Saving the Obsessive Villain Boss [Quick Transmigration] (GL) - Chapter 21
Because of being entangled by various trivial matters, Xu Zhaosu’s plan to bring Shi Qingyi back to the suburban imperial palace as soon as her matters were finished never materialized. Instead, Shi Qingyi became weaker and weaker, and her lifespan was drained in just a few days.
—Even though Xu Zhaosu had, in inexplicable panic, ordered the medication to be stopped.
It was a spring afternoon. After the medication was stopped, Shi Qingyi asked during the time she was supposed to take the medicine, “Your Majesty, where is today’s medicine?”
The medicine had actually been brewed, but Xu Zhaosu was scared. She was afraid that the Shi Qingyi of the future would just be an empty shell, and also afraid that Shi Qingyi would leave at any time when she was lucid. This contradictory mindset tore at her, leaving her sleepless day after day.
Later, the palace attendant still tremblingly presented the medicine. Shi Qingyi was drinking it halfway when Xu Zhaosu suddenly interrupted her, snatched the medicine bowl, and smashed it all over the floor.
She finally couldn’t overcome that psychological hurdle and tremblingly wiped the corners of her mouth: “We won’t drink it.”
Shi Qingyi looked at her quietly, with unprecedented obedience: “I will listen to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty says not to drink it, then we won’t drink it…”
At that moment, Xu Zhaosu inexplicably felt that Shi Qingyi actually knew. She knew everything, but she didn’t say it.
Such an extraordinarily intelligent woman actually understood everything. Even if what Xu Zhaosu fed her was poison, she still drank it mouthful by mouthful, willingly stepping into her cage.
Stopping the medicine still couldn’t prevent Shi Qingyi’s body from deteriorating day by day, like a flower tree about to wither. Her whole person declined from the inside out.
Initially, she was just drowsy and confused, eating little and dreaming a lot. Later, it became so severe that even the herbal medicine couldn’t be fed to her. She wouldn’t eat the whole day, unless Xu Zhaosu personally fed her, and then she could barely eat a little.
Even eating was difficult, just to keep Xu Zhaosu from being sad.
Swallowing it down was still painful. Finally, one afternoon, she began coughing up bl00d. Spots of bl00d splattered on the milky white lotus seed paste. She coughed until everything before her eyes was a white blur. She only vaguely felt the person beside her trembling. She reached out and touched warmth, so she leaned over with difficulty to hug her, patted her trembling back, and comforted her with broken, intermittent words.
“Your Majesty, it’s okay… it’s okay… I’ll eat, I’ll eat… alright?”
She seemed unaware that she was coughing up bl00d. She only knew that Xu Zhaosu was panicking to a certain extent, afraid that she would starve herself to death by not eating anything these days.
She didn’t want Xu Zhaosu to worry, so she groped for the soup bowl herself, but only heard a sudden crash—the sound of the porcelain bowl shattering on the floor.
Xu Zhaosu hugged her tightly, her voice already hoarse, only repeating over and over: “We won’t eat anymore, won’t eat anymore…”
She had long known that Shi Qingyi was unable to eat and was only forcing herself for her sake. It was also the first time she realized that the girl who was usually as cold as frost and snow was actually so gentle deep down, but she wished she had never known.
The spring breeze rustled outside the window. The last of the winter plums had fallen all over the ground. Some of the cold-intolerant ones had withered and died. It was the first time the woman who controlled the world had felt such panic, apart from for her imperial father and mother.
She could control everything, except for the life and death of the one she loved.
Famous physicians from all over the world were successively summoned to the palace for treatment. The bitter smell of medicine and a heavy low atmosphere enveloped the entire imperial palace. After Shi Qingyi became critically ill, Xu Zhaosu temporarily handed over all affairs to the Eldest Princess and the Prime Minister, and spent most of her time by Shi Qingyi’s side—even though she was mostly unconscious.
The Eldest Princess initially objected, but later she chanced to see Shi Qingyi when she was escorting the female sovereign back.
