Generally speaking, such maidservants would quickly be demoted or dismissed, unless the reason for the surprise could be forgiven, or could be acknowledged.
Soon, Ning Zhiyuan felt this reason could indeed be acknowledged, because he himself felt that what was before his eyes made him want to cry out loudly.
"This, how is this possible..."
"So beautiful..."
"This is completely different from the young man just now..."
"I understand now..."
Suddenly, the entire great hall erupted in commotion. The reason for their uproar was simple - they saw Xiaoyao's current appearance, with beauty that could topple cities and nations.
Although Xiaoyao's usual appearance could barely be considered handsome, it had no connection whatsoever to terms like "graceful as jade trees" or "peerlessly beautiful." Now that he had been made up in women's clothing, no one could have expected such a miraculous transformation.
No wonder the maidservant had cried out. Everyone present showed more or less surprised expressions, and some even exclaimed. What kind of composure could a maidservant have? Most importantly, even Ning Zhiyuan felt this matter was very miraculous.
...
...
What shocked some people wasn't just this world-toppling feminine makeup - they now understood who exactly Xiaoyao resembled. This feminine makeup had completely revealed the answer to who he looked like.
At this moment, Ning Zhiyuan finally understood why he felt he had seen Xiaoyao before. Le Yi and others also understood. If Xiaoyao had looked like this from the beginning, they would definitely have recognized him. But the difference between Xiaoyao and his current appearance was too great, making it impossible to connect them.
"Let me see. Huh, I didn't expect I'd be quite pretty as a woman - a complete disaster that could topple nations and ruin empires! However, I don't seem very similar to you. Did you mistake me for someone else?" Xiaoyao first praised himself, then raised a question - his appearance didn't seem very similar to the Eldest Princess.
"You're only somewhat like me, but you're completely identical to one person," The Eldest Princess said with a smile.
"Who?" Xiaoyao was also curious. If he really resembled someone this much, it might be a clue to his origins. So far, he had no leads about his background at all.
Although he didn't care much about this, if it could be clarified, naturally it would be better to clarify it.
"Princess Zhuyue! He, he is identical to Princess Zhuyue!"
Suddenly an exclamation solved some people's confusion and made the entire great hall fall silent. Those who knew had already been silent, while those who didn't know immediately fell silent upon hearing this, because they all seemed to remember a legendary figure.
"Princess Zhuyue?" Xiaoyao was somewhat confused. Was this referring to the Eldest Princess? It shouldn't be.
"Yes, Zhuyue. He's extremely similar to Zhuyue. If it weren't for the women's makeup, I really couldn't tell," Ning Zhiyuan said somewhat excitedly. Such excitement was very, very rare for him as Emperor of the Great Tang.
"I could tell. Zhuyue was my most beloved little sister. We had the best relationship, but unfortunately..." The Eldest Princess first smiled, then her expression became gloomy.
"Excuse me, which Princess Zhuyue are you referring to?" Xiaoyao asked somewhat puzzledly. He had been here for quite a while - a year and a half - and had never heard the name Zhuyue.
"Ning Zhuyue, my little sister. She was a girl who loved fantasies, always thinking that one day she could follow a peerless hero to travel the world! Later, she escaped from the palace to seek her dreams and realized half of them!" The Eldest Princess looked up at a forty-five degree angle, speaking somewhat sadly.
"Why do you say she realized half?" Xiaoyao asked.
The Eldest Princess glanced at Xiaoyao and continued, "Because although she traveled the world, the one with her wasn't a peerless hero, but a guard - a guard who grew up with her. However, though he wasn't a peerless hero, this guard fought desperately to protect and care for her all along!"
"Next, the two developed feelings for each other, but your royal family firmly opposed it. In the end, the two had to separate, and then they committed suicide together in despair?" Xiaoyao listened to this story and felt like he'd heard it somewhere before, and could even imagine what happened next.
"Sigh!" The Eldest Princess sighed and said, "They didn't commit suicide together, but you guessed the earlier part correctly, no one agreed! At that time, my father, the previous Tang Emperor, expelled that guard from the imperial palace and even ordered that he not set foot in the Great Tang Empire!"
Ning Zhiyuan continued at this point, "After that, the guard left behind the words 'I will return,' then disappeared. No one knew where he went. As for Zhuyue, she later fell ill from longing and died of melancholy..."
"This story sounds like it has nothing to do with me. I'd like to ask, when did Princess Zhuyue pass away?" Xiaoyao asked weakly.
