Waking Up to an Imperial Marriage with My Archenemy - Chapter 8

On the carriage, Qiao Wan timely clapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out loud.

She had told Luo Fengxin to humiliate Zhang Zihe a bit and mock the Duke of Ning’s family that he was so proud of. When Luo Fengxin asked how far she should go, Qiao Wan said “the more embarrassing, the better” but she never expected Luo Fengxin would literally scare the waste out of him.

This teammate was just too reliable.

Qiao Wan didn’t dare make too much noise, but Xiao Bai had no such reservations, screaming frantically in her mind: “Ahhh! That was so cool!!! Truly a woman after my own heart!”

“Is, is she still the soft, sweet little Princess I used to know?” Qiao Wan’s voice was a bit shaky.

“She stopped being that a long time ago. Have you forgotten the years of being dominated by her? What gave you such a delusion?”

Well, it was just seeing her blush a moment ago, plus we just finished reminiscing about our first meeting. For a split second, I forgot the fact that we’ve become arch-nemeses and thought she was still that poor little thing who needed my care.

But honestly, she was so cool!

Qiao Wan touched her flushing cheeks, lowered the curtain, and retreated back into the carriage. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted that vibrant green lotus leaf.

Suddenly, I feel like I’ve committed a fatal blunder. What do I do?

“What’s wrong?” Luo Fengxin returned to the carriage, only to find Qiao Wan sitting perfectly upright, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

This was entirely out of character. Wasn’t this the person who felt physically ill if she didn’t stir up trouble at least once a day?

Luo Fengxin gave her a suspicious look and then scanned the interior of the carriage.

“Where is my lotus leaf?”

“I gave it some serious thought and realized that for a ‘Golden Branch and Jade Leaf’ like Your Highness, a tiny lotus leaf is hardly a fitting match. The gift was inappropriate.”

“Where. Is. My. Leaf?” Luo Fengxin ignored her, asking again.

Watching Luo Fengxin’s expression grow increasingly inscrutable, Qiao Wan felt the danger rising. She answered rapidly, “I threw it away!”

Luo Fengxin stared at her. Her own ability to lie through her teeth had been learned from this woman; only a fool would believe her!

Outside had been swarming with onlookers. Qiao Wan didn’t want to show her face, so how could she have thrown a giant leaf out in plain sight? That would have exposed the fact that someone else was in the carriage.

The leaf was huge and the carriage space was limited; there was nowhere to hide it unless.

Qiao Wan saw Luo Fengxin gradually leaning in. She pressed herself nervously against the carriage wall. “What, what are you doing? Men and women shouldn’t touch—wait, no, women and women shouldn’t touch either! Don’t come any closer! If you come closer, I’ll scream!!!”

Luo Fengxin didn’t play along with any “go ahead and scream, no one is coming to save you” clichés. She simply reached out an arm, hooked Qiao Wan around the waist, lifted her aside, and pulled up the fleece blanket Qiao Wan had been sitting on. Sure enough, the flattened lotus leaf was right there.

Qiao Wan snatched the leaf before Luo Fengxin could move again, pulled back the window curtain, and chucked it out. The movement was fluid and instantaneous—likely the peak performance of her otherwise lackluster motor skills.

“See? Now it’s officially thrown away.”

“Who gave you permission to throw it? That was.” Luo Fengxin swallowed the rest of her sentence. She took a deep breath and turned to instruct A-Cheng outside: “Turn around. Back to the palace! If Censor Qiao doesn’t compensate me with an identical leaf today, she isn’t leaving!”

Qiao Wan: “?”

Luo Fengxin, what is wrong with you! You’re angry that I threw away your green hat? This is the first time I’ve seen someone so desperate to keep a symbol of being cuckolded.

“If you liked that one so much, I can go back and pick it up for you?” Qiao Wan tried to save herself. After all, a philosopher once said, “No two leaves in the world are exactly alike,” and that applied to lotus leaves too.

