I also bound a system.
The hot breath between Gu Chengjue's lips and teeth lingered on Song Tiaotiao's fingertips.
He lowered his smiling eyes, stared at Song Tiaotiao, and whispered softly: "Tiaotiao, are you afraid that I will continue?"
Hearing this, Song Tiaotiao's fingertips trembled and her eyes flickered.
She suddenly realized that she had done something senseless and revealing.
Although she was daydreaming on her own, Gu Chengjue had always been as gentle as the breeze and the bright moon. The second half of the sentence that she had not uttered might not be what she thought.
The words were already swirling around her lips, and no one knew what the final outcome would be. She was actually being too hasty.
Song Tiaotiao lowered her blinking eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly: "I'm not afraid..." At this point, she said in a muffled voice, "If you want to continue, I will follow you. But my words are binding, and I have to take responsibility for what I say."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue's eyes were full of tenderness, and he leaned slightly towards Song Tiaotiao. His ink-like hair was entangled with Song Tiaotiao's intertwined fingers.
He lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, "What if I'm willing?"
Song Tiaotiao's fingertips felt itchy, and she raised her sparkling eyes slightly: "Then you must do what you say."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue bent his five slender fingers until only the little finger was left.
He picked up the childishness he had discarded as a worn-out shoe in his childhood, held out his little finger to Song Tiao Tiao, lowered his eyes and smiled softly: "Every word you say is sincere, and the world can bear witness to it."
Song Tiaotiao's eyes flickered, and she gently hooked her little finger over Gu Chengjue's knuckles: "It's a deal."
The next morning, several familiar faces had already gathered in the food store.
Seeing Song Tiaotiao and Gu Chengjue come in, Jiang Yunying greeted them with a faint smile.
Ever since being kept by Song Tiaotiao, Jiang Yunying has gained a place in the food shop by using the skills he learned from Jiang Liu.
Now, Jin Zhenjiao has been given more power by Jin Shulan, and she has to run the Jin family's business and take care of the wedding at the same time. She is very busy, and Jiang Yunying happens to be the third person in their minds who can enter the kitchen.
In a corner of the food shop, Jin Shulan, holding a sword, strode towards them as soon as he saw the two of them.
At this moment, he stared at Gu Chengjue with his fox eyes, as if he wanted to stare a hole through him before he would stop. "Young General Gu, ever since I heard that you were going to return to the village, I have been waiting in Songbai Village for a long time. Now I have heard that you sent a large amount of money and goods from the Jin family to County Magistrate Bai. Keep your promise. When will we start practicing martial arts?"
Chao Yue, who was walking slowly behind him, glanced at him lightly upon hearing this and said, "Shulan, it's only early morning now, we can discuss this after breakfast."
Hearing the voice, Jin Shulan trembled and nodded in response.
Seeing this, Jiang Yunying, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but glance at the mysterious man wearing a veil hat.
At that moment, the deep voice from under the veil sounded again: "Tiao Tiao, is this Miss Jiang?"
Seeing Chao Yue turning towards her, she glanced at the smiling Song Tiaotiao and nodded slightly.
Chao Yue's eyes flickered as he said softly, "Then, I beg Miss Jiang to help me clear up my confusion."
Jiang Yunying raised her eyebrows slightly and pointed at herself: "Me?"
Song Tiaotiao leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Yes, it's about my mother."
Hearing this, Jiang Yunying was silent for a moment and nodded.
After finding a quiet room where no one would disturb them, the three of them sat down around the round table.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Chao Yue took off his veil and looked into Jiang Yunying's trembling eyes: "I think after seeing you, the young lady should know who I am."
Jiang Yunying's eyes flickered back and forth between Song Tiaotiao and her. Finally, she looked sideways at Song Tiaotiao and said in a trembling voice, "He...should be your brother?"
Song Tiaotiao blinked and nodded.
