Yue Ningning's system
Jing Yao stood there motionless, her heart pounding like a drum. She didn't know why Yue Ningning had come out to talk to her.
But the moment of daze was short-lived. Jing Yao regained his composure and nodded, his tone devoid of emotion as he replied, "Madam Yue."
The young woman noticed her obvious wariness and distance, and with an apologetic smile, she quietly took a step back. "I was so busy with the tedious matters at the bookstore that I was not able to immediately address the conflict. Thank you for your words of advice and for resolving this misunderstanding. On behalf of Yushan Bookstore, I thank you."
Jing Yao felt relieved because of what he had just heard about the brothers.
Yes, it is understandable that Yue Ningning, as the owner of the bookstore, chased after her to thank her for helping to resolve the crisis.
"I'm only doing this for my sister. You don't have to thank me, Mrs. Yue."
If it weren't for the fact that this matter involved Jiang Wen and that Wen Rencuo was so rude and reckless, she wouldn't have bothered to care. Furthermore, she already knew Yue Ningning was there.
This really attracted people here, which was of no benefit to her.
Jing Yao just hoped that Yue Ningning didn't recognize her and would quickly finish the greetings and leave.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Yue Ningning asked the waiter to bring a set of storybooks: "Miss Jiang is also a frequent visitor to our bookstore. It is my fault for making you ladies uncomfortable. These are our fine products. I give them to you ladies as a token of my gratitude."
Jiang Wen and Jiang Jing naturally accepted it with pleasure. When the waiter handed the gift box to Jing Yao, Bo Yue did not take it but looked at his wife's reaction first.
Jing Yao waved his hand: "Thank you for your trouble, Madam Yue, but I don't think this thank you gift is necessary."
She always suspected that Yue Ningning's thank-you gift had some hidden agenda. Or perhaps it was the look in her eyes from her past life that left a deep impression on her, leaving her with a vague fear, worried that she had ulterior motives.
Yue Ningning was neither annoyed nor stubborn, and signaled the waiter to take it back.
"I don't even know your name, am I qualified to get to know you?"
She smiled generously and brightly, with a hint of self-deprecating anticipation. No matter how you looked at her, she was just an innocent and beautiful girl. Jing Yao suddenly felt a little dazed, wondering if this was all just her imagination... In fact, nothing had happened.
She had never been reborn, and the Yue Ningning in front of her was just an ordinary bookstore owner.
But memories that were different from the past were telling her, no, Jing Yao, you have already died once.
And the Yue Ningning in front of him is one of the murderers.
"My wife?"
Yue Ningning took a step forward hesitantly, and Jing Yao subconsciously stepped back in panic. Zhiyue hurriedly supported the young lady. Bo Yue naturally saw that the young lady was not in a good state and immediately stood in front of her: "Madam Yue, my wife is not feeling well and has to go back first."
"Oh...Okay! My lady, be careful." Yue Ningning stopped asking questions upon seeing this, and her expression was still quite concerned and worried.
Jing Yao was finally able to free himself and got into the carriage with the help of a maid.
Several sisters gathered around her carriage. Jing Yao lifted the side curtain and said goodbye to them one by one: "See you next time."
Jing Yao missed the reluctant expressions of several girls, raised his eyes, and met the gaze of Yue Ningning who was still paying attention to this side.
He hadn't been so nervous just now because of the veil, but now Jing Yao had to admit that he felt a little nervous.
She lowered the side curtain and asked the coachman to drive back to the palace immediately.
The carriage drove towards the imperial city. After it was quite a distance away from the bookstore, Jing Yao finally relaxed, leaning against the small table and closing his eyes to rest.
"Madam, are you and that Madam Yue... acquainted?"
Boyue lit the soothing Liheng incense and hesitated for a long time before finally asking.
"No." Jing Yao shook her head slightly. She thought that based on this life, she naturally didn't know him.
And she really didn't want to meet Yue Ningning.
"Don't mention this person to me again."
Jing Yao's rare tone in these words was so cold and hard that even Bo Yue's hand trembled as she was lighting the incense.
"Yes, my lady."
——
In Yushan Bookstore, the two brothers from the Wen family looked at each other.
Wen Renyou was beaten up by his eldest brother without any explanation, and his face was swollen. Thinking about how he had embarrassed himself in front of his sweetheart, he really wanted to kill himself.
He stared at the gloomy Wen Rencuo with resentful eyes, very dissatisfied: "Brother, next time, can you figure it out before taking action? Do you know what a huge blow it is to me, a young man like me, by doing this?"
Although it was not the first or second time that he was beaten by his elder brother, he was really angry this time!
Wen Rencuo sighed: "It must be that my men got the information wrong. Ah You, I'm sorry for you."
Seeing that his elder brother had actually shown weakness, the young man covered his face and yelled, "I just told you to stop hitting me, stop hitting me, and you didn't listen at all! Am I really your biological brother, Wenren Cuo?"
