I'm Competing With The Male Lead For A Woman - Chapter 7

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince was requesting an audience, the Qi Emperor’s angry expression subsided slightly. He no longer picked on the little eunuch.

He touched the Bodhi beads on his wrist, then waved his hand and said in a deep voice, “Invite the Crown Prince in.”

The little eunuch felt as if he had been granted a reprieve. He quickly kowtowed and said, “Yes.”

Actually, Xiao Jin was a little curious about what the male lead wanted to do in the Imperial Study.

After all, with the male lead’s perfect character, he was always flawless in his interactions, except for the beginning where he politely refused the marriage bestowed by the Qi Emperor.

On the one hand, the male lead was accustomed to being praised by the people. Even a temperamental character like the original character was willing to become his follower.

On the other hand, he secretly suppressed the Fourth Prince’s power and quietly removed any troublesome individuals.

However, there was one unfortunate thing.

Due to the dog-blood nature of this novel, the author went a little crazy in the later stages, causing the male lead’s character to collapse. His pursuit of the female lead was very cruel, and he resorted to all kinds of manipulative schemes.

Ignoring this flaw, the male lead’s intelligence was always online.

The incense burner emitted the scent of dragon incense.

Xiao Jin leaned back in her wheelchair, her face expressionless, and listened quietly to the sound of footsteps.

In reality, she was glancing at Chu Shao out of the corner of her eye, observing her reaction.

Ever since Chu Shao pushed her back to the original character’s room last night, Xiao Jin had been wondering if Chu Shao knew something.

Based on her many years of experience reading web novels, she wasn’t surprised if she had transmigrated into a novel and met a reborn female lead.

However, the strange thing was that from the moment the male lead entered the Imperial Study to when he bowed to the Qi Emperor, Chu Shao’s expression didn’t change at all, and she still had a faint smile on her face.

By observing a person’s expression, one could see their subconscious reactions. This kind of reaction was often thoughtless and difficult to hide.

It seemed that Chu Shao genuinely didn’t care.

So Xiao Jin felt even more strange.

If the female lead hadn’t been reborn, how could her character have collapsed like this? But if she had been reborn, she should have at least had some reaction upon seeing the male lead and the second male lead, right?

Just as Xiao Jin was carefully observing Chu Shao, the Crown Prince, Xiao Yu, had already finished his bow to the Qi Emperor.

He then turned around in surprise and looked at everyone present. “What a coincidence. I originally came today for the disaster relief in Xunzhou. I didn’t expect to see Third Brother and Fourth Brother here as well.”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince cares about the common people. This subject is truly ashamed.”

Although the Fourth Prince said he was ashamed, he sneered in his heart.

He didn’t come early or late. He chose to come at this exact moment and still had to pretend it was a coincidence. Who was he putting on this act for?

The Crown Prince was wearing a python robe with a jade belt, looking gentle and refined.

He just smiled at the Fourth Prince’s insincere flattery. “Fourth Brother, you’re joking. I am only doing what a subject should do.”

“You are still young. Although you haven’t entered the court to become an official, it is still a good thing that you often come to the palace to pay respects to Imperial Father and show your filial piety.”

Upon hearing these words, Xiao Jin almost laughed out loud.

Still young? Paying respects and showing filial piety? Is the male lead joking?

A dignified man brought two pipa girls to the Imperial Study to show filial piety. It was truly a touching scene of a loving father and son.

The Fourth Prince looked at the pipa girls trembling on the ground. His face was ashen, and he responded with a fake smile, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, you’re being too kind.”

The Qi Emperor’s face was also not looking good.

After all, the Crown Prince’s words had a hidden meaning and were not only aimed at the Fourth Prince.

However, the Crown Prince remained composed. He turned around and looked at Xiao Jin sitting in her wheelchair and even smiled slightly.

But when he saw Chu Shao, his gaze seemed to freeze for a moment.

Chu Shao, however, had no reaction. She met the Crown Prince’s gaze calmly, the smile on her face undiminished. “Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

After coming to his senses, the Crown Prince said with a smile, “Princess, you are too polite.”

Seeing this, Xiao Jin wanted to roll her eyes.

Here it was, the classic scene of love at first sight.

You were the one who rejected the marriage, and now you are the one who is distracted. Male lead, you are such a jerk.

However, although the Crown Prince loved beauty, he obviously loved the kingdom more.

