Transmigrated Female Official

12 people with affinity

In Yancheng, anyone who parades while playing music immediately becomes the center of attention. Soon, the roadsides are packed with people.

Chu Qingluo wasn't used to it yet. Just a short while ago, she was watching others have their fun, and today she was the one in the fun—life's roles changed so quickly. She rested her forehead on her fingers and winked at the nine-tailed fox under the sedan chair: "Tch—"

Nine-Tails tactfully moved closer: "Miss, what's wrong?"

"This city takes a whole day to explore. What if I get hungry? What if I need to use the restroom?"

"Miss, at a time like this, you're still concerned about these things?"

"Otherwise what?" Her question was so practical.

"Miss, you should look around more and see if there are any men you like. Otherwise, you might just throw yourself away and someone might snatch you up! What will you do if some old man with a pockmarked face takes you away?" Nine-Tailed was genuinely worried about her.

"Wow! You jinx! Now that you mention it, it seems like throwing the sachet is actually a skill!" Nine-Tailed Fox made Chu Qinglu a little nervous. She quickly thought of a solution: "How about I just give it to you directly?" After all, Nine-Tailed Fox was an old acquaintance, someone she could trust and rely on.

"Miss! If I could just take this directly, I would have snatched it long ago! Why would I need to wander around here?!" Nine-Tailed sighed heavily, put on a pitiful look, and pleaded, "If Miss takes pity on me, you can still talk to Madam when we get back and ask her to let me be your most loyal male servant."

Chu Qinglu rolled her eyes: "Never mind." Just as she was about to focus on choosing someone, another problem arose: "What if the person I've chosen is already someone else's male servant?"

Nine-Tailed Fox: "Then he'll have to return the sachet. But everyone knows the rules; the owner won't come and snatch the sachet again."

"Oh..." Now that he mentions it, it's true. The people surrounding her sedan chair are incredibly enthusiastic, their hands raised high. Some men, however, are merely observing from afar, not approaching. Her gaze sweeps over these enthusiastic men...

None of them are good-looking!

"Sigh," she sighed genuinely from the bottom of her heart, her whole body slumping back against the chair.

I never imagined that the second major thing I did after transmigrating would be choosing male concubines! Life's progressing a bit too fast…

……

The group had arrived at the center of the market in no time, and a growing crowd had gathered. Chu Qingluo noticed that the men in this area were of slightly better quality, so she immediately straightened her posture and became extremely alert.

A handsome man in the crowd waved to her: "Third Miss Chu, choose me!" His shout sparked a flurry of activity among the others, who also waved and chanted, "Choose me!" "Choose me!"

Chu Qingluo was amused by this scene; she felt like a beauty queen in a parade. The feeling of being adored by thousands was undeniably wonderful. "Hehe," she chuckled, standing up and waving to the crowd, "Hello everyone!"

"What is your sister doing?" Ji Qiran couldn't help but ask from a private room on the second floor of Yibin Pavilion. He simply couldn't stand it anymore.

Chu Yilin, who was also standing by the window, suppressed a laugh: "He's probably trying to curry favor with the male servants."

"..." Ji Qiran was speechless, and said, "I've never seen anything like this before. Other women who stroll through the city at most nod politely, but she's so enthusiastic, she even stood up. Will she just walk down later?!"

"Pfft—hahahaha!" Chu Yilin couldn't hold back any longer and waved his hand at him: "I can't take it anymore, let me laugh for a bit first! Hahaha..."

At this moment, Chu Qingluo's steed headed towards the east of the city, and the crowd followed suit.

After laughing for a while, Chu Yilin finally stopped. Catching his breath, he said, "Ever since she lost her memory, she's often acted strangely, so don't be too surprised." He then walked back to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it. "By the way, before she left today, she specifically asked me a question about you."

"Oh?" This piqued Ji Qiran's interest, and he returned to the table. "What's the problem?"

Chu Yilin: "She asked me what her relationship with you was before."

Ji Qiran raised an eyebrow: "So how did you answer?"

"What can I answer? Of course I'll say I don't know. I can't tell the truth, lest you blame me for ruining your rare peace and quiet."

