Saving the Obsessive Villain Boss [Quick Transmigration] (GL) - Chapter 16

The once magnificent Mingze Hall was now enveloped in gloom, with only a few palace lanterns lit. This was partly because the female monarch’s eyes were sensitive to strong light, and also because of the group of Taoist priests outside who were misleading people, claiming that spirits could not bear bright light, as it would disturb the lingering soul and prevent it from staying.

Xu Zhaosu, such an astute and intelligent person, actually believed it.

Shi Qingyi felt an indescribable emotion. Xu Zhaosu had fallen asleep next to her, clutching her hand and refusing to let go. Out of necessity, she had to bring her, along with the female monarch, back to the Mingze Hall. Now, the female monarch was resting on the couch, and Shi Qingyi extended one hand to stay with her.

She was gripping her hand so hard that her fingernails were practically digging into her flesh, drawing faint lines of bl00d, yet Shi Qingyi did not pull away, allowing her to hold it like that.

Woken up by the little palace maid in the morning, she hadn’t slept well. The hall was dim now. Conscious of Xu Zhaosu, she only slightly closed her eyes to rest, not daring to fall asleep. Half-dreaming, half-awake, she suddenly realized someone was approaching from behind. A thin, cold arm wrapped around her waist.

Like a vine, and like a beast that had bitten its prey, the embrace tightened, growing tighter until Shi Qingyi found it difficult to breathe. She reached out and patted her arm, calling out hoarsely: “Your Majesty…”

Her voice was slightly low, with a hoarseness from being choked by smoke.

The soft body clung tightly to her back, confining her to the spot, absolutely refusing to let go. Her breathing was very light, as if afraid of startling the solitary spirit who wouldn’t easily enter her dream: “Did you come back to see me?”

Shi Qingyi was speechless for a moment, unsure how to answer.

Xu Zhaosu’s jaw rested on her shoulder. Her teeth were unconsciously chattering. Her embrace tightened inch by inch, forcing Shi Qingyi to embed herself deeper into her arms. Shi Qingyi was just about to struggle, but the slightest movement caused the startled person to suddenly tighten her arms, attempting to bite her neck, but then restraining herself with immense willpower. In the end, it only turned into trembling kisses falling onto her shoulder.

“Are you leaving again?”

Shi Qingyi was stunned, ceasing her struggle. She had only met Xu Zhaosu once. Although she had stayed in the palace for the following six months, she had never let Xu Zhaosu see her again, recovering from her injuries with the System’s help. By Xu Zhaosu’s implication, had she visited more than once?

But she certainly hadn’t come herself. Then—

Her eyes were clouded with confusion. Before she could think further, someone was already pressing close to her ear.

“Will you stay a little longer this time, okay?”

Her voice was low to the extreme. The kissing, however, changed from a slight touch to a stabbing pain in the instant Shi Qingyi was distracted. The pain in her neck made her instinctively want to dodge. She couldn’t evade it. Only warm liquid dropped onto her neck, followed by dense kisses raining down.

“Qingyi, don’t leave… don’t leave…”

Before Shi Qingyi could answer, the hall door creaked open. A sliver of soft light illuminated the lonely inner hall. Someone walked slowly in. Seeing the scene inside, the palace lantern in her hand shook, and she cried out in surprise: “Your Majesty?”

Xu Zhaosu’s eyes instantly turned red, like a cornered beast that had reached a dead end. Even her breathing was trembling, but her eyes were filled with malice. She practically threw the things on the couch next to her, roaring: “Get out—Who told you to come in?! Get out—”

Then, she turned around in a panic, attempting to block the faint light with her slender body. With an almost obsessive, anxious, and pathetic demeanor, she stammered: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’ll make them all leave. I’ll have the Taoist priests and monks pray and set up formations for you. Don’t be afraid, don’t leave…”

But she grasped at empty air.

The woman in the simple long dress knelt down below the couch, her head bowed. A wooden mask covered half of her face. Her voice was hoarse, completely different from the clear and solitary voice in her dream. The female monarch’s startled expression froze, and her back stiffened as she moved over inch by inch.

“This commoner is Cao Zhu, a physician from Qing Mu Cheng, greetings to Your Majesty—”

Perhaps this was an unreal dream, or perhaps another deception. Xu Zhaosu leaned on the couch, her fingers unconsciously clenched. Cold sweat soaked her black long skirt. Her gaze was like a sharp blade, scrutinizing the kneeling person.

From head to toe, inch by inch, she seemed to want to peel back this person’s skin and flesh, reaching directly into the depths of her soul.

The atmosphere suddenly became terrifyingly tense. The palace maid shivering by the door could almost foresee her fate. The female monarch had become increasingly unpredictable lately. This time, disturbing the spirit might have triggered another nightmare for the monarch. This tactless physician would surely not survive. Perhaps she would be thrown to the dogs, or trampled into meat paste by the imperial horses—

She was horrified, terrified that she had no chance of survival. After a long while, she suddenly heard the female monarch cough without warning, a heart-wrenching, breathless cough that seemed to want to expel all her internal organs.

Shi Qingyi couldn’t bear the sound of her cough. With that kind of cough, her throat would soon be ruined, and it might even damage her lungs and viscera. After a moment of silence, she still reached for a cup of warm water nearby and offered it to her.

Xu Zhaosu didn’t speak, only watching her. Her serene eyes had an undeniable brightness, even in the darkness.

Shi Qingyi: “…”

A brightness that one couldn’t ignore, even with one’s head lowered.

“Cough, cough, cough…” The coughing became more severe, almost making her roll off the couch.

