Chapter 78 Don't Listen, Let You See His True Colors
The night was cool and still, and Jiang Geyun strolled alone in the corridor.
She had just finished bathing, and the water in her hair had been mostly dried by the attentive servants. Since it was not completely dry yet, and she did not want to go back to her room too early, she casually chose a small courtyard in the mansion to stroll around.
There are lotus flowers here too. Although they are not as meaningful as the scenery that Cheng Xi thoughtfully presented to her at the other courtyard, the wooden bridge and pavilion, winding and turning, with the fragrance of lotus flowers surrounding the water, create a beautiful scene at every turn, which is quite interesting.
As dusk settled, fireflies danced among the lotus blossoms, a truly beautiful sight.
Subconsciously, she wanted to call the servants to invite Cheng Xi to come and see.
After the wedding, many images, thoughts, and plans that previously belonged only to one person now had a legitimate person to share them with. She didn't dislike this feeling, or rather, it could be said that it was because she didn't dislike the person she was sharing them with.
But she stopped as soon as she turned her head.
A considerate servant had already come to her side, pretending to listen.
Jiang Geyun said apologetically, "No, it's nothing."
The servant was not surprised, curtsied, and was about to leave.
Jiang Geyun suddenly called out to her, saying, "Wait, please tell my husband that I'm staying up late tonight and won't bother him."
Cheng Xi wouldn't take her anger out on the servants over something like this. Or rather, if he were truly unhappy about it, he would ask her directly instead of venting his anger on others and letting the rift between them deepen. Therefore, she explained the matter quite casually.
The servant accepted the order and turned to leave.
The Cheng residence is very large. Jiang Geyun and Cheng Xi each have their own residence, but they usually stay together. The two residences are not used very much, so today is a rare opportunity to use them.
Jiang Geyun sat alone in the pavilion, her hands unconsciously gripping the front of her clothes again.
Earlier, she was startled by the sudden sound.
It's quite rare these days; even seeing a ghost wouldn't cause such a commotion.
Taking advantage of the commotion, she suppressed the other feeling of surprise and doubt that had arisen in her heart. When Cheng Xi asked her gently, she simply said that she was too tired today and needed to take a bath early.
He did not stop it.
In the past two days, Jiang Geyun has tested Zhang Jing several times, and Zhang Jing's behavior has indeed been strange.
But everything still doesn't form a line, scattered like the fireflies I see when I look up.
After much thought, Jiang Geyun could only conclude that the Cheng family was not simple, and that Zhang Jing, who was introduced to the government by the Cheng family, was also strange. Presumably, Cheng Xi was not the gentle and refined gentleman he appeared to be. As for anything deeper, she really didn't know.
She imagined all sorts of scenarios in her mind, such as the Cheng family having some shady businesses, or Cheng Xi having some hidden illness, well, although the latter was not apparent...
In any case, she didn't think what she envisioned would shake their relationship.
So, what else is possible?
Once she started thinking in that direction, she felt extremely choked up.
Let's put it aside for now.
She comforted herself by saying that there were more important things to do.
Let's put this matter aside for now. As for the troubles around us, let's just let it go. No matter what the Cheng family is like, they won't put her life in any danger right now. Even if something does happen, she can get Cheng Xi involved later and persuade him to leave together. If she can't solve it head-on, can't she escape it by running away?
The most difficult thing to deal with is far from this, but rather—the main villain.
The system's tone of voice sounded very familiar, and unpleasant memories flooded back, plunging her into immense tension.
Fortunately, the system did not actually recover.
The voice said: "[Host, host, how's the mission going? According to this system's analysis, the Jingzhou mystery in the original story is about to unfold. That's a crucial move by the main villain. The protagonist failed to realize that the villain was behind it, which led to the situation spiraling out of control. Host, have you figured out how to resolve this?]"
[Hopefully, the host is thinking it over carefully. Remember to check your progress on the strategy guide, so don't blame the system for not reminding you~ This is a loving reminder pre-recorded by the host's dearest system. Are you touched, host?]
It's still there; how's the mission going?
She didn't do a very good job on the task, but she did come up with an idea to dismantle the thing.
After the pre-prepared recording ended, she asked the system another question, but the system could only give a rather unintelligent response.
