QT Cannon Fodder's Record: Dekachapter 045 (Patreon)

Chapter 441: Ghost Admirer

Ning Shu felt that Ji Jinyan was seriously heartless. That cold indifference seemed to come from his very bones. He didn’t have much emotion even when he was facing his own son.

“Ji Jinyan, Ji Jinyan…” Lin Qianqian kept shouting his name almost like a curse. The sound of it chilled one’s heart.

Su Manyu hugged Ning Shu’s arm tightly and said, “Zhuang Yutong, I’m so scared.”

Ning Shu: “...” 

So what?

The bloody trail of tears on Lin Qianqian’s face was extremely frightening in the moonlight. She lunged towards Ji Jinyan crazily, but was injured by the golden light around him and the dark smoke surrounding her became even thinner.

But she still continued to rush towards Ji Jinyan as if she was trying to commit suicide. She was hit with another talisman and fell to the ground with a scream. The black smoke now disappeared completely. Lin Qianqian cried blood tears as she looked at Ji Jinyan.

“Ji Jinyan, I loved you so much. I love you so much! For you, I was willing to do anything! But even though I died, you’re still not willing to even look at me.” As Lin Qianqian cried, she continuously vomited black blood.

Ji Qingyuan was so worried that he was about to cry, but he couldn’t go over since his father was blocking the way.

The priest made another hand sign and the talisman stuck on Lin Qianqian's body grew brighter, causing her to scream in pain.

Ning Shu and Su Manyu covered their ears in pain. When Ji Qingyuan saw that his girlfriend was suffering, he begged the priest, “Daoist priest, please save Qianqian.”

The priest continued to chant the spell and a thick black smoke exploded out of Lin Qianqian’s body. Following that, it completely left Lin Qianqian’s body and Lin Qianqian fell, unconscious, to the ground.

“Qianqian! Qianqian!” Ji Qingyuan ran over to hug Lin Qianqian, but her body was ice cold as if she was near death.

“Ji Jinyan, I beg you, please look at me. Please look at me just once. I love you so much. For you, I was willing to die. Why couldn’t you accept me? What was good about her?” The ghost beseeched Ji Jinyan. Her voice was no longer dark and eerie but clear and graceful like that of a normal woman’s. “Why? Can’t you just look at me? I love you. I really do love you.”

Ji Jinyan’s expression was cold without a trace of emotion. He didn’t even lift an eyelid in response to those words.

Ning Shu had never seen such a cold person before. She said to Su Manyu, “Ji Qingyuan’s pretty different from his dad? I’m talking about personality. His dad’s so cold.”

Su Manyu replied, “He’s been like this ever since Ji Qingyuan’s mother died. I heard it was because he couldn’t accept the fact that his wife passed away so he’s always very indifferent towards his own son. Aunt had died from blood loss after giving birth.”

So she had died from childbirth.

He probably loved his wife too much so he couldn’t care about the son that caused his wife to leave this world. Tsk tsk, what a passionate man. Even though there was a woman— oh, no wait, it was a ghost that was this resentful and loved him this much, he still felt nothing.

The people that fell in love with this kind of men were sure pitiful. They wouldn’t even spare you a glance since all their love was given to just one person. Ji Qingyuan’s mother was pretty blessed, to have a man remember and love her without turning away even once.

The ghost was hit again by the Daoist priest and was on the verge of completely disappearing. The black aura around her had been dispelled and her true features were revealed. She was wearing a dress that showed her fair figure and her hair was like silk. It was obvious that she was a beauty even though they could only see her back.

“Ji Jinyan, I love you. For you, I was willing to do anything.” The ghost threw herself towards Ji Jinyan. “Even if I must die, I want to die in your arms.”

Chapter 442: Ice-like Man

Ji Jinyan looked over coldly. “What right do you have to die in my arms?”

The ghost was hit by the priest’s attack and her soul started disintegrating. Her voice was filled with hurt. “Ji Jinyan, Ji Jinyan! Even now, I still can’t bear to hurt you.”

“Can’t bear, can’t bear…” The ghost’s voice gradually disappeared until peace was restored.

Ji Qingyuan was about to carry Lin Qianqian to the hospital when Ji Jinyan said, “The family doctor’s inside. Go in.”

Ji Qingyuan ran into the hall with Lin Qianqian while crying.

Ji Jinyan didn’t bother to console him and turned towards the priest. “Many thanks, priest.”

The priest stroked his beard as he said, “You do owe this ghost a marriage fate, but she had done too much evil, so this counts as karma.”

“The people hiding over there can come out now.” The priest looked in the direction where Ning Shu and Su Manyu were hiding.

