Chapter 76

The porcelain cup shattered on the stage.

Because of this sound, the already quiet Jade Splendor Tower became even more silent.

After saying these words, Xiao Jin turned her head, intending to take Chu Shao and leave together. But she was stunned to find that, at some unknown point, the other party had already stood up.

Her posture was straight, a smile on her face.

It was as if the scene being performed in the play had nothing to do with her at all.

Chu Shao’s lips held a smile as she raised her hand and clapped three times.

The sound was crisp, echoing throughout the main hall.

The woman in red propped her chin on her hand, seeming somewhat surprised by Chu Shao’s composure.

After a moment, she still smiled and asked, “Is the Princess Consort satisfied with what she saw?”

Chu Shao said to the woman in red, “At the very beginning, it was actually somewhat dull. But fortunately, it gradually became more captivating and engrossing. It can be considered a rather good play.”

Gradually more captivating and engrossing?

Hearing Chu Shao’s evaluation, Xiao Jin was stunned.

For a moment, she truly didn’t know whether these two phrases were naive or cruel.

It even made everything before her eyes seem shrouded in a layer of mist.

What were they talking about?

The woman in red smiled. “It’s good that the Princess Consort enjoyed watching it. That being the case, you should now also understand what this grand gift truly is, I presume?”

Chu Shao nodded.

The woman in red seemed very satisfied with how things were progressing, saying gently, “Since you already know, then next, let her make her entrance…”

Before Chu Shao could respond.

A sharp whistle suddenly rang out in the main hall.

In a mere instant, the vermilion gates of the Jade Splendor Tower collapsed, and the window lattices shattered.

It was like a premeditated siege.

Dozens of black arrows, cold and murderous, were aimed at the faces of the Blood Rain Pavilion members.

Half of the woman in red’s face was hidden behind her mask.

So no one knew that a deep smile had surfaced in her eyes.

Looking towards that wheelchair, the young and sickly Prince Yan was just putting down the bamboo whistle, her entire face covered in a layer of cold, clear frost.

At this moment, the woman in red could be certain.

That Highness was angry.

And it seemed, quite furious indeed.

The tea splashed onto the opera stage, leaving a profound dark stain. The two dan actors and other performers stood in a row, looking at Xiao Jin in the wheelchair with utter bewilderment.

Until the tea in the cup gradually turned cold and no longer emitted steam.

Xiao Jin looked at the woman in red. “Deputy Pavilion Master, This Prince said… enough.”

“So, today ends here. The play doesn’t need to continue, and the gift doesn’t need to be given.”

The moon rose above the treetops.

Even though the carriage raced ahead, galloping swiftly, the road back to the residence was still extremely long.

Chu Shao lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.

As night fell, Qingzhou was still filled with the endless spring breeze. Willows fluttered in the wind. Commoners took out their tinder pouches and lit the firecrackers piled on the ground. They shot into the sky, exploding with a series of booms.

Seeing this rather dull scene, Chu Shao seemed to recall something and actually chuckled softly.

The person beside her asked, “Princess Consort, what are you laughing at?”

Putting down the curtain, Chu Shao answered softly, “This Humble Wife is laughing at you.”

“…”

Xiao Jin rubbed her brow and asked as calmly as possible, “Laughing at This Prince for what?”

Chu Shao turned her head and looked at Xiao Jin with a smile. “This Humble Wife is laughing because you used your last trump card not to facilitate this negotiation, but… to sabotage it.”

Ye Juege and Ye Suyu, who were driving the carriage, were also somewhat speechless at this moment.

They had thought that the Prince must have encountered some danger to blow her signal whistle so urgently.

In the end, it was just because a cup had been smashed.

It was simply too reckless.

Xiao Jin didn’t speak. After all, her mood hadn’t completely settled, and her anger hadn’t dissipated yet.

Gazing into Chu Shao’s smiling eyes, she really wanted to say: Wasn’t it because of you?

But ultimately, Xiao Jin held back.

Recalling the scenes on the stage, in fact, she could basically guess what the grand gift the Deputy Pavilion Master of Blood Rain Pavilion had prepared for Chu Shao truly was.

But Xiao Jin didn’t want the woman in red to deliver this grand gift.

There were many reasons.

Many reasons she couldn’t articulate.

In the end, sitting in the carriage, even Xiao Jin herself felt confused.

The negotiations were nearing their end, yet she had pointed weapons at the necks of the Blood Rain Pavilion members and, without looking back, left the Jade Splendor Tower, bringing the person and the chair away.

No matter how one looked at it, it was a very foolish act.

After a long while, Xiao Jin answered Chu Shao’s question. “The Princess Consort is quite right. Rashly sabotaging a negotiation is indeed not a very wise thing to do.”

“Since you knew, then why did you do it?”

“Because at that moment, before I had time to think about whether this thing was truly foolish, my hand had already thrown the cup out.”

Chu Shao was slightly taken aback.

“Why?”

Chu Shao’s voice was exceptionally gentle.

