There are a few drops of blood on the shoes.
Chu Shao stared at the fresh red on the ice lotus flower(shoes), lowered her eyes, and her expression was unreadable.
If it were the original owner, they probably wouldn’t care about such a small matter.
Just looking at the snowy white shoes stained with blood, Xiao Jin, who always felt that whatever she did was right, now felt that she was at fault for this.
How could she dirty someone else’s pristine white shoes?
Even in modern times, stepping on white shoes is something that would probably get the owner scolded for three days and three nights.
Xiao Jin realized her mistake, but she had a fatal flaw: admitting fault was one thing, but actually changing was another.
She wanted to apologize now, but she didn’t know how to articulate the words “I’m sorry.”
In the end, it was Chu Shao who spoke first.
Chu Shao looked at the ice lotus flower on the shoe, slightly widening her eyes.
The embroidered flower was originally lifeless, but after a few drops of blood dripped onto it, it became vibrant like a cold plum blooming in the snow, with the silver-blue pattern turning vivid.
This scene seemed familiar to her from many years ago.
At that time, she had reached out and touched the bright red that had fallen on the silver-blue petals.
The sensation was wet and sticky, and in the distance came the sound of children singing. She stared blankly, tears streaming down her face, her soul trembling with the beauty of the brokenness.
Many years later, Chu Shao could control her tears very well.
She raised her hand to touch the bloodstain on the shoe, her eyelashes trembling, as if she was remembering something, and softly said, “It’s so beautiful.”
Childhood memories floated before her eyes, and Chu Shao took a deep breath and leaned towards Xiao Jin.
She raised her finger, ignoring the frozen expression on Xiao Jin’s face, and gently wiped away the blood from the other’s lips, her eyes full of innocence and tenderness. “Thank you, Your Highness. This concubine hasn’t been so happy in a long time.”
If it weren’t for Xiao Jin, she would probably never have known that she could still feel pleasure in such brokenness.
Xiao Jin understood that Chu Shao was happy at the moment, but she didn’t know why.
She only felt the light touch of her fingers on her lips, and then met Chu Shao’s gentle and clear eyes, which made her feel extremely creepy.
Although her expression didn’t change much, goosebumps had already crawled all over her body under her clothes.
She had an intuition that all the goosebumps in her life had been accounted for today.
The female lead’s sickly sweet personality made Xiao Jin’s scalp tingle.
She was about to remove Chu Shao’s fingers, but as soon as she lifted her hand, Chu Shao intercepted it halfway.
Xiao Jin frowned and looked at Chu Shao’s posture of holding her hand with her fingers intertwined, feeling that something was not right.
After a while, she realized that they were holding hands.
She could only tell herself to stay calm. The female lead in ancient novel didn’t understand the meaning of holding hands.
“Let go, I can do it myself.”
As soon as she spoke, Xiao Jin regretted it.
Because she had just coughed, and with a trace of inexplicable nervousness, her voice was light and hoarse, which was not enough to deter Chu Shao at all.
Instead, it seemed a little… off.
Fortunately, Chu Shao was immersed in her own world and didn’t notice anything wrong with Xiao Jin’s voice.
After she came back to her senses, she looked at their intertwined fingers in confusion.
It was then that she realized that she had just lost her composure.
Chu Shao suddenly understood, and the confusion in her eyes gradually dissipated.
She put down her blood-stained fingers and looked at Xiao Jin gently, “It’s all my fault for being too happy just now and neglecting my manners. I hope you can forgive me, your highness. But thanks to your blood, I have come to understand myself better.”
“…”
Xiao Jin completely didn’t understand Chu Shao’s thought process, but just looked at her expression and felt especially creepy.
“So, is there anything else fun to do next? I’m a little impatient now.”
Chu Shao’s voice was very gentle, and her eyes were full of expectation.
If it were an ordinary person who had just experienced what they did, they would probably have run away long ago.
But Xiao Jin is different. She knows that the female lead is a yandere and she feels a bit scared. However, in order to complete the mission, she must keep the other person by her side for a year.
As for Chu Shao, Xiao Jin knows that there is no avoiding her.
To ensure her own safety during this year, she can only try to make the other person’s illness less severe.
Xiao Jin watched Chu Shao, who was in an excited state, and decided to take some measures.
Through their interaction just now, Xiao Jin could vaguely sense that Chu Shao’s logic was very strong.
Ordinary people couldn’t negotiate with her at all, let alone beat her logic.
So now she can only suggest to Chu Shao from a psychological level: she knows a lot of interesting things. Only by staying alive can she continue to tell her interesting things.
Hehe, with ten years of experience, she has a lot of tricks up her sleeve to deal with yanderes.
Xiao Jin already had a preliminary idea in her mind, so she slowly said to Chu Shao, “There are many interesting things, but the premise is… the princess must cooperate with me.”
Cooperate?
From the moment Xiao Jin tried to steal a wedding, Chu Shao knew that things seemed to have become more interesting.
Chu Shao nodded and smiled, “This concubine will fully cooperate with you.”
