The male supporting character was actually myself.

If it weren't for the legacy of his ancestors that allowed him to inherit the title and become a sinecure official, he probably would never have entered the imperial court in his entire life.

Ji Ningyu's elder brother, carrying the hopes of the family, studied hard every day and night. He finally passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-something and became a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Before he could go any further, he worked himself to death.

So when Ji Ningyu was born, the patriarch cherished him like a treasure, fearing that he would be overworked to death like his brother. He refused to let Ji Ningyu study hard, which ultimately led to the family's ruin.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but unless you're exceptionally talented and intelligent, how easy is it to pass all the tests in the imperial examinations and become the top scholar?

So many talented men and beautiful women in storybooks are just made up on the spot. Anyway, the writers don't need to rely on them personally. They just write them, so they can't just make them up casually.

In some of the stories, those talented scholars could even ascend to immortality. Have you ever seen anyone who could actually cultivate immortal arts?

Look at those talented men and beautiful women. Noble ladies from respectable families, once they see a man, they don't care about anything else and only think about their marriage. They have their maids arrange secret meetings and lavish gifts on poor scholars to help them get into school.

In every story, the scholar passes the imperial examination and becomes the top scholar, while the woman is phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, cherished and pampered for a lifetime.

How many top scholars in the world actually came from poor scholars?

The truly impoverished scholars who couldn't even afford travel expenses were those who couldn't even afford books; those who could pass the imperial examinations with top honors were extremely rare throughout history. What did they have to offer in comparison to the wealthy children who were hardworking, ambitious, and had access to various resources?

He probably used a storybook example again, which touched a nerve with Ye Qingqing, and her expression clearly showed some displeasure.

Madam Ye's face darkened and her voice carried a hint of anger. "Besides, why do you think the endings of storybooks are always that the man gets high office and the woman follows him to become a high-ranking official's wife and lives happily ever after?"

Why is it that none of the stories depict the man failing the exam and the woman suffering alongside him?

It's all because if you want to live a good life, you need money and power!

Otherwise, the man won't earn money and will be looked down upon, while the woman will be exhausted from managing the household chores. How can they even talk about romance then?

Ye Qingqing actually took those last few harsh words to heart.

She witnessed firsthand that without servants to attend to her, her mother had to do the laundry and clean the room herself. Lacking the care of fine cosmetics, her once fair and delicate hands had become slightly red and rough, and even her face looked somewhat haggard.

The thought of her future husband not being able to afford a maidservant and having to do all those tedious and trivial tasks made her very uneasy.

But Ye Qingqing still held a sliver of hope for her gentle and considerate lover, whom she had fallen deeply in love with. Perhaps... his family background wasn't so poor?

Even in an ordinary family, with two or three strong maids and servants to manage the household chores, and one or two personal maids to serve you, wouldn't it be wonderful for you and your lover to enjoy time together under the moon and flowers?

"My child, I've told you all this from the bottom of my heart. Think it over carefully. If you agree, I'll go and check his character and appearance first; if you don't agree, don't regret it later."

Madam Ye said earnestly, "There's just one thing: if you agree to proceed smoothly with the engagement, please don't cause any trouble by breaking off the engagement without a valid reason."

A young woman's reputation and integrity are of utmost importance; you can't afford to gamble with your future like this!

Ye Qingqing's heart was pounding, and her palms were slightly sweaty with nervousness.

Is she really willing to gamble her future happiness on her lover?

She pondered in her heart but had no confidence at all. After all, they had talked heart-to-heart last night and felt like they had known each other for a long time, but they had not exchanged identities. Moreover, she wondered if he truly wanted to marry her.

What if I wait for him and never see him again after last night's parting? Wouldn't missing out on Lord Duan mean ruining my life's most important thing?

Duan Lang is the newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examination, and he couldn't forget her after a fleeting glimpse of her by the window in the rain. It sounds quite romantic, and perhaps he's a charming and understanding man.

“What Mother says is absolutely right. But I’m worried that since the other party comes from a very wealthy family and is young and successful in his studies, I might be looked down upon if I marry into that family…”

She lowered her head deeply as she spoke, her face burning with embarrassment.

The Ye family had to sell everything they owned to scrape together a dowry, and Luo Jiangchen made up the rest so that the engagement ceremony could be held in a grand and dignified manner.

However, once the engagement is called off, the other party will have no intention of making up for the dowry.