A complex expression flashed across Ji Qiran's face, but it quickly returned to its calm state: "You're right."

……

Chu Qingluo has been here for over a month, and thanks to her coming-of-age ceremony, she's finally able to properly explore Yancheng today. Thinking about it, being a monkey isn't such a bad thing after all.

Just as Nine-Tailed Fox said, there was no need to worry about eating, drinking, or relieving themselves. Their palanquin was currently parked outside the Goddess Temple. They would have a vegetarian meal here for lunch and then go to the Heavenly God to draw lots and pray for blessings.

After finishing her vegetarian meal in the backyard, Chu Qingluo went to the temple to draw lots, as was customary. The temple housed a stone statue of a woman who looked somewhat like a figure such as Nuwa. The temple was bustling with worshippers, and people came and went in a constant stream.

She knelt on the cushion, closed her eyes, and devoutly prayed with the divination sticks in hand. Silently she murmured, "Gods above, due to a twist of fate, I have traveled from the future to this place. I beg you to tell me, can I return to my original place? Can I resume my former life?" She actually wanted to be more direct, so she added, "Was the me in the future dead or crippled? I beg you to tell me clearly."

After a long internal monologue, she shook the divination stick container. A few shakes later, a bamboo stick fell out. She quickly picked it up; it had a line of text written on it: “...something of something…” Never mind, she couldn't understand it, but she did understand the three characters “the worst possible fortune” at the top of the stick.

Feeling utterly dejected, she sought out the abbot of the temple to have her fortune told.

The abbot read the fortune slip aloud: "Water flows eastward, why insist on it returning westward?" He bowed slightly to Chu Qingluo: "Female lead, the mistakes of the past have been made and cannot be changed. Just as water flows eastward, why insist on making it flow westward? Let's focus on the present."

Chu Qingluo was taken aback at first, then nodded slightly and said, "...Thank you, Abbot." The meaning of this fortune slip was that she should stop dwelling on the past. It seemed that the gods wanted to tell her that the situation was not optimistic and that she should not go back.

She returned to the statue of the goddess and kowtowed three more times: "Goddess, since that's the case, please bless me so that I can live peacefully here."

……

After the prayers, Chu Qingluo was carried in a sedan chair to the west of the city. As they passed the gate of a large courtyard, they happened to see several young men walking out of the courtyard, carrying books in their hands; they looked like scholars.

She used to be nearsighted by 500 degrees, unable to see distant objects clearly, and even with contact lenses, her vision was only 1.0. Now, however, both eyes are perfectly 1.5, making her incredibly accurate and decisive in spotting handsome guys!

"Nine-tailed Paulownia! Look over there, there's a handsome guy!" The scholars were only sixteen or seventeen years old. "Is this secluded mansion a private school?" Her younger brother, Chu Yinuo, also attended a private school, but she didn't know if it was in this one.

"Yes." As soon as Tongmu finished speaking, another woman walked out of the courtyard.

"Men and women study together? How democratic!" she exclaimed.

“Miss, you talk as if you haven’t studied. And your amnesia is quite thorough.” Nine-Tailed Fox murmured, “Women go to primary school, and men go to university. There is a difference.”

Just then, several scholars walked towards them. Among them was a fair-skinned man with a sunny disposition and a smile on his face. Chu Qingluo's eyes immediately lit up: "A handsome young man! I love you! Hahaha—"

"Miss! Why do you look so lewd..." Nine-Tails was startled by her infatuated look, while Kirito was secretly laughing to himself.

"Go away!" Chu Qinglu ignored them, reached out and took off the sachet from her waist. She was tired after walking around all morning, and mainly she was afraid of losing the big picture for a small one, so she decided to throw the sachet to this young man!

"The third young lady of the Chu family is going to throw the sachet!" someone shouted excitedly, and the crowd cheered.

She held up the sachet and called out to the young man, "Hey—"

The young man had only been passing by to watch the commotion, but the woman in the sedan chair suddenly called out to him. He was stunned for a moment, then looked at his companions, who were also exchanging bewildered glances. He then looked at Chu Qingluo, and seeing her round eyes still fixed on him, he weakly pointed to himself: "Me?"

