As a good young person of the 21st century, Xiao Jin has always upheld the principles of sexual and romantic orientation towards both genders and towards paper (inanimate objects).
Although she had been single for twenty years due to her ability, and had only briefly loved a few paper dolls, her love history could be described as a blank slate.
But at this moment, she really wanted to say to Xiao Shuang, “Auntie, love knows no gender.”
Unfortunately, the term “sexual orientation” did not exist in ancient times, so Xiao Jin couldn’t explain it to Xiao Shuang.
After thinking for a while, she couldn’t come up with any good wording anyway.
So Xiao Jin simply gave up and seriously told Xiao Shuang, “Auntie, I’m not interested in people.”
Xiao Shuang: “……”
If it weren’t for Xiao Jin’s calm expression and serious tone, she would have almost thought that the other party was teasing her.
After listening to this, Xiao Shuang asked expressionlessly, “You’re not interested in people, then why did you snatch Fourth Brother’s bride? Isn’t Chu Shao a person too?”
Xiao Jin fell silent.
Because to her, Chu Shao was not really a person.
However, it was difficult for Xiao Jin to explain this to Xiao Shuang.
She looked at Xiao Shuang, hesitating to speak, and finally shut up. Because as long as she didn’t speak, she would never make any mistakes.
Xiao Shuang looked at Xiao Jin’s appearance of not wanting to say much, and felt that although this woman had lost the use of her legs after returning from Yao country, her spirit was still high, and her character was still as wild as before.
But she didn’t know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Considering that there were not many people in the world who dared to argue with her, and that Xiao Jin had also contracted a cough, Xiao Shuang stopped blaming her too much.
Rubbing her forehead, Xiao Shuang changed the subject, “Forget it, although what you did was stupid, if you want to marry Chu Shao, go ahead. The palace will not bother with it anymore, consider it as congratulating you. If Chu Shao can really improve your illness, then she has some use.”
Xiao Jin nodded.
It had to be said that Xiao Shuang guessed it right. Chu Shao was indeed the key to extending her lifespan.
However, Xiao Shuang’s next words made Xiao Jin a little confused.
“Since you insist on taking Chu Shao as your first wife, then you can only make Shen Shuang, the daughter of the Minister of War, your second wife.”
Xiao Jin was taken aback and instinctively asked, “Who?”
Xiao Shuang knew that Xiao Jin had always had a poor memory and never put anyone besides the Crown Prince in her eyes.
It was within her expectations that the other party did not remember the daughter of Minister Shen. But Xiao Jin’s casual nature inevitably made her frown slightly, and her voice became colder, “The eldest daughter of the Shen family, Shen Shuang.”
This made Xiao Jin instantly understand.
It was normal not to know her name when it was so common.
Anyway, with the original owner’s character, it was reasonable for her to do anything, so Xiao Jin’s tone was calm as she tentatively asked, “The first talented woman in the capital?”
She vaguely remembered that there was a supporting female character with the surname Shen in the original work who didn’t have much screen time.
It is said that this person was both talented and beautiful, famous in the capital city, but her looks were slightly inferior to Bai Zheng.
Little did Xiao Jin know, Xiao Shuang stared at her with a colder expression: “The first talented woman in the capital city is Miss Shen Guichen from the Shen family.”
“…”
Xiao Jin was a bit embarrassed, but also a little puzzled.
Since Shen Guichen is the first talented woman in the capital city, why did Xiao Shuang want her to marry Shen Shuang as a side concubine instead of Shen Guichen?
Although Xiao Jin didn’t want to marry any side concubines at all, she still curiously asked, “Who is Shen Shuang?”
Xiao Shuang glanced at Xiao Jin: “Shen Shuang’s reputation is even greater than Miss Shen Guichen’s. A few years ago, she disguised herself as a man and took the imperial examination. She not only became the top scorer in both the provincial and metropolitan exams, but also the top scorer in the palace examination. If it weren’t for Shen Shangshu discovering her true identity during the palace examination and making her father so angry that he almost fainted, she would have been the top scorer that year.”
“…”
This girl was really amazing.
So why did Xiao Shuang want her to marry a completely unknown martial arts champion as a side concubine?
To make it convenient for them to exchange experiences of dressing as men?
Seeing Xiao Jin’s silence, Xiao Shuang couldn’t help but explain, “If it were in the past, the palace would never force you to marry a concubine. But now that you have a leg injury, if you encounter an assassin again and can’t protect yourself, what will happen if something goes wrong?”
“Besides, Miss Shen from the Shen family likes martial arts, has admired you since childhood, will not harm you, and can protect you closely. Moreover, she is also the daughter of the Minister of War. If you marry her as a side concubine, it can be considered as killing two birds with one stone.”
After hearing these words, Xiao Jin finally realized how double-standard Xiao Shuang was.
When she was questioned about why she wanted to marry Chu Shao, Xiao Shuang kept saying, “You are a woman, how can you like Chu Shao?”
Now that it involves relevant interests, regardless of whether Xiao Jin is a man or a woman, she will deceive her into marrying first.
