Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Qiao Yu came and went like the wind. When he returned, the Bridal Ghost was gone.
Even the sky over the Instance seemed brighter.
The two missing streamers must have sensed trouble. They crawled out through a dog hole in the wall near the jujube trees.
Good grief. They had truly taken the road less traveled and ended up at the Grand Marshal’s Residence.
Qiao Yu looked away from them and toward the two jujube trees standing in the wind and the stump in the corner. Realization struck. “No wonder three people had to gather before they could leave the side hall. That clue was far too subtle.”
The three jujube trees sealing the Bridal Ghost…
Were they supposed to restore the formation she had broken through?
Understanding now was useless. He had sent the Bridal Ghost for reconstructive surgery, so the danger was probably over.
But filming remained a problem.
Luo Yunmeng looked at him with the same worried frown. “Do we still have to finish the movie?”
“Of course.” Qiao Yu clicked his tongue. “How else do we leave?”
He opened the Live Stream Room and stared expressionlessly at the comments. “Scriptwriter Ghost, are you there? Squeak if you are.”
-Scriptwriter Ghost: Squeak.
“How about another round of the scriptwriting game?”
-Scriptwriter Ghost: Ugly rejection!
-Sadako: What. Did. You. Say?! Are you blind?!
-Scriptwriter Ghost: I’m ugly, so I reject. Problem?
-Sadako: Since you’re quick on the uptake, I’ve put away my forty-meter cleaver.
-Scriptwriter Ghost: …
“Let’s play again.” Qiao Yu sighed too. “If you can’t write it, we’ll all think of something.”
The Scriptwriter Ghost seemed persuaded.
Aside from Qiao Yu, the other six people in the Instance appeared fairly reliable.
Blank notebooks instantly appeared in everyone’s hands. Imperial City Storm was printed on the cover, with a small line in the lower right corner: The protagonists were based on real people; adapted from unofficial history.
When they opened the books, the original beginning slowly appeared.
Character viewpoint: Tao Zhuyue.
[It was winter in the first year of Zhaoqing. Midnight was approaching, and snow had begun falling outside at some unknown point.
I woke from the cold and realized the wind had blown the door open a crack. Shivering, I touched my arm and found it covered in goose bumps.
I hurried over to close the door. From the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw…]
Shang Yan wrote first.
[From the corner of my eye, I saw an envelope that had inexplicably appeared on the table. All sleep vanished.
The princess-the current empress-ordered me to befriend the Prince of Lanling. Though I questioned this command, as an agent sent by the Nanzhao Kingdom, my mission was to obey her every order absolutely.]
The script passed to Luo Yunmeng. After thinking, she continued.
[The Prince of Lanling was kind, charming, and free-spirited. Becoming acquainted went smoothly…]
They wrote busily while Qiao Yu read line by line. As the sun neared the horizon, the plot reached an impasse.
They had arrived at the scene where a eunuch came to decree Tao Zhuyue’s marriage to the Prince of Lanling.
Qiao Yu yawned.
The Scriptwriter Ghost seemed at a loss too. Several words slowly appeared on the paper.
[For altering the operation without authorization and refusing to carry out the assassination, Tao Zhuyue was locked in the Pear Garden’s woodshed by its master.
This was the fourth day. Having received neither food nor water, darkness layered over my vision. Through it, I faintly heard a shrill, high voice outside.
“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees…”
“The Pear Garden has a daughter named Tao Zhuyue, nineteen years of age, beautiful in appearance and noble in character…”]
[“She shall marry Lou Yu, Prince of Lanling, as his princess consort. The wedding will take place on the seventh day after the prince’s death. Thus is it decreed.”
I jerked up my head, at first believing I had misheard.
The seventh day after his death… the Prince of Lanling’s death.
He had still… died?
My heart could not calm for a long time, and tears streamed down my cheeks…]
Everyone considered where the plot should go next. With nothing to do, Qiao Yu picked up a pen and secretly wrote: My heart could not calm for a long time, and tears streamed down my cheeks. Then… I died of rage.
Everyone: “…”
-Scriptwriter Ghost: She d-d-died again? (sobbing.jpg)
Under everyone’s accusing gaze, Qiao Yu shrank his neck.
Shang Yan had been sprawled bonelessly in a chair. Seeing Qiao Yu provoke public outrage, he straightened, hid him behind his back, and became his accomplice: Heaven took pity on her, and she was reborn. This time, she would definitely…
Looking at Shang Yan’s straight back, Qiao Yu’s eyes curved with delight.
The Scriptwriter Ghost would not play with him, but someone else would!
Qiao Yu boldly laid the notebook against Shang Yan’s back and wrote excitedly: This time, she would definitely remember to prepare a box of fast-acting heart pills.
Luo Yunmeng caught their playful mood: Uh… but she can’t take the heart pills, because she’s pregnant.
Zuo Qingquan: The child isn’t the Prince of Lanling’s.
Bian Feibai: But… but I will still take back everything that belongs to me!
Qiao Yu: Excellent. The revenge begins. She returns home.
-Scriptwriter Ghost: Her plane crashes! Farewell forever!
-Fuck, I’m dying!
-What kind of plot is this?
-As expected, no one who can play with the streamer is normal!
-Hahahaha, poor Scriptwriter Ghost. It misplaced its trust again.
Qiao Yu hurriedly stopped them. “Don’t be angry. You couldn’t figure out what to write, so we were only relaxing for a moment.”
-Scriptwriter Ghost: Waaaah… But I don’t want to play with you.
“Fine, we won’t. Keep writing. I’ll cook, all right?”
-Painted-Skin Ghost: I want to eat Baby QY’s cooking too.
-Sadako: +1.
-Li Xiaoqin: Uh… I feel like there’s a trap.
-The streamer can cook?
“You can cook?” Luo Yunmeng’s eyes shone. If she had a handsome, capable boyfriend like her benefactor who could cook, perhaps a doctorate was not absolutely necessary.
Shang Yan added coolly, “He said he’ll cook. He didn’t say it was for you. Why are you so excited?”
Luo Yunmeng: “…”
Forget it. If men were reliable, doctoral diplomas would grow on trees.
Qiao Yu entered the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves.
What should he make?
He had not cooked in years. Surely he was not rusty?
He took vegetables from his Spatial Grid and crouched beside the stove to light a fire.
One of the leading champions of hide-and-seek passed the kitchen after leaving the bathroom. He poked his head inside. “You’re cooking?”
Qiao Yu hummed while tossing coal into the stove, looking reasonably competent.
After some thought, the man entered and smiled. “I’ll help.”
Qiao Yu hesitated, then accepted. This man had done little except hide and had barely contributed to the script. Helping here would not delay important work.
“I’ll wash the vegetables first?”
The young man removed them from their bags, trimmed and washed them with practiced movements.
Reassured, Qiao Yu looked away. He lit dry grass with a lighter and placed it in the stove as kindling.
“I’m Qiao Yu. What should I call you?”