Chapter 62
The proprietress had indeed brought out all her best finds. Just looking at the fabric and style, it was in a completely different league from the one Lu Yanran had bought earlier.
“Miss Qiu, do you like this dress? It’s made of Yun brocade, and it took three months to weave. Feel the fabric; it’s cool to the touch, perfect for this kind of weather. The best part is this shawl. It doesn’t look particularly striking now, but if you wear it to a palace banquet and it’s illuminated under the lamp, the ‘Starry River Reflecting the Moon’ pattern will be revealed!” The proprietress explained earnestly, afraid of neglecting her in any way.
This one is quite nice. The blue-and-white porcelain paired with a blush pink creates a natural blend, and the subtle silver star-like pattern prevents it from looking stiff or old-fashioned without being too flashy. Besides, she usually wears light blue and green; I wonder if the people around her are tired of seeing that. She should probably switch to something more pastel.
"This one will do." Lin Yi paid the money, carefully wrapped the new clothes, and was about to step out of the store when he saw Chun An pick up a dark red fitted silk skirt and hold it up in front of him.
Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat; this dress...
Chun'an held it up in front of him for a moment, then put it down and shook his head, saying, "It looks nice, but this color doesn't suit me."
Lin Yi picked up a lotus-root colored dress from the side and handed it to her: "This one suits you very well."
Seeing that there was still business to be done, the proprietress quickly chimed in with her approval.
Princess Chun'an, who believed in listening to advice and eating her fill, chose the popular lotus-colored wide-sleeved silk dress and was about to pay for it when Lin Yi beat her to it.
"Consider this a gift from me. Thank you for your suggestion earlier." Lin Yi saw the disdain she was about to show and continued, "You don't need to refuse. I know that Your Highness is not short of money for this dress, but you haven't been to Mingzhou City for a long time. You stayed at my residence, but I didn't let you enjoy the hospitality of a host. That's my fault."
"Since you put it that way, then this princess will accept it without any qualms!"
Lin Yi smiled and said, "You were already entitled to accept it."
When it came time to pay, Lin Yi paid for the dark red one as well.
Chun'an asked suspiciously, "Didn't you say this one wasn't suitable for me? Why did you buy it?"
"Dark red is mature and composed, but it lacks liveliness and is not suitable for a princess, but it is very suitable for another person I know."
"Who is it?" Chun'an asked.
Seeing that Lin Yi did not answer, she did not press further. She had not been back here for many years, and the people in Mingzhou City had changed wave after wave, so it was not surprising that she did not recognize them.
The two walked out of Yunxiu Workshop side by side, the sunlight shining obliquely on the bluestone slabs.
It was still early, and with the clothes issue resolved, Chun'an wouldn't forget that this person had promised to go shopping with her.
So he took Lin and strolled from East Street to West Market, stopping at every stall and shop they passed along the way.
By the time we finished our walk, the sun had already moved a third of the way up.
Lin Yi leaned against a painted pillar in an inn and stomped her aching ankles. She was already exhausted, but Princess Chun'an was still looking around tirelessly, her eyes full of undisguised joy and curiosity.
Lin Yi had always envied girls like Chun'an, who seemed to never tire of shopping and could forget about unhappy things in the blink of an eye. Unlike herself, she hated aimless wandering, which would exhaust her after half an hour.
Having already explored both streets, Chun'an still felt it wasn't enough and wanted to visit South Street and North Market as well.
Lin Yi was inwardly groaning, but he had made the promise, so he could only endure his exhaustion and risk his life to accompany the princess.
It was getting late, so the two of them ate dinner on the street.
Upon returning to the Xie residence, after greeting everyone, Lin Yi quickly washed up and went to rest.
Xie Chengnan followed her into the house and saw her, like a fish stranded on the shore, plunge headfirst into the soft mattress, not even bothering to take off her shoes and socks.
It was rare to see this woman so exhausted. Even during the busiest times when the clinic was open, she would just cover herself with a blanket and fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow; she was nothing like this half-dead state she was in now.
Xie Chengnan asked with a smile, "Tired?"
Her cheek sank into the pillow, and her voice was muffled: "Shopping is really not something a human being can do, my feet don't even feel like my own anymore..."
"Oh, are there really rich young ladies in this world who don't like shopping?"
“You don’t understand at all… That princess walked through every street and alley in Mingzhou City…” Lin Yi’s eyelashes seemed to be coated with glue, heavy and unable to separate. She waved her hand weakly, “I’m just too tired today. Let’s talk another day…”
Knowing she was exhausted, Xie Chengnan didn't want to bother her any longer. But before leaving, he remembered that she had said her feet hurt, so he gently sat on the edge of the bed, took off her shoes and socks, and placed his warm palms on her reddened soles.
Xie Chengnan had learned martial arts from the Marquis of Yong'an since childhood, and a thin layer of calluses covered his fingertips. With just the right amount of force, he gently massaged the muscles that had been tense all day. Lin Yi made a comfortable gurgling sound in his throat, his eyelashes fluttered, and he struggled to open his eyes a crack.
Xie Chengnan chuckled and said, "Let me give you a massage, then you won't feel tired tomorrow. Go to sleep."
"Xie Chengnan...you're so kind..." Lin Yi murmured, then drifted off to sleep.
Before falling asleep, she sighed softly to herself, knowing that the person she loved was massaging her feet, and that she was still very happy...
Before she could sink deeper into her dream, she was ruthlessly interrupted by the system's mechanical voice.
[Dear host, the palace banquet is approaching, and you will face a crucial plot point. Please be sure to advance the villain's storyline, completing tasks such as "publicly humiliating Zhan Xian," "poisoning the Crown Prince," and "framing the female lead," and successfully make everyone remember you at the palace banquet.]