Wenrencuo sat on the chair with his head slightly tilted back, as if thinking about something.
"Why aren't you talking?"
Wen Renyou is still his eldest brother at heart, and he became timid when he saw that he didn't say anything.
"Is...are you feeling guilty?"
The young man curled his lips and said, "Well, I'm not that easy to deal with as your brother. My parents will definitely see that you beat me up like this. If they want me to keep it secret... hehe..."
Wen Renyou was about to ask for some benefits, but the man's eyes were cold, and his words were even colder: "Then I can tell Dad that you didn't do the training task he assigned to you at all, and threw it all to Ayu. And the military manual you lost last time-"
"Stop!" Wen Renyou called him, "Okay, big brother, let's not talk about this. I want to go home and take care of these injuries I accidentally fell on."
Wenren Cuo smiled faintly, thinking "That's better than not". Just as the two were about to get up and go back, a girl in red suddenly stood in front of them.
"You two, did you have a misunderstanding in our store just now?"
Wen Renyou looked at the smiling girl in front of him, and then looked at his brother with a gloomy face. This girl really brought up things that were not related to the topic.
Wen Rencuo said with a cold face: "I will compensate for the broken things, and someone will come to deal with it later."
"That's not what I meant..."
Yue Ningning wanted to explain that she was just concerned about the brothers' situation, but Wen Rencuo only remembered his own stupidity and the blue-clothed girl who had argued with him without giving in.
"I'll just pretend today's incident never happened. It's not a big deal. My name is Yue Ningning, and I'm the owner of this bookstore. I've long heard of Major General Wenren's reputation."
The man glanced at her, and Wen Renyou felt gloating in his heart, because it turned out that the man came for him, the elder brother.
Yue Ningning blinked her eyes. "I'm glad to see the young general today. He's just as majestic as the rumors say. I want to make friends with the general..."
"That's not necessary," Wen Rencuo interrupted. This extremely rude behavior wouldn't surprise anyone, as if he was just that rude and arrogant. "You and I don't know each other, and I don't think you come to this bookstore often. You might as well ask my brother about this; he's probably a regular."
When Wen Renyou saw that the topic turned back to himself, he quickly waved his hand and said that he had a toothache and really needed to see a doctor, then he ran away.
The man was about to walk past Yue Ningning and leave when Chu Er turned back and asked, "Does the lady in blue come here often?"
Yue Ningning shook her head: "This is the first time I've seen her today. Major General... do you know that lady?"
She was a little tentative and a little worried.
Wen Rencuo frowned, then shook his head: "No. Nothing."
After saying that, he left without looking back, leaving Yue Ningning alone there, puzzled.
"how so……"
Yue Ningning returned to her study in annoyance and paced back and forth.
After a while, she finally tapped the system that had been on standby in her mind:
"3022, what's going on? Why is Jing Yao here at this time? Isn't Wen Rencuo going to trigger a side storyline with me?"
Yue Ningning was devastated and mad. Before she could even hear the system reply in her mind, she heard the world voice:
"Warning! The world line has changed. The character Wenren mistakenly finds his crush's object has been changed to—Jing Yao."
"What……"
Yue Ningning was in a trance. 3022, whom she had been calling for for a long time, finally appeared: [Host! ]
"You also heard the world's voice, the plot is different from what you said!" Yue Ningning felt that she had been deceived. She was alone in a different world and was almost alert to the point of seeing enemies everywhere.
Although the plot developments after coming to this world were exactly the same as what System 3022 said, and everything was proceeding according to her plan, things started to go wrong a few days ago.
First, Si Jue's intelligence inside the palace reported that Jing Yao hadn't left the palace after stabbing Si Pei, and that her relationship with Si Pei had improved significantly recently. Then, Jing Yao, who was supposed to be imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, unexpectedly appeared at Yushan Bookstore today, and the person who accidentally triggered the plot with Wen Ren was now her...
Seeing that the trust they had worked so hard to build was about to be broken, 3022 quickly comforted her: "Host, don't panic. I have no reason to lie to you! We are one. What good would it do me if you couldn't complete the mission? While there is a small chance of the plot changing, it is not impossible."
Yue Ningning managed to calm down. She knew that it was useless to make a fuss now. From the moment she accepted the mission, she and 3022 were in the same boat.
Having died in a car accident in her original world, Yue Ningning, desperate to survive, signed an agreement with 3022, tasking it with completing tasks in the alternate world. 3022 would gain nourishment from this world, while Yue Ningning would have a chance at rebirth.
Her mission in this world is very clear, to help Prince Lin Si Jue overthrow the rule of the tyrant Si Pei and eliminate the villain Si Pei and his favorite concubine Jing Yao.
3022 told her that Si Pei was a pure psychopathic lunatic, extremely cruel to his brother Si Jue, and blinded by lust and tyrannical. As the regent prince, he favored Jing Yao, the daughter of a guilty minister, and killed innocent people and loyal ministers who gave him advice. He was not the right choice for a wise ruler.