Bringing the remaining little bit of stuff to the powerful Duan family would only invite ridicule.

"Don't worry, if it really comes down to discussing the dowry, it will still be the same as Young Master Luo's original statement: the journey is long and it's inconvenient to carry too many things."

Lord Duan has already ascertained most of our situation. Since he's willing to propose marriage, it means he doesn't mind. He's also promised to provide a full dowry so you can have a grand wedding with a magnificent procession.

Hearing her mother say this, Ye Qingqing nodded shyly and said, "I've made up my mind this time. As long as everything goes well, I will never back out of the engagement."

"I'd like to trouble Mother to first assess the other person's character and appearance. If possible, I'd also like to secretly take a look as well."

The two parties hit it off immediately, and the housekeeper arranged for the man and woman to have dinner together, and chat to see if they were willing.

"Dinner's ready!"

As evening approached, calls rang out from the kitchens on all floors except for the last class, as servants and maids waited to serve their masters.

Jiang Chen had just sat down in Lan Jingshu's boudoir reception room when she looked at him with her face slightly lowered, as if she had something to say but did not speak.

"Miss, dinner is being served outside, I'll go check." Seeing this, Yan'er knew her mistress was embarrassed, so she quickly stood up and said, "Young Master Luo, please have a seat, I'll be there shortly."

After the maid closed the door and left, Lan Jingshu said with a coquettish tone, "You should have disembarked at Kunxia Port! I asked the housekeeping manager beforehand, and sure enough, a newly appointed top scholar, Lord Duan, boarded the ship."

Since your dream predictions are all true, why risk your life?

Chapter Twenty: The Secret of the Cloud Recesses Dream City

Jiang Chen sighed and said with a wry smile, "If Miss disembarks, I will probably try to make arrangements to go down with you. But since you refuse to leave, how can I abandon you and run away to save your own life?"

Hearing him say that, Lan Jingshu's heart was filled with surprise, joy and pounding, and she couldn't help but get anxious. "What's the point of this? What if... what if something really happens to you? Wouldn't that be my fault?"

You should understand my concerns: I have no real power to make decisions and cannot stop the airship; and as a member of the Yunmeng family, I am unwilling to escape alone, which would bring criticism to the family.

But you are different. What is your relationship with Yunmeng?

I've really dragged you down. Even if I manage to escape by chance, I'll still feel guilty...

Seeing the two of them go from discussing airships to talking about love, the little white cat licked its paws, rolled its eyes, and said, "Host, I'm going out for a stroll too. Show me your true skills and hurry up and win over this wife. I'm waiting to drink the wedding wine."

Before the words were even finished, it darted out, shouting at the top of its lungs, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things for you. Nobody will bother you two!"

With things having come to this point, what else could Jiang Chen say?

He had no choice but to straighten up and say seriously, "Yan'er said you don't want to leave, so I know what you mean."

So the reason I'm staying here now is to save the Cloud Dream City with you. Otherwise, even if I can protect you from disaster, you'll spend the rest of your life tormented by your conscience.

I don't want you to feel guilty. Let's work together to help the airship escape disaster!

"Survived a calamity?" Lan Jingshu was completely stunned, looking bewildered. "I... I'm just an unmarried young lady. I couldn't even persuade my own captain. He refused to take a detour or stop sailing. What other way could we possibly help the airship avoid disaster?"

Taking the opportunity, Jiang Chen hurriedly asked, "I want to know if Yunmeng has a technological means that can power such a huge airship as Yun Shen Meng Cheng without using power resources?"

To be honest, I checked before and didn't find any trace of refueling.

Moreover, in my dream, I vaguely sensed that the airship's crashing after being hit by a tornado was largely related to its mast. However, judging from the blueprints of various airship models provided by the young lady, it seemed that none of them would be affected by the mast. Even if all the masts were to break, the airship's precise operation of its propulsion system would still allow for a safe landing.

Does the Cloud Dream City have anything unique about it?

“Mast? Most of the parts of all my airships are designed to be interchangeable, so it shouldn’t be like this…” Lan Jingshu frowned slightly as she pondered, clutching her handkerchief.

Having been exposed to the manufacturing principles of various types of airships since childhood, she naturally knew more about them than Jiang Chen, who could only guess based on blueprints.

