Chapter 24.2

Before the sun had even risen the next day, Ning Qinghuan had already gotten out of bed and dressed up. Then, after kissing Jun Zishu on the forehead, she quietly left the fourth prince’s manor.

After Ning Yunlang returned to the capital, Madam Ning’s busy life resumed. She had to meet with so many young ladies in the capital that she couldn’t even keep count.

At the same time, Ning Yunlang had also started his torturous days of meeting with potential wives. The meetings and formalities he had to go through gave him a huge headache.

Meanwhile, to Madam Ning’s bafflement, among the invitations she received for matchmaking banquets, there were even some with Ning Qinghuan’s name on them. Naturally, Madam Ning had rejected these invitations stating that her daughter liked girls and that Ning Qinghuan wouldn’t take a liking to any young men even if she attended such matchmaking events.

However, in response, the people that sent these invitations had eagerly stated that Ning Qinghuan could attend their events to look at girls instead.

The shamelessness of these people exasperated Madam Ning, and she adamantly refused to bring her daughter along to these events.

Meanwhile, thanks to her mother’s efforts, Ning Qinghuan got to pass her days carefreely. Apart from doing some light work during the day, she spent the rest of her time sneaking into the fourth prince’s manor and spending time with Jun Zishu. However, although the two intimately kissed and caressed each other, they never went all the way.

The main event naturally had to be saved for their wedding night.

The fourth prince had also gotten used to Ning Qinghuan’s daily visits. To avoid having Ning Qinghuan sneaking into his manor like a thief every day, he deliberately left the rear entrance to his manor unlocked and unguarded.

The crown prince was even less capable than Jun Zishu initially anticipated. After falling for Jun Zishu’s successive schemes, the crown prince thoroughly angered the emperor and had his succession rights stripped. The emperor had even confined the crown prince to his courtyard.

Since the new crown prince could only be the fourth prince or the fifth prince, after the old crown prince was out of the competition, the struggle between the fourth and fifth princes grew even more intense. Although the fourth prince still maintained a brotherly relationship on the surface, the fifth prince was already clutching at straws.

The fifth prince knew full well that the emperor didn’t like him. Between him and the fourth prince, the emperor would definitely choose the latter for the throne.

However, the fifth prince couldn’t just give up on his many years of planning. Thus, he decided to accelerate his plans.

Now that General Ning had already officially joined the fourth prince’s faction, there would be no room for the fifth prince to interfere with the General’s manor.

Like Jun Zishu stated, the emperor’s body was already in terrible condition even before the war ended. Thus, when winter began, the emperor collapsed.

As soon as news of the emperor falling ill spread, the fourth and fifth princes immediately moved their fight from the dark to the light. Now, nobody was safe from the succession competition.

Despite the situation in the capital worsening, Jun Zishu remained steady as she watched things develop in the direction she anticipated.

It didn’t take more than two months for the emperor to fall ill and pass away.

Although there were people who had sincerely wept for the emperor, they were in the minority.

Naturally, the emperor’s last will was for the fourth prince to succeed the throne.

However, on the night the emperor passed away, the fifth prince stormed the palace with his troops.

Jun Zishu watched the live broadcast of the rebellion in the safety of her courtyard. When Little Fairy started broadcasting the fight, Ning Qinghuan had already readied her sword to deal with the rebels.

In this fight, the fifth prince suffered an overwhelming defeat.

Thus, with the emperor’s decree in hand, the fourth prince became the new emperor.

This outcome overjoyed Ning Qinghuan since this meant that she could marry Jun Zishu right away.

While everyone focused on the new emperor’s coronation, a concubine in the emperor’s harem named Jun Zishu quietly passed away from illness.

When the other members of the fourth prince’s harem, ignorant of the situation, learned about Jun Zishu’s abrupt passing, they could only lament Jun Zishu’s bad luck for the girl. After all, the girl had passed just when the fourth prince was about to become the new emperor.