Ning Shu was pretty happy that the task was finally over. She survived and the ghost had been exorcised.

Su Manyu grabbed Ning Shu’s arm. “Zhuang Yutong, help me up. My legs went numb.”

Hopeless girl. Ning Shu pulled Su Manyu up, then started walking over.

“Uncle Ji, it’s me,” said Su Manyu. Ji Jinyan glanced at her. “Little Su.”

He then casually swept his glance over Ning Shu, then quickly glanced over her again and even took a step towards her before stopping himself.

Ning Shu felt a chill when he looked at her. It was like her blood was freezing over. This was the first time she had seen such a cold and indifferent person. It was like nothing in the world mattered to him. Even the godly doctor hadn’t been so indifferent. The godly doctor had only suppressed his emotions because of his heart condition.

However, Ji Jinyan didn’t seem to have any emotions at all. Coldness was all there was.

“This one is?” Ji Jinyan looked at Ning Shu as he asked Su Manyu this.

Su Manyu said, “This is my classmate. We’re friends that live in the same dorm, her name’s Zhuang Yutong.”

“Zhuang Yutong?” Ji Jinyan seemed to mull over this name and each syllable spilled out of his lips slowly. For some reason, Ning Shu felt her hair rise on end.

Ji Jinyan turned away from Ning Shu and said, “Since it’s late, come in to have some water.”

“Alright. My legs still feel so weak that I can barely walk.” Su Manyu straightforwardly agreed. Ning Shu wanted to refuse, but since Su Manyu had already accepted, she couldn’t very well refuse.

Su Manyu wanted to go inside and see Lin Qianqian in her wretched state. Since the ghost had also been exorcised, Su Manyu suddenly felt that the world was beautiful.

Ning Shu followed them into the main hall which was very luxurious. She kept her head down as she sat on the sofa and just listened silently as Su Manyu told Ji Jinyan about what happened with the ghost in the dorm.

However, Ning Shu kept sensing Ji Jinyan’s gaze on her and she couldn’t help but feel nervous. She didn’t know this person and the original host had come from the countryside so she wouldn’t know this stupidly rich guy either.

Chapter 443: My Pearl~~~

Ji Jinyan pushed an exquisite porcelain cup towards Ning Shu. “Miss Zhuang, please have some tea.”

As his body lean slightly towards her, Ning Shu felt even stronger of an oppressive force. She lowered her head and said, “Thanks.”

The Daoist priest asked, “Since you guys were targeted by the ghost, why are you two fine? And you two don’t seem to be severely affected by the yin energy either?”

Ning Shu didn’t want to reveal the existence of her soul pearl so she didn’t speak. Su Manyu said, “Yutong went home and found a shaman. The shaman gave her medicine that would dispel yin energy and we drank it a lot.”

The priest stroke his beard. “So it was like that.”

“But you should also have something protective on you. Otherwise there’s no way you guys would be so relaxed.” The priest looked towards Ning Shu so she said, “Grannie gave me a protective talisman.”

The priest stroked his beard without saying anything else.

Ji Jinyan asked Ning Shu, “Then, Miss Zhuang, do you have any more of that medicine? I want to give that girl upstairs some. That girl is the woman Ji Qingyuan likes.”

Su Manyu curled her lips unhappily, but Ning Shu nodded. “Alright.”

Ji Jinyan’s lips curved up. It had been dim outside so they couldn’t see his features clearly, but looking at him now, his looks were really refined. Even though he was Ji Qingyuan’s father, he looked to be in his thirties and had a strong imposing manner.

This was an extremely handsome man, it was no wonder the ghost loved him so much. That faint smile seemed enough to topple a city.

“Then I’ll have to ask Miss Zhuang to deliver the medicine tomorrow,” said Ji Jinyan as he gazed at her.

Ning Shu replied, “En. We’ve disturbed you guys long enough, so we’ll leave first.”

“There’s no rush. It’s already pretty late. Just wait until tomorrow to leave,” said Ji Jinyan.

Ning Shu: “...” But I don’t know you.

“Since you’re Little Su’s friend, there’s no need to be polite. It’s not safe for two girls to walk outside at night.” Ji Jinyan lifted a tea cup from the marble coffee table and took a sip.

“There’s no need.” Ning Shu pulled Su Manyu and left. She felt like the gaze on her back was like a stalking shadow.

What was going on?

Ning Shu sighed in relief when they finally got out of the villa. Su Manyu was really happy. “The ghost is finally gone! Haa, we can finally live in peace again!”

Ning Shu smiled slightly as well and relaxed. Haa, she could finally leave this world!

It was still dark when they got back to the dorm, so they went to sleep again. After waking up, Ning Shu eventually realized that the soul pearl was gone.

