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Boohoo.

Feng Yanyan sulked inside his new courtyard. Liu momo left for the capital earlier. They were now alone to fend for themselves.

"Zizi, am I ugly?" he asked with a dramatic flair. Tears almost fell from his eyes.

When the servant, JuZi, heard this for the first time, she felt so distressed. How could this young master be ugly? If he was ugly, then JuZi was just some random snot on the wall.

But she heard this question for the hundredth time tonight and the magic didn't work on her like the first time.

Hearing no reply, Feng Yanyan turned to the next person. "Taotao, am I ugly?"

The younger girl only pursed her lips.

"Huh, you're all not answering me. It must be because I'm ugly. Jiaojiao, am I ugly?" He clutched the youngest maid's skirt. As if saying she was the only redemption he had left.

Surely, young girls couldn't bear to see his tears?

But Jiao ignored him.

These ungrateful girls! They were so mesmerized by him yesterday. Did his beauty's effect have an expiration date? He grew more depressed.

Because of him, these three who belonged to unranked palace maids soared through the heavens. Ju Zi was promoted to the first rank while Pu Tao and Jiao were upgraded to 2nd rank. Feng Yanyan's narcissistic trait made him ignore the part that the three originally belonged to to the special unit of palace maids waiting to be named. 

In short, they were trained to be ranked maidens. They weren't random mushrooms from the ground because they had been drilled by the old palace momo since young. If they weren't assigned to Feng Yanyan, they could have even been groomed to be servants of future heirs in the palace.

"Young master... why are you even asking such questions?" JuZi couldn't hold back anymore.

"Well..." Feng Yanyan pouted. About to cry again. "Well, because my courtyard wasn't named by His Highness. He doesn't like me at all."

The three girls could more or less guess this reason.

Jiao sighed. "Favors must always be equal."

Pu Tao nodded. "Young master received a bigger house. Therefore, his Highness named Young master Zhang's courtyard."

Feng Yanyan paused. Was that it?

He suddenly stood up. "What did you say? How much bigger is my courtyard?"

He grasped Pu Tao's hands. Feng Yanyan's face hovered over hers and her cheeks reddened.

She was almost blinded. A bright forehead and shining eyes. Puffed cheeks and red lips. A flower was painted near the end of his right lower eyeline, nestled on his cheek.

JuZi saw her fumbling sister and had to pry Feng Yanyan away from her.

"Young master, if it was anyone else, this servant would think Pu Tao is being attacked."

Feng Yanyan huffed and puffed.

"Beauty Zhang's residence only has one side hall and no kitchen."

Hearing this, Feng Yanyan halted all his actions. His eyes widened and his lips hooked up in a sultry smile. 

His courtyard had two small side halls aside from the main chamber. He had a small kitchen for tea and heating bathwater and a cute garden outside.

"Hehe." His little fangs were visible as he grinned from ear to ear.

With that, he stopped asking if he was ugly and the three girls heaved a sigh of relief.

But Pu Tao got curious and so she approached Feng Yanyan who was slumped on the carpet and fiddled with the bed sheets. There was no sense of rules at all.

They even wondered how he survived the Great Palace with his antics. The three maids wanted to ask why he hadn't noticed this was deliberate so he would be targeted by the others. If one received too many favors, one would also have many haters. They just didn't know how he angered the prince for his Highness to arrange this scheme.

Pu Tao whispered. "That... young master, do you like his Highness?"

Feng Yanyan was frightened by her question and he automatically caught his rear side.

"You naughty girl! You are not allowed to ask this in the future."

Every time he thought about getting the male lead, he feared for his chrysanthemum. So better not mention it.

Pu Tao's cheeks were pinched and the other two girls were curious. But Pu Tao saw what she perceived to be the young master Feng's shy face, she decided not to tell them.

After eating dinner, Feng Yanyan was in the mood for a walk. But he wasn't familiar with this part of the wangfu yet. So he dragged Pu Tao with him and went out.

The night had long fallen and cicadas screamed their hearts out.

Pu Tao held a lantern in her hands and tailed after Feng Yanyan. It was peaceful.

But the Beauty Feng had ulterior motives. There was a scene where Zhang Yunlei accidentally met Junwang somewhere here.

He didn't know the exact place so he wanted to walk and walk. It was the chance to impress his Highness with his beauty!

Who knew a beetle would fly near his face and catch his attention?

"Such a large beetle!" He got excited. When was the last time he played with one?

"Taotao, hurry up! We're gonna catch a beetle." After yelling this, he ran. And the young maidservant chased after him.

"Young master! It's not allowed..." Pu Tao couldn't catch up to him but she could still see where he was going.