After all, if she didn’t cooperate with Xiao Jin, she didn’t know how to pass the time.
Xiao Jin picked up the empty gourd and looked at Chu Shao. “Since we have both drunk half of this wine, we are now allies.”
Upon hearing the word “ally,” Chu Shao frowned slightly. “This concubine has read in books that two people who drink the wedding wine should be husband and wife, shouldn’t they?”
Although she didn’t think it meant anything to become husband and wife, she still wanted to correct Xiao Jin’s mistake.
Xiao Jin fell silent.
She never expected that someone who didn’t even know what wedding wine was had actually read books. And she could even associate HéjÇ” wine with wedding wine based on her experience.
It seemed that her opponent was not to be underestimated.
However, Xiao Jin had a fatal flaw: as long as she believed she was right, she could turn white into black.
So she activated her skill of telling lies with a straight face and said seriously to Chu Shao, “Oh, really? Speaking of story, I have also read a story in it called ‘Oath of the Peach Garden’.”
She had wanted to wait for Chu Shao to ask a question so that she could gain some time to remember how Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had become sworn brothers.
But Chu Shao just looked at her with slight anticipation, without saying anything.
Xiao Jin continued on with a stiff upper lip, “The main characters in the story are three kind-hearted men who share the same aspirations. They chose to swear an oath to the heavens and become sworn brothers in a garden full of blooming peach blossoms, while raising their wine cups.”
Chu Shao thought the story was quite pleasant, so she kept a smile on her face.
But the next moment, she seemed to have remembered something. She stopped smiling and shook her head, saying, “No, that’s not it.”
Xiao Jin had been thinking about how to explain the noble friendship of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei to the female lead so she could express the deeper meaning of “drinking wine together means being good brothers, so you can’t kill me.”
But it seemed like she had failed.
Chu Shao smiled slightly, with a look of naive confusion in her eyes, “But this one and the prince have never sworn an oath to the heavens, nor have we ever drunk wine in a peach garden. How can we be considered sworn brothers?”
“…,” Xiao Jin was once again stunned by Chu Shao’s unique perspective. She could only put on a calm expression and say meaningfully, “It doesn’t matter, as long as our hearts are in it, it can be witnessed by the heavens and the earth.”
Hearts?
Chu Shao felt that the word was somewhat funny. She raised her head, looking at Xiao Jin intently and said, “Speaking of this…I really want to know what the prince’s intentions towards me are.”
Her tone was very naive, and her expression was gentle and peaceful.
Under the candlelight, Chu Shao’s eyelashes trembled lightly, and the beauty mark under her eye looked like a drop of bright cinnabar.
These words would be infinitely tempting coming from anyone’s mouth, but looking at the fresh blood on Chu Shao’s fingers that she had yet to wipe off, as well as the gentle smile on her lips, Xiao Jin didn’t really have that kind of worldly desire.
Unless she was crazy, she wouldn’t think that a sickly man who could betray her at any moment was trying to seduce her.
Xiao Jin tried not to look at Chu Shao’s sickly expression and responded calmly, “My intentions are simple. Since we’ve drunk the Heqie wine, we are now allies. From now on, we share life and death, and our fates are intertwined.”
Of course, her main point was that they were in the same boat, implying that Chu Shao should take control of her illness.
“Connected by fate?”
Chu Shao’s face showed a strange expression, as if she found it interesting and yet disgusted at the same time.
After a moment, she raised her eyebrows and laughed joyfully, “Does the prince want to be connected by fate with this lowly one?”
Indeed, it was shameless for someone who had destroyed a country to utter such words.
However, Xiao Jin was not someone who cared about her reputation, she was just a pitiful child longing to go home.
Even though the task was daunting, Xiao Jin decided to give it a try, “Yes, this prince will keep her promise.”
Chu Shao remained silent for a while, seemingly contemplating the credibility of these words.
Afterwards, as if making up her mind, she smiled gently, “Then this one will trust the prince once, but hopes that you will keep your word and…not regret it.”
Xiao Jin did not realize the seriousness of the situation and just wanted to seek a moment of peace, “Hmm, no regrets.”
After getting the promise, Chu Shao closed her eyes and took a deep breath, still maintaining her composure despite her extreme excitement.
This was the first time she had received someone’s promise and became someone’s ally, rather than establishing a boring marital relationship.
The thrilling feeling really made her breathless.
It was quite interesting, Xiao Jin was indeed a good new pastime.
Xiao Jin had no idea that she had already become an interesting toy in Chu Shao’s eyes.
Instead, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart and began to talk about the alliance, “After drinking this cup of Héqì wine, we will be husband and wife in front of others, and allies behind their backs.”
“Okay.”
Chu Shao smiled gently and agreed very readily.
Because she didn’t care about what kind of relationship she would establish with Xiao Jin, she was only concerned with whether it was interesting enough to keep her willingly killing time.
Looking at the harmless smile on the other party’s face, although Xiao Jin knew that most of it was fake, she had to admit that the female lead looked quite beautiful when she wasn’t smiling so creepily.
