CMWKSD -Chapter 188 The Perfect Match

Ling Yue dug her nails hard into her own palm.

Her marriage prospects had been especially ill-fated.

After all, she had intended to marry down, so the candidates were truly chosen with extreme care.

Back then, she had taken a liking to Ji Chaomian, but before she could even act on it, the Ji family—and Jiu Yue—had already caught the emperor’s eye.

Naturally, the Ling family immediately abandoned the idea.

And so, after choosing and re-choosing, there was still no conclusion even now.

The New Year was almost over, and she’d be another year older—truly enough to make one anxious to death.

As for Ling Yue’s cousin, Zhen Mingzhu, her marriage prospects weren’t particularly smooth either.

Mainly because her standards were rather high. She loved composing poetry and writing verse, and she truly did carry herself like a proper noble young lady.

So she insisted on choosing for herself a man who was handsome and talented…

And to make matters worse, her family indulged her. Zhen Mingzhu was only two or three months older than Ling Yue.

From the way that Ning Ning had just spoken, it sounded as though Zhen Mingzhu had already found her ideal husband?

Ling Yue gave a light snort and turned her head, intending to pull Jiu Yue away with her.

But Ning Ning seemed to know that Ling Yue and Zhen Mingzhu had a minor grudge between them.

She deliberately aimed right for the sore spot.

“Your Highness, you wouldn’t go around telling people about this, would you?”

Ling Yue clenched her teeth hard. Ning Ning and Zhen Mingzhu were close friends.

Naturally, Zhen Mingzhu would tell Ning Ning anything.

But coming to flaunt it in front of her—what was that supposed to mean?

What’s more, even setting Zhen Mingzhu aside, for the sake of her aunt and maternal family, she wouldn’t spread such words around.

Jiu Yue lifted her eyes and glanced at Ning Ning.

Jiu Yue didn’t like using her brain much.

But this person was blatantly laying out her scheme right in the open.

Surely Ling Yue wasn’t so blind as to fail to see it?

Jiu Yue waited for Ling Yue to retort.

But when she turned her head—

Good heavens. The girl was grinding her teeth in rage, her eyes already red.

She snorted. “I won’t!”

Jiu Yue nearly spat—no, wait…

“Your Highness, you…” Jiu Yue hesitated, unsure how to continue.

It was genuinely hard to find someone who disliked thinking as much as this one.

Or had she truly not seen that Ning Ning was digging a pit for her?

Ling Yue immediately stopped speaking with Ning Ning and Zhen Mingzhu and instead looked at Jiu Yue.

“What’s wrong?”

Jiu Yue shook her head and lifted her eyes to glance at Ning Ning.

Sure enough, she saw a fleeting trace of darkness flash through Ning Ning’s eyes.

There were only four people here in total.

Jiu Yue wasn’t familiar with the other two, but Ling Yue was—and she had a past grievance with that cousin of hers.

If today’s words spread, Zhen Mingzhu would only think Ling Yue was the one who leaked them.

She wouldn’t even suspect Ning Ning.

This girl… was not simple at all.

Seeing Ling Yue being this foolish, Jiu Yue truly didn’t know what to say.

She was just about to open her mouth and cut off Ning Ning’s retreat—

When Ning Ning, as if showing off, began speaking about Zhen Mingzhu’s so-called ideal husband.

“Your Highness, you don’t know— that young master and Zhu-zhu are simply a match made in heaven.”

Ling Yue frowned and was about to pull Jiu Yue away, but Jiu Yue grabbed her hand instead.

Then—

Ling Yue’s eyes sparkled, her cheeks flushed bright red. Looking dazed and dizzy, she carefully cradled Jiu Yue’s hand in both of hers.

How could she still hear anyone else’s boasting?

Jiu Yue: …

Why was she acting like she’d drunk fake wine?

After Ning Ning finished speaking, she glanced at Zhen Mingzhu. As expected, she saw disdain and pride in Zhen Mingzhu’s eyes.

Jiu Yue let out a cold chuckle.

Only then did Ling Yue come back to her senses.

Ning Ning and Zhen Mingzhu exchanged a glance, then looked at Jiu Yue with unfriendly expressions.

“You!” Ning Ning said.