...
...
%##son!
Xie Chengnan was gently massaging the soles of her feet, his eyes fixed on her sleeping face, his expression softening unconsciously.
But suddenly she opened her eyes as if she had risen from the dead, her eyes clear and angry, showing no sign of drowsiness.
"you……"
Then, without warning, the person sat up abruptly and stepped barefoot onto the floor.
Xie Chengnan wondered to himself, "Could she be half asleep and having a delirium?"
Lin Yi rushed to the table, pulled out paper and pen, and began to write.
She was in a hurry, before the ink had fully dissolved.
Xie Chengnan resignedly took the inkstone and ground the ink for her. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Lin Yi seemed to have sobered up a bit, shook his head, and began to write.
Looking at the unfamiliar handwriting, Xie Chengnan's brows furrowed slightly. What on earth was this woman up to? She got out of bed halfway through her sleep just to write this... petition for peace?
Lin Yi stopped writing midway and looked at him suspiciously: "You didn't peek, did you?" Before Xie Chengnan could answer, she said to herself: "Never mind, let him see."
After hearing her words, Xie Chengnan stopped looking and took a step back to give her enough safe space.
Once the ink had dried, Lin Yi had read the letter from beginning to end and found nothing wrong with it. Satisfied, she folded the letter and carefully wrapped it together with the dark red belted dress she had bought at Yunxiufang during the day.
She was carrying a bundle in her arms and was barefoot when she went out to look for Xueya, calling out her name a few times.
As autumn approached, the nights grew cooler. Though not cold, the ground was already chilly, making it unsuitable to walk barefoot. Xie Chengnan, watching from the side, was alarmed and chased after him, shoes in hand.
With his long legs and long strides, he caught up with Lin Yi in no time, forcefully pulled him around the waist, and forcefully put both of his shoes on Lin Yi's feet.
When Xueya arrived at the scene, she saw what had happened and asked, bewildered, "Miss, young master? What's going on?"
Their actions had a flirtatious undertone, and Lin Yi blushed slightly, but business was still the priority. She coughed lightly and instructed Xueya to deliver the items to an inn at the east end of the city.
"Now?" Xueya asked, puzzled.
"Yes, now. Have Cang Xie go with you, but you need to deliver the item to her. When you get back, remember to tell me her reaction."
Although Xueya didn't understand, she would unconditionally do whatever her mistress asked of her, no matter how absurd it was.
After arranging things properly, Lin Yi finally had time to settle scores with the system.
She shouted "System" in her mind, but received no response. However, she knew that the system was listening.
"I won't say anything about the first few, but what the heck is the last one? What does it mean to make everyone at the palace banquet remember me? What's the use of them remembering me? Do I want everyone to hate me?"
She used to have a very good temper, but lately, whenever she hears the system's voice, she turns into a hysterical, complaining woman. It's all that damn system's fault!
The system's unchanging voice sounded again: "[Dear host, I fully understand your confusion—as a villain, you originally thought that simply completing the predetermined plot would suffice. But 'making everyone remember you' is precisely an integral part of completing the plot. You should know that a perfect villain isn't someone who makes people grit their teeth in hatred, but rather someone who, even when hated, evokes a sense of pity and pathos, and whose charm is undeniable even amidst loathing..."]
[At the same time, this is also part of the system's humanistic care. To enhance the host's experience, simply committing evil deeds is like chewing wax; the host would probably find it boring. If you could make everyone remember you through evil deeds, wouldn't that be quite fulfilling? Furthermore, if key figures remember you, when the plot collapses and the host fails to rewrite the ending, facing the inevitable death of 'Chou Qingye' again, it might trigger a turning point for these key figures, potentially saving your life.]
Oh, you big dummy! You make it sound so high-sounding, but it's all nonsense. If she really made herself remembered by everyone through evil deeds, when the day comes that she falls from power, she'll be a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone.
Lin Yi ignored all of that and asked bluntly, "If I complete all the tasks this time, what benefits will I get?"
[...It is suggested that the host stop questioning the rationale behind the mission and stop always thinking about what benefits they might gain. If everything required a reward, then the Earth should have stopped rotating long ago, since its rotation and revolution have not received any reward or compensation.]
...Very good, you can even tell corny jokes now.
"Do you really need me to spell it out for you to understand? In this second life, all I need to do is change 'Chou Qingye's' inevitable death, and incidentally advance the plot to prevent this world from collapsing, right? Oh, and that weird 'goodness value.' I've been wanting to ask this for a while: why does this inhumane design even exist? Your very existence was approved through proper procedures, wasn't it? These seemingly unrelated tasks weren't something you arbitrarily imposed on me, were they?..."
[WARNING—WARNING! Host has been detected questioning the system program. The system is about to initiate self-destruction and destruction.]
"Wait! Self-destruct?! Destroy?!" Lin Yi panicked instantly. Who was it going to destroy? The system? Or her?!
After the piercing alarm, a mechanical voice abruptly chuckled, the laughter carrying the hum of metallic resonance, the unnatural sound deliberately mimicking human emotions. [Just kidding. Just wanted you to experience the consequences of angering the system.]
[Friendly reminder: Please do not question the design and rationality of this system.]
[As compensation for this conflict with the host, when the host's goodness value reaches 500, the host can refuse tasks other than those that advance key plot points.]
[Note: Current Goodness value is 124. The road ahead is long and arduous; please continue your efforts.]
...
Lin Yi was dumbfounded.
This system has mutated, hasn't it?!
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