Chapter 3

During the second week of the dragon envoy's stay, the kingdom hosted an exchange dance, ostensibly to enhance understanding and friendship among the various races.

Pei Jian remained silent. [To be honest, I really think it's a bit inappropriate.]

Like a child who clamors to eat ten candies every day, only to start reflecting on their actions after their mouth is filled with cavities and they suffer the consequences.

Will I go too?

System: [Barring any unforeseen circumstances, both you and Alo will attend the ball.]

But aren't they afraid that Alo will take the opportunity to escape?

System: [No, humans are perfectly capable of restraining a dragon.]

That evening, at the dinner table, Duke Pei De handed Pei Jian an invitation stamped with wax. The invitation was decorated with floral gold borders at the four corners, and was red overall with gold lettering. At first glance, it looked very ornate, but upon closer inspection, it seemed somewhat gaudy.

Pei Jian held the thin piece of paper in his hand, feigning ignorance as he asked, "What is this?"

"The invitation to the ball is for a weekend evening. You can go if you want, or decline if you don't."

Pei Jian realized that Duke Pei De completely ignored his daughter. Since she transmigrated, he had only asked about her relationship with Ze Yi once, and had not asked about anything else.

Pei Jian flipped through the invitation once, then put it away. "I will go."

Duke Pei De, without pausing his work, glanced at her and said, "Going out to take a look is fine. Staying cooped up at home all the time isn't a good thing. We'll have the tailor come and make some nice clothes later."

Pei Jian nodded. "Thank you, Father."

Because of the time constraints, Pei Jian bought a ready-made dress for the ball.

A pure white, fitted long dress with a fishtail-shaped hem, edged with silver thread that ripples like waves as she moves. The dress is simple in design, with a few irregular pleats, and is paired with pearl earrings and a necklace.

A perfect 'white rose'.

Even her taciturn father couldn't help but praise, "She's beautiful."

-

On weekends, the palace is brightly lit.

The last rays of the setting sun cast a golden veil over the main hall, like a transparent layer of gauze.

The distant mountains undulated like waves, and a flock of sparse birds circled the mountains again and again.

Pei Jian handed the invitation to the guards at the door, and after they verified it, he gestured for them to enter.

Since it was a ball, there was naturally a band playing music, as well as many unfamiliar faces that Zhang Peijian had never seen before.

All she could do was ask the system again and again, "Who is this?"

In fact, Pei Jian wasn't interested in this kind of ball; what interested her were the desserts decorated on porcelain plates in the corner and the wine tower stacked four or five layers high.

The orange-yellow, transparent liquor in the stemmed glass looked just like the reflection of a crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

But, well, the taste...

That's all there is to it.

Some are too bland, while others are too rich.

Pei Jian took a small bite, then set it aside and focused intently on eating the pastry in his hand.

System: [Arrived.]

She looked up abruptly. Who was it?

System: [Alo.]

Before he finished speaking, several tall and strong men walked in from outside the hall.

The entire room fell silent.

Pei Jian could hear the 'thump thump thump' sound of leather shoes stepping on the tiles, which inexplicably reminded her of the sound of drums on a battlefield.

She sat in the corner, her heart suddenly pounding in sync with the footsteps, making her fingertips tingle.

I have an urge to run away.

Alo is very easy to recognize.

She knew without the system telling her.

After all, he was the only one in the entire venue with shackles on his wrists.

Although the length has been increased so as not to overly restrict his movements, it seems he can no longer dance.

A Luo was the tallest among his clansmen; from a distance, he gave the illusion that he was twice as tall as Pei Jian.

Pei Jian thought to himself, "This is not a fair thing to do. It's obvious they don't want people to dance."

After entering, A Luo and his group went straight to the round table at the front, probably not intending to dance, but just going through the motions.

At that moment, the microphone rang.

"Dear gentlemen and ladies, let us invite His Highness Ze Yi to present the opening dance for you."

Opening dance?

Before Pei Jian could react, Ze Yi's gentle voice echoed in the hall, "A-Jian, come here."

Almost everyone's eyes fell on Pei Jian. Even those who didn't know who Pei Jian was looked over and exclaimed, "So she's Pei Jian!"

Pei Jian felt a little embarrassed. She wasn't an outgoing person, and suddenly having so many eyes on her made her feel shy.

Ze Yi noticed her shyness, smiled and walked over, took Pei Jian's hand and led her away from the corner to the center of the room.

He put his right arm around Pei Jian's waist and whispered in her ear to comfort her, "Don't be nervous, our Jian dances very well."

Encouraged by this, and because she had indeed brushed up on her dance beforehand, she was not afraid of embarrassing herself or the other person.

When the dance ended, thunderous applause erupted.

Cheers and applause were deafening.

Pei Jian waved his hand to indicate that he needed to rest for a while and that everyone else could do as they pleased.

She caught her breath, returned to the corner, and downed the drink she had previously rejected.

"Alo?"

Seeing that he had been staring at 'Ajay' the whole time, Garl asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering him, Alo asked a very strange question, "Garr, can you smell anything?"

Gar took a deep sniff. "No, there's no smell. You mean the perfume these ladies are wearing, or something else?"

"It tastes like candy and cookies."

Garr glanced at the empty desktop. "No, there isn't."

Alo pondered, "So it was the scent emanating from that A-Jian earlier?"

He wasn't sure.

But surprisingly, he was somewhat fixated on the answer to this question.

