Chapter 284: Chapter 285: She Finally Came to Her Senses

He Zhiyuan knew his aunt had once thought of setting him up with his cousin, Manman. So, in private, he had also fantasized about what it would be like after they married.

It was a shame all his fantasies had come to nothing.

Of course, he felt a sense of bitterness.

But what was done was done. He had no choice but to accept reality.

Thinking of this, He Zhiyuan felt quite dejected.

Hua Manman didn’t notice her cousin’s hidden feelings.

Seeing it was getting late, she announced her departure.

After leaving the Zhong’an Bo Mansion, Hua Manman took a carriage back to the Prince Mansion.

When Li Ji saw she had returned, he asked.

"How is Mother-in-law?"

Hua Manman smiled. "She’s much better. She should be fine after some more rest."

Li Ji: "That’s good."

Hua Manman remembered her cousin and mentioned him casually.

"I saw my uncle and cousin today. My cousin is about to report to the Tiger Roar Camp. I remember the Tiger Roar Camp is under your command. If it’s convenient, could you please help look after my cousin and make sure he doesn’t get bullied?"

Hearing this, Li Ji’s lips curved into a sarcastic, insincere smile.

"And how would you like me to ’look after’ him? Should I assign a few men to protect him personally, twenty-four hours a day?"

’The word ’cousin’ just sounds so intimate.’

’After all, there are plenty of examples of cousins marrying these days.’

’Who knows if Manman and her cousin had something going on in the past!’

Hua Manman couldn’t stand his passive-aggressive attitude.

"If you don’t want to help, then forget it."

Li Ji snorted coldly through his nose.

"Angry already? It seems you really do care about that cousin of yours."

’This dog of a man must have been raised in a vat of vinegar. How else could he be so jealous?’

She said helplessly, "I am not angry. I just mentioned it in passing. I’m not insisting you do anything. If you’re unwilling, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal."

Seeing that she didn’t seem to care, Li Ji actually felt a bit better.

"I never said I wouldn’t help. But you should know, if you’re going to ask for a favor, you need to have the right attitude. This isn’t going to cut it."

Having said that, he leaned back, a lazy smile on his face. It was as if a line of large words was written above his head—

_Come on, beg me~_

Hua Manman couldn’t help but fall into self-doubt.

’Which one of my eyes went blind for me to fall for such a punchable dog of a man?’

Li Ji heard her inner thoughts and automatically ignored the first half of the sentence.

He only registered the two words, "fell for."

’Oh! She’s fallen for me!’

’She’s finally seen the light!’

’This is cause for universal celebration!’

Li Ji immediately became even happier, the smile on his face growing wider.

’Looks like the consummation can be arranged as soon as possible.’

Li Ji said, "Didn’t you say you’d give me a definite time for our consummation? It’s been so long, and you still haven’t given me an answer. You can’t delay any longer today."

Hua Manman hadn’t expected him to suddenly bring up the matter of their consummation and was stunned for a moment.

She subconsciously avoided Prince Zhao’s burning gaze and said with a guilty conscience.

"We’ll... we’ll talk about it later."

With that, she bolted out of the room.

Watching her fleeing figure, Li Ji revealed a smile that said victory was at hand.

Before, he had been worried about scaring her off, so he could only wait patiently. But now that she had finally come around, their feelings were mutual.

He no longer had anything to hold him back.

He let out a low chuckle.

’There’s no time like the present.’

’Tonight, he was going to eat meat!’

Perhaps because he was in a good mood, Li Ji even temporarily forgot about his jealousy.

He had Chen Wangbei take a message to Bian Ziming, telling him to look after He Zhiyuan when he had time and not let the old veterans in the camp bully the man too harshly.

Of course, Bian Ziming readily agreed.

Hua Manman found a deserted place to hide.

She had indeed developed feelings for Prince Zhao.

But the system’s words still lingered in her ears, making her unable to resolve to be with Prince Zhao.

If she wanted to stay in this world, she would have to endure the heart-pain punishment for not completing her mission.

That price was too great for her to bear.

The system’s voice suddenly rang out.

"Host, you can’t even guarantee your own safety. What makes you think you can talk about love?"

Hua Manman ignored it.

She began to wonder how she could have her cake and eat it too.

The best way was to get rid of this damn dog of a system inside her.

As long as the system wasn’t interfering, she would be completely free.

The system sneered. "In your dreams!"

From the day it was activated, it had never heard of a host successfully unbinding from the system.

Hua Manman still ignored it, continuing her own analysis.

Based on her observations after transmigrating, she found that the system was extremely concerned with the safety of the female protagonist, Hua Qingqing.

If the system were a person, Hua Manman would definitely suspect it of having a secret crush on Hua Qingqing.

But it was a system, and a system couldn’t possibly have emotions.

This was also evident from its usual way of doing things.

It was just an emotionless, inhuman, damn dog of a system. She absolutely couldn’t hold any expectations for it.

System: "..."

’Could you please consider my feelings for a moment?’

’I can hear everything you’re calling me!’

’And why wasn’t the phrase "damn dog of a system" censored?’

’That’s profanity, isn’t it?!’

Hua Manman put herself in the shoes of an emotionless, damn dog of a system.

’If I were the system,’ she thought, ’and my world was in a completely different dimension from the host’s, I wouldn’t worry about the host’s safety, let alone care if anyone else lived or died.’

’Unless... someone’s existence could affect me, the system. In a serious case, it might even deal a fatal blow to me. For the sake of self-preservation, I would have to protect that person’s safety.’

Following this line of thought, Hua Manman quickly reached a conclusion.

"If the female protagonist, Hua Qingqing, has an accident, will you, the system, be affected too?"

The system flatly denied it. "No, you’re overthinking it."

Hua Manman let out a dry laugh.

"Am I overthinking it? We’ll know once we test it, won’t we?"

The system became vigilant. "What are you planning to do? I’m warning you, you’d better not do anything reckless."

Hua Manman ignored its warning and walked back with a brisk pace.

Just then, someone delivered an invitation to Hua Manman.

After several consecutive days of rain and snow, today finally welcomed a rare, clear sky.

As it happened, the plum blossoms in the palace had bloomed, and the scenery was quite lovely.

Consort Liu was preparing to host a tea party in the Plum Garden. She had invited every one of the more prominent Concubines in the palace, and even the female relatives from the noble families outside the palace had received invitations.

Hua Manman looked at the invitation in her hand and couldn’t help but smile.

"I was just worrying about not having a chance to enter the palace and get close to Hua Qingqing, and now the heavens have delivered an opportunity right to my doorstep."

The system’s voice grew sterner. "If you dare to harm the female protagonist, you will receive a punishment of ten times the heart-pain! You will literally die from the pain!"

Hua Manman: "You’re getting flustered, you’re getting flustered, you’re getting flustered~"