7 The Picky Collector

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven… Although from the historical records, it was written that Princess Shanyin, Liu Chuyu had a total of 30 male companions which was given to her by the Emperor, in fact, that was not the case. From what Chu Yu had learned from You Lan, within the Princess's Imperial Residence, there were a total of 24 male companions. However, half of them were a one-time gift from the Emperor while the other half were companions that had been carefully selected and personally chosen by Princess Shanyin herself from across the lands, albeit using extortion methods. 

Among them was Rong Zhi, who was also the earliest that Princess Shanyin brought back to the Princess's Imperial Residence.

Young men with youth and beauty of all kinds showed up in succession through the courtyard entrance. Chu Yu looked upon them with a heart full of admiration and was once again affirmed that the Princess's appreciation of beauty was not only extremely high but also inclined towards diversity whereby there were 2 to 3 people of almost every type. Among the same type, there were subtle differences whereby each had their own mannerisms and style. What a show of varied extraordinary splendor!

Princess Shanyin was like a picky collector, continuously gathering and collecting pieces of art that the household was lacking. For every type of style, she only wanted 2 to 3 of the same kind, so she accomplished a complete set of variety and diversified styles.

At first, she believed that Rong Zhi's appearance was already quite outstanding, but who would have guessed after meeting the other male companions, she realized that more talented people existed out there. Frankly, if one were to judge superficially, there were quite a few in the Princess's Imperial Residence who were far better and above Rong Zhi.

The age of these men ranged between late teenage to slightly over twenty years old. Chu Yu then caught sight of one of the male companions. He appeared to be only a child of 11-12 years old. He was adorable with long eyelashes and bright, round eyes that were black and clear. His cheeks were so soft that it seemed as if water would flow out if you pinched them. Chu Yu's mind went abuzz momentarily as she desperately strived to remain calm. Then, while pointing at the child from a distance, she asked Rong Zhi who was sitting beside her in a nonchalant manner, "Right, how old is he this year?"

"Twelve." Rong Zhi's reply caused Chu Yu's mind to go abuzz again, thinking that Princess Shanyin was simply inhuman. How could she even defile a child of only twelve years old? Although this child was indeed born with an appearance that would make one felt like defiling him, he was only twelve years old. A twelve-year-old… It was akin to her wrecking the seeds of our homeland!

Eyeing the age of the other occupants seated, Chu Yu shook her head. Evidently, Princess Shanyin was not an enthusiast of all ages to the extent of having a serious case of fetish.

There were a total of 24 male companions including Rong Zhi, two of whom were allegedly sick, so they could not attend. Chu Yu had no way to determine if they were genuinely not able to attend or if they had other reasons in their mind, so she just smiled inwardly and remembered their names. Princess Shanyin's Prince Consort, He Ji, was also not at the Imperial Residence. Since she arrived there, she had yet to meet him, this body's legitimate husband. Chu Yu felt somewhat regrettable. Nevertheless, from this angle, it sufficed to indicate that the relationship between Princess Shanyin and her Prince Consort was not much. Of course, this was quite natural. Regardless of which man would stand his wife having affairs right in his face, it was expected that their relationship would not be that great.

Pity that Prince Consort… Looking at the two rows of beautiful young men and youth each with grace and charms in their own right before her, Chu Yu could not help but keenly sympathize that man whom she had yet to meet. She reckoned the green hat1 piled upon his head should already be as tall as a tower.

The last to appear and take their seats were two young men whose gorgeous features held expressions of sweetness and flirtatiousness. One was dressed in light pink apparel while the other was dressed in emerald green, seemingly as if his body was about to fall out. They walked side by side towards Chu Yu, who at that moment was incidentally taking a small sip of the fruit wine from the wine glass she had raised to her lips. Before she could savor the taste of the wine, she almost choked on it upon seeing the pink and green figures approach her. She then hastily lowered her head and forcefully swallowed down the wine to recover her breath.

Chu Yu licked her lips as she had lost the mood to drink the wine while looking at the two young men that had drawn near. Their awe-inspiring beauty compelled one to be dazzled. Just by looking at them, both were really great beauties, but still… Pink with green, who thought of this pairing?

The lovely young man in emerald green attire was precisely the one who requested Rong Zhi to take a look at the Princess. It was Liu Se. After knowing that the Princess was going to have a Spring Banquet in the midst of the Apricot Forest, he had hurriedly dressed up and even taken a short bath before rushing over, which was why he was slightly late. The other one who was also similarly late was his nemesis fiercely rivaling for the Princess's favor, Mo Xiang.

Both of them met after coming from two opposing paths. After catching sight of each other being finely dressed, they stared at each other with hatred-filled eyes. Both not wanting to fall behind, they picked up their pace and arrived at the banquet at almost the same time.

If it was necessary to ask Liu Se who was the person he could not tolerate the most in the Princess's Imperial Residence, it was neither the Princess's Prince Consort, He Ji, nor Rong Zhi, who was undoubtedly the most favored by the Princess but rather it was Mo Xiang.

He Ji was really a bungler and did not present any threat to them while Rong Zhi, though most favored was gracefully relaxed and had a simplistic nature. He never took the initiative to strive for anything, except when he occasionally requested books from the Princess. Everything that he was given by the Princess, was given out of her own accord. It was not entirely true to say that what Liu Se bore was hatred toward Rong Zhi, but in essence, it was rather more like despair at knowing he was unable to defeat and envy for the unattainable. 

In reality, the fact was that Mo Xiang indeed the one with the ability to threaten Liu Se's benefit, which was why he was the one Liu Se loathed the most at the moment.

It was widely known among the people of the Princess's Imperial Residence that Princess Shanyin did not like repetition when selecting the male companions, so the more unique they were, the more likely they would garner the Princess's doting eye and be cherished. Liu Se and Mo Xiang were both gorgeously eye-catching which made them alike in that aspect. However, Liu Se had the upper hand in terms of looks, albeit only by a slight degree, but Mo Xiang had a distinguishing feature which Liu Se did not possess. It clearly became Mo Xiang's most favorable weapon which was his greatest capital and advantage.

At the moment, in the midst of the banquet, there were still two unoccupied seats, but the two gorgeous young men did not even spare the vacant seats a glance. Instead, they simultaneously bowed towards Chu Yu then separately moved along both sides to wind around the table and sat down beside her.

As soon as both of them neared Chu Yu, a whiff of sweet and delicate fragrance drifted towards them. It was unlike the incense that the Princess usually favored which carried the traces of smoke. Instead, it was lined with a gentle and lingering flowery scent that brought about a subtle hint of mild warmth.

A thought occurred to Chu Yu. She suddenly thought of a possibility and could not help inclining her head to one side and glance towards Mo Xiang again and again. He had probably come in a hurried state as there was a fine layer of sweat on Mo Xiang's forehead and nose tip while the scent of perspiration wafted forward with the light breeze.

During the Qing Dynasty, there was a belle who hailed from Xin Jiang. Her body emanated a delicate fragrance which was not brought forth by the use of any perfume. She captivated Emperor Qian Long and was conferred as the Fragrant Concubine. However, Chu Yu did not expect that a thousand years ago, during the Southern and the Northern Dynasties2, there was actually a male version of the 'Fragrant Concubine' residing in Princess Shanyin's Imperial Harem.

Chu Yu felt a slight sense of admiration towards Princess Shanyin. Given that everyone had their own constitution, those that could naturally emit a mesmerizing body fragrance were extremely rare, yet Princess Shanyin, this collector of beautiful young men, was able to get her hands on a young man with precisely such a body and keep him in her Imperial harem.