"Yue Jiefei, go with me for a walk." Chu Yu directed the words at the young man beside her who was dressed in the tight blue uniform of the Imperial Palace guards. Without waiting for his response, she turned around and started making her way through the winding, narrow pebbled path.
The young man named Yue Jiefei possessed a tall, straight stature and was of military bearing. His tailored clothes outlined the remarkable muscular length of his legs, his narrow waist, and his broad shoulders. Although his features were not considered extremely good-looking, he had a different kind of dashing attractiveness.
Chu Yu still recalled the first time she stepped out of her room a few days after finding herself in this world. Yue Jiefei seemed like a ghost, silently and inconspicuously appearing out of nowhere and standing beside her, which scared her out of her wits and nearly gave her a heart attack. After figuring out that Yue Jiefei was actually her personal bodyguard, only then did her heart feel a tinge of comfort. She realized that he was probably utilizing the so-called "Light Body Techniques" mentioned in legends, which referred to the ability to move around fleetingly.
So long as she left the reception chamber, Yue Jiefei would immediately appear beside her regardless of it being day or night. When Chu Yu returned to her chambers, he would automatically disappear without wasting even a second. Chu Yu did try to suddenly walk out of her room in the early morning, but as soon as she set her foot out of the door and turn to look towards her side, she would definitely catch sight of Yue Jiefei. Chu Yu could not help but acknowledge his protective responsibility towards her twenty-four hours a day. He completely fulfilled the 'personal' in 'personal bodyguard' and never took leave any day.
Chu Yu even once secretly thought to herself in private that he was fulfilling a personal bodyguard's safeguarding responsibilities to such a 'personal' extent. 'Where does Yue Jiefei normally rest? Could he possibly be sleeping on the rooftop every day? What if it rained?' However, regrettably, the few occasions of rain since Chu Yu time-traveled there had all happened in the middle of the night when she was already in deep slumber, hence it was impossible for her to purposely wake up to verify her suspicions.
Since she got her mentality straightened out, Chu Yu opened herself up to enjoy everything that originally belonged to Princess Shanyin. The entire land area of the Princess's Imperial Residence was more than worthy to be called vast and expansive. It was practically like the land was costless. In her past life living in the modern city, the value of every inch of land was like an inch of gold and was unbearably expensive. There were people who worked their whole lives just so they could have a house of their own. At this moment, as broad and wide as the eye could see or as far as one could go, pavilions, gardens, and woodlands, artificial mountains, they all belonged to her lands, making Chu Yu feel elated when she often thought about it.
The luxury of the Princess's clothes and meals also exceeded beyond her expectations. Having 30 to 40 dishes was considered the simplest breakfast and supper, while regular meals had at least over 100 dishes. And all of these only saw Chu Yu partaking the meals alone. Needless to say, her clothing changed every day in multitudes and varieties according to her mood. The materials and fabrics were all brand new with no two days' of clothing that were similar. Chu Yu learned from You Lan that although there was an abundance of exquisite clothes in Princess Shanyin's possession, she generally only wore it once and those that were already worn would be sent for storage where they piled up dust. The thought of it made Chu Yu feel a slight pang of heartache at the waste.
Since she was getting used to living without the appliances of modern times especially the computer, Chu Yu was living extremely comfortably.
"Extravagant, truly extravagant! Indulgent, too indulgent!" On one hand, Chu Yu felt rueful, but on the other, she was beaming with all smiles, enjoying the benefits of her time-travel rebirth. She truly appreciated all that belonged to her new identity with the exception of one — the men.
Although Chu Yu had left her room, she did not go far. She had forgotten to uplift the ban, hence any male companion that came to call on her was still being turned away up until now. Chu Yu still did not meet any of Princess Shanyin's other male companions apart from Rong Zhi. Notwithstanding that on the day when she initially awoke, she had seen four of them, but their appearance in her memory was still a blur.