However, Consort Wang, who knew of the situation, knew that Jun Zishu had already taken on a new identity at this time and would soon live an entirely new life.

…

Ning Qinghuan’s wedding was held one day after Ning Yunlang’s wedding.

Thus, the guests the Ning manor invited had to busy themselves as they needed to prepare two separate sets of gifts.

Jun Zishu’s new identity was the new emperor’s adopted sister, and she was given the title of Princess Qingyun.

The madames in the capital were interested in meeting with this new princess. Unfortunately, news had spread that Princess Qingyun had a weak constitution, making it difficult for her to entertain guests.

Even on Ning Qinghuan’s wedding day, the guests only got to see a girl in a wedding dress with a red veil covering her face. They didn’t get to see the appearance of this mysterious Princess Qingyun.

…

Jun Zishu sat inside the bridal chamber, and waiting on her was Shaoyao, who had already married and became someone’s wife.

Jun Zishu had Shaoyao bring some of the prepared pastries to her, and she slowly enjoyed them as she sat on the bed. She hadn’t eaten the entire day because of all the wedding formalities she had to deal with, so she was starving right now. If she didn’t eat something now, her body would probably crumble before she could carry out the pleasant activities later on.

When Ning Qinghuan was done entertaining the guests outside, Jun Zishu had already finished eating.

Seeing Ning Qinghuan’s arrival, Shaoyao gave her young lady a polite bow before retreating from the room.

When Shaoyao found out that the two young misses she served were getting married, she had taken the news surprisingly well. That was to be expected since Ning Qinghuan and Jun Zishu had always shared an abnormally close relationship. Thus, it was only normal for them to end up together.

“You have to call me ‘husband’ today, Little Wan’er,” Ning Qinghuan said, her voice carrying hints of drunkenness. Although she knew that she shouldn’t get drunk today, she was so happy that she couldn’t help herself from having a few cups.

Her little rabbit would finally belong to her today.

Ning Qinghuan removed the veil serving as a nuisance and smiled before kissing Jun Zishu. She greedily devoured most of the rouge covering Jun Zishu’s lips, and she even got some onto her face.

“Oh, what are you in such a hurry for? Help me take off this thing on my head first,” Jun Zishu complained as she pushed Ning Qinghuan away. However, her eyes that had turned watery from the kiss only served to arouse Ning Qinghuan even more.

“Because I am in a hurry. I’ve been waiting for this day for so, so long already,” Ning Qinghuan said. Then, she swiftly removed the accessories on Jun Zishu’s head, urgently stripping Jun Zishu’s clothing, and subsequently undressed herself as well.

“Do you know how to do it, Big Sister?” Jun Zishu asked with an embarrassed look on her face. The candles had yet to be extinguished, yet she no longer had anything covering her body. To make matters worse, Ning Qinghuan was staring at her nude body with a lustful gaze.

Although they would often see each other’s bodies when they bathed together in the past, the current situation was different.

“Hm? What did you call me, Little Wan’er?”

Biting her lip, Jun Zishu softly called out, “Husband…”

Ning Qinghuan smiled in satisfaction. Then, she began coloring Jun Zishu’s pale skin with red marks.

“Of course I know how to do it,” Ning Qinghuan stated with confidence. She had deliberately researched this topic, and she was confident she could pleasure Jun Zishu.

“Come…then.”

Jun Zishu anxiously closed her eyes and relaxed her body, her actions causing Ning Qinghuan to grow even thirstier.

“Open your eyes and look at me, Little Wan’er,” Ning Qinghuan said in a low voice. Then, she planted a soft kiss between Jun Zishu’s trembling eyebrows, coaxing Jun Zishu to open her eyes.

Jun Zishu’s skin tone was very pale. Despite living a sheltered life just like any other noble lady in the capital, Jun Zishu’s skin was much paler than any other noble ladies Ning Qinghuan knew. Yet, instead of giving off a sickly look, Jun Zishu’s skin exuded a bewitching glow.

