The system is inhuman.
Silence reigned all around, except for the crisp, hurried sound of dragging footsteps echoing down the corridor.
The person who had been lingering finally stopped, turned his head and pasted a wooden lattice window decoration on it, but there was still no movement inside.
Looking at the tightly closed door, Xueya hesitated for a long time, but in the end she just stomped her foot and didn't dare to go in and disturb them.
Since the passing of Lord Xie, the Yong'an Marquis's residence has been without anyone in charge. Young Master Xie simply dismissed the servants who were responsible for cleaning and sweeping. The residence has been neglected for many years and has become somewhat dilapidated.
Just an hour ago, the Xie family had just experienced a joyous occasion. The red silks and satins laid out on the eaves and in the courtyard had not yet been taken down. The overwhelming celebration combined with the dilapidated state of the courtyard created an indescribable sense of absurdity.
The young master of the Xie family lay sprawled on the eaves, a withered blade of grass dangling from his mouth. He casually glanced at the waist-high grass and trees in the backyard, thinking to himself, "It's time to find someone to pull some weeds."
"Young Master."
"How many times have I told you to call me Lord Marquis?" Xie Chengnan averted his gaze, casually placing his hand on his bent knee. "What was that commotion just now?"
Cang Xie bowed and said, "I was just about to report that the young...madam, the young lady, Xueya, who serves her, said that the lady is perhaps overjoyed on her wedding day and is somewhat...unsettled. She asked if you would like to go and see her."
Xie Chengnan chuckled, "It's true that I'm upset, but I'm overjoyed... I don't have that kind of ability."
"It's alright, let her make a scene." He then waved his hand at the person.
Having received instructions from the young marquis, Cang Xie did not leave. His face flushed red, and he hesitated before asking, "My lord, on the wedding day, won't you go to see the madam?"
Xie Chengnan, however, asked in return, as if it were perfectly natural, "What would I go there for?"
Cang Xie's face turned bright red. He opened his mouth several times, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words "wedding night".
Xie Chengnan lowered his head and looked down at the guard who had followed him since childhood. This man was good in every way, but he was sometimes too rigid. He not only strictly adhered to the rules for his subordinates, but he was also a grown man in his twenties, a few years older than him, and knew nothing about romance or poetry.
He wanted to tease her, so he deliberately asked, "Hmm? What do you want to say?"
Cang Xie's face flushed red and then paled, and after a long while he finally managed to stammer out, "The Marquis and his wife have not yet eaten. Should I go and make arrangements?"
Xie Chengnan was somewhat disappointed; this person was too boring. "Go to the kitchen and see if the cooks have finished work. If not, just make something and send it to her."
"...My lord, this is the first time the lady has come to the manor. Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" It was more than inappropriate. It was bad enough that she was left alone in her room on her wedding night, but the meals were so simple and crude. Cang Xie felt a little sorry for the young lady from the enemy family.
"I heard that before the lady got married, she liked to eat at Wuweiju Restaurant. Why don't I order a few dishes and have them delivered to the mansion?"
Xie Chengnan didn't say whether it would work out or not. He looked him over for a long time and asked, "Are you very free?"
Cang Xie didn't understand what he meant, and explained, "I have finished my work for today."
"Not bad." Xie Chengnan straightened up, nimbly climbed over the wall, and his voice drifted over from the other side of the wall, "Go and weed the backyard, it's almost summer and there will be a lot of mosquitoes."
Cang Xie: ...Can you pretend you didn't hear that?
Inside the bridal chamber, Lin Yi was still trying to process reality.
She read a novel recommended by her best friend. Because the female villain in the novel had some connection with medicine and was good at causing death, she couldn't help but finish reading it. Unexpectedly, she accidentally ingested poison in the laboratory and transmigrated into "Mountains and Rivers with You". She even transmigrated into the villainous female cannon fodder who died young, Qiu Qingye, whom she had complained about.
If time could turn back, she would never have clicked on that novel, nor would she have had the slightest interest in Qiu Qingye's retribution. But there are no ifs; what's done is done, and she had to face it sooner or later. Lin Yi sighed softly and called out "System" twice in her mind.
The mechanical voice sounded again: [It seems the host has accepted reality.]
Lin gritted his teeth: Yes.
[In this book's world, the host must complete system tasks to advance the main storyline.]
It's not surprising that she has missions. Under her best friend's strong recommendation, she has also read a lot of time-travel novels and knows that the protagonists of time-travel novels always have to complete some missions. Some of them are to complete plot missions to help the protagonist have a happy ending, while others are to change the fate of supporting characters and cannon fodder so that they can reach the pinnacle of life themselves.
But... does this "driving forward the main plot" mean she has to continue courting death along the original owner's predetermined path?
Yes, in addition, the system detected that you are very dissatisfied with the character 'Qiu Qingye', so a goodwill value has been specially set up to make the character more three-dimensional and well-rounded.
"Goodness value?"
[Goodness value is a character's positive good/evil score, which can be gained by doing good deeds; each act of evil will deduct a certain number of points. The current character's initial goodness value is -30, and if the value reaches -50, the character will be forced to die.]
What happens when a character dies?
[You will return to your original world.]
Lin's eyes lit up instantly, but before she could feel any more joy, the system poured cold water on her.
[Friendly reminder: In the original world, you should already be dead.]
Lin Yi took a deep breath: "So, I have to do bad things according to the original plot, but I also have to stay good, otherwise I will die. And even if I complete all the tasks, I will not be able to return to the original world?"
