Chen w.a.n.g Fei… Princess Consort Chen… It all pointed to a single person, Jiang Ying Yue, wife of General Lu Ling, t.i.tled Chen w.a.n.g.When was the last time he heard anything about that incarnation of her?
The words had not entered his ears for so long. He was glad, of course. Because nothing beats knowing that he not only found the girl, but she also seemed to be remembering a bit about their past.
She remembered… even if it was only a lifetime or some parts of it.
As he recalled all the previous lives where she always showed no recollection of him or their pasts, how could he not be surprised?
When the woman kept saying the images in her head kept giving her knowledge about black magic, his aura, and the bet which had never been fulfilled, Jiang Li"s head felt like it would burst at any given moment.
"You said you are called Chen w.a.n.g Fei in your last time? Whose Chen w.a.n.g Fei?" he asked while slowly striding towards her, one of his hands was hanging on his side, the other reaching out to her.
"Chen w.a.n.g Fei… John Yin Yu—way?" She replied, struggling with the p.r.o.nunciation. Her face was quite awkward since she didn"t know whether he understood what she said.
"Jiang Ying Yue." He corrected in his mind.
He should be laughing right now. But several emotions just took over and almost robbed him away of his rationality. After all, he was merely a ghost and his joy in all the transmigration and missions he was doing was finding his wife again and again, and perhaps, falling in love with her over and over again too.
Now, here she was before him, with memories of their past to boot. Of course, his natural instinct was to pull her into his arms. If he was only the severely emotional type, he might be crying now. His stubborn personality was just not letting him do so.
"In your memories, who am I?" His speech was slow as he embraced her.
"… Good question. Hmm... You"re in an army and wearing a decorated armor so… A general?" There was a hint of hesitation in her tone.
In her mind, she was busy comparing the majestic prince-general who was followed by thousands upon thousands of soldiers, and the scammer, oops, rather, a wandering philosopher, before her. Was this the wonder of the so-called reincarnation that he heard from that believer of Penemue, G.o.ddess of wisdom? Her sight then went to the arms enveloping her. It was warm and not giving her any repulsive feeling.
"Good girl." Jiang Li patted her head and smiled. His line of sight traced the contours of her face before going back to her eyes.
For a satisfying answer, wasn"t it imperative for him to reward her with something nice? Perhaps, a branding that he was his?
Margarette showed no sign of resistance when Jiang Li suddenly claimed her lips. His hands began to wander but she also did not say a thing. Every touch was scaldingly hot yet mysteriously gentle, the kind which would make any girl melt. If not for possessing memories of him, she would have been annoyed by now, wondering why was he so skillful in this.
Instead of protesting, she also returned the kisses and caresses. It was like it was not her first time meeting him or her first time being intimate with someone. There was no sense of shame or shyness. Why would she be, when the person showing a fervent desire for her right now was somebody who lived a whole lifetime with her in the past?
This was why when the young man regained his senses a couple of minutes, as he realized the face was different and her real body was occupied by some random ghost, it was her who whispered in a sweet voice, "No… No need to hold back… This one is mine from now on… And Aliyah… we"re finding ways to send her back to her real body."
For a moment, he wondered if the incarnation before him was Selena Tang.
However, the mention of the other persona also made him sober up. His mind regained clarity, then his eyes darkened.
Who would understand what he was feeling right now? A fire was lit. And the one who did was his wife anyway, yet there were outsiders and he couldn"t possibly take her when there were others around.
"… Aliyah can"t perceive in the outside world once she"s not the one in charge… But some of the others can. d.a.m.n." Frustration then became evident in his face.
"Why is she was in somebody else"s body? Why is that body not only housing her soul, but also the odd soul of another person? On top of that, she is a female lead. Even if soul-wise she is not, this new body of hers belonged to a female lead. Just what the h.e.l.l is with her situation?"
"I"m so frustrated…" He whispered.
Joyful laughter reverberated afterward. She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the staircase.
"Didn"t I say already? I can suppress them all and they won"t dare complain."
"Oh…"
Well, yup. She indeed said she had a more powerful soul than the other personas. Smarter. And braver. Still... her ident.i.ty now was a persona of a girl with multiple personality disorder. His knowledge of her condition was so d.a.m.n little.
So was she proving something as she dragged him by herself upstairs and into one of the inner room? Her actions made his head muddled.
A moment later, he almost broke into laughter, realizing this incarnation of her was the total opposite of her past life, Jiang Ying Yue.
