“Finally, it’s a clear day today.”
Qin Yu woke from her sleep and sat on the bed, gazing out the window with a sigh.
It had been more than ten days since her last outing from the palace.
Ever since that day, a drizzle had fallen continuously.
Although the rain was light, it persisted for over ten days straight, and the weather gradually grew colder—surely a sign that autumn had arrived. Â
But today, the rain had stopped.
The sun was once again hanging high in the sky, and the temperature had surprisingly risen. Â
‘This must be what they call an Indian summer,’ Qin Yu thought to herself. Â
“The weather is really nice today,” Luo Shangyu said as she entered Qin Yu’s bedroom.
“Do you have any plans?” Â
“Plans? None at all,” Qin Yu replied, shaking her head in confusion.
“You’re not going to spend the whole day reading manga again, are you?” Luo Shangyu pointed to the many manga books scattered on the floor—the ‘trophies’ of Qin Yu’s late-night reading session last night.
“Hehe.” Qin Yu gave an awkward smile; indeed, that had been her plan.
“But you can’t just stay in your room reading manga all day,” Luo Shangyu scolded, picking up a book titled [The Adventures of David Dale] and glancing at its cover, “especially ones with such eccentric protagonists.” Â
Setting the manga down, Luo Shangyu approached Qin Yu’s bedside and plopped down with a suggestion: “It’s a bright and sunny day, the perfect hot weather for a trip to the seaside.”
“The seaside?” Qin Yu repeated curiously.
“Do you often go to the seaside, Luo Shangyu?” Â
“Well, I’ve been a few times, but that was a very long time ago. During the hot summer, I usually spend every day soaking in the lake behind my house.” Luo Shangyu raised her head, reminiscing.
“But the seaside is really fun: there’s the golden sandy beach where we can play beach volleyball or build sandcastles; and the vast blue sea—endless, perfect for swimming and admiring the view.” Â
“Great idea! But when do we leave?” Qin Yu asked eagerly.
“We’ll leave right away. We’re headed to the Northern Beaches of the Empire. It might take us half a day, but we’ll try to get there before noon,” Luo Shangyu replied.
Without delay, Qin Yu got up to wash and prepare, while Luo Shangyu notified the palace chefs to prepare food for the journey.
The Eastern Palace maids busied themselves packing, and the Imperial Bodyguards readied their escort duties for the trip. Â
At 10 a.m., Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu boarded a modest carriage heading toward the Empire’s Northern Sea.
Wishing to keep a low profile, only two maids accompanied them, riding in the carriage behind Qin Yu.
At Qin Yu’s request, only two warriors served as guards, accompanied by four Elite Warrior Automatons—special editions supplied by the Imperial Palace.
The guards trailed the caravan at a distance. Â
The journey was long and boring.
Outside the window, the scenery was an endless expanse of wilderness, and after the initial excitement faded, it grew monotonous. Â
“By the way,” Qin Yu said suddenly, “when we were last at the Changning King’s Residence, Zhao Zhuang mentioned you’re descended from the Elf King. What’s the story behind that?”
“Well, it’s a long tale,” Luo Shangyu began.
“My ancestors were the last Elf King of the Elf Clan. Later, the Elf Empire—the Yous Empire—was conquered by a powerful foreign force. My forebears went into hiding to escape extermination. Over time, the exiled royal family became scattered, drifting apart over ideological differences and other reasons. The descendants of the Elf King are now spread throughout the Fantasy Realm, even into the unknown Northern Continent. With the passage of time and generations, our bloodline’s purity diluted, weakening our innate power until it was almost unusable. But mine is miraculously pure, so my magical aptitude is extremely high. I can easily comprehend pseudo-divine level combat techniques.” Â
Qin Yu nodded, only partly understanding, then pressed on: “Both the Elves and the Demons were powerful races. Between you and Waya Latmos, who’s stronger?”
“Waya?” Luo Shangyu’s face faintly twisted into a bitter smile.