Nothing has changed. This anomaly is not a last gasp, but just a pre-set reminder from when the system was still functioning.
Jiang Geyun remembered the Jingzhou mystery mentioned by the system.
In the past, when the system introduced the original work to her, it had mentioned the key plot points more or less, and the Jingzhou mystery was an unavoidable part of it.
Although Jingzhou is far from the capital, it is a first-class wealthy place. The Hua family made their fortune in Jingzhou and still holds a dominant position there.
However, this once prosperous land became a ghost town overnight.
Without warning, and with no further news emerging from there, a deathly silence spread, and a piece of the Great Zhou's territory, or rather, the territory of this world, suddenly became empty.
Such a strange event naturally warranted intervention from Xuandujian.
Coincidentally, the protagonist Xie Jiming was already capable of handling things on his own, so he was also assigned to the team investigating the matter. During the investigation, he discovered many key details, which enabled him to successfully prevent the destruction of some cities, and his official position rose like a rocket.
Behind this matter, of course, is His Highness Su Heng, the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
As for the more specific truth, how the ghost town was transformed, and what it represents, Jiang Geyun was unaware.
Because Xie Jiming was unaware of it.
It doesn't matter; she doesn't want to get involved in this matter anyway.
Rather than directly confronting the main villain, her current goal is to keep Cheng Xi and herself safe. As for anything else, such as helping the world, she can only dream about that when she has enough power.
According to the latest developments in the original book, Yingzhou has not yet become a ghost town. The location of this place is really special, which must be due to the high difficulty.
At worst, she could take Cheng Xi to Yingzhou, just as she had planned.
With a clear plan in mind, the tangled mess in her mind became organized. Jiang Geyun got up and decided to end her evening stroll and go back to her room to rest.
Suddenly, a silver firefly danced before her eyes, shimmering lightly, like snow that never melts.
Jiang Geyun stopped in her tracks.
She seemed oblivious, got up, left the courtyard, and went inside.
She didn't live in this room often, but it was still kept very clean, without a trace of old dust, and it was ready for the owner to move in at any time. The silver light silently followed her into the room and hid to the side.
Jiang Geyun remained calm, signaled to the servants that she should prepare to rest, dismissed the rest of the people in the room, sat on the edge of the bed, and waited for a while.
She said to herself, "If there's really nothing else, I'm going to sleep."
Nothing happened.
She smiled helplessly and said, "Snowy..."
As soon as Jiang Geyun called out, the girl appeared out of nowhere, like a fairy from a painting. Although the girl's appearance was ethereal, she was not at all pretentious. At that moment, she was winking at her playfully.
—It was Pei Xueyi, who had taken good care of Jiang Geyun in the past.
During the mission incident, she was transferred to some place to handle some miscellaneous matters. Jiang Geyun even considered whether to give her the letter that Hua Biezhi had asked her to pass on. Thinking about it, Pei Xueyi was transferred to Jingzhou.
Having not seen each other for a long time, Jiang Geyun was wondering whether to say something to break the ice when Pei Xueyi, without any hesitation, sat down beside her and leaned against her, saying, "Long time no see, Ayun~"
Jiang Geyun hesitated for a moment, but did not push away the person slumped on her. She smiled and said, "Xueyi has been away for a long time. You must be exhausted."
“Hmm…” Pei Xueyi looked up and thought for a moment, then said, “The journey was tiring, but what’s most annoying is that nothing serious happened there at all. I thought it was just that person’s ghost causing trouble, and I was thinking of going to see it for a while, but I didn’t expect… sigh…”
Pei Xueyi deliberately dragged out the sound, making the sigh seem endless and somewhat comical.
Jiang Geyun noticed a certain word in her words and asked, "'That person's ghost,' what do you mean?"
Pei Xueyi said, "Doesn't Ayun know? Who else could it be but Prince Jing? He used to compete with the current emperor for the throne. Later, he retreated to Jingzhou and was not allowed to enter the capital without the emperor's edict. As a result, even after arriving in his fiefdom, he did not give up his ambition to seize the throne. In the end, he died."
I feel like this back-and-forth conversation has omitted a lot of stories...
Jiang Geyun asked, "Didn't the Night Watcher perform a proper ritual to appease and pacify the soul? Shouldn't we be extra careful in situations like this, where evil spirits are most likely to arise?"
