Chapter 24 says...says that His Highness should go directly to the bridal chamber.
Prince Jing Rong of Jin married Jiang Zhishui, the legitimate daughter of Marquis Chengyi.
Three months ago, Jiang Zhishui had no idea that she would marry into the Eastern Palace.
Pei Jing led her to a mountain temple within the territory of Jin. There were many soldiers in the temple, and Marquis Chengyi was there with his wife to pray for his unconscious daughter.
"This world is full of wonders, truly amazing. Even though I have seen it with my own eyes and know everything about the Jiang family, I still can't believe it," Pei Jing sighed sincerely as he looked at Jiang Zhishui's face.
At first, Jiang Zhishui didn't understand what he was rambling about until she saw the Jiang family's young lady who looked exactly like her, and then she understood.
The daughter of the Marquis of Chengyi tragically fell from a high-rise building a few years ago and has been in a deep sleep ever since.
The Jiang family searched for renowned doctors all over the world, but none of them could cure the disease.
Three months ago, Jiang Zhishui and Pei Jing orchestrated a deliberate encounter, where Madam Jiang saw a person who looked remarkably like her daughter.
She was delirious and wouldn't let go of Jiang Zhishui. When Chengyi asked about Jiang Zhishui's background, he learned that she was all alone and had no relatives. So he took her back to his mansion and announced to the public that his daughter had miraculously awakened.
Marquis Chengyi wielded considerable power in the Jin Kingdom, and many officials in the court were promoted by him. The royal family had long ago arranged a marriage between the Jiang family and the royal family, but Miss Jiang suffered a sudden accident, leaving the Empress in a dilemma. She had been trying to find an excuse to arrange another marriage for the Crown Prince.
Crown Prince Jingrong felt it was inappropriate to marry someone else at this time, as it might invite gossip and cause resentment from Marquis Chengyi, making it difficult to win him over in the future.
The court was rife with factional strife. Besides the extreme faction that worshipped the bloodline of the demon dragon, there were also officials who argued that the demon dragon was an omen of misfortune and that the sixth prince, Jing Chengrui, should be elected as the legitimate ruler. Only the human prince who did not inherit the demon dragon spirit could eliminate the evil and lead the Jin Kingdom onto the right path.
The Seventh Prince, Jing Qianheng, and the Crown Prince, Jing Rong, had a very good relationship. Everyone thought the Seventh Prince was seriously ill and had been recuperating in the Eastern Palace. No one knew that he had actually run away from the Jin Kingdom alone and only returned a few months ago.
Three months ago, the emperor's brother-in-law, Zhou Linyuan, led the Red Descendant clan to settle in Qingdu City, north of the Jin Kingdom.
Jing Qianheng also moved to Qingdu City, and his relationship with Crown Prince Jing Rong deteriorated.
The emperor had been trying to balance the power of various factions in the Jin Kingdom, but the results were not ideal. At this time, the daughter of the Jiang family happened to awaken, so the emperor put the marriage back on the agenda and made preparations for the crown prince's marriage as quickly as possible.
After Jiang Zhishui settled in the Chengyi Marquis's residence, she took care of the mentally unstable Madam Jiang while dealing with the various tests from the Chengyi Marquis.
The Marquis's daughter is seriously injured and in a coma. After examination by the doctor, it has been determined that there is basically no possibility of her waking up. Jiang Hanfeng wants Jiang Zhishui to stay in Jin Kingdom in place of his daughter and marry the Crown Prince.
For a down-on-his-luck wanderer, this was undoubtedly a windfall. But Jiang Hanfeng had one condition: if his daughter were to wake up in the future, Jiang Zhishui must give up everything, relinquish her position, and return it to his daughter.
Jiang Zhishui immediately sensed something was wrong.
Who could accept such a thing? Having finally climbed to the top, who would easily come down and hand over their position?
If one is ruthless, it's not impossible that they might even harbor murderous intent in order to protect their position.
Isn't Jiang Hanfeng afraid that she harbors ill intentions and will plot to kill his daughter and take his place?
Jiang Hanfeng wasn't afraid at all. In order to avoid upsetting his wife and to help her regain her senses as soon as possible, he hid his daughter in a safe and secluded place where no one but him could find her.
This design is quite reasonable.
After thinking about it, Jiang Zhishui probably understood the deeper meaning of the system.
Someone who looks exactly like her, has the same name and age, can replace her at any time.
The system is intentionally giving her a warning. If she fails to complete the story mission, the system can activate another fictional character to carry out the story. Even if she disappears completely, it will not have any impact on this world.
No one might even realize that she ever existed in this world.
Just as she can now replace the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Chengyi, this sleeping young lady of the Marquis's mansion can also awaken at any time under the system's arrangement and completely replace her.
Pei Jing had her infiltrate the Jin Kingdom as the daughter of the Marquis of Chengyi so that she could get close to the Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince, and through their interactions, uncover the secrets of the demon dragon's power.
The Seventh Prince, Jing Qianheng, had already found the forbidden technique of the Dragon Guiding Method, but before he could hand it over to the Crown Prince, the Chi Yi people found it and took it away first.
Now Jing Qianheng knows that everything Crown Prince Jing Rong and the Empress have done is an act in front of him. One plays the good cop and the other the bad cop, working together to trick Jing Qianheng into sacrificing himself to cultivate the Dragon Guiding Technique and draw all the dragon spirits to the Crown Prince.
Pei Jing sent Jiang Zhishui to the State of Jin, allowing her to successfully infiltrate their ranks, before leaving.