“Her magical comprehension has already reached true god level, plus she wields a Divine Artifact. How could I possibly resist her?” Â
‘So Luo Shangyu can’t defeat her alone,’ Qin Yu thought to herself, raising Waya’s threat level a few notches in her mind. Â
***
Time flew during their conversation, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime.
The caravan stopped on a remote mountain road.
There was no village nearby to ask for food, so the two maids unpacked the prepared lunch and set up a table by the roadside. Â
Once the table was ready, Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu sat down and praised the simple yet delicious meal.
Just as Qin Yu was about to start eating, she noticed only the two of them sat at the table.
The maids stood upright nearby, ready to serve, while the guards ate bread standing at a distance.
Seeing the plentiful food, Qin Yu suddenly felt she should do something. Â
“Come join us and eat together!” Qin Yu warmly invited.
“We…” The maids hesitated, clearly unused to dining with the Crown Princess and visibly nervous. Â
“It’s fine! We don’t get to go out often, so let’s eat together. There’s no need to be so formal!” After Qin Yu’s repeated urging, the maids reluctantly took seats.
“And you too!” Qin Yu called out to the distant guards.
Eventually, the guards and maids sat down uneasily at the table, awkwardly sharing the Crown Princess’s meal. Â
After lunch, Qin Yu yawned deeply, her face full of laziness.
“Do you want to stop here and take a nap?” Luo Shangyu asked considerately.
“No, I’m not tired at all!” Qin Yu said, though she was quite sleepy.
She wanted to reach the beach sooner, so she planned to fight off the drowsiness and continue on. Â
The carriage resumed its bumpy journey.
Qin Yu’s late-night manga binge left her a bit drowsy, and the jolting ride made her feel as if she were rocking gently in a cradle. Â
“Ugh…” Qin Yu’s vision narrowed and darkened…
A flash of a past life memory: a graph notebook, a loud voice reciting incomprehensible formulas, struggling to control a black pen with her right hand, and the vision narrowing and darkening—falling asleep during a frustrating math class!
The memory abruptly stopped, but Qin Yu’s familiar sensation surged again: she was about to fall asleep!
Startled, Qin Yu snapped awake and looked around.
She was still on the carriage.
She had nearly dozed off.
She glanced at Luo Shangyu, who was wearing a teasing expression.
Qin Yu tried to protest, “I wasn’t sleeping! I’m not tired at all!” Â
But protesting was useless.
Sleep had firmly taken root in Qin Yu’s mind and refused to be shaken off. Â
She stared out the window, her body jolting with the carriage’s bumps.
Slowly, her vision dimmed, thoughts drifted, and her pupils glazed over… Â
“Thump!”
Qin Yu swayed with the carriage’s motion and toppled onto Luo Shangyu’s lap.
Her breathing was long and steady—she had fallen asleep. Â
“Heh! Such a stubborn mouth,” Luo Shangyu said with a mischievous smile as she looked at Qin Yu peacefully asleep on her lap.
She gently lifted Qin Yu’s eyelids to reveal sapphire blue eyes, clear and calm like a lake.
Qin Yu’s eyes were empty, clearly in a deep sleep.
Luo Shangyu lightly pinched Qin Yu’s earlobe, feeling its softness and warmth through her fingertips.
The delicate texture of the earlobe was intriguing. Â
“How amusing.”
She gathered a handful of Qin Yu’s white hair, which shimmered golden under the autumn midday sun.
Qin Yu’s fair face was bathed in a layer of golden light, and her small pink lips stood out vividly in the sunlight. Â
Luo Shangyu discovered a new game.
She pinched Qin Yu’s cheek near the mouth and slowly applied pressure, causing Qin Yu’s small lips to pucker into a comical expression. Â
“Ha ha!” Luo Shangyu laughed out loud.
In her sleep, Qin Yu let out a soft moan, as if complaining or resisting, but to Luo Shangyu it sounded like an invitation.
Hearing that sound rekindled Luo Shangyu’s playful mischief…