At the hour of Mao (5:00 am - 7:00 am), on a ten-li (about 5 kilometers) street.
Today, the fourth prince is getting married, and the wedding procession extends from the beginning of the street to the end.
The groom is riding a white horse, while eight eunuchs lift the dragon and phoenix wedding sedan. Behind them are more than forty soldiers, making for a grand procession.
They play drums and gongs along the way, waking up the people on the long street.
The citizens in the buildings nearby open their windows and peer out to see what is happening.
However, they are not looking at the fourth prince's wedding procession but rather at the other line of soldiers who are standing in formation under the building.
There is a wheelchair in front of the formation that draws everyone's attention. A person is sitting on the wheelchair.
A person who should not be here.
Xiao Jin knows what the onlookers are thinking.
Indeed, her proper appearance should not be in a wheelchair, but rather in a coffin.
Of course, if she fails to abduct the bride today, the royal tomb might still have a place reserved for her.
"Host, please note that the wedding sedan is only 500 meters away from you."
"Reminder! The host's remaining lifespan is only one hour. Please control the time to abduct the bride and complete the 'abduction' task as soon as possible. Upon completion of the task, the lifespan can be extended."
The mechanical voice rings in her mind.
After listening to the system's words, Xiao Jin is moved.
Even though she has been transmigrated into such a ancient book with a dog-blood plot, her system is still somewhat humane.
It gave her almost two days to buffer and did not force the task on her right away.
Of course, fundamentally, it is not much better.
Yes, the person sitting in the wheelchair is not the third prince of Qi Country, Xiao Jin, but an innocent transmigrator.
The process of Xiao Jin transmigrating into this book is straightforward.
Two days ago, she finished reading "The Great Empress Yao," a online novel that was supposed to have a strong female lead but in fact was full of dog-blood plots and abusive relationships.
After reading it, Xiao Jin did not curse or wish harm upon the author's family. She simply gave it a negative rating and commented:
"It's quite dog-blooded, and I have the exact same name as a cannon fodder who won't survive past the third chapter. I'm really afraid of transmigration."
Someone agreed and left a message saying, "Hahaha, I suggest that all sisters memorize the whole text," and "Sister, hurry up and read the extras. It seems that modern society can't keep you here."
Then Xiao Jin transmigrated.
The system told her that she had become the 18th-line supporting character in the novel, a strange woman who had a disability, dressed as a man, and was obsessed with the male lead.
The original owner was highly decorated and held an important position.
However, she was completely obedient to the male lead, even if he asked her to go east when she should have gone west.
What a forced setting.
The system provided an explanation: "Host, you have traveled to an old-fashioned, melodramatic alternate world where anything is possible."
"Due to the setting, you will not live beyond three chapters. Therefore, you currently only have 48 hours left to live. Please complete the first task as soon as possible to extend your life span."
Xiao Jin was an old bookworm and understood all the clichés.
So she nodded to show that she understood: "What is the task?"
"Task One: Kidnap and forcibly marry the female lead who is about to marry the second male lead."
A friendly reminder to the host: Only when you complete all the tasks and let the female lead kill you can the countdown to your life span stop, and you can return to your original world."
Xiao Jin: "......"
Not to mention that Yao Country was destroyed by the original owner, and the female lead had an irreconcilable hatred with her.
She just imagined a terminally ill lung cancer patient who couldn't walk upright and went to the female lead's wedding in a wheelchair while coughing up blood. She was already desperate.
After careful consideration, Xiao Jin proposed a feasible solution: "Can I just choose to die and end the story?"
"No, Host, you can't."
......
After two days of psychological preparation, the transmigrator Xiao Jin was now brave enough to lead the guards to the female lead's wedding to kidnap her.
Watching the dragon and phoenix wedding sedan sway in the mist, approaching closer and closer.
Xiao Jin frowned slightly, took the silk handkerchief handed to her by her attendant, covered her mouth, and coughed up some blood.
The handkerchief was embroidered with scarlet peonies, but in terms of depth and brightness, it was far less striking than the red blood stains.
The wedding sedan was right in front of her. But Xiao Jin was still calm and collected, even having the presence of mind to neatly fold the blood-stained handkerchief and hand it to her attendant.
After completing these tasks, she squinted her eyes and looked towards the majestic horse that had broken through the thick fog.
When she saw the Fourth Prince, who was riding a tall horse, she drew an arrow from the quiver on her guard's waist and ran her fingers thoughtfully over the white feathers at the end.
The system had told her yesterday that although she had inherited the short lifespan of the original owner, she had also inherited her skills.
Since the original owner had been to the battlefield and could be appointed as the Grand General of the country, she must have been quite capable. Even if her legs were disabled, muscle memory would still remain.
Xiao Jin was curious about how high the original owner's martial arts skills were. Coincidentally, a live target had come to her doorstep.
Now, she looked at the fourth prince, who was dressed in a black and red ceremonial robe and riding a horse, as if she were watching a moving white mouse, with a hint of pity in her eyes.
After coughing a few times, she calmly picked up her bow and arrow, aimed at the fourth prince, and let the arrow fly.
It has to be said that Xiao Jin's series of actions completely stumped the system.
"What are you doing, host? The core task is to snatch the bride, not to assassinate someone."
However, it was too late.
Xiao Jin pinched the tail end of the arrow with her fingers, pulled back calmly, and released the feathered shaft.
The commoners stood on the balcony, originally watching with interest. When they saw Xiao Jin pulling back her bowstring and aiming, they suddenly felt that something was wrong.