"About twenty years ago!" Ning Zhiyuan answered.
"Oh, thank you. I'm certain this has absolutely nothing to do with me." Xiaoyao was somewhat disappointed, just feeling that this clue had broken off, not because he was certain he had no relationship with Zhuyue.
"How could it have nothing to do with you? You're identical to Zhuyue, you must be her son!" The Eldest Princess said.
Many people agreed with the Eldest Princess's statement, because they felt that two people who could be so similar in the world must be related, and a mother-son relationship should be the most common.
If they knew the situation, they would be somewhat doubtful, because there was a serious discrepancy in one place that made this matter impossible.
"There definitely can't be any relationship, because I'm only eighteen years old!" Xiaoyao said.
"Uh..."
"Eighteen years old, then he couldn't possibly be Princess Zhuyue's child. When Princess Zhuyue passed away, it was already twenty years ago..."
Suddenly, the people in the great hall began discussing again. This time, everyone was certain that Xiaoyao had no relationship with Princess Zhuyue, because there was a two-year gap that couldn't be bridged.
"That doesn't matter." The Eldest Princess shook her head and said with a smile.
"Yes, it doesn't matter. We won't have any relationship." Xiaoyao nodded. So you can think things through after all.
"I'm not talking about that. I'm saying your being eighteen doesn't matter, you could still be my little sister's child." The Eldest Princess's words showed that Xiaoyao had misunderstood.
"Can't you do math? Your little sister died twenty years ago, and I was born eighteen years ago. Are you saying she gave birth to me in the underworld two years after death?" Xiaoyao said irritably.
Indeed, this was an obvious mismatch that couldn't possibly happen.
"Who said my little sister died twenty years ago? I never said that." The Eldest Princess smiled.
"??" Xiaoyao didn't understand. Hadn't Ning Zhiyuan just said so? Could there be a discrepancy in time?
Not only was Xiaoyao confused, but Ning Zhiyuan was equally confused. He remembered this time very clearly - there couldn't be any mistake. If there was a mistake, it must be that the Eldest Princess's mind was having problems.
This was a problem that often occurred. If it weren't like this, that peerless expert from last time couldn't have escaped so easily or caused so many casualties.
Because at that time, the Eldest Princess had run off somewhere to go crazy!
"Imperial Sister, Zhuyue passed away twenty years ago. On the day of burial, you watched." Ning Zhiyuan said, wanting the Eldest Princess to recognize the facts.
"She didn't die. There's a drug that can make someone appear dead. We all thought she had died, but she hadn't. She left with Jiang Donglai to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests." The Eldest Princess said.
Jiang Donglai should be the guard who fell in love with Princess Zhuyue.
"Here we go again - this is your own fantasy!" Ning Zhiyuan shook his head helplessly. "Although you don't want to admit this, facts are facts!"
"What I'm saying is fact, and he is my little sister's child. Otherwise, why would he be identical to my little sister?" The Eldest Princess seemed convinced that Zhuyue hadn't died and that Xiaoyao was Zhuyue's child.
"People can be similar. Even if the probability of being identical is very small, it's not impossible. This is a coincidence," Xiaoyao said casually.
Some people who weren't twins and had no blood relationship could still look identical. This was a matter of probability. Although this probability was very, very small, one couldn't deny it was impossible.
Therefore, Xiaoyao didn't think his resemblance to Zhuyue was anything special, nor did he think he necessarily had any family relationship with Zhuyue, though he couldn't rule it out either.
"Ah! What are you doing!" Xiaoyao cried out loudly, because he felt a pain in his finger, the Eldest Princess had cut his finger, and his blood was placed in a jade bowl that also contained clear water.
This... was this a blood recognition test?
Also, where did this jade bowl come from?
"Let's see if our blood can merge together!"
The Eldest Princess similarly cut her own finger and dripped blood into the jade bowl. This really was a blood recognition test!
Regarding the Eldest Princess's behavior, like her other actions, no one could have expected it. However, everyone paid close attention, nervously watching whether the two people's blood could merge together.
Even if the possibility was zero, everyone still liked to watch such things. At the same time, this result would affect everyone's perception.
Even if they thought it impossible, if the result really showed fusion, everyone would have some doubts in their hearts - doubting that Xiaoyao really had a relationship with Princess Zhuyue, and that Princess Zhuyue might really not be dead.
(End of Chapter)