Saving the Obsessive Villain Boss [Quick Transmigration] (GL) - Chapter 14
Xu Zhaosu’s hand resting on the side of the couch tightened imperceptibly. After a long moment, she slowly opened her eyes without any change in expression: “Is that so?”
It was hard to discern if she was happy or sad.
The flower of the lamp, having burned to its end, sputtered and dropped. The candlelight flickered. Shi Qingyi put down her book, her voice composed and calm: “Of course, there should be no one in the world who dislikes Your Majesty.”
Shi Qingyi picked up the scissors to trim the lampwick. Constant flickering was bad for Xu Zhaosu’s eyes; if not handled, they might start hurting again tonight.
“The Grand Preceptor did not like me.” After a long pause, a voice that sounded like self-mockery came from behind her.
Shi Qingyi was startled. The candlelight shook. She didn’t know whose hand was subtly trembling. Her voice was low, and it seemed as though she was forcing a smile: “That’s because she was blind and didn’t know what was good for her.”
Her hand trembled too much. She actually clipped the entire wick by mistake. With a snip, the hall plunged into silent darkness. Someone spoke softly: “Your Majesty, please rest for a while. This servant will go find a lamp outside.”
Before Xu Zhaosu could speak, that person had already rushed out, the quick footsteps almost suggesting she was fleeing in panic.
Xu Zhaosu opened her eyes in the darkness and looked deeply towards the outside of the hall. The person left so hastily that she didn’t even close the door, assuming that she was blind and couldn’t see, unaware that her eyesight was slowly recovering.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The frosty moonlight fell into the desolate hall. The girl in white staggered out. It was unclear what was wrong with her. She almost tripped over the threshold, stumbled, and then forced herself to stand up, until she leaned against the dead tree in the hall and bent down deeply.
With Xu Zhaosu’s sight, she couldn’t see much more, only that the person who was always cold and arrogant seemed to be in extreme pain, covering her heart with her hand, bending down inch by inch, and deeply panting.
However long Shi Qingyi stood there, Xu Zhaosu watched her from behind.
It wasn’t until deep in the night that Shi Qingyi seemed to finally recover. She braced herself against the tree and struggled to stand up. She didn’t go looking for a lamp, but instead softened her footsteps and walked back into the hall.
The female monarch had closed her eyes just before Shi Qingyi stood up. She could only hear faint footsteps. After a long time, someone sat down by her couch. A warm, cool hand gently touched her temple, silently tracing her features: from her tightly closed brows and eyes to her upturned nose, finally resting on the corner of her lips, brushing away a strand of stray hair on her cheek.
That person moved closer to her. A cold, plum-like fragrance emanated from her. Her voice was bitter yet gentle: “Your Majesty naturally deserves a better person.”
Xu Zhaosu’s hand hidden beneath the silk quilt spasmed and slowly clenched. The person leaned down again, resting her arm close to hers, and said no more.
Just before Xu Zhaosu was about to truly fall asleep, she vaguely heard a sigh that seemed to melt into the wind: “It is I who am unworthy of Your Majesty.”
She abruptly opened her eyes. The person curled up against her arm was already asleep. That person, so cold and arrogant, now condescended to this extent, touching only the back of her hand with her forehead, as if to approach any closer would be an overstep.
A chilling light flickered in Xu Zhaosu’s eyes, like a snake lying in wait in the darkness. Her sharp fingertips, like a snake’s tongue, slowly traced across Shi Qingyi’s cheek. Her tone was scornful: “You know yourself that you are unworthy?”
She, Xu Zhaosu, was also taught the arts of emperorship and raised by countless pillars of the state, proficient in political maneuvering, strategizing, and governance. How could she fall into the same trap twice?
Such a person, with honey in her mouth and a heart like a viper, whatever sweet things she said were fake. She would absolutely never believe her a second time.
She truly couldn’t bear to let Shi Qingyi die just like that. Death would be far too easy for her. She wanted her to live well and repay all the suffering she had endured a hundred or even a thousandfold!
