Chapter 8: The tokens of love have all been given.
Why did Chunyu Han's happiness level suddenly drop? And even though it dropped by 10, how come the total value is -20?
This old system probably can't even do basic math...
[That's correct, those 10 points were accumulated from yesterday. The balance is reset at midnight each day, but negative values will accumulate.]
The system answered Yu Nian's question; although he was a bit old, he wasn't so old that he couldn't even count.
Yu Nian looked up and around, and sure enough, she saw a golden python pattern hanging not far away. In the Great Zhao Kingdom, only Chunyu Han would use such decorations.
"Yu Nian, are you deaf?"
Since it was the Empress's will after all, Li Mingjin couldn't refute it. Otherwise, he really wanted to just leave Yu Nian in this deep palace corridor.
But he didn't want to ride with Yu Nian, so he told Yu Nian to get in the car and leave first. But when he called her several times, Yu Nian didn't move.
"Ah? I suddenly remembered I have something to attend to, so I won't take up any more of Your Highness's time. I'll take my leave now."
Yu Nian replied, then lifted her skirt with one hand and ran off in another direction at an astonishing speed. By the time Li Mingjin came to his senses, the girl in pink had already disappeared into the crowd of carriages and horses.
Li Mingjin turned and got into his carriage. He just snorted and didn't think too much about it. On the contrary, he thought it was better that Yu Nian knew her place.
Yu Nian jogged along, hurrying as fast as she could, and finally caught up with Chunyu Han's carriage.
Of course, this wouldn't be possible without Canghai deliberately releasing water.
Yu Nian didn't stand on ceremony and climbed directly into Chunyu Han's carriage.
The sweet scent of the young girl, carried by the cool breeze of late summer, rushed into the carriage.
Chunyu Han paused for a moment as he played with the purple sandalwood prayer beads.
"What a coincidence, Your Excellency, we meet again."
Yu Nian was still smiling. A small beam of light shone through the gap in the carriage curtain, illuminating Yu Nian's exquisitely beautiful face, which was somewhat dazzling. Chunyu Han closed his eyes and refused to look at her, speaking coldly.
"Get down."
"Your Excellency, please don't be so stingy. It's an hour's walk from here to the palace gate. Could you give me a ride?"
Yu Nian squinted at Chunyu Han. He seemed indifferent at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there was a hint of resentment in his expression. He had spread rumors that caused her to be reprimanded by the Empress, and he was still angry?
"What does it have to do with me?"
Chunyu Han already knew last night that Yu Nian was a thick-skinned person, but he didn't expect her to be this thick-skinned. He rejected her so obviously, and she couldn't see it at all.
"Of course it has something to do with you. If it weren't for the Regent, why would I have come to the palace? Because of you, Her Majesty the Empress made me kneel for a long time. My legs hurt terribly, and I'm afraid I won't be able to leave the palace gates until dark."
Yu Nian's words were half true and half false, but they were spoken with genuine feeling.
“Since Miss Yu is a smart person, she should know that she shouldn’t have come to provoke me. Get out of the car now, and I won’t make things difficult for you.”
Chunyu Han raised his eyelids slightly, his narrow eyes coldly sweeping over Yu Nian. Who would believe that her legs really hurt? Just now, when she was walking side by side with the Crown Prince, Chunyu Han saw that her legs were very nimble.
Chunyu Han knew that Yu Nian only wanted to use him as a shield, and it wasn't worth it for her to openly oppose the Prime Minister.
But Yu Nian not only showed no intention of getting off the bus, she also scooted her hips closer to Chunyu Han.
"Hmm, that's not quite right. I thought the Regent liked me too, he even gave me a token of love. To say something so hurtful is really dishonest."
Yu Nian leaned against the carriage, acting like a brat. Given the efficiency of the palace's intelligence network, the news of her riding in the same carriage with Chunyu Han would spread in no time. In public, Chunyu Han wouldn't do anything to her.
Chunyu Han's brow twitched; Yu Nian always did things unpredictably.
"You're just talking nonsense. I've never given you any token of love."
"Look for yourself, didn't you do this?"
Yu Nian stretched out her hand, rolled up her sleeves, revealing a section of her smooth, fair wrist. A ring of bluish-purple stood out conspicuously on her pale wrist.
That was the mark Chunyu Han made himself last night.
This was already showing mercy; otherwise, Yu Nian's wrists would have suffered far more than just bruises.
"What kind of token is this?"
Chunyu Han believed that Yu Nian was complaining that he had gone too far.
The girl's snow-white skin was particularly striking. He hadn't noticed it late at night, but in broad daylight, it made Chunyu Han feel a tightness in his throat.
"Hurry up and put your clothes on."
Does Yu Nian even have any concept of manners anymore? Or is it the same when she's with the Crown Prince...?
Upon having this thought, Chunyu Han became slightly irritated, and the speed at which he turned the prayer beads in his hand increased.
"Sigh, even if the adults don't acknowledge this as a token, they should at least see me off, considering how badly my wrist is injured."
Yu Nian not only refused to accept it, but also deliberately waved her wrist in front of Chunyu Han.
Through these conversations, Yu Nian discovered that although Chunyu Han was ruthless, he also possessed a certain gentlemanly demeanor in some aspects.
"Stop making noise, sit quietly, and get off immediately when you reach the palace gate."
Yu Nian's mouth is really sharp; after going around in circles, it turns out she set a trap for him. Chunyu Han replied calmly and sat upright in the carriage, closing his eyes to rest.
Yu Nian finally breathed a sigh of relief as the system notification sounded in her mind.
[Today's life-extending mission completed: Ride in the same carriage with your bound partner. Life points increased by 1 day.]
System, are you trying to be this stingy? I risked being thrown off by Chunyu Han at any moment to get this, and it's only worth one day?
The system replied lazily: You don't want it? You can take it back if you don't want it.
Yu Nian: No, I didn't say anything just now...
Yu Nian stopped being picky and decided to take it one day at a time. She opened the system panel and discovered that her system seemed to have been upgraded.
A new thing called "Merit Points" appeared. Yu Nian tapped it, and a comment popped up.
Completing good deeds and accumulating merit points will grant you the opportunity to return to your past life.
For example: Helping an elderly woman cross the street earns +1 merit point.
Yu Nian almost vomited blood after reading this annotation. According to what the system said, Yu Nian quickly did some mental calculations.
She would have to help a million old ladies. Even if she helped ten old ladies a day, she would have to do it for 274 years straight...
Thinking about it this way, Yu Nian's desire to go home wasn't so strong anymore.
[Ahem, that's just an example. Don't be too pessimistic. As mentioned, there's a mission. If you can successfully save a villain, you can get 100,000 merit points at once.]
A villain is worth 100,000 merit points...
Yu Nian's hope was instantly rekindled, and her gaze toward Chunyu Han became much more fervent.
So how do we save it?
Yu Nian was more cautious this time, worried that this unscrupulous system might be setting a trap for her again.
[Help the villain avoid a tragic end and repent.]
Well... there's still some hope for the former, but the difficulty of turning over a new leaf is really quite high. However, compared to helping an old lady, Yu Nian thinks it's still worth a try.
Even with his eyes closed, Chunyu Han could feel Yu Nian's intense, piercing gaze.
With slender fingers gripping the purple sandalwood prayer beads, Chunyu Han opened his eyes and met Yu Nian's gaze.
What are you looking at?
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