In the end, she couldn’t stand it. Shi Qingyi, with a headache, braced herself and, overstepping her bounds, straightened up to support the person who was precariously clinging to the couch. She brought the warm water to the female monarch’s pale lips and called out “Your Majesty.”

Having achieved her goal, Xu Zhaosu slowly closed her eyes, took a sip, and coughed again. The person hesitated, then gently patted her back: “Your Majesty, be careful…”

The hand holding the water had a thin layer of calluses. The skin seemed imbued with a faint, bitter medicinal scent, indeed resembling a modest female physician rather than a spoiled Grand Preceptor who had never done manual labor.

“What is your name?” Her gaze was scorching, practically burning a hole through the person.

This question had been anticipated. Shi Qingyi subtly lowered her eyes: “This commoner is Cao Zhu.”

Xu Zhaosu was momentarily lost in a daze, seeming to recall something. She weakly pulled the corner of her mouth and coughed, looking at the silent girl before her, her voice weary: “I thought you would be called A-Yi.”

Shi Qingyi: “…”

The System secretly complained in her mind: “See? I told you your names are always terrible.”

“Shut up.”

“Why are you wearing a mask?” In a momentary lapse of concentration, Xu Zhaosu’s icy fingers had quietly reached out, starting from the jawbone, the cold fingertips attempting to touch the rough wooden mask.

Shi Qingyi turned her head, avoiding her hand.

Xu Zhaosu’s eyes instantly clouded with gloom. A palpable hostility seeped out. Why wouldn’t she let her touch her? Why? She was avoiding her again, still avoiding her—

The other hand hidden in her sleeve almost dug into her palm.

“This commoner’s appearance is coarse. I fear I would frighten Your Majesty.”

Xu Zhaosu’s whole body stiffened. She finally remembered the great fire from half a year ago. The flames had raged fiercely, seeming to reduce everything in the world to ashes. In that fire, she had lost the girl she had cherished for many years.

Her hand slowly dropped again, afraid of reopening the wound of the person before her.

Her trusted aide finally rushed in, bringing several white-bearded old imperial physicians to the imperial couch. They tremblingly reported that the situation just now had been extremely dangerous, and fortunately, Shi Qingyi’s timely diagnosis had stabilized the female monarch, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Shi Qingyi, who had done nothing: “…”

She could only accept the praise with composure.

The medicinal pill Xu Zhaosu took had a slight sedative effect. Before long, she began to feel drowsy, yet she desperately refused to close her eyes, her gaze unashamedly fixed on the person by the couch.

She stubbornly endured for nearly an hour, until her eyes became bloodshot. A group of imperial physicians, frantic like ants on a hot pan, constantly urged Shi Qingyi with their eyes.

“Your Majesty has already been awake for two consecutive nights due to the interrogation. If she continues to stay awake, something bad might happen.”

Although they didn’t know the exact connection, all of His Majesty’s focus was tightly fixed on this person. Hinting at her would surely work.

Shi Qingyi bore a heavy responsibility. If Xu Zhaosu refused to sleep, everyone would be uneasy. She reluctantly spoke: “Your Majesty, please rest early…”

The moment she spoke, the female monarch, to everyone’s astonishment, grasped the arm of the taciturn physician by the couch. As if she had finally waited for this sentence, she closed her eyes in relief, her voice hoarse: “You keep watch over me. Do not leave for a moment.”

This sleep was a long one, a rare good night’s rest for Xu Zhaosu in the past six months. There were no bizarre dreams and no heart-wrenching loss. She had once again grasped that handful of snow from the mountain, something she hadn’t dared to dream of for half a year.

Even if she refused to acknowledge her, even if her appearance was ruined, at least she was willing to come back, wasn’t she?

When she finally woke up from her sweet slumber, she found only a piece of clothing in her hand. No one was by the couch. Only the draft blew quietly through the hall.

—She had left.

The severely ill person scrambled up, trembling. The hall was terrifyingly empty. Only the wind stirred the black curtains. She stumbled and staggered, frantically and hastily searching everywhere.

She wasn’t in the back hall, wasn’t in the study, wasn’t anywhere…

Had she left again? Where did she go? Did she run away again without a word?

The eyes of the woman who now commanded the world filled with a terrifying madness. It didn’t matter, it didn’t matter. As long as she was alive, how could she possibly escape?

The mountains and rivers belonged to her! She couldn’t escape. With a hundred thousand Imperial Guards in the Imperial City, they would dig three feet deep to find her!

She bit her lip. A plan instantly formed in her mind. Don’t panic, don’t panic. Start with the Mingze Hall, then the Dongchen Hall, followed by the Western Six Palaces. Search them one by one—

She would find her eventually. The command to summon someone was stuck in her throat, but suddenly her foot hit something with a dull pain. She had crashed into a warm brazier and was about to fall, when someone abruptly reached out and supported her waist.

The person was carrying a palace lantern, and draped a warm, heavy cloak over her. A faint, bitter medicinal scent enveloped her. That person quietly sighed in relief: “Someone poisoned the lamp. No wonder Your Majesty couldn’t sleep well.”

Before she could finish, the female monarch suddenly embraced her fiercely, mumbling incoherently, then leaning close to her ear, her eyes filled with cold malice: “I thought you had left again. Were you trying to abandon me again?!”

Her eyes were dark, devoid of any other color. Her back was slightly hunched, like a sudden darkening of the sky, a dark cloud without sunlight.

“I knew it…”

—I knew you would leave. I shouldn’t have indulged you. I should have locked you up, put you in shackles, pierced your shoulder blades, broken your hands and feet. You should never, ever be able to leave me.