Chapter 42: 40 Ordinary
“Princely Heir, do you really wish to perform the ritual of Duke Zhou right now?”
“With such a long night ahead, why not take our time?”
As she spoke, her beautiful eyes shimmered with a hint of coquettish charm, and a peachy fragrance slowly wafted from her delicate body.
Cheng Guang, looking at Bai Shuxuan’s seductive yet not vulgar demeanor, felt uncontrollable thumps in his heart.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he felt an inexplicable sense that this woman was extraordinarily dangerous.
Initially seeing the system’s task, which said to take revenge on Bai Shuxuan, Cheng Guang had not discounted the idea of commanding his guards to forcibly abduct Bai Shuxuan back to Duke Zhen’s Mansion and slowly torment her.
But after much deliberation, he decided against it.
Firstly, he didn’t know the extent of Bai Shuxuan’s strength and whether his guards could suppress her. If they could suppress her, well and good.
But if they couldn’t, or if Bai Shuxuan had other hidden strategies and managed to escape, making her way back to the Eight-layered Devil Realm, then Cheng Guang would suffer a great loss.
With his identity and strength, he couldn’t possibly venture into the Eight-layered Devil Realm.
If the system task remained incomplete because of this, it would become completely stuck.
Given the system’s not-so-smart style, Cheng Guang had never expected it to have any flexible contingency plans.
Secondly, Cheng Guang was also unclear about what the system described as revenge and how exactly he should exact it. He had to try several times; even if he couldn’t complete the task, he at least shouldn’t alarm the enemy.
Now, Cheng Guang inexplicably felt that his actions were correct.
This woman, Bai Shuxuan, was definitely not as simple as she appeared.
Looking at Bai Shuxuan, who had no cultivation, he nonetheless had a dangerous feeling about her.
Cheng Guang clenched his fists quietly, his Great Xia royal blood pulsating subtly, speeding up as his heart pumped blood, producing an almost inaudible throbbing within his body.
Damnit.
This Bai Shuxuan definitely had some issues!
Cheng Guang furrowed his brows, not wanting to stay around Bai Shuxuan any longer. He couldn’t figure out her true purpose yet, but her eagerness to have him stay the night definitely spelled trouble.
As a small potato who had just stepped onto the path of cultivation, staying with Bai Shuxuan, a bad woman whose level of cultivation was unknown, he might die without even knowing how.
“There’s no need, I am a man of the Spring and Autumn period, one who only loves to read the books of sages and saints, uninterested in female charms,” Cheng Guang said seriously, his eyes moving away from Bai Shuxuan’s tender chest and closing his eyelids.
“Miss Bai, please wear a white veil next time we meet, otherwise I fear I will be distracted,” he added.
Having said that, Cheng Guang shook his head and slowly walked away, leaving the room.
Left behind, Bai Shuxuan stood frozen, taking a long time to come back to her senses. Her jade face turned crimson, not sure whether from anger or embarrassment.
“You read books of the sages and saints? Pah…!”
“Your eyes never left me since you walked in!”
“Asking me to wear a white veil, is it because you’re worried it would affect you from ogling my body?”
Bai Shuxuan clenched her fingers tightly in anger, momentarily losing her usual grace.
After a bout of ranting, she suddenly began to feel puzzled again. Why did Cheng Guang enter then leave?
She was practically washed clean and laid bare before Cheng Guang, yet, for all his lecherous behavior, he was actionless.
Could it be that his body truly had problems?
Even if she was exceedingly beautiful and he was moved, he still couldn’t possibly make a move on her?
The thought turned Bai Shuxuan’s expression exceedingly strange, with a hint of mockery in her eyes. She lightly tapped her red lips with her finger, murmuring thoughtfully to herself.
“It seems the Princely Heir truly has a problem with his body. I had been worried that he might lay hands on me, and was on guard against it. It appears there’s no need for that; I can be bolder and use some of the more aggressive methods from the books to tempt him.”
“Even though his body has issues, his preferences probably haven’t changed. To him, I am still charming.”
