Chapter 10 The Unexpected Event of Breaking a Boulder with One Hand
Since dealing with that "green tea" Lin Wan'er, Jiang Mianmian's life at the Regent's Palace has visibly become much more comfortable.
No one made her pay her respects morning and evening, no one dared to give her a hard time, and even the meals delivered from the kitchen had meat at every meal. It was practically a life of paradise.
But once a person is full and has nothing better to do, they are prone to causing trouble.
On this sunny afternoon, a gentle breeze was blowing.
Jiang Mianmian was so bored lying in the room that her bones felt like they were going to melt. She dismissed the maids and went for a walk in the back garden to digest her food.
This stroll led to a problem.
She stared at the martial arts training ground in the corner of the garden, her gaze settling on a row of stone locks on the ground.
The stone locks varied in size, with the smallest weighing thirty pounds and the largest appearing to weigh a full hundred pounds. They were made entirely of black iron and looked incredibly heavy.
Jiang Mianmian's hands were a little itchy.
[Sigh, back in the apocalypse, I used to toss stones this heavy like bowling balls. This body looks weak now, but after eating and drinking well these past few days, I feel like my powers have recovered a tiny bit?]
Why don't we... give it a try? There's no one around, and no security cameras.
She glanced around furtively to make sure there wasn't a single bird in sight before lifting her elaborate skirt and walking up to the largest stone lock, weighing a hundred pounds.
Those fair and slender hands, which looked as if they would break with the slightest force, gently rested on the rough stone lock handle.
Take a deep breath and focus your energy in your lower abdomen.
"rise!"
Jiang Mianmian silently recited in her heart.
Contrary to expectations, the heavy stone lock was lifted up by her with one hand as easily as a bubble model!
She even took the stone lock and tossed it up and down in her hand, as if weighing an apple.
[Wow! So light? Looks like my strength-based superpower is still working! Is this the legendary "Mighty Barbie" physique? Though the exterior is like Lin Daiyu, the core is Lu Zhishen! Awesome! So awesome!]
Jiang Mianmian's playful nature was aroused.
She lifted the 100-pound stone weight with one hand, performed two standard bicep curls, and then did an overhead press.
[One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four... If Jiang Zhan's father saw this, he'd probably have a heart attack on the spot. But this feels really good. If I ever encounter an assassin, I'll just lift this stone lion and smash it to death!]
Just as Jiang Mianmian was holding the stone weight, immersed in the joy of "miracles happen with great effort"—
A black figure appeared silently at the corner of the moon gate.
Shen Jin had just finished his official business and was about to go back to the main courtyard to change his clothes when he heard a commotion in the garden. He glanced over casually.
That glance made him freeze in place.
Pupil earthquake.
What did he see?
His frail and helpless princess, who was out of breath after just a few steps and couldn't even hold a bowl of bird's nest soup steadily, was at this moment doing... was she doing exercises?
And he wasn't even blushing or out of breath, he was even laughing?
In that instant, my calm and cautious worldview was impacted like never before.
He subconsciously uttered an extremely soft sound: "...Jiang Mianmian?"
Although the sound was soft, it was like a bolt from the blue for Jiang Mianmian, whose hearing had been enhanced.
She turned her head abruptly.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Shen Jin stared at the enormous stone lock in her hand. Jiang Mianmian looked at Shen Jin's face, which was filled with shock.
Holy crap!!!
A piercing scream exploded in Jiang Mianmian's mind, so loud it almost shattered her calm eardrums.
[Oh no! I've been exposed! They saw me! My innocent and delicate persona is ruined! How come this jerk walks so silently? Is he a cat?]
[What should I do? I need help urgently! If I tell him now that this stone lock is made of paper, will he believe me? If I say I have superhuman strength, will he think I'm a monster and dissect me for research?]
In a flash, Jiang Mianmian's brain raced, and her survival instincts led her to do something that defied the laws of physics but perfectly matched her "drama queen" instincts.
Her hand suddenly loosened as if she had been electrocuted.
"ah--!"
Accompanied by a delicate, affected exclamation.
"BOOM—!!!"
The 100-pound iron lock slammed heavily onto the ground.
The earth trembled violently.
The hard bluestone slab instantly shattered into pieces, sending shards flying and creating a crater half a foot deep. Half of a stone lock even got stuck in the ground.
Jiang Mianmian then slumped to the side, weakly supporting herself against the nearby artificial hill, her other hand clutching her chest, her face instantly contorted with terror.
"Oh dear! How terrifying! You scared me to death!"
Shen Jin: "..."
He glanced at the deep pit on the ground, then at Jiang Mianmian, who was "terrified and pale-faced."
How scary?
Did I scare you to death?
Who was the person who flew it like a kite just now?
[Phew... thankfully I reacted quickly. As long as I throw fast enough, embarrassment can't catch me. This acting should work, right? After all, who would believe a frail woman could lift something so heavy? It must be an illusion, yes, I'll make him think it's an illusion!]
Chen Jin took a deep breath, took long strides, and walked step by step to the front of the large pit.
He looked down at the almost flattened stone lock, then looked up at Jiang Mianmian with a complex expression:
"Your Highness... what are you doing?"
Jiang Mianmian blinked her big eyes, tears welling up in her eyes: "Your Highness... I just saw something dark here, and I thought it was a big bug. I was so scared that I tried to push it away, but... but it was so heavy that it almost hit my foot... Waaah, Your Highness, I'm so scared..."
[Make it up! Keep making it up! Bugs? A hundred pounds of bugs? I don't even believe this excuse myself! But whatever, as long as I cry miserably enough, he won't have the nerve to pursue the matter!]
