Transmigrated Female Official

Facing Ji Qili, Chu Qingluo forced a smile: "I don't know what topics we can discuss with the Fifth Prince?" After saying this, she seemed to remember something and added: "Oh, I remember now, the Fifth Prince has ordered clothes from Mingyifang, which will take another month to complete. Please be patient, Fifth Prince."

Seeing that she wanted to leave, Ji Qili continued to block her way, saying, "...I know you have a prejudice against me, but can you listen to me for a moment first?"

Chu Qingluo gasped, looked at him, and said patiently, "Alright, Fifth Prince, please speak."

"What happened between me and Lord Ji is in the past. I hope Qingluo won't hold it against me."

"Fifth Prince, you misunderstand. Your affairs have nothing to do with me, nor do I have any interest in them, so there is absolutely no need for you to explain to me."

"But you're angry."

She rolled her eyes helplessly: "Fifth Prince, don't overthink it, it's not like that at all!"

He still wouldn't give up: "But you are definitely angry, and your attitude and tone of voice don't hide that at all."

Chu Qingluo reacted even faster: "That's just my personality! I'm usually rather irritable and cold, so please understand, Fifth Prince."

"..."

Seeing that he couldn't respond, she added, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"..." Ji Qili remained silent.

Chu Qinglu ignored him and walked past him. After a few steps, she realized he had followed. "Fifth Prince, is there anything else?"

He stared straight ahead with a serious expression and said, "The mint scent is gone. I'll go to Guangrentang to get it myself."

Chu Qinglu gritted her teeth angrily and let him follow her back to Guangrentang without saying a word.

As soon as she entered, Chu Qingluo instructed He Qi to fetch incense, and without paying attention to whether Ji Qili was standing or sitting, she busied herself with her own tasks. It wasn't until the mint incense arrived and she personally handed it to Ji Qili that she didn't forget to ask, "May I ask, Fifth Prince, is the Changming Palace incense burned day and night?"

Ji Qili paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and then replied, "Every now and then. I have to thank Qingluo for choosing this incense for me; otherwise, my Changming Palace probably would never have had incense in my lifetime."

Actually, some people like mint, while others absolutely hate it. Chu Qingluo's ramblings to Ji Jie back then have now become Ji Qili's excuse to get close to her.

Chu Qinglu smiled and said, "Then I will send someone to deliver mint incense to Changming Palace every ten days, so that the Fifth Prince will not have to do everything himself."

"..." Ji Qili stared at her, and could tell that she really didn't intend to leave him any room at all. "There's no set number of how much or how little you'll need, so I'll just come and get it when I need it."

Chu Qingluo stared back at him, letting out a heavy sigh. Her patience had completely worn thin. She asked earnestly, "Fifth Prince, I truly don't understand, why must you do this?"

"You can't possibly not understand what I'm thinking..."

"Stop." Before Ji Qili could finish speaking, Chu Qingluo raised her hand to stop him. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Fifth Prince, and for saying you want to be my friend. But I'm used to being carefree, and I'm afraid I might offend you often. So I think it's best if we keep some distance from each other."

Of course, she knew Ji Qili had feelings for her. Although she didn't know where this inexplicable affection came from, she didn't want to hear him say it. Whether it was a confession, praise, or anything else, she didn't want any of it. She still felt the emotion she had felt when Gongsun Yu confessed to her, and she didn't want it to be maliciously ruined.

Ji Qili couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly: "You won't even give me a chance to speak?" When he saw her angry, he thought she was jealous, so he still had a sliver of hope. That's why he waited until the storm had passed before coming to find her, only to find that he had been disappointed.

"I thank you, but I don't want you to waste your time on me anymore."

He stared at her… He didn't understand! Why wouldn't she even give him a chance? Even if he and Ji Jie had a relationship, that was commonplace for a man before marriage. Her resolute attitude was such that she wouldn't even listen to his explanations… Why was that? Was it simply because he looked like someone she disliked?

“Even if you don’t want to hear it, I’m still going to say it.” The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, and the angrier he became. “I’ll ask you to come to me sooner or later! You and I, Eighth Sister and your brother, are best suited to be on the same boat.” After saying that, he took a few steps outside and added, “Think it over carefully.”

After he left, Chu Qingluo let out a cold laugh. Luckily, she hadn't been fooled by Ji Qili's refined appearance and approachable attitude. His ambition was indeed very strong! That face, whether in modern or ancient times, was sent by heaven to test her!

At this moment, Shaoyao walked in: "Qingluo, what did the Fifth Prince say?" She had just seen the two of them enter Guangrentang one after the other, and their expressions were not good, so she did not even dare to bring them tea.

Chu Qinglu smiled helplessly and succinctly summarized to her: "His main goal is to make me take sides and align myself with him and the Eighth Princess."

Peony's eyes widened in surprise: "Is she here to act as a persuader?"

"Heh...you could say that." For Ji Qili, pragmatism was more important than goodwill. Chu Qingluo was too lazy to think about it anymore and said, "Let's not worry about him now, we have a lot of things to do."

"Yes, the announcement regarding the selection of Yunshi by the palace has already been issued," Peony replied.

"That's good."

Considering the men who would have to travel long distances from other small towns and endure the hardships of the journey, Chu Qingluo suggested setting the date for the selection three months later, mainly to give Chu Yilin more time to struggle. However, the Eighth Princess refused to agree and insisted on moving the date forward to one month later, saying that this was more than enough.

The moment the proclamation was issued, the men of Ji Kingdom were in an uproar, even the lowly servants in their secluded mansions could participate. For most, this was nothing short of a golden opportunity to rise from serf to landowner.