Just once
Han Jiang thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile that she had previously comforted Cang Jingqi and brought him out of the illusion, but this time it was his turn to comfort her.
The system kept repeating the same sentence, and there was still no news from Cang Jingmo. Han Jiang began to realize that his wild thoughts were not without reason.
If the target is only the Demon Lord, Cang Jingqi and Cang Jingye can be considered.
Han Jiang tentatively asked, "Your Highness, will you be the next Demon Lord?"
"It shouldn't be me, I'm too lazy. It was originally supposed to be Amo, but now it's probably Aye."
"Not primogeniture?"
"That's how it is in the human realm, but the previous Demon Lord wasn't the eldest son, and I'm usually idle and unfit for the task, so it was changed to be appointed by the previous Demon Lord." A hint of melancholy flashed across Cang Jingqi's face when he mentioned the previous Demon Lord.
What kind of monster was that previous Demon Lord who had been in seclusion for many years?
The previous one, Lei Mo, who had been in seclusion for many years, has already been taken away by the Vermilion Bird Pavilion. This is another one in seclusion. I wonder if something unexpected will happen later?
So it really might be Cang Jingye? Han Jiang should take advantage of his time in the Demon Realm to get closer to this Third Prince of the Demon Clan.
Do they eat New Year's Eve dinner in the Demon Realm too? After the New Year comes the Lantern Festival, which probably involves lantern festivals, right? And lantern festivals involve shopping, right?
The book follows the usual formula, but this time it's being used on another woman, which makes Han Jiang feel a bit strange.
A smooth little combo, and your relationship is guaranteed to progress after the Lantern Festival!
The progress in the dream.
Han Jiang didn't see Cang Jingye anywhere.
Cang Jingqi arranged a place for Han Jiang to stay and then rushed to deal with Cang Jingmo's matter.
She inquired about Cang Jingye everywhere, but couldn't see him even once in several days.
It was said that he was at the arsenal, so Hanjiang ran there "huffing and puffing," but he only saw soldiers and horses and did not see the Third Prince. Then it was said that he was going to eat, so Hanjiang squatted in the snow at the arsenal for three hours in the dead of winter, but no one came.
She ran from outside the Demon Palace to inside, from east to west, but Cang Jingye always seemed to anticipate Han Jiang's predictions and always left a step ahead.
It's a ghost!
Why? Han Jiang didn't know why Cang Jingye was avoiding him. Could it be that the two of them had a past conflict?
With no other options, Han Jiang could only squat outside Cang Jingqi's study.
If you can't get a seat for the Third Prince, you can still get a seat for the First Prince.
"Your Highness!" Han Jiang caught him just in time.
It's the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, and the Demon Palace is surprisingly quiet.
Cang Jingqi sent everyone in the palace home to celebrate the festival.
"It's so good to be able to go home and reunite with my family," Han Jiang remarked, reflecting on the differences between the Demon Palace and the Imperial Palace.
"It was changed by the previous Demon Lord, including the rule that people in the palace no longer have to refer to themselves as servants."
Undeniably, the previous Demon Lord held an extremely high position in the hearts of the demon people; otherwise, a special Snowfall Festival would not have been established to specifically praise that Demon Lord.
As a result, the most deserted place in the Demon Realm became the Demon Palace.
No wonder Cang Jingqi didn't spend the festival at the Demon Palace, but instead went to Han Tian's place.
“The palace servants are all away these days, so you’ll have to take care of your own daily needs. If you have any problems, just come to me,” Cang Jing said.
Han Jiang made an "OK" gesture.
"What do you mean?" Cang Jingqi imitated Han Jiang's gesture.
“Okay, I understand!” Han Jiang said. “Do you know where the Third Prince usually is? I can never find her.”
“I heard from the palace servants that you seem to be looking for her everywhere. Cang Jingye is very busy. With Amo not around, most of the official documents of the Demon Palace were originally handed over to her. Originally, Amo did half of the Demon Palace affairs, and Aye and I did the other half, but I only did a small part. Now most of them have been assigned to her, and she must be too busy to keep up.”
"So it wasn't intentional, it was just a coincidence?" Han Jiang muttered to himself.
"What do you want with her?" Cang Jing asked.
Han Jiang just wants to be friends and build up her relationship with him. She should be able to tell Cang Jingqi, who might be able to help her as an older brother.
"I just want to make friends with His Highness the Third Prince."
"You? Befriend her?" Cang Jingqi's expression hardened. "Han Xiaoman, you should think of something else. Cang Jingye is not a good friend."
When Han Jiang suddenly started addressing her by her full name, she realized something was wrong. This sibling relationship was definitely not ordinary.
According to the typical melodramatic romance novel, she should try to ease the tension between her siblings, then the two should have an argument, then open up to each other and make things clear, and finally the whole family should reunite and make dumplings together!
"Okay, okay." She said this, but in her heart she was plotting something. "You don't need to take me back to my room, this is fine."
"My house is up ahead too."
"ah?"
Cang Jingqi actually arranged her room next to his! In the few days since arriving in the Demon Realm, Cang Jingqi has been going back to his room to rest very late every night, and then leaving early in the morning.
Han Jiang hadn't noticed that this person actually lived right next to her.
“I’m right next door. If you need anything, just call me. Otherwise, you’re a stranger in this place, and if something happens, Hantian will kill me.”
Han Jiang hastily agreed and quickly fled back to his room.
Wait a minute! Han Xiaoman, why are you running away?! Han Jiang was exasperated, looking like a guilty thief.
Perhaps it's because we held hands that day that I haven't recovered yet.
