Chapter 89
Do you really want to be the Crown Princess?
"Grandpa Demon Slayer, you said you prepared an identity for her, what kind of identity? The position of Crown Princess isn't something just anyone can sit in," Xue Qinghe said. "At the very least, she should be a young lady from a noble family. Ning Shu... is she from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?"
Xue Qinghe seemed to have thought of something and asked.
The demon slayer smiled and nodded. "Yes."
Xue Qinghe raised an eyebrow. "Grandpa Demon Slayer, are the disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School your students?"
This doesn't seem right.
Ning Shu suddenly raised her hand, "Let me explain. I have already been expelled from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and I am not of their bloodline. I am just a child that the elders took in."
"Isn't she also a young lady from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?" Jiangmo added.
Only then did Ning Shu understand what the demon-slaying demon meant by "identity." "Master, you don't mean you want me to marry His Highness the Crown Prince as the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and become his Crown Princess, do you?"
"Otherwise what?" the demon-slaying demon retorted. "Do you expect me to marry the young master as the Crown Princess, posing as the daughter of the Spirit Hall's young master?"
"..."
Ning Shu: "But I've already been kicked out."
"It's not like there's absolutely no way to turn things around," the Demon Slayer said. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School would love to use you to establish a marriage alliance with the Heavenly Dou royal family."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had been secretly establishing ties with the Heavenly Dou Royal Family. If Xue Qinghe specifically asked for Ning Shu, would they deny that Ning Shu was one of their sect members?
They're not stupid.
How could such trivial matters be compared to the interests of the sect?
"But I don't want to have anything to do with them," Ning Shu said.
There are hardly any good people in the entire sect.
"I finally got rid of them, why would I want to get involved with them again?" she asked rhetorically.
"Isn't this just a stopgap measure?" the demon-slaying man said.
Ning Shu was speechless.
I don't know what to say.
Seeing the two of them talking back and forth, Xue Qinghe just smiled and said, "Ning Shu, since you grew up in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, it's impossible for you to completely sever ties with them. The debt of gratitude for their adoption cannot be explained in just a few words."
"Of course, if you have a better way, you can ignore Grandpa Demon Slayer."
"..."
Ning Shu remained silent.
He lowered his head.
Damn it, how come everyone else has multiple identities, but she has none?
Ning Shu lowered her head, and Xue Qinghe looked at her. From this angle, a fragment of the past suddenly flashed through Xue Qinghe's mind.
"Sister Xiaoxue, please don't kill Brother Qinghe..."
"..."
The little girl's crying echoed.
Xue Qinghe was taken aback.
He swallowed hard.
She slowly uttered three words, "Little Bell."
Upon hearing this, Ning Shu suddenly raised her head.
She blinked. Why, why did she suddenly raise her head?
Little bell?
These three words seemed to possess some kind of magic, echoing in Ning Shu's ears.
Seeing the change in their expressions, Jiangmo couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, you've remembered her?"
Jiangmo wasn't surprised, and Xue Qinghe couldn't help but glance at him. "Grandpa Jiangmo, you knew?"
"Yes, Ah Shu told me." Jiang Mo nodded, but something still felt off.
The young master's expression and tone didn't seem like it either...
"..."
Xue Qinghe remained silent for a while.
After a long silence, he finally spoke: "I didn't expect you to still be alive."
"???"
Demon Slayer: "Huh?"
Ning Shu was also filled with questions; these words...
"I thought you wouldn't make it through the rest of your life," Xue Qinghe said with a bitter smile.
The demon-slaying monk was somewhat confused upon hearing this. "Wait, young master, what do you mean by that?"
This expression and tone don't seem to match the situation Ning Shu described.
Ning Shu was also confused. Was her name Little Bell before?
What a tacky name.
Xue Qinghe looked at the two of them. "Didn't you say that Xiaolingdang already told you?"
"Little Bell?" Jiangmo glanced at Ning Shu. "Ah Shu, you didn't tell me your name was Little Bell."
Ning Shu: "..."
Not only did I not tell you, I didn't even know my own name was Little Bell.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Xue Qinghe understood. "It seems she has forgotten what happened back then."
"What is it?" the demon-slaying demon asked.
Xue Qinghe said, "Regarding why I let her go..."
Demon Slayer: "That's what I wanted to ask too."
Given Qian Renxue's personality, she wouldn't leave any future troubles.
How did Ning Shu survive?
Ning Shu herself was also curious about this.
Her memories were always fragmented, never a complete one.
For example, right now, she only responds to Xue Qinghe's calls, but she doesn't know why she responds.
What exactly happened?
Xue Qinghe lowered his eyes and said, "Xiao Lingdang was born in the Tiandou Imperial Palace. Her father is a member of the Tiandou royal family, but he is not related to the Xue family by blood. They are only related in name. As for her mother, she is the eldest daughter of a certain family, but I don't know which family it is."
Not long after she was born, her mother suddenly disappeared and her father died of poisoning. Out of consideration for her father's merits, Emperor Xueye decreed that she be placed in the palace for foster care, and from then on, she lived in the palace.
When I first arrived at the palace, she had just learned to walk. Xue Qinghe and she were on good terms, so I naturally got to know her.
Later, she was the one who caught me killing Xue Qinghe. To be precise, it was Xue Qinghe who made my actions go more smoothly in order to protect her.
Originally, I didn't want to let her go, but at that moment, I felt a pang of pity. If she could survive on her own, I would consider it letting her go.
In the Soul Beast Forest, she was just a child with no power to resist. It would be a miracle if she survived. However, I still took action, just not killing her.
"That's how it is. I never expected her to actually survive and even become an accomplice."
Xue Qinghe's tone was very calm, so calm that killing someone was just a very ordinary thing to her.
Ning Shu listened without feeling any aversion.
This shows that the body did not dislike Xue Qinghe, nor did it hold a grudge against him.
"Oh, I see." After hearing this, the demon slayer indicated that he understood. "That's quite a coincidence."
After thinking for a long time, he could only come up with this one word to describe the experience.
To be honest, he was worried that Ning Shu would hold a grudge against Qian Renxue.
"Ah Shu?"
Ning Shu remained silent, so Jiang Mo couldn't help but call out.
"The past is the past, now you..."
"I don't have any particular thoughts," Ning Shu interrupted Jiang Mo. "It's quite a coincidence."
"..."
The demon-slaying demon was speechless.
Xue Qinghe smiled and said, "The fact that Grandpa Jiangmo brought you here shows that he trusts you enough. Of course, I will trust you too. But Little Bell, do you really want to be the Crown Princess?"