Just as they were about to continue making their alliance, a strange, sweet smell rose up her throat. Xiao Jin frowned, covered her mouth, and coughed violently twice. When she opened her hand, it was full of blood.
As a disabled person married to an unsympathetic sickly person, even passing a handkerchief became a luxury.
Xiao Jin felt very lonely. She was just dressed as a prince, but she experienced the feeling of being a lonely.
This illusion didn’t last long, as she saw a pair of slender white hands in her sight, holding a plain handkerchief.
“Please wipe it.”
Looking into Chu Shao’s eyes, Xiao Jin did not feel any kindness, but rather felt that the other person seemed to be happy to see her cough up blood.
In fact, Xiao Jin’s feeling was not wrong.
Chu Shao saw Xiao Jin’s paler face after coughing, and the bloodstains on her lips, and instinctively felt delighted.
This sudden surge of pleasure from her heart made her unable to think about why, but she genuinely enjoyed it.
Xiao Jin forcibly ignored Chu Shao’s not-so-kind eyes and took the handkerchief from her hand.
After wiping away the blood, she continued to tease Chu Shao: “We will be fake husband and wife for one year. After that, I will send you back to Yao country.”
After all, one year later would be the day of the emperor’s death, and Xiao Jin would no longer have to pretend to be Chu Shao’s wife.
She had already begun to imagine time could fast forward to one year later.
“Why should I go back to Yao country?” Chu Shao asked, looking confused.
Xiao Jin looked at Chu Shao’s face and thought to herself, “Go ahead and pretend.”
Although the original work was written like an ancient internet novel, with the tone of an abusive love story, the female lead still had some brains.
Even though several male leads and supporting characters pursued her relentlessly, the female lead did not become immersed in love, but chose to restore her country and ascend to the throne.
This was also the biggest reason why Xiao Jin endured watching the story unfold.
“Princess, would you like to bet with me?” Xiao Jin’s tone was calm, as she was familiar with the plot and was confident that the female lead would eventually become the empress.
As soon as she heard the word “bet,” Chu Shao became happy again: “What are we betting on, Your Highness?”
“We bet that you will rebuild Yao country and ascend to the throne.” Xiao Jin was not worried about spoilers, because the more she knew about the story, the happier the female lead would be.
This time, Xiao Jin’s intuition was wrong.
Chu Shao seems to find the bet boring, as the smile on her lips fades. “Your Highness, this bet is very boring because you will definitely lose.”
Chu Shao doesn’t plan on restoring the country, nor is she interested in becoming empress. The only thing that interests her even slightly is Xiao Jin in front of her.
It’s so strange, this person’s change is too drastic.
She tries to recall the scene when she first met Xiao Jin, but she doesn’t have a strong impression of her and can’t quite remember.
By the time Chu Shao snaps out of it, Xiao Jin seems to have said a lot, but she didn’t catch any of it.
But she pretends to know everything and curves her lips into a gentle smile. “Although I think this bet is boring, if the stakes are interesting, I seem to be able to participate.”
Okay, so it turns out she only wants to participate if it’s interesting.
Based on Chu Shao’s current state, even becoming an empress cannot attract her, so what kind of interesting stakes could there be?
Xiao Jin thinks that if she loses the bet, she can only leave her life behind here. So she casually says, “My life is at stake.”
Chu Shao doesn’t want Xiao Jin’s life; it’s useless.
Although she knows that Xiao Jin probably won’t live to see tomorrow, she’s surprisingly curious and feels that she might have a way to survive.
“Does Your Highness mean your whole body, including all its parts?”
“… “
Even though Xiao Jin has read countless web novels, when she hears this phrase, she feels goosebumps all over her body. Isn’t there anyone in this dog-blooded novel who doesn’t use such an archaic expression?
Xiao Jin looks at the broken body of the original owner and thinks that the female lead’s taste isn’t that heavy; she wouldn’t come up with the idea of defiling a corpse.
So she chooses to ignore Chu Shao’s way of expressing herself and nods her head. “Yes.”
This time, Xiao Jin guessed correctly; Chu Shao’s taste isn’t that heavy. She doesn’t want to defile a corpse, she just intends to wait until Xiao Jin dies and politely take her hands away from her.
Chu Shao was very pleased: “This is a good bet. As an exchange, I will also help you hide the charge of treason.”
Treason???
Xiao Jin was already shocked and didn’t know what to say. What was Chu Shao thinking? How did she suddenly commit treason?
Chu Shao smiled softly, her thoughts were very clear.
Since Xiao Jin wanted her to restore the country, there was only one reason: Xiao Jin herself planned to commit treason, attacking Yao country was just a temporary measure, and the real purpose was to betray Qi country.
Thinking like this, everything became logical.
Xiao Jin had no idea where Chu Shao’s logic was reasonable. She could only comfort herself that completing the task was enough, and she didn’t need to care about these details.
She nodded, “Okay, from now on, we are allies.”
Unexpectedly, the other party smiled gently, denying her words.
“No, Your Highness. You are a traitor, and I am a prisoner.”
Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin gently, with a shallow smile, “So, we are accomplices.”
TO BE CONTINUE…
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