He quickly became immune to Chu Shao’s beauty and shifted his gaze to Xiao Jin. He asked with concern, “How is Third Brother’s cough?”

The real Xiao Jin had already coughed herself to death, but the Crown Prince’s question was clearly just a polite formality.

After all, the original character was once a follower of the Crown Prince. As the heir, it was necessary to show some fake concern for her terminally ill loyal supporter.

Xiao Jin understood all these things.

So she coughed twice and responded faintly, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I am much better now.”

Xiao Jin didn’t know if it was her imagination, but when she said this, she felt that the Crown Prince seemed to have frowned almost imperceptibly.

Xiao Jin immediately became alert. She had only said one sentence. Had she given herself away?

It turned out that this was impossible because the Crown Prince then retracted his gaze and nodded with relief. “That’s very good.”

As for what was so good, Xiao Jin had no idea.

She just sat in her wheelchair, watching the male lead casually dismiss the pipa players in the room and begin to discuss state affairs with the Qi Emperor.

This discussion went on for a long time.

It was so long that Chu Shao got bored and began to study Xiao Jin’s fingers.

The more she observed, the more interesting Chu Shao found it.

Xiao Jin’s hands were not small, they were pale and slender with well-defined knuckles, but compared to a man’s, the bones of her fingers were a bit too thin.

Chu Shao smiled as she thought about what she might have missed.

But whenever she got to a key point, she couldn’t seem to remember what she was just thinking about.

Strange, it’s really strange.

Xiao Jin didn’t feel strange at all, because the system had already revealed the truth to her:

“To maintain the normal development of the world in the book, the system will apply a debuff to all characters on the issue of the original character’s gender, based on the author’s logic.”

“…”

Awesome, truly awesome.

To fill the logical loopholes of the old-school dog-blood novel author, the system was really going out of its way.

After the discussion of state affairs was over, the Crown Prince discreetly picked up the memorial that had been thrown on the ground, handed it to the Qi Emperor, and asked with a smile, “May I know what was troubling Imperial Father just now?”

It would have been better if he hadn’t brought it up. When he did, the Qi Emperor’s hand stopped as he was about to take the memorial.

He threw the memorial onto the table and said in a deep voice, “It’s all because of your third brother. It’s one thing that he’s always so erratic, but yesterday he did something so disgraceful.”

“He publicly snatched your fourth brother’s Princess Consort, losing the imperial family’s face in front of the people!”

Xiao Jin felt that the Qi Emperor was a hypocrite.

Although you were set up as a foolish ruler, even a foolish ruler listening to pipa music with his son in the Imperial Study is pretty shameful, isn’t it?

Xiao Jin couldn’t be bothered with the Qi Emperor, but Chu Shao spoke up.

“Your Majesty, I don’t think that’s right.”

Listening to Chu Shao’s gentle voice, Xiao Jin suddenly had an ominous feeling.

The Qi Emperor was baffled. How dare a mere princess of a fallen kingdom publicly challenge him and say he was wrong?

But because the princes were still present, he only frowned and asked, “What is not right?”

Chu Shao said with a smile, “Although I was sitting in the sedan chair yesterday, I could hear the sound of weapons clashing outside. The people didn’t react at all. Instead, they were clapping and cheering, placing bets and cheering.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the Imperial Study fell into silence for the third time.

Xiao Jin maintained a calm expression on her face, but in her heart, she was already beginning to wonder if Chu Shao was a spy sent by the other side.

Sure enough, the Qi Emperor was furious. His rage was monstrous.

At first, he thought Xiao Jin had just snatched Xiao Yi’s Princess Consort. He had no idea that under the eyes of the public, his two good sons had actually fought!

As for who won and who lost, the result was obvious.

What a joke, a complete joke. The Xiao family’s reputation had been completely ruined by Xiao Jin.

But it was a pity that Xiao Jin was now crippled and seriously ill. He couldn’t drag this rebellious son out and beat her fifty times with a staff.

In a fit of rage, the Qi Emperor could only point at Xiao Jin and curse, “Xiao Jin, if you don’t send the Princess of the Yao Kingdom back to your fourth brother’s residence today, I will act as if I don’t have a son named you!”

Xiao Jin was amused.

The original character was a woman. The Qi Emperor didn’t have a son named her in the first place.

Moreover, the original character was the Prince of Yan. Even without the title of Third Prince, she would still be a lord when she returned to her feudal territory.

