The Cross-Dressing Legend Is Excessively Beautiful - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The moon gradually sank, and its dim, sallow glow slowly faded, eventually turning into a thin, pale white that hooked slantwise onto the branches of the winter jasmine before the window.

A new day was about to begin. The entire manor began to bustle with life: the hurried yet orderly footsteps of servants, the sizzling of oil from the kitchen, and the loud, rhythmic chirping of insects…

However, there was one courtyard that was eerily silent, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

Not a single soul could be seen in that vast yard. Qiu Tong kept her head low, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. Daring not to cast even a single glance at the courtyard, she simply hurried her pace.

Qiu Tong was a newcomer to the Prime Minister’s manor. Two days ago, the manager had assigned her to the Biluo Courtyard. The others had looked at her with varying expressions—terror, sympathy, pity—as if she were never coming back.

Qiu Tong felt uneasy as she recalled the information she had gathered over the past few days.

There were only three masters in the Prime Minister’s manor. The Prime Minister himself was usually busy with state affairs and was rarely home during the day. Since his first wife died during a difficult labor, he had never remarried or taken concubines. His only children were two daughters.

Two days ago, Qiu Tong had caught a glimpse of the Second Young Lady. It was no exaggeration to say she was a beauty rarely seen in a century. Grace was hidden in the corners of her eyes and brows; her voice and smile were as gentle as the wind. Her every glance radiated brilliance, and her soft speech was as fragrant as orchids. She truly deserved her title as the “Number One Beauty in the Capital.”

Unlike the famously beautiful Second Young Lady, Song Xialan, the Eldest Young Lady—Song Xizhi—though equally noble in status, had little reputation. She lived in seclusion, and it was said that because she was born premature, her body was sickly and weak, making it inconvenient for her to see people.

The Biluo Courtyard was precisely the residence of the Eldest Young Lady, Song Xizhi.

She was clearly just a sickly lady confined to her chambers—why were the servants so terrified? That look in their eyes… it was as if a man-eating beast lived here…

Qiu Tong was filled with doubt, but unfortunately, the people in the manor were tight-lipped, and no one would solve the mystery for her.

Looking at the door before her, Qiu Tong paused. Her heart thundered “thump, thump, thump,” and her throat felt inexplicably dry.

No matter how “crazy” her personality might be, Song Xizhi was ultimately just a frail lady without the strength to even truss a chicken. Qiu Tong put one hand behind her back and knocked lightly on the door with the other.

“Enter.” The voice behind the door was not crisp and melodious like an ordinary woman’s. Instead, it was low and soft, with a hint of hoarseness at the end, sounding like the lingering vibration of an eagle’s wings slicing through the air.

Qiu Tong stepped over the threshold.

A woman in red sat with her back to her. She wore a water-red dress, her waist-length hair was smooth and glossy, and her figure was slender and elegant. Although Qiu Tong hadn’t seen the woman’s face, her intuition told her that this must be a beauty of peerless grace.

There was no one else in the room; it was excessively quiet.

“This servant, Qiu Tong, greets the Young Lady.” Qiu Tong lowered her head and performed a proper salutation.

“A newcomer—” The woman’s voice trailed upward with a hint of mockery. Qiu Tong’s eyelid twitched; she didn’t know why the person before her was laughing, but she felt certain it wasn’t for anything good.

As Qiu Tong thought this, she felt a cold sensation at her chin—a temperature like that of a snake. She was forced to raise her head by this strength. That one glance made all things in the world lose their color.

Reflected in her pupils was a breathtakingly glamorous face.

The woman was like a vast field of scarlet poppies blooming across the mountains, triggering the most primal imaginations and desires in one’s heart. Yet, her eyes were cold, reminiscent of the desolation of snowy mountains at dusk where all life had vanished.

Between her brows lay the pallor of long-term illness, like the last snow of winter—cold, indifferent, and pure.

Red and white, glamour and coldness—these complex and contradictory traits reached a perfect balance in her alone.

She was a beauty beyond the mortal realm.

So, this was Song Xizhi.

Simultaneously, a cold system voice rang out:

Ding—Card System activated. 001 is at your service.  Current Host Cards: Character Card Sickly Noble Lady x1 Passive Skill Triggered: “Soul-Snatching Gaze”: Those who receive your affectionate gaze will briefly fall into a whirlpool of emotion Host: Song Xizhi  Innate Talent: Lie Inherent World Character Skills: “Light-as-a-Swallow Palm Dance x1”: The skill holder can ignore gravity; the fluttering of your skirt will make you look like an immortal Inherent World Character Skills: “Mastery of Arts (Zither, Go, Calligraphy, Painting) x1”: A must-have skill for a lady of a great household.