She would lock her in a cage, make her undergo all the pain she herself had suffered. At that time, she wanted to see how this smooth-talking, manipulative person would kneel and beg for mercy.
As the hand that harshly traced the woman’s cheek passed her lips, Shi Qingyi seemed to dream of something, suddenly letting out a muffled, low moan. Her moist, rosy lips parted and closed, warm breath spraying out, landing precisely on Xu Zhaosu’s fingertips.
—It was like a kiss, faint and elusive.
Something stirred in Xu Zhaosu’s heart. She vaguely heard a single word escape that person’s mouth. It seemed to be, Zhao.
She wanted to hear more, but the person bit her lip tightly, turning the color of her lips chalk-white. Even in her sleep, she seemed unwilling to utter that name.
It made one want to pry her mouth open.
“Heh, does calling my name defile your mouth so much?”
Xu Zhaosu knew how foolish it was to be angry at a sleeping person, but the pervasive hostility in her heart was uncontrollable. She had once wished to surrender the entire empire to her, to put it into her hands. Even a dog would be domesticated after raising it, but Shi Qingyi was unraisable and bit back.
Countless thoughts intertwined, giving rise to a cold sense of sorrow. Shi Qingyi, perhaps, did not like women.
She caressed the woman’s tightly bitten lips, suppressing the violent thoughts in her heart, and comforted herself that it didn’t matter. Now, to survive, she had to depend on her. When she regained the throne, she would make her call her name ten thousand times, with an ice-cold tongue. One less call, and she would be thrown into the snake pit. She was most afraid of snakes, after all.
She sneered, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, slowly closed her eyes, and told herself that the other person was merely seeking an opportunity to prolong her life.
A truly cowardly wretch. But that was good, too. Cowardice and fear meant she could be controlled.
The next day, Shi Qingyi was punished to kneel on the steps as soon as she woke up. It seemed Xu Zhaosu had determined that Shi Qingyi was atoning for her sins, and her actions were becoming increasingly excessive. After breakfast, she even had the medicine boy take a cup of piping hot tea to her.
The System was deeply moved: “The female monarch still cares about you after all. You haven’t had a sip of water since last night.”
Shi Qingyi retorted expressionlessly: “You are dreaming.”
The medicine boy walked over with an awkward and helpless expression. The white hem of the skirt of the woman kneeling on the steps was already stained with mud. She had been sent out wearing only a single undergarment. A blast of the chilly spring wind made her tremble, even though she was as resilient as the current Grand Preceptor.
“Your Majesty means for you to hold this cup of tea…”
Shi Qingyi’s expression was distant and cold. She reached out to take it. The medicine boy grew more troubled, hesitating: “Your Majesty means for you to use your hand…”
Instead of holding a tray.
Shi Qingyi paused, but still reached out and took the cup. The tea was freshly brewed with boiling water and extremely hot. The injured hand flinched the moment it touched it, but she held it steady. Before long, bl00d stained the gauze, and the woman’s face turned as pale as gold foil paper.
—The unhealed wound in her palm had split open.
System: “…I was wrong.”
How could I be so naive as to think the female monarch would be moved so quickly?
Xu Zhaosu closed her eyes slightly, then looked up after a moment. Through the thin veil over her eyes, she could only see a section of an arm, like lotus root jade, holding a cup of scalding hot tea. It was trembling severely, but she neither put it down nor begged for mercy.
The teacup in her hand was almost crushed. The coldness in her eyes intensified. She said coldly: “Go and get her another cup of hot tea.”
Medicine Boy: “…”
I always thought Your Majesty was in distress and that Shi Qingyi, that scoundrel, was taking advantage of her misfortune, intending to commit improper acts against Your Majesty. Now, why does it seem like something isn’t quite right?
The System looked at Shi Qingyi’s hand, which was close to being boiled, and spoke quietly: “Host, how about I lower your pain threshold?”
“Can the pain threshold only be adjusted once a month?”
The System checked the records: “I think so.”
Shi Qingyi closed her eyes mournfully: “Then forget it.”