[Host, your summary is very insightful. The system gives you a thumbs up.]
Lin Yi closed her eyes, trying to suppress her surging anger, but patience was useless. She was furious and needed to hear a sound.
She looked around and her eyes settled on a celadon vase displayed on the curio cabinet. It felt heavy, and she checked the bottom—there was no mark. So, it probably wasn't very valuable?
Then she lifted the porcelain vase and smashed it hard on the ground. A loud bang rang out, and shards of porcelain flew everywhere, shattering into countless pieces.
Cang Xie carried the food box into the courtyard. Without the young master's instructions, he didn't dare to order food from Wuweiju on his own. He had to call the cook back and hurriedly stir-fry two dishes. He didn't know if they would suit Miss Qiu's taste. He felt a little guilty carrying the food box.
He had excellent hearing. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he heard the breaking sound coming from the house. His expression changed instantly, and he quickly walked to the front of the house.
He looked at Xueya at the door with a serious expression. "Miss Xueya, what happened inside?"
The latter forced a smile, "Guard Cang, please don't take offense. Miss just had a sudden happy occasion and didn't know how to express it... It seems she broke a vase in the manor."
Cang Xie breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that everyone is alright."
He handed the food box to Xueya, expressing his understanding of Qiu Qingye's actions once again, but couldn't help but sigh after turning away.
He thought that the young lady from the enemy family might regret marrying him.
Qiu Qing was, after all, the only daughter of the Qiu family. Her father, Qiu Baiji, was the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, a third-rank official, and her mother was the elder sister of the Imperial Noble Consort. With such a family background, she had grown up pampered and adored. Seeing the Xie family in such dire straits, it was understandable that she felt a sense of loss and struggled to accept it. Moreover, rumors had been circulating that Qiu Qing was infatuated with the current Crown Prince. Although there was no concrete evidence, it was probably not entirely unfounded. Add to that the fact that her young master clearly didn't care much for his new wife… anyone would be upset in that situation. Since she was a pampered young lady, she couldn't openly express her anger, so she could only vent by smashing things.
Cang Xie was convinced of his guess and in his heart he severely condemned his young master's despicable behavior.
Lin Yi was unaware that her fall had inadvertently earned her sympathy and goodwill. All she knew was that there was always a way out, but her path was no different from being at the end of the road.
---
Young Master Xie's study was probably the only place in the entire mansion that could be described as luxurious, and its cleanliness and furnishings were comparable to those of a powerful minister who was rising in status.
Xie Chengnan was lying on the couch in his study, flipping through the storybooks that Cang Xie had casually brought back from shopping a few days ago.
There were three knocks on the door, but he didn't even lift his eyelids. He said, "Come in."
Cang Xie stopped in front of his bed and bowed respectfully: "My lord, you should go and see her. My wife... is not well."
"How exactly did things go wrong? Did they starve to death or commit suicide?"
His tone was casual and natural as he turned a page of his notebook, seemingly in no hurry. However, the crease that appeared inexplicably on the edge of the page betrayed the fact that the owner was not entirely indifferent.
Cang Xie took a deep breath. He was determined to persuade the young master to go and visit Madam today: "If you don't go, Madam will be in a bad mood and unable to eat or sleep."
Xie Chengnan frowned slightly: "She's making a scene?"
"...No, I just broke the vase you had in the room."
"It's alright, I've checked her room, there's nothing valuable there."
Cang Xie cupped his hands again: "You should still go and take a look. After all, it's close to the East Courtyard. If the young master hears about it, he might cause a scene."
"She's quite the troublemaker. Well, she's hung it out long enough, I'll go take a look." Xie Chengnan stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked towards the door. When he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something, turned back, and instructed, "Also, you're not allowed to call her 'Madam' anymore."
Cang Xie knew that if he brought up the eldest son, the young master wouldn't ignore him. But... when he called Miss Qiu "Madam" last time, didn't the young master tacitly approve? Sure enough, newly married men are always fickle.
---
Xie Chengnan looked at the plate with only a few food scraps left on the table and the broken porcelain bottle on the ground, and slowly a smile appeared on his lips: "Cang Xie said you were restless and unable to eat or sleep. I thought you had suddenly become tough and wanted to learn from Boyi and Shuqi, 'refusing to eat wild vegetables and starving to death'."
Sensing the sarcasm in those words, Lin paused, carefully examining the newcomer and trying to recall their identity.
The wedding ceremony had been over for quite some time, and this was the first time she had seen her nominal "husband." He was dressed in a dark green casual robe, with a silver-threaded unicorn on his wide waistband. Although it was night, his black hair was still tied high at the back of his head, with only the ends slightly disheveled.
Further up, on that extremely young face, thin lips were alluring, nose was high and straight, and a pair of peach blossom eyes held a smug smile; he was truly handsome.
When she first entered the world of the novel, her mind was filled with the image of herself transmigrated into a villainous female supporting character who was despised by everyone. Now, as she came to her senses, she vaguely remembered that in the original plot, Qiu Qing did not get married.
Moreover, she couldn't understand why Qiu Qingye, who had been in love with the Crown Prince for many years, would suddenly marry him. Could it be that this man was in love with Qiu Qingye?
Not wanting to reveal that the current Qiu Qingye had a different inner self, she imitated Qiu Qingye from the book, haughtily raising her head and tentatively asking, "Do you like me?"
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