I'm Competing With The Male Lead For A Woman - Chapter 2

“What are you?”

At these words, the Fourth Prince’s face instantly turned ashen. He was enraged and was about to order his guards to chase Xiao Jin away.

Then he thought better of it. Who would dare to expel Xiao Jin?

Even as a cripple, Xiao Jin was still the Prince of Yan of the Qi Kingdom. Any ordinary person who laid a hand on her would be asking for a short life.

The head eunuch, who was with the Fourth Prince, knew that both of these people were not to be messed with.

He could only nervously mediate, “Your Highness, Prince of Yan, please forgive us. You know that the marriage between the Fourth Prince and the Princess of the Yao Kingdom was an imperial decree from His Majesty, and the auspicious day was chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. This…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Snatching the bride was not in line with protocol, and it was also going against the emperor. You should consider the consequences yourself.

It was one thing if others didn’t know the inside story, but Xiao Jin had read the original novel.

In reality, the Qi Emperor had originally intended to bestow the marriage upon the Crown Prince. If the male lead hadn’t refused, the Fourth Prince, the male second lead, would have had no part in this at all.

Besides, what was the use of the male second lead?

Even if the female lead was married to him, it would still be an endless cycle of angst and entanglement. What was the point of struggling here?

However, since the head eunuch had brought up the emperor, Xiao Jin couldn’t say much for a moment.

After all, defying an imperial decree was a capital offense.

System: “Warning! Warning, Host, you only have 30 minutes of life remaining.”

“The system has detected that the host is in a difficult situation and will temporarily provide you with two dialogue options. One of the options has a success rate of 50%.”

Xiao Jin felt a sense of relief.

At a critical moment, the system was indeed useful.

The system then provided the options.

“Dialogue Option 1: Heh, there is nothing in this world that this prince cannot get. This prince was the one who conquered the Yao Kingdom, so Chu Shao should naturally be this prince’s woman!”

“…”

As expected of an old-school online novel, even the system had a cliche feel to it.

Xiao Jin felt her eardrums were being assaulted.

Without waiting for the system to present Option 2, she decisively said, “I choose the second one.”

System: “Okay, generating the dialogue aura for you now.”

The next moment, Xiao Jin felt her body move on its own.

Under the influence of the aura, Xiao Jin smiled slightly and said in a clear voice, “The people of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau only know how to calculate celestial phenomena and calendars. They do not understand true human feelings. This prince has fallen for the Princess of the Yao Kingdom at first sight, and I shall marry no one else in this life but her.”

As soon as these words were uttered, the entire scene fell silent once more.

Not only were the onlookers silent, but after regaining control of her body, Xiao Jin’s face was filled with a look of utter mortification. She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for herself.

“True human feelings”? “Fallen at first sight”?

The kind of first sight that comes after you’ve just destroyed their country?

How could she even say such a thing? The system was truly shameless.

Just as everyone was holding their breath, a soft laugh came from inside the palanquin.

The laughter was faint, like a thin mist over a spring river, almost imperceptible, yet it carried a clear, ringing amusement.

But Xiao Jin felt that something was not right.

Given the female lead’s gentle character, having just lost her country, how could she be laughing so happily?

Unfortunately, the Fourth Prince did not notice anything unusual. He even scoffed at Xiao Jin.

“Third Brother, ‘falling for someone at first sight’ is your wishful thinking. Before you intercept my wedding palanquin, you’ll have to ask the princess herself if she is willing…”

Before he could finish, and before Xiao Jin could reply, a gentle voice came from inside the palanquin.

“I am willing.”

The sarcastic smile on the Fourth Prince’s face froze.

Xiao Jin had a hunch that something was fishy, but her life was counting down, so she had no choice but to see this through to the end.

She looked at her royal guards and said, “What are you waiting for?”

The guards looked at each other.

Xiao Jin pointed at the phoenix and dragon wedding palanquin and said concisely, “Snatch it.”

At the Prince of Yan’s residence.

Yesterday, Xiao Jin had instructed the butler of the residence to buy the most expensive coffin. Although the butler was sweating nervously, he did not dare to disobey.

Today, the butler found a few strong men and watched as they carried the coffin made of golden-thread nanmu wood through the entrance. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He had finally fulfilled his duty.

Just as the strong men set down the coffin, which was painted with a golden sunbird, they saw a wedding procession with gongs and drums pass happily by the residence.

The butler wiped his sweat, knowing that today was the Fourth Prince’s wedding day. He stood on his tiptoes, wanting to catch a glimpse and soak in the festive atmosphere.

With one look, the butler almost fell down the steps.

Because right in front of them, eight of the prince’s guards were wobbling as they carried the wedding palanquin.

Although their faces were bruised, their expressions were quite proud.

What made the butler question his life even more was that the eunuchs who had been ordered to welcome the bride were lined up on either side of the procession, their faces pale as death, as they struck the copper gongs.

And at the very front of the procession, a maid pushed a wheelchair, on which sat Xiao Jin, who was difficult to read.

Yes, not only did Xiao Jin snatch the bride, but she also stole the male second lead’s entire wedding procession.

The procession quickly arrived at the entrance of the residence.

Xiao Jin saw the coffin in the courtyard and greatly admired the butler of the Prince of Yan’s residence.

What a wonderful and efficient employee. How did the original owner deserve to have him?

Xiao Jin turned to look at the butler, about to offer a few words of praise, but the butler knelt down with a thud and trembled, “This old servant will have the coffin moved away immediately!”

“…”

Xiao Jin swallowed her words of praise and said thoughtfully, “No rush. Keep it for now. We might need it later.”

The butler kowtowed in gratitude and repeatedly agreed.