She needed to save it for a more critical moment.
The System hesitated, but finally couldn’t help it: “Actually, if you had just called the female monarch’s name yesterday, she would have let you go.”
Her request was so simple. Knowing you might not like women, in her heart, as long as you endured the revulsion and called her name once, she would spare you. But you stubbornly refused to utter that name.
Shi Qingyi didn’t speak. She felt this useless System was genuinely hurtful at times. After she completed the mission, she would definitely send it to the Main God Space for repair.
She knelt there for most of the day until Xu Zhaosu practiced walking in the afternoon, only then was she allowed to get up. After kneeling for half a day, she still had to support Xu Zhaosu. By the end of the afternoon, her legs were shaking like a sieve, and she couldn’t even stand steady. Kneeling on the ground to massage Xu Zhaosu’s leg bones actually became a rare chance to catch her breath.
The Yuming Hall was separated from the Mingze Hall by only a wall. Through the wall, one could hear hurried footsteps outside. A palace maid was softly urging: “Hurry up, the nanny is already pressing us. Tomorrow is the Grand Preceptor’s birthday. Any slower and we’ll be delayed!”
Xu Zhaosu twitched the corner of her mouth, giving a faint sneer.
She was truly covetous of this glory and wealth. Her birthday was celebrated with the same grandeur and scale as the former monarch’s longevity festival, without any attempt to conceal it.
Shi Qingyi carefully massaged the female monarch’s stiff calves, when suddenly a hand firmly gripped her chin. The hand was extremely cold, with a crushing strength that forced her to lift her head inch by inch.
The female monarch’s eyes were still covered with a white veil. She should have been unable to see, yet her gaze seemed to contain swords and knives. Her expression was stern and mocking. She leaned down slightly, speaking word by word near her ear: “You are quite to my liking. If I wanted to take you with me, would you be willing?”
The pressure on Shi Qingyi’s jawbone made half of her face numb. She silently endured it and whispered: “This servant is willing.”
As expected.
Upon hearing this answer, Xu Zhaosu didn’t know whether she felt the anticipated chill or revulsion. This person was so afraid of death that she would do anything to survive.
Her hand gripping the chin felt soiled. Xu Zhaosu released her grip and harshly pushed the person away. The person who was once as proud as an immortal was now debasing herself to the dust for the sake of survival, which made her feel utterly disgusted.
She smiled coldly again, her voice laced with frigidity: “Remember what you said.”
You are willing to come with me, but you will never again be the person I hold dear in my heart. Even if you are feigning ignorance now, later—
The hand hidden in her sleeve tightened inch by inch. Later, she wouldn’t be so easy to talk to.
By her leg, someone gently rested her head on her knee, breathing softly and laboriously. Pear blossoms fluttered down. At that moment, the female monarch actually thought that keeping her by her side for life might not be impossible. Hatred was certainly present, but letting her go was absolutely out of the question.
How much hatred! Enough to want to eat her flesh alive, yet unable to kill her, only able to grit her teeth.
A cold palm rested on the back of the woman’s neck, seemingly ready to snap that fragile neck at any moment.
The madness and sharpness in the female monarch’s heart were unknown to anyone. Perhaps even she herself didn’t know that even as she contemplated various crazy revenges in her heart, her eyes still held a pathological gentleness born of obsession.
The Grand Preceptor lay on the female monarch’s knee, and the female monarch stroked the stray hairs on the back of her neck. This was a rare moment of gentleness for the female monarch, who had been temperamental and distant lately. Pear blossoms rustled and were blown off by the spring wind, landing on the tips of the female monarch’s hair and then sliding onto the white clothes as she looked down.
The medicine boy hiding behind the tree, however, felt a chill throughout his body. An extreme panic seized him.
The Grand Preceptor usurped the throne and confined the female monarch, making her life a living hell for a year. Yet, just one month of meticulous care had made the female monarch change her mind. It was truly impossible not to feel a sense of dread.
Give the Grand Preceptor a few more days, and Your Majesty would probably completely succumb. This was nothing short of a national disaster.
