Saving the Obsessive Villain Boss [Quick Transmigration] (GL) - Chapter 15

Even after the Imperial Notice was posted, there were still numerous regulations. Being an orphaned woman without relatives or connections, she was simple enough to clear. After a few days of investigation, she traveled to the Imperial City with several senior doctors. Because she was the only woman, she was arranged in a separate courtyard.

Perhaps because they thought she was young, she was never truly allowed to meet the Empress, but was kept confined in the palace, ready at any time to take the Empress’s pulse.

When Shi Qingyi opened her eyes, the sky was just starting to brighten. The heat of the “Autumn Tiger” had dissipated, and the weather was turning cooler. She still felt a little weary, placing her arm across her eyes, listening to the sound of a broom sweeping fallen leaves outside the courtyard, and a few young palace maids whispering.

“Did you hear the chanting? It seems like a lot of Daoist priests and monks have entered the palace these last two days. They’ve filled up the Dongchen Hall. Chanting non-stop every night; it’s keeping me from getting a good night’s sleep.” The young palace maid gave a small yawn.

“Haven’t you gotten used to it? It’s been half a year. It’s either the wooden fish or incantations. Mingze Hall has been covered with black cloth for so long. They say it’s to confine a soul, to keep the Guoshi’s soul inside.”

The young palace maid lowered her voice, but Shi Qingyi’s good hearing ensured she didn’t miss the sentence.

In this brief half-year, Xu Zhaosu’s health rapidly declined. Her usually dignified and gentle temperament also greatly changed, becoming moody, tyrannical, and cruel. She subjected those who betrayed her to extreme punishments, ruthlessly purifying the court. Moreover, she began to put faith in gods and Buddhas, firmly believing in ghosts and spirits, and poured the kingdom’s resources into summoning a soul.

The soul being summoned was that of the deceased Guoshi, Shi Qingyi. Outsiders were terrified by the Empress’s series of brutal actions after her return to power, believing that the Empress hated the Guoshi so much that she wouldn’t even let her soul go. Only a few people knew the hidden secrets but dared not speak a word.

The Empress’s body was already weakened from the torment of that year. Later, her mind was exhausted, she suffered repeated drastic changes, and her health deteriorated day by day. Yet, she adamantly refused to take an imperial consort and bear an heir.

The Eldest Princess worried so much that she suffered sleepless nights. The Imperial Physicians were at a loss and could only place their hopes on reclusive experts, heavily posting Imperial Notices seeking medical aid.

She had exploited this loophole to enter the palace. As she was thinking, another curious whisper drifted in from outside the window: “But I did hear the sister who serves in Mingze Hall say that His Majesty has a treasured porcelain jar kept right by her couch. She can’t sleep soundly if it’s not by her side. I wonder what kind of treasure it is.”

Shi Qingyi: “…”

She silently lowered her arm from her eyes, sat up, and sighed. Outside the window, the bright moon hung high in the sky. The cold moonlight shrouded the quiet palace buildings, and faint Buddhist chanting drifted from a distance.

Everyone had witnessed her being burned alive. But no one knew that after Yuming Hall was completely sealed by the great fire, the person who was supposedly burned to death had quietly climbed back up. The ashes were merely a decoy left by the System.

After she left, Xu Zhaosu had clung to her ashes, refusing to let go, becoming increasingly obsessive and erratic. The Eldest Princess worried day and night, finally going against her conscience to choose a good burial site and persuading Xu Zhaosu to inter her, allowing her soul to rest in peace.

Xu Zhaosu did bury her, but regretted it just two days after the burial.

The Empress was seized by a nightmare late at night. In the dream, the once-unsullied girl was burned, curled up into a ball, with thick smoke rolling behind her. Her white robe was swallowed by the flames, instantly leaving only a charred mess.

She awoke from the nightmare, realizing a month had passed. Outside the window, lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and high summer had arrived. She closed her eyes, unable to stop shivering. How could she bury Shi Qingyi alone in such a cold place? The surroundings were deserted, with cold winds and chilling rain.

She had seen the girl she loved in her dream; she must go see her upon waking.

So, on a rainy night with strong winds, she stumbled to the outskirts of the capital and personally dug open her grave.

As if to confirm, she opened the coffin. She had watched the lid being nailed shut, but now she no longer believed it. Perhaps it was all just a dream? Even if it was a lie, that person had flown far away and was still alive in this world…

But the iron-clad fact left her no choice but to believe. That person’s ashes lay silently in the desolate mountain. Perhaps her soul had already departed. That person could never come back.

She suddenly understood clearly that Shi Qingyi was dead. The person she had loved and hated so intensely was forever unattainable. In the end, she was the one left with nothing.

She ultimately did not allow Shi Qingyi to rest in peace. When she was alive, the person was not by her side; after death, she could at least not leave again.

Moreover, the ashes were still here. Perhaps there was still a chance for successful soul-summoning, wasn’t there?

The young Empress looked like a lunatic. Her fingers were covered in dirt and bl00d. She staggered, soaked through in the rainy night, holding a porcelain jar. Her chin rested lightly on the jar, extremely stubborn, yet carrying a hint of desperate madness.

