After Entering The Abusive Novel, I Became The Empress - chapter 13

Warm sunlight filtered through the forest canopy, falling across the body of a woman running desperately through the trees.

Qin Yuqing had already tossed her shoes and the tattered pieces of her clothing into a small thicket. Barefoot, she sprinted across the forest floor. She couldn’t stop, and she dared not rest.

“There she is!” The men chasing her were far faster than she’d expected.

“Daring to toy with me—”

“Damn it,” Qin Yuqing hissed under her breath. She ignored the pain and forced herself toward a single direction. Ahead, through the dense trees, she could make out the faint outline of a cliffside stairway. If she could just reach it, she’d be safe.

“Don’t let her get up there!” the scar-faced leader bellowed. “Kill her!”

An arrow thudded into the tree trunk beside her. She swerved behind cover, heart pounding.

Yet, from another perspective, the enemy was already showing signs of desperation. As long as she reached the stone steps, she would survive.

Clinging to that thought, Qin Yuqing clenched her teeth. The taste of bl00d thickened in her mouth, but she refused to give up.

Fate, however, rarely yielded so easily. This body was simply too frail. Just a few paces from the stairway, she collapsed in the undergrowth—and the men closed in.

“Who are you people?” Qin Yuqing’s gaze was ice-cold as it swept across them. If she couldn’t escape, she would at least uncover the truth behind these three attempts on her life. She refused to die confused and fail the system’s task. “Do you even know who I am?”

The scar-faced leader sneered, spitting on the ground before drawing a curved blade. He pointed it at her with a cruel grin.
“About to die, and still so much nonsense.”

The weapon’s edge was serrated, its curve far more exaggerated than a normal blade.

“That’s Soul-Slayer,” Qin Yuqing murmured, recognition flashing in her eyes. In the original novel, there had been mention of such a weapon. Which meant… “You’re Park Qinghe, head of the Park family.”

In the book, the Park clan had been framed and slaughtered, their entire household wiped out. Only the eldest son, Park Qinghe, escaped by chance—caught in a storm on the mountain, unable to return home. Later, when officials searched, not even his body was found. Rumors claimed he had perished in the storm, buried in the mud.

“The Sixth Princess truly has sharp eyes.” Park Qinghe wiped down his blade, a mocking smile curling his lips. “Then you should also know—the people the Park family hates most… are the royals.”

“Wait!” In that instant, Qin Yuqing pieced together the threads of all three assassination attempts. Only one final confirmation remained. “How did you know I’d be here? Since I’m already doomed, another moment won’t matter.”

“Since you’re so perceptive, I’ll humor you.” Park Qinghe’s smirk turned wicked. “Someone paid handsomely for your head. Word was that the princess had been sighted in the Wenshan bamboo forest and by the riverside.” His eyes glinted with mockery. “If I were you, I’d already have a good guess who’s behind it.”

Qin Yuqing nodded slightly. So that was it. The system’s insistence that the first two ambushes weren’t life-threatening now made sense.

She hadn’t expected it—she could be both a knife, and a whetstone.

“Patriarch Park, you’re a man of judgment.” Her tone was calm, her gaze steady on his weathered, scar-marked face. In the novel, he was barely in his twenties, but years of hardship had carved him into someone older, harsher. “You say you hate the royals. Then why accept a royal’s bounty?”

“For money, of course.” Park Qinghe spread his hands with a careless laugh, though weariness lingered in his eyes. “Anyone with silver is my master.”

“I know your plight.”

Before she could finish, he pressed the blade against her neck.

“You know nothing! What I hate most are pampered princesses like you!” His voice cracked with fury, and though he stared at her, it was as if he saw another woman entirely. “You don’t know our suffering. How could you?”

In the original novel, Qin Qin—the Fourth Princess—had forced Park Qinghe to climb the mountain in a storm to pick wildflowers for her amusement. He hadn’t dared disobey. And because of that, he missed the final moments with his family.

“I can help the Park family clear their name.” Even as the edge bit into her skin, Qin Yuqing spoke evenly. “To tell you the truth, I despise the hypocrisy of the royals too. I am unloved and unwanted in the palace. The only reason they want me dead is because I am inconvenient.”

Park Qinghe snorted. His eyes swept over her with disdain. “An unloved princess? Can’t even read a single character, I wager. How could you possibly help us?”

“Because I already persuaded the Lu family.”

In the novel, when the Lu clan fell into crisis, a mysterious benefactor had saved Lu Jingchuan’s life. Even until the end, the male lead never discovered who that power was. Could it have been the Parks?

During the pursuit earlier, Qin Yuqing had noticed Park Qinghe kept his distance whenever Lu Jingchuan drew near. Was it possible he didn’t want to be recognized?

“The Lu family? That brat agreed to it?” Doubt flickered across Park Qinghe’s scarred face, though his grip on the blade eased slightly. “I’m not so easily fooled.”

“The Parks were destroyed under charges of counterfeiting coins. But what if I told you the minting never stopped? That the operation simply moved elsewhere after the raid? And I know exactly where.” Qin Yuqing tapped the flat of his blade with her finger, pushing it a fraction away. “Would you believe me then?”

