CH 222

Villainous Emperor (22)

Even though she knew she was doing the right thing, Song Xu Yi couldn’t avoid feeling guilty.

Her mind was in turmoil, and she clenched her lips, closing her eyes. However, Jiang Ruoyu’s captivating face still lingered before her, affecting her deeply.

Song Xu Yi covered her face with a blanket, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand.

After observing for a day or two, Song Xu Yi had come to realize that although Jiang Ruoyu had become cold and eccentric, she was not controlled by the Divine Attractor. She still had her wits about her. Moreover, it seemed that Jiang Ruoyu and the Divine Attractor had found a way to coexist harmoniously. This meant that as long as Jiang Ruoyu felt happiness, the future might not unfold as described in the plot summary.

But how could she make Jiang Ruoyu feel happy?

She now possesses the entire world…

The problem seemed to have come full circle again.

If only she hadn’t taken the unnecessary step of using this body to get close to Jiang Ruoyu! Then she wouldn’t have ended up in such an awkward situation. Based on their previous relationship, it would have been easy to achieve their goal.

But now she was wearing a body that had captivated Jiang Ruoyu at first sight…

Song Xu Yi sighed and tried not to think about anything related to Jiang Ruoyu. Because Jiang Ruoyu was on the rooftop, Song Xu Yi couldn’t enter the realm of Mirror Flowers and Water Moon to cultivate. She had initially thought that she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but perhaps the tension that had been building up all this time suddenly relaxed, and Song Xu Yi actually fell asleep…

When she woke up again, it was already dark outside.

It seemed that there was a divine consciousness observing her in the room, but as soon as Song Xu Yi woke up, that divine consciousness immediately disappeared, and she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.

She didn’t see Jiang Ruoyu’s figure around. Song Xu Yi pushed open the door and saw Jiang Ruoyu standing tall and elegant in the middle of the courtyard, practicing swordplay…

According to the original plot summary, Jiang Ruoyu refined Lin Zhu into the “Celestial Sword” and with it, she roamed the universe, slaying throughout the Three Realms.

But even without the Celestial Sword, Jiang Ruoyu’s swordsmanship was exceptionally advanced. Graceful like a startled swan, agile like a wandering dragon, her exquisite swordplay, combined with her attractive and beautiful appearance, made her particularly eye-catching.

Even though she was secretly cautious, making sure to guard against Jiang Ruoyu’s charm, at this moment, Jiang Ruoyu displayed another side that Song Xu Yi had never seen before. The focused Jiang Ruoyu exuded a different kind of allure, appearing dangerous yet enticing. Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but raise her head and stare at Jiang Ruoyu for quite some time…

Jiang Ruoyu seemed to be genuinely immersed in her sword dance. At first, she paid attention to the aesthetic beauty of her posture, but later on, her sword tip created arcs of light, and she almost turned into a phantom, with her movements becoming mesmerizing.

However, the blackness in Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes seemed to grow deeper and deeper.

Despite not using any divine power, her sword aura extended several meters away, and a nearby cassia tree was cut in half by the force of Jiang Ruoyu’s sword…

A bright moon hung high in the distance, and the scent of cassia flowers filled the air, like a shower of cassia petals sprinkling down, covering the entire courtyard. Song Xu Yi’s hair and face were covered in cassia flowers, and the fragrance enveloped her entire body.

Intimidated by the sword aura, Song Xu Yi’s back was covered in goosebumps, and her legs went weak. Looking at Jiang Ruoyu under the moonlight, she inexplicably felt a strange emotion. Part of her wanted to run away in panic, but for some reason, she couldn’t move her feet and could only watch as Jiang Ruoyu sheathed her sword and slowly approached her.

“For you!”

Jiang Ruoyu hung a sachet around Song Xu Yi’s waist, and the melancholy in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a joy brighter than the moonlight. “Do you like it? I learned to make this from my mother today.”

“My mother said that the south-facing cassia flowers bathed in sunlight are more fragrant, so I picked some and put them in this sachet. Since this cassia tree will die before long anyway, why not gift you a courtyard filled with fragrance…”

So, she wasn’t mistaken. Jiang Ruoyu was indeed using her charm to seduce her?!