If Luo Fengxin wanted to be difficult, Qiao Wan felt she could pluck every single leaf in the Mirror Lake and still fail the task.

Having just finished laughing at someone else, the pressure had now pivoted squarely onto her.

My heart is so bitter.

Predictably, Luo Fengxin rejected the proposal on the grounds that the leaf was crushed and unusable. Qiao Wan couldn’t fathom what she wanted it for, did she actually intend to make a lotus hat?

Before long, they were back in the palace. Luo Fengxin led her straight to the Imperial Garden. It was past noon, and Qiao Wan looked piteously at the Princess, trying to play the sympathy card: “Your Highness, I haven’t eaten since I woke up. I’m so hungry.”

“What a coincidence. I haven’t eaten either. Go pick one. Once you find an identical match, we’ll eat.” Luo Fengxin didn’t bother finding a shaded pavilion; she just sat on a rock by the lake and beckoned a young eunuch over. “Find a boat for Censor Qiao. Let her search carefully.”

It seemed she wouldn’t be allowed to pass this trial without picking. Qiao Wan boarded the boat. Luckily, she didn’t have to do the rowing, but no matter how many she picked, Luo Fengxin found fault with every single one. Eventually, Qiao Wan stopped asking; she just harvested a whole boatload of similarly sized leaves and had the eunuch row them back for the Princess to choose from.

“That will be all for today.” The sun was scorching. As Qiao Wan brought another boatload ashore, Luo Fengxin noted the beads of sweat on her forehead. She looked away at the pile of leaves and said, “I’m not satisfied with any of these.

Since Censor Qiao is idle at home anyway, you shall come here every morning to pick a bunch for me. You may stop whenever I find one I like.”

A maid nearby held out a basin of cool water and a handkerchief. Qiao Wan wiped her face; the damp, cool cloth neutralized the heat, providing a deep sense of relief. After a few wipes, she felt much better.

Once she cooled down, Qiao Wan’s sun-dazed brain finally started working again.

She was confused. She had admitted her mistake and destroyed the prop she used to tease her, so why wasn’t the Princess happy? Why was she even angrier, insisting on an exact replacement?

If the leaf had some special meaning to Luo Fengxin, she could understand, but the servants had just plucked it this morning. The lake was full of them; what could possibly be special?

Fortunately, Luo Fengxin hadn’t made her stay long. If she had to pick for hours every day, she’d have the lake stripped down to the stems within three days. She wondered if she’d become the first official in history to be prosecuted for “large-scale ecological destruction of the Imperial Garden.” Or rather, she wasn’t an official anymore—just a lowly, pitiful, unloved “little cabbage.”

Sigh, my soul is weary.

Qiao Wan wanted to ask what to do with the floor full of leaves, but when she turned around, Luo Fengxin had already vanished.

“Her Highness has instructed the Imperial Kitchen to prepare lunch for you,” the maid with the basin said.

Fine. At least Luo Fengxin had a shred of conscience. Cool water, a prepared lunch—she probably realized her temper tantrum was unreasonable and wanted to make a gesture without losing face, so she left some harsh words and bailed.

Tsk, childish! Qiao Wan felt that as the elder of the two (by a whole two years), there was clearly a generational gap between them.

Never mind. She would be the bigger person and show some tolerance. After all, she had done many things to offend Luo Fengxin over the years for the sake of her missions.

Seeing the maid hesitating as if she had more to say, Qiao Wan asked, “Did she say anything else?”

“Her Highness also said.” The maid looked up at Qiao Wan, then quickly lowered her head, a blush creeping onto her face. She murmured in a voice no louder than a mosquito, “Her Highness said for you to go home, bathe, change your clothes, and deliver yourself, freshly cleaned, to her manor.”

Qiao Wan: “?”

Now she knew why Luo Fengxin had left early. If she were still here, Qiao Wan would have dumped the entire basin of water over her head! She must have been deluded to think Luo Fengxin was “embarrassed.”

Luo Fengxin, are you even human? You’re making a young maid relay words like that? Look how embarrassed you’ve made her!