Jingnan Prince Manor
The manor’s bathing chamber was much larger than Bai Shuangshuang had imagined.
She had been sent here by Zhao Qingyue to bathe and change clothes.
The bath, built of white marble, was not only large but exquisitely crafted.
The bottom of the pool was paved with smoothly polished pebbles.
Hot spring water gurgled out from a bronze crane’s beak, filling the room with mist that made everything hazy and dreamlike.
A landscape painting decorated the folding screen, and an unknown incense burned in the corner, its faint scent like bamboo groves after rain.
Bai Shuangshuang stood by the pool, frozen for a long time.
The young maidservant attending her had already withdrawn, leaving her alone in the spacious chamber.
She lowered her head to look at her clothes—still the coarse cloth dress she had brought from the Bai Family.
“Take… take it off,” she whispered to herself.
Then came another long silence.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and fumbled to untie her sash.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, and her fingertips trembled imperceptibly.
Her outer robe slipped silently off her shoulders, followed by the middle garment, layer after layer…
With each piece removed, the chill on her skin grew heavier, and the shame surging within her also swelled.
She dared not open her eyes, but in her fumbling, her fingertips inevitably touched her own skin.
The sensation was utterly different from everything she had known in her past life—so delicate that every contact made her stiffen.
At the last piece of underwear, she hesitated, biting her lower lip, then closed her eyes and yanked it off abruptly, almost fleeing as she stepped into the bath.
The warm water instantly enveloped her.
Only when it reached her waist did she dare to open her eyes, leaning against the pool wall gasping.
The mist blurred the view beneath the water, which slightly eased her shame.
But even if she couldn’t see, she still had to wash.
She scooped up a ladle of water and poured it over her shoulder.
The water trickled down her collarbone, dripping.
She turned her face away, not daring to look closely, and scrubbed hastily, moving in a flustered and awkward manner, like a petty thief handling freshly stolen loot.
“S-should I wash more thoroughly?” she murmured.
“But… it’s so embarrassing…”
In her past life, when her junior disciples teased their Senior Brother for being “more beautiful than a girl,” she could laugh and curse back.
Now that she had actually become a girl, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
So, was she now Bai Shuang or Bai Shuangshuang? She dared not think about it.
She washed hastily, stood up from the water as if fleeing, grabbed the cotton cloth prepared nearby, and wrapped herself tightly, not even having the courage to look down.
In his lifetime, Young Hero Bai seemed to have rarely encountered such an embarrassing moment, but now he had.
What could he do? Accept his fate~
On the tray, a set of clothes was neatly folded.
It wasn’t the coarse maidservant attire she had expected, but an extremely exquisite dress.
The fabric was soft as clouds, cool to the touch.
The hem was embroidered with a few sparse orchids, and the collar and cuffs were trimmed with fine silver thread.
Bai Shuangshuang put them on one by one, tied the sash, adjusted the skirt, and then walked hesitantly to the bronze mirror.
The person in the mirror made her pause for a moment.
Her black hair hung half-wet behind her shoulders, making her already fair face appear even more translucent.
The blue short jacket fit her waist perfectly, and the moon-white skirt fell to her feet, rippling like water when she moved.
She now looked like a white orchid freshly washed by rain—delicate yet not flamboyant, gentle with a hint of liveliness.
“How is this a maidservant’s outfit…” she muttered, staring at the person in the mirror for a long time.
That face was smiling at her, but she found it unfamiliar.
She reached out to touch the mirror, but the cold sensation made her retract her hand, as if reminding her that this was Bai Shuangshuang’s face, not Bai Shuang’s.
When the door was pushed open, Bai Shuangshuang was adjusting her cuffs.
Zhao Qingyue leaned against the doorframe, holding a cup of tea, lazily lifting her eyes.
The tea cup paused at her lips, not brought in, as if she was stunned.
She stared for a full two breaths.
Really… really similar to that person.
“Not bad~”
Lady Zhao put down the tea cup, strolled in slowly, and swept her gaze over Bai Shuangshuang from head to toe, the corners of her mouth slightly lifting.
“As expected, my taste is excellent~”
Bai Shuangshuang looked at her expressionlessly.
“This dress is precious. Even I haven’t worn it yet.”
Zhao Qingyue circled around her again.
“This is tribute fabric from a few days ago. The entire manor only had two bolts. One bolt was taken by Liu Fei to make a shirt, and the other—”
She reached out a finger and gently hooked Bai Shuangshuang’s cuff.
“—was made into this for you~”
Bai Shuangshuang stepped back half a pace.
Zhao Qingyue wasn’t offended.
She withdrew her hand, crossed her arms, tilted her head, and looked at her with a light in her eyes that was… hard to describe.
It was like looking at a spitting cat—knowing it would hiss and scratch, yet still wanting to tease it.
“You, a picked-up little maidservant, dressed like this—”
She dragged out her tone, her voice full of sarcasm and teasing.
“Others might think you’re the manor’s lost commandery princess, and I’m the maidservant. Heh~”
“Then the Commandery Princess should be careful,” Bai Shuangshuang finally spoke, her voice not loud, with a hint of pique.
“If someone mistakes you for a maidservant and drives you out, I wouldn’t be able to bear that blame. Hmph~”
Zhao Qingyue raised an eyebrow.
She took a step forward, and Bai Shuangshuang took a step back.
Bai Shuangshuang’s back hit the screen, leaving no retreat, and Zhao Qingyue closed in again, touching and caressing.
“You, little fool,” she lowered her voice, with a smile.
“Your whole body is soft everywhere, but this mouth is as hard as a rock.”
Bai Shuangshuang turned her head away, avoiding her direct gaze.
“The Commandery Princess is not much better,” she stared at the plum blossom painted on the screen, her voice trembling slightly.
“Your whole body is noble everywhere, but these hands are like a lecher’s.”
Zhao Qingyue was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
It wasn’t a restrained, hand-covering laugh, but genuine amusement—her eyes curved, her shoulders slightly shaking.
She straightened up, stepped back, and tapped Bai Shuangshuang’s forehead with her finger.
“Alright, I like that,” she said, still with a smile in her eyes.
“Stay in the manor. Don’t even think about running~”
Bai Shuangshuang looked up at her, still pouting and muttering.
“Can I even run away?”
“You can’t~”
Zhao Qingyue turned and walked toward the door.
After two steps, she glanced back over her shoulder, her gaze sliding from Bai Shuangshuang’s face to the collar of the blue jacket, then slowly withdrawing.
“So behave and let me look at you plenty, to feast my eyes.”
She pushed the door open and left, leaving Bai Shuangshuang standing alone by the screen, rubbing her tapped forehead expressionlessly, muttering something under her breath.
“How can she be such a pervert? Even though we’re both girls, the way she looks at me…”
No one heard.
But Zhao Qingyue outside the door seemed to have heard, because as she walked away, the curve of her lips widened even more.
“A pervert? I never thought I’d get that title someday?”
Lady Zhao laughed to herself and began instructing the maidservant beside her.
“Have Bai Shuangshuang stand night watch. First half of the night in the courtyard, second half in the Library Pavilion.”
“Yes, Commandery Princess—”
The maidservant beside her quickly nodded in agreement, though there was a hint of surprise in her eyes.
She didn’t quite understand why the Commandery Princess favored this newly brought girl so much, yet didn’t take her as a personal maid, instead making her do night duty like the lowest-level maidservants.