"… I also have to add, I have no plans to get back that old sh.e.l.l of mine," she declared.
He found it amazing that she showed no hesitation in telling so, as if her real body was not something she had been using for almost two decades.
With full of curiosity, he asked while letting himself be led around, "Who is the one acting as the d.u.c.h.ess?"
"The previous owner of this body, I supposed," she indifferently answered. "I was asleep this entire time so I haven"t investigated yet. You can ask around tomorrow. If she showed unusual behaviors like wanting to go to the Borley Kingdom to investigate Louie Obson"s death, then it"s really her. I saw from Aliyah"s memories that she"s a character in a book and she"s a so-called bro-con. It"s an odd term, but I think I get the gist of it. In other words, there"s no way she won"t do a thing to uncover the secrets behind Louie Obson"s death."
"Good deduction." He praised her in his heart.
The girl let go of his hand and pulled up a strike-light and a piece of flint.
"By the way, please take note. I said you can… But I actually prefer you don"t. I prefer not to hear you asking around for women other than me…" The last part was said in a whisper, but her tone was laced with warning.
He laughed, his footsteps accompanying the merry laughter. After a lamp was lit and the room became easier to the eyes, he was revealed to be sitting by the windowsill while she was beside the table close to the door. When she faced him, he said, "Girl, do you know? I hate threats. It"s awakening my rebellious side."
"Of course, I know. That"s why I did not directly threaten you."
Margarette Holon lived as a forgotten princess. But her character was so colorful that it was a wonder how she managed to conceal from the kingdom her greatness before Marian Obson"s takeover. She was more soft-spoken than Selena. But as scary, if not scarier. He wondered what would happen when she was truly angered...
He said, "We should rest. Tomorrow, let"s sightsee. I"ll also tell you about why I came to this kingdom."
"And then?"
"And then?" he parrotted the question.
"What of tonight?"
"We take a rest. What else?" He teasingly replied.
Taking short strides toward him, she asked. "Milord, it"s not advisable to burn oneself. So can you just agree that we should not go into anymore pre-ceremony or any other complicated stuff? A man and woman will only use the excuse of getting to know each other and postpone living together as a married couple because they are not confident that their feelings will stand the test of time. They are not sure about how long their affections for each will last. But aren"t we the opposite of them?"
"I"m amazed that you are this confident." Another chuckle was heard.
"Milord. Even if you run away, as long as you are within the city, I can easily locate you. And I don"t think you"ll let me run away from you too. How about we just skip the unnecessary steps and get married tomorrow? If you agree, I have no problems taking you as my husband tonight."
"... This situation is weird. It should be the other way around." A blank look appeared on his face.
She was more direct than any of her past incarnation. Crazy. Had he not known she would have different personalities each lifetime, he would have asked who she truly was.
That night, Jiang Li acted as if he was scared by her suggestion. So he escaped, leaving a dumbfounded Margarette looking out from the window for a long time. As time pa.s.sed, she did not go after him though, although the calmness that stayed in her face and eyes became quite terrifying to behold.
When tomorrow arrived, he came back, having cooled off his head. The sleepless night was spent in investigating the royals and the irregular happenstances in the kingdom.
The moment he appeared in the huge and desolate house, he immediately sought her out, finding the woman with her head turned to the side. She seemed to be looking out of the window into the distance. Since she was inside the house, she felt no need to wear her thick brown cloak and so the green long gown she was wearing could be seen. It was not her face that made her so captivating, but the air around him and the feeling she gave off to people.
Jiang Li kept looking at her for some time before determining that it was Margarette and not any other persona. "I"m back."
Her green eyes slowly turned to him. "I can see it... " Her gaze swiftly turned resentful. It was quite frightening. Jiang Li heard her say, "And as you can also see... It"s still me. I didn"t turn into Aliyah or anyone else. I have proven that I"m now the main persona. So, milord," she paused and asked slowly, each word emphasized without raising her voice. "…Are, You, Done, Testing, Me?"
In Jiang Li"s mind, what he did was logical. The problem was simply her body. Was it bad to confirm? To be cautious? What if in the middle of a pa.s.sionate kiss, she suddenly became Cynthia, the childish persona?
Looking at the fire burning in her eyes though, maybe he did go overboard...
To appease the angry princess, he immediately grabbed her arm and carried her like a bride to the nearest church. She wanted a wedding? No problem.
"Wife, this old ghost is never afraid of getting married."