Quick Transmigration: Saving The Crazy Villainess

Chapter 138: Jiang Ying Yue (45)

'How is it a crime to gift all of me and everything I have to His Highness?' The question kept playing in his mind, like a broken audio recording set in an endless loop.

The girl's words were not fanciful, contrasting to the poems she had written for him using the modern alphabet. Despite this though, he understood the deepest meaning of what she wanted to say. 

It's not about the decree restoring her nobility status and giving her some riches which could be said decent for a noble lady no longer under the umbrella of her family. The wealth was of no concern to him...

Even if he was mostly on the battlefield, the memories he inherited from Lu Ling showed that he grew up almost having an endless supply of gold to spend. He was also one of those very few people only below one person and above a million. And thus, why would money even matter now? 

For sure, what she wanted to convey to him was that she was finally able to match up to him. At least she was no longer a commoner who was not even fit to carry his shoes. With this said, Jiang Ying Yue's act of giving him the decree that was sealing her as a true noble lady, a titled one at that, was she promising herself to him... Maybe not only herself, but her future, or even her lifetime. 

'If only my Original this time did not make a request like that, to keep the Lu clan's bloodline and royal status up, I would just leave the family and give the leader position to one of my uncles or their sons. After that, I could simply be an ordinary guy, a merchant, or even a bandit, and she doesn't need to worry about getting to a level acceptable in the public's eyes. She doesn't have to always worry when she could officially stand beside me.'

'It's like this in this world. In the previous world too, it's her who keeps adjusting, both as a band vocalist's manager, an HIV patient's wife.' 

Nostalgia flickered in his eyes again. Jiang Ying Yue who had never moved her gaze away from him for even a second noticed that and became puzzled. His expression was unreadable. What was on his mind? What was he thinking?

With no answer coming to her, she fell into a daze. Only after a few seconds did she realize, even if she couldn't understand it, she could still admire.

Thinking of this, her eyes looking at him turned as mellow, more than anyone else in the world right now, she was very glad to have a photographic memory. Who would have thought this pretty face man was a general? Generals were usually those with wheaten skin and stiff body posture and facial expression. While this person before her was always wearing either a serious or a calculating look on his face, he still looked good. He could have qualified as an eye-candy-seeking princess', cough... gigolo.

The girl's soul went back to her body when she saw movement coming from his side.

Jiang Li's right hand moved up. Not to receive what she was handing over. But to lightly flicked her forehead. Watching her whimpered in pain, he sighed.

"Lady Ping'An. Listen closely, alright?" Jiang Li laughingly stared down at the rolled-up paper she was trying to give him.

"What you're offering to This Prince is so little. A third-rank title, a manor not near the imperial palace, a thousand gold? Too little. Really too little. Grow your property more. Grow it until it can at least match up to the wealth of one of my clan's cities. Then after that, you can go back to me with that decree. I'll surely accept it then. But for now...." He looked at her, clicked his tongue and shook his head. 

A bit aggrieved, she raised her gaze at him, nose crinkled. A couple of moments later, she looked down at her feet again. With her eyes drooping and rosy lips pouting, she muttered, "Which girl or, even, a princess in the whole Zhou Dynasty ever had a dowry matching up to a whole city?"

"Probably, you'll be the first?" The answer he gave was accompanied by a teasing smile. He didn't refute that he was asking for her to grow her dowry.

This act warmed the girl's heart, so even though Jiang Li had just thrown a tough challenge, she returned the smile. Right. What was a city worth of dowry compared to him saving her time and time again, giving her a home, and sheltering her and caring for her for so long? In the end, that dowry was hers and would be something she would use for herself and her future home. How selfless could this man be? Since a year ago, he had been silently giving her everything without asking for a return.

'I'm now realizing, I really don't deserve him. It's like what Miss Sheng told me. Yet even if I don't, I'll be the selfish one this time and latch onto him. I... really don't want to let him go.'

The realization made her pursed her lips as she sunk into deep contemplation. In front of her, Jiang Li signaled for the servant girl to get the precious thing in Jiang Ying Yue's hands. Afterward, he said, "Last time, I made you pick from two options and you chose your father's estate. Would you like to check the other one now?"

His voice successfully pulled her out of her reverie. Once done blinking at him twice and digesting his words, the villainess replied, "Your Highness, if we go there now, won't we be met with tighter security, or even, an ambush?"

"What made you think so?"

Wearing a doubtful look on her face, she answered, "Jiang Rou Li would have surely heard of what happened to the Second Madam and the only reason she hadn't take revenge against us is her house arrest. Even so, since she knows there's a chance we will go after her, she would surely arrange an airtight security around her, ensuring no moths or flies will be able to get in to do her harm."

"Oh?" The man went silent for a while.

Jiang Ying Yue didn't want to interrupt his line of thought so she also remained quiet, directing her gaze to the blooming flowers surrounding them. Most of the flowers planted around were peonies and orchids. The garden was small, but since the hired gardener was quite competent, and the maids diligent in taking care of it, it turned into a place eyes could feast on and admire.

However, while she indeed appreciated the breathtaking scenery around, her thoughts were more inclined to whether she could use the flowers, poison them, and send them to the Rui Wang Residence.

'Maybe I should try raising the matter to His Highness?' She pondered, unworried that if the words escape out of her mouth, she would be taken for a vicious and malicious woman whose mind strayed from what normal female her age should think upon seeing something beautiful.

Not long after, she crossed out the idea in her mind. 'Too overused. Not advisable to do. There is no way Jiang Rou Li would fall for something as stupid as that.'

Jiang Li finally spoke after thinking things through.

"If sneaking in will be proven difficult this time, how about we just enter legally through their main door?" His tone was suggesting it was actually the most obvious answer to what she asked.

For some time, she didn't know what to reply to this simple solution that His Highness brought forward.

He laughed. "This Prince will have Mao Hong send a letter to inform them that the two of us will visit Rui Wang Fei in good faith. Do you know what we should say to them later if they questioned our sudden visit?" he asked, eyes darting at her with a playful glint on it.

The villainess knew the other was testing her brain again so she sported a serious look on her face, staring heavenward as she contemplated. A second later, she returned her eyes at him then she opened her mouth.

"Your Highness, if we will go along that plan, we can just say that I, as her sister, am very worried about her health and wanted to check on her. However, I couldn't go to her palatial residence on my first two days of being the capital due to the difference in our statuses. But now that I am back to being a proper titled aristocratic lady, I immediately thought of paying her a visit so I could personally give her words of encouragement along with a few medicinal gifts."

"Medicinal gifts?"

Words of encouragement were fine. But why was there a need to mention medicinal gifts? Shouldn't she be bringing some nice playthings that girls loved to exchange among themselves when they get together? For example, some bangles or hairpins... 

Jiang Li was puzzled. But a minute later, when one of the wonderful news from yesterday crossed his mind, he plastered a smile on his face, which later turned into a peal of joyful laughter. Jiang Ying Yue who was in front of him gave him a quizzical look, but he only patted her head and then started a weird hand-catching game with her.

Amidst this, the chuckling Jiang Li thought,

'Damn, I almost forgot. Jiang Rou Li is reported to be having diarrhea for days now!'

...