Recalling what the system said about Jiang Ruoyu practicing her smile, Song Xu Yi unconsciously glanced at the corners of Jiang Ruoyu’s mouth. As expected, at first glance, the smile seemed fine, but upon closer inspection, one could clearly see the stiffness in Jiang Ruoyu’s expression.

However, the smile in Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes was a thousand times more touching than the one on her face.

Meeting Jiang Ruoyu’s gaze, Song Xu Yi’s heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat…

Once again, she began silently reciting the Heart Sutra in her mind. Taking a deep breath, Song Xu Yi forced herself to regain composure, but she couldn’t help feeling a mix of emotions—

She was going to…

Song Xu Yi recalled the reason why cassia trees couldn’t thrive near Jiang Ruoyu: it was because the Divine Attractor resided within her body. Plants are naturally sensitive to the aura of the world, and in the presence of the symbol of impurity like the Divine Attractor, no flowers or trees could survive for long.

And the reason the Divine Attractor resided within Jiang Ruoyu’s body was because of herself…

Song Xu Yi lowered her head, unable to bring herself to refuse Jiang Ruoyu’s actions, allowing Jiang Ruoyu to hang the sachet around her waist.

She felt like any obedient servant, stepping back after Jiang Ruoyu finished, pretending not to understand Jiang Ruoyu’s intentions, and spoke deferentially, “Thank you for the gift of the sachet, Your Highness.”

“Why do you always keep your head down?” Jiang Ruoyu seemed to notice Song Xu Yi’s evasive behavior, and her brow slightly furrowed. “I… I find you, this little palace maid, quite interesting. From now on, I allow you to interact with me as equals, without having to be overly formal…”

Why would Jiang Ruoyu suddenly make such a request? Wasn’t she the one who previously found Song Xu Yi’s behavior presumptuous?

Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but raise her head and, after seeing Jiang Ruoyu’s hesitant gaze, she had a sudden realization. Could it be that Jiang Ruoyu’s change in attitude towards her was because of her previous slightly presumptuous behavior?

Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but think of the lines from the modern TV dramas she had watched before, lines like, “Woman, you have successfully caught my attention.” Although she didn’t believe Jiang Ruoyu would have such a shallow view of choosing a partner, there seemed to be no other explanation…

Since she wanted Jiang Ruoyu to stop liking her, Song Xu Yi immediately decided on her path from now on – as long as she became like the people around her, seeking favor and going with the flow, Jiang Ruoyu would surely lose interest in her!

With this in mind, when Jiang Ruoyu blushed and asked, “How is my swordsmanship?” Song Xu Yi began to imitate the flattering gestures of the maidservants around Dong Rou, complimenting Jiang Ruoyu, “Your Highness’s swordsmanship is truly outstanding. Although I don’t understand swordplay, while practicing, Your Highness seems like a celestial being descending to earth, leaving people enthralled and unable to move…”

“Is that so?” Jiang Ruoyu blushed at the high praise from the little palace maid. She didn’t expect the maidservant to have such a favorable opinion of her, and a big weight was lifted off her heart.

Indeed, Jiang Ruoyu was still shrewd. The techniques her mother taught her were indeed useful. It was not in vain that her mother teased her about them for half the day!

In the afternoon, Jiang Ruoyu noticed that Song Xu Yi had fallen asleep and remembered the girl’s fear of her. After some thought, she decided to seek help from her mother, Dong Rou.

Dong Rou sensed that Jiang Ruoyu’s attitude towards the little palace maid was unusual. However, she didn’t expect Jiang Ruoyu to recognize her own feelings so early. It was the first time in so many years that Jiang Ruoyu openly confessed that she had found someone she liked. Despite teasing Jiang Ruoyu on the surface, Dong Rou still offered her many ideas.

However, Dong Rou herself had limited experience in matters of the heart and didn’t understand the subtleties of emotional strategies. The only experience she had was when she was young and interacted with Fu Sheng. So, relying on her memories, Dong Rou told Jiang Ruoyu about some of the things Fu Sheng had done when he pursued her…

After much consideration, Dong Rou felt that it was still not secure enough, so she had the palace servants send many popular books to Jiang Ruoyu.

However, Jiang Ruoyu hadn’t had a chance to look at these books yet.

Following Dong Rou’s advice of “Regardless of gender, people admire competence. You might as well let Liu Yi see your abilities,” Jiang Ruoyu took action accordingly. As expected, the little palace maid began to praise her for the first time!