She rummaged through her things but couldn’t find it and almost felt like overturning the entire room. Could it be that she had dropped it on the way back? Or did that priest take it?

F*ck! Where was her pearl? T-T

“Zhuang Yutong, what are you looking for?” Su Manyu caught Ning Shu’s expression of great hatred and agony.

“Nothing much. I lost a pair of shoes.” Ning Shu was feeling so much heartache that her voice changed pitch.

“The heck is with that? Isn’t it just a pair of shoes? I’ll give you a pair. That’ll be enough for you to buy a hundred pairs,” said Su Manyu while waving her hand disdainfully.

“Ding. Task complete, leaving task world.” 2333’s voice suddenly appeared.

Zhuang Yutong immediately collapsed to the ground. Meanwhile, Ning Shu was still shouting, my pearl, my pearl~~~

She was still wailing even when she got to the system space, so the space was filled with the sound of her shouting.

Chapter 444: Add Some to Charm

“Oh, that’s right. I put the pearl away. You’re currently in your spiritual form so you can’t get near it, otherwise your soul will be absorbed.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I thought I lost it and my heart was dripping blood!” said Ning Shu, annoyed.

2333 argued back, feeling wronged. “Didn’t I already say that I would store the soul pearl when you came back to the system space?”

“Why didn’t you let me know that you were storing it?” Ning Shu was really annoyed. This 2333 was really an idiot. He was always so unreliable. Why was he so different from a normal predictable computer?

System 2333 forcefully changed the topic. “Look at how many experience points you got this time.”

The stats panel appeared in front of Ning Shu.

Experience: 50000 (+30000)

Soul: 200 

Life: 50 

Intelligence: 85 

Charm: 3

Luck: 34

Mental Strength: 120

Martial Arts: 10 

Aptitude: 26

Merit: 2 (+3)

Abilities: Five Rings Shooting Skill, Trashy Combat Skill, Trashy Beginner of Unsurpassable Martial Arts

Acquired Titles: Goddess of War

Task Completion Degree: 100%

Gained 10 attribute points.

There were thirty thousand experience points this time. It wasn’t a lot, but there were ten attribute points and three additional merit points even though she didn’t know what merit was used for. She added the attribute points to luck and martial arts.

I changed the term virtuous achievement to merit

The stats panel then reflected the change. 

Number: 2333

Name: Ning Shu

Age: 27

Experience: 50000 (+30000)

Soul: 200 

Life: 50 

Intelligence: 85 

Charm: 3

Luck: 34 (+3)

Mental Strength: 120

Martial Arts: 10 (+7)

Aptitude: 26

Merit: 2 (+3)

Abilities: Five Rings Shooting Skill, Trashy Combat Skill, Trashy Beginner of Unsurpassable Martial Arts

Acquired Titles: Goddess of War

Ning Shu discovered that martial arts was very important. In this task, if she hadn’t had sharp reflexes, she would’ve died at the ghost’s hands and wouldn’t have obtained a treasure like the soul pearl.

“Ning Shu, add some attribute points to charm,” said 2333. “You’re always adding attribute points to martial arts. Do you really want to become a female hulk?”

Ning Shu didn’t mind at all. “What’s wrong with having strong martial arts? I feel like it’s pretty good.”

“It’s better to have more charm. Things will be much easier if you have more charm. People will have a naturally good impression of you, so it’s helpful in tasks too,” persuaded 2333.

Ning Shu said mildly, “It’d be better to rely on yourself. It’s not like I’m going to date, what do I need high charm for?”

She understood that she couldn’t stay in the task world for long. Once she left, the original host would return to her body and start a new life.

Suddenly, she asked, “Am I going to continue always having to pass through world after world, counter attacking for all sorts of people? If life is always going to be like this, it’s a little tiring.”

2333 was silent for a moment, then he said, “You should rest. Your soul is a little worn out. Everything you do has a lot of meaning. Not only are you helping people change their fates, you’re helping to stabilize the planes and you also get eternal life. Although this sort of eternal life is a little tiring and though your time in the task worlds are short, you’ll never disappear until you fail your task and get purged.”

“Perhaps one day you’ll be strong enough to break free from all of this. At that time, you’ll have freedom.” 2333 consoled Ning Shu. “What you want is the same thing as the people asking for counter attacks. You just want to live and change your fate.”

Ning Shu sighed heavily like she was trying to expel all those gloomy feelings.

