After Entering The Abusive Novel, I Became The Empress - chapter 23

The afternoon sun warmed the budding branches. Though the furnishings inside the old house were a little worn, everything one could need was there.

The twins looked around with curiosity, while Little Deer’s gaze lingered on the tender sprouts outside the window. For a moment, a flash of golden light glinted in her eyes.

“Divine punishment descends, the heir shall be chosen.”

“Phoenix mandate of the Mystic Maiden — the new master has appeared.”

Little Wu quickly clapped his hand over his sister’s mouth, panic flashing across his face as he glanced around to make sure no one had overheard. Only then did he release her.

Little Deer stood frozen, dazed after speaking. A long moment later she blinked in confusion, not understanding why her brother had silenced her.

Lowering his voice, Little Wu asked, “Sister… who do you think it is?”

Little Deer tilted her head, baffled, but obediently shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ll listen to you, brother. Whoever you choose, I’ll choose.”

Little Wu fell silent. He didn’t know either. The memory they’d both lost was clearly important — and he was certain of one thing: their fall from the cliff had not been an accident.

“What are you two doing in here?” Qin Yuqing’s voice came from the doorway. She stood watching the twins, who both looked suspiciously guilty.

“N-nothing,” Little Wu stammered.

He couldn’t even lie properly — his face might as well have had ‘I’m hiding something’ written across it.

Qin Yuqing didn’t press. Everyone had secrets. Besides, their contracts of servitude were in her hands. As long as they lived in Great Yin, they could never escape her grasp. Betrayal was impossible.

“When you feel like talking, just tell me,” she said with a casual wave, then sat down on the swing in the courtyard, gazing absentmindedly at the square patch of sky above.

Chun Tao entered carrying two sets of clothes, which she placed on the table. “The princess prepared these for you. Change into them and follow her — she’ll be taking you out.”

“Yes, thank you, Princess,” Little Wu said, raising his voice as he looked at Qin Yuqing.

She waved carelessly, noticing how the leaves outside had begun to sprout. Spring was almost here. That meant the imperial examinations weren’t far off — soon scholars from across the land would gather in the capital. Surely, new gossip would follow.

“Princess, we’re ready.”

“Mm.” Qin Yuqing turned her head, and though she had already known the twins were strikingly good-looking, she hadn’t expected them to surpass even modern celebrities.

More importantly, she sensed divinity in Little Deer — a faint yet undeniable aura — though nothing of the sort in Little Wu. These twins were definitely not ordinary children of Arhan. She had already instructed Chun Tao to begin investigating them. For now, Lu Jingchuan’s connections were broader than her own.

Once the examinations ended, she would train both Pu Qinghe and the twins. They couldn’t just live off her for free.

“Stay close,” Qin Yuqing said, leading the way, with the twins and Chun Tao trailing behind.

The original book had once recorded a tale of the Cold Palace: a concubine who suddenly lost her mind and spent her days furiously chiseling at the palace wall with a dagger.

“I’ll take sister out of here. I’ll carve a new path for her.”

Day after day, without rest, she dug. At first her words were crisp and clear; by the end her mouth merely moved without sound. She finally carved a hole just large enough for a dog, smiled with satisfaction, then returned to her bed and closed her eyes forever.

On the wall, she had scrawled in bl00d. The first to find it was a maid delivering food — and as she read, the red strokes seemed to drip fresh bl00d. Afterward, no one dared repair that wall.

Qin Yuqing led the twins through twists and turns, checking constantly to ensure they weren’t being followed, before vaulting into the Cold Palace.

There, before the wall, she touched the faded traces of the words carved deep into the stone. Whoever had written them had pressed with something sharp and poured bl00d into the grooves — leaving behind a chilling permanence.

“Wronged in death, the soul cannot rest.”

As Qin Yuqing whispered the eight bl00d-red characters, a vision seized her — the concubine’s raging, unquenchable resentment.

The woman laughed madly, staring at the wall she’d carved. Perhaps she had a fleeting moment of clarity, perhaps she vented hatred for herself or for another.

“Wronged in death!” she slashed again and again. “The soul cannot rest!”

When she finished, she stumbled back, bewildered at her own actions. A slip of her dagger cut her hand. Watching the bl00d, trapped for a lifetime within rules and walls, she suddenly craved madness — just once, for herself or for someone else.

