She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

Jiang Ruining knew that the young emperor was definitely the one worth supporting, because he was the male lead's "chosen one." He was able to scheme, cultivate confidants, and add wings in the cracks, and use the struggle between the Empress Dowager and Xiao Che to achieve his own goals. His scheming was undeniably profound.

But so what?

In the book, the father and brothers, who were not his biological fathers, sided with the young emperor because of the female protagonist, and were eventually promoted and made first-class meritorious officials.

But this process was fraught with danger, with many narrowly escaping death.

The young emperor was worried that if they were exposed too early, they would be suppressed by both the Empress Dowager and Xiao Che. He provided them with almost no support or help, and they relied entirely on their fathers and brothers to overcome the difficulties on their own!

The plot is now going off track, and Xiao Che has already realized the young emperor's thoughts. All his plans are likely to be nipped in the bud!

What will happen if you get too close to them?

Perhaps Xiao Che didn't consider her one of his own, but if she supported the young emperor, he would definitely see it as betrayal.

She's probably going to die a very spectacular death!

Besides, was Xiao Che's ruthless behavior something he wanted to do?

If it weren't for the Empress Dowager and Cui Shengan's scheming, he would have rightfully ascended the throne and displayed his skills and abilities, and the people of Great Zhou could be ten or a hundred times happier than they are now!

If given a choice, who would want to be a madman!

Moreover, in the final reckoning, the young emperor listed dozens of major crimes against Xiao Che, none of which involved indiscriminate killing of innocent people!

But she couldn't say these things to Shao Yunting.

She simply looked directly into his deep, affectionate eyes and calmly said, "If you can persuade my father and brothers, that's your ability, but you don't need to tell me these things."

"I don't want to be anyone's pawn, nor do I want to live in constant fear and anxiety because of those struggles that I can't participate in or interfere with, but which make my heart pound."

She shoved the dagger back into his arms.

back.

"Please, Duke Shao, stay away from me. Don't bring me any unnecessary danger or trouble!"

Done.

May you be blessed with good fortune.

He pulled the stunned Yun Mi up and quickly left.

Shao Yunting tried to grab her, but only touched the corner of her hair ribbon. He quickly reached forward to grab it, but could only watch as a gust of wind blew by, the hair ribbon brushing past his fingertips, flying high, bright and free.

Just like her, ultimately, she was someone he couldn't hold onto.

This thought made his heart clench.

But no matter what, he won't give up easily!

She looked down at the dagger in her other hand, which still retained her body heat.

Gently stroking the patterns on it with my fingertips felt like lightly touching her beautiful and lovely cheek.

"She's too smart and insightful. His closeness and the Regent's scheming have only made her feel confused and uneasy about the situation. I can't rush things; I have to take it slow, or I'll really scare her away."

He put the dagger in his pocket, pressed it against his chest, and held the lingering warmth of the mangled body close to his heart.

I turned back to the spot where I met her.

It slowly circled around.

It was dilapidated and worn, but apart from that, nothing particularly special was found.

Why would a rich girl like her come to a place like this?

Whom are you meeting?

Or is there something else I need to do?

And in the shadows at this moment.

Despite the wind and cicadas, Shiyihe overheard most of their conversation and took out his notebook to write it down: "Master and Duke Shao, half a catty and eight taels."

After finishing writing, he felt a little troubled.

Miss Jiang, do you not want either of them, or do you want both?

It's impossible for him to want both; how could the prince allow someone else to steal his woman?

But the master has a bit of a temper.

Young girls probably prefer gentle men, right?

Judging from this, my chances of winning aren't very high!

What should I do?

……

On the carriage back.

Yun Mi, in a daze, said, "Miss, does Duke Shao like you? The way he looks at you is so sweet, like honey, it's almost sickeningly sweet!"

Jiang Ruining said firmly, "Impossible! What does he like about me? Even if he knows I was just pretending to be a good-for-nothing before, I haven't done anything special. Who could I possibly win over?"

In Yunmi's eyes, her master was the most outstanding, and even his sneeze was the most beautiful!

"You can fool everyone by pretending to be a straw bag, isn't that special enough? Besides, you're beautiful! Back when you were pretending to be a straw bag, many young men liked you and thought you were cute when you were being domineering!"