#comment: Feels like the author messed up on the stats? The 20 extra attributes from last world wasn’t added on, but maybe it was on purpose. Also got info that the author is actually a girl… But still not 100% sure~ Also, in hindsight, 2333 has a really different personality compared to the future. Feels like the author totally changed the direction of the story, but I love the future direction, totally to my tastes! :3

Chapter 445: A Little Milkbun

2333 was really scared that Ning Shu’s soul would fall apart. Some players that did too many tasks would collapse under the mental strain and just disappear.

So not only did task-takers have to complete their tasks, they also had to continuously regulate their own beliefs. If they couldn’t accept this life, no one could help them.

Some task-takers would become addicted to killing and others would go insane, so in their task worlds, they would cause all sorts of trouble on purpose until the plane collapsed.

Ning Shu felt that she was being unreasonable. She was someone that should’ve already died, so obtaining a chance like this was like a cake falling from heaven. She just had to maintain her original beliefs, then there wouldn’t be anything that she couldn’t overcome.

She sat down on the ground to meditate and absorb the substance in the space. As 2333 had said, in some ways, she had eternal life even though she existed as a soul and would disappear if she failed her task.

However, even if the existence named Ning Shu died now, she felt that she had no regrets.

“Ning Shu, are you alright?” asked 2333.

Ning Shu opened her eyes. When she heard what 2333 said, her heart warmed. “I’m fine. I’m doing well.”

“Phew, that’s good. I thought that I was about to be thrown back to the recycling center. That scared me,” said 2333, relieved. “It’s good that you’re fine.”

Ning Shu: “...”

She closed her eyes and ignored him as she continued absorbing the substance in the space. She wanted to strengthen her soul as much as possible.

After some time passed, she opened her eyes again, feeling very relaxed. “Let’s start the task.”

“Alright!” After 2333 said that, Ning Shu was hit with a bout of dizziness, but it didn’t last long. Her soul was now stronger so she could feel her soul entering the body.

After she adjusted, she heard a child crying next to her. He was wailing, imperial mother, imperial mother! There was someone nearby trying to console the child, but the child was still crying very hard.

Ning Shu forced her heavy eyelids open. When she looked over, she saw a chubby little kid crying by the bed.

“The Empress is awake! Your Highness!” The palace maid immediately called out happily.

“Imperial Mother! Imperial Mother!” The little milkbun grabbed Ning Shu’s hand and looked at her tearfully. That look melted a person’s heart into a puddle.

Ning Shu soothed him. “Imperial Mother is fine, don’t cry.”

She wanted to get up, but the body felt very heavy. It was also difficult to breathe and she felt a faint pain in her chest.

It was probably due to pent-up frustrations. For better or for worse, Ning Shu had studied medicine with the godly doctor for a time. These symptoms, in simple terms, were the result of being too angry for too long.

“Help me- Help this empress up,” said Ning Shu weakly to the palace maid.

“Imperial Mother, this subject son will help you.” The little milkbun was a little boy that seemed only about five. His face was still wet with tears as he grabbed Ning Shu’s arm and heaved up with all his strength, trying so hard that his face turned red.

A soft and warm feeling floated up in Ning Shu’s heart. It was probably this body’s reflexive reaction, but she felt really uncomfortable. How the heck did she end up a kid’s mother?

Chapter 446: A Good Empress

A maid came over to help Ning Shu up. Ning Shu leaned against the pillows and looked at the little milkbun. She did her best to soften her tone as she said, “Your Imperial Mother is fine, don’t worry.”

“Imperial Mother, This subject son was really scared. This subject son was really scared that Imperial Mother would leave this subject son behind. This subject son won’t misbehave ever again and will study earnestly so that Imperial Father is happy!” The little milkbun held on tightly to Ning Shu’s hand.

Ning Shu said, “Imperial Mother is fine, Imperial Mother would never leave you.”
She pulled out every ounce of patience that was in her to coax this child. Currently, she was really dizzy and her heart was pounding heavily. This body’s health was way too poor. She felt tired just from saying a few words.

“Head back and wash your face, alright?” Ning Shu had the palace maid take the kid away. The little milkbun looked reluctant and kept glancing back in concern, but he still obediently left with his wet nurse.

Once the kid left, Ning Shu wiped at the cold sweat on her forehead. However, this small movement caused her entire body to break out in sweat again.

“Your Imperial Highness, it’s time for you to take medicine.” The maid carried a bowl of medicine over. Ning Shu accepted it and took a sniff. It was medicine with nourishing properties. There was no poison, but it was also useless on this body.

The original host’s problem was that she stressed too much about things.

“Take it away. This empress will be resting now,” said Ning Shu mildly.

The maid hesitated. She glanced cautiously at Ning Shu, then lowered her head and said, “The imperial physician said that Your Imperial Highness must take the medicine on time.”
“This empress knows what she’s doing. Withdraw.” Ning Shu’s tone was annoyed, so the maid immediately took the bowl and left. 

