Can a System Have Bad Intentions? - Chapter 184

This wasn’t the place to talk. After rescuing Zhao Yue, the group split into two: the Crown Princess and the Sixth Princess led people to escort Gu Zongming straight to the dungeon, while the rest took Zhao Yue back to the palace.

Qin Mo and Lu Tang had been separated for months. Although Lu Tang had been in the capital for several days, this moment in the carriage was their first true reunion.

The carriage was quite spacious, yet Lu Tang felt a bit stifled. She leaned her head against the wall, peering outside, subtly breathing through the window.

Suddenly, a warm, dry hand enveloped hers, and Qin Mo’s hand rested on top of hers.

Lu Tang trembled slightly, and Qin Mo, no longer holding back, moved to sit beside her. “Little Tang.”

Lu Tang’s eyelashes fluttered. “I didn’t receive any of your letters.”

Qin Mo tightened his grip on her hand. “I know, it’s my fault. If I had realized sooner, there wouldn’t have been any misunderstandings. Did…did it make you sad that you didn’t receive them? Did you blame me? I was wrong.”

Qin Mo’s voice was cautious and low, right by Lu Tang’s ear.

She turned to look at Qin Mo, biting her lip. “You…”

His entire face filled her vision. Qin Mo looked down at her, his eyes tracing the teeth marks on her lips and her dense eyelashes.

Suddenly, he leaned forward. “Open your mouth, please.”

Lu Tang instinctively held her breath, startled for a moment, and then her lips were covered.

Although it was his first time kissing someone, Qin Mo seemed like an experienced lover, kissing Lu Tang so thoroughly that she found it hard to breathe.

Finally, Qin Mo, holding the back of Lu Tang’s head, pulled back slightly and pinched her chin. “Breathe.”

Lu Tang’s cheeks flushed.

Her kissed lips glistened, and seeing the deep affection in her eyes, Qin Mo lightly pecked her nose. “I had the imperial astronomer choose an auspicious date for next month. Let’s get married, okay?”

Lu Tang’s heart skipped a beat.

“You had the imperial astronomer choose a date? Do…do you know my birth date and time?”

Qin Mo held Lu Tang close. “I asked your mother.”

Lu Tang: …

Did he just call her mother-in-law?

“Did my mother say…”

Lu Tang wanted to ask if her mother had told him she was actually a girl, but at that moment, Qin Mo, thinking they were on the same wavelength, interrupted her.

“Don’t worry, your mother is very pleased with me. She said as long as you’re willing, she has no objections. So…”

Qin Mo cupped Lu Tang’s face, asking earnestly, “Do you want to?”

“Do you want to?”

“Do you want to?”

“Do you want to?”

A parrot flew in from outside, landing on Qin Mo’s shoulder, and mimicking his voice, repeatedly asking Lu Tang, interrupting the tender moment in the carriage.

Afterward, it added, “I’m asking you, girl. Why aren’t you answering? Hurry up and say yes. Don’t be ungrateful. Do you think you’re too good for him? Be sensible and agree quickly, or I’ll kill you.”

Qin Mo nearly had a heart attack from the parrot’s words. His face darkened, and he reached to grab the little creature.

But the parrot, having long sparred with the Crown Prince, reacted swiftly, flapping its wings and flying away while shouting, “Murder! Murder! Lu Tang won’t marry Little Nine! It’s driving me crazy!”

Just as Qin Mo was about to catch its tail, it flew out the window.

Qin Mo pulled open the curtain and yelled, “I’ll stew you one day.”

The parrot perched on the Crown Prince’s carriage roof, crowing triumphantly, “If you stew me, I’ll tell your wife about you wetting your pants. I remember all the bad things you’ve done since childhood.”

Lu Tang watched as Qin Mo’s face turned ashen from being taunted by a parrot, and she burst into laughter.

In the end, the Crown Prince, fearing his younger brother’s happiness might be ruined by a parrot, grabbed it and silenced it.

A match for everything.

The talkative parrot played dead in the Crown Prince’s hand, saying nothing more.

The group headed straight to the capital. Originally, Lu Tang was supposed to disembark at the Qiao family inn with Xu Shen and the others. However, Zhao Yue had specifically asked Lu Tang to accompany her to the palace.

Lu Tang, full of questions herself, didn’t refuse.

Someone believed to be dead for years suddenly reappeared, rescued from Gu Zongming’s villa.

The courtiers allied with Gu Zongming were scared out of their wits.

With Gu Zongming sent to the dungeon, could they be far from being arrested?

The courtiers’ panic was momentarily set aside by the emperor, as nearly all the palace’s residents gathered in the Cloud Celebration Hall.

Zhao Yue’s former quarters.

Imprisoned by Gu Zongming for years and just having survived a near-burial, Zhao Yue was extremely weak but had no major injuries. The imperial physician prescribed restorative medicine and advised her to rest and avoid stress.

The Empress held Zhao Yue, crying uncontrollably. All her pent-up emotions burst out upon seeing her daughter.

Finally, fearing a health crisis, a few consorts pulled the Empress out of Zhao Yue’s quarters.

Crying so much wasn’t good for anyone’s health.

Now that Zhao Yue was back, there would be plenty of time to talk slowly. There was no rush.

Once the Emperor and Empress left, Zhao Yue only kept Lu Tang in the room.

The bustling room suddenly quieted down. Lu Tang faced Zhao Yue, her mind full of questions, unsure where to start.

Zhao Yue spoke first, “I was chosen by the system ten years ago.”

Lu Tang was stunned. “Ten years ago?”

Ten years ago was when she transmigrated, and she had a system from the start.

Dual hosts?

As if reading Lu Tang’s confusion, Zhao Yue, weakly leaning against the pillow, sipped milk. “Your situation was unusual at the time. The system couldn’t detect your mind, so it chose someone else, which happened to be me.”

Lu Tang: Huh?

“For the system to function, it needs a host with a strong consciousness. It couldn’t identify yours. In other words, your consciousness was too strange for it to pinpoint and issue commands.”

Lu Tang suddenly understood.

She was a transmigrant.

Unlike other transmigrated heroines who adapted quickly, it took her several years to adjust to life from modern to ancient times.

During those years, she often thought of her modern identity and missed her previous life.

Perhaps because of this, the system couldn’t detect a clear consciousness, so…

After she transmigrated, the system remained dormant. Was it because it found another host?

“Then why did it come back to me later?”

“It awakened in your consciousness just as I was about to break free from it. The system can’t be without a host.”

Lu Tang looked at Zhao Yue in surprise, “How do you know this?”