However, he was entrusted by the Princess Elder Sister and absolutely could not stand by and watch His Majesty repeat the same mistakes.
In mid-May, the pomegranate blossoms outside the city moat were blooming a bloody crimson. Three hundred thousand cavalry shattered the superficial peace and prosperity of Liyue, triumphantly breaching the Imperial City.
How could the Imperial Guards, who had been pampered in the Imperial City, withstand the bl00d-drinking blades from the border? Within just a few days, they scattered and fled. The city gates were breached. The surrendering army knelt to welcome the royalist forces. The common people stayed indoors. The desolate streets, silent except for the long wind, were extremely lonely. A sandalwood carriage rolled over the scattered, broken bodies and smoke of gunpowder, slowly driving towards the Imperial Palace, surrounded by an escort of iron armor.
In the vast Imperial City, no one dared to block the carriage even half a step.
Everyone understood in their hearts that the true master of this Imperial City had returned.
Xu Zhaosu, the female monarch of Liyue, after a year of turmoil, was making a comeback.
The carriage drove all the way into the palace walls. The brutal battle had ended. Bl00d stained every step of the stairs, dried and coagulated. Soldiers lined the two sides of the palace road. The carriage stopped in front of the main hall.
The medicine boy driving the carriage lifted the curtain and bowed low, adopting a deferential posture of welcome. After a long while, a fragile, pale hand slowly extended and rested on the medicine boy’s arm.
Iron armor clanged. The soldiers knelt. The bl00d-soaked landscape lay beneath her feet.
“Long live Your Majesty—”
The neat and solemn roar shook the sky, startling the crows that were feeding on the bl00d and flesh on the treetops.
The person who emerged from the carriage, even in the gradually warming May weather, was still wrapped in a heavy cloak. Beneath the noble purple-gold cloak was a dark skirt. In stark contrast to the solemn and heavy colors of her attire was her excessively pale complexion, devoid of any color. She was terrifyingly thin, almost like a dying person.
And she was indeed a dying person. Xu Zhaosu pressed against the wound on her heart, slowly walking out of the carriage with the medicine boy’s support.
The long arrow had missed her heart by only half an inch. Any further deviation would have meant instant death. When the arrow was removed from her chest, there was no anesthesia. She had to bite her own arm until it was bloody and mangled, barely clinging to life.
But she had finally crawled out of this purgatory.
A murderous atmosphere permeated the Imperial City. The long wind carried the pungent smell of bl00d. The female monarch stepped out of the carriage, pressing her hand to her frantically aching heart, and looked around.
From being a prisoner to making a comeback, the journey had been incredibly arduous for her.
“Where is she?”
The female monarch’s voice was cold, and though low, it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in the dead silence. It contained a bone-deep hatred that wished to eat the person’s flesh alive.
The general ordered to attack the Imperial City lowered his head, bowing beneath the terrifying pressure: “The traitor Shi Qingyi fled into the Yuming Hall under the protection of her personal guards, stubbornly refusing to come out.”
She actually had a chance to escape. Before this, a group of people had desperately fought their way out, but strangely, the main culprit only retreated while fighting, consistently falling back until she reached the Yuming Hall, where she put up a final, desperate, and resolute resistance.
The entanglement between this person and the female monarch was complex. The Princess Elder Sister had already ordered her to be secretly executed without leaving any survivors, but on the eve of the execution, the severely wounded and dying female monarch herself arrived.
“Stubbornly refusing to come out?” The female monarch pulled the corner of her pale lips, repeating the phrase in a low voice, seemingly very puzzled as to why she was still putting up a futile struggle. The next moment, she covered her heart and coughed softly, slowly beginning to laugh as she coughed.
The laugh was glaring, carrying sarcasm and madness, yet bl00d spittle trailed down from the corner of her mouth.
“If she won’t come out, won’t you force her out?”