Ning Shu then lay down in preparation to receive the storyline.

The original host was the empress of Yan. Her name was Xiao Xiao and her grandfather was the grand marshal of the state. As the princes were fighting over the throne, the original host was a consort that all the princes fought to snatch. However, Xiao Xiao ultimately chose the current emperor who used to be the fourth prince, Huo Qing. 

The fourth prince was a very capable man. Having obtained the grand marshal’s support, he successfully ascended to the throne and the original host also became empress.

Huo Qing was very reserved and tended to be cold and detached. He didn’t care much about women and had no interest in the women of the Inner Palace. The original host only gave birth to a child after being married to him for five years. That child was the milkbun from just now, Huo Chengwang.

Xiao Xiao worked hard to keep the Inner Palace in order so that Huo Qing wouldn’t have to worry about his consorts and concubines. The fifteenth of every month, Huo Qing would come visit her in her palace for a while and occasionally they would tumble. The original host had wanted more children after giving birth to Huo Chengwang, but she never got pregnant again and after a few years, finally gave up and placed all her hopes on Huo Chengwang. Huo Chengwang was currently just a child, but the original host had forced him to start studying.

Huo Qing also treated Huo Chengwang as his successor. Xiao Xiao was a woman, a woman who had managed to become the empress. She naturally came to realize that Huo Qing didn’t love her and had only married her to gain her grandfather’s support.

However, Huo Qing was tall and handsome, and he was even an emperor, so Xiao Xiao inevitably fell for him and worked hard to be a good wife. She thought that they would live together this way until they got old, then they would be buried in the same tomb, but fate took an unexpected turn.

This started when Huo Qing brought back a golden fox from the hunting grounds. This golden fox was very intelligent and human-like, so Huo Qing doted on this fox a lot.

He would bring the fox along no matter what he was doing. When he ate, the fox would eat drumsticks on the table with him. They slept together and they even bathed together. Huo Qing was practically glued to this golden fox except when he had to go to court.

Gradually, he stopped going to the Inner Palace. Even when it was the fifteenth, he wouldn’t visit the empress’s palace. He went several months without staying a night with any of the consorts and concubines.

It was seriously unnatural. Huo Qing, a man, suddenly lost all his basic needs and was practically leaving the palace full of women to whither. Even though they had a man, they were living like widows. After all those women came crying to her, the original host decided to go ask Huo Qing what was going on.

Chapter 447: A Little Fox

Xiao Xiao suspected that Huo Qing was hiding a woman. If not for that, why would he have ignored all the women in the Inner Palace for half a year? Huo Qing was the emperor, it was natural for him to have a lot of women. However, she as the master of the Inner Palace had a right to know, right? Why hide the woman?

When Xiao Xiao asked Huo Qing why he hadn’t come to the Inner Palace for such a long time, he irritatedly replied that an issue had come up in court and he hadn’t had time to go to the Inner Palace.

Since it was matters regarding the imperial court, as a woman in the Inner Palace, it wasn’t Xiao Xiao’s place to get involved or ask about it. 

Xiao Xiao saw that Huo Qing was carrying a little fox and that he was glancing at it very dotingly, but she didn’t mind it. After all, it was just an animal.

She never imagined that Huo Qing would spoil this fox to an unprecedented degree. It overturned the entire Inner Palace. If it didn’t break the noble consort’s flower vase, then it ripped the fair lady’s garments. It was a complete glutton and ate everything. It’d often sneak into the kitchen to steal food. In brief, it was extremely naughty.

All the consorts and concubines in the Inner Palace were very angry and ran over to Xiao Xiao to complain, so Xiao Xiao went to find Huo Qing to teach the fox a lesson. The Inner Palace was seriously a complete mess.

However, Huo Qing just affectionately poked the little fox’s forehead, then expressed his displeasure at the fact that Xiao Xiao was raising such a fuss over small things and bickering with an animal.

Xiao Xiao almost passed out from anger. Afterwards, the fox messed with her again so Xiao Xiao was so angry that she wanted to just beat the fox to death with a stick.

However, she didn’t dare to. Even if this animal started a fire and burned down the entire imperial palace, Huo Qing wouldn’t say anything. He just had unconditional affection for this fox.

A fox, an animal, had actually been able to enjoy a treatment that no human had been able to enjoy. All the women in the Inner Palace hated the fox, even Xiao Xiao was envious. She had been married to Huo Qing for so long, but Huo Qing was always very indifferent towards her. All these years, she hadn’t been able to obtain any trace of such warmth and affection from him.