So Xiao Jin looked at the Qi Emperor and said with a smile, “Imperial Father, the Princess has already bowed to me and entered the bridal chamber. Why would there be any reason to send her back to Fourth Brother’s residence?”

With the last three silent moments as a prelude, the fourth deadly silence seemed only natural.

Even the Crown Prince frowned slightly, finding Xiao Jin’s words too absurd.

In Xiao Jin’s current situation, sitting in a wheelchair, how could she have bowed to Chu Shao and performed the ritual of the bridal chamber?

No one knew, including Xiao Jin herself.

But no one dared to point at the Prince of Yan’s nose and curse, “You’re a cripple. What bridal chamber are you talking about?”

Thinking of this, Xiao Jin very naturally began to talk nonsense. “What’s more, I fell in love with the Princess at first sight. I would not marry anyone else in this life.”

Besides Chu Shao, who wasn’t surprised and was standing beside Xiao Jin with a smile, everyone in the Imperial Study was silent.

Because once they accepted Xiao Jin’s logic, they couldn’t find any major errors for a while.

At this moment, only the Crown Prince remained clear-headed. He said to Xiao Jin in a serious tone, “Third Brother, don’t be ridiculous.”

Xiao Jin was a little surprised. She had thought that since the original character was a follower of the Crown Prince, the male lead had come here to support the original character.

Now it didn’t seem to be the case.

The Crown Prince glanced at Chu Shao, then shifted his gaze back to Xiao Jin and sighed. “Third Brother, taking someone’s wife is not what a gentleman does.”

What a coincidence. She was not a gentleman in the first place. She was just a woman.

If it were the original character, she would have probably followed the male lead’s lead. Unfortunately, the person in this body had already changed.

The Crown Prince smiled faintly, perhaps thinking that no matter how lawless Xiao Jin was, she would still listen to a few of his words.

Xiao Jin met the Crown Prince’s gaze and returned a polite smile.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, this subject has already taken someone’s wife. I don’t expect to be a gentleman anymore.”

“Furthermore, a gentleman is not something someone like me can be. Now, I have become a cripple, so I would rather be a villain and have a moment of pleasure, taking a beauty as my own. Your Highness the Crown Prince, do you think I’m right?”

Xiao Jin’s question was either because she dared to defy his wishes or because her words were sharp and had a hidden meaning.

In any case, the Crown Prince’s expression was unfathomable. He was silent for a while and ultimately said nothing.

The Crown Prince didn’t speak, but the Qi Emperor was furious.

In the past, the Crown Prince could still keep Xiao Jin in check. Now, this rascal had gone against heaven and wouldn’t even listen to the Crown Prince’s advice.

This was rebellion!

In his extreme rage, the Qi Emperor became calm instead. He said to the trembling eunuch beside him, “Go get the imperial family registry.”

But before the eunuch could even acknowledge the decree, a clear voice sounded from outside the Imperial Study. “Wait!”

Everyone present, except for Xiao Jin and Chu Shao, was stunned when they heard this voice.

The person who came had fluttering sleeves and walked straight into the Imperial Study, and no one dared to stop her.

When this person walked to the center, Xiao Jin finally saw her face clearly.

The woman was wearing a brocade robe and looked to be about twenty years old. But her eyes showed a hint of inviolable authority.

Xiao Jin instantly knew who she was.

Princess Zhaohua glanced at the eunuch and said coldly, “You dog slaves are so bad at discerning the emperor’s intentions. How could the Emperor abolish his own son?”

“Yes, Your Highness Zhaohua. This servant… this servant deserves to die!”

The eunuch was so scared that his face turned ashen. He felt that no matter whose orders he followed today, he was doomed to die.

The Qi Emperor looked at Princess Zhaohua, his face grim. “Imperial Sister, I was the one who told Xiao Fu Zi to get the imperial family registry.”

“I know,” Princess Zhaohua smiled. She first bowed respectfully to the Qi Emperor. “Imperial Brother, before Imperial Sister Zhaoyang went to the Baima Temple to pray for blessings, she specifically instructed me to take good care of Jin’er. So…”

Then she turned around and her smile faded.

Princess Zhaohua looked at the eunuchs and palace maids kneeling on the ground and said in a cold tone, “I will stand here today. Anyone who wants to touch Jin’er will have to step over my corpse first!”