As Shen Jin listened to her illogical sophistry, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
Push it away?
Was that gesture of raising it above your head called pushing away?
But looking at her stubborn refusal to admit it and her attempt to shift the blame, Shen Jin suddenly found it a little funny.
How many secrets does this woman still hold?
He has superb medical skills and can detoxify, but his voice is coarse and he can curse. Now he is also incredibly strong and can break rocks.
This isn't marrying a princess, it's marrying a Transformer.
"I see."
Shen Jin nodded, his face showing an "I believe you" expression. "It seems this stone lock is indeed flimsy; it almost injured the Princess. Someone, come here!"
Shadow One appeared like a ghost, glanced at the crater in the ground, and his eyes twitched wildly.
Was this crater caused by a meteorite?
"Replace all these stone locks," Shen Jin said calmly. "Replace them with pure gold ones. Otherwise, they'll be too light and the Princess will mistake them for insects and 'push' them away."
Too light?
Jiang Mianmian's heart skipped a beat.
[That jerk is making fun of me! He definitely saw it! He's absolutely mocking me! I'm doomed, my ladylike image is completely ruined, how am I supposed to pretend to be weak and vulnerable in front of him now?]
[But... pure gold? Really? Could I secretly cut off a piece and sell it?]
Upon hearing "cut a piece to sell," Shen Jin's smile deepened.
This money-grubber.
He walked up to Jiang Mianmian, looked at her hand that had just lifted a heavy object, and suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.
Jiang Mianmian was startled and instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but found that Shen Jin was holding it very tightly.
"Your Highness?"
"Why are your hands so cold?" Shen Jin frowned and gently rubbed her tiger's mouth with his thumb.
There was a thin layer of cocoon there.
It wasn't from embroidery; it looks more like the marks left from years of handling weapons.
His usually composed gaze deepened. How could the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion have such a callus? Could it be that old fox Jiang Zhan was secretly training his daughter as a suicide squad?
No, that's not right.
A voice in Jiang Mianmian's heart told her that the cocoon was left behind by her fighting monsters in the "apocalypse".
The apocalypse... what kind of place is that?
"Your Highness has been frightened." Shen Jin composed himself, released her hand, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and slowly wiped away non-existent dust from her palm. "Since you are not strong, in the future, let the servants do this kind of rough work of 'pushing insects'. It would be bad if the flowers and plants were damaged."
Jiang Mianmian: [...]
[Damaged the flowers and plants? Why don't you say you damaged the earth's crust? This jerk was definitely mocking me! But... he didn't call me out on it? He didn't even ask me why I was so strong?]
Does he think that as long as I don't admit it, it never happened? Is this... to save face for me?
Jiang Mianmian secretly glanced at Shen Jin and found that there was no disgust or fear on his face, but rather a hint of... indulgence?
That look in his eyes made her feel uneasy, yet also a little itchy.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness." Jiang Mianmian curtsied obediently. "I will definitely be more careful in the future and avoid 'insects' when I see them."
"Um."
Shen Jin nodded, turned to leave, but then suddenly remembered something and stopped. "By the way, the manor is hosting a banquet tonight to entertain several important officials of the court. You will also be attending."
Jiang Mianmian's eyes lit up when she heard that a banquet was being held.
[A banquet? Wouldn't that mean lots of delicious food?]
“However,” Shen Jin looked her up and down, “don’t wear that long-sleeved shirt tonight.”
Why?
"I'm afraid that if you see 'insects' again, your sleeves will be too big to move freely, and you might just overturn the guest's table with one punch."
After saying that, Shen Jin stopped looking at her face, which had turned red instantly, and walked away in a very happy mood.
Standing there, Jiang Mianmian waved her little fist at his back.
【Chen Jin! You son of a bitch! You think this isn't going to end well? Flip the table? I can not only flip the table, I can flip your skull too, you believe me?!】
Watching that tall, departing figure, Jiang Mianmian angrily kicked a pebble next to her.
"Whoosh—"
The pebble shot out like a bullet and, with a "bang," embedded itself deeply into a mahogany pillar a hundred meters away, penetrating the wood.
The butler, who happened to be passing by, saw this scene and was so frightened that he dropped the ledger in his hand.
"Mother...our princess...knows martial arts?"
...
Back in the study.
As Shen Jin sat at his desk, the image that lingered in his mind was Jiang Mianmian lifting the stone with one hand.
That explosive power contrasted sharply with her delicate appearance.
"Shadow One".
"Your subordinate is here."
“Go and investigate Jiang Mianmian’s past at the Prime Minister’s residence.” Shen Jin’s fingers tapped lightly on the table. “In particular… whether she encountered any extraordinary people or events, or practiced any external martial arts.”
"Yes." Yingyi accepted the order, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Your Highness, what about the pit in the ground..."
"Filled it out."
Shen Jin said calmly, "Just tell everyone... that I accidentally broke it while practicing my martial arts."
Shadow One looked up in shock.
Is Your Highness... taking the blame for the Princess?
In order to maintain the princess's image of being "weak and helpless", the prince actually went so far as to destroy his aloof image and admit that he was a violent maniac who would smash holes in the garden.
This is spoiling her way too much!
Shen Jin ignored Ying Yi's shock. He picked up a brush and wrote two characters on a piece of Xuan paper:
The end times.
That word that frequently appeared in her heart.
What kind of world could produce such a strange woman who is both gluttonous and lazy, violent and cowardly, hypocritical and genuine?
He became increasingly curious about her.
Curiosity is often the beginning of falling into trap.
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