Chapter 45: Spiritual Sustenance
The matter of assassinating the Crown Prince was too important. The next day, at breakfast, Jiang Xue told her older sister about it.
Her sister was still on vacation, and Jiang Xue had been keeping this to herself. Since they had also decided to provide Xiao Luohan with three meals a day after Shizhu left, she was staying at home as well.
After hearing the whole story, Jiang Mei took a sip of her hot Americano to calm her nerves.
These two little ones… one dared to say it, and the other dared to listen!
They had actually agreed on this, just waiting for the wedding day!
Although she knew she should try to persuade Xiao Luohan to let go of her desire for revenge as soon as possible, so that she could come to this world safely, Jiang Mei knew how stubborn such obsessions could be.
The unresolved resentment over the death of someone important would always linger in the heart, never forgotten.
Moreover, the power that connected the two worlds was still a mystery. They could only guess that it was related to Xiao Luohan’s will. Even if Xiao Luohan agreed to “let go,” as long as her subconscious still dwelled on it, the possibility of her crossing over was still uncertain.
“So, you’re putting all your hopes on the stun gun?” she asked.
If that was the case, then they could only formulate a more foolproof assassination plan.
Jiang Xue didn’t understand what she meant, her cheeks puffed out in a puzzled expression.
“The stun gun can indeed be fatal, but that dog of a Crown Prince is a battle-hardened general, resilient and experienced. Using only a stun gun is too risky.” Jiang Mei took a bite of her sandwich. “I’ll contact your Uncle Seuss. You take leave before the Third Princess’s wedding, and we’ll go abroad and borrow a gun from him.”
Jiang Xue: !!!
Wei Mommy was mixed-race, and their family had relatives abroad.
And Uncle Seuss had been a “sister complex” since he was young. It was said that when Jiang Mommy and Wei Mommy got married, he had glared at Jiang Mommy, afraid that she would mistreat his beloved younger sister!
However, even abroad, gun control was strict, and such weapons couldn’t be brought back to their gun-free country, so they had to go abroad to find someone.
“Th-Then let’s go during the New Year’s holiday!” she said excitedly, then quickly added, “I have to learn the skills first and teach them to Xiao Luo!”
Actually, she remembered the play that had been performed before them during the preliminary auditions.
The deceased female general appeared in her younger sister’s dreams every night, teaching her military strategy, which eventually led to the younger sister’s victory.
She felt that she could do the same, plotting the Crown Prince’s death with Xiao Luohan night after night, maximizing their chances of success and minimizing the risks.
“…” Jiang Mei glanced at her and slowly took out her phone. “You focus on your studies.”
“Okay!!”
With reliable help, Jiang Xue happily ate half a sandwich more than usual for breakfast.
“I-I’m delivering a letter home for Your Highness?!”
In Wangmei Pavilion, after hearing Xiao Luohan’s request, Shizhu was at a loss. “I do know the way to Beiliao, but… but I’m just a servant…”
She was completely stunned by being entrusted with such an important task, not even considering whether there was a hidden motive behind it.
“It’s alright. I didn’t bring any servants with me when I got married. When I meet someone kind to me in a foreign land, I trust them completely. Even a heartless emperor would understand my suffering and intentions.”
Xiao Luohan was writing the last sentence. She soon put down her brush and gathered the letters she had written earlier. “It doesn’t matter if you take your time on the road. Just be careful, and try to avoid His Highness the Crown Prince. I’m afraid he’ll find an excuse to make trouble again.”
Shizhu understood this too. Last time, the Crown Prince had come over and punished her for no reason, making her kneel in the snow, and even had the servants watch as the princess fainted from the cold. He was clearly a volatile and ruthless person!
But precisely because she understood, she couldn’t help but cry. “But I’ll be gone for half a month. There will be no one to attend to Your Highness’s daily needs, no one to taste your food. What should we do?”
“I grew up in the cold palace. My mother taught me many things. I just don’t have the strength to do them, but things are different now. Don’t worry.” Xiao Luohan reached out and wiped her tears. “As for meals and snacks and drinks, the ghost or spirit will prepare them for me. There’s no need to worry about the food from that world being poisoned.”
She knew better than anyone that Jiang Xue wouldn’t harm her.
Shizhu didn’t have much luggage, but since she was going to Beiliao with a letter from the princess, she still made thorough preparations.
During this time, Xiao Luohan found a way to meet the Emperor of Daying.
Perhaps because they were afraid of the ghost or spirit, everything related to her was easily approved. It seemed no one wanted to provoke the wrath of a ghost or spirit.
Even in the heavily regulated palace, she quickly met the Emperor and requested a pass for Shizhu to leave the city.
“The postal service can also deliver letters to Beiliao. Why send a servant specifically?” The Emperor of Daying couldn’t help but ask curiously as he handed over the pass.
Xiao Luohan embellished the excuse she had fabricated with Shizhu and told him.
She knew that the dog emperor was just curious. Shizhu was only delivering a letter, nothing else, and she had only written about her well-being in the letter. Even if someone intercepted and read it, they wouldn’t find anything suspicious.
As she was leaving, Xiao Luohan looked up and saw a smile in the dog emperor’s eyes.
…Disgusting.
She didn’t show it on her face, maintaining proper etiquette as she left under his slimy gaze. As soon as she returned to Wangmei Pavilion, she and Jiang Xue cursed the dog emperor.