Melting into the spring night wind, it sounded like some naive words spoken by the Princess Shao in white robes many years ago.

“I don’t know.”

Xiao Jin didn’t look at Chu Shao. She stared at the patterns on the carriage curtain and unconsciously lowered her voice. “Probably because I felt that kind of scene was truly awful.”

Actually, Chu Shao didn’t quite understand Xiao Jin’s words, nor did she think that moving past events onto a stage was such a terrible situation.

In her eyes, even if the Empress Ning had appeared on the stage, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Like an ordinary gust of wind, or an inevitable rain that must fall.

Nothing novel at all.

However, when Chu Shao looked up and saw Xiao Jin’s face, surprise rose within her heart.

In the night, those eyes were veiled with a trace of dampness.

Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin in astonishment, discovering that some inexplicable droplets of water were rolling down from the other’s trembling eyelashes.

And then, dripping into the robes.

To Chu Shao, this was truly a very novel thing.

It was also the first time.

She could observe another person shedding tears from such a close distance.

Xiao Jin’s features were actually somewhat cold. Even when tears fell, it was only a faint, thin layer of mist. Indifferently, she let those beads of water slide down the side of her face.

It was at this moment that Chu Shao realized.

So when a pair of eyes sincerely wept for another person, the face truly would show an expression of sadness.

So tears first gathered, and then slowly fell from the corner of the eye.

Just like a broken string of pearls.

Only, Xiao Jin’s tears were very few. Not only few, but also not very obedient.

Those few teardrops did not disappear into her sideburns but rolled down along her chin, splashing into the carriage with a clear, muffled sound in the quiet night.

Only after she had controlled her emotions did Xiao Jin reach out and wipe the corner of her eye.

When her fingers touched the tears on her face, her expression didn’t change much. She only explained to Chu Shao in a low voice, “I’m sorry. Actually, I didn’t want to cry. I just didn’t know what to say or what to do.”

Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin tenderly and asked, “Your Highness, are you pitying This Humble Wife?”

Chu Shao had seen many people cry.

In the Glazed Palace, there had once been a young palace maid who shed tears for her. That maid watched the Imperial Physician stitch her wounds, sat by the bedside, and sobbed uncontrollably.

Chu Shao asked why.

The little maid, wiping her tears while sniffling, said: Your Highness is truly a pitiful child, suffering such great pain, yet unable to even cry. How much it must hurt.

From that moment on, Chu Shao realized that crying was also a very rare thing.

She didn’t want to admit that she had never learned how to cry.

And so, she also disliked that worthless pity in the little maid’s eyes.

However, there was no pity in Xiao Jin’s eyes.

Perhaps it was because the quest was complete, but the System hadn’t distributed the lifespan reward yet, she always felt that the oppressive sensation in her heart was unavoidable.

To put it plainly, Xiao Jin felt somewhat awful.

She could barely breathe.

Blackness was already creeping into Xiao Jin’s vision.

She still didn’t forget to explain, “It’s not pity, I just don’t know what to do, or what I should do, so my heart feels very awful.”

Chu Shao asked, “Your Highness’s heart feels awful?”

“Terribly awful.”

So awful she wanted to curse the System.

Chu Shao frowned slightly, noticing that Xiao Jin’s figure was swaying. She thought the other party was probably suffering from some illness.

She leaned closer and asked softly, “Aside from your heart feeling awful, does Your Highness have any other symptoms?”

Xiao Jin didn’t answer.

Because she felt she was about to die. She even vaguely had the illusion of her soul leaving her body.

But there were still too many injustices in Xiao Jin’s heart.

Why did good people die young, while calamities lived for a thousand years? Why were the Emperor and Empress of Yao still alive?

Why was Chu Shao the female lead of a tragic romance novel?

Most importantly, why hadn’t this knockoff System issued her quest reward yet?

At this moment, because she couldn’t breathe, Xiao Jin’s entire body tilted helplessly. As she collapsed towards Chu Shao, she very much wanted to live.

But in the next instant, she felt that living might be worse than dying.

Because the image of herself prostrating on Chu Shao’s lap, lips slightly parted, panting miserably, was truly mortifying.

Chu Shao was also extremely surprised.

What surprised her was Xiao Jin’s state.

Like a sudden onset of a chronic illness, Xiao Jin’s entire body was trembling uncontrollably. Her knuckles were also frighteningly pale as she tightly clutched Chu Shao’s sleeve.

It had happened so suddenly, Chu Shao couldn’t think of any good solution.

But she knew in her heart that she didn’t want Xiao Jin to die.

Xiao Jin’s presence here made Chu Shao understand that a corpse was ultimately just a corpse. Even if it retained residual warmth, it couldn’t cry, nor could it smile.

Thinking that Xiao Jin might die, the smile on Chu Shao’s face gradually faded.

She reached out and cupped the ice-cold face resting on her lap. The temperature her fingertips touched was clearly very cold, yet it inexplicably gave rise to attachment within her.

Attachment?

Stunned, Chu Shao discovered that she had actually chosen the word “attachment” to describe the face touched by her fingertips.

