My Princess Has Been Reborn: Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Poked her chest

Lu Qipei did not have any other intentions, she merely thought that if Qi Yang had seen anything at all just now, she could conveniently confess about her identity —— this was what she had thought of when she was doing up her hair. If Her Highness already knew that she was a girl, she did not believe that Lu Qicheng could still pass off as her and gain anything from it!

Unfortunately, at that moment, Qi Yang could not understand what Lu Qipei meant. When she heard the words of the person in front of her, she only felt her face that had just cooled suddenly heat up with a ‘whoosh’. Unable to think things through in time, Qi Yang pulled back the cloth pinched in Lu Qipei’s hand and acted like she knew nothing, saying, “See what? I didn’t see anything!”

That phrasing really could not have been any clumsier, yet Lu Qipei believed her. This was because she had seen through the clumsy cover-up and the blush that creeped up Qi Yang’s cheeks, as well as the panic that she could not conceal.

If one was facing someone of the same sex, it would not be a big deal, especially if it were a young girl with such a youthful apperance!

Lu Qipei, feeling conflicted, accepted the ‘reality’. In her heart, it was hard to tell if she was more disappointed or relieved. However, when she became aware of how she did not really want to let Qi Yang know that she was a girl, the conflicting feelings intensified.

Just as Lu Qipei was about to start worrying again, for some unknown reason, Qi Yang suddenly admitted, “Alright alright, I saw it.”

Lu Qipei did not say anything. Her first impression of the situation made her feel that Qi Yang was not aware of what she had meant at all. She struggled to decide whether or not to confess but in the end, she simply saw Qi Yang with one finger outstretched poking her chest. Qi Yang did not use a lot of strength but it still shocked Lu Qipei greatly, causing her to take a step back and almost cover up her chest again.

Then Qi Yang said with an innocent face, “I really saw it.”

When she spoke, the blush on her face had not faded yet but she still looked very serious.

If you’ve seen it then you’ve seen it, is there a need to emphasise it so many times? You even went out of your way to poke her chest!

Be it in the past or the present life, this was the first time Lu Qipei had felt so embarrassed. Her face was even redder than Qi Yang’s. Even though she repeatedly comforted herself that they were both girls and letting Qi Yang see anything was no big deal, she still felt embarrassed.

Only after a long time had passed were they then able to collect themselves. Lu Qipei controlled her blush and took a deep breath. In a serious tone, she said, “Since Your Highness has seen everything already, then I will not hide it from Your Highness anymore. I am actually a woman dressing as a man…” After today, any talk about becoming the prince consort would become void.

Yet, before Lu Qipei could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Qi Yang. Her way of interrupting was the same as always —— she directly raised a hand to press on Lu Qipei’s lips and stubbornly said, “That’s enough, I don’t want to hear the rest.”

At her words, Lu Qipei was stunned. In that short moment, she did not understand what Qi Yang meant.

However, ever since they reunited, Qi Yang had been able to guess her unfinished sentences as though she could see right through her. She would listen to her full sentence if she was willing to but if like at this moment, when she was not willing to hear Lu Qipei plead for innocence and distance herself from Qi Yang, then she would just domineeringly interrupt her —— now that they had a second chance, how could she let the prince consort who had fallen in her lap in the previous life go just like that?

As though she saw that at this moment, Lu Qipei was feeling uncertain, Qi Yang suddenly leaned forward and murmured next to Lu Qipei’s ear in a low voice, “I said you are my prince consort, therefore you are my prince consort. This cannot be refused!” Her tone was soft but there was an obviously overbearing message within it.

Lu Qipei had not seen this kind of Qi Yang before but for this princess who had been born noble, it was normal to have an overbearing nature engraved in her bones. Only, in the past, Qi Yang would never show her domineering side to Lu Qipei. In front of her, Qi Yang was always sweet and innocent.

Her surprise only lasted a moment. Unable to understand her, Lu Qipei emphasised, “Princess, both of us are women!”

So what if they were both women? Qi Yang’s yearning for her had long since become bone-deep, an addiction she could not stop. If Qi Yang was bothered by Lu Qipei’s identity as a female, she would not have given Lu Qicheng that cup of poisoned wine. She would have pretended not to know anything, then made herself slowly accept Lu Qicheng, who looked exactly the same as Lu Qipei —— he was a man and so in the eyes of others, wouldn’t he be more suited for her?

However, Qi Yang was stubborn. When she has set her mind on someone, she would be willing to pursue them for not just a lifetime but even three!

Qi Yang did not know that at this moment, her gaze on Lu Qipei was filled with longing and sadness. Lu Qipei did not know either because Qi Yang was close to her ear, murmuring in a low voice, “Who told you that my prince consort had to be a man?”

As she spoke, Qi Yang caressed Lu Qipei’s face with her cold fingers but because of her words, Lu Qipei was so shocked that she stood rooted to the ground!

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Twilight had fallen and the sky was dusky. Inside the palace, Lu Qipei was so shocked by Qi Yang’s words that her mind stopped functioning. Outside the palace, the Lu family was not at peace either.