She pressed her bleeding arm against the words, tracing them again and again, her laughter growing wilder, twisted.

With each laugh, the words bled brighter, like a blade tearing open the cage that bound her.

At last, she admired her work with a satisfied smile and left.

【Time-space anomaly detected. Emergency repair in progress.】

“?”

【Location designated by host. System unauthorized to alter. Repair failed.】

“??”

【System malfunction detected. Emergency mode activating.】

“???”

A shrill electronic voice echoed in Qin Yuqing’s mind. The vision twisted, replaying itself over and over — multiple concubines overlapping into one.

【System forced-repair initiated. Host and surrounding NPCs will be relocated.】

Before she could react, a blinding white light engulfed them. When it faded, Qin Yuqing, the twins, and Chun Tao stood in a narrow, secluded alley.

“Princess, should we head that way?” Chun Tao asked, as if her mind had just been reset.

“How exactly did we leave the palace?” Qin Yuqing pressed.

Chun Tao blinked, puzzled but obedient. Her mistress had been asking strange questions lately. “You led us through the Cold Palace, scaled the wall, and left.”

Qin Yuqing nodded, then turned to the twins. “And you? How did we leave?”

“Cold Palace… scaled the wall,” Little Wu muttered.

Little Deer’s bright eyes darted around. Quickly she blurted out, “Princess, please rest assured. Our contracts are in your hands. We could never do anything to threaten you.”

Qin Yuqing shook her head. So she alone remembered the truth. The dog hole had been rewritten into scaling a wall.

So this was the system’s handiwork?

“System, where exactly are we?”

【For the final time.】

【You are inside the novel Empress. Due to heavy reader complaints about inconsistent writing and the collapse of the heroine’s image, the host must alter the original plot and achieve the primary objective of ascending the throne. Only then may you return to the real world.】

【Any further questioning will result in immediate erasure of the host.】

So impatient?

Qin Yuqing raised an eyebrow. Her life was in its hands; no point in open defiance.

“All right, calm down. Don’t glitch yourself out again.”

【……】

【Host, mind your own role.】

The system fell silent.

So this was the word her best friend always used… what was it again?

Broken defense.

Qin Yuqing smirked inwardly. Still, thanks to the system’s slip-up, the oppressive surveillance within the palace was gone.

“Let’s go.”

They wound through alleys until they emerged in a remote suburb, where a lone house stood.

“Miss, what is this place?” Chun Tao asked, eyes wide.

“This was left to me by… Concubine Chen.” Qin Yuqing recalled how she’d uncovered this hidden refuge while reviewing the plot. Before her death, Concubine Chen had confided it to the novel’s heroine.

Chun Tao’s eyes welled with tears as her resolve hardened. “Princess, this time I will protect you with my life.”

Qin Yuqing pushed open the door — and was greeted by a solid wall of… abs.

“Shameless!” Chun Tao darted forward, shielding her mistress’s eyes. “In broad daylight, dressed like this — where is your propriety?”

Pu Qinghe froze, then grinned, tossing her a roguish smile. “What, the princess shows up unannounced and I’m the one at fault? Hasn’t the sheltered palace maiden ever seen a man’s body? Careful, little princess, or you’ll get a stye.”

Qin Yuqing rolled her eyes and pulled Chun Tao’s hand away. He had already thrown on a robe. “These two children. Take care of them for me.”

Pu Qinghe tugged at his clothes and snorted without looking up. “What now, you want me to be a wet nurse? And for two kids at once? Your Highness asks too much.”

“Little Wu, Little Deer — come here.” Qin Yuqing beckoned the children lingering outside. “From now on, this is your home.”

Pu Qinghe raised an eyebrow, smirk curling — then froze.

The twins stood before him, Little Deer hiding timidly behind her brother. She whispered, “Scary uncle.”

Pu Qinghe’s smile vanished. He turned sharply toward Qin Yuqing. “Where did you find them?”

So shocked he’d dropped the mocking “Princess” altogether.

“At an auction,” she said simply, recounting the events.

He leaned back, staring at her. “Your luck… is outrageous.”

“Oh?” she asked. “And why is that?”

“They are indeed Arhan twins. But not just any pair.” He gestured for them all to sit before continuing.

“They are the heirs of the gods.”