The generals were stunned. The female monarch’s words were chilling. They could, of course, rush in recklessly, but if the person were to lash out when cornered, with the female monarch here—
The young monarch slightly closed her eyes, then abruptly opened them. Her eyes were filled with chilling madness and coldness: “Set the fire—”
The Yuming Hall was already a mess. Bl00d stained the bluestones. The Grand Preceptor, who was always clad in spotless white, had her skirt soiled with bl00d. The last of her personal guards knelt on the ground and said hoarsely: “My Lord, Master Jing E has already escaped through the secret tunnel. You should leave too. Where there is life, there is hope—”
Before he could finish, the Grand Preceptor, who had been keeping her eyes closed, slowly opened them. Those clear eyes were free of any impurities and showed no trace of panic. She simply shook her head: “The moment Master left, the secret tunnel was exposed. It’s useless. Is there a fire being set outside?”
The Yuming Hall was built on high ground. Black smoke and dust billowed up from below, enveloping the area like a terrifying dark cloud.
The personal guard said with a choked voice: “The fire has already started in the back hall. My Lord, leave through the front hall. We will protect you with our lives to ensure you escape!”
The flames soared into the sky, leaving no retreat. The Grand Preceptor looked at the approaching fire and, after a long moment, let out a bitter laugh, murmuring in a low voice: “So, she truly hates me this much…”
“I have been fleeing all my life, and I am weary. I don’t want to flee anymore. You all, find your own way to survive.”
The personal guard raised his head in shock, only to see smoke curling and firelight illuminating the woman’s face, flickering bright and dim. Behind her were sparkling flames that appeared and disappeared. The sea of fire stretched and extended towards the sky behind her.
She, however, seemed completely unaware, heading towards the bright heart of the fire.
“My Lord—”
The personal guard rushed forward in terror, but a beam crashed down, blocking his way and raising a wall of fire, which also licked at the corner of her dust-stained skirt.
They could only watch helplessly as she walked step by step into the depths of the sea of fire, never looking back.
Later, Xu Zhaosu constantly dreamed of that night. The fire raged fiercely, turning the long night into day. She thought a venomous person like Shi Qingyi would surely cherish her life and fear death most, and would definitely come out. But until the entire Yuming Hall was burned down, leaving only ruins and rubble, she never emerged.
Sometimes, one wrong step leads to a series of errors, and this was probably it.
She had been waiting for Shi Qingyi to yield and come out, waiting for her to bow her head. She had never thought that Shi Qingyi would rather die than submit to her.
By the time she realized it, the Yuming Hall had long turned into a sea of fire. The fire was so intense that even the slightest approach would result in complete engulfment.
—Everything was too late.
The mask of emotionlessness on her face shattered inch by inch. She began to tremble uncontrollably, dragging her half-crippled legs as she tried to approach the raging palace, but was desperately held back.
“Shi Qingyi—”
The voice was mournful and sharp, enough to break the silence of the long night. Her eyes were filled with burning despair and madness. If she hadn’t been held down by people with superior martial arts, she would have rushed into the inferno without hesitation.
“Your Majesty, you can’t go! It’s too late—”
Her already half-crippled legs lacked strength. She struggled to move forward, but stumbled and fell to the ground after only a few steps. Her head was broken and bleeding. The bluestones on the ground scraped her forehead and hands. Her dark long hair was curled by the heat from being too close to the fire. Covered in soot and bl00d, she stared intently at the sea of fire before her. No one, no one came out—
“Do you dislike me so much? Would you rather die than stay by my side?!”
No one answered her. Only thick smoke billowed towards the sky.
Vaguely, she heard a cold voice from behind: “What are you standing around for? Take His Majesty back—”
Then came a long period of unconsciousness and recurring dreams, accompanied by a high fever.
She dreamed of the girl in white being brought down from the snowy mountain by her, holding her hand. Although it was forced, her expression was extremely cold, yet she still reached out to steady her when she was about to fall, pretending it was unintentional, turning her head and not daring to look at her. She suddenly woke up, only to find herself on the soft couch in the Mingze Hall.