When they saw the direction of the arrowhead, they were almost stunned.
The little children on the balcony looked at Xiao Jin, who was pulling back her bowstring and then shot an arrow neatly and cleanly.
If their mothers hadn't covered their mouths tightly, they might have cried.
But when they saw the feathered arrow grazed the groom's hairpin and hit the sedan curtain, their facial expressions gradually became dumbfounded.
After a moment, they burst out laughing.
Of course, not everyone was like the children who could laugh.
Because the cold arrow that shot through the air had caused the situation below the balcony to lose control.
The sound of horses neighing filled the air, as the guards drew their swords in unison and shouted, "Assassin! Protect His Highness!"
The rising sun marked the beginning of a new day in the imperial city.
...
As the guards shouted and surrounded the rebellious assassins, they were suddenly dumbfounded.
They saw Xiao Jin sitting in a wheelchair, staring wide-eyed at them. For the first time, they realized that protecting their master by drawing their swords could ruin their own futures.
With their swords raised high, they could neither strike nor sheath them. They were truly stuck in a difficult position.
The fourth prince finally managed to calm his frightened horse. As he rode toward the intruders with a menacing presence, he was momentarily stunned.
He had encountered someone whose aura was even more formidable than his own.
The person in the wheelchair had a pale complexion. Even though they were wearing a black fur cloak, they couldn't hide their weakness. Their delicate features made them look like a woman.
But no one dared to utter these thoughts aloud, knowing the prince's temper. They only muttered to themselves in their hearts.
In fact, Xiao Jin felt that the original owner's face didn't look like that of a man at all. Anyone with functioning eyesight could see that the original owner was disguised as a man.
However, the original owner had disguised herself for over twenty years without ever being exposed.
Truly, this was an old-fashioned web novel full of clichés. If you used your brain to read it, you'd lose.
The system was still in shock because it had fast-forwarded the scene to the fourth prince being shot in the forehead with an arrow, causing blood to spurt out.
But it turned out that the host only wanted to... shoot the curtains of the wedding carriage?
Indeed, during a Qing Dynasty wedding, it was customary for the groom to shoot an arrow at the wedding carriage. But this was a fictional web novel, and the host was here to abduct a bride. She couldn't really think of herself as the groom, could she?
While the system was frantically trying to figure out Xiao Jin's intentions, the atmosphere in the room fell silent.
It wasn't so much quiet as it was dead.
The fourth prince looked at Xiao Jin on her wheelchair, and both his escort and Xiao Jin's guards drew their swords, creating a tense standoff.
Finally, the strange atmosphere was broken by Xiao Jin's coughing.
She frowned and took the silk handkerchief that her attendant presented to her again.
In front of the fourth prince and the hundreds of people in the tower, Xiao Jin put away her bow and arrows and started coughing violently.
Her cough was so severe that it was heartbreaking.
The eunuch who carried the wedding sedan trembled as he heard the sound, as if his life was in danger.
After coughing up a few mouthfuls of blood, Xiao Jin wiped the blood from her mouth with a silk handkerchief and looked at the fourth prince, saying, "Today is the happy occasion of the fourth brother's wedding. Although I am not able-bodied, I should still come to congratulate him."
Congratulate him?
Everyone fell silent.
So, shooting an arrow at the groom's head is the way to congratulate him?
After listening to Xiao Jin's words, the fourth prince remained silent for a long time.
He controlled his facial expression before asking straightforwardly, "What do you want to do, third brother?"
It seemed that the original owner's younger brother was very dissatisfied with her.
Xiao Jin frowned and coughed a few more times, thinking that she needed to use her virtues to convince people, or else it wouldn't be so easy to accomplish the task.
So, she began to use her virtues.
She put on the original owner's rebellious attitude and calmly replied, "I'm here to steal the bride."
System: "......"
The fourth prince tried his best to suppress his anger. He looked down at Xiao Jin in the wheelchair with an expressionless face and asked, "Why?"
Xiao Jin was a little incredulous. Did she need a reason to steal the bride?
But she decided to convince him with reason and asked back, "I took down Yao Country. Why do you ask why?"
After hearing this, the guards holding swords and knives dared not make any sound.
The eunuchs carried the big red wedding sedan and even though their legs were trembling, they still managed to hold it up.
The scene fell into silence once again.
Although Xiao Jin's words seemed shameless, for a moment, no one could find a reason to refute her.
Because Yao Country was indeed conquered by Xiao Jin.
The Fourth Prince was the son of the imperial concubine and had been spoiled by everyone since he was young. When had he ever suffered such a grievance?
His temper was already bad, and at this point, he couldn't take it anymore, his anger rising.
He looked down on Xiao Jin's legs and asked with a sneer, "Even if Third Brother brings the beauty home, I don't know if he's lucky enough to enjoy it."
Xiao Jin noticed the contemptuous look the fourth prince gave her legs. Wasn't that a personal attack?
She believed in the principle of "you don't offend me, I don't offend you." So she decided to fight back.
Looking up at the Fourth Prince, Xiao Jin said calmly, "Never mind whether I'm lucky enough to enjoy it, let's talk about you, Fourth Brother."
"You're just a prince, with no official position, no titles, and no fiefdom. Yet you dare to be so arrogant in front of me, who am not only the ruler of Yan but also the grand general appointed by the emperor. Even the rulers of other countries, who dislike me, have to call me 'His Royal Highness, the Prince of Yan,' out of courtesy. And what are you?"
Xiao Jin asked slowly, "Who do you think you are?".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator's note: Hi everyone.
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TO BE CONTINUE...