Chapter 132: She in a Long Dress

New Year, new vibes, right?

On the day before New Year, aka New Year’s Eve.

Wu Yingxue, as usual, was alone, circulating her Azure Dragon Gang Qi, observing the heavens and earth to understand the ultimate truths, and swinging her long spear to practice various spear techniques.

After finishing her martial arts training.

She habitually wanted to head to the center of Pingshui County, to where Xu Xi was.

Was she going to do something?

Actually, no.

The girl just felt that other things were too boring, far less interesting than staying by her master’s side, listening to his amusing little stories, or helping him handle administrative affairs.

“Huh, what’s this…”, just as she was about to step out, Wu Yingxue noticed something was off.

Her red and white robe, along with the exquisite light armor she wore over it, had somehow developed small cracks and many gaps.

Suddenly, the girl recalled the phrase “New Year, new vibes.”

Before the Prince Dingyuan’s mansion was purged.

As a princess, the girl had an endless supply of clothes, always dressed to the nines during festivals, never wearing damaged clothes.

But times have changed.

The girl is no longer a princess.

She herself isn’t much interested in dressing up.

However, it’s New Year’s Eve after all, and it wouldn’t be good to visit her master in such tattered clothes.

“Let’s find someone to mend it,” Wu Yingxue thought.

She acted quickly.

Leaping onto the rooftops with the agility of a bird, she swiftly passed over house after house, heading towards her destination.

When she stopped, she found herself in front of many women doing needlework.

They were either someone’s mother or someone’s wife.

Not skilled in fighting.

Naturally gentle.

Yet wanting to do something for the Army of Survival.

Thus, they were gathered by Xu Xi to do simple tasks.

“Little Master Wu?”, someone saw Wu Yingxue’s arrival and asked her purpose.

The girl didn’t hide anything, honestly pointing to her clothes, saying she wanted someone to help mend them, no need for anything fancy, just patch up the holes.

Such a simple request.

Naturally, it was fulfilled.

The women enthusiastically took on the task.

But what happened next was completely unexpected for the girl, as the women pushed her from behind, forcing her into the house.

“Little Master Wu is planning to see Great Master Xu, right?”

“We understand, we understand.”

“We’ll fix the holes, but for today, Little Master Wu should change into another outfit.”

Wu Yingxue’s eyes widened: “Huh!?”

The sudden turn of events was beyond the girl’s expectations, she had no idea what was happening, and when she walked out of the house again, her clothes had changed.

No longer the dashing red and white outfit.

Nor the fierce external light armor.

Instead, a simple light green long dress.

The skirt rippled like lake water, showing the shape of the wind, smooth and flowing, tied tightly at the waist with a black palace sash, with two ends hanging equally long.

Exquisite cloud-patterned fabric.

Swaying hair flowers on her head.

When the girl walked, it was as if she had stepped out of a painting, graceful and delicate, completely unlike her usual boldness.

The clothes were beautiful, the decorations were beautiful, but what truly showcased this beauty was the girl herself.

“Is this… really me?”

Wu Yingxue was somewhat bewildered.

Looking at her full reflection in the bronze mirror brought by someone, she couldn’t help but feel astonished.

In Wu Yingxue’s memory, when she lived in the prince’s mansion, she had worn such clothes before, though not often, she had indeed worn them.

But in her memory.

None of those times were as beautiful as now.

Could it be…

This is what the old folks in the mansion often said, “A girl changes eighteen times before she grows up”?

The girl fell into deep thought, greatly shocked.

“It’s a bit restrictive, but there’s no other way.”

After the shock, Wu Yingxue frowned, gently pulling at her sleeves, then at her collar.

Used to fighting in her combat outfit, she felt that such a long dress was too inconvenient, no matter what she did, it wasn’t as free as usual.

But.

This was the only way.

On New Year’s Eve, if she still wore her original tattered combat outfit, the girl herself would feel embarrassed.

“I hope the master won’t think it’s ugly…”

Muttering to herself.

The girl instinctively wanted to leap onto the rooftop, but then remembered her changed attire.

Running on rooftops in a long dress would be quite attention-grabbing.

After some thought, the girl chose to walk properly, under the surprised gazes of passersby, heading towards the official residence in the center of the county in her long dress.

That was originally where the county officials worked and rested.

Now it’s Xu Xi’s office and storage.

The official residence was spacious.

If only Xu Xi lived there, it would be a bit of a waste of space.

But people didn’t want to disturb, fearing they might startle Xu Xi who was handling administrative affairs and practicing martial arts, so Xu Xi was forced to live alone.

Others, including Wu Yingxue, lived in very cramped spaces.

Xu Xi didn’t want to be the only one enjoying preferential treatment.

So, he turned the official residence into a storage, using most of the space to store items, leaving only a small area for work and rest.

“The master is getting more and more foolish, not knowing how to treat himself better.”

Muttering such words.

Wu Yingxue, familiar with the route.

Wound through the cluttered storages, navigating the narrow paths, and successfully reached Xu Xi’s door.

Extending her finger, about to pull open the door.

But then froze mid-air.

At this moment, the girl in the light green long dress stood quietly at the door, hesitating repeatedly, she gently tidied her hair with her fingers.

The strands in front of her forehead were fiddled with, now to the left, now to the right.

Would it be too messy?

She thought so, over and over, tirelessly adjusting her hair, rearranging the bun that held her long hair.

Her slender fingers pinched the collar, meticulously and patiently smoothing it out, though it was already quite smooth.

What else was missing?

The girl pondered, her usual style was bold and generous, would dressing like this today make the master think it strange.

Hmm, let’s pull up the sleeves a bit…

To appear less delicate.

But, usually it’s that style, maybe changing it up occasionally would make the master think it’s nice?

The girl was tangled in various unnecessary details, hesitating for a long time.

Finally.

Wu Yingxue took a deep breath, patted her cheeks.

Boldly pulled open the door.

Pretending not to care, she entered the room.

“Master, I’m here.”

The room was eerily quiet, no response, and not the person Wu Yingxue wanted to see, only a pile of administrative affairs waiting to be handled on the desk.

Yes, Xu Xi was not in the room.

“Huh!?”

The girl blinked.

If Xu Xi wasn’t here, then all her previous hesitation was for nothing?

“Did something stupid…”

Wu Yingxue wanted to punch herself, but decided against it because it would hurt.

She walked to Xu Xi’s work position, sat down to handle administrative affairs, both to relieve Xu Xi’s pressure and to wait for his return.