The emperor and the empress sat there for a while, had lunch, and then left.
Jiang Ye didn't leave in a hurry. "My lady, do you think Scholar Xu will have more tricks up his sleeve regarding that matter?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Ning'an shiver. "In my opinion, Xu Linchuan has gone mad."
While Jiang Ye was still puzzled, Jiang Ning'an told Meng Chun to fetch something.
As soon as the sutra was unfolded in front of him, Jiang Ye noticed something was wrong.
Beneath his long lashes, his eyes suddenly turned pitch - black.
It was actually copied with ink mixed with blood.
"Why didn't you tell His Majesty about this, my lady?"
"It's too inauspicious," Jiang Ning'an replied.
Jiang Ye glanced at her.
It was so inauspicious that she didn't even want to mention it, yet she dared to keep it.
"What do you think we should do with this thing? Burn it?"
Jiang Ye frowned again.
So it wasn't that she wanted to keep it; it was just that she didn't know how to dispose of it.
Indeed, things stained with blood should be disposed of carefully.
"If my lady doesn't mind, I'd like to take it away and handle it."
As he spoke, Jiang Ye looked at Jiang Ning'an again.
Jiang Ning'an nodded. "If you know how to deal with it, take it."
Jiang Ye put away the blood - smeared sutra. "So my lady thinks Scholar Xu might still have more tricks, right?"
Jiang Ning'an nodded. "However, no matter what means he uses, as long as I don't want it, he can't do anything to me."
Whenever she went out, there were maids following her, and Lin Ji and his men were secretly guarding her. It was air - tight. They could even prevent an assassination, let alone what a weak scholar could do.
Jiang Ye thought about it and realized she was right.
"I take my leave."
After seeing off the guests, Jiang Ning'an yawned.
"Let's go. I'm going back to sleep."
---
When the sun moved from the center of the sky to the west and the sunlight turned golden, Chu Yu finally pushed open the door in the servants' courtyard.
There were dark circles under her eyes, and she staggered as she walked. She was in a terrible state.
She hadn't slept all night last night, and she hadn't eaten much today. However, it was all worth it.
After a series of comparisons, she finally selected a prop -
The Love - Bewitching Halo.
As the name suggests, once this halo was used, the opposite sex would be completely infatuated with the user and would fulfill all the user's requests without any bottom line.
Moreover, the closer the distance, the stronger the effect.
That meant that as long as this halo was used, even if the user asked someone to kill or set fire, that person would obediently do it.
Good things were naturally expensive.
This one - time halo cost five hundred points.
Chu Yu had been in this book - world for several years. Before coming to the capital, she had completed her tasks smoothly and had saved up a lot of points. However, she hadn't realized the value of points before and had squandered them. Now she only had a little over six thousand left.
For her, these five hundred points were quite a lot.
However, Chu Yu gritted her teeth and exchanged for it.
The task of taking control of the Princess Mansion was self - defined by her. If she failed to complete it, the points deducted would be far more than these five hundred!
With this halo, everything would be foolproof!
Chu Yu looked at the sky outside and planned to visit Xu Linchuan tomorrow.
For now, filling her stomach and getting a good rest were the most important things.
Chu Yu sat down at the dining table. "Has there been any unusual movement from Jiang Ning'an?"
Xiao Cui shook her head. "No. It's been quite quiet there all afternoon."
Chu Yu nodded.
It seemed that Jiang Ning'an had completely let down her guard.
That was good.
---
The next day, after getting dressed properly, Chu Yu went to the Ink Fragrance Inn.
As soon as she pushed open the door of the Tian - character Room No. 1, a strong smell of alcohol hit her face, almost making her back out.
She covered her nose with her hand and walked in. She saw Xu Linchuan, drunk and unconscious, beside the bed.
"Brother Linchuan?"
Chu Yu shook him several times, but seeing that he had no intention of waking up, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and exchange five points for an instant - acting sobering pill.
After the pill was taken, Xu Linchuan quickly regained consciousness.
"… You're here."
Chu Yu sighed. "Brother Linchuan, how did you become like this?"
Xu Linchuan didn't say a word.
Recently, there had been too many things beyond his expectations.
First, Jiang Ning'an, who had been completely devoted to him, suddenly seemed to be a different person. Not only did she ignore him, but she also repeatedly insulted him when he pursued her.
Second, after the news of his proposal to Jiang Ning'an spread yesterday, many poor scholars realized that they had been used by him. Now, his reputation among them was not as good as before.
He had always attached great importance to his reputation. To end up like this was simply worse than death for him.
There was also one more thing. The ten - day period had expired, but he hadn't helped Chu Yu gain a foothold in the Princess Mansion. That meant Chu Yu was about to leave soon…
Soon, he would truly have nothing.
He was so lost that he didn't even know the meaning of living.
Xu Linchuan tightly held Chu Yu's hand, as if grasping the last straw.
"Brother Linchuan…"
Chu Yu held his hand back. "Are you willing to try one last time for me?"
Xu Linchuan looked at her. "Yuer, of course I'm willing, but… is there still a chance?"
"Yes! As long as you want to, there surely is," Chu Yu said eagerly. "Brother Linchuan, I don't want to go back either. I don't want to leave you. So, let's try one last time, okay?"
Xu Linchuan looked at her. The confused look in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by the gentleness that Chu Yu was familiar with.
"Okay, let's try one last time." His voice was firm.
Hearing this, Chu Yu finally let out a sigh of relief.
But soon, Xu Linchuan sighed again. "But Yuer, in this situation, will it really work just because I agree?"
Jiang Ning'an was simply too heartless.
If he invited her, Jiang Ning'an probably wouldn't even come, let alone give them a chance to try.
"Brother Linchuan, you don't need to worry about this," Chu Yu said. "I'll figure it out. Tomorrow night at the Riverside Tower, we'll make Jiang Ning'an agree to marry you in front of everyone. In this way, no matter what she said before, it will be in vain."
Listening to Chu Yu's words, Xu Linchuan let out a bitter laugh.
In his opinion, this was an impossible thing.
How could Jiang Ning'an possibly agree?
However, looking into Chu Yu's eyes, Xu Linchuan didn't have the heart to dampen her spirits, so he nodded. "Okay, I'll have someone spread the news that anyone who goes to the Riverside Tower for dinner tonight doesn't need to pay. I think this will attract a lot of people."
It had to be said that Xu Linchuan was really smart.
She had only proposed a general plan, but Xu Linchuan had even come up with a way to quickly attract people.
But Chu Yu shook her head. "Brother Linchuan, you can't handle this. There are people around Jiang Ning'an. If they find out it's related to us, Jiang Ning'an definitely won't go."
Xu Linchuan frowned tightly. "Then -"
"I'll go to Young Master Fu."
Seeing Xu Linchuan's face instantly turn gloomy, Chu Yu's heart skipped a beat. She quickly said, "Brother Huaichuan, don't misunderstand. It's just that if Young Master Fu takes action, Jiang Ning'an will let down her guard. That's all."
Hearing this, Xu Linchuan reluctantly nodded.
This was just… a temporary measure.
Seeing that he agreed, a flash of joy appeared in Chu Yu's eyes.
In this way, her chances of winning were very high!
No, there was simply no chance of failure!