Jing Yao, on the other hand, is a domineering and voluptuous "troublemaker." While in the Duke's Mansion, she was a well-known and unruly young lady. After the Jing family's downfall, she became even more lawless after being taken into the Eastern Palace. Obsessed with Baili Wenfu, she is vicious and jealous, and will retaliate against any woman who harbors a crush on him.
Xijing is doomed to perish in the hands of these two people, so System 3022 entrusts Yue Ningning to help the son of destiny, Si Jue, to seize the throne and eliminate the villains.
She also followed 3022's instructions all the way from the bandit's lair to form an alliance with Si Jue, until she entered Shanghua City to start a new main mission - to assassinate Si Pei with Jing Yao's help.
The side quest that was supposed to be triggered today was to conquer Major General Wen Rencuo.
There are four major families in Xijing: scholars, farmers, soldiers, and merchants. The Wen family is the family in charge of the army. Wen Rencuo, as the eldest son, fights on the battlefield all year round and controls the important elite troops of Xijing.
Most importantly, he is not a member of the Prince's Party and has an average relationship with Si Pei. In the plot, Wen Rencuo also couldn't stand Si Pei's cold style and favoritism towards the guilty girl, so he later chose to join Si Jue's camp.
"I did as you said and sent a false tip to his men, making them think Wen Renyou was having an affair with a girl of questionable character and rushing over. I should have been the one to stop them from fighting. Arguing with Wen Renyou made him feel like he was in the wrong and that's when he became interested in me."
Yue Ningning frowned. These were the plots that the system had agreed with her in advance, and they did happen, but she was not the protagonist.
She was actually right next to Jing Yao and Wen Rencuo when they started arguing. She hid behind a bookshelf and observed the situation.
[Host, this is just a minor plot change, don't worry too much.]
"No."
Yue Ningning shook her head. Her intuition told her that things were not that simple.
"Besides, Wenren Cuo has absolutely no interest in me right now. I can't win him over."
[Host, don't worry, there will be another chance.]
3022 comforted her: [Even if you can't capture him now, it won't affect his joining your camp in the end.]
"That's good."
Yue Ningning breathed a sigh of relief, but she still wrote a letter to Si Jue. As she wrote, she asked the system, "I'm still worried. Is it really impossible to act quickly?"
[Forcing the plot line forward will cause problems, and Si Pei hasn't been poisoned yet, so your chances of success are slim.]
Yue Ningning pulled her hair in anger. After a while, she remembered something and nervously called the waiter in, "Take down the second volume of Hidden Dragon."
"Ah? Wasn't it just put up this afternoon?"
The clerk was a little surprised, but Yue Ningning shouted without hesitation, "I said take it away, and I will take it away, including the first volume. Don't let me see any of these books on the bookshelf tomorrow."
The guy was startled: "Yes... I understand."
Yue Ningning turned her head, stuffed the written letter into the mailbox tied to the pigeon's foot, and threw the bird out.
——
In the East Palace, there was silence in Yilan Hall.
Eunuch Ming looked at the absent-minded Crown Prince in front of him and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Si Pei leaned against the small table, worried about Jing Yao who had not returned yet.
"Do you think she is..."
Don't want to come back?
Si Pei couldn't bear to say it when the words came to his lips, but Eunuch Ming rushed to answer: "No, Your Highness, since Madam Jing said she would come back, then she will definitely come back."
"Yes, Yaoyao said she would have dinner with me tonight."
Si Pei talked to himself, trying to comfort himself.
"How's the kitchen getting ready?"
Eunuch Ming was helpless: "Don't worry, Your Highness, we have everything ready."
Si Pei became uneasy when he thought Jing Yao was not in the palace. He always suspected that Jing Yao was a kite with a broken string, and he could not get her even if he refused to let go.
Eunuch Ming sighed inwardly. His Highness was clearly keeping an eye on Madam Jing's movements, and the guards also said that she was on her way back, so why was he still so worried?
Although he had watched Si Pei grow up and knew where his paranoid personality came from, he still felt that this level was a bit too much.
But he knew that even if he said this now, Si Pei would not listen.
Xing Feng hurried in to announce, "Your Highness, Madam Jing is back."
Si Pei immediately stood up and walked out of the hall without slowing down.
The night filled the sky. The girl in blue climbed up the steps in front of the palace. Before Jing Yao stepped into the gate of Yilan Palace, the familiar dark figure was already in front of her.
There was joy on his face, but also a hint of fatigue from waiting for a long time. Jing Yao's heart, which had been anxious and irritated because of Yue Ningning all the way, suddenly softened at this moment.
"Yaoyao——"
Before Si Pei could finish his words, the girl suddenly threw herself into his arms.
"Xiao Li." Jing Yao took a deep breath, "I'm back."
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