Chu Yu looked at Xu Linchuan, who was in such a sorry state, and shook her head at him with a complex expression.
She had been hiding in the dark just now. After hearing what the gatekeeper and the maid said, she knew that Jiang Ning'an wouldn't come.
Xu Linchuan opened his eyes in disbelief.
In the past, as long as he passed by the Princess Regent's Mansion, Jiang Ning'an would surely pester him. But now, she really didn't come to see him?
Xu Linchuan had been standing in the rain for quite a while. At this moment, he felt so weak that he collapsed to the ground.
Chu Yu squatted down and supported him. Seeing the real disappointment in Xu Linchuan's eyes, she was stunned for a moment.
At the same time, the mechanical voice of the system rang in Chu Yu's mind:
[Please note, host. The favorability of the important supporting male character Xu Linchuan towards Jiang Ning'an has increased from -100 to 0. Please plan your actions reasonably to complete the task: Take control of the Princess Regent's Mansion and gain points!]
Chu Yu's pupils shrank.
How could this happen?!
Jiang Ning'an had been so heartless, so why did Xu Linchuan's favorability increase instead of decrease?!
What on earth went wrong?
Before Chu Yu could figure it out, the villagers who had been watching the commotion from afar surrounded them. They asked in a hubbub how Xu Linchuan was and whether they should send him to the medical clinic.
Looking at the distracted Xu Linchuan, Chu Yu gritted her teeth. With a flip of her wrist, she popped a pill into Xu Linchuan's mouth.
As soon as the pill entered his mouth, Xu Linchuan lost consciousness instantly.
"Brother Linchuan!"
A shrill voice came from under an umbrella. The next moment, the paper umbrella in Chu Yu's hand suddenly fell to the ground, exposing the unconscious Xu Linchuan to everyone.
"Oh my god! Scholar Xu has fainted!"
"Hurry up, is there any doctor?"
The villagers were in a complete mess. Some even wanted to carry Xu Linchuan directly to the medical clinic, but were stopped by Chu Yu, who cried, "No, Brother Linchuan just said that if he doesn't see the princess today, he won't leave even if he has to die! Everyone, could you please help us come up with a way to get the princess to come out and see him?"
Everyone looked at each other, and finally they all turned to look at the solemn and magnificent Princess Regent's Mansion, but no one took any action for a long time.
Who would dare to go?
But the girl's sobs were so heart - rending. Although the villagers didn't dare to step forward, they finally couldn't help speaking up for her.
"Scholar Xu has a scholarly title after all. It's just for the princess to come out and see him. What's the problem?"
"Exactly! In the past, it was clearly the princess who chased after Scholar Xu. Now that Scholar Xu has finally changed his mind, why is the princess acting so aloof?"
"What could be more important than Scholar Xu's life! Please, princess, come out and see Scholar Xu!"
Under the pressure of the villagers' requests, the gatekeeper really couldn't hold on any longer. He had no choice but to turn around and deliver the message again.
Not long after, Jiang Ning'an showed up.
She was holding an oil - paper umbrella over her head and wearing colorful clogs. Her maids and guards followed behind her. Even though it was raining so heavily, she walked over with ease, and not even the hem of her skirt got wet.
With an imposing manner, she looked down at the disheveled Chu Yu and Xu Linchuan with a hint of mockery in her eyes.
When had this female protagonist, who had always been like the bright moon in the sky, ever been in such a sorry state?
She really was willing to do anything.
And Xu Linchuan. He couldn't even stand a short while in the rain. What a disgrace.
As soon as she showed up, the scene fell into an eerie silence.
Chu Yu cried plaintively, "Princess, Brother Linchuan has tortured himself like this just to see you. How could you be so heartless and only come to see him now!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the surrounding villagers all started to voice their indignation, as if Xu Linchuan was their own son.
But Jiang Ning'an wasn't angry.
She listened quietly as the villagers vented their dissatisfaction. After they all fell silent, Jiang Ning'an finally spoke, "You all have gathered here to bad - mouth this princess for two people who have nothing to do with you. Do you think your lives are too long?"
