Chapter 341: Qipao Hunk

Chapter 341: Cheongsam Muscle Men

The next day, Ji Yuntang was still half-asleep when she reached her hand to the other side of the bed, only to find it empty.

Luo Junhe was already gone from the bed.

Her drowsiness instantly vanished, and she called for Tao Zhi.

"Tao Zhi, Tao Zhi."

Tao Zhi entered carrying a basin of hot water and helped Ji Yuntang get ready.

She handed a sachet to Ji Yuntang. "Your Highness, the Prince personally went to pick osmanthus leaves for you this morning. He said to keep this sachet on you today—it's got a great meaning behind it."

Ji Yuntang paused, a little surprised. Luo Junhe had gotten up this early just to pick osmanthus leaves for her?

She reached out and took the pouch, smelling the unique fragrance of osmanthus within.

Ji Yuntang thought for a moment before recalling that osmanthus leaves were one of the favorite items of ancient scholars, symbolizing "plucking the laurel"—a nod to passing the exams with top honors.

She realized that Luo Junhe had given her this because, during yesterday's competition, the entire Duke Rong household had gifted her items bearing symbolic meanings.

Though the osmanthus leaves were a modest gift, they carried the weight of his feelings.

Ji Yuntang carefully hung the sachet at her waist, a soft smile tugging at her lips.

"Go tell the Prince that this Princess really loves this gift—I'll be wearing it when I take the top spot today."

Ji Yuntang finished washing up and eating breakfast, then headed out in her carriage.

Wang Sheng was driving her carriage again today, and along the way, he filled her in on the latest gossip.

"Your Highness, I heard that Heir Ji tried to temporarily release Third Young Master Ji last night to let him compete in today's examination, but Assistant Minister Xu chewed him out."

"Assistant Minister Xu said that until the case is fully investigated, if he so much as tried to let Third Young Master Ji out, he'd march straight into the palace to see the Emperor and revoke all of Third Young Master Ji's examination qualifications—and that includes the spring exams next year—he can kiss those goodbye too."

"Heir Ji was livid but didn't push it any further. He even threatened Assistant Minister Xu, saying that fortunes turn—what goes around comes around—and told him to wait and see."

Ji Yuntang snorted, her eyes dripping with contempt.

"Even if Ji Huaiche had the guts to let him out, Qianqiu Tower might not even let Ji Zihang through the door."

"Ji Huaiche should thank Assistant Minister Xu for stopping him in time. If Ji Zihang had actually been released today, he could kiss his job as Right Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple goodbye!"

Wang Sheng nodded in agreement. "I think so too. The whole capital saw what went down yesterday, and Your Highness has solid evidence. Third Young Master Ji's gonna have a hard time getting out of this one clean!"

Ji Yuntang squinted, her eyes sharp. "Don't be so sure about that. The Dali Temple won't keep Ji Zihang locked up for long—if they're determined, there are a million ways to weasel out of the charges."

"The Crown Prince needs the Marquis Yongning's family on his side, so he'll find a way to bail them out."

"But for this Princess, as long as Ji Zihang stays locked up today, that's all I need!"

"Since he's a no-show today, all his scores get wiped. From now on, no major literary event in the Dongchen Kingdom will ever invite him again."

"This black mark will haunt him for the rest of his life. Even if he somehow clears his name, his future's still toast."

"The people won't back a guy like him to be their official."

As they spoke, the carriage had already arrived outside Qianqiu Tower.

When Ji Yuntang stepped down from the carriage, she witnessed the most cringe-worthy sight of her life.

A bunch of curvy, sexy beefy women... wait, no—a bunch of beefy dudes, about fifty of them.

They were decked out in tacky, colorful cheongsams, with heavy purple eyeshadow, bright red lips like sausages, and blush so pink it burned the eyes...

And every single one of them was holding two yellow sunflowers.

Ji Yuntang silently laughed to herself—this had to be some bored idiot's nasty prank.

She just wondered which poor examinee was unlucky enough to be the butt of these cheongsam guys' joke.

How mortifying!

Just as Ji Yuntang finished silently roasting them, she saw these beefy cheongsam muscle men line up in perfect formation and march over, surrounding her carriage.

Ji Yuntang: "???"

A bad feeling instantly hit her.

The next second, the cheongsam muscle men fanned out, raised their sunflowers overhead, and yelled in unison.

"Princess Ye, make a name for yourself—go take the crown!"

"Princess Ye, make a name for yourself—go take the crown!"

"..."

Their shouts rang out, over and over.

Ji Yuntang: "..."

Ji Yuntang: "!!!"

Her eyes went wide—she never thought she'd be the one getting pranked!?

Just as she was about to shut it down, a young guy in a blue brocade robe hopped in from behind, landing smack in the middle of the circle.

It was Xie Liuzheng.

The first thing Xie Liuzheng said when he saw her was—

"Sis, surprised? Excited? You like the big surprise your big bro set up for you?"

Ji Yuntang: "..."

Ji Yuntang: "!!!"

She wanted to beat Xie Liuzheng to a pulp!

If she'd done something wrong, let the law come after her—not have a bunch of crossdressers torture her like this.

Ji Yuntang's toes curled so hard she could've dug a tunnel to the other side of the world. She wanted to tell Xie Liuzheng to call it off, but what came out of her mouth was—

"Bro, does this actually look good to you?"

Xie Liuzheng grinned from ear to ear and said without a hint of shame, "It looks awesome!"

"Your big bro here stayed up all night picking out their outfits and doing their makeup himself."

"So, what do you think? Pretty good picks, right?"

Ji Yuntang's lips twitched. She could already tell everyone around her was barely holding in their laughter, their looks full of barely concealed sympathy.

Ji Yuntang felt a headache brewing. She said to Xie Liuzheng, "Brother, I'm about to compete. Can you please send these people home?"

Xie Liuzheng flat-out refused!

"No way. Wearing a qipao means a victorious start. They're not going anywhere until after your two matches today, no matter what."

He then dropped his voice and added, "Sister Yuntang, don't judge them as just street punks—these are friends I've made on the street. The moment they heard I needed help cheering you on, they came running without a second thought!"

"If it weren't for this dashing face of mine looking too out of place next to them, I'd have worn a qipao myself to cheer you on!"

Ji Yuntang: "..."

She wanted to say, there's really no need for that!

If Xie Liuzheng wore a qipao, how terrifying would that be?

Ji Yuntang had to admit Xie Liuzheng was a top-tier playboy—other people were just pretending to be weird, but he was the real deal.

The way he did things was completely ridiculous; you could never predict his next move.

Ji Yuntang asked, "Brother, be straight with me. How on earth did you talk them into wearing qipaos and holding flowers?"

"Don't tell me it's because they're your buddies. I know Dad told you to stay away from these people. He said if you keep hanging out with these hoodlums, he'll break both your legs."

"Brother, you really don't want Dad to break your legs, right?"

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