Quick Transmigration: The Foolish Beauty Saves the World

Chapter 173 The Useless Prince's Power Seizure (51)

Outside the world, the man guarding the black sphere also sensed this fluctuation. He frowned and searched the world, but found nothing.

Heavy snow fell intermittently for nearly ten days, destroying most of the houses and causing countless people to freeze to death.

Even the eaves of the palace were broken by the constantly compacted snow, not to mention the "divine water" built in a secluded place.

The northern sacred waters extend outwards from the palace where Jingli went on his spring hunt, and there are two more places, but because they are both located in the north, they were the most severely affected by this snow disaster.

The area closer to the imperial city (the place where the spring hunt was held) was slightly better, but the caves were also covered by snow. The natural open cave entrances became a death sentence in this disaster. Some snowflakes fell down the cave entrances, and the flowers and plants inside the caves, which relied on energy for nourishment, could not withstand the freezing cold and soon showed signs of withering.

Part of this formation relies on these plants, which greatly reduces its effectiveness.

The naturally formed streams froze into ice crystals at such low temperatures, and the ice crystals, unable to withstand the weight, fell one after another, destroying more than half of the cave.

The effectiveness of this formation was reduced to less than half of its original value.

The two locations further north are even worse. One location cracked because the ground where the formation was located was too different from the temperature, and the other was mostly covered by snow from the mountain. It was still usable, but the "divine water" was also contaminated.

It's no wonder the emperor felt it so strongly.

Just then, the man suddenly entered a mysterious state.

He was very familiar with this state—it was a divine oracle.

"Is there anything in this world that you wish to report to me?"

Swept by this "divine power," the man instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and stammered:

“My Lord, the natural disaster destroyed half of the formation, but the progress is still normal, so I did not interfere without authorization.”

The gods remained silent.

Beneath the guise of a "god" lay Sefosi, whom Lu Mingguang had failed to capture before.

Judging from his appearance alone, this person is actually one of the most convincing types.

He has large, bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and thick lips. If he were younger, he would be considered handsome. Even in his old age, his bone structure does not appear gloomy, making him easy to like.

This is why he was able to become a demigod-like being in his original world.

This is also why he was able to gain a foothold in the Zero Boundary and do these things without being suspected.

That being said, this believer wasn't particularly powerful, but he was obedient.

The world's progress is almost completely under control, and it's still a backward civilization. It has set up many safeguards, so even if that little fish really comes here, it might not be able to get out alive.

But just now, he clearly felt a force.

The power that he both loathed and coveted.

This force isn't that strong; could it be just another sign of this world's lingering existence?

Having lost control of two worlds in succession, he was severely weakened and desperately needed to recover. He absolutely could not afford to make a mistake in this world with the lowest difficulty level.

The force he had just experienced made him uneasy, but he ultimately decided to risk entering this world again.

He is not a real god after all, and now that he is being hunted down by the Zero Realm, it is even more difficult for him to forcibly enter the small world as an observer system.

But this world is already covered by shadows, so even if he doesn't enter in his true form, there are other ways.

In the small world where Jingli is located, thanks to the speed-up card, more than half a year has passed. Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived, which should be a harvest season, but the disaster is getting worse.

On one hand, there were the previous natural disasters, and on the other hand, foreign enemies were also making moves.

Everything seemed so familiar.

Those who live long lives, or whose family members have experienced the change of dynasties, will always look up at the sky and sigh, "The world is about to change."

The emperor's health was deteriorating, and he showed little interest in war or disasters.

In his view, with the divine intervention of the gods, everything would eventually return to peace.

The eldest prince and others outside the palace intended to take advantage of the situation, instead of easing the flow, they blocked the flow, which aroused public anger. People who were displaced by war and disasters mixed together and became soldiers. With one or two brutes leading the charge, they quickly gathered a force. The refugees fled in all directions, and some died of disease or were beaten to death. In some places, plagues had already appeared.

At the same time, war also broke out.

Just as the heavy snow in the north was beginning to subside and the losses had not yet been tallied, the border was attacked by surprise. The enemy had made thorough preparations and was determined to fight to the death. The north had just suffered a snow disaster and was severely weakened, so the enemy advanced like a hot knife through butter, capturing three cities in less than a month.

By the time the imperial city reacted and troops were dispatched, the enemy had already occupied a strategically important and difficult-to-attack location, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides.

The east has been plagued by drought since the winter, and now that war has broken out in the north, the pressure on the east has increased even further.

It is the ordinary people who suffer.

However, it must be admitted that this chaos in the world is not only a good thing for the eldest and second princes, but also for the Lang family.