It turns out that Xiao Shuang is not really a straightforward woman, but just dislikes her marrying Chu Shao, the princess who caused the downfall of the country.
Xiao Jin really wanted to tell Xiao Shuang that firstly, deceiving someone into marriage is shameful.
Also, if she really wants to find a hero with powerful martial arts skills to protect her… according to the current situation, no one in the entire novel could match Chu Shao in combat, nor could anyone else be more lethal than her.
Of course, if Shen Shuang really entered the Palace Yan , there would probably be scenes of experts sparring every day.
But just thinking about a future life of unrest and chaos, and the fact that she still had to stay here for another year, Xiao Jin became extremely frightened and felt that her transmigrated life had become even more bleak.
Considering all these factors, Xiao Jin moved her lips and said firmly to Xiao Shuang, “Aunt, there’s no need. In this life, I will only marry Chu Shao.”
Staying in this world, she could only fend off one yandare at a time. She didn’t want to deal with another one.
After hearing this, Xiao Shuang, unusually, did not rebuke Xiao Jin. She just looked up at her.
It wasn’t until Xiao Shuang had made Xiao Jin feel a bit uncomfortable with her gaze that she looked away, picked up the tea on the table, and took a sip.
Then she put down the teacup and said slowly, “Never mind, it’s useless to talk about this now. Let’s discuss it in detail in the future.”
Xiao Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
She had finally escaped the crisis of being forced into marriage by her elders.
At this time, Xiao Jin still did not forget that she had a mission to complete a side quest. So she untied the sachet around her waist and took out the ice crystal flower handkerchief from inside.
Then she handed the handkerchief to Xiao Shuang and asked, “Aunt, you are knowledgeable about famous flowers in the world. Do you know the origin of this flower?”
It wasn’t until she saw the tray of evening face flowers on the platform and combined it with the various flowers and plants she had seen before entering the palace that Xiao Jin suddenly remembered a setting about Xiao Shuang in the original work.
Princess Zhao Yang loved flowers.
In this case, the reason why the ice crystal flower handkerchief was related to Xiao Shuang was probably not because of any connection between Xiao Shuang and Chu Shao.
It may just be because the other person knows a lot about flowers, so they know about the legend of the Ice Crystal Flower.
As it turned out, Xiao Jin was right.
At this point, Xiao Shuang’s expression remained unchanged as she calmly took the piece of handkerchief that had been washed but still had some bloodstains on it.
Xiao Jin looked at the joints in Xiao Shuang’s fingers as she held the handkerchief, suddenly noticing that her fingers were unexpectedly slender and delicate.
Her knuckles were long and her fingertips were covered with a thin callus, which was not at all like the hands of someone who lived a pampered life.
From the moment Xiao Jin first saw Xiao Shuang, she noticed that there was a roughly crafted wooden hairpin stuck in her hair.
It was just that the carving was very poor, and the pattern on it was crooked and unrecognizable.
If this hairpin had appeared in an ordinary place, it would have been fine, but on the hair of Princess Zhao Yang, it seemed a bit out of place.
As Xiao Jin observed the person in front of her, Xiao Shuang had already raised her head and frowned, saying, “The palace has never seen this kind of flower before.”
Xiao Jin furrowed her brow slightly, feeling that the 60% probability the system mentioned might not have been triggered at this moment.
She also thought that there were so many flowers in the world that even if Xiao Shuang knew about common flowers, she would inevitably have times when she couldn’t remember.
So Xiao Jin directly said the name of the flower, “This is the Ice Crystal Flower of Yao Country, Auntie, have you not seen it before?”
Xiao Shuang held the handkerchief and said calmly, “The palace has never heard of such a flower in Yao Country.”
Now Xiao Jin really began to doubt her life. Xiao Shuang looked down at the silver-blue pattern on the handkerchief and then said thoughtfully, “But the pattern on it is very similar to the pattern on a person’s sword. That person’s hometown seems to be Yao Country, and that sword is also a well-known sword in the martial arts world.”
Hearing the keyword “Yao Country swordsman,” Xiao Jin vaguely knew who Xiao Shuang was talking about.
But she wasn’t entirely sure, so she asked, “Auntie, what is the name of the sword?”
“Nameless.”
Xiao Jin: “The sword has no name?”
“No, Shen Lang’s sword is completely snow-white, and the blade is engraved with silver-blue patterns, so it is called Nameless.”
…
This was the third time Xiao Jin had heard Shen Lang’s name.
The first time was in that booklet, the second time was from Chu Shao’s mouth, and the third time was in this conversation with Xiao Shuang.
However, in the original work, there were only a few descriptions of Shen Lang. Besides his superior swordsmanship and how he could turn flower-picking and leaf-snapping into sword moves, Xiao Jin knew very little about him.
After saying this, Xiao Shuang returned the white handkerchief to Xiao Jin.
Taking the handkerchief, Xiao Jin began to brainstorm.
She recalled the long sword that Chu Shao held on the rainy night and the fan that opened the cloud ladder.
