“I say, is there any way to win a woman’s favor?” In order to get the answer he desired, Cang Yan suppressed his discomfort and asked again.
Qing Yan thought blankly for a moment, then shook his head honestly. “My Lord, this subordinate doesn’t know!”
As a man of stature with no beloved, how could he possibly know how to make a woman happy?!
Cang Yan’s azure eyes glared at Qing Yan with displeasure. “If you don’t know, why did you ask?”
Qing Yan lowered his head in deep grievance. He hadn’t done anything—wasn’t it the Lord himself who had initiated the conversation?!
“Hmph!” Cang Yan flicked his sleeves irritably.
Qing Yan pouted in frustration. What had he done to deserve this?!
“If My Lord wishes to know, perhaps you could ask the maids here directly!” As a qualified guard and subordinate, no matter how difficult the leader’s question, he must find a way to help solve it!
Women understand women best. Qing Yan thought his suggestion was quite brilliant…
“True…” Cang Yan muttered under his breath before turning back to Qing Yan. “Then I leave this matter to you!”
Qing Yan was momentarily stunned. Had the Lord just assigned him a task? He had been listening carefully—had he missed something?!
“Do you have objections?” Not hearing Qing Yan’s response, Cang Yan questioned in a low, dangerous tone.
“None!” Qing Yan hurriedly bowed in apology, stealing a cautious glance at Cang Yan before pleading, “This subordinate deserves death for failing to hear My Lord’s command clearly. I beg for punishment!”
Cang Yan frowned and glared at him. “What’s wrong with you today? Why are you so distracted?”
“This subordinate deserves death!” Qing Yan apologized again.
Cang Yan waved his hand dismissively. “Go find a way to ask the maids what women like and how men can make them happy!”
Qing Yan blinked…
Was… this the task the Lord had assigned him? Why did it feel so utterly pointless?
“Still haven’t heard clearly?” Cang Yan narrowed his eyes dangerously, his patience clearly wearing thin.
“This subordinate obeys!”
Despite finding the task absurd, Qing Yan quickly bowed in compliance.
“Report back to me by tomorrow morning!” Cang Yan commanded before striding back to his chambers.
Left alone in the night, Qing Yan stood under the cool breeze, feeling a faint melancholy…
As the top-ranked guard of the Beast Clan, why should he need to know what women liked? Why should he have to learn how to please them? Why was he stuck with such a ridiculous task?!
A group of maids walked past in orderly formation.
Qing Yan sighed, then leaped gracefully into the air and landed smoothly in front of them.
“Greetings, Lord Qing Yan.” The maids bowed in unison.
“Ahem.” Qing Yan cleared his throat and waved his hand, signaling them to rise.
The maids stood and attempted to walk past him.
“Wait.” Qing Yan called out to stop them, mentally steeling himself.
*I’m just following the Lord’s orders. This task isn’t pointless at all, not at all!!!*
But… no matter how many times he repeated it, he couldn’t convince himself…
“What does Lord Qing Yan require?” The lead maid smiled politely.
“Well…” Qing Yan felt awkward. As a grown man, asking a group of women what they liked felt… strange.
The lead maid waited patiently for him to speak.
“Ahem—” Qing Yan cleared his throat, forcing a stiff smile. “What do women like?”
“Huh?” The lead maid’s eyes widened in shock. Everyone in the Beast Clan knew Lord Qing Yan as a ruthless, mission-focused powerhouse.
For him to stop them in the middle of the night and ask such a question—had the sun risen from the west? Had he lost his mind? Or… had spring come for Lord Qing Yan?
“What do you mean, ‘huh’?” Qing Yan scowled, though his discomfort was evident. “Just answer the question. No nonsense!”
The lead maid’s smile stiffened. With that attitude, it was clear he was as clueless as ever. Did he really have someone he liked? Whoever caught his eye was surely in for a rough time…
Suppressing her thoughts, the maid replied carefully, “What women love most is beauty.”
Beauty? Qing Yan pondered before pressing further. “Then…”
The lead maid studied his expression, sensing there was more he was too embarrassed to ask.
“Then… what can make you women happy?” Qing Yan forced himself to ask, feeling his heroic image crumbling. This question would undoubtedly make everyone think he’d been bested by a woman… *bested… bested…*
The lead maid frowned in thought. “That’s… hard to say…”
Qing Yan immediately glared. After mustering the courage to ask, this was the answer he got?
The maid shrank back under his gaze and quickly added, “Please allow me to think, Lord Qing Yan.”
“Fine. Think carefully.” Qing Yan maintained a stern expression and turned to the other maids. “All of you, think about what women like and what makes them happy!”
The maids exchanged bewildered glances.
Qing Yan frowned in displeasure. “Think seriously and carefully!”
—
The next morning, as dawn broke and the sun rose in the east, Yun Qingxue sat before her dressing table, idly watching Xiao Ling skillfully style her hair in the bronze mirror.
She picked up a simple yet elegant jade hairpin and handed it to Xiao Ling, who frowned slightly. “Your Majesty, isn’t this too plain?”
“No.” Yun Qingxue smiled.
Xiao Ling persisted. “With Your Majesty’s unparalleled beauty, perhaps the ruby set would better showcase your noble grace!”
Noble grace?
Yun Qingxue’s smile faded. As the Flower Queen in name only, powerless and at others’ mercy—where was the nobility?
“Hmm—” She extended the jade hairpin further toward Xiao Ling.
“Nobility isn’t something one can fake with adornments.”
Xiao Ling, sensing her displeasure, dared not argue further and carefully secured the hairpin in Yun Qingxue’s hair.
Once finished, she smiled again.
“This servant was foolish. Your Majesty’s innate grace is unmatched—even in plain cloth, you would still be peerless.”
Yun Qingxue responded with only a perfunctory smile to the obvious flattery.
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