A father who could raise a son like the Crown Prince couldn’t be a good person.
They weren’t satisfied with just cursing in the diary, so they continued cursing loudly in the dream that night.
They cursed both the dog emperor and the dog of a Crown Prince.
After their cursing subsided, Jiang Xue started worrying about Shizhu. “Is it really going so smoothly?”
“It seems so for now,” Xiao Luohan said, warming her hands on the teacup. “Shizhu doesn’t suspect anything, her mind is entirely on delivering the letter.”
“It’s good that she doesn’t suspect anything,” Jiang Xue breathed a sigh of relief. “No knowledge, no leverage.”
She also knew a little about tea ceremony and helped Xiao Luohan clean the remaining teacups, then accompanied her for tea before continuing, “I told my sister about our plan, and she’s thinking of ways to improve it.”
“Your sister… doesn’t object?” Xiao Luohan was surprised.
“She probably thinks that even if she objects, if your obsession doesn’t dissipate, the crossing over won’t happen anyway.” Jiang Xue played with the empty teacup, speculating. “So she went abroad to find a trustworthy helper… I’ll introduce him to you later.”
Due to her busy studies, she hadn’t seen Uncle Seuss for many years and her memories of him had faded. She had originally planned to visit him after the college entrance exam, but this had brought their reunion forward.
“Anyway, just take care of yourself!” she said with a smile, putting down the teacup. “Remember to leave the diary open on the nightstand before going to bed. Don’t hug it while you sleep, or the hot soup or hot milk will spill in your bed!”
After receiving the pass, Shizhu, still worried about Xiao Luohan’s period, took care of her for three more days before finally leaving with her luggage, carrying the letter.
Before leaving, she knelt before Xiao Luohan and cried, “Please be careful, Your Highness! I-I swear I’ll deliver the letter to Beiliao! Your Highness…”
She had wanted to say more, but was afraid of jinxing it. In the end, she let out a long sigh, planning to pray to the ghosts and spirits along the way, asking them to protect Princess Zhuìyù from harm while she was gone.
She didn’t know if she would be back in time to escort Princess Zhuìyù to the ghost or spirit’s world.
Xiao Luohan walked her to the door, waving goodbye with a mixture of solemnity and reluctance.
She didn’t want Shizhu’s last memory of her to be a tearful farewell, so she forced her brightest smile, reassuring her for her journey.
If all went well, this would be their last goodbye, wouldn’t it?
She had specifically emphasized Shizhu’s care for her in the letter. If her mother could receive this letter, she would probably protect Shizhu, who knew nothing about the assassination.
After the sound of the carriage wheels faded away, Xiao Luohan returned to her room, bolted the door, and then covered her face, silently weeping.
After Shizhu left, Wangmei Pavilion returned to its initial silence.
Xiao Luohan hadn’t been afraid of loneliness before, but perhaps because she had recently experienced so much kindness from strangers, she had unconsciously become reliant on it.
When it was almost time for dinner, she even subconsciously called out to Shizhu, asking her what she was going to make. After calling out a few times and receiving no response, she came back to her senses.
When loneliness became unbearable, she would listen to music, read the books Jiang Xue sent, memorizing the knowledge, fighting against the loneliness.
She had only mentioned Shizhu’s departure to Jiang Xue in the diary, not showing any signs of it when they met in the dream.
She didn’t know how Jiang Xue had figured it out. They had only met once in a dream, and the next day, when she opened the booklet, a phone had appeared.
【This is my spare phone, but I’ve never used it. It’s brand new. You can click on any app. If you have any problems, just ask me.】
【I’ve downloaded dozens of highly-rated TV series, movies, and anime, and also bought all sorts of novels—classic literature from China and abroad, ancient and modern, and popular web novels from recent years, all in those reading apps.】
As if afraid that she would be crushed by loneliness, everything Jiang Xue sent this time was “spiritual sustenance.”
So during her breaks from reading, Xiao Luohan would randomly open a “treasure trove” to relax her mind.
After entering the dream at night, Jiang Xue found that the scenery outside the window of the “mindscape” was a spring scene again, and her worried heart finally settled down.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” she asked proactively.
Xiao Luohan shook her head, picked up the Scream bottle from the windowsill, and sprayed the plum blossoms with water. “I want to ‘decorate’ this place.”
She had seen some appealing decorations in the anime and TV series and had thought about trying to place them in the blank areas after entering the dream.
Since this was her mindscape, it couldn’t always be blank. Jiang Xue would worry.
Under Jiang Xue’s curious and expectant gaze, she walked towards a blank area, holding the Scream bottle, and squeezed it hard.
…A small European-style indoor fountain appeared, with water lilies planted in the pool.
Jiang Xue was intrigued and jumped off the table. “Can I also add some furniture? If you like anything, you can use it.”
She could recreate the beautiful furniture she had seen in games here!
“Feel free, I don’t have any specific ideas for now,” Xiao Luohan said, continuing to place decorations in the blank areas based on her memory.
Seeing her having so much fun with the Scream bottle, Jiang Xue also took out her favorite blue Scream bottle.
Partition walls, wall hangings, colorful lights, potted plants, sofas, coffee tables, fruit platters, and snacks for guests…
When Xiao Luohan turned around, she had already decorated the other side of the blank space into a cozy modern living room!
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