Cang Jingqi, watching Han Luo flee in disarray from outside, found it all rather amusing.
Before he could even manage a smile, a woman's voice came from behind him: "I thought you two were talking about me behind my back! Cang Jingqi, you live so close, what's your relationship?"
"Let's talk somewhere else," Cang Jingqi said coldly.
Cang Jingye shrugged and followed Cang Jingqi back to the study.
"Why are you avoiding Han Xiaoman?" Cang Jingqi asked another question.
"What else could it be? She's seen me too many times, I'm afraid of being recognized," Cang Jingye said. "You still haven't answered my question! Taking that young girl back to the Demon Palace for the New Year, what were you thinking?"
Cang Jingqi still didn't answer Cang Jingye's question, but said, "You've received news about the situation in Xuanzhou, right? What are your plans now?"
"Our plan? Who are you? Why should I tell you our plan?" Cang Jingye said. "Or have you changed your mind? Are you planning to join us? Cang Jingmo is dead, no one can stop me. Not even that person."
"You should tone it down; you're being too obvious."
"So what? Did you see the imperial court come to arrest me? What do you think those old foxes in the court are thinking? Why did they let Anzhou be in turmoil and never intervene?" Cang Jingye said dismissively. "I know you have no intention of getting involved in the conflict, so you might as well just stay out of it. I will handle everything. Just watch, I will get what I want."
Cang Jing remained silent.
Cang Jingye continued, "Cang Jingqi, all you can do is watch, just like back then. I hate it when you're like this. You can't keep anything, including that—Han Xiaoman."
Cang Jingye stared at Cang Jingqi's face, seemingly anticipating a change in his expression.
Finally, he said, "Tch~ I thought she was very important to you. Sure enough, there's no one in this world who's important to you. You even lied to Han Tian, Cang Jingqi."
The woman before him was completely different from the girl who followed him around calling him "brother" in his memory, but Cang Jingqi still regarded them as one person, only reminding him, "You two... don't die..."
"Oh, I won't be spending the New Year in the palace tomorrow night. You and Han Xiaoman can do whatever you want—hiss, walls have ears~" Cang Jingye changed the subject, picked up a pen from the table and threw it at the door.
The brush pierced through the window paper on the wooden door, stopping just before it reached Han Jiang's eyes.
Cang Jingqi used his magic to grab the brush from a distance.
The pen fell to the ground with a thud. Cang Jingye said, "You two talk."
Han Jiang had just entered the house when she realized she hadn't asked the siblings what conflict they had. So she hesitated in the room for a long time before knocking on Cang Jingqi's door.
As it turned out, Cang Jingqi wasn't in the room, so Han Jiang followed his memory and decided to go to the study to see if he was there.
As soon as they arrived, they encountered the two people in the study.
"Third Prince..." When Cang Jingye passed by Han Jiang, Han Jiang was momentarily speechless.
This woman just tried to kill her?
"I thought it was an assassin, were you scared?" Cang Jingye smiled at her. "Welcome to the Demon Palace. I've been quite busy these past few days and haven't had a chance to entertain you. If you need anything, just let me know."
"Okay... thank you..." In that instant, Han Jiang felt that if he couldn't win over Cang Jingye, he would lose his life.
She speaks gentle words, but gives off a distant feeling.
Hanjiang didn't hear anything and was discovered as soon as he arrived.
"You're looking for me?" Cang Jing asked.
Han Jiang neither nodded nor shook his head, and stood still.
Cang Jingqi clenched his fist and then relaxed it: "Come in first. What did you hear just now?"
His tone was questioning, cautious, and even a little ingratiating.
Han Jiang thought he would threaten her, just like in the medicine shop's warehouse. Ruthless, murderous, and only looking to eliminate dissidents.
"When I heard her say that you lied to my master..."
That's it?
"And she won't be spending the New Year in the palace tomorrow night..."
Is there anything else?
"That's all..."
Cang Jingqi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "How do you plan to celebrate the New Year tomorrow?"
Han Jiang initially wanted to say forget it, mind your own business, and just go along with Cang Jingqi's suggestion, but she had to get involved now, otherwise how would she progress through the storyline? Without a storyline, how could she overcome the difficulties with the Demon Lord? How could she build up his favorability?
"What did you lie to my master about?" Han Jiang asked.
Cang Jingqi said, "It's nothing serious."
"So, did you lie to me?"
"..." Cang Jing remained silent.
Han Jiang must have been out of her mind to follow Cang Jingqi to the Demon Realm. This man is untrustworthy; didn't she learn that a long time ago? When exactly did Han Jiang begin to trust Cang Jingqi so much?
She recalled the days she spent dealing with Cang Jingqi, cautiously hoping that Cang Jingqi would not expose her relationship with Wen Xu.
She heard Cang Jingye call her "Han Xiaoman," but only Cang Jingqi and Wen Xu knew her real name.
Who did Cang Jingqi talk to? And how much did he talk to?
Han Jiang rubbed her wrist, where she still wore the jade bracelet that Cang Jingqi had given her.
"I'm going back to sleep now..." Han Jiang held back her tears; she had cried far too much since Wen Xu died.
This man isn't worth her wasting a single precious tear.
Han Jiang had to come up with a new solution, even though her mind was a complete mess and she had no clue what to do.
She adjusted her breathing and quickly turned to run away.
"Cang Jingqi, you can't keep anything," Cang Jingye's words exploded in his ears. In a panic, Cang Jingqi rushed forward and grabbed Han Jiang's hand.
"Just once." Cang Jingqi looked into Han Jiang's eyes. "Just once."
Han Xiaoman, I only lied to you once. I admit my mistake. Please don't go.
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