Chapter 292 - Lobbying Antics

Ah Jin arrived at Tung Mei's relative's manor and was promptly led to their main hall to await the mistress of the household. Tung Mei's aunt quickly rushed in a short while later and bowed, "I apologize for keeping you waiting..."

"It's alright..." Ah Jin responded, respectfully bowing back.

"How may we be of service to the Empress?" The aunt asked, bowing with a smile.

"Ah, I am actually here on an errand to Miss Tung..." Ah Jin informed.

"I see..." The aunt said, knitting her brows, she hesitated a bit before informing, "Unfortunately, my niece is very sick at the moment... But I can take the message on her behalf and ensure she receives it once she recovers..."

Ah Jin smiled, "I am sorry that is not possible, the Empress gave very specific instructions. I have to directly speak with Miss Tung...I am fine with going to her so if you would just lead the way..." 

The aunt bowed and again and said, "It's not that I don't want to...but it's just that Mei er' has had a relapse of old illness we thought was gone. She is currently unconscious and receiving treatment so it's a bit difficult..."

Ah Jin let out a breath and narrowed her eyes at the woman and the woman froze and stared at Ah jin wide-eyed as if under a spell.

{...Take me to Tung Mei...}

"Of course, come with me..." The aunt promptly responded with a bow, still wide-eyed. She then promptly turned and led the way to Tung Mei's room in a daze. Ah Jin sighed and immediately followed behind her. 

They arrived at Tung Mei's room to find a doctor adding herbs to a large smoke pot in the middle of the room with a maid assisting him while another was cooling Tung Mei's face with a cloth. As soon as they entered the room, Ah jin glanced at the aunt and ordered, "Clear the room..."

The aunt bowed and then turned to the doctor and the maids and ordered, "You all leave..."

The maids promptly stopped and went to leave but the doctor knit his brows and protested, "Madam, I am not yet done with the -"

"I said leave, now." The aunt swiftly cut him off with a frown.

"Wait outside...It won't take long." Ah Jin added and the aunt nodded and repeated, "Wait outside..." 

The doctor frowned but got up and left the room with the maids, closing the doors behind them. Ah Jin then glanced at the aunt and the aunt went to bow again and then froze in place. 

Ah Jin sighed, "What are you still doing here?" She asked as she went over to the bed and sat down next to the "unconscious" Tung Mei. 

After a while of silence, Tung Mei finally responded, "Thinking...meditating..." without opening her eyes. 

"Wouldn't it be easier to recover your powers back home?" Ah Jin asked.

"...I need to heal this girl. If I leave, she'll die...Why are you here?" Tung Mei asked opening her eyes with a pout, glaring at Ah Jin as she sat up. 

Ah Jin narrowed her eyes at Tung Mei, "Don't look at me like that, I didn't tell on you...Even your father had no clue that would happen yesterday and the last thing he would have wanted was for your aunt poking her nose in what he's doing here... I'm actually quite surprised she let it go that easily." She finished knitting her brows in thought. 

"I doubt she did...He's probably getting a long scolding session about this. Deserves it!" Tung Mei said with a frown, "He made me do all that work, seventeen long years here and I could barely even wake up without being scolded by you and him." She said with an intensifying glare at Ah Jin.

"I did everything he wanted and then he refused to help me. He not only tricked me but then he actually pretended not to know what was going on in front of auntie!... I was on my own and he came to bug me with his stupid deal! I'm not going to forgive him this time! Not!" Tung Mei finished folding her arms in anger.

Ah Jin awkwardly sat there and then went, "Ahh...Well, I'm sure your father had his own plan for you...and you never know he could still help you-"

"How?" Tung Mei asked with a frown, but before Ah Jin could respond, she went, "Nevermind, don't want it anymore..." She said facing off to the side.

Ah Jin's eyes awkwardly shifted, she was not sure how to deal with an angry Tung Mei. She was usually very playful and rarely serious, like her father. It was awkward.

"...I went to see Yong ge yesterday..." Tung Mei quietly said and then sighed, "...I had thought if I had become someone else Yong ge will finally realize that he likes me...but still rejected me. I know it was stupid. I don't even know what I was thinking... He still rejected me... It seems it is really impossible...It seems he can truly only ever see me as a "little sister"..."

Ah Jin knit her brows and mumbled, "Well, to be fair, you did actually play his sister th-..."

