The man froze for a moment.

He quickly lay down on the spot and fell into a baby-like sleep.

Songtang cautiously peeked out from behind Ai Cao and asked, "...What's wrong with him?"

Ai Cao paused for a moment, then walked over with a normal expression, picked up the stool, and knelt down to check on the man's condition.

Ai Cao said, "I knocked him unconscious."

Although she threw it at the man's back, for some reason, the stool hit the back of his head right after she left her hand, knocking him unconscious but not to death—even though the force she used could have shattered several of his ribs.

The system peeked out and said, "This is the female lead's good luck."

Ai Cao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Song Tang doesn't want the male lead to die?"

The system said yes.

"So as long as she wants the male lead to die, no matter how hard he tries, he will die?" Ai Cao continued to ask.

The system remained silent for a moment, then reluctantly agreed with her statement.

Ai Cao raised an eyebrow. She lifted the male protagonist, whose eyes were tightly closed, from the ground and asked Song Tang, "Should I throw him out?"

Song Tang hesitated, glancing at the mugwort and then at the male protagonist.

She tentatively asked, "Shall we take him in? He looks injured..."

The hand that Ai Cao had placed on the back of the male protagonist's neck twisted imperceptibly. The male protagonist suddenly sprang up from her arms, only to be pulled to the ground by Ai Cao's ankle.

Ai Cao kicked the male protagonist who was lying on the ground and said, "Look, he's full of energy."

Songtang thought for a moment. She frowned, looking somewhat troubled, and said, "That's true... Well then, I dried some herbs. Let's give him some and let him leave."

This is simpler than taking him in, and it can also effectively prevent the two from developing feelings for each other over time.

Ai Cao looked at the male protagonist who had fallen unconscious again, concealing a hint of murderous intent in her eyes.

She tied up the male lead and left him in a corner of the room before going with Song Tang to get the medicine. When they returned, the male lead had already wriggled up and sat up, huddled in the corner, looking dejected like a defeated little rooster.

Song Tang closed her eyes, unable to bear seeing him like this. Ai Cao, who was beside her, stuffed the herbal packet into the pocket of the male protagonist's chest, then picked him up and threw him out the door.

She obviously "forgot" to untie the male protagonist's straps and then closed the door.

The male protagonist rolled all the way from the dirt to the ditch. His face was buried in the dirt for a long time before he was helped up by several black figures who suddenly appeared and untied the bandages binding him.

He wiped the mud off his face with a sinister expression and said in a cold voice, "That scoundrel was rude, I'll take his life!"

More figures dressed in black appeared around him. They knelt before the protagonist as his bodyguards, then vanished again.

When only the male protagonist remained, he kicked a ditch with a cold snort.

Then he fell into the ditch again.

Inside the room, Ai Cao and Song Tang ate their dinner by the warm candlelight. Although it was fish soup again, some dried herbs were added to it. Ai Cao and Song Tang each held a bowl, soaking rice in the soup, and enjoyed a peaceful meal.

Nothing was said that night.

Until dawn broke.

The system said, "The female lead is still sleeping."

Artemisia argyi yawned.

Still half-asleep, she dragged the pile of corpses lying beside the bed out of the room. She had been awakened in the middle of the night by the cold touch of a short sword. Fortunately, the system had said that the assassins had all come to her side room. No need to worry about Song Tang, she grabbed a short sword and slaughtered the group of men in black.

It was strange, really. Usually, when a knife is stabbed and then pulled out, blood splatters out. But this time, these men in black were all like bloodless corpses; they were stabbed by her without making a sound, and not a single drop of blood splattered in the room.

The system said quietly, "Perhaps the female lead didn't want to see blood, so she made them all reverse their meridians..."

Can reversed meridian flow prevent blood from flowing out? Ai Cao wanted to complain, but she was busy with her hands.

Ai Cao stripped the black-clad men of their clothes, skillfully stabbed their joints with short swords, and then threw the pieces of their bodies into the river: "Is it really okay for me to throw them here? No need to dig a hole?"

The system said, "It's really nothing. Song Tang's good luck won't make her notice this."

Ai Cao dug a hole by the river and buried the clothes inside. She patted the weeds on the ground to camouflage the body parts, then looked up and watched as they drifted away with the current, only to be devoured by fish further away.

Ai Cao looked down again. Above the soil where she had buried the clothes, a layer of lush green grass had grown, looking exactly the same as the rest of the place. Even if she herself came here again, it would be difficult to find the clothes she had buried.

Ai Cao exclaimed, "What good luck!"

She now had a new understanding of Song Tang's good luck—the world seemed to revolve around her mood. But no matter what, such good luck was somewhat frightening.

Even with good luck, Song Tang still died young in the palace in the original timeline.

Ai Cao thought that the first step to maintaining her good luck was to avoid men.

As for the second step... there is no second step. As long as you don't get involved with men, you'll have good luck.

Moreover, she can also help men get pregnant.

She washed her hands with river water, brushed off the mud from her body, and then went back to her bed in her side room to continue sleeping.

She didn't get to sleep for very long this time either.

A cold glint flashed. Ai Cao raised her hand, wielding her short sword. The weapons clashed, the crisp sound echoing in the small side room. Ai Cao, her eyes half-open with sleep, intensified her attack, slashing at the attacker's wrist with her short sword.

The man took two steps back and stood still.

Ai Cao yawned again. She had only slept for a total of three hours last night, and just now she had only slept for a little over half an hour. She glanced at the sunlight streaming in from the window and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!