The consorts complained to Xiao Xiao while crying everyday and fueled her hatred for the fox. She tried sending someone to kill the fox multiple times, but all the attempts failed. After Huo Qing found out, he was furious and wanted to depose her. If it weren’t for the fact that Xiao Xiao’s grandfather stepped out and stopped it, Xiao Xiao would already be in the Cold Palace.

However, she lost the dignity and status that an empress should’ve possessed since she was an empress that the emperor loathed. This made Xiao Xiao’s heart fill with even more envy, hatred, and pain.

It was just a vicious cycle, and this fox would often come to mess with her. It would jump onto her and make her hair and clothes a complete mess, then run off with its paw covering its mouth like it was laughing.

All the consorts and concubines in the Inner Palace soon figured it out. If they wanted to obtain the emperor’s affection, they had to get on this fox’s good side. So no matter what outrageous things the fox did, the consorts and concubines just gritted their teeth and endured it.

Xiao Xiao was unwilling to accept this and continued trying to kill the animal. She even asked her grandfather to help her, but right afterwards, someone found evidence that the marshal’s residence was selling information to the enemy country. Huo Qing immediately took back the grand marshal’s military power and had the entire family executed.

When Xiao Xiao found out about this, she vomited blood. She felt responsible for the deaths of her family. There was no way her grandfather would betray the country. He was already so old, there was no point in him doing so.

Huo Qing just wanted to take back the military power. After all, once the crafty rabbit has been caught, there was no longer any need for the hunting dog. Xiao Xiao really regretted marrying Huo Qing. This decision ended up causing the deaths of her entire family. Furthermore, her own son, Huo Chengwang, was now running around everywhere with the fox and all he cared about now was playing. Xiao Xiao had no way of getting him to study and since he seemed to be such a hedonistic son, he was always being reprimanded by Huo Qing.

Xiao Xiao’s heart was filled with despair. While crying blood tears, she hung herself.

Ning Shu: …

Truly beautiful way of courting death.

>A little on names! Xiao Xiao - the first Xiao is a typical surname, the second Xiao refers to dwarf bamboo. The qing in Huo Qing is a term referring to a high ranking official. Chengwang in Huo Chengwang means looking forward to, aka, expectations.<

Chapter 448: Smash a Pearl for Fun

What Xiao Xiao hadn’t known was that it was a person inside the fox. It was a girl from the modern world that had transmigrated into the fox’s body.

After transmigrating into an animal’s body, she actually thought of herself as an actual animal? Animalistic nature was sure hard to suppress.

After Xiao Xiao died, the little fox found a pearl in Xiao Xiao’s palace. Legends say that it was a millennium mermaid pearl; it had been part of the original host’s dowry. The fox accidently swallowed it and it actually ended up turning the fox into a breathtaking beauty. All the other women in the Inner Palace were colorless ever since and Huo Qing only had eyes for this little fox.

The original host couldn’t accept this, so her soul continued to wander in the imperial palace and found that that wretch was now raising her child, saying something about how they had gotten along from the time that she was a fox. When Huo Chengwang didn’t want to study, she didn’t force him to. She said that it was fine if he started a little later and that she wanted to give the child a wonderful childhood.

Huo Chengwang really liked this mother and soon forgot his birth mother. This lasted until that wretch gave birth to a child of her own. That child was extremely intelligent and was also very good at studying since he had a photographic memory. His existence made Huo Chengwang seem even more useless and he became that son of a bitch’s follower. She watched as the child of that wretch became the emperor, then Huo Qing and that vixen went off to travel the world together like a perfect pair of mandarin ducks.

The original host’s wishes were: 1. Don’t let the marshal’s family be wiped out. 2. Make sure this pair of beasts in human skin who have no concept of morals or integrity suffer before they die. 3. Huo Chengwang was the eldest son of the main wife, he shouldn’t have ended up that way.

When Ning Shu saw the original host’s wishes, her first thought was that the first one was pretty difficult. It was inevitable that the marshal’s residence would fall because Huo Qing was now the emperor, but the original host’s grandfather still possessed control over the military. If the other party in some fit of anger decided to use the military power to revolt, then he wouldn’t be able to sit steadily on the throne anymore. Huo Qing had definitely been making plans to get rid of the marshal’s residence ever since he got the throne.

However, if she handed over the military power, she’d only end up being completely powerless to stop Huo Qing from doing anything. With the military power still in her family’s hands, at the very least, it’d make Huo Qing a little more apprehensive to make moves.