Chao Yuewen smiled warmly, bringing Jiang Yunying back to her senses. "Miss Jiang, I came here today to ask you about some matters related to my mother. Like Tiaotiao, I haven't seen my mother for many years. I'm deeply confused, so I might need to trouble you."
Jiang Yunying shook her head, her eyes fixed: "No problem, since it is about Master, I will definitely answer any questions."
In order to improve the efficiency of the inquiry, Chao Yue told Jiang Yunying all the information that Song Tiaotiao shared with him.
Then, he said gently, "May I ask when did you first meet your mother?"
Jiang Yunying lowered her eyes and thought for a moment: "Master and I first met when I was nine years old. Ten years have passed since then."
Song Tiaotiao's eyes moved slightly.
Ten years ago, she was sent to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion by An Rong.
Chao Yue also thought of this. After giving her a look, he continued, "Mother, have you been to other places since you left for Mobei Village?"
Jiang Yunying thought for a moment and responded, "It's rare, but every time she goes, she's gone for more than a few months. On the few occasions she goes out, Master always wraps herself up tightly. Even with a veil, she still disguises herself out of concern, and never reveals her whereabouts to me. However, every time she returns, she brings me local specialties. I was deeply impressed by them, including things called Snowflake Crisps, Ice Plum Cakes, and various flavors of fruit honey."
Song Tiaotiao hesitated and said, "Snowflake crisps, ice plum cake? As far as I know, in the Southern Dynasty, they can only be eaten in Yingzhou. And fruit honey...? That's not only available in the Northern Dynasty..."
Chao Yue was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Specially supplied by the royal family."
Hearing this, Jiang Yunying was puzzled.
Song Tiaotiao's eyes also trembled slightly.
These specialties mean that during these ten years, my mother had returned to Yingzhou and also to the Northern Dynasty.
But due to various reasons, I never met them.
And the handful of fruit honey that Qin Xing grabbed for her was such a rare thing.
Then Qin Xing and his brother...
Song Tiaotiao was completely puzzled, but Chao Yue calmly continued to ask, "Miss Jiang, your mother suffers from unusual headaches on the 15th of every month."
Jiang Yunying nodded repeatedly and said in a muffled voice, "Indeed, Master's medical skills are already better than many rural doctors I have seen, but he has difficulty treating himself. Every time he has this problem, he gets a splitting headache and suffers terribly."
Chao Yue frowned slightly: "Until the year we parted ways?"
Jiang Yunying blinked: "That's right."
Chao Yue's eyes glared, and he said in a deep voice, "That damn system, the punishment hasn't been eliminated after all these years."
Hearing this, Song Tiaotiao raised her eyes with pity and asked, "Brother, do you know the details of the mother system?"
Chao Yue narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly, "She is bound to a strategy system. And the target of the strategy is you and my... father."
Song Tiaotiao's eyebrows were raised, and she almost blurted out "How could it be?"
Before my mother entered the palace, she was clearly following the path of a heroine.
However, this may explain why my mother was so desperate and entered the palace to have a love affair with the emperor.
Seeing Song Tiaotiao lost in thought, Chao Yue continued to ask gently, "Miss Jiang, when your mother first met you, did she tell you why she took you in?"
Hearing this, Jiang Yunying's eyes flickered, as if recalling the past, and she smiled softly: "Master said that I can protect the peace between the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Dynasty in the future."
Looking at the smile on Jiang Yunying's lips, Chao Yue's eyes flickered for a moment, then he lowered them slightly. "Most of the doubts in my heart have been dispelled today. I would like to thank Miss Jiang for clearing up my doubts. I heard that among the people who came with you from Mobei Village, some seemed to be very disrespectful to you."
Hearing this, Jiang Yunying came back to her senses from her memories, her eyebrows furrowed as she angrily said, "I've been used to what they've done to me since I was a child, so I don't feel anything when I say something back. But now they're actually using my master as my weak spot, and that's what I can't stand."
Chao Yue lowered his eyes slightly, chuckled, and shook his head: "Miss Jiang, there's no need to waste your energy on getting angry with them. I will definitely solve your worries and bring you peace of mind."