There was an undeniable sense of oppression in her words. The next moment, the mansion guards appeared with their swords, their eyes filled with killing intent, as if they were just waiting for Jiang Ning'an's order to swing their blades.
They had offended her first. Even if Jiang Ning'an really wanted to kill them, given the current emperor's favor towards Jiang Ning'an, he probably wouldn't say a word.
Only then did the villagers realize what they had just done.
Oh my god...
Had they gone crazy?!
With a thud, someone knelt on the ground. The rest of the villagers woke up as if from a dream and knelt down one after another to beg for mercy.
"This princess is actually very pleased that you all have such kind hearts. You all have stood up for two strangers today. I'm sure you'll also be willing to help others in the future. But you can't act blindly. If you act recklessly just because of your so - called enthusiasm, you might end up hurting yourselves in the end."
Jiang Ning'an's gaze fell on Chu Yu.
"Miss Chu, you said that Scholar Xu has been pining for me. Then what do you call this, being so close to him?"
The villagers all looked towards Chu Yu.
They saw that Chu Yu was sitting on the ground, holding Xu Linchuan in her arms. Such an intimate gesture was probably only something newly - wedded couples would do!
Noticing the strange looks from the villagers, Chu Yu quickly said, "I'm just worried about Brother Linchuan!"
Jiang Ning'an curled her lips slightly. "In this princess's opinion, your Brother Linchuan also seems to enjoy your concern. You two are a perfect match. If so, why drag this princess into this?"
"Moreover, I don't need to repeat what Scholar Xu said about this princess and what he did to me before, do I?"
Before, Xu Linchuan had looked down on her a hundred times over and had said a lot of unpleasant things in front of others.
Words like "shameless" and "tyrannical", which were usually only said behind someone's back, Xu Linchuan had said directly to Jiang Ning'an's face!
After the villagers thought about it, they felt that it wasn't unreasonable for Jiang Ning'an to ignore Xu Linchuan like this.
She was a noble princess. How could she tolerate such humiliation?
He had brought this upon himself!
Chu Yu's face turned deathly pale, but she still insisted, "But the princess was clearly whole - heartedly in love with Brother Linchuan before!"
"Before is before, and now is now. Miss Chu, you seem to want to control everything. Can you even control this princess's feelings?"
These words left Chu Yu speechless.
Jiang Ning'an was just a supporting female character. Why was she so hard to deal with?!
Seeing that Chu Yu was speechless, Jiang Ning'an raised her hand.
The next moment, the mansion guards walked in unison towards the villagers.
The guards of the Princess Regent's Mansion were all strong men. They were wearing light armor and had long swords at their waists, exuding a strong sense of oppression.
When the villagers saw them approaching, they all turned pale with fright.
But when the guards got close, they stuffed a silver ingot into each villager's hand.
Meng Chun shouted, "This is a reward from the princess for your kind hearts. But we hope that in the future, you all will think twice before you act. Otherwise, if you do something bad out of good intentions and even lose your lives because of it, you won't even know where to cry!"
At first, the villagers were a bit panicked. But when they took the silver in their hands and heard what Meng Chun said, they all came to their senses and kowtowed to Jiang Ning'an to thank her.
"Thank you, princess. We'll remember!"
"Thank you, princess!"
Jiang Ning'an tilted her head slightly, and a guard stepped forward to help the villagers get up and leave on their own.
Each of them was also given a bag of ingredients for making ginger soup.
Jiang Ning'an took another look at Chu Yu sitting in the torrential rain, and a mocking smile curled up on her lips.
Just as Jiang Ning'an was about to turn around and leave to continue enjoying the hot - pot, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a tall figure standing under a tree not far away.
She only took one more look, and Lin Ji stepped forward to stop the person who was about to leave.
After a while, Lin Ji brought the person over. "Princess, this is the young master Jiang from the Marquis of Xuanping's Mansion."