Chu Qinglu smiled and nodded: "Do you want it?" She then shook the sachet in her hand.

"Wow—!" His friends teased him, "Wu Yang, you're so lucky! A stunningly beautiful woman has taken a liking to you!" "Wu Yang! Hurry up and reach out to catch her!" They kept saying these things, and suddenly a blush appeared on his face. He didn't know how to react and just stood there dumbfounded.

Chu Qingluo was amused by his dazed expression; he was so cute. She leaned back slightly, then with a burst of strength, threw the sachet towards him. At that moment, everyone held their breath, watching the sachet trace a beautiful arc through the sky, flying accurately towards her target…

Suddenly, a white figure flashed by, and then a large hand steadily caught the sachet... no, it intercepted the sachet!

"Holy crap!" Chu Qingluo exclaimed as she stood up.

"..." Kurama and Kirito were also stunned.

Why did this man in white look so familiar? He was smiling at her, his eyes radiating unwavering confidence. "Gongsun Yu?!" she immediately recognized him.

Gongsun Yu bowed to her: "Miss Chu, it's been a long time." He had said long ago that they were destined to be together.

She lowered her voice: "Young Master Gongsun, I'm busy with important matters, why are you causing trouble?"

Gongsun Yu looked completely innocent: "I didn't cause any trouble. I've been following you all day, just waiting for this moment."

Chu Qingluo's face showed a hint of embarrassment: "Hehe..." You, Gongsun Yu! You interrupted her marriage as soon as you arrived!

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Gongsun Yu received the sachet thrown by Chu Qingluo; their fate was sealed. Chu Qingluo had no choice but to look at the young man with reluctance, noticing that he was still staring in astonishment at Gongsun Yu, who was blocking her way, seemingly not yet recovered from the shock.

Sigh... her young boyfriend is just too adorable...

Only after Chu Qingluo's sedan chair and Gongsun Yu had left, and the crowd had all dispersed, did he realize, with a sigh, that he had missed a beautiful romance. The girl in the sedan chair seemed to be smiling at him just moments before, but everything had suddenly vanished. For him, this happiness had come far too quickly and gone even faster!

"Don't be too disappointed. After all, you're still very popular in Yancheng," someone comforted him.

But they didn't understand that all he could think about now was the image of that girl holding up the sachet, smiling and asking him, "Do you want one?" Her smile was so...beautiful.

Having received the sachet, Gongsun Yu naturally wanted to visit the Chu family. Chu's mother was delighted to see his refined manners and handsome features. Upon learning that he was the son of a fifth-rank female official, she was even more pleased: "Young Master Gongsun, would you be willing to join our Chu family?" According to etiquette, she should ask first.

Gongsun Yu said sincerely, "Madam, I would be more than happy to oblige."

Chu Qingluo curled her lips to the side, "Otherwise what? Snatch it to play with?"

Mother Chu smiled and nodded: "When do you plan to begin your studies?"

"Go back and prepare the gifts, then come." Gongsun Yu wished he could stay right now, but according to the rules, he still had to bring the entrance gifts when he came to enter the family.

As expected of a son of an official, there was no need to instruct him on etiquette; he was an easy child to care for. After admiring him for a while, Madam Chu said, "Alright, then we'll wait for you. Qingluo, see the young master out first."

Gongsun Yu bowed and said, "Thank you, Madam."

Chu Qingluo escorted him to the door, but he remained silent with a smile. "What are you laughing at?!" she was still seething with anger.

"Are you so unhappy that I stole your sachet?" he asked. Seeing that Chu Qingluo did not answer, he added, "Don't worry, I will get that young man for you, if you want."

Chu Qinglu rolled her eyes at him and muttered, "It's not like we're buying groceries."

Gongsun Yu still had a smile on his face: "Qingluo, don't be angry. I'm much more useful than you think, so please keep me by your side."

"What use are you?" Aside from being good at robbery, she couldn't see anything else in you.

"I know astronomy from above and geography from below...etc." Gongsun Yu boasted about Haikou.

Since the matter was already settled, there was nothing she could do about it. So she waved her hand at him and said, "I'll wait and see. Goodbye."