After Jiang Yunying left, Song Tiaotiao sat beside Chao Yue and asked, "Brother, how could your father become the target of Mother's strategy? From what I know, their relationship in the end... is hard to describe."
Chao Yue's eyes dimmed slightly. "Mother has always been resistant to Father. She once told me that in your world, she married a man who looked exactly like Father. She called them a pair of enemies."
Song Tiaotiao raised her eyebrows and rubbed her swollen temples. "The coincidences in this novel are too inexplicable. They wouldn't have incorporated my biological father into this novel, would they?"
Chao Yue raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of confusion in his words: "Biological father?"
Song Tiaotiao nodded and sighed softly, "He is... he is the boss who never fulfilled his duties. Ever since my mother gave birth to me, he left us and disappeared."
Chao Yue's eyes glared, and he whispered, "You're really incompetent."
Song Tiaotiao felt depressed. She gently blew the hair that fell on her forehead and asked with her head tilted, "Brother, how did your father become in the end?"
Chao Yue lowered his gaze slightly, as if recalling the past. After a long pause, he spoke calmly, "He...? After imprisoning my mother back in the palace, one rainy night, she stabbed him in the chest with a hairpin. After a coma lasting nearly six months, he woke one day, having lost all memory of her. Then, one day, despite the objections of his ministers and the Grand Empress Dowager, he proposed an imperial decree to pass the throne to me, and then he set off on his own, traveling the kingdoms."
Song Tiaotiao held her forehead and sighed softly, "I really don't know what to say. So, did Mother's headache-inducing punishment begin because of that rainy night?"
Chao Yue nodded slightly.
Song Tiaotiao rubbed his brows. "But if the punishment for nearly killing the target is just a headache, then what Miss Jiang said about being hunted by the system... something else happened during that time."
Chao Yue frowned and said in a deep voice, "That so-called system collapsed the night Mother assassinated Father. How could it have the energy to pursue her after that?"
Thousands of thoughts flashed through Song Tiaotiao's mind. Finally, he bit his lower lip and said, "Brother, how about I ask my system?"
Chao Yue glanced at Song Tiao Tiao, his eyelashes trembling: "Tiao Tiao, what did you say...?"
Song Tiaotiao lowered her head slightly, her eyes full of entanglement: "Actually, I am also bound to a system..."
Chao Yue's fingertips sunk into his palm, and he sneered angrily, "Who allowed them to bind these useless systems without permission?" At this point, he frowned and closed his eyes. After regaining some composure, he slowly said, "Little sister, what is the purpose of this system of yours?"
Song Tiaotiao watched as Chao Yue's fingertips sank deeper and deeper into his flesh. She gently reached up to Chao Yue's palm and peeled his knuckles outwards. "Save the villain... that's right, save the villain. But this person is Gu Chengjue."
Seeing that his actions had caused Song Tiaotiao to worry, Chao Yue sighed softly and relaxed his clenched fists. "Little sister, how could this Gu Chengjue be a villain who needs your rescue? Is it possible that he only knows the surface but not the heart?"
Song Tiaotiao's eyes flickered as she explained, "He...he was originally the protagonist in the novel I traveled through. I don't know why he suddenly became the villain. Perhaps it has something to do with his miserable life in the original novel... But now I've tried my best to avoid his frustration, so I'm sure he won't become a true villain."
Hearing this, Chao Yue pondered for a moment. After a long pause, he raised his eyes, filled with worry, and expressed his greatest concern: "Tiao Tiao, has this system ever told you about the punishment for failing to save someone?"
Song Tiaotiao was stunned.
She had wanted to ask the system about this, but the system never told her about it, saying it believed she would succeed and didn't want to intimidate her.
Thinking of this, Song Tiaotiao felt a little nervous, like swinging on a rope.
Facing Chao Yue's nervous eyes, she finally asked in her heart: "Master, what is the punishment for failing to save me?"
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