The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 27

So, under Zhou Jin’s gaze, Shen Lingyan slowly took out the cloth. It was clean and had a few embroidered flowers, which Shen Lingyan had specifically sought out when washing clothes yesterday. After washing it clean, she had kept it on her person.

“Here…” Instead of rushing to wipe her own face, Shen Lingyan handed the cloth to Zhou Jin, gesturing for her to wipe her hair and such first.

Zhou Jin didn’t stand on ceremony; she took the cloth openly and first haphazardly wiped Shen Lingyan’s face. Then, under Shen Lingyan’s dissatisfied gaze, she wiped her own hair.

The neat dark hair bun was already too messy to look at. After Shen Lingyan waited for Zhou Jin to wipe her hair until it was semi-dry, she asked Yun zhu to take out a wooden comb. Both of them sat on the ground without any pretense, and the surrounding river water quieted down. All that could be heard was the sound of Shen Lingyan’s wooden comb passing through Zhou Jin’s dark hair, stroke after stroke.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Lingyan attempted to tie the hair bun herself but failed. She had no choice but to blush and awkwardly hand the wooden comb to Yun zhu, crouching to the side to watch intently as Yun zhu tied the hair bun.

While watching, Shen Lingyan’s thoughts wandered elsewhere. She just stared blankly at the docile and soft hair effortlessly transforming in Yun zhu’s hands, eventually forming a hair bun. A laugh welled up in her heart; she thought how Zhou Jin was aggressive and overbearing every day, yet today she was sitting with her on the ground by the river, letting a maid tie her hair…

Before she could finish her thought, Zhou Jin looked at her with a hint of melancholy: “I still wish you could tie my hair in the future. I’m not very used to letting someone I’m not familiar with do it.”

“Are we very familiar?” Shen Lingyan instinctively retorted. It was only after the words left her mouth that she vaguely recalled that she seemed to have been with this Zhou Jin for the past few days.

As expected, after Shen Lingyan finished her own thoughts and looked up, she met Zhou Jin’s smiling eyes.

“I only hope we can see each other less in the future.” The recent harmonious interactions had almost made Shen Lingyan forget the intrigues and schemes in the imperial palace—where there was nothing they couldn’t do, only things you couldn’t imagine. Who could guarantee that everything happening now wasn’t a trap set by Zhou Jin?

Although Zhou Jin had also gotten herself into a very miserable state…

Evidently, neither of them wanted to discuss the matter further. Zhou Jin cleverly changed the subject: “Have the villagers gone back? Your Majesty should also hurry back to find the Zhang family for testimony. Let’s try to resolve all the issues in Liangzhou and return to the palace as soon as possible.”

Shen Lingyan knew this, but she looked at Zhou Jin in confusion: “Where are you going?”

“Me? I’ll hide in the shadows and help Your Majesty one way or another.”

With this settled, Shen Lingyan no longer hesitated. She stood up and headed towards the village. When she passed the graveyard, Shen Lingyan felt a little apprehensive about walking further.

“It was indeed eerie and shadowy here when we arrived. Even I, an atheist, felt a little nervous.” After all, this was a world within a book. Ever since Shen Lingyan discovered she had transmigrated; all her previous atheistic views had completely collapsed. Just when she thought this was not a fantastical world, her newly established worldview almost collapsed again when she saw the so-called ghost shadows just now.

Zhou Jin had already hidden herself and could have followed Shen Lingyan all the way back. Upon arriving here and seeing Shen Lingyan’s footsteps slow down, she smiled faintly: “Is that…? Our Lady Emperor is afraid?”

She didn’t lower her voice, and Shen Lingyan heard it clearly. Her face instantly flushed. She stomped her foot and turned around: “Then tell me, what exactly is going on! What were those ghost shadows!”

“What if someone intentionally wants to create that atmosphere? Who was the calmest just now?” Zhou Jin had already walked out of the shadows. Her voice was coaxing, making Shen Lingyan also fall into contemplation.

“The village head?” In that situation just now, no one dared to speak, yet the village head did. He spoke with a trembling voice, but when she briefly lifted the curtain, she noticed his steps were steady.

Zhou Jin confirmed it. She put her arm around Shen Lingyan’s shoulder; the two walked very closely together. Yun zhu trailed behind alone, her eyes fixed on her shoe tips.

As expected, Shen Lingyan and Zhou Jin’s guess was correct. The so-called ghost shadows were nothing more than an illusion. They didn’t dare to approach the two of them at all. Once the two walked out of the graveyard, the dark shadows vanished without a trace, and even the dark clouds shifted slightly, letting a few rays of sunlight leak through.

“Then, Your Majesty, good luck.” After Zhou Jin said this, she disappeared again. Shen Lingyan looked up at the village, which was now close at hand, and quickly adjusted her expression to one of dejection, walking slowly towards the village.

Leaning against a tree, Zhou Jin watched the entire process of Shen Lingyan adjusting her expression and almost burst out laughing. Was the little Empress this adorable?

Watching Shen Lingyan enter the village, Zhou Jin didn’t rush to follow. The available hiding places in the village were too few, and if she was exposed, everything would be ruined. To be safe, Zhou Jin decided to stay put at the village entrance.

“Why hasn’t this young lady returned home yet?” The village head was still standing at the entrance of the Zhang family’s home, chatting with a group of villagers about something unknown. Seeing Shen Lingyan and Yun zhu approach, he was deeply puzzled.

Shen Lingyan’s heart was filled with an ominous premonition. She didn’t answer the village head’s question but quickly walked to the Zhang family’s door, only to see a heavy, large lock on the dilapidated wooden door.

“Where did the Zhang family go!” Shen Lingyan was greatly startled. Forgetting all sense of etiquette, she turned around and asked the villagers.

The villagers mumbled incoherently, and no one could explain clearly. Shen Lingyan had no choice but to turn her gaze towards the village head.

The village head, having been ignored earlier, now put on airs, occasionally stroking his beard or looking at the thick calluses on his hands. His demeanor seemed designed to exasperate someone to death.

A flash of inspiration struck Shen Lingyan, reminding her of the analysis she and Zhou Jin had made earlier when passing the graveyard. So, she feigned a smile: “The dark shadow at the graveyard… an illusion…”

Before Shen Lingyan could finish her sentence, the village head pulled her aside, looking terrified: “You, you, you… how did you know?”

Shen Lingyan lost her patience: “How I know is not the point. Are you going to tell me where the Zhang family went or not?”

The village head, forced by her pressure, had no choice but to speak honestly: “After they came back, they started packing their belongings, taking all their valuables. They said they were going to Liangzhou to visit relatives and borrowed a worn-out cart from the village’s horse keeper. They left right away.”

“How long ago did they leave…” Shen Lingyan felt a wave of dizziness but forced herself to ask.

“They left quite a while ago before you arrived, young lady. They should have already left the mountains and reached the town by now.” The village head was forced by her to answer everything, terrified that the illusion he used to scare the villagers would be exposed.

“Careless!” Shen Lingyan ground her teeth in frustration but could do nothing. She insisted on making the village head borrow another cart for her before she was satisfied.

“Your Majes… Young Lady, your servant knows how to drive a cart. Let me do it.” Yun zhu observed the situation and realized Shen Lingyan wasn’t comfortable with a villager driving them, so she volunteered. She had been trained by the late Emperor since childhood to be proficient in everything, only instructed to serve Shen Lingyan well. Now, it was finally proving useful.

“Very well.”