It wasn’t the snow-covered mountain. There was no girl by her side who dared not look at her. Only the twilight of the setting sun fell through the window lattice. Transparent dust motes floated in the air.
The two halls were too close. Smoke and dust still drifted in the wind, reminding her that everything was not a dream. Sitting by the couch was the Princess Elder Sister, her paternal aunt, quietly watching her.
“Where is she?”
After a long time, the female monarch managed to utter this question from her throat, her voice hoarse, yearning for some impossible outcome.
The Princess Elder Sister was silent for a moment, then waved her hand. The medicine boy respectfully walked in slowly, holding a small porcelain jar in his hand. He knelt on the ground with a thump, and said with a trembling voice: “The Grand Preceptor is here…”
She stared at the small porcelain jar for a long time, slowly shaking her head: “No, no, you are lying—”
How could Shi Qingyi just die like that? They had been intertwined for decades. She hadn’t repaid what she owed her. How could she just die?
By what right did she just leave her alone and gain such release?
Her voice was sharp and certain, yet warm liquid slowly streamed from the corners of her dry eyes. The medicine boy didn’t dare to look up. He just held the porcelain jar above his head and said hoarsely: “The Yuming Hall has been burned to a ruin, the Grand Preceptor…”
The medicine boy seemed unable to bear it and lowered his head: “The Grand Preceptor did not come out…”
Your Majesty actually left a glimmer of hope for the Grand Preceptor. If she had come out through the front hall, it would have been a way out, but who could have expected that the Grand Preceptor chose the path of death.
She herself, did not want to live anymore.
The Princess Elder Sister sighed. If the person were still alive, she would be worried about her niece being led astray. Now that the person was gone, it saved a lot of trouble. So, she waved her hand, telling the medicine boy to put down the porcelain jar, and then withdrew herself.
She could no longer interfere in these grievances. She only hoped that Zhaosu could recover soon.
But forcing the person she loved to die with her own hands, such pain was not easily overcome.
In the empty hall, the female monarch held the cold porcelain jar. Warm tears continuously streamed from the corners of her eyes, slid down her jaw, and then pattered onto the jar body. Her voice was hoarse, as if she was mocking herself: “Do you despise me so much? Would you rather die than bow your head and lie to me?”
“How hard could it be to lie and say you loved me? You have been lying to me for so long, why couldn’t you continue? As long as you lied, I would believe it…”
Tears soaked her clothes, mixing with bloodstains, gradually dyeing her skirt a large expanse of crimson. Bl00d spittle trailed from the corner of her mouth. She didn’t know if an old wound had split open or if her heart had simply died, she only felt an emptiness in her chest, unable to contain anything anymore.
Bl00d flowed out. The hall was empty. Her body had always been frail, and with the sudden death of her heart, she fainted again. Just as she was about to fall to the ground, a hand suddenly reached out from the void and steadily caught her in its embrace.
Shi Qingyi sighed, pried the urn of ashes, which the unconscious woman still refused to let go of, from her hand, and asked the System: “The target is in distress, aren’t you going to save her?”
The System feigned death: “Your pain-threshold block just now consumed too much of my energy. I can’t save her; I can only save her according to the rules of this world.”
“?”
“You have the spirit medicine from Mount Zhongnan on you.”
“What’s the use of you then?” As the words fell, the System was about to retort when it heard a thud. The host had already disabled the System’s authority.
“…”
Her pale lips were tightly closed, stained with traces of bl00d. The medicinal pill pressed against her lips couldn’t be fed in. She was probably heartbroken and didn’t want to live anymore.
Shi Qingyi was silent for a moment, a subtle, dark light flashing in her eyes. She finally sighed and took the medicine herself, lowering her eyes.
Their lips and tongue met. She gently licked the wound on the corner of Xu Zhaosu’s mouth that she had bitten herself, transferring warm water into her mouth, and then the pill hidden under her tongue.
A bitter taste spread between their lips and tongues. Perhaps it was too bitter. The thick eyelashes of the person who had already passed out slightly fluttered, seeming to be waking up. Shi Qingyi quickly covered her hand over the eyes, blocking her sight before she could open them.