The reason why the original host fainted was because she had told Huo Chengwang to go study, but Huo Chengwang was still a child and didn’t like to study. He said, “This subject son hates Imperial Mother! Imperial Mother only knows to tell this subject son to go study, go study! This subject son is going to go play with the fox!” The original host’s anger attacked her vitals, her vision went black and she fainted.

Ning Shu could still feel a faint headache. She opened her eyes and rubbed her head. Right now, the most important task was to fix this body’s health.

She sat up on the bed and started practicing the Unsurpassable Martial Arts. After a little while, she started sweating uncontrollably and was forced to stop. She had a palace maid prepare hot bath water.

After washing up, Ning Shu felt a little better and ate more at lunch, which made her personal maid overjoyed. 

As Ning Shu ate, she went over the original storyline. At this point in time, the little fox had just gotten to the palace. Ning Shu decided to destroy the mermaid pearl. She’d like to see how those two could possibly ooxx if the fox couldn’t transform into a human.

She put down her bowl and told her personal maid, Qing Zhu, to dig the mermaid pearl out of her dowry. Qing Zhu was surprised, but she quickly went to do so and soon brought it over.

Ning Shu examined the mermaid pearl. Although it was called a mermaid pearl, it was just a big and round pearl. Perhaps it did have some mysterious power. After all, it had been able to let the fox transform into a human.

She laughed coldly, then picked up a stool and used the seat of the stool to smash the pearl. The pearl didn’t break, so she smashed it hard a couple more times and finally got it to shatter. However, she didn’t stop and continued smashing it until it was complete power. She blew the powder and the powder drifted up… and fell to the ground.

Qing Zhu: (⊙ｏ⊙)

Chapter 449: Aren’t You Curious About My Wife?

“Zhuang Yutong, you’re finally awake! I thought you got possessed! That freaked me out!” The moment Zhuang Yutong opened her eyes, she saw Su Manyu complaining. However, though she was complaining, her eyes were filled with worry.

“You’re alright, right? You suddenly just fainted.” Su Manyu glanced at her. “What the heck happened?”

Zhuang Yutong still felt dizzy but she said, “I’m fine.”

Su Manyu’s face then filled with schadenfreude as she asked, “Say, should we go visit Lin Qianqian? Didn’t you agree to help bring her some medicine?”
“You can take it to her. I’ll pass, I don’t feel very well,” said Zhuang Yutong.

Su Manyu saw that her face was quite pale so she nodded, took the bag of medicine, and left. Before she left, she said, “Once I get back, I’ll let you know all about how Lin Qianqian’s doing.”

Zhuang Yutong: …

Zhuang Yutong just felt like she had been in a long dream. She remembered everything clearly though, so it also didn’t seem like a dream.

After Su Manyu left, Zhuang Yutong closed her eyes to sleep but knocking sounds came from the door. She climbed down the ladder and opened the door while asking, “Who is it?”
She was stunned by the sight of the person at the door. After a moment of shock, she stammered, “Why are you here?”
It was Ji Qingyuan’s father, Ji Jinyan. Ji Jinyan walked into the dorm and looked directly into Zhuang Yutong’s eyes as he said, “I’ll treat you to dinner.”

“Why?” asked Zhuang Yutong reflexively. They weren’t familiar with each other at all and had only met once. However, he had suddenly came to her dorm to treat her to dinner?

What a joke.

“Just treat it as thanks for your medicine. I heard from Little Su that you were in the dorm. I told you to personally bring the medicine, why didn’t you do so?” Ji Jinyan’s tone was very overbearing.

Zhuang Yutong: …

Was this guy ill?

“Go get changed, I’m treating you to dinner.” Ji Jinyan briefly scanned Zhuang Yutong’s outfit.

“...” This guy was ill, he was ill, he was ill wasn’t he?

Ji Jinyan lifted his wrist and glanced at his watch, then said, “Miss Zhuang, please hurry up a little. My time is very precious.”
Zhuang Yutong: …

Wipes tears. What do I do, I’ve encountered a psycho. Grannie shaman, save me!

“Don’t you have any nice clothes to change into? As thanks for the medicine, I can give you some.” When Ji Jinyan saw the dumbfounded expression on Zhuang Yutong’s face, he said this considerately.

Zhuang Yutong said stiffly, “Please go outside. I’m going to change.”

Ji Jinyan replied ‘en’ and turned to leave. Zhuang Yutong felt an impulse to ram her head against the bed frame. What the heck was with that guy?

Once Zhuang Yutong finished changing and walked out, Ji Jinyan frowned slightly but didn’t say anything.

They walked down the stairs together. When Zhuang Yutong saw the luxurious car parked at the entrance of the dorm and saw everyone’s curious stares, her eyelids twitched.

