Chapter 393

Chapter 393: Women Disguised as Men?

When the cold palace female official truly laid eyes on the stunning young girl depicted in the official document, she was momentarily stunned. Coming back to her senses, she asked, “Are you a court female official?”

Li Hui nodded. He had no desire to disguise himself as a woman but could indeed make others think he was one.

“Uh, you look quite gallant as a man, having some degree of authority and presence,” the official stammered after a long pause.

“Auntie, you flatter me. This disguise is simply more convenient and gives me a bit more courage. Luckily, I am careful; otherwise, who knows what troubles might arise on the journey.” Li Hui casually gave himself a name, Li Yingxiu; the information on the official document was detailed, and the reasons for his demotion were quite reasonable. He didn’t want to yield to a certain prince, and the surface explanation sent an underlying message that anyone with knowledge would understand.

“That’s true; with such looks, you must be cautious,” the official nodded.

Li Hui spoke in a slightly awkward tone, quickly explaining before falling silent and following the female official as they strode confidently toward the cold palace.

The road god ignored him, while the gate god winked at him.

A fearful spiritual sense swept over, protected by the essence of calamity power; though he was clearly a man, he was treated as a woman in disguise. Moreover, a number of older women secretly coveted his appearance.

The cold palace had many rooms but still followed the rules, arranging for him to live with three other girls.

Another female official took charge of Li Hui and stated, “Listen well. Now that you’ve entered this place, your fate is sealed. Don’t think of useless things. Before dawn tomorrow, fetch water, chop firewood, cut vegetables, and wash clothes. After dawn, you have a quarter of an hour for meals, and then two quarters of an hour waiting in front of Lady Liao. Even if you’re sent out of the palace, the treatment is different with or without a background. Work hard, or expect harsh punishment.”

His first day was relatively calm. Li Hui looked around and couldn’t help but feel astonished: “Amazing! At least ten female cultivators can sense Bai Ze’s divine eye scanning us. Several forbidden areas correspond to the depth of this courtyard. Unless I use the Azure Sky Jade Symbol Sword to cast sword light as guidance, it would be difficult to determine the depth.”

“Alright, let’s experience the life in the cold palace!” Around noon, the three girls returned to the quarters and started babbling around him.

The Moon Fairy was a favorite from the last court selection, but due to bad luck, she had been rumored to have cursed other contestants with malevolent arts and ultimately fell from favor; despite the doubts, she ended up in the cold palace.

Lin Sisi, a palace maid, felt extremely fortunate that she hadn’t been beaten to death for breaking the empress’s glass lamp when she first arrived. She was quite cheerful.

Shen Zihan, a daughter from an influential family, had gotten pregnant by a prince’s grandson. Thinking she would soar to greatness, she faced torment from the prince’s official wife, lost her child, and now harbored a grudge, yearning for revenge, but she was utterly powerless and was then confined to the cold palace.

The Moon Fairy and Lin Sisi were the most lively, eager to learn how the outside world had changed. Shen Zihan was consumed by resentment and wanted news of the prince’s grandson, holding onto an unrealistic hope.

Li Hui grew tired of trying to affect a certain tone and casually took out a memory symbol, showing places he had visited; the three girls watched with great interest.

“Hehe, Yingxiu is so impressive, managing to sneak in a memory symbol! Before we entered the cold palace, even a tiny trinket was taken away,” they reminisced, feeling sentimental, and continued watching the memory, their moods lifting with each scene.

Daytime was manageable, but when evening fell, a handsome young man was stunned. The three girls began to loosen their garments without hesitation in front of him, treating him as if he were no outsider!

“Wow! I didn’t expect your figure to be so good, Moon Fairy!” Li Hui couldn’t help but compliment.

The Moon Fairy pouted, “Stop it! Why are you trying to talk like a man at this hour? Hurry up and change for bed, we need to get up early for work tomorrow!”

Four beds for four people; Lin Sisi yawned and flopped straight onto the bed.

Li Hui changed his outfit, while the three girls felt particularly tired that day. They couldn’t even use the candlelight to watch the beauty discard her male disguise before they fell sound asleep.

A light breeze wafted through, and the candles extinguished.

In the room floated a symbol imbued with the essence of drunkenness and hypnosis. Li Hui casually retracted the talisman, yawning and murmuring to himself, “The first time sharing a room with three beauties, thankfully their cultivation is low, making it easy to blend in. Hah, I’m tired, need to wake up early tomorrow.”

Not long after, as he tried to drift off, Li Hui sat up, feeling helpless, “This habit is not good; I’m too accustomed to this bed! Having slept on the Spirit-Refining Formation’s jade bed, I’ve grown spoiled. What should I do in this long night? It’s not good to run around aimlessly. Let’s take this time to cultivate!”

He held the treasure vase and cultivated until the fourth watch. Just before the fifth watch, he heard a loud voice in the courtyard calling, “Get up, lazybones! Hurry up and get out of bed!”

“Ah! Quick, the old hag is coming!” The Moon Fairy and the three girls groggily got out of bed, their nightgowns flying about, and Li Hui’s eyes widened as he thought, “Decorum, please! Can’t you ladies tie your clothes first? And why is it so early?”

The fourth watch was indeed early!

In the courtyard, hundreds of women lined up, and Li Hui, dressed in white, stood out conspicuously.

“A man?”

“What are you thinking? How could there be a man in the cold palace? She’s a new female official from the Dress Department that just entered yesterday. Not wanting to yield to the prince, they say her temperament is fiery; obviously, she will get punished.”

“Fiery temperament? Another girl who likes men.”

“That’s true, how could a man be so handsome? Yet she definitely looks better than that Wu Zhao girl; I can hardly contain myself!”

“Stop flirting; the old hag is coming!”

At the front of the line, a burly middle-aged woman scanned the crowd with fierce eyes, causing the chatter to abruptly cease. Some young girls trembled in fear, more scared than when encountering the fierce woman, the Mother of Night.

Well, this was a fierce woman. Li Hui thought it was unfair that some women were so beautiful while others were so ugly. No, it was beyond ugly; it was truly unappealing, yet they were oblivious to it and forced makeup on, making him feel nauseated.

“Hmph! Trying to act like a man for attention?” the fierce woman swaggered over and bellowed, “There are no men in the cold palace. Even dressed as one, you aren’t allowed; you have sixty moments to change your clothes and face punishment afterward.”

It must be said that these women were stunning, beautiful like flowers and jade, pure and captivating; among them were many breathtaking beauties. Even without eating, just looking at the beauties felt satisfying and uplifting.

Originally a scene of charming chatter, as Li Hui stood by watching the spectacle, unexpectedly, the fierce woman found him distasteful and came directly to cause trouble.

“Out!”

With a sharp command, the fierce woman “thud” fell to the ground, unable to move, her eyes wide open.

“Heavens! Is this a spell? The old hag possesses cultivation; how could she get caught?” The flutter of young maidens spread out, pulling away from Li Hui.

Suddenly, four streams of energy zipped in, revealing themselves in the courtyard. One of them frowned fiercely, pointing at Li Hui, and demanded, “Who are you?”

“Boom…” Bai Ze’s divine eye shimmered with a strange light, revealing the girl disguised as a man before them.

This was not the issue; the key was that this girl exuded extraordinary fortune. The phoenixes sang and danced with the golden dragon, and the magnificent canopy soared through the sky, with the phoenix seemingly suppressing the dragon, creating a remarkable phenomenon.

“A sign of a female protagonist?” Li Hui was astonished.