Warm liquid soon seeped through her fingers. She was startled, then very obediently swallowed the bitter pill. Her hand also fumbled to embrace Shi Qingyi’s back, her movements very light, as if afraid that a little force would startle the visiting spirit.
“Qingyi, is that you?” Only after a long time did she dare to speak with a trembling voice.
Shi Qingyi remained silent.
Xu Zhaosu tightly embraced her with one hand, while the other trembled, exploring from behind her back all the way to her ear, then the slender jaw, lips, nose, and finally her eyebrows and eyes, as if repeatedly confirming something.
“Qingyi, don’t leave. Let me see you, okay?”
She was cautious, wanting to break free from the hand covering her eyes, yet afraid of angering her, not daring to completely pull away.
“I don’t look good,” Shi Qingyi didn’t let go, her voice slow, with a slight, hoarse sigh. She caressed the moist corners of her eyes, wiping away the tears little by little: “Don’t look.”
A person who had burned to death would certainly not look good. It was said their body was twisted, with only charred bones remaining, both horrifying and painful.
This sentence seemed to break Xu Zhaosu. The tears wouldn’t stop, continuously streaming from the corners of her eyes, soaking entirely into Shi Qingyi’s palm.
After a long time, a helpless sigh was heard. The person leaned down and moved her hand away. Warm lips pressed against the corner of her eye, gently kissing away the salty tears. The cold, plum-blossom fragrance invaded her senses.
Xu Zhaosu tried her best to open her eyes to see her, but a hand lightly patted her back. An irresistible drowsiness washed over her. Her body uncontrollably fell into a deep sleep. The last thing she heard was someone gently whispering in her ear: “Don’t cry all the time, it’s bad for your eyes…”
When Xu Zhaosu woke up again, the sky was already bright. The medicine boy and the imperial physician were waiting by the side, talking about how perilous last night had been, and how if the female monarch hadn’t eaten a spirit pill from Mount Zhongnan herself and smashed a teacup to call people in, who knows what would have happened.
The female monarch scanned the surroundings, then slowly and disappointed withdrew her gaze. She simply reached out a hand, touched the small urn of ashes by the couch, and murmured softly: “I have never carried any spirit medicine on me.”
The imperial physician and the medicine boy dared not make a sound, thinking that in the female monarch’s current state, anyone who dared to say a negative word was seeking death, even though they clearly found a jade vial containing pills on the female monarch’s person.
Xu Zhaosu didn’t expect them to reply. After a long while, she asked: “What day was yesterday?”
The medicine boy and the imperial physician exchanged glances. Finally, the medicine boy plucked up the courage to speak: “Your Majesty, yesterday was the Grand Preceptor’s seventh day (since death)…”
Your Majesty had been intermittently ill since that night, so she had actually lost track of the days.
So that was it. She lowered her eyelashes, clutching the porcelain jar, unsure if she was crying or laughing: “So, you came to see me one last time…”
No one dared to speak. The hall was silent. Only the sunlight gently fell upon the white marble floor. No one noticed that the light and shadow in one area were off; a person seemed to be standing quietly in a corner of the hall.
Shi Qingyi was gone, but Xu Zhaosu was still alive. She began to massively search for Shi Qingyi’s remaining followers, perhaps out of lingering hatred, or perhaps for some other unspeakable reason.
Six months after Shi Qingyi’s death, the personal guard who had stayed with her until the end was captured, bound in chains, and brought into the Mingze Hall.
The once magnificent palace was terribly gloomy. Choking smoke burned everywhere. Black silk draped the entire palace, making it airtight. Sunlight couldn’t enter. Innumerable Taoist priests and monks knelt outside the hall, but inside, it was empty. Only the faint long-burning lamp illuminated a small area.
The female monarch in the deepest part of the palace was dressed in black, her entire person submerged in the darkness. Only her face was terrifyingly pale. She looked up from the swirling smoke and stared deeply at him.
“What did she say before she left?”
