Chapter 25 Climbing to the Jade Capital: Don't be fooled by him.
Jiang Geyun did not respond.
Even a moment before the system spoke, she already had a guess in her mind.
When her guess was confirmed, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside her, the true meaning of which was difficult to discern.
He should be like that.
Why did it have to be him?
Is it pretty?
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from beside Jiang Geyun. The person who asked the question had a slightly hoarse voice. Jiang Geyun opened her eyes wide and quickly looked toward the source of the voice.
The woman was dressed in a drab gray, very simply, even more so than the accountant downstairs in brown clothes. But her complexion was as fair as a peach blossom in spring, and with a red mole between her eyebrows, the contrast was striking, making her unforgettable.
The question came out quite abruptly. It was unclear whether the person was hidden in the environment so that Jiang Geyun had not noticed them, or whether they suddenly appeared beside her just as she was observing the situation.
Jiang Geyun cautiously replied, "The capital is far more prosperous than I imagined."
The woman in gray looked displeased. She shook her index finger, pointed at the dazzling man, and said, "I'm asking about him."
Jiang Geyun was speechless for a moment.
That person is objectively beautiful; she's really... hard to say no.
But then she thought about it again, and realized that in this situation, she should answer as an ordinary person, without having to consider any villains or targets.
She said, "It's beautiful."
The man in gray and Jiang Geyun were separated by a table, maintaining a certain distance. Upon hearing this, the man in gray suddenly closed the distance, placing his hands on the table and almost touching Jiang Geyun, saying, "Don't think like that! Don't be fooled by him! He's a 'ghost'!"
Jiang Geyun paused for a moment, thinking to herself, "Let me say something I don't know."
These words couldn't be spoken aloud, so Jiang Geyun smiled calmly and replied, "Then, what are you?"
Now that she has come looking for him, Jiang Geyun must have been led to the gray-clad man.
The man in gray sat back down, leaned on the table, looked at Jiang Geyun, and asked, "What do you think I look like?"
...Can people also request official titles?
Jiang Geyun suppressed her sense of déjà vu and honestly asked, "Your Highness?"
Upon hearing this, Zhengyi chuckled softly.
Her slightly husky voice has a texture similar to frosted glass, elegant and mysterious, which is rare among women.
Then, in a nonchalant manner, she leaned on the table, looked up at Jiang Geyun, and said, "I've heard so much about you, Jiang Geyun."
It's already certain that this place is a secret outpost of the Xuandu Bureau, and the person Jiang Geyun was pushed all the way here to see must be the leader of the Xuandu Bureau. Therefore, this gray-clad man is most likely the "Princess Zhengyi" that everyone is talking about.
She guessed correctly, but Jiang Geyun showed no sign of happiness.
She would rather be taken in by the Xuandu Bureau and put on trial after leaving Yunling Manor than experience this strange and unknown situation where she had to guess other people's motives.
Before she could say anything polite like "You're too kind" to Zhengyi, the long-dormant system suddenly appeared, unable to be suppressed, with alarms and urging sounds ringing out simultaneously, leaving her mind in a mess.
That's the target!
[There are less than 92 days left, aren't you worried, host?]
[Host, hurry down! Go and get acquainted with the big villain!]
This system is seriously flawed. How can she possibly leave in a situation like this? If she does leave, will she make friends or get taken advantage of?
Before Jiang Geyun could utter a rebuttal, her body suddenly seemed to spiral out of control; her arm was pulled, as if she were about to lean out of the window—
However, the next moment, a tremendous force pushed her back!
The immense force made every cell in her arm seem to cry out in pain, and a sharp, persistent numbness appeared.
However, thanks to that tremendous force, Jiang Geyun regained control of her arm.
She sat down silently, as if nothing had happened, and quietly placed her already injured and attacked arm on the table.
[System, can you still control my actions? When?]
The system did not answer Jiang Geyun's question and fell silent.
As the system fell silent, Jiang Geyun snapped out of her discomfort from being controlled. Her inability to leave the building meant…
“That’s quite audacious,” Zheng Yi said, scanning him up and down with the same look he’d given a rare animal. “Do you think Xuan Dujian is a fool?”