His expression changed instantly. Shock lit his eyes. “You’re a princess locked away in the palace. How could you know such things?”

“Because I’m destined for the throne.” Qin Yuqing’s fox-like eyes curved in a bewitching smile. Rising onto her toes, she hooked a finger beneath his chin and murmured, “Patriarch Park, why not strike a bargain with me?”

His lips curved faintly, but his expression remained unreadable. “I’m listening.”

“I’ll clear the Park family’s name. In return, you serve me.”

“…Fine.” His gaze swept back to the men behind him—loyal brothers-in-arms, the last remnants of his clan. “But I have one condition.”

“There’s an estate in the northern quarter, discreet and unknown.” Qin Yuqing spoke at once. Her fingertips brushed the scar on his face, regret flickering in her eyes. “This scar is ill-omened. Wear a mask instead.”

“…Very well.” He didn’t question the origin of the estate. Sheathed his blade, he waved his men forward and disappeared into the forest.

Only when he was gone did Qin Yuqing exhale shakily. Without the novel’s script in hand, she wouldn’t have survived.

“System, am I safe now?”

This time, the system hesitated, its mechanical voice carrying a faint note of confusion.

【Detection complete. Host has left the danger zone.】
【Congratulations, host.】

At last, Qin Yuqing smiled, releasing the foul breath she’d held in her chest. The stone stairway was close now. A few more steps and she’d be free.

She wondered—had Lu Jingchuan uncovered the truth behind the three ambushes?

“Ah Ruan!”

The voice rang from behind her. Qin Yuqing spun around to see Lu Jingchuan rushing toward her. When she confirmed he bore no injuries, a strange relief flooded her chest.

“You—” Bl00d gushed from her lips mid-sentence. Darkness swallowed her vision, her limbs weak as she collapsed backward.

Lu Jingchuan caught her in time, his voice rough with guilt.
“I’m sorry. I failed to protect you.”

Qin Yuqing shook her head faintly. She wanted to tell him there was nothing to apologize for—that they were partners, that the assassinations had changed in subtle ways.

But every time she tried to speak, more bl00d poured from her lips.

She thought… perhaps it was fine to rest for now. With Lu Jingchuan here, she could finally rest.

This body… was simply too fragile.

“Ah Ruan, it’s my fault. I didn’t protect you.” Lu Jingchuan stripped off his outer robe and draped it over her battered frame before lifting her gently into his arms.

That moment seared itself into his heart: Qin Yuqing, clothes torn to rags, body covered in wounds, still forcing herself to stand in the clearing. When she heard his voice, she turned, her face and limbs bloodied and bruised.

Ah Ruan—broken, yet unyielding.

“Master, the item has been retrieved.” Lu Jiu appeared silently at his side.

Lu Jingchuan nodded. “Was the recipient satisfied?”

“He was. Didn’t even realize the men were death-row prisoners.”

“And what did he say?”

Lu Jiu unfolded a letter and read aloud: “The ambushes at Xiangshan’s bamboo forest and by the river were the emperor’s doing. The third attempt was…”

Lu Jingchuan listened, then almost ordered the message destroyed. But glancing at the unconscious Qin Yuqing, he changed his mind. “Keep it.”

“Yes, master.”

The palace itself was cleverly built, hidden within a fissure in the cliff. From outside, it looked like nothing more than a cluster of small houses. Inside, it stretched vast and grand.

Qin Yuqing didn’t sleep long. The sting of her wounds dragged her back to wakefulness. She instinctively reached beneath her pillow for a hairpin—but found nothing.

“It’s me.”

Hearing his voice, she relaxed, sinking back into the cushions. Her voice muffled by the pillow: “What are you doing?”

“Applying medicine for you, Princess,” came another familiar voice—it was Chun Tao.

Turning her head, Qin Yuqing saw the maidservant carefully dabbing ointment onto her wounds, while Lu Jingchuan sat behind a screen.

The sight made her want to laugh. After everything, he was suddenly remembering propriety? Out on the road, he hadn’t acted so restrained.

“Chun Tao, when did you arrive?” she asked. If Chun Tao was here, then she must have handled the changing of clothes too.

“Princess has been away for long. I was just about to look for you when Eunuch Zhang arrived with a decree—His Majesty ordered me to wait in Wenshan.”

“So it’s as I thought.” Qin Yuqing gave a bitter little laugh. So this was royal affection? Always riddled with hypocrisy. “How did you get here?”

“By the official road, Your Highness. From the capital to Wenshan, there’s a proper route.”

“Official road?” Qin Yuqing recalled the two paths she had seen. “Do you mean the road past the Xiangshan bamboo grove?”

“No, Princess. That path has long been abandoned. Few take it anymore.” Chun Tao set the medicine aside and gently massaged her limbs. “Whether by land or water, the Xiangshan route is deserted now. It adds an extra day to the journey besides.”

“A whole day…” Qin Yuqing shifted, staring up at the carved ceiling. “And when will the ministers arrive?”

“His Majesty’s illness delayed their departure, but by tomorrow, they should reach Wenshan.”

“I see.” Qin Yuqing sighed softly.

“So they’re not afraid…” Her eyes darkened. “…that the whetstone might be too hard—and break the blade instead?”