Chapter 97: Jiang Ying Yue (4)
Chapter 97: Jiang Ying Yue (4)
After getting driven out of the marshal's estate, Jiang Ying Yue was then almost sold to mountain bandits by a group of traffickers. A troop of soldiers happened to pass by and saved the kidnapped girls.
Sadly, the villainess was not one of those sent back to the city. The soldiers did not see her because when the carriage flipped over, she got flung off to a low cliff. When she woke up, she was already in a recluse witch's home.
With a heart full of vengeance, she begged the old witch to pass her craft to her and the latter only agreed when she promised to be her guinea pig for all her upcoming experiments.
Surprisingly, Jiang Ying Yue had the aptitude for witchcraft and even managed to surpass the old witch in just a year.
After her mentor's death, she went back to the city and brought countless disasters there. The repeated cases alarmed the emperor who went as far as to promise the throne to whoever could stop the plague and the other blood-curdling incidents.
As expected, the two leads teamed up, solved the puzzles one by one, grew feelings for each other, and then beheaded the villainess who almost destroyed the whole empire with her evil magic.
Before the finale, a framing contest arose among the princes which ended up with Rui Wang getting the most attacks and dirt. The emperor had no choice but punish his most favorite son and declare his most hated son as the crown prince.
Afterward, the two leads got married and when Hai Wang ascended to the throne, the female lead was officially crowned the empress.
"..."
'Quite a normal plot this time.' He thought to himself.
A second later though, a frown appeared on his face.
'How do I save that girl by the way? Kill the witch and exterminate all the traffickers in the empire? So she could lead a normal life outside the Jiang's gate?'
"... Host, you must do well this time. You... only earn half of the maximum from the last world again."
His lips curled into a sardonic smile, 'And what the hell does half of the maximum mean, huh?'
Before the system could reply, a voice from the outside pulled Jiang Li back to reality.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
"Hmm? Already?" Jiang Li swept the carriage's curtain to the side and saw that they were now before the gate which should be leading to his new home. The carriage entered through the tall main gate and dropped him off in front of his own courtyard.
"Your Highness, should we first pay respects to the madam?" asked his closest attendant, Mao Hong to him. The madam he was referring to was the Original's mother.
His steps didn't stop at all as he walked down the cobblestoned pathways towards the building in front. Jiang Li shook his head and said, "Send a servant to inform her I'm not feeling well and will retire early to sleep."
"I shall do that now, Your Highness," answered the guard slash assistant even though there was a doubt in his heart why the prince suddenly said that. It was weird because Chen Wang never failed to pay the old madam a visit whenever he was in the estate.
'Is the prince put into a bad mood by the incident in the banquet?'
With this question in mind, Mao Hong first studied the prince's expression then bowed his head and excused himself. While leaving the guard shook his head, 'Seems like the Jiang's first miss is the reason. I pity that young lady. If even our prince is pissed off, she really won't have a place in the capital anymore.'
It was probably fortunate that Jiang Li didn't know his thoughts, or else he would have sent the guy to run more errands for him. Mao Hong was thinking too much. However, even if he exhausts all his brain cells, there would be no way for him to guess the Chen Wang he was with was no longer the one he knew.
Anyway, after parting with Mao Hong, he strode towards his room.
"Welcome back, Your Highness."
Three servants bowed when they saw him passed by them. Jiang Li threw them a glance then said, "No one is to disturb me tonight. No matter who comes, just tell them, I'm asleep."
"Yes. We understand." The three respectfully chorused. As they curtsied, none of them dared to raise their heads.
He nodded and then walked in.
There were only minimal decorations in the spacious room. A four-poster bed could be seen next to the wall opposite the door. Two large chests of clothes were on the left while an elegant table set was near the window to the right.
Jiang Li didn't hesitate to change his current garments into a set that would allow more ease of movements. After that, he sneaked out through the window and got out of the estate.
When Jiang Li came to his destination, there was only about half an hour before the sun completely disappears to the horizon. The world was bathing in a warm reddish glow that was very pleasant to the eye.
However, there was nothing pleasant with what he witnessed the moment he arrived at Jiang Ying Yue's residence.
He narrowed his eyes at the glamorous woman in green waving her fan around in anger.
"The Jiang Family's face is almost thrown to the mud because of her. She must atone for her grave mistake. She will not be allowed to eat for three days. No one's permitted to sneak in food for her, is that clear?"
While the servants around lowered their heads to express their understanding, the girl kneeling in the middle of the hall only kept her head bowed and didn't show any reaction. The beautiful woman standing condescendingly before her harrumphed and turned away after ordering the servants to also not allow Jiang Ying Yue to step outside her courtyard for a month.
Jiang Li who was hiding on top of the nearby tree frowned.
'Why is the villainess so meek?'
Some time already passed yet while the maids already left and went to who-knows-where, the girl just remained kneeling there. She was not crying anymore, but her swollen forehead, puffy red eyes, and pale face made her look even more pitiful than when she sobbed her heart out earlier.
'Really annoying...' The man's eyes darkened. He hated remembering that Na Yu was initially like this too, miserable and so madly in love with someone else to the point she tried to jump off a building when he cheated on her.
'It's so similar to her case again...'