Jiang Geyun said, "Do you think the Xuandu Supervisor is a fool?"
The system remained silent.
Jiang Geyun suddenly felt that the weather was really nice today.
If this isn't a fake, then it means that Xuandujian does indeed have a way to suppress the system.
Even if the system may evolve and upgrade, at least for now, Jiang Geyun sees hope in dismantling the system.
Therefore, Zheng Yi's question did not offend Jiang Geyun.
She lowered her head, appearing ashamed, but her tone remained calm as she said, "I made some attempts that only a fool would make; Your Highness, please forgive my foolishness."
"It's alright, I admire you."
Zheng Yi lifted Jiang Geyun's right hand, which was placed on the table, with both hands. Those hands were unusually cold, almost unlike the body temperature of a human being. Jiang Geyun's right hand, which had lost some sensation due to pain, shivered from the cold.
Although her words expressed admiration, Zheng Yi's eyes held little warmth. She stood up, pulling Jiang Geyun up with her.
The wind suddenly rushed to her ears, along with the creaking of tables and chairs being bumped together. In an instant, Jiang Geyun felt a dizzying sensation as the world spun around her!
Zheng Yi first withdrew one hand, and then, using some unknown force, she threw Jiang Geyun's body backward like a bird, causing her to lean out of the open window!
The unknown barrier that had previously knocked Jiang Geyun back was gone, and her upper body was now completely suspended in mid-air, about to fall.
The two were on the top floor, and there were very few buildings around them that were taller than this one.
Even though Jiang Geyun gasped in shock, and the wide-open window shook for a moment because of the noise, the surrounding shouts were like a tidal wave, and everyone was focused on that constant focal point, so no one noticed the strange thing.
Jiang Geyun's outer garment slid down to the sides due to gravity, revealing a corner of the dagger at her waist. Only the two people's clasped hands and half of her body inside the window remained, preventing her from falling backward.
Without the shelter of the roof, the sunlight suddenly became intense, so bright that Jiang Geyun couldn't open her eyes and had to close them to adjust.
The weakness in her body after the soul-summoning ritual, coupled with the tearing pain in her arms and hands, caused her temples to throb for a long time.
In her agitation, she heard faint sounds of string and wind instruments and laughter coming from the floor below, the continuous cheers from the entire street, and even the distant chirping of birds. The world was so lively... she became even more agitated.
Jiang Geyun slightly turned her head, and the group happened to come into her field of vision.
The man in the center seemed oblivious to everything. Amid the cheers, he would occasionally turn to the crowd on either side, but all she could see was his back.
Zheng Yi's grip suddenly loosened slightly, dramatically increasing the risk of falling!
Jiang Geyun immediately looked away and carefully examined Zheng Yi's face, trying to judge from the other's micro-expressions when the moment of complete release would arrive.
Meanwhile, after recovering somewhat from her dizziness, Jiang Geyun began to think about how to save herself if she fell.
That floor has a small shed-like roof; I wonder if it's safe to fall on it? Should I try to absorb the impact by inserting myself into the building during the fall? She's seen this in movies; I wonder if she could do it? Would it be considered heresy if it disrupted the activities downstairs? So, it's best to try and get to the queue and leave as soon as possible…?
Despite her jumbled thoughts, Jiang Geyun spoke, asking, "What does Your Highness mean?"
Zheng Yi replied happily, "If you want to leave, I'll let you out, okay?"
Jiang Geyun recalled Hua Biezhi's evaluation of Princess Zhengyi and suddenly understood Pei Xueyi and Xie Jiming's expressions at that time.
The thoughts of the person in front of me are indeed hard to fathom.
Just now, looking down from the high place, one could see a bustling crowd. Now, with the world turned upside down, Jiang Geyun could only see Zheng Yi when she looked up.
Under the blazing sun, Jiang Geyun could only squint. She stared at the red mole between Zheng Yi's eyebrows and said expressionlessly, "Right now, I'd rather Your Highness take me back."