Even the stone-cold Eldest Princess could only remain silent upon witnessing this scene, unable to stop her even half a step.

Later, the outside world rumored that the Empress’s love for the Guoshi turned to hatred, a hatred so extreme that she wouldn’t even spare the corpse, digging up the Guoshi’s grave overnight.

“…”

Shi Qingyi’s mood was slightly complicated. She rubbed her temples. It seemed the small noises outside the window instantly stopped when they heard her getting up, and finally, silence fell.

Golden fallen leaves covered the ground, swept into the flower beds. In the blink of an eye, she had been here for nearly half a month. Shi Qingyi finally couldn’t help but manage an inquiry. She slipped some silver to the female official and asked: “Excuse me, Your Ladyship, how much longer must I wait before I can meet His Majesty?”

The female official looked oddly at the unremarkable woman wearing a mask in front of her. She kindly warned: “If you have some grievance, it’s useless to appeal to the Empress.”

Who didn’t know that the Empress was volatile, a mass murderer, and going up there was just seeking death?

Shi Qingyi: “…”

She silently slipped another silver ingot.

A person seeking death cannot be stopped. The female official sighed and pointed out a way: “I heard they recently caught a few more remnants of the Guoshi’s old faction and imprisoned them in the Imperial Dungeon. His Majesty should pass by Chengqing Gate when returning. If you truly wish to go…”

The female official did her best to swallow the words “seeking death”: “If you want an audience, you can wait at Chengqing Gate.”

Shi Qingyi breathed a sigh of relief and thanked her softly: “Thank you for the guidance, Your Ladyship.”

——

The Imperial Dungeon was dark and damp, which was actually unsuitable for the Empress’s recovery. Her legs were weak, she couldn’t stand the cold, and she was afraid of it, let alone staying long in such a damp and cold place.

The remnant faction member lying on the floor was barely clinging to life, covered in wounds. A red-hot branding iron lay beside him. The smell of scorched flesh and bl00d had not yet dispersed. Everything that needed to be confessed had been confessed.

There wasn’t much to say, really, just some old stories, faded truths sealed in the passage of time.

Xu Zhaosu quietly listened to him finish speaking, suddenly feeling empty inside. She sat in the dungeon for a long time before turning and staggering back, step by step.

It started slowly, then gradually sped up, as if some monstrous flood was about to chase her from behind. An invisible beast was gripping her throat, making even breathing feel extremely difficult.

In just half a year, beauty had turned into withered bones. She finally began to understand the unknown truth of that year from the words of others.

It turned out that half a year ago, on that very day, Jing’e had already anticipated her movements. Shi Qingyi did not leave with her because she went to stop her Master from harming her.

It was her insistence on going back to take her along that led her into the trap. If she had decisively left then without turning back, things would not be this way. It turned out that she genuinely wanted to leave with her.

She had never, ever intended to kill her.

The man, already at death’s door, spoke while vomiting bl00d onto the ground. Every word seemed to be mocking her: “If it weren’t for the Guoshi’s secret protection, Your Majesty, do you think you, you could have escaped so easily?”

Yes, everything that followed seemed frighteningly smooth: successfully escaping the pursuit, avoiding blockades and interceptions, meeting the designated dark guards, and happening to meet an experienced doctor when severely injured. Everything was incredibly smooth, yet at the time, her heart was so consumed by hatred that she failed to notice anything wrong…

That arrow missed her heart. How could it have, just so happened to miss by an inch?

She felt a splitting headache, dazed and confused. Past events were gradually being connected.

Warm liquid dripped down, drop by drop. The young Empress, not knowing whether to cry or laugh, stumbled out. The sunlight outside was terribly bright, leaving nothing in the world hidden. After a long while, the person of extreme noble status suddenly covered her face, muttering as if trapped in a nightmare: “She wanted to come with me, she didn’t want to kill me. It was me, I forced her to her death…”

She was the Empress, at the pinnacle of power. No one dared to step forward to check. Everyone only dared to follow half a step behind her, watching from afar.

“I, with my own hands, forced her to die…”

Her vision was blurred. Her legs grew increasingly weak. She couldn’t see the road ahead but blindly walked forward, finally tripping over the high threshold.

The woman in the gold-patterned black robe stumbled. Everyone—palace maids and guards behind her—palace maids and guards behind her—all changed color, believing she was about to fall face-first to the ground. However, as they quickly rushed forward, they were stunned to discover that the Empress had fallen into the arms of someone kneeling on the ground.

That person, kneeling in the middle of the road, clearly had ill intentions. Yet, the Empress tightly gripped her hand, even visibly pinching a patch of blue and purple skin.

Warm liquid flowed onto her neck. Shi Qingyi dared not move, only hearing the person gripping her tightly force out a sentence through gritted teeth, fast and urgent, stumbling as if she nearly bit her tongue.

She said: “I told the monks to chant, and the Daoists to set up formations. Could you please stay a little longer, just a little longer?”

A sudden surge of a bitter emotion welled up in a certain part of her heart. The usually heartless person couldn’t help but raise her hand. After a moment, it quietly settled on the person’s trembling back.

The System chimed: “Hatred value decreased by five percent. Forty-five percent remaining. Keep up the good work, Host!”