Accidentally dressed as an empress

Zhong Yi looked at the bright moonlight outside the small square window, listened to the chirping of summer insects outside, and sighed.

He had never thought that Her Royal Highness would come to visit him in prison. Although Her Royal Highness was nominally his cousin, he had never had much contact with her.

He only knew that the now-adult Princess, renowned for her kindness, possessed a plain appearance and a shaky mind. Yunxiu lacked a strong opinion, having been led astray by her retainers. She often disagreed with His Majesty on political matters, and because she advocated for peace, she was stripped of her right to participate in government. Oh, and now, she'd even been stripped of her title as Princess.

The first time he saw her, he realized she wasn't quite what the rumors said. The Zhong family had always produced beautiful women, so Zhong Xuan's daughter was naturally not ordinary. Her eyes were truly captivating. Unlike the kindhearted image she was rumored to possess, she possessed the aura of a sword concealing its edge, a radiant and restrained spirit.

Zhong Yi wondered what His Highness's intention was when he said he wanted to save him.

On a summer night, the jailers were eating meat, drinking wine and playing drinking games. Suddenly, the noise became quiet. There were a few thuds, and the jailers all fell to the ground without any warning.

He quickly covered his mouth and nose.

"Zhong Yi! I'm here to rescue you." The person who came was Lin Zichen. She had her hair tied up in a high ponytail and wore white clothes and silver armor, which made her very eye-catching in the dark night.

Zhong Yi frowned. He had never seen anyone come to the prison with such fanfare. She wasn't even wearing a nightgown. Zhong Yi whispered, "Lin Zichen, you're crazy! Go back now."

"I'm not crazy, I want to take you away." Lin Zichen opened the iron lock on the wooden fence and came in, pulling his arm and was about to leave.

Zhong Yi broke free from her pull, "I'm not leaving! Hurry up and leave. Don't let your momentary impulsiveness bring trouble to the Lin family and the general."

Lin Zichen looked at him anxiously and said, "I... I can't control the Lin family anymore. My father canceled our marriage, and this was not my intention at all. Ayi, let's leave here and stay away from Lingyun City."

Zhong Yi's brows knitted even tighter. "Lin Zichen, wake up! I can't leave! You're committing a serious crime by robbing the prison! If I follow you into prison, I'll be adding insult to injury."

Zhong Yi looked at Lin Zichen coldly, "Are you trying to kill me?"

Lin Zichen looked at Zhong Yi's determined expression and hesitated.

Zhong Yi turned around and said, "Go back. Your father broke off the engagement for the good of the Lin family. The Zhong family has suffered and is no longer what it used to be. We are no longer worthy of the Lin family."

Lin Zichen said sternly, "You're just speaking in anger. Who else but you can be worthy of me? Besides, kicking someone when they're down is not a gentleman's behavior. I will find a way to revive the engagement."

She was talking on her own, which made no sense. Why hadn't he thought Lin Zichen was so unreasonable before? Zhong Yi said, "We've known each other for over ten years. Even if we can't be husband and wife, we're still friends. I'll always remember your kindness in saving me, Yixiantian."

"Then marry me."

"I could have married you."

"Ayi, your words are enough."

Zhong Yi advised kindly, "Just listen to me and go back."

"I will definitely marry you." Lin Zichen hugged Zhong Yi and kissed his forehead gently. "We are a perfect match. No one can separate us."

Zhong Yi patted her on the back and said, "Zi Chen, don't be so persistent."

"wait for me……"

Zhong Yi smiled faintly and said nothing. He had a feeling that Lin Zichen might not get what he wanted. The eldest princess had already noticed him and might interfere.

Zhong Yi tried his best to persuade Lin Zichen to leave, but she kept looking back, so Zhong Yi turned his back on her.

The night watch sounded, signaling late night. It was time to rest. Zhong Yi took off his ochre-red official uniform, spread it on the straw, and lay down on top of his clean clothes.

The same moonlight of the summer night shines on the desolate Jinghe Temple.

The remote palace had long been neglected, overgrown with weeds. Moonlight shone on the faded bricks, revealing the mottled marks of time. An old plum tree, which withered the year the palace's owner died, stretched its branches through the window lattice of the bedroom.

Warm yellow candlelight shone through the window lattice. Inside the bedroom, Yunxiu was lying in a frivolous manner on the Huanghuali wood bed with hollow grape patterns, wearing only a middle dress, with her hands behind her head and one leg raised up, swinging leisurely.

She was forced to watch the system's live broadcast. She was speechless. Was she a gossiper? She wasn't. But she had been saddled with a system whose gossip spirit burned fiercely.

Yunxiu grabbed the thin, azure quilt and covered her head with it. She said to the system, "I don't want to see it at all. Turn it off."

She'd been assassinated, and after a night of turmoil, she was exhausted and didn't want to bother focusing on the love, hate, and vengeance of the card figures. "So what if Zhong Yi has a fiancée? As long as he can be of use to me, I don't mind helping this perfect couple."

The system reminded, "Zhong Yi and you are married, how can you help them?"

Yun Xiu said nonchalantly, "It's just a fake marriage, a means to keep Zhong Yi safe. I won't restrict him. He can cheat anytime he wants."

The system said, "The host has a broad mind."

Yun Xiu didn't take it seriously. "By the way, Tongzi, Lin Zichen is the daughter of General Lin Yan. She should be quite good at fighting, right? Is she also an SSR? Is she easy to recruit?"

The system was silent for a moment, "Host, you have a broad vision, worthy of being a gold medal traverser."

Yun Xiu smiled and said, "Just wait, sooner or later I will get Lin Zichen's SSR."

The system said quietly, "Using words is cheating, host."

Yunxiu's head ached like needles, and she couldn't use her Word Spirit continuously. She watched helplessly as Yunxiu's lifespan was suddenly reduced by three years. Oh my god, was Lin Zichen so difficult to deal with?

The price was quite high. Yunxiu didn't feel anything at all when she broke off the engagement with Zhong Yi, except for a vague sense of loss.

At that time, the system said that she had destroyed other people's marriages, and the price she paid was losing a few peach blossoms as compensation.

Yunxiu didn't think much of it. It was just a few peach blossoms. She wouldn't even want them. It was troublesome. Men are troublesome. Men in a world dominated by women are even more troublesome. Their hearts are like needles in the sea.

She had invested in Zhong Yi, but it was still unknown whether this deal was worthwhile. It would be best if he could be worth several... No, she was thinking wrong, cousins, it was impossible... He had better be worthy of her investment.

The biggest problem now was that she had the idea to recruit Lin Zichen and used the Word Spirit, which resulted in her life span being shortened by three years. At this rate, if she recruited another dozen or twenty SSRs, she would definitely die.

To survive, she had to live long enough. Even if she regained her position as Crown Princess, her mother was now in her forties, so she still had at least another twenty years to live. She wouldn't even be able to outlive her younger sisters and brothers, and she might not even be able to outlive her mother.

What the hell, the Word Spirit can’t be used any more. Yunxiu secretly made up her mind not to use the Word Spirit until the critical moment.

Yunxiu turned over, closed her eyes and fell asleep, having a good night's sleep.