Considering that my second brother tried his best to compress the internal compartments during the design process, yet dared to build such a massive hull;

Then, recalling how, after the successful test flight of the Cloud Dream City, my father announced with great joy and excitement that it was an "unsinkable" airship;

Furthermore, Young Master Luo did not find any fuel or other supplies;

There are also ancient secrets that are vaguely passed down within the family...

Connecting everything together, the wise and discerning Lan Jingshu turned pale and gasped, "Could it be... Oh my god, could it really be true?"

"Has the young lady remembered something crucial?" he hurriedly asked.

The other party steadied himself and stood up, clearly restraining his trembling body caused by his intense emotions. Lan Jingshu took a deep breath and said, "This matter is of great importance. Please wait here, young master. I need to go and check it myself to see if my guess is correct."

Without waiting for a reply, she hurriedly left from the back hall.

The little white cat was boredly perched on the railing, patting its fluffy tail. It looked up and caught a glimpse of a figure that looked somewhat like Miss Lan disappearing around the corner. It twitched its ears, looking completely bewildered. "Huh? Am I seeing things? Shouldn't that girl be inside, flirting with my host?"

After tilting her head and thinking for a moment, the fluffy ball skipped after her and saw Lan Jingshu sneaking to a door with a sign that read "No Trespassing," using her key to unlock the door, go inside, and close it.

His behavior clearly indicated he was worried about being discovered!

"What is this girl up to, sneaking around like that?" The little white cat, full of curiosity, jumped onto her shoulder and followed her along the inner passage to the deepest part.

Upon arriving here, it immediately realized, "Hey, isn't this the engine room? What are you doing here?"

Lan Jingshu used the key to open the last door, but after just one glance, her face turned even paler, and her hands even began to tremble noticeably.

There was no trace of fuel; no temperature; no noisy mechanical sounds providing power.

The entire engine compartment was so clean, cold, and quiet that it gave me the creeps.

She paused for a moment, swallowed nervously, and then shakily stepped forward to open the innermost small door of the power compartment with the gold key hidden in the pendant around her neck.

Inside, there was only a fist-sized object emitting a pale blue light, quietly placed in the slot.

"Just as I thought! It's so true!"

She seemed to have witnessed something shocking, her whole body trembling violently as she hurriedly closed the hatch and locked it with the gold key.

It took Lan Jingshu a while to recover after sitting on the ground for a while.

She felt her hands and feet were cold and her lips were a little numb. She stared blankly at the locked hatch without saying a word.

"Oh no, oh no, is this girl possessed?" The little white cat was completely bewildered. Realizing the seriousness of the matter, it hurriedly hopped around for a while before returning to the living room. It then perched on its host's shoulder and recounted everything it had seen.

Jiang Chen put down his teacup, his mind filled with questions. "The core of the power compartment is a blue stone? Are you sure?"

"I looked carefully and clearly, there's no mistake!" The fluffy ball raised its paw and said confidently, "That blue stone was hidden very well. Before, I just followed what the host said to look for the power system, and I didn't go deep into the depths to look."

Seeing Miss Lan's attitude towards the stone, I felt something was amiss, so I went around again and finally confirmed that there was a blue stone of the same size in each of the five power modules of the spaceship.

"So, the entire airship's power source is just five blue stones?" He was even more confused.

Judging from the original owner's memories, he was a well-traveled and knowledgeable person. But he had never heard of anything like cultivating immortality, and the script didn't mention it at all. Could it be that there are hidden cultivation sects or something in this mission world?

The female lead, Ye Qingqing, had never met anyone, which is why she wasn't included in the script, which was based on her memoirs.

"Yeah, I was wondering about those stones. They looked so ordinary, nothing special except for the fact that they glowed." The little white cat scratched its paws, tilted its head, and frowned as it speculated, "Could they be magical stones from Flowing Light Island? Or is it a bug in this quest world?"

Bug?

Jiang Chen stared at the little white cat in bewilderment and surprise. Could it be that the bug in this mission world is a cultivator?

"Forget it, stop guessing. Just ask Miss Lan when she comes back, okay?" The fluffy ball felt its CPU was already overloaded and it was about to go dazed. It waved its paws, wagged its tail, and went out to lie on the railing for a nap.

By the time Lan Jingshu returned to the entrance of the back hall, she had completely recovered from her shock.

She took a deep breath before pushing the door open and entering. Through the beaded curtain, she looked at the man who was still sitting in his seat, leisurely drinking tea. Her heart was still wavering. Should she share this secret with someone outside the family?