Whether it was because the eldest prince and others were busy seizing the opportunity, Yu An, who went out with Jingli, did not wait for the messenger who had delivered the message to come to find him again.

The Lang family also made arrangements during this turmoil. They did not rush to reveal their true intentions, but instead used the Crown Prince's name to help appease the refugees, while looking for opportunities to place trustworthy people at various points.

The "soldiers" that Lang's father had secretly trained earlier also came in handy. They were formed into squads and sent to the east and north to build their own forces under the name of "militia." There were other plans for them in the future.

This series of actions greatly boosted the "dream" created by 6058 and Jingli, and for a time, the people became more convinced that Jingli was the reincarnation of a true god.

Jingli was not idle for more than half a year. He basically did not stay in the palace. He used several temporary palaces as points to "observe the people's conditions". In this way, the people received the "divine decree" one after another. After another round of word of mouth, the "heavenly gods" in various places all changed their appearance.

Correspondingly, the scenery is becoming increasingly rich in energy.

Now, he can "see" the distribution of shadows that the system cannot detect, and can even vaguely see the direction of the shadows.

For example, the "divine water" and formations set up at the palace. Although there had been speculation that these formations were "releasing" energy, what we actually saw was quite different.

One could see black lines weaving intricate patterns, encircling a small, pure land—the very location of the entire formation.

The ends of these patterns twist into an extremely thick black python that disappears into the clouds. The direction of the "black python" can be clearly seen in the scenery, pointing directly to the imperial city.

In addition, strands of golden lines also sprouted from the enshrined statue of the deity, attaching themselves to the black python and spreading upwards together.

The movement of the shadowy figure formed its own intricate pattern, perhaps precisely because of this, which suppressed the true world consciousness, causing it to weaken.

The mechanism by which these shadowy figures operate is roughly the same as 6058's previous speculation: the panic, resentment, and faith of the people are mixed together, supporting the emperor and outsiders who use the emperor as a medium.

Jingli now has abundant energy and can remotely control it to destroy the small formations under those statues with just a thought.

However, it will take some time before we can directly confront the formations that have taken shape across the entire world.

·

That spring, Jingli did not get to go horseback riding and enjoy the spring scenery with Yu'an as she had hoped.

Everything was still in chaos, and the emperor kept urging Jingli to return to the palace to prevent her from being harmed by some fool.

At first, Jingli just gave him a perfunctory response, but as her energy gradually increased, she stopped going out as often.

Because Zeng Yuan had gone out with him several times, he had already been trained.

Now he not only has Zeng Yuan as his personal savior, but also Langyue's information network, and 6058, whose detection range is constantly being restored.

There are outsiders to help with the outside affairs. All he needs to do now is stay in the palace, secretly transform some "shadows" that are sent to the emperor every day, and create a dream every two or three months to give some "revelation".

After Jingli's ordeal, the emperor's health deteriorated further.

In the spring after Yu An and Jing Li's fourteenth birthdays, before Jing Li was thinking of taking Bai Xue and Yu An to a place in the capital for a spring outing, news of Jing Jing's service to the emperor arrived first.

This day was bound to come eventually. We had delayed it for a year by pretending to be away from home, but we couldn't delay it any longer.

There weren't many rules governing the imperial concubines' nights with the princes; for the princes, it was simply a "lesson" before they could get married.

Everything was the same as usual that night, except that the incense in the bedroom had been changed, and just smelling it made people feel a little confused and infatuated.

The palace servants were all there, as was Yu An, who served as a guard.

Jingjing washed up early and lay down on Jingli's bed. She was a little puzzled—why was this bed different from the one she used to warm His Highness's bed before?

Of course, she didn't know that what she thought was "warming the bed" was just Jingli using a little trick to coax her to her own bed, and she thought that today was different and the bedding had been changed.

The incense curtains were drawn, and the scene was yet to unfold. Everyone knew what would happen inside, yet they tried to conceal it, making everyone inside and outside feel a burning desire.

Of course, this does not include Yu An.

He stared intently at the bed shrouded by curtains, his eyes reddening.

He clenched his fists tightly, repeatedly reminding himself:

—Both His Highness and Lady Jingjing have been kind to him, and he should not harbor hatred because of them.

—This is just a "lesson," and His Highness may not necessarily be interested in Qingqing, nor may the two necessarily become partners.

—Everyone will experience what happened tonight; it's normal, and he already knew that.

But this rationality shattered when Jingli appeared.

He tried to suppress his emotions, took two steps back, lowered his head, and refused to look at Jingli.