When Ning Qinghuan recalled the jokes she heard during her time in the army, her heartbeat accelerated.

Marks appeared on Jun Zishu’s soft and white skin with every kiss Ning Qinghuan planted. In no time at all, Ning Qinghuan’s seals of love covered Jun Zishu’s entire body. Combined with the hazy look in Jun Zishu’s eyes, Ning Qinghuan couldn’t help but be even more mesmerized by her beloved.

Ning Qinghuan had to agree with the words of her comrades-in-arms. The sight she created thanks to their insight was truly beautiful beyond words.

To Ning Qinghuan, the bodily pleasures she experienced this night were only of secondary importance in her mind. The emotional satisfaction she experienced was of much greater importance instead.

…

Ning Qinghuan had originally planned to leave the capital together with Jun Zishu after her wedding. However, neither General Ning nor the new emperor was willing to let them go.

Thus, Ning Qinghuan had no choice but to take on a military position in the imperial court and live her days in peace with Jun Zishu.

The emperor wasn’t only reluctant to let Ning Qinghuan go. He was also reluctant to let Jun Zishu, who had been giving him advice all this time, out of his grasp as well.

Because of this, Jun Zishu would often visit the empress as Princess Qingyun, using it as an excuse to help the emperor solve his problems.

As time passed, many things and people gradually changed.

Just like Jun Zishu anticipated, after Consort Wang became the empress, she had grown out of being the girl who used to daydream in Jun Zishu’s courtyard. Now, her acting had become more mature, and her actions had become more ruthless and decisive.

Meanwhile, Ning Yunlang’s wife had given birth to a son. While some people were growing up day by day, some were also inevitably growing into old age.

On one warm summer day, General Ning passed away.

Madam Ning fainted on the spot. And despite Ning Qinghuan and Jun Zishu returning to the General’s manor to take care of her, sadness overwhelmed her, and she passed away from illness a year later.

Ning Qinghuan’s mood was exceptionally heavy during that period. Unable to focus on her work, she resigned from her post and traveled the world with Jun Zishu.

Whenever the two arrived at a new place, they would stop and rest for some time. Although they never adopted a child, they had helped plenty of people. Thus, whenever they returned to those places, there would always be people greeting and welcoming them.

In the past, Ning Qinghuan had ignorantly believed the capital to be the entire world. However, after she set foot on foreign soil for the sake of love, she found out how cruel this world could be.

Later on, when Ning Qinghuan started traveling around the world with Jun Zishu, she realized how wide the world was.

Ning Qinghuan had always felt that she was the luckiest person in the world. She had parents and an older brother that loved her and pampered her when she was a child, and she had Jun Zishu to accompany her once she was grown up.

“I feel that my life has gone unbelievably smoothly, Little Wan’er.”

Ning Qinghuan and Jun Zishu sat on a wall as they watched vanish bit by bit into the distant horizon.

“Isn’t that good?”

Jun Zishu smiled as she swayed her legs back and forth.

“That’s right. It’s really good.”

When walking became a difficulty for them, they returned to the capital, the place where they first met each other.

Jun Zishu’s life ended 15 minutes after Ning Qinghuan passed.

During these 15 minutes, Jun Zishu did nothing at all. She only waited for the servants she arranged to take care of her and Ning Qinghuan’s bodies.

Once the servants arrived, Jun Zishu peacefully shut her eyes.

[Oh yeah! Mission complete! I bet our evaluation this time will be S-rank!]

Little Fairy fluttered her wings in the transit space and planted a kiss on Jun Zishu’s cheeks.

[Quickly exit the nutrition pod, Host. Once the Main System mails you your evaluation, make sure to ask the employee outside about the memory separation function. We’ll meet again when you start your next mission.]

Jun Zishu sat up from her nutrition pod and massaged her forehead.