Free Web Novel“I'm so jealous I could die,” Shang Wu said, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth.
Han Xianzi swatted her hand away, stood up, took several deep breaths, and then looked at her with a hint of playful annoyance.
To be fair, Shang Wu was not wrong.
Shang Wu was tall and robust, and compared to ordinary women, she was quite broad-shouldered and full-figured, akin to the plump beauty favored in the Tang Dynasty.
Ying Bing was about the same height, but she was tall and slender, with a willowy figure that, combined with her cold demeanor, made her perfectly noble and divine, as serene and beautiful as a Fairy. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Therefore, in terms of 'broadness of chest', Shang Wu might have had the upper hand.
But the visual effect was not so... “Don’t do that again next time.” Ying Bing said, her Ice Cube face taut, as she composed herself from the strange sensation she had just experienced.
“Alright, it was just a joke.”
Shang Wu rubbed her hands, and despite her age, she seemed to be trying to muddle through:
“I was just curious. Your figure has developed so beautifully, I wonder if you /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ can still wear that dress.”
“What dress?” Ying Bing’s eyes instinctively became wary.
If Xiao Li was vulgar, how much better could Shang Wu be?
However, she had misjudged this time. Shang Wu took out a magnificent Hundred Birds Skirt from a sumaru object.
“Isn’t it beautiful? It’s for you. You’ll definitely look good in it.”
Shang Wu took out her wine gourd, took a couple of sips, and said with narrowed eyes.
“The material of this dress is extraordinary. I won’t be on stage for the grand event, so I won’t need it.”
Ying Bing gently rubbed the cuff of the skirt. The material felt like silk, but when touched, it was fine, dense feathers.
And not just one kind, but hundreds, even thousands of kinds.
She recognized most of them, feathers from a hundred different rare birds, specifically the fine down feathers from under their wings. Many of these species are now extinct in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
It would be impossible to create a second dress like this.
She shook her head and pushed the skirt back.
“I won’t be able to wear it after I come of age. If you don’t want it, maybe one day I’ll get a whim and trade it for some wine.”
Seeing Ying Bing lower her gaze in thought, Shang Wu put her hands on her hips and coaxed her:
“Hmph hmph, and those little hussies, each one of them putting so much effort into their appearance, all hoping Xiao Mo will look at them a few more times. He’s so curious, aren’t you afraid he’ll be led astray by all the pretty flowers?”
“Thank you.”
Ying Bing was startled, the hesitation on her face melting away as she lowered her eyes and accepted it.
Her sincere thanks were still echoing in the air when Shang Wu could no longer maintain her pretense of seriousness:
“We’re family, what’s with the thanks? Just consider it a supplementary betrothal gift.”
“Supplementary?”
“Oh, you two aren’t married yet? Right, right, I’ve been looking at too many picture books lately... Hurry up and try it on.” Shang Wu patted the back of her head.
Han Xianzi was carefully admiring the dress, so she could pretend she only heard the latter half of the sentence.
The Hundred Birds Skirt was similar in style to a horse-face skirt, but it was more exquisite and dazzling, and slightly shorter in length.
When this skirt was made, it was during the years when the Bronze Divine Tree still stood between heaven and earth, with a hundred birds nesting upon it, breathing with heaven and earth, and governing the circulation of all things.
Therefore, it truly gathered the essence of heaven and earth, and the Spiritual Qi of all things, and even after all these years, it still has not faded.
Ying Bing was one meter seventy-six tall, almost eighteen, which was around the same age as the skirt's original owner when she received it.
She changed and walked out from behind the screen, standing in the sunlight. The skirt shimmered with an ethereal halo. The skirt's style was slightly short, and for her, it was even shorter, revealing her fair, long legs, with only the area above her knees covered by the hem. The jade hairpin in her dark hair was just right.
This was a small surprise.
However, the crescent moon is the most beautiful, and this added a touch of harmonious, nimble grace to Han Xianzi's ethereal beauty.
Oh, right.
Under the hem of the skirt, her legs were also wearing pearl-white lotus silk... Whose life was this meant to take?
So, that’s where the term ‘Fairy Spiritual Qi’ came from... But even she, who was usually so calm, was uncharacteristically nervous.
“Does it fit?”
“Looking straight or from the side, in the sun or in shadow, all colors are one, with the forms of a hundred birds...” Shang Wu murmured.
“That’s beautifully said.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Shang Wu’s seriousness only lasted for a few sentences before her lips suddenly curled up: “Forget Li Mo, even I can’t handle this. Wouldn’t he be utterly bewitched and have nosebleeds all over the place? Little Bing’er, quick, let me see again!”
She made another playful sneak attack.
But Ying Bing was prepared this time. She moved lightly and dodged, then gracefully stepped out of the room.
It was unclear whether she wanted to escape Shang Wu’s demonic grasp, or if she wanted to see a certain childish ghost utterly bewitched.
Shang Wu lowered her gaze to below.
Sunlight streamed through the carved gaps of the Wanchun Pavilion, and dust motes floated in the rays of light, illuminating the intertwined stairs in a mix of light and shadow.
The girl, radiating Fairy Spiritual Qi, held up her skirt and descended the steps.
She passed through ray after ray of light, and the smile on her jade-like face became clearer, like the most beautiful flower in the human world blooming in the wind and light.
“Chug chug chug...”
Shang Wu took a sip of wine, her carefree demeanor from earlier long gone, and her narrowed almond eyes actually looked lost in thought.
Late Shang Dynasty.
The Shang Emperor’s most beloved princess, with a lively and mischievous personality, she paid no heed to the spirits of a hundred birds, even daring to pluck the feathers of rare divine birds.
Everyone said she was spoiled and arrogant, disrespectful of the gods.
But the Shang Emperor not only did not punish her, he also offered sacrifices to heaven, and after receiving divine approval, he wove a skirt for her from the feathers of a hundred birds as a coming-of-age gift.
It was named ‘Hundred Feather Danzhao’.
When the dress was finished, she ran proudly and excitedly through the imperial palace corridor and threw herself into her imperial father’s arms.
What did her imperial father say then?
“Let the ministers see, what divine bird can compare to my daughter’s grace and nobility.”
“Let’s go!”
The proud and joyful voice still echoed in her ears.
Shang Wu was startled, that sound wasn't right, was it?
She ran to the window, only to see Xiao Li possessively pulling Han Xianzi into the carriage, not allowing anyone else to look.
Then he waved his hand, instructing everyone to depart, and the convoy was already moving.
“Oi, you heartless brat, I haven’t even gotten in the carriage yet!”
Inside the carriage.
Xiao Li certainly didn’t hear that call. He was currently completely oblivious to the outside world, his mind solely focused on the Ice Cube.
He had even forgotten to breathe; what else could you expect him to remember?
