Yunyang looked at herself in the mirror and discovered that her hair had been pinned up.
A hairpin made of braided wire and fabric was tucked into it. The fabric was blue mer-silk, and the head of the pin was shaped like a butterfly. It looked quite similar to Butler Four.
Yunyang’s eyes lit up.
“Fuyuan, you made this too?”
Fuyuan lowered his head with a smile. “I saw one on the StarNet a few days ago. I thought it would suit you, female master, so I learned how to make one. Do you like it?”
“I love it!”
As someone from Huaxia, Yunyang naturally had a soft spot for things with classical elements, and she was no exception.
She gently shook the hairpin, and the butterfly’s wings fluttered lightly with the movement.
Yunyang liked it even more after discovering the clever little detail.
She set down the hand mirror, turned around, grabbed Fuyuan by the collar, and pulled him closer. Rising slightly onto her toes, she kissed him on the lips.
The other husbands knew they did not possess Fuyuan’s skill, so although they envied him for earning a kiss from Yunyang, they did not try to compete for her favor.
After giving him a single kiss, Yunyang turned around, picked up the hand mirror again, and sat down on the sofa to admire the hairpin on her head.
The longer she looked at it, the more she liked it.
Before long, however, she realized that her clothes did not seem to match the hairpin very well.
She remembered that the housewarming gift Brother Zhanming had given her included several outfits that would go perfectly with it.
At that thought, Yunyang immediately opened the virtual wardrobe on her optical brain and began searching.
When they had moved, several of her husbands had helped organize her clothes. They had even knocked down the walls between two rooms on the third floor, near the stairs, and turned them into her walk-in wardrobe.
The wardrobe was connected to the villa’s smart system, allowing her to preview everything on her optical brain.
After searching for quite a while, Yunyang finally found the housewarming gifts Yun Zhanming had sent her. From them, she selected a qipao that matched the hairpin best.
The qipao was an elegant misty blue overall. A hazy pattern in pale beige spread across the fabric, accented by subtle white bamboo-branch motifs.
The colors were fresh and delicate, and they complemented the blue butterfly on the hairpin perfectly.
After choosing the outfit, Yunyang instructed her husbands to retrieve it from the wardrobe, then returned to her room to change.
She also selected a pearl necklace to go with it and took out an ivory-fringed shawl, placing it in her space button as a spare.
Once she had changed, Yunyang slowly spun around in front of her husbands.
“Does this look good on me?”
“It looks wonderful!”
“You look beautiful in everything, female master.”
The eyes of several husbands lit up, and their gazes seemed almost glued to Yunyang.
Yunyang loved hearing compliments like that. Whether they were sincere or not, as long as they sounded good to her, that was all that mattered.
Besides, there was no way her own husbands could fake the looks in their eyes.
Yunyang was eager to show her outfit to her two best friends, but it was not yet noon, and neither of them was necessarily awake.
All she could do was take a few pictures and send them to their group chat before sitting back down on the sofa to browse the StarNet.
It was not until after lunch that the group finally became lively.
[Lulu: Yangyang, this outfit is gorgeous! Where did you buy it? I want one too!]
[Sister Zhiwei: The hairpin on your head is beautiful. It doesn’t look like something you could buy on the StarNet.]
[Yunyang: The outfit was part of the housewarming gift Brother Zhanming gave me. Lulu, if you want one, I’ll ask him about it later.]
[Yunyang: Fuyuan made the hairpin. Isn’t it pretty?]
[Lulu: It’s beautiful!]
[Sister Zhiwei: Beautiful!]
Lulu and Sister Zhiwei were both very enthusiastic, but they genuinely thought Yunyang’s jewelry and outfit looked wonderful.
Yunyang was not merely making conversation. She quickly asked Yun Zhanming where he had bought the outfit.
There were several similar outfits at home, but they were all in her size. She and Lulu and Sister Zhiwei had different figures, so she could not simply give one to either of them.
As Yunyang chatted with her friends, she waited for Yun Zhanming’s reply.
Instead of a message from Yun Zhanming, however, one came from Si Zhao.
[Yangyang, I’ll be waiting for you outside the Purification Tower tonight. Is that convenient?]
Yunyang quickly replied:
[Of course, Sister Zhaozhao. Is something wrong?]
[We’ll talk when we meet tonight.]
[All right.]
After replying to Si Zhao, Yunyang immediately opened her friends’ group chat again, only to discover that Lulu had already sent a message.
[Lulu: Yangyang, Sister Zhiwei, Sister Zhaozhao wants to meet with me tonight. [Image]]
The attached image was a screenshot of the message Si Zhao had sent Lulu. The content was almost identical to Yunyang’s, with only the form of address changed.
[Yunyang: Sister Zhaozhao told me the same thing.]
Yunyang sent a screenshot of her own conversation to the group as well.
Chu Zhiwei promptly sent a similar image.
[Lulu: Sister Zhaozhao is meeting all three of us at once? What could be important enough for such a formal meeting?]
[Sister Zhiwei: I heard from Lin that the military received some information and has sent quite a few people to the Insect Star. They’re planning to take advantage of its weakened defenses and wipe out the insect queen. Sister Zhaozhao must be here because of that.]
[Yunyang: I think Sister Zhiwei is right.]
[Lulu: I’m going to change into something more presentable. Yangyang, Sister Zhiwei, see you both later!]
[Sister Zhiwei: Then I’ll get ready too.]
Although Si Zhao never put on airs when spending time with the three of them, proper etiquette was still necessary.
Yunyang was fairly satisfied with her outfit that day, so she did not plan to change. She figured that once she came out of the Purification Tower that evening, she could drape the shawl over her shoulders and look formal enough.
·
At three in the afternoon, Yunyang met up with her two friends outside Lulu’s residential compound, and the three of them headed for the Purification Tower together.
Purification began at four. Once it ended, the three of them rested for a while before hurriedly making their way outside the tower.
Si Zhao’s spacecraft was already parked in the open area outside.
He Youchuan and another of Si Zhao’s imperial husbands were waiting by the hatch. When they saw the three women, they immediately stepped forward to greet them.
“Honored ladies, please come with me.”
Although Si Zhao’s spacecraft was large enough, Yunyang and the other two still left their husbands outside and entered the spacecraft alone.
Si Zhao did not have any of her other imperial husbands with her either.
Once the three of them boarded, they saw her smile and wave them over.
“Come sit down.”
It did not look as though this was about anything related to the military, but it did not seem to be bad news either.
Yunyang relaxed and followed her two friends to sit on the sofa opposite Si Zhao.
Si Zhao glanced to the side at He Youchuan. He immediately understood and left the spacecraft with the other imperial husband.
The hatch slowly closed, cutting off all the men outside.
Looking at the three pairs of curious eyes, Si Zhao smiled and took out three vials of medicine, handing one to each of them.
“Your mental power probably hasn’t recovered yet, has it? Try this.”
The three women accepted the vials. After only a moment’s hesitation, they drank them without the slightest reluctance.
A bitter taste spread across Yunyang’s tongue, distorting her features. She silently took out the biscuits Xuan Yu had made that morning and nibbled on one, barely managing to suppress the bitterness.
Lulu and Chu Zhiwei were no better. They each rummaged through their storage space buttons and pulled out whatever food they happened to find.
Salty or sweet, it didn’t matter. Anything that could get rid of the bitter taste would do.
Only when she saw their reactions did Si Zhao realize that, in her excitement, she had forgotten something.
“Sorry. I forgot to have the laboratory adjust the flavor.”