Lu Qipei and Lu Qicheng were not from the capital. Their hometown was in Jiangnan. Although their parents died early, their parents at least left them with enough family property and connections. All these years, the two siblings had been taken care of by their family’s loyal servants and taught by great masters so the impact on them was not that serious.

This time, they had come to the capital for the imperial examination. They were lodging in their distant uncle’s home…or so it appeared. Lu Qipei had not had so many doubts in the previous life but after she was reborn, when she thought about it carefully, she realised that this had many logical holes. This was because even though she had only met this ‘uncle’ a few times, he would always subconsciously be humble around them.

A senior being humble towards juniors was already strange but moreover, this ‘uncle’ was an official —— an official of the lower fifth rank* in the Ministry of Rites. Although his ranking was not considered high, he was still respected by others when he was outside. So, for what reason did he lower his head in the face of these two from a younger generation?

*ranking system for government officials. 9 ranks in total, each with an ‘upper’ and lower’ section (so technically, there are 18 ranks) with the first upper rank being the highest and the ninth lower rank the lowest. The lower fifth rank is thus effectively 10th out of 18.

In the past, Lu Qipei did not understand and just wholeheartedly begged to go. She had no interest to probe into things either.

On the contrary, now as the imperial examination approached, the current Lu Qipei had suddenly run away. The entire Lu family was practically flaming, dispatching the staff in batches. Their strength now had long since surpassed the power they were supposed to have. However, there was nothing they could do. The young lord was not in the capital but they could not simply watch the imperial examination pass by with their eyes wide open.

If they missed it, they would have to wait another three years. Nobody would be willing to wait!

This was thus what made everyone’s head hurt the most —— previously the two siblings had met with ‘brigands’ and Lu Qicheng had even gotten injured while protecting Lu Qipei. The injury was on his hand so he could not hold a pen but if he missed this imperial examination he would have to wait another three years. Lu Qipei felt guilty and indebted so she agreed to help him take the examination and poured in all her effort. Afterwards, Lu Qicheng used the excuse that he was afraid that more trouble would be stirred if people saw this and thus left the capital to nurse his injury.

In the previous life, when Lu Qicheng left, he left for more than half a year. As a result, Lu Qipei had to live with his identity for more than half a year and in that time, she also settled the marriage with Qi Yang. As for where Lu Qicheng had gone for more than half a year, Lu Qipei was unclear.

The Lu Qipei now also did not know that when she had run away at the last minute, there was a possibility that that scheming brother of hers could not hurry back in time to participate in the imperial examination!

The Lu family was hence panicking like flying chickens and jumping dogs had been let loose. Sadly, no matter how hard they searched, they could not trace their search to Princess Qi Yang in the Royal Palace. Of course, this was also Lu Qipei’s good luck. If she had not met Qi Yang, there was really a big possibility that she would not have been able to escape the tight search.

At this moment, in the side courtyard of the Lu mansion, A-Yu was kneeling on the ground and trembling, “Young, Young Master has been studying very hard these few days and focused on the imperial examination. She had gone to the monastery to calm her heart, how could she have run away at this time?!” As she spoke, her confidence grew and she continued, “Young Master is dedicated to helping the young Lord, there’s no way Young Master missed the young lord’s problem. She must have been kidnapped!”

A-Yu said these words confidently and most people who heard it also agreed. This was because Lu Qipei had been too good. Not a soul could imagine that she would suddenly regret at the last moment and spoil Lu Qicheng’s plans —— after all, psychological offence is the best tactic. Lu Qicheng had not used that knife for nothing.

When the butler, Qi Bo, heard this, his stern face could not help but show signs of hesitation and his head started to hurt even more. He stared at A-Yu for a while then turned his head to ask the person next to him, “Has the news been sent to the young lord? And what did Old Chen say?”

Old Chen was the driver that had driven Lu Qipei there. Of course, he was not just a driver but also someone who had the skill to protect Lu Qipei and keep watch over her. Only, this time, Lu Qipei had been extremely careful and hidden from all the people around her. Thus, when she escaped, she escaped everyone, including Old Chen who had made an accidental oversight.

When the person beside him heard this, they replied, “The news has been sent out but the young lord may not be able to come home in time. Regarding Uncle Chen, he has already apologised and blamed it on his own negligence. Also, the young master’s room does not have any additional signs. It doesn’t seem like a kidnapping…”

Qi Bo felt it strange as well. Lu Qipei did not seem like the type to run away but if it was true that she had been taken away, then who would want to attack her for no reason? Moreover, in the capital, they kept a low-profile, especially Lu Qipei who had not even exited the main gate more than a couple of times!

He pondered over it for a long time but still could not come to a conclusion. At this point in time, finding out where she was was still the most important. Qi Bo had to instruct others, “Dispatch more people and continue looking for her!”

The author has something to say:
Lu Qipei (plucking flower petals): The princess likes girls, the princess only judges based on people’s faces, the princess is so pure that she doesn’t know the difference between men and women…
Qi Yang (snatches the flower away): No, this princess only likes you!
Lu Qipei (blushing, panicking, unsure of what to do): …