For the past three months, Jiang Zhishui has been unable to see Jing Qianheng even once. Zhou Linyuan has been telling everyone that Jing Qianheng is unwell and unable to receive guests during this period; he has even refused the emperor's summons on his behalf.
Although the emperor was furious, he couldn't afford to turn against him. Zhou Linyuan had come prepared; Qingdu City was inhabited by the Chi Yi people, a race with some extraordinary individuals possessing unique abilities. However, he couldn't afford to provoke a fight unless absolutely necessary.
If even the emperor couldn't see her, then Jiang Zhishui naturally couldn't either.
During her time in Jin, Jiang Zhishui thought a lot, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that everything here was a plot line specially set up for her by the system.
In her first life, she never even came to the State of Jin.
In this life, neither Pei Jing's guidance nor the young lady of the Chengyi Marquis's mansion are characters that appeared in the first life; this is a completely new storyline.
The Immortal Clan, the Demon Clan, and the royal family of Jin Kingdom—several forces have gathered in this great nation of Wushan. Some want to vie for the power of the Dragon Spirit, while others want to thwart the future bloodshed that will affect the Three Realms. All of them have set their sights on Jin Kingdom.
Jiang Zhishui took good care of Madam Jiang, accompanying her as she recuperated at her suburban residence. In her spare time, she practiced swordsmanship and crafted talismans for self-defense, as Madam Jiang's spiritual power was sealed, necessitating some precautions to protect herself.
To ensure the wedding could proceed smoothly, Jiang Hanfeng did not tell Jiang Zhishui the real wedding date. As the wedding date approached, he tricked her into returning from the suburbs.
After drinking the cup of tea that Jiang Hanfeng handed her, she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she was dressed as a bride and sitting in a bridal sedan chair.
At this moment, the wedding procession was heading towards the East Palace, having already traveled halfway. Jiang Zhishui knew she couldn't run away now.
If she runs away, the Jiang family will definitely be in trouble. Although Jiang Hanfeng is very unethical, Madam Jiang has treated her very well, and Madam Jiang's health has just started to improve. If she suddenly runs away from the marriage at this time, Madam Jiang will probably not be able to handle the blow.
There was nothing she could do but wait until she met the Crown Prince before thinking of another solution.
As the procession marched into Zhongjie, the sky suddenly darkened, a cold wind blew, and before long, a torrential downpour began. The band members were thrown into disarray, some slipped and fell, and one after another they were dragged down, until the entire line of people collapsed to the ground.
The scene immediately descended into chaos.
The rain and fog were extremely heavy, and visibility was extremely poor. The dozen or so people carrying the bridal sedan chair walked cautiously. Several figures appeared silently, wearing black straw hats, and moved around the sedan chair as if no one was there.
Suddenly, the sedan chair's poles broke, causing the sedan chair to tilt and collapse. Everyone gasped and rushed forward to try and rescue the Crown Princess, but when they pulled back the curtain, the inside was empty.
The Crown Princess has disappeared!!
On the other side, in the quiet of the Ling Prince's mansion at night, a man stood in front of his house, looking down at the footprints at the door. He reached out and pushed open the door, revealing a trail of muddy footprints extending deeper inside.
He stepped over the threshold and followed the footprints. The footprints extended to the bedside, and he was startled to see a bride dressed in a phoenix coronet and wedding gown sitting steadily on his bed.
Jiang Zhishui was immobilized by a spell that had been placed on her body.
She was wearing a red bridal veil, so she couldn't see who was entering the room.
As she looked, a pair of black boots took a few steps forward and stood still for a moment. Then she saw a very familiar hand reach out. This scene was just like the night in her first life when she was forcibly married by the Jade Emperor.
Jiang Zhishui thought to herself: No way, not again?
The veil was slowly lifted, and the view gradually became wider.
Her gaze slowly moved upwards, and she saw the person she had expected.
After three months apart, Jing Qianheng has changed a bit.
With long, ink-black hair, a small tuft of hair on the right side braided with a red ribbon hanging down his shoulder, he looked at Jiang Zhishui with a cold expression. After scrutinizing her for a moment, he didn't say anything, but simply turned around, sat down at the table, picked up the teapot, and poured himself a cup of tea.
Jiang Zhishui was shocked by the way he looked at her. It was as if he were looking at a stranger, devoid of any emotion, and even carrying a hint of inexplicable annoyance.
Inside, there was utter silence.
A series of hurried footsteps approached from outside the door, and a man dressed as a guard rushed in, shouting as soon as he entered, "Your Highness, Your Highness!!"
The man was shouting and running so fast that when he saw the huge bride on the bed, he almost lost his footing and nearly fell forward.
Jiang Zhishui was unable to move or speak; she could only stare wide-eyed at the two, master and servant.
“Your Highness…” Su You’s face turned pale as she stood next to Jing Qianheng. “The Sect Master said… said that Your Highness should go directly to the bridal chamber.”
Jing Qianheng put down his teacup, glanced at Su You, then lowered his head and took a few steps back after speaking.
Jiang Zhishui was confused about what was going on. Were they trying to steal a bride?
They're robbing His Highness the Crown Prince's concubine! How can they be so blatant?
What's wrong with Jing Qianheng? It's been so long since we last met, why is he so cold?
Jiang Zhishui's fingers trembled, and her eyelids blinked repeatedly, trying her best to imply to the two people that something had been done to her.
Su You glanced at Jiang Zhishui, who was frantically making eye contact, but remained unmoved and turned his gaze back, saying, "Your Highness, we've already brought her back, but we can't let her go so easily. The capital is in complete chaos right now, and everyone is looking for the Crown Princess's whereabouts."
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