Chapter 24: She was Chu Liuyue!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ming Cui Palace…
All the distinguished people from the Imperial City were gathered at this place where the lights shone brightly and elegantly.
This was the Crown Prince—Rong Jin’s birthday party.
Rong Jin was the Emperor’s eldest son and was made Crown Prince when he was born. He was well-loved by the Emperor. With the addition of his outstanding talent and extraordinary capabilities, the Emperor favored him even more over the years.
Many people would then naturally lick the boots of someone with such high status.
Power and status would naturally come their way if they got into the Crown Prince’s good books.
The crowd entered gradually, making the palace increasingly lively.
The crowd was not as restricted yet since the Emperor, Empress, and the Crown Prince had yet to arrive. In between the chuckles, there was a seemingly odd atmosphere. Quite a few people kept looking at the entrance as if they were waiting for someone to arrive.
“Hey, did you hear? The Crown Prince was humiliated today.”
“What? When did this happen? Why don’t I know about it?”
“Brother Yan, you still don’t know about this? It has been spreading like wildfire. Today, the Crown Prince said that he wanted to go to the hunting ground…”
Everyone started chiming in with excited and nosy expressions. They were clearly talking about the incident.
It was impossible to stop the news from spreading as Rong Jin had indeed invited quite a number of people with extraordinary statuses.
One spread to two, two to three, and in no time, everyone knew about it.
“Isn’t that person from the Chu family an invalid? Why does she have so much guts to sell the hunting ground? Everyone knows that the Crown Prince loves that hunting ground and has spent a lot of effort on it. How dare she just sell it?”
“Hah, what does an invalid know? She most likely wanted to attract the Crown Prince’s attention.”
“Haha! That’s too stupid. If she took the initiative to return the title deed to the Crown Prince, perhaps he would pity her. But now, she has really offended the Crown Prince thoroughly.”
“The Crown Prince has long given up on this marriage agreement. There will definitely be a good show to watch today.”
Just when the crowd was talking about this excitedly, the notification command rang outside the palace.
“Chu family’s First Elder—Chu Xiao—is here!”
The palace instantly quietened down, and everyone looked over.
They saw a line of people walking in.
The first person was Chu family’s First Elder—Chu Xiao.
Behind him was Chu Yan, Lu Yao, and Chu Xianmin.
Chu Xianmin was wearing a long snow-white dress with flower embroidery. Her dress made her originally pretty face even more attractive. Her looks could be considered one of the top few in the entire Imperial City. In addition to her outstanding talent, she was also known as ‘Imperial City’s Most Beautiful Girl.’
Her presence immediately made the crowd’s eyes light up. However, nobody dared to look charmed by her looks. After all, this was someone the Crown Prince had set his eyes on. Who would dare to fight with the Crown Prince?
The crowd looked behind them and saw a handsome yet familiar face.
“Chu Ning is here?”
Some people gasped.
Chu Ning was very famous in the Imperial City earlier on, but ever since he got injured and was crippled, he did not appear in front of a crowd. His sudden appearance then made everyone remember that there was such a person.
“He’s Chu Liuyue’s biological father. Of course, he had to come here and bear the responsibility…”
Some guessed in secret.
Everyone’s gaze landed on Chu Ning, but he still looked calm and collected as if he did not notice the crowd.
A young girl followed beside him. She looked younger than 13 or 14 years old, and she was decked in red. She was very skinny, but her back was straight.
One look and the crowd confirmed that the young girl was Chu Liuyue.
Almost everyone’s eyes landed on her.
She was never outstanding over the years, being an invalid. Yet, she secretly sold the hunting ground, humiliating the Crown Prince. How could this not attract the crowd’s curiosity?
In the crowd, the atmosphere became increasingly silent and stiff.
The lights shone down brightly.
She took a step forward, and the clear lights landed on her face.
Everyone was shocked.
Her innocent white face was in full view. Her brows looked as far as the mountains; her nose was high, and her lips were red without any makeup. It was an extremely clear and pretty face. Her pair of dark but shiny eyes attracted the crowd’s attention the most. Her eyes were clear, clean, and pure.
One look at her, and the crowd talked amongst themselves subconsciously.
Her face still looked quite young; it was not hard to imagine how pretty she would look in a few years.
The palace’s atmosphere suddenly became special.
Nobody expected the invalid from the Chu family to have such a mesmerizing face.
Chu Xianmin noticed this, and her blood boiled. The hands in her sleeves clenched into fists; her delicately manicured nails dug into her skin, causing her to hurt. Chu Liuyue probably saw a ghost this month. Not only did her temperament change completely, but she even looks different.
Chu Liuyue’s original yellow and sickly face turned clear and pearly white. An indescribable composure also replaced her fearful eyes. Her five features clearly did not change much, but she looked way prettier than before.
Before Chu Xianmin came, she was kind of worried that her limelight would be stolen away, and it indeed happened.
Upon seeing her daughter’s weird expression, Lu Yao silently pulled Chu Xianmin back.
So what if Chu Liuyue became a little prettier? An invalid doesn’t even have the right to become the Crown Princess. Chu Xianmin took a deep breath and suppressed her jealousy with much difficulty. I must destroy Chu Liuyue today.
The crowd only recovered their senses and started muttering when the Chu family sat down.
The palace regained its previous liveliness.
Everyone looked happy and excited. However, their eyes were still on Chu Liuyue.
“I didn’t expect the Chu family’s invalid to be so pretty… Why didn’t I hear about her before?”
“Oh, do you have any thoughts about her…?”
“Haha! The Crown Prince won’t marry her for real. What’s wrong with thinking about it? After all, it’s hard to find such a beauty.”
The young, aristocratic children bellowed with laughter.
Chu Ning’s face was ice-cold. Just as he was about to stand up, Chu Liuyue lightly pressed his hands down. He turned back and saw her shaking her head.
The main star of the show today was Rong Jin. As for these people… she really did not need to spend any effort on them.
Looking at her calm composure, Chu Ning did not insist any longer. He knew that his daughter was different from the past and that she definitely had her own ideas.
Chu Ning did not realize that he already treated Chu Liuyue as his pillar of support subconsciously.
“The Crown Prince is here!”
When the command sounded, the entire palace was silent once again.
Chu Liuyue looked over and saw a dark purple figure appear in front of her.
The figure had a considerably handsome face, but his gaze was cunning, which incurred people’s wrath.
She squinted her eyes. Crown Prince Rong Jin!
The other party seemed to have noticed her looking at him and quickly glanced over.
The two people’s eyes met.
Surprise flashed across Rong Jin’s eyes. He had clearly not seen a girl of such beauty before. Even Chu Xianmin seemed ugly when compared to her.
The next moment, he noticed that the young girl was actually sitting at the Chu family’s seat.
He instantly understood. She is Chu Liuyue!