What should she do next?

Recalling Dong Rou’s words of “Slowly plan it out and cater to their interests,” Jiang Ruoyu forcefully suppressed the joy welling up in her heart from Song Xu Yi’s praise and tried to appear calm as she spoke, “I am delighted to hear your compliments. The more I look at you, the more I find you intelligent. So, if you have anything you want or something you’d like to do, I can help you with it…”

For a brief moment, Song Xu Yi really wanted to speak up and ask Jiang Ruoyu to like someone else instead. However, at this moment, Song Xu Yi didn’t dare to be straightforward and could only continue with her flattery, compromising and expressing another wish, “My wish is somewhat grand. I have experienced hardships and struggles, deeply aware of the hardships faced by the people in chaotic times. If Your Majesty grants it, I wish for peace and prosperity throughout the world, with clear skies over the four seas. I hope Your Majesty becomes a wise ruler for generations to come.”

Song Xu Yi felt she had flattered quite well, expressing both her hopes for Jiang Ruoyu’s future as well as her aspirations for the country. However, Jiang Ruoyu, after pausing for a moment, sighed and patted Song Xu Yi’s head, “Silly girl!”

?!

As Jiang Ruoyu looked into Song Xu Yi’s puzzled eyes, her heart overflowed with tenderness. She felt that every moment spent with the little palace maid increased her fondness for her. Jiang Ruoyu also came to understand, in that brief moment, why she would like Song Xu Yi: it was because like her Divine Sister, Song Xu Yi possessed a kind and gentle nature that seemed to emanate from her very core.

Even though Song Xu Yi was just a palace maid in this chaotic world, she still made efforts to protect the people. Jiang Ruoyu wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but there were moments when she felt that the little palace maid bore a striking resemblance to her Divine Sister.

This made Jiang Ruoyu feel even more guilty, as if she hadn’t fully let go of her Divine Sister, which led her to search for her sister’s shadow in the little palace maid.

Yet, letting go of someone she had missed for so long wasn’t an overnight process. Jiang Ruoyu knew that one day she would fully reconcile her feelings, but until then, she felt inexplicably guilty when facing the little palace maid.

“I have my own plans.” Due to that sense of guilt, Jiang Ruoyu’s voice softened even more. There were too many worms in this country, and it couldn’t be rushed. This was the kingdom that her Divine Sister had worked so hard to maintain, and Jiang Ruoyu naturally wouldn’t let the Jiang Kingdom decline. However, there were too many complicated matters involved, and she didn’t want to burden the little palace maid’s ears with all that. So she changed the subject, “We can discuss this wish later. I can grant you another wish now. Is there anything you want to do recently?”

Jiang Ruoyu’s gentle gaze was too tender, and that strange feeling of heart palpitations resurfaced. Song Xu Yi didn’t expect Jiang Ruoyu to be so easy to talk to, but she couldn’t come up with an idea for a wish at the moment.

Then the unblocked system reminder came to her, telling her she could suggest letting the female lead, Lin Zhu, leave the palace and allowing the male lead, Jiang Bai, to be with his true love…

Song Xu Yi quickly came up with a lie, saying that she had once received Lin Zhu’s favor and wanted to seek a favor for her.

Song Xu Yi didn’t expect Jiang Ruoyu to readily agree without hesitation.

“I won’t let you owe anyone any favors.” Jiang Ruoyu held Song Xu Yi’s hand and went back to her room to draft an imperial decree for Lin Zhu and Jiang Bai’s marriage.

While Jiang Ruoyu ground ink with Song Xu Yi by her side, Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but wonder if her path of flattery towards Jiang Ruoyu was the right one. She felt that something seemed amiss; Jiang Ruoyu seemed to really enjoy her flattery…

Amidst her inner turmoil, Song Xu Yi accidentally caught sight of a pile of books stacked by Jiang Ruoyu’s bed. As she read the titles, “Arrogant Young Master Takes Over the Fishpond for the Maid,” “You Run, I Chase, There’s No Escaping,” “Woman, You’ve Caught My Attention”… Song Xu Yi’s eyes widened in disbelief—

Jiang Ruoyu, could it be that she actually has such a peculiar taste in romance novels?

The author has something to say:

Dong Rou (*￣︶￣) : The child is a silly child, the books I gave should be able to help her~~~