The personal guard clenched his jaw, refusing to speak.
The female monarch coughed wearily twice, flipping through the pages of the book in her hand: “During your days of escape, you met a girl washing silk by the Weishui River. She saved you by the stream, kind-hearted like a Bodhisattva. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, would you?”
The personal guard fell silent instantly. Finally, he lowered his head with difficulty: “The Grand Preceptor said, ‘It should be as Your Majesty desires.'”
If there is a wish, then let it be fulfilled.
The female monarch paused abruptly, as if realizing some crucial connection. The book in her hand fell to the floor.
She thought her setting the fire was to make her die, but she clearly only wanted to force her out. How could it be like this? How could it be like this—
Fate seemed to be playing a massive joke on her. She wanted to laugh, but accidentally choked, only able to cough with difficulty. She couldn’t raise her head from coughing, having to bend over, struggling to catch her breath.
The personal guard kowtowed repeatedly, his face covered in tears: “It has nothing to do with her, nothing to do with her. Your Majesty, please let her go, please…”
Seemingly feeling that the stakes were not high enough, he suddenly looked up and shouted in a flash of lightning: “The Grand Preceptor’s secret is in the hidden compartment of the Mingze Hall study! I saw it with my own eyes… Please let her go—”
The female monarch ordered him to be taken away. She herself walked with difficulty towards the study. Her steps were hurried, but when she finally got close, she suddenly stopped. After a long time, she dared to push open the door and walk in alone.
It was very well hidden, but it was just a small, square box that couldn’t hold much. She opened it with trembling hands. The mechanism clicked. She even thought that if there were a hidden trap inside, letting her die would save her from this torment.
Inside, however, was only a withered plum blossom branch and a sheet of rice paper with neat handwriting.
A line of poetry was written on the paper in delicate and elegant script.
—The sorrow of yearning is deep as the ocean; old matters are far as the heavens.
The female monarch, now wielding absolute power over the land, suddenly could no longer stand steady. She leaned against the bookshelf, sliding down inch by inch to the floor. The arrow wound in her chest, which hadn’t fully healed in six months, was now throbbing again, nearly tearing open. A chill surged through all her limbs and bones.
The withered branch was one she had given her back then. The sorrow of yearning is deep as the ocean; old matters are far as the heavens—it was a poem by Yue Wan describing long and bitter unrequited love. It turned out that in that long passage of time, she was not the only one who had developed feelings.
This realization almost overturned everything that came before. But why, if she clearly loved her, did she never admit it, never accept it, and repeatedly force them both toward a dead end?
She had too many questions, but with the person’s departure, everything had become an unsolvable mystery, as if fate was mocking her maliciously.
“Hatred value is fifty percent, nearly halved.” The System exclaimed: “As expected, your voluntary demise didn’t completely dissolve her hatred. With fifty percent hatred value remaining, I’m optimistic about you, Host.”
“By the way, the female lead has been captured by Xu Zhaosu. You need to rush over to save her life.”
“I recall that this part wasn’t in the plot. Why was she captured?” Shi Qingyi frowned.
“Well, it wasn’t originally,” the System adjusted the plot, its voice subdued. “Isn’t it because she looks like you? Xu Zhaosu is a mad dog now, biting anyone she catches.”
Shi Qingyi’s mouth twitched. She walked down the long street of a remote county town. The county magistrate had just posted a notice. Many people were craning their necks and discussing it.
“Is there anyone who can read? What is written on this?”
“It’s useless to read it. It certainly doesn’t concern you…”
“How would we know without reading it? Read it and see, read it and see—”
The officer frowned impatiently. Just as he was about to speak, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and tore down the notice.
The officer looked at the woman in coarse linen clothes and a simple mask in astonishment, shouting: “What are you doing? Do you know what this says? How dare you tear it down carelessly?”
The woman smiled lightly and said: “Yes, I know. The Princess Elder Sister is seeking a doctor for His Majesty.”
The officer was slightly startled. Although the girl didn’t look remarkable, her voice was clear and pleasant, which somehow touched his heart.