"Intelligent and beautiful, lovely and talented, why wouldn't the Duke of Shao like you!"

Jiang Ruining: "..."

That's right. Because of the original owner's absolute beauty, she also had many die-hard fans who protected her in every way, regardless of gender.

Birds of a feather flock together. Her die-hard fans aren't exactly smart, and they're always getting tormented by the female lead's toxic fans.

I couldn't help but sigh.

Why can't she be given a few intelligent and powerful toxic fans?

"He could never like me! And I don't need him to like me! Don't mention him to anyone when we get home, understand?"

Her biggest worry right now is that the female lead will turn evil.

We simply can't win!

Yunmi didn't understand, but obediently replied, "Oh! This servant understands!" She couldn't help but ask, "You asked Granny Honghua to treat Miss Shao's face, why didn't you let the Shao family know, and instead said it was Miss Jin's doing?"

Jiang Ruining explained, "Healing Shao Yunxi's face would earn me a favor from the Shao family, but a relationship with Shao Yunting is impossible. So I can't let him know that the miracle doctor was someone I asked for on behalf of his sister, lest he think I still have feelings for him—that would be too troublesome!"

"Chu Jin and I are cousins. If we give her the credit, the favor will still go to the Jiang family!"

Yunmi counted the interests involved on her fingers and said she understood a little, but not entirely.

Jiang Ruining waved his hand: "It's hard to explain in a few words. Anyway, you should keep this to yourself, so don't say a word. It's a secret between us!"

Although Yunmi was curious, she didn't ask any more questions since her master had said so.

Nod vigorously.

"This servant understands!"

What does it mean that only she and her master know this secret?

This shows that she was the master's most trusted maid and held a very important position!

Hehe, so happy!

The carriage stopped in front of a bookstore in the city.

Jiang Ruining adjusted her cap and walked in somewhat nervously.

In the large lobby on the first floor, there were only the shopkeeper and a few scholars quietly reading. It was very quiet, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of ink.

Upon seeing her arrive, a young woman with a scholarly air emerged from behind the carved wooden door on the left. She led her to the left and quietly explained, "The left side is where the ladies look for and borrow books, and the right side is where the gentlemen go."

Jiang Ruining nodded.

Separating men and women reduces the likelihood of accidents.

She said softly, "I don't want to buy or borrow books. I'm looking for a few rare books about pet care. Do you have a private room? I'd like to discuss this with you."

The book describes the male protagonist coming to hire people from the martial arts world, and that's roughly how it goes.

The young woman's eyes flickered slightly, she nodded, and then led her to another building.

Some distance from the main library, it is more secluded, and the servants and guards coming and going must be highly skilled, with very sharp eyes.

We entered the private room.

The door closed.

The young woman took out a booklet and casually asked, "How did you know we had such rare books here?"

Jiang Ruining said directly, "I overheard someone's private conversation."

The young woman was taken aback for a moment, then smiled as usual: "Will you view it in the capital, or borrow it out of the capital?"

Jiang Ruining said, "Borrow it to Southern Zhili."

The young woman nodded, turned to the designated page in the booklet, and pushed it in front of her: "Take a look, young lady. For common poultry, the loan is fifty taels of silver per booklet. For pets, the loan is two hundred taels of silver per booklet."

She seemed uninterested.

I turned two more pages.

"Ravenous specimens of birds of prey are also divided into three grades."

Third class: 500 taels; Second class: 800 taels; First class: 1200 taels. These are all the borrowing prices for one book.

The price was higher than Jiang Ruining had anticipated.

Worried that these江湖人士 (jianghu figures) only had skills but no brains, and only knew how to fight brute force: "Is there any strategist accompanying you?"

The young woman was very confident in her family's rare and valuable books: "Don't worry, sir, having the books is enough. If..."

"There are no 'ifs'." Jiang Ruining said coldly, placing the silver notes on the table. "If this succeeds, it will also be good news for you and your master!"

The young woman's eyes turned cold: "Of course, my master is naturally happy to have business."

Jiang Ruining knew that those who did these kinds of business were all desperate criminals, including the young woman in front of him. It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous, but a single sentence from the male protagonist in the book was enough to make these people afraid to touch him.

She then said in the same way: "Don't even think about silencing me. I dare say, I have my own way of making you all... perish together with me! Cen Shi, Alan."