With sufficient sleep and meals, Chu Yu immersed all her energy fully into sampling the natural and pollution-free food of ancient times. The excessive nutrition rapidly filled back the weight loss that was brought on by the worries and troubling thoughts of a few days ago. In just a few days of indulgence, Chu Yu's face already regained the eye-catching glow of softness and tenderness. If she were to continue with such indulgence, she feared that it would likely spur the growth of her figure sideways.
With that in mind, Chu Yu ceased the gluttony, not only to maintain her figure but also to move around and exercise as well as go about to meet other people in the Princess's Imperial Residence.
Among those that she met, the most significant portion were actually the male companions.
It had rained last night, so although daylight had already gone by, the faint cool of the dampness still remained in between the gaps of the pebbles paved onto the narrow path. The freshly sprouted foliage in between the trees of the courtyard was enshrouded a layer of breathtaking verdant hues. Such refreshing and pleasant myriad of green shades might only belong to the springtime in Jiangnan.
She had merely made no more than two to three steps when it suddenly struck Chu Yu that as a princess to eagerly go looking for the male companions of her residence, would that not be a tad too weird? She paused her footsteps, then called out for You Lan to pass the message and announce that she wished to organize a Spring Banquet in the Imperial Residence on her behalf.
You Lan cautiously inquired, "Shall this matter be assigned to Young Master Rong to manage as it had been in the past?" From what she knew, a great deal of the major matters in the Princess's Imperial Residence were all assigned to Rong Zhi to handle.
Chu Yu had a brief moment of hesitance, then she smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, assign it to him." Since she was still relatively unfamiliar with everything, it was undoubtedly a better choice to assign the matter to someone who would be accustomed to it as it would save herself the trouble.
Nevertheless, in Chu Yu's heart, she still wondered if the limits of authority that Princess Shanyin had granted Rong Zhi were a little too much.
Not only could he disregard her ban and move around freely in the Imperial Residence, but he was also frequently assigned to handle Princess Shanyin's matters. There must have been something different about this young man that set him apart from the many other male companions.
Nonetheless, Chu Yu temporarily did not intend to take any action. She believed that for everything, a plan should be drawn up before taking any actions. She planned to give it due consideration first.
After Chu Yu gave her orders, Rong Zhi went about arranging the matter on her behalf. He was quite efficient, and in no more than two hours, banquet seats were set up amid the field of blossoms in the apricot forest. In the middle of the riotous profusion of blooms and trees, sumptuous delicacies and vintage wine were spread out and laid in two rows on top of a low table of about a foot high. Meanwhile, every one of the young men with either beauty or charm also took their seats in succession.
Chu Yu quietly took her place at the seat of honor. As the princess, she actually did not have to arrive so early, but she had other plans in mind. With You Lan leading the way to the thick brocade cushion, she was the first to be seated. She quietly and attentively gazed at the entrance of the courtyard, looking at every single person that came and using her own eyes to weigh and judge.
During this period, although the use of chairs had already been introduced by the nomadic ethnic groups, it was, however, not as popular. All the things that people normally went about doing, for example chatting or discussing official businesses or having meals, were all done in a kneeling-sitting position, where both thighs were pressed together while the heels of the feet were positioned behind against the rear.
Therefore, during the Princess's opening which marked the start of the gathering, even the Princess herself would have to kneel.
On one hand, Chu Yu secretly massaged her legs that had gone stiff from kneeling down thereby relieving the numbness. On the other hand, she was inwardly berating this dynasty wherein the use of chair had yet to become popular. Granted there was a soft cushion that served as padding beneath her legs, however, being saddled by the weight of the body for an extensive period hindered the blood circulation, which was still absolute agony.
Though she had only knelt for a while, Chu Yu could no longer stand it anymore. As she tilted her head to the side and looked at Rong Zhi who was sitting on the first seat on her right after briefing and assigning all the trivialities. His face was composed and placid, apparently like nothing was of the matter. She discreetly curled her lips and wondered, 'These people from ancient times, don't their legs feel numb from kneeling? Or have they already gotten so used to the numbness?'
Chu Yu was merely letting her thoughts run wild for only an instant but immediately snapped back into reality when someone took a seat beside her.