It's probably because they had nothing to do and wanted to find something to pass the time.

While A Luo kept glancing at Pei Jian, Pei Jian was also thinking about how to get close to A Luo without anyone noticing.

The system kindly reminded her: "Eat less."

Pei Jian glanced down at the empty plate; this was the third plate she had finished. "Oh, it really was made by the imperial chef. It's so delicious."

“Ah Jane.”

"Hmm?" Pei Jian responded and looked over. Ze Yi walked towards her.

"Didn't you have dinner? Should we ask the kitchen to make some hot food?"

“No, no, no,” Pei Jian put down his fork and explained, “I’ve already eaten; I was just craving something.”

"Eat less," Ze Yi said worriedly, looking at the three or four plates piled up beside her elbow. "It's already very late. If you have indigestion, you'll feel uncomfortable sleeping tonight."

"Hmm, aren't you going to do your work?"

Ze Yi shook his head and sat down next to Pei Jian. "There's nothing to be busy with."

Are you feeling better?

"I'm much better, I'm sorry." Ze Yi suddenly apologized to her.

"What?"

He said earnestly, "We've made our Ah Jian worry for so long."

Pei Jian looked away guiltily and mumbled in defense, "No, not at all."

From afar, "Your Highness."

"Jian, they're calling me from over there. I'll go check it out. Be good by yourself."

"I understand, don't worry."

"Alright, you can tell my guards if anything happens, and they will come to find me in time."

"good."

After Ze Yi left, Pei Jian stared listlessly at the young men and women in the room, much like a character in a game switching perspectives to look at others after being eliminated.

It's quite interesting.

She occasionally paid attention to Alo's movements. He was surrounded by his clansmen and human leaders, and Pei Jian judged that there was probably no chance of contacting him tonight.

He turned his head.

A male face appeared less than three inches away from him.

His deep blue eyes shimmered like moonlight falling on the sea. His features were strikingly defined, with a high nose, thin lips, and a few tufts of golden hair scattered haphazardly across his forehead.

He was physically robust, and his broad shoulders stretched the fabric of his clothes, giving off a sense of tension that was about to burst forth.

Pei Jian froze, instinctively holding her breath. Her heart pounded wildly, as if it were shooting into her brain.

"Ah Jian?" The other person's voice was very low, like an echo coming from the bottom of a valley.

Hello, who are you?

Pei Jian knew who he was, of course, but she couldn't let him realize that she knew.

“Alo”.

"Alo?"

"Yes, that is my name."

Before Pei Jian could react, A Luo suddenly leaned forward and sniffed along her neck, like a wild animal surveying its territory.

Too close.

Pei Jian was frozen in place by this inexplicable action, unable to move.

"What's wrong?" Pei Jian asked him, frozen in place, at a loss for what to do.

Alo concluded that it was her scent.

The rose outside the cell carries her scent.

Is it her?

Alo thinks so.

Have you been to the Central Tower?

broken.

Pei Jian turned his face away, averting his gaze. "What do you mean?"

"There's a prison beneath the central tower. I received a rose there once. Did you put it there?"

Pei Jian felt a tightness in her scalp, torn between two options. She didn't know whether answering "yes" or "no" would help with the mission.

A Luo turned his face away, and the shadow that had fallen on Pei Jian's face disappeared as well.

The massive pressure on my chest was gone, and fresh air was able to enter my body.

Pei Jian chuckled twice, hesitant, "Is it really true or not?...

“Yes or no,” Alo interrupted her.

Pei Jianxin made up her mind, "Yes, I put that rose there, but please don't tell anyone, because I went to the Central Tower secretly."

Why put a rose there?

Because... I wanted to gamble on this opportunity to talk to you.

"Out of curiosity," Pei Jian made up on the spot, "I had been reading adventure books for a while, so I was eager to try it out myself. That's why I came to the Central Tower. The protagonists in adventures mark the places they pass by. At the time, I only had that one thing on me, so I left it there. Maybe I'll get some unexpected gains. What do you think?"

Alo nodded, seemingly believing him.

His curiosity satisfied and his questions answered, Alo didn't linger and returned to his original spot.

The system said with exasperation, "What a great opportunity!"

"Haven't you noticed? I feel like he wants to eat me up."

System: [Really? I didn't sense that.]

Pei Jian thought that was the end of her first encounter with A Luo.

However, things took a far greater turn than she had anticipated.

The ball was drawing to a close.

Pei Jian, who had been sitting all night, got up. She felt a little uncomfortable, mainly because her stomach was very bloated. She didn't feel it when she was sitting, but when she got up, she felt like she was carrying several big stones in her stomach.

I ate too much.

She asked someone to inform Ze Yi that she was leaving first, and then went out through the side door.

Just as she was leaning against the wall to catch her breath, a cold dagger moved from her face to her neck. The sharp tip of the blade was pressed tightly against Pei Jian's skin. She had no doubt that if her breathing became any more labored, the sharp blade would cut through her skin.

"Turn around."

Pei Jian swallowed hard, and slowly turned around as instructed.

Although she knew she wouldn't die, the physical fear was hard to overcome. Right now, her whole body was trembling uncontrollably, but she had to do everything she could to restrain herself. She was afraid that the trembling would cause her to bump into a blade thinner than a piece of paper.

Pei Jian's stomach felt like it was being twisted up, and acid reflux rose up her throat.

A Luo held Pei Jian hostage and retreated step by step back into the hall.