"I am a very good actress and stuck to script! Xing jie and I are very different! " Tung Mei indignantly said, glaring at Ah Jin again.

"Does your Xing jie jump, cling and go "ge!" every time she sees a certain someone?" Ah Jin asked with a raised eyebrow and Tung Mei pouted and lowered her head, turning red as she mumbled, "Well...I couldn't help it...it was a good opportunity...and it's not like I clung to him all the time...Anyway, I'm going to forget him! Father is right, he is truly blind not to realize my adorable brilliance! Hmph!" Tung Mei proclaimed raising her head up.

"You've finally regained your senses..." Ah Jin dryly said and Tung Mei narrowed her eyes at her.

Ah Jin cleared her throat and went, "Moving on... I came to return this to you." She said holding out the bracelet.

Tung Mei frowned down at it, "Don't want it!"

"That's not an option..." Ah Jin said and the bracelet promptly vanished from her hand and appeared on Tung Mei's wrist. Tung Mei immediately went to take it off but her fingers just went through the bracelet and she glared at Ah Jin, "Get it off!"

"If you want it off, go find your father..." Ah Jin said with a polite smile.

"If you don't take it off, I'll saw my hand off!" Tung Mei angrily said.

"Sure, just make sure to get out of that body first, and then you can do as you wish with yourself~" Ah Jin said with a smile.

Tung mei frowned, "But-!"

"I should mention that if you saw that hand off, the bracelet will go to other, if you saw that one of, then it'll go to your feet and if you saw them off too...then I guess your father will probably understand then~" Ah Jin finished with a snicker as she stood up.

"This is not fair!" Tung Mei said with a pout.

Ah Jin looked down at her and then said, "Well, life isn't fair for most people... It's time you learned that. Your father ordered for you to report to Qi temple in the next two days or your aunt will come for you...and if she comes here and messes things up here, then you will have both of them to contend with...Since you've decided to move on, return home." Ah Jin advised and then turned to leave. 

"Wait!" Tung Mei suddenly went and Ah Jin stopped and turned back to her with a raised eyebrow.

Tung Mei knit her brows and then went, "...I'll go, but can you heal this girl, first?... I promised to heal her, I know I shouldn't have but I wasn't really thinking...please help." Tung Mei said looking up at her with a pout. 

"Why would you promise something like that?" Ah Jin said with a frown. 

Tung Mei frowned, "Well...I thought I could do it, but now I'm not really sure. Nothing is working, I mean if I were staying, I could have taken her body home to her father and then used my powers to temporarily jog her awake...but since I'm leaving, I don't know how I can keep her alive...I've already tried infusing her with my powers and leaving a few times but it just dissipates as soon as I come out...could it be because I'm too weak now? Anyway, please just help...Pleaseeee, I'll owe you~...a lot. Jin Jie~ Pleaseee..." She finished looking up at Ah Jin with a beseeching expression. 

Ah Jin sighed and then wearily said, "Fine...come out first and I'll see what I can do..." Tung Mei beamed at her and nodded. Then a ball of light zipped out of her chest and Tung Mei's body collapsed on the bed, unconscious.

The ball of light then expanded to form a body and quickly went out to reveal the form of a beautiful girl with an oval face and fox-like eyes with long hair put up in a ponytail secured by a golden circlet. The girl was dressed in a beautiful yellow dress with little pearls sewn into it all over, she quickly turned to Ah Jin, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Ah Jin went, "Give me the soul stone..." 

"Why?" Xiao Ying promptly went, knitting her brows, "Are you planning on going to possess someone to get revenge?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"Of course not and who would I even -..." Ah Jin paused and took a deep breath and said, "I want it because your father will probably forget to retrieve again and I don't trust you not to go running around possessing other bodies again. Give it or I'll leave and you can sort the girl yourself..." 

Xiao Ying pouted, she was thinking that the stone was hers now, a sort of consolation prize for all her hard work. After all, her father had not asked for it back, not even after catching her roaming around in Tung Mei's body. Obviously, she had used the stone to do it, as it impossible as it sounds, it was really possible that her father had truly forgotten about it. And even if he remembered it, he would still have gifted it her if she coaxed him a little.

But then this Ah Jin was a different matter, she was too rigid. 

"Tch, no fun..." Xiao Ying mumbled as she dug into her sleeve for a bit and finally fished out a glowing purple stone and begrudgingly handed it out to Ah Jin. 

{...It's not like I wasn't planning on using it again...probably not...}