I’ve always been hopeless when it comes to art; I’ve always admired talented painters like Ms. Lucy.”

Princess Lucy grew even more embarrassed, the fair skin of her face tinted with a faint pink.

Chu Yu continued, “The imperial heirs of Mingxing Empire have brought a new alliance treaty this time; from now on, Mingxing Empire will be a first-level vassal empire under us Huáqí.” She suggested, “They want to get to know more people in our Empire. I thought about it, and Yunmiao, you’re the best choice. Take this chance today and please act as their tour guide.”

Chu Yunmiao hadn’t expected Mingxing Empire to have already become a subordinate country of Huáqí. While shocked by her mother’s ability to act, she still nodded and agreed. “All right.” Since the relationship between the two countries had changed so drastically, Mingxing Empire really should become more familiar with their Empire.

Thinking of this, Chu Yunmiao led the two imperial heirs from Mingxing Empire around the Banquet Hall. The guests were all there to celebrate the Crown Princess’s birthday banquet, so naturally they gave her plenty of face. Along the way, everyone played the part of host and guest to perfection, and the atmosphere was harmonious and joyful.

Once she had seen enough of the noble side of things, Chu Yunmiao began thinking about the classmates’ side.

A group led by Lin Mo was gathered in a corner on the east side of the Banquet Hall, and Chu Yunmiao really wanted to go greet them alone. Lin Mo and the others were part of her personal circle, so it didn’t feel appropriate to bring the two Mingxing imperial heirs over there too. So Chu Yunmiao found her two younger sisters, Chu Yunhuan and Chu Yunli, in the Banquet Hall, handed the two to them, and left for the moment.

The Second Princess and Third Princess were clever; as soon as they exchanged a glance, they roughly guessed what their elder sister was thinking. They very naturally took Xibin and Lucy away, and Chu Yunmiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After adjusting her appearance and making sure there were no mistakes, Chu Yunmiao walked over to Lin Mo and the others.

Most of those present were Chu Yunmiao’s high school classmates and the students of Class 1 in her first year at Huaqi University. There weren’t many nobles among them, and for many of them this was their first time attending a banquet held by the royal family; each and every one of them was beyond excited. Chu Yunmiao’s arrival immediately pushed everyone’s emotions to the peak. The crowd gathered around her, faces red, wishing her a happy birthday.

After moving around among the nobles earlier, she had also received many blessings, but Chu Yunmiao knew those were all just the etiquette people performed for others to see. Receiving blessings from these peers of hers now stirred her a little more. She raised a glass and drank and chatted with everyone together, so happy she was getting a little drunk on it.

During the gathering, Lin Mo and a few others close to her squeezed over, and everyone naturally started talking about their impressions of the banquet; many were full of praise.

Stephanie’s eyes glittered. “I’ve really lived enough for this life. Being invited by the Imperial Crown Princess to attend her twentieth birthday banquet; I can brag about this until I’m three hundred!”

Lin Mo looked down on her. “When you’re bragging, you’d better also mention how you almost cramped up from excitement the moment you stepped inside.”

Stephanie glared at her. “Aren’t you excited?”

Lin Mo waved a hand. “That little scene? It was okay, I guess.”

Stephanie exposed her. “But I just saw you almost spill champagne on a Beta lady. Were you unsteady because you haven’t trained lately and your limbs have started to degrade?”

Lin Mo gritted her teeth and argued, “I was dodging! Dodging! Didn’t you see there was an Omega man standing right in front of me at the time?”

Stephanie snorted coldly, clearly unconvinced.

Chu Yunmiao was helpless and interrupted their bickering. “All right, all right.”

She smiled. “There’s no need to be nervous. The guests here aren’t nobles, and there aren’t that many rules. Just be a little more casual.”

Stephanie nodded.

Then she looked confused. “Speaking of which, I met a lot of people just now.” She had always been good at socializing. “But they all said they were the Crown Princess’s high school classmates? Class monitor, weren’t your middle school and primary school friends arranged over here?”

Chu Yunmiao paused.

Stephanie went on, “I also wanted to ask them what you were like when you were little. Were you as cute and easy to get along with as you are on television?”

Chu Yunmiao curved her lips. “More or less. Whether at school or on television, I’m the same person. As for the classmates from that time...” She thought for a moment. “Maybe because it’s been too long, and because I really didn’t have any particularly close friends back then, the classmates I invited this time... really didn’t include anyone I knew from that period.”

Stephanie’s mouth fell slightly open. “Oh...”

For some reason, Chu Yunmiao didn’t really want to continue this topic. She cut in, “By the way, where’s Instructor Yu?”

She glanced into the crowd. “She should have come tonight, right?”

Lin Mo answered, “Mm, she came with the Yu Family. She didn’t enter with us. But after she finished the formalities over by the nobles, she came to meet up with us.” She also looked around in the crowd. “That’s odd; I remember she was still talking to Teacher Qin over there just now.”

“Good that she’s here,” Chu Yunmiao said with a nod. “I was just asking because I didn’t see her.”

With that, she glanced at the time. “You all keep enjoying yourselves. I’m going back to find my sisters; I’ll come over again later if I have time. If I don’t... I’ve already arranged for guards to escort you back to the hotel.”

Everyone nodded. After saying goodbye to them, Chu Yunmiao left directly.

She wanted to go back and find her two younger sisters to see whether the two Mingxing imperial heirs had any other needs, but when she returned to where they had been, she didn’t see them. Chu Yunmiao thought for a moment, told the servant beside her, and prepared to go to the lounge next to the Banquet Hall to tidy herself up for a bit. But just as she turned into a quiet corridor, using the shadows cast by the moonlight, she spotted two people at the far end of the corridor.

Chu Yunmiao lightened her footsteps. At first, she only didn’t want to disturb the people resting here, but when she drew closer, she inadvertently heard the two of them speaking. She froze, then carefully moved nearer; very soon, she confirmed it—

The people talking not far away were actually her mother, Chu Yu, and Yu Changning, whom she hadn’t run into in the Banquet Hall earlier.