Ning Ning considered herself unfamiliar with Jiu Yue, though she had been present at the hunt and thus recognized her. There was no past conflict between them.

But Jiu Yue raised an eyebrow and directly crossed her legs.

“Your Highness…”

Ling Yue was still out of the loop. “What is it?”

Jiu Yue followed up on Ning Ning’s earlier words.

“If there were someone who completely understood your preferences, perfectly matching every requirement you have for a husband—then that person…”

As she spoke, the faces of Ning Ning and Zhen Mingzhu reddened, and even Ling Yue’s face flushed.

“Then that person would definitely be my ideal husband, and I would—”

Jiu Yue’s fingers tapped lightly on the table. Tap. Tap. Tap. The sound struck the heart.

“—you would definitely have to run. Run without stopping. Run day and night. Run as far as you possibly can.”

Ling Yue and the two girls opposite all changed expressions.

Zhen Mingzhu even rose angrily to her feet.

Jiu Yue continued calmly, “You must understand—there is no such thing as perfect compatibility in this world. There is only deliberate calculation. If someone knows all your preferences—what poetry you like, what books you’ve read, what color hair ornaments you favor…”

Ling Yue suddenly broke out in goosebumps.

“Then… then that proves this person must have investigated me. Everything I see as ‘compatibility’ was deliberately designed for me. This is a trap.”

Jiu Yue clapped her hands twice. “Very teachable.”

Ning Ning’s face had already turned pale.

Jiu Yue swept her a glance. “And then there’s the matter of how such private information was leaked. I would investigate everyone around me. If necessary, even severe interrogation would be acceptable—because ordinary people can’t dig up these things.”

Zhen Mingzhu’s face alternated between red and white. Perhaps overly confident in her image as a talented woman, she snorted.

“Utter nonsense.”

With that, she grabbed Ning Ning and turned to leave.

Jiu Yue spoke faintly at the instant they turned around.

“Everything said here today is known to just the four of us. If even a shred of it gets out, every single one of us will be a suspect.”

Ning Ning stumbled as she walked.

Jiu Yue shot her a sharp, chilling look.

Ling Yue was still immersed in what Jiu Yue had just said. Trembling, she clutched Jiu Yue’s hand.

“What… what does that mean?”

Jiu Yue had no interest in getting entangled in this mess.

“Just repeat my exact words to your aunt. If that’s not enough, tell your mother, Princess Ling. If you don’t understand, they certainly will.”

Ling Yue fidgeted restlessly on her seat. Jiu Yue’s words had sounded so sinister—truly terrifying.

“Ah?” Ling Yue looked completely stunned.

Jiu Yue clicked her tongue. There was nothing to be done—she really did have a talent for telling horror stories.

What might have simply been the tale of a poor man trying to climb the social ladder—

Jiu Yue had painted it into the story of a vicious, malevolent ghost deliberately plotting his way into a young girl’s life.

But Jiu Yue had always been the type to imagine the worst in everything.

She glanced at Ling Yue. “Didn’t you say your uncle holds a high position with great authority?”

Ling Yue’s face flushed again. It wasn’t quite that grand.

It was just that the Marquis of Pingning served in the Ministry of War, overseeing weapons.

That alone made Jiu Yue feel the matter was even more complicated.

Especially that Ning Ning…

“What exactly is Ning Ning’s background?”

Ling Yue frowned slightly. “Her father works under my uncle, so she’s always been very eager to please my cousin. She calls herself my cousin’s closest boudoir friend.”

Jiu Yue’s thin lips parted. “So she really is a parasitic accomplice.”

Ling Yue shrieked and grabbed Jiu Yue’s hand tightly. “Y-you mean Ning Ning is a ghost?!”

Jiu Yue closed her eyes.

Utterly speechless.

Ling Yue would rather believe she’d encountered ghosts than think Jiu Yue was deliberately heightening the atmosphere.

“Go tell your mother and your aunt. Didn’t you say they’d both arrived already?”

With that, Jiu Yue prepared to leave.

She had only come today to show her face.

After all, from ancient times to the present, ladies’ diplomacy had a long history. As Ji Yiqing’s wife, she should at least make an appearance.

Whether diplomacy happened or not was another matter—showing her face was enough to let people know she existed.

Alright. Mission accomplished.

Time to go home and sleep.