Chapter 8

Upon hearing Princess Zhaohua’s words, Xiao Jin was a bit dumbfounded.

Although she knew that Eldest Princess Zhaoyang in the original novel wielded monstrous power, was the Lord of the Seven Cities, and the Late Emperor had even once intended to decree her as the Crown Princess—

—If not for the ministers submitting petitions of dissuasion, Zhaoyang might have become the Empress of Qi.

But Zhaohua was merely Zhaoyang’s younger sister, yet her actions so utterly disregarded the Emperor of Qi’s dignity; it was still astonishing.

The Emperor of Qi gazed at Princess Zhaohua’s back. Unusually, he did not become angry. He simply extended his other hand and rubbed the prayer beads on his wrist.

After a long while, he said in a deep voice, “Imperial Sister, this is Zhen’s family affair.”

Princess Zhaohua’s hair was styled in a Startled Swan Hairstyle, her brocade garment pure white as snow. As she raised her slender neck, she resembled a swan on the water.

She pursed a slight smile and said to the Emperor of Qi, “Your subject sister is the Imperial Brother’s younger sister and also Jin’er’s aunt. I should naturally share your worries.”

“What’s more… there are certain matters that both the Imperial Brother and your subject sister know well in our hearts.”

Xiao Jin watched, completely confused, as Princess Zhaohua played riddles with the Emperor of Qi. She looked at the Emperor of Qi’s expression—his brows were tightly furrowed, as if pondering something.

Her intuition told her that Zhaohua probably knew some earth-shattering secret, something that could hit the Emperor of Qi’s vital point.

Unfortunately, this novel focused on narrating the dog-blooded, abusive love between the male and female leads. As for matters like royal secrets, they were never mentioned at all.

So at this moment, Xiao Jin had no idea what kind of game these two were playing.

Seizing the Emperor of Qi’s silence, Princess Zhaohua turned her head and looked at Xiao Jin, then at Chu Shao.

Then, she moved her lips. Her cold, clear voice even took on a tinge of sorrow. “My poor Jin’er! So young, yet afflicted with a grave illness. You serve Great Qi with all your heart, yet even your plea to marry the one you deeply love faces obstruction.”

“Jin’er, ah, such a bitter fate is yours!”

“…”

With such words, even Xiao Jin almost believed it herself.

The Crown Prince stood to the side, quietly watching Princess Zhaohua’s performance, somewhat unable to hold back his amusement.

But when he saw the silver-blue forehead ornament on Chu Shao’s brow, he narrowed his eyes and studied the shape of the flower petals for a long time.

The Fourth Prince knew Zhaohua was spouting nonsense. He said faintly to her, “Aunt, your words are somewhat biased.”

“Although there are many pitiable people in the world, that person would never be Third Brother. Moreover, the person standing beside Third Brother right now should have been your little nephew’s Princess Consort. Third Brother hadn’t even laid eyes on the Princess—how can there be talk of deep love? And how can this be considered seeking marriage, much less a proper, formal wedding?”

These words seemed reasonable, but Xiao Jin dismissed them.

Great Yao had already fallen. Who could possibly carry out the full, formal wedding process—the gift-giving, the name-asking, the formal proposal—?

Princess Zhaohua looked at the Fourth Prince, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly. “Yi’er, if you had charged into battle formations and slain enemies, if you had crippled your legs for the sake of Qi, your aunt would certainly feel heartache for you as well.”

“Your aunt will say something unpleasant. The Yao Kingdom was conquered by Jin’er. Without Jin’er, where would you go to find a Princess Consort to marry? Now look at this—your Third Brother is already ill to this state, and you are still making a fuss over such a small matter before the Imperial Brother. You are truly being unreasonable.”

Fourth Prince: “…”

Who exactly was the one who stole a bride in broad daylight? How had it become him who was unreasonable?

Although Zhaohua was not of great age, in terms of seniority, she was the Fourth Prince’s aunt.

Thus, at this moment, the Fourth Prince could only unwillingly clasp his hands in a junior’s salute. “Thank you, Aunt, for your guidance.”

Sitting in her wheelchair, Xiao Jin had already seen through everything.

Any discerning person could tell that Princess Zhaohua was determined to protect the original owner. Even black, she could describe as white.

It was just unknown why Zhaohua and Zhaoyang favored the original owner so much, even to the point of opposing the Emperor.

However, these matters ultimately had little to do with Xiao Jin. After all, she was just an impostor completing tasks.

“Enough.”

After watching this farce, the Emperor of Qi seemed to have lost even the mood to listen to pipa music.

He raised his eyes to the Fourth Prince and said slowly, “Huai’an, your Third Brother’s body is unwell. Let him be. In a few days, Zhen shall select another fine match for you from the court.”

Huai’an was the Fourth Prince’s courtesy name. The Emperor of Qi calling him by his courtesy name now was clearly a signal for him to take a step back.

Even though the Fourth Prince was unwilling, he also knew the Emperor of Qi had always been weak and incompetent, unable to support him.

He could only grit his teeth and swallow his indignation. “Many thanks, Imperial Father.”

The Emperor of Qi rubbed his brow and said to Xiao Jin, “Your Imperial Consort Mother has accompanied Royal Sister Zhaoyang to White Horse Temple to pray. In a few days, you may bring the Princess to serve her tea.”

The implied meaning was that he tacitly permitted Xiao Jin’s bride-snatching and would no longer involve himself in this matter.

Seeing that the task had been easily completed, Xiao Jin was naturally in good spirits. She bowed her head in acknowledgment. “Your child obeys the decree.”

The Emperor of Qi waved his hand. “If there is nothing else, you may all withdraw.”

…

Exiting the Imperial Study, the expressions of the crowd varied.