“It seems the methods from the books might be effective after all,” Bai Shuxuan mused to herself.
Just at this moment, a clamorous noise suddenly came from outside the room.
Waves of commotion rose from outside like surging tides, each wave higher than the last, threatening to flip the roof of the Jade Pavilion.
“What has happened?”
Bai Shuxuan’s beautiful eyes flickered with surprise.
“Miss, it’s terrible!”
The maiden Hong Zhu hurriedly pushed aside the screen and quickly walked into the room, her face filled with anxiety as she looked at Bai Shuxuan.
“It’s terrible! The Princely Heir, he…”
Bai Shuxuan’s delicate brows slightly knitted, and a trace of confusion appeared on her lovely face: “What’s wrong?”
She hadn’t paid much attention to the noise outside, only thinking about her own matters.
The maiden Hong Zhu was so flustered that her hands clutched each other tightly, rubbing the corner of her dress, hesitating on how to start.
However, Bai Shuxuan wasn’t in a hurry and asked again.
“It’s alright, take your time.”
After calming herself down, the maiden Hong Zhu quickly spoke up: “The Princely Heir…”
“The Princely Heir, he…”
“He said that after seeing Miss’s appearance, he stated that your looks couldn’t arouse his interest in the slightest, that your reputation did not match reality, and that you were utterly ordinary.”
By this point, the maiden Hong Zhu’s voice already carried a sobbing tone: “Now, those outside all believe that Miss’s appearance is mediocre, or even downright ugly, and they have loudly started to argue.”
“They say that we have all gathered here for an ugly woman’s competition of talent and beauty. They feel as though they have been insulted, and they say that although the Princely Heir is generous enough not to hold Miss accountable, they demand that Wanhuatower and you, Miss, provide them with an explanation.”
Once the maiden Hong Zhu finished speaking, Bai Shuxuan was stunned, her extremely beautiful face slowly becoming rigid and her eyes twinkling with disbelief.
What on earth?
The Princely Heir says she doesn’t live up to her reputation, that she’s utterly ordinary?
She couldn’t arouse his interest in the slightest??
Could it be that it wasn’t the Princely Heir who had been staring at her just now??
Bai Shuxuan was so angry that her delicate face turned a shade of crimson, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say. In the end, her anger turned into laughter, and she let out a snort of laughter.
The maiden Hong Zhu was beside herself with worry, but seeing her young mistress laughing, she was at a loss.
“Miss, what should we do now? Why would the Princely Heir say such things? He obviously had seen what Miss looked like.”
“Those outside now, because of the Princely Heir’s words, firmly believe that your appearance is unsightly, that it’s just your reputation that’s big, and they refuse to leave. Some of the scholars who had departed have even rushed back.”
“Those scholars are even angrier, saying if it hadn’t been for Miss, they wouldn’t have bothered coming to the Jade Pavilion, and they felt almost as if their spiritual path had been shattered by the Princely Heir’s criticism.”
Bai Shuxuan wasn’t paying attention to the maiden Hong Zhu’s words and continued to laugh; however, as she laughed, the corners of her mouth stiffened, and only then did she compose herself.
She had an idea of why the Princely Heir would say such a thing.
After all, the Princely Heir had health issues.
To save his own face, he called her ugly in order to justify his own swift departure, which seemed reasonable.
Bai Shuxuan felt she had guessed Cheng Guang’s thoughts, but facing the current situation, she was still extremely troubled.
To calm the anger of the crowd was both difficult and simple.
All it would take was for her to set aside her pride, remove her veil, step outside, and allow everyone to see her face, then all questions would vanish.
But she, the Saintess of the Green Hill fox clan, had been seen in her true appearance by so few in her life that they could be counted on one hand.
To just walk out like that, to be on display like a brothel woman entertaining onlookers, was more unbearable than death.
In the midst of her chaotic thoughts.
Bai Shuxuan’s complexion turned ashen. Her lips were pursed, and for a moment, she did not know what to do.
[Thank you to the generous Great Master from the Eight-layered Devil Realm for your lavish reward, much appreciated! Thank you!!]
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