“It’s hard to say,” Pei Xueyi said. “The procedures have certainly been followed, but as for the actual situation… well, who knows what these members of the Tian family are thinking? Speaking of which, the Crown Prince and Prince Jing seem to have a good relationship.”
Jiang Geyun said, "...Why are you telling me this?"
Is she completely unable to escape the shadow cast by the villain?
A look of bewilderment appeared in Pei Xueyi's eyes.
She stared at Jiang Geyun for a while, then pouted and said, "If you don't want to hear it, then I won't say it. It's not the point anyway. Guess what I came here for today?"
Jiang Geyun pondered for a moment and said, "Has the princess given any orders?"
Pei Xueyi sighed heavily and said, "As expected of A-Yun, you guessed it again. The princess read my report and said that there is something strange in Jingzhou. She asked me to take some Night Watchers with you to go there and investigate further."
Jiang Geyun said, "Is that so?"
Pei Xueyi muttered to herself, "What's there to investigate? What's wrong with it? I can't see it..." Jiang Geyun pondered silently for a while.
If she firmly refuses, Zhengyi probably won't bother coming all the way to Mirror Lake to arrest her. In that case, it's best not to get involved in this matter...
Jiang Geyun took a shallow breath, about to refuse.
Pei Xueyi straightened up and said seriously, "This matter is currently top secret and can only be discussed in person. I went to great lengths to meet you. If you want to refuse, Ayun, you should go and refuse Su Jin yourself!"
The "Su Jin" she mentioned is Zheng Yi's name.
Jiang Geyun found it both funny and absurd.
Pei Xueyi has a noble status and a special experience. Occasionally, she speaks without restraint, making her even more unrestrained than the transmigrator in the book.
Shall we go see Zhengyi?
Instead of making the arduous journey to the capital again, why not visit Jingzhou before it becomes a ghost town?
If the timing is right, there's no risk of danger, and you might even uncover something. This would give her more confidence when she takes Cheng Xi to hide from the expanding ghost town in the future.
Jiang Geyun was somewhat tempted, but shook her head with a smile.
Seeing Jiang Geyun's reaction, Pei Xueyi knew that she had achieved her goal and threw herself at Jiang Geyun again.
"I knew you were the most considerate, Ayun. Once everything is ready, we'll set off another day!"
Jiang Geyun looked at Pei Xueyi, who was acting coquettishly, with a smile.
Zheng Yi didn't come to Jinghu himself, but instead asked Pei Xueyi, who had just returned to the capital from Jingzhou, to come to Jinghu. It was quite strange that the young lady Pei Xueyi, who hated traveling by horseback, agreed.
She patted Pei Xueyi gently to comfort her, and casually said, "But Xueyi, why didn't you stay in the capital longer? You came all the way to Lianzhou so quickly?"
...
She was met with an unusual silence.
Jiang Geyun looked up in confusion before Pei Xueyi could speak.
She saw the utterly shocked expression on the person's face.
A blank expression of surprise lingered on Pei Xueyi's face for a long time, until Jiang Geyun couldn't help but ask a question. Only then did she ask, word by word, "Ayun, is this Lianzhou?"
Jiang Geyun frowned and said, "What you're saying is strange. Haven't you been to Mirror Lake before? Don't you recognize it?"
Pei Xueyi said, "...Let's not set off on another day."
Jiang Geyun was puzzled and felt a little worried about the mental state of the person in front of her.
Pei Xueyi looked up, her eyes resolute, and said, "Let's not postpone our departure. A-Yun, come with me now."
Jiang Geyun smiled and said, "Are you in such a hurry? Well, I'll go pack up."
She also left a message for Cheng Xi so he wouldn't worry about her.
“No, leave now, get out of here,” Pei Xueyi stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Geyun’s hand, and said in a serious tone, “This is not right, Ayun, I have to let you see his true colors.”
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Author's Note: The second half of the synopsis is on its way! [shy]
Also: Actually, I'm starting to regret giving Xie Jiming the name... Although the main character has some backstory and foreshadowing that will lead to his character being more complex than he seems, this name came to me incredibly easily, and I'm very satisfied with it. It's such a shame that I can't use it for a more suitable character later on... sob sob...
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