Chu Shao had said to Su Tan before that Shen Lang could kill a person invisibly with just a silver thread.
Now, Xiao Shuang told her that Yao country did not have the Ice Crystal Flower, only a sword engraved with silver-blue patterns.
And that sword belonged to Shen Lang.
Shen Lang was the best swordsman in Yao Country, indifferent to staying or leaving, and had strong martial arts skills. Chu Shao was a princess of a fallen country, possessing interests and logic that were different from ordinary people, and her swordsmanship was incredible, as if she had been practicing for decades.
Could it be… Chu Shao was Shen Lang?
The thought of Chu Shao possibly being the swordsman Shen Lang made Xiao Jin feel uneasy.
This was just too ridiculous, and she couldn’t accept it.
Looking at the silver-blue Ice Crystal Flower, Xiao Shuang suddenly remembered the prophecy made by the national teacher of Yao country many years ago.
She had wanted to mention it to Xiao Jin, but seeing her in a daze, she changed her mind instantly.
Just furrowing her brows, she waved her hand and said, “Never mind, don’t wander around the palace, go and pay your respects to your mother consort.”
Only when Xiao Shuang mentioned the birth mother of the original owner did Xiao Jin remember that she had come to the Wen Yue Palace with the intention of wishing her a happy birthday.
However, she had chatted away without saying a word of birthday wishes to Xiao Shuang.
Xiao Jin had intended to make up for it, but she saw Xiao Shuang stand up and take a dry cloak from a palace maid and gently draped it over her shoulders.
The cloak had been roasted with silver bone charcoal, and it was warm, making her feel like she was wrapped in sunlight-filled bedding.
With the scent of incense lingering, Xiao Shuang’s eyebrows and eyes gradually became a little blurred, and all she could hear was a soft and lazy voice, “Jin Er, those insincere congratulatory words don’t need to be said now. Save them for the banquet, so you have something to say.”
“And bring Chu Shao along then, so the palace can have a good look at the person who can make the Prince Yan fall in love at first sight and see what she looks like.”
…
Mocked by Xiao Shuang, Xiao Jin was sent out of the Wen Yue Palace, and the latter even had a palace maid hold an umbrella for her.
After finishing this side, Xiao Jin was going to go to the Empress Shu’s side.
Although she was not completely prepared yet, she could only brace herself and go at this moment.
Xiao Jin looked at the palace maid holding the umbrella for her and remembered that this little palace maid seemed to be sweeping snow at the door of the palace before entering the palace just now.
With red lips, white teeth, and bright black eyes, she smiled with a hint of childishness.
While they hadn’t arrived at the Empress Shu’s palace yet, Xiao Jin calmly asked, “There was a fragrance burning in the Wen Yue Palace, and it smelled good. But this palace has never known when my aunt added such a fragrance?”
The palace maid holding the umbrella realized that Xiao Jin seemed to be talking to her.
Seeing that Xiao Jin was good-looking and didn’t seem as scary as rumored, she boldly smiled and said, “Your highness, you may not know, the fragrance is called ‘Spring Mountain Empty’, which Miss Bai sent over early this morning. She said she wanted to send the first portion to Her Highness Zhao Yang.”
“But Miss Bai is clever and wise, and she also sent a portion to other noble ladies in the palace.”
“…”
Xiao Jin couldn’t help but fall silent.
So Bai Zheng sent a portion to every person in the palace?
By this point, the palace maid smiled again and said, “Your highness, rest assured, Miss Bai will definitely prepare a portion for you too. I don’t know, maybe it’s already been sent to the Prince Yan’s mansion.”
“…”
Xiao Jin had nothing more to say. “Thank you for letting me know.”
She really thanked Bai Zheng.
This move directly made everyone a suspect, including herself.
Xiao Jin felt that someone as clever as Bai Zheng must have discovered something from the incident yesterday.
Bai Zheng probably also guessed that her assassination was related to the fragrant pellet. So in order to cover up some key information, she simply sent a box of fragrant pellets to everyone in the palace.
This meant that the breakthrough point in the assassination case must be among those who recently purchased Spring Mountain Empty.
However, she didn’t know who had recently purchased it, and it seemed that Bai Zheng didn’t want her to know either.
With Bai Zheng’s move, things became even more confusing.
Xiao Jin realized that she couldn’t find out the truth for the time being and could only focus on her mission.
As she approached the entrance to the Shu’s Palace, she caught a whiff of a familiar fragrance emanating from within the palace and suddenly felt uneasy.
However, this was not the final straw that broke Xiao Jin’s back.
The final straw was the arrival of Old Zhang, who rushed over in a state of urgency.
He knelt down before Xiao Jin could even raise her hand to knock on the door, and gasped out a string of words.
“Your Highness… the Princess(Chu Shao) has been taken away by someone from the Fourth Prince’s residence!”
Author’s Note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution between 2022-02-20 23:18:20 and 2022-02-21 23:59:18.
Translator’s note: I agreed to Xiao Jin, love knows no gender ðŸ˜. Anyway…
TO BE CONTINUE…
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