Ji Jinyan helped her open the door and she got on. However, she felt completely out of place in the car. The interior of the car was just as luxurious as the exterior and there was a nice fragrance in the air. She then glanced down at her clothes.

She decided to never interact with someone like this again, lest she ended up being tormented by her own feelings of inferiority.

Ji Jinyan got into the car. When he saw Zhuang Yutong’s uncomfortable expression, he smiled slightly. “You’ll be able to possess things like this in the future.”

Zhuang Yutong didn’t respond. She was more concerned about why this man had come to see her.

They had dinner at a Western restaurant. Zhuang Yutong was sitting opposite Ji Jinyan and she said mildly, “Sorry, I don’t know the Western dining etiquette.”

Ji Jinyan said, “I can teach you.”

“No need. Mister Ji, I’d like to know why you came to look for me?” Zhuang Yutong got straight to the point. “If you’re like this, I won’t be able to eat.”

Ji Jinyan took a sip of wine while staring fixedly at her. “Your eyes are identical to those of my wife’s. The first time I saw you, I thought that it was her standing in front of me.”

Zhuang Yutong: “Oh.”

Ji Jinyan’s brows lifted. That was it?

“Aren’t you curious about my wife?” asked Ji Jinyan.

Zhuang Yutong: ...

Chapter 450: Like a Country Bumpkin

“Why would I be curious? I don’t know her at all. Mister Ji, you feel like my eyes are similar to those of your wife’s, so now you’re talking to me while looking at my eyes to comfort yourself?”

“Or is it that you want to keep me as a mistress so that I can be a substitute for your wife? Su Manyu said that you loved your wife a lot, but your current behavior makes me doubt your loyalty to your wife.” Zhuang Yutong stood up. “Sorry, I’ll be leaving first. I don’t know how to eat Western meals. Goodbye, Mister Ji.”

Zhuang Yutong only wanted to focus on studying and get a job after graduating to lessen the burden on her family. She lived in a completely different world from Ji Jinyan. Life was already so difficult, why accompany a rich person to mess around?

Ji Jinyan watched at Zhuang Yutong left the restaurant, then lifted his eyebrows. Loyalty towards his wife?

When Zhuang Yutong got back to the dorm, Su Manyu had already come back. Su Manyu’s eyes lit up and she said happily, “Lin Qianqian’s about to get an amputation. Her leg injury was seriously too severe and heavily infected, so her leg has to be sawed off. Wonder if Ji Qingyuan will still like Lin Qianqian after she loses a leg?”
Zhuang Yutong looked at Su Manyu speechlessly.

In the next moment, Su Manyu’s expression became depressed. Zhuang Yutong asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m about to be engaged,” said Su Manyu suddenly.

Zhuang Yutong: “Pffff…”

“Why so suddenly?” asked Zhuang Yutong. “You haven’t even graduated.”
“You don’t understand the lives of people in my social class. Even if you haven’t graduated, you still have to get married. However, getting married doesn’t affect either party’s life and they can still play however they want.” Su Manyu sighed.

Zhuang Yutong then asked, “Who’s it with?”

“Ji Qingyuan.” Su Manyu rolled her eyes.

Zhuang Yutong: “Pffff…”

“The circles of high society are sure messy.” Zhuang Yutong sighed.

“Fudge, why is it so depressing to get engaged with Ji Qingyuan? Why the fudge do I have to get involved with Lin Qianqian again? Just seeing her is irritating.” It was clear that Su Manyu really didn’t want to get engaged with Ji Qingyuan.

“You have to live with him for an entire lifetime, so you should find someone you like instead,” said Zhuang Yutong.

Su Manyu replied with disdain, “As expected of an ignorant country bumpkin. Our marriage is for our families’ benefit, it has nothing to do with our feelings.”

“Don’t you like Ji Qingyuan?” Zhuang Yutong slanted a glance over.

“Fudge! Don’t bring up that kind of black history anymore! I’d sooner like a country bumpkin like you than Ji Qingyuan,” said Su Manyu.

Zhuang Yutong’s lips twitched. “I don’t need you to like a country bumpkin like me. You should go like Ji Qingyuan after all.”

“When did I say that I like you? It was just a comparison to show that Ji Qingyuan is worthless to me,” Su Manyu hastily refuted.

Zhuang Yutong: “...”

Fuck, her way of speaking was sure vicious.

“Look how scared you are! How could I possibly like women, and a country bumpkin to boot,” said Su Manyu in a tone of disdain. However, her facial color was a little off and she pushed Zhuang Yutong uncomfortably. “There’s no way I’d like you.”

Zhuang Yutong: What was with her?

#comment: *coughs coffee* oh my god looolll, another yuri match!