Feng Yanyan ran and ran. Seemingly forgetting about something.

What was it?

Forget it. If it was important, he would remember it.

So he focused all his attention on the beetle.

"Just you wait. I'll tie a thread on you and you will be my beetle kite!" He laughed like a maniac as he ran.

One must know that even before this life, Feng Yanyan was an illegitimate son. He was hidden by his mother as she was ashamed of him. At the age of eight, he was found by his father who only had a legitimate daughter.

And so, Feng Yanyan was 'adopted' by the legal wife. And was nurtured to be his father's heir.

After that, he rarely saw his biological mother. She was a hostess in a bar. Like modern-day courtesans. You can pay her for a night or you can buy a performance. It wasn't surprising that his father wouldn't allow him to meet her anymore.

His father stopped him from playing games. And he had to study all kinds of things. Art, business, science, and math. But he was never really bright, to begin with. So he would often get punished for his wrongs.

His stepmother did some subtle things to hurt him and his sister liked to embarrass him in front of her elite friends. It was an exhausting life but he was discarded as soon as his stepmother gave birth to a menopausal baby. It was a son.

No matter how dumb he was, he knew his stepmother could harm him if he showed a desire for the family's wealth. So he expressed his wish to move overseas. And he lived alone from then.

That was why he felt no remorse when he died. He already lived a somewhat luxurious life after all, despite all the things that happened.

Experiencing youth again in this era, he wanted to play all kinds of games. His brother and cousins always beat him in any game but he still found it fun. He grew up healthy because of all his running. So even when the Feng brothers hit him, it didn't affect his foundation.

But it was only now that he saw a beetle. In the palace, the lower servants would make sure there were no imperfections in the gardens. So there were no insects like beetles. Only butterflies.

He grew tired of chasing those pretty insects with wings.

As he rounded a corner of bushes, he knew he was near the beetle. But suddenly, he was face to face with a ghost.

"Ahhh!"

The birds in the nearby trees were disturbed and flew away.

Feng Yanyan clutched his heart and fell. He flailed his arms and grasped a piece of fabric. Who knew that it was actually a sleeve and there was an arm underneath? His reflex made him let go.

But a hand grasped his wrist. And another caught his back.

He shivered. Even with clothes in between, the hands' cold temperature seeped through the sheets of fabric.

As he opened his eyes to peek at the person, he made an audible gasp.

People always praised him as a top beauty. But he couldn't hold a candle to this person.

Pale face, soaring sword-like and thick eyebrows, fan-like lashes, and dark eyes. Those pair of onyx orbs narrowed at him. This expression might very well be a command from heaven to punish the sinners that caused displeasure to the person.

Underneath the tall and straight nose were pallid petal-like lips that were now pulled back to utter words.

Feng Yanyan only felt the grip on him tighten as he still couldn't find his balance.

It kinda hurts...

"Stand properly."

There was a hint of impatience.

When Pu Tao turned the corner, she was still panting. But the sight before her made her want to faint.

Young Master Feng was h-hugging their one and only master in this palace...

She mustered all the courage she could in this lifetime and cried, "T-this servant greets Wangye."

Feng Yanyan only felt like he fell from heaven to hell in a span of a few seconds. The angel in front of him turned out to be the devil!

Like some sort of secret arts, he was finally able to stand on his own. And despite his wobbly knees, he was able to salute.

"Greetings, wangye." He didn't dare raise his eyes again.

As he sobered up, cold water seemed to pour over him. This person looked familiar...

He soon knew why. It was his love rival...

That white-clad figure on horseback!

What little strength he had seemed to sap out of his body and he fell to his knees. Like a little butterfly that lost its wings, he crumbled.

"Young master!"

Pu Tao hurriedly went to his side but was frozen stiff by a certain glance.

We're dead. We're really dead.

She cried inside. Why did they have to run into Wan Li Wang? What dog luck was this?

All the servants knew how merciless Wangye was. She would spare no one.

Feng Yanyan's mind was a mess. Wan Li Wang in the book was a man!

There were multiple passages describing him so it left quite a mark. Arrogant, violent, and perverted. The fact that he had a brilliant mind was covered up by his negative traits.

But the person in front of him was a woman.

The atmosphere turned colder and colder. The darkness of the night seemed to hug King Wan Li while the lamp Pu Tao brought illuminated Feng Yanyan.

This seemed to be the boundary between the two people. One sitting, one standing. One was brought up in the light while one crawled her way out from the shadows.

He was the butterfly used to touching only flowers. She was the beetle forced to scavenge on the ground.

Was it fate or was it foreboding of the things that were yet to come?

---

A/N: We meet the ML-- cough cough... FL?

Edited: Feb. 10, 2023