Zhengyi's words had little to do with her actual actions. She had just said "I'll let you out" when her grip tightened, just like a child who had found a toy.
Her expression was relaxed and cheerful as her gaze swept over Jiang Geyun's waist.
After Jiang Geyun replied, Zhengyi naturally did not pull her back. She hovered her free hand around Jiang Geyun's waist, then moved it again after a moment, finally stopping at Jiang Geyun's chest.
Like a feather that flutters and refuses to fall.
After an unknown period of time, Lingxi trembled slightly, fluttered around a bit, and then emerged from Jiang Geyun's arms, obediently falling into Zhengyi's hands.
Zheng Yi retrieved the Spirit Rhinoceros, waved it in front of Jiang Geyun, and said, "This must be the Spirit Rhinoceros of the Great Pei."
...So Pei Xueyi must be Xiao Pei?
Jiang Geyun strangely understood Zheng Yi's words and nodded.
Hiss, her hand almost slipped out of Zheng Yi's grasp.
Jiang Geyun racked her brains trying to figure out how to protect herself, trying to find the right moment when Zhengyi's grip tightened or loosened. Suddenly, a thought struck her: Zhengyi seemed to be...
Want to keep her focused on their conversation?
Whenever her gaze shifted elsewhere, Zhengyi would let go.
If that's the case, they could just say so directly.
Jiang Geyun took a deep breath, her gaze fixed on Zhengyi, and asked, "Your Highness?"
After gazing at each other for a long time, Zhengyi smiled at her.
After another dizzying experience, Jiang Geyun was pulled back inside through the window.
She slumped into the chair, trying to calm her rapid breathing.
Zhengyi had withdrawn her gaze and focused entirely on the Lingxi in her hand, operating it intently for a long time.
The cheers faded, and the sunlight shifted slightly.
No, why is she silent now that I've brought her back? Is Lingxi (a virtual dating app) really that fun? You know your life has been ruined by playing with Lingxi.
Zhengyi put down Lingxi.
Jiang Geyun's heart skipped a beat, and she began to admonish herself, "Jiang Geyun, Jiang Geyun, stop making jokes! What if someone finds out and we have to deal with the consequences!"
Fortunately, Zheng Yi didn't have the ability to read minds. She simply finished what she was doing and looked up at Jiang Geyun, saying, "You saw what happened downstairs just now, didn't you?"
Jiang Geyun thought to herself, "Didn't Zhengyi dislike letting her watch it? She said it was good, and Zhengyi wasn't very happy about it..."
Indeed, since the villain seized power from Zhengyi and took control of Xuandujian, their relationship must not be very good.
So what if Bluebeard's prediction failed? She still has the Nine Princes' Succession Struggle to use against her!
Jiang Geyun replied, "The scale of the event is immense and hard to ignore. I have never seen such a scene since I came from Fulong in Yingzhou."
So she was surprised by the scene just because she came from a small town and was unsophisticated; it wasn't really that beautiful.
Surely Zhengyi will be more satisfied with this?
“That’s right,” Zhengyi complained, “He can go and grade papers, post notices, and make a big splash, while I have to honestly handle all the affairs of the Xuandu Bureau… Can’t I just let him do everything and enjoy myself?”
Jiang Geyun asked, "Shall we accept the challenge?"
"You want to ask about this?" Zheng Yi asked curiously. "Su Heng graded the old man's papers and then personally announced the list of successful candidates, which was called the 'Mini Palace Examination.' This is the third time he has done this, and you didn't know anything about it?"
Jiang Geyun was also surprised.
Why is no one competing with the main villain for such a blatant opportunity to recruit followers and henchmen?
Well, it seems unlikely he'll be able to win. Considering the system's description of the original work and the villain's status, the theory of the nine princes vying for the throne is probably doomed to fail.
Jiang Geyun replied, "I have no intention of participating in the imperial examinations, and therefore I have never cared about it."
Zhengyi said, "But he hasn't taken a concubine yet, aren't you concerned?"
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Author's Note: Wow, thank you so much, An Nian! And thank you for the Moonstones too! I'm so touched! [crying emoji]
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