And her heart was beating very fast, a palpitation unlike any she had felt before.

There was even a trace of sadness that came from she knew not where.

Just like when that palace maid said she was truly pitiful, unable to even cry. But Chu Shao fundamentally didn’t understand what crying was, or what it meant to be able to cry.

At this moment, Chu Shao was also at a loss.

Because she also didn’t know why she felt sad.

All Chu Shao knew was that she didn’t want Xiao Jin to die right now.

Therefore, Xiao Jin could not die, and would not die.

Thinking this, Chu Shao leaned down, parted her own lips, and pressed them against Xiao Jin’s lips, gently breathing air into the other’s mouth.

The instant their lips met.

Chu Shao had no extra feelings, because she only wanted to save Xiao Jin.

This kiss wasn’t tender and lingering, but it was sincere.

As the saying goes, sincerity makes the spirit manifest.

After breathing air into her, Chu Shao once again heard the sound of another person’s heartbeat.

Slow, heavy.

Just as many years ago, she saw the old eunuch pick up a wooden mallet and strike the row of dusty bronze chime bells in the Imperial Palace, the sound of jade vibration echoing in her ears.

For the first time, Chu Shao felt.

So the sound of a beating heart could be so pleasant to hear.

Heavy rain fell from the sky, washing away the fireworks and embers swirling in the mortal world.

Hearing the sound of the rain suddenly pouring down outside, Chu Shao came back to her senses and wanted to pull the carriage curtain more tightly shut.

She let go of Xiao Jin’s shoulder and looked down, but unexpectedly discovered a patch of wetness on the edge of her own lapel.

At first, she thought it was rain that had drifted in.

Until she looked again at the person pillowed on her lap. Only then did Chu Shao notice that certain raindrops had also fallen on Xiao Jin’s face.

Crystal clear, many droplets.

So round and full, they almost didn’t seem like raindrops.

Chu Shao realized something and raised her hand, touching her cheek, only to find dampness on her own face.

She was stunned for a long time.

Then, she uncontrollably laughed out loud.

Because Chu Shao knew very well that this tear wasn’t from overwhelming joy. She would never be so excited about successfully saving another person that she shed tears.

She just felt fortunate.

Fortunately, Xiao Jin was still alive. Otherwise, how utterly boring everything in this world would be.

Listening to the gradually steadying breathing beside her ear, although Xiao Jin still showed no signs of waking, Chu Shao wiped the tears from her face, the smile on her lips extremely delighted.

Once they were wiped clean.

Chu Shao raised her hand and brushed over the tear stains on her face that hadn’t yet dried.

Looking at Xiao Jin sleeping on her lap, her voice was very soft. She asked with a smile: “Prince Yan, is this the gift you gave me?”

At this moment, Xiao Jin had no idea what Chu Shao was doing or saying.

Because she was currently receiving the System’s reward.

“Congratulations, Host! The completion level of this quest is very high. The System will add one month of lifespan for you.”

Xiao Jin didn’t quite understand the System’s reward structure.

“The content of this quest was to meet with the Blood Rain Pavilion. Although it was barely completed, the negotiation failed. How can the completion level be high instead?”

The System seemed to suddenly remember something.

Then, somewhat apologetically, it said: “Oh, right, sorry, that was a System error. I previously only warned the Host that this quest was very difficult but forgot to tell you the most crucial point…”

Xiao Jin: “What crucial point?”

“The key content of this quest wasn’t actually completing the meeting with the Blood Rain Pavilion. It was that you needed to gain at least 15 Favorability points from the female lead, Chu Shao.”

Xiao Jin: ?

No wonder she had felt like she was about to die just now.

So it was because the Favorability hadn’t been raised enough, and she was genuinely about to die.

Now, Xiao Jin finally understood.

Even though the life-threatening danger was over, why the feeling of suffocation still lingered like a shadow, always accompanying her.

Because this knockoff System was truly suffocating.

The System’s mechanical voice was full of amiability: “Currently, Chu Shao’s Favorability towards the Host is 40 points, far exceeding the value stipulated by the quest.”

Xiao Jin fell silent.

It was only 10 points more than the quest requirement. Even she wasn’t feeling proud, so what did the System have to be proud of?

However, the System was truly incredibly proud.

After all, the female lead Chu Shao’s Favorability towards anyone was always negative.

Since the start of records, this was the first time it had turned positive. Not only positive but positive by so much.

Even towards Xiao Jin, a Host who never played by the rules, the System had become exceptionally patient at this moment.

“Given the Host’s outstanding performance, the System will additionally reward you with a memory fragment.”

A memory fragment? That kind of thing didn’t seem very useful.

But if it was Chu Shao’s memory fragment, she was still interested in watching it.

Xiao Jin didn’t continue thinking about why she had become interested in Chu Shao’s memories.

She just frowned and asked, “Whose?”

The System: “Both memory fragments are actually related to the female lead, Chu Shao.”

“So it’s…”

“Choose one: The Imperial Preceptor or Rong Lian.”