Xiao Jin looked at the butler with a complicated expression, feeling that this person had some sort of misunderstanding about her.

The facts proved that the butler of the Prince of Yan’s residence was indeed very efficient.

In just a few hours, he had replaced the mourning banners and burial clothes with festive robes. Lanterns hung from the eaves, and dragon and phoenix candles were placed on the table. It all looked quite festive.

The system sent a congratulatory message: “Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission. Your life has been extended to 24 hours. Please wait patiently for the next mission.”

“Just a friendly reminder, Host, you only need to live with the female lead for one year. When the female lead ascends the throne and kills you, you can return to your original world.”

Xiao Jin chuckled, “It’s easy for you to say.”

She then had the maid push her to the bridal chamber.

Although the bridal chamber was decorated by the butler on short notice, it had to be said that it was quite presentable.

As soon as the door was pushed open, Xiao Jin was dazzled by the sight of red, and in the midst of the fiery color, the shoes on the female lead’s feet were particularly eye-catching.

When the maid saw the white shoes on the bride’s feet, her face also turned pale, and her hand on the wheelchair couldn’t help but tremble.

The wheelchair moved to the side of the bed. Xiao Jin looked at the woman sitting by the bed curtain and lowered her eyes, her gaze fixed on her slender, fair fingers.

Candles were lit in the bridal chamber, illuminating the room.

The bride’s hands were beautiful and slender, like warm white jade, placed quietly on her wedding robe.

Xiao Jin noticed that the bride was wearing white shoes. She looked closely for a while and found that they were embroidered with a few silver-blue patterns.

Seeing this, she did not get angry. She only asked in a faint voice, “What is embroidered on the shoes?”

The bride replied, “The ice lotus flowers of the Yao Kingdom.”

Xiao Jin frowned slightly.

In the original novel, the female lead, Chu Shao, was not so bold as to wear white shoes on her wedding day.

After all, she was a princess of a conquered kingdom. Knowing that both the original character and the Fourth Prince were not good people, wouldn’t she be asking for death if she dared to wear white on her wedding day?

Through the bridal veil, the bride’s voice was also like a layer of gauze, clear and pleasant, yet somewhat indistinct.

“The ice lotus flower is the most beautiful flower in Great Yao. It blooms like silver in the heavy snow of December and can only last for an hour.”

Xiao Jin reasonably questioned, “The Epiphyllum blooms once a year and can last for two hours. Can this flower wither faster than that?”

The bride replied, “Because the national master said that the ice lotus flower symbolizes good fortune, it would be plucked as soon as it bloomed and placed in a glass case.”

Xiao Jin was used to skimming novels, so she naturally wouldn’t remember the meaning of a flower.

But listening to the female lead’s gentle and soft voice, she felt a strange sensation and found it difficult to imagine what kind of expression and face lay beneath the bridal veil.

Xiao Jin coughed a few times and looked at Chu Shao.

Her voice was indifferent, yet it carried a hint of oppression. “Princess, tonight is your wedding night with this prince. You dare to wear white shoes. Are you not afraid that this prince will kill you?”

Xiao Jin’s intention was to test the female lead. However, to her surprise, the female lead was not at all fazed.

Chu Shao’s tone was light, seemingly carrying a hint of confusion. “Your Highness, why should I be afraid?”

“The ice lotus flower is a symbol of good fortune in the Yao Kingdom. In Great Yao, women wear shoes embroidered with ice lotus flowers when they get married.”

Her explanation sounded plausible.

Xiao Jin’s face, however, remained expressionless, and she only had one thought in her mind.

Nonsense.

If the Yao Kingdom really had this custom, how could she, as a reader, not remember such a crucial plot detail?

Xiao Jin didn’t take Chu Shao’s words seriously.

She reached out and took the ceremonial scale used for unveiling the bride, which was placed on the table, and decided to see the female lead’s true face.

She lifted the scale and pushed aside the red cloth.

She didn’t use much force. The bridal veil was lifted by the scale and gently fell by the side of the bed.

Although Xiao Jin knew that the female lead, Chu Shao, was set to be the number one beauty in the original novel, she was still stunned the moment she saw her face.

In the candlelight, the beauty slightly raised her eyes and looked at her with a smile.

All her charm was revealed in a single glance.

By the time Xiao Jin came to her senses, what she saw was more than just those soul-stirring eyes.

She noticed a small, crimson mole below the corner of the beauty’s eye.

It was a striking tear mole, intense but not seductive.

Chu Shao’s features were perfectly sculpted, like the sun breaking through the mist—cool and yet dazzling.

It made people admire her from a distance, almost afraid to meet her gaze directly.

Of course, Xiao Jin did not feel that way.

She had been single for over 20 years.

Even the most beautiful fictional character could not shake Xiao Jin’s heart, which was as calm as an ancient well.

She was the king of being single. Love would only slow down her mission completion.

At least for now, Xiao Jin was lucid and completely unshaken.

Then, Xiao Jin saw the beautiful fictional character smile at her and start to speak, “It’s a pity that the fabric of this veil was originally excellent, but now that it has fallen on the ground and is dirty, it can no longer be used.”

Xiao Jin felt a strange tingling on her scalp, looking at the smile on Chu Shao’s lips.

She stared for a long time before realizing why she felt so strange.

Because the female lead’s focus was completely off.

Chu Shao’s fingers were still resting on her knees, and her beautiful features still held a gentle expression.

In the next moment, it was as if she had thought of something.

The corners of her lips slightly curved, and her expression revealed a hint of anticipation, “This is also the first time I’ve ever gotten married, so I’m very curious. Let me think…”

“What should we do next?”