The first to take his leave was the Fourth Prince. Even though his face showed no particular expression, Xiao Jin could still clearly feel this person’s soaring, murderous resentment.

She had to admit, Xiao Jin very much enjoyed this feeling of “You clearly hate me so much, yet you can’t do a thing to me.”

After walking this stretch of road, the Crown Prince also needed to return to the Eastern Palace.

The Crown Prince first respectfully saluted Princess Zhaohua, then looked at Xiao Jin and smiled. “Third Brother, take good care of your health. I shall take my leave first.”

Seeing the warm, refined smile on the Crown Prince’s face and thinking of the methods this person employed in the original novel, Xiao Jin always felt this man was exceptionally dangerous.

Yet she still had to feign brotherly affection and clasp her hands. “Your humble brother respectfully escorts His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince smiled. His figure gradually faded into the palace walls. But halfway, he seemed to turn his head back and look this way once, before disappearing.

The sun was setting in the west, the sky growing dark.

It was a snowy day. Princess Zhaohua accompanied Xiao Jin as they walked, a few umbrella-bearing attendants following beside them.

And Chu Shao was by her side, pushing Xiao Jin’s wheelchair, her face still wearing a smile.

As they walked, Princess Zhaohua suddenly spoke. “Jin’er, the next time you act so recklessly, even your aunt may not be able to save you.”

Xiao Jin thought: How is this because I want to act recklessly? If I didn’t do the tasks, your niece would probably already be laying stiff in a coffin.

However, Xiao Jin estimated that the original owner’s relationship with Zhaohua should be fairly good. She answered, “Your nephew understands.”

Judging by Princess Zhaohua’s satisfied expression, Xiao Jin felt she probably hadn’t said anything wrong.

Having received Xiao Jin’s reply, Zhaohua narrowed her eyes and looked towards Chu Shao.

Although this woman appeared gentle and docile, she knew the people of Yao had always been cunning. So she had to be on guard for Xiao Jin’s sake.

She sent away the attendants beside her. “I want to speak a few private words with Prince Yan. You may all withdraw first.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After the attendants left, Zhaohua said to Chu Shao, “Now that you have become Jin’er’s Princess Consort, you can also be considered a subject of my Great Qi. You must forget the past clearly and completely.”

“The past?”

Chu Shao paused mid-step, seeming to find this word novel. The smile on her lips deepened. “Please rest assured, Your Highness. There are far too many irrelevant past events. I have long since forgotten them completely.”

Hearing Chu Shao’s answer, Xiao Jin’s heart lurched. She felt the other’s words carried a hidden meaning.

Could it be that the female lead really was reborn?

But when Xiao Jin looked up and saw the thick, intense amusement welling up in Chu Shao’s eyes, she instantly understood.

The female lead was getting excited again.

As for why Chu Shao was excited—Xiao Jin was a normal person who truly couldn’t quite comprehend it. But she could be sure: even if Chu Shao really were reborn, she probably wouldn’t be this sick.

If Chu Shao were truly a reborn female lead, she certainly wouldn’t have acted as she did just now in the Imperial Study, directly going against the Emperor of Qi as if nothing were wrong.

Instead, she should be biding her time, concealing her brilliance, and focusing on restoring her kingdom.

After this round of deliberation, Xiao Jin could only arrive at one conclusion: It seemed the female lead was likely not reborn. She was simply truly ill.

Princess Zhaohua did not notice anything unusual between Xiao Jin and Chu Shao. She merely felt Chu Shao understood her meaning and was thus somewhat sensible.

Just as they were about to leave the Imperial Palace, as they parted, Zhaohua bent down to avoid Chu Shao and whispered a sentence into Xiao Jin’s ear.

“Jin’er, do not trust the Crown Prince.”

Xiao Jin was slightly taken aback. She looked up and stared into Princess Zhaohua’s pitch-black eyes.

A moment later, she responded flatly, “Jin’er understands.”

In truth, Xiao Jin had already considered this.

To be honest, it was impossible for her to trust the Crown Prince. Working under the male lead, she’d probably not even know how she died.

As for Princess Zhaohua, this person was the original owner’s big backer—currently, she seemed quite trustworthy. However, in this old-school melodramatic web novel, Xiao Jin still felt she could only trust herself.

Hearing Xiao Jin’s answer, Zhaohua gave her a meaningful look, then sighed. “I hope you can truly understand your aunt’s careful intentions.”

Having said this, she turned around and brought her attendants back to the Imperial Palace.

The second task was smoothly completed.

Although Xiao Jin felt things seemed to have become more complicated, she still let out a long breath of relief and prepared to reward herself by emptying her mind and going back to Prince Yan’s Manor to play dead for a day.

However, heaven does not always follow one’s wishes. Just as this thought arose, a mechanical voice rang beside Xiao Jin’s ear.

“Based on the Host’s task completion this time, the System will reward the Host with 48 hours of Lifespan. Next, please have the Host complete the next task.”

Xiao Jin frowned. There were still more tasks?

“Friendly reminder to the Host: This instance is an emergency situation, therefore the specific content of the task cannot be predicted.”

“System detection indicates this task carries extreme risk and will pose a life threat to the Host. The Host’s probability of completion is less than 30%.”

Xiao Jin glanced at Chu Shao standing beside her. She was somewhat uncertain from whom exactly this life threat would come.

Seeing the ever-present gentle smile on Chu Shao’s face, Xiao Jin forcibly calmed herself and spoke to the system in her mind. “What happens if the task fails?”

“If the task fails, the Host will die.”

“Warning! Only thirty minutes remain until the task arrives. Please make use of this limited time, Host, and make your own preparations.”

“Countdown begins.”