Jingli looked at him and sighed softly.

He released the hallucinogenic card that 6058 had prepared long ago. A faint golden light swept by, and the scene in the eyes of the palace servants changed.

They saw His Highness the Crown Prince lift the curtain and enter, and Jingjing called out softly:

"Your Highness..."

"Your Highness, there's no need to be ashamed..."

Then came the man's panting, the woman's cries of pain, and then sounds that made people ashamed.

Yu An looked at the expressions of the palace servants, still somewhat puzzled. These cards didn't seem to have much effect on him, unless Jing Li deliberately wanted him to see them.

But Keiri obviously wouldn't do that.

Yu An only saw Jingli lift the curtain and sit on the edge of the bed. Jingjing's pretty face was already flushed, and she called out, just like in the dream, "Your Highness..."

Yu An's temples throbbed twice. He wanted to step out of the hall, but then he heard Jing Li say, "Sister Jingjing, you should get up first."

Jingjing was stunned, thinking she had done something wrong. Already embarrassed, she panicked and immediately got up and knelt on the bed.

"Your Highness...Does Your Highness find something wrong with Jingjing?"

Jingli shook his head, saw Yu An standing there in a daze, and gave him a wink.

Things didn't go as Yu An expected, but his tacit understanding with Jing Li made him realize that the other party meant he needed to avoid the situation.

Perhaps... she didn't want to see Jingjing looking like this.

Yu An felt a slight pain in her heart again, but it was much better than the stuffiness she had felt earlier.

He stepped back to the bedside, out of their blind spot, and then heard Jingli speak again:

“Sister Jingjing, I’ve always called you sister. You should know that in my heart, I consider you my sister.”

Jingjing didn't say anything.

"Since she is my elder sister, I really can't do this."

Jingjing said anxiously, "Your Highness, please don't be so formal. This is all my duty. Your Highness, Your Highness..."

Before Jingjing could finish speaking, Jingli gently interrupted, "Sister, I already have someone I love, so I won't delay you any longer or defile your body for no reason."

Yu An felt a pang of guilt, suppressed his self-reproach, and took a small step toward the bed.

Jingjing was puzzled: "Your Highness, Jingjing does not covet the position of Crown Princess, nor does she covet Your Highness's feelings. Whether I become a concubine or continue to be a head palace maid, Jingjing is willing."

Jingli shook her head and frankly told Jingjing, "The person I love is not a woman."

An eerie silence filled the air, and Yu An even held her breath.

Jingli didn't say those words to Jingjing without thinking.

Even though Jingjing was personally chosen by Langyue, now that he has moved into the East Palace, Jingjing is his person (subordinate relationship).

After so many years of getting along, Jingli knows that Jingjing is considered innocent in the palace, keeps her mouth shut, and won't say anything to Langyue casually.

In short, one must first inform oneself before speaking.

Besides, Jingli wasn't worried that Jingjing would tell anyone about it.

I must let Langyue know that I have no feelings for a woman; it's just a matter of when.

He didn't want to deceive Langyue, didn't want to deceive Jingjing, and didn't want his affair with Yu An to be kept in the dark.

After a long while, Jingjing finally let out a soft hum.

"Xiao...Xiao An?"

After saying that, she slapped herself. She was so shocked and confused that she dared to speculate on His Highness's intentions.

To everyone's surprise, the next second, Jingli replied simply and decisively: "Mm".

Jingjing fell completely silent.

After a while, Jingjing, who had finally recovered from her shock, looked outside in a panic. She saw that all the palace servants had their heads down and their faces were flushed with unease.

Jingli smiled and said, "Sister, don't worry. They can't hear what we're saying, and what they see is what I want them to see."

Jingjing didn't understand the underlying principles, but she didn't ask too many questions; for her, there were more important things to do.

"Is Your Highness aware of this matter? If His Highness does not engage in sexual relations with women, what will happen to the child?"

At this moment, she was genuinely caring for Jingli as an "older sister."

Jingli knew her good intentions, but shook her head: "Sister, you don't need to worry. This is the path I chose myself. Mother doesn't know yet, but I won't hide it from her. As for the child, you don't need to worry either. Even if you insist on having the child, you don't have to drag you into it."

Jingli's gaze softened: "Sister is a capable person. Don't confine yourself to the harem. There will be opportunities after the turmoil. Whether you stay in the palace or leave, I will help you."

·

(This little world is almost over! But I haven't been feeling too well lately because this world has been much longer than I expected, and I'm a bit anxious about ending it. Let me sort things out and wrap it up before starting the next little world.)