Her long, black hair hung obediently down her back. She sat in a wide chair. Even wrapped in a heavy white fox fur, she only appeared more frail, having become completely emaciated. Her cheeks were sunken, her beauty was gone, and there was a look of complete decay.
She waited quietly for Xu Zhaosu to return. When she did, she reached out a hand from under the fox fur to hold hers, but after a moment, she leaned weakly into the female sovereign’s arms again, without even the strength to say a single word.
The Eldest Princess stood with her hands clasped behind her back for a long time, finally only sighing.
What was there left to say when a person was about to die? If she were accused of bringing disaster to the country, yet her drastically faded appearance had not caused the female sovereign to despise her, it must be that His Majesty was truly in love.
—In that case, how could they possibly persuade her to change her mind?
It would be better to fulfill His Majesty’s wishes. Leaving a regret would be a lifelong matter.
In early May, the doctors in the palace were at their wit’s end and could only forcefully administer medicine to maintain a sliver of her life. With a physician’s compassion, one doctor who couldn’t bear to see her living such a difficult life, a doctor who had been a recluse for many years, finally spoke to the female sovereign who now commanded all power: “Your Majesty, why not let her go…”
She was living so painfully, why insist on dragging it out so stubbornly?
As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Zhaosu nearly overturned the entire Mingze Palace. On the fifth day of May, the pouring rain began. She drew a shining long sword from the heavy rain inside the hall. Her eyes were bl00d-red like a Rakshasa, and she roared: “What did you say?”
She looked as if she was about to kill someone on the spot.
The huge palace was in chaos. No one dared to speak another word of advice, trembling with fear. In the deathly silence, only an extremely low voice came from behind the gauze curtain: “Your Majesty…”
The monarch who had just been like a Rakshasa instantly abandoned her sword and stumbled into the gauze curtain. A crisis was resolved instantly. From then on, no one dared to offer that advice again.
Only on one late night, as Xu Zhaosu held her girl, she murmured: “A’Qing, are you going to leave me? Did I tie you down? Making you unable to leave?”
How could she bear to see her suffer? But she couldn’t let go. Years of waiting and torment had only brought a few short months of companionship. How could she bear to let her go?
The half-asleep, half-awake person wrapped her arms around her neck. It took great effort to speak close to her ear. She said: “It’s not that you tied me down, it’s that I can’t let go of you… Your Majesty, I want to stay with you a little longer…”
Xu Zhaosu suddenly burst into tears without a reason.
In mid-May, the rain poured down. As Xu Zhaosu was feeding medicine to Shi Qingyi, someone suddenly rushed in from outside through the rain. The close guard was covered in rainwater and bl00d. He strode in and announced loudly.
“Your Majesty, the Eldest Princess has been assassinated!”
The monarch was tied down by Shi Qingyi. The Eldest Princess was Xu Zhaosu’s last bl00d relative in this world. Xu Zhaosu was suddenly stunned. It was Shi Qingyi who quietly tugged on her little finger, waking her up.
Xu Zhaosu put down the medicine bowl, kissed her on the corner of her eye, and put the hand she had exposed back under the brocade quilt. Her voice carried an inexplicable panic: “A’Qing, wait for me. I’ll be back soon…”
She didn’t let go of her hand until Shi Qingyi closed her eyes as a sign of assent.
“You wait for me, just for a moment…”
She was too afraid. Shi Qingyi could leave at any time. She was afraid that by the time she returned, Shi Qingyi would have lost her breath.
The female sovereign left in a hurry, plunging into the continuous rain. Shi Qingyi lay alone in the silent hall. She could faintly hear the sound of the rain hitting the eaves outside, and then suddenly the sound of fighting, of swords clashing, getting closer and closer until it reached her bedside.
The bright flash of a sword brought bl00d rain. The last palace maid guarding the couch fell in response. The gauze curtain was lifted by the sword, revealing the emaciated girl inside. Her face was deathly pale, like gold foil. In the midst of the golden carvings and jade decorations, she was as frail as a paper lantern.
“Qingyi!”
Even a person with a heart as hard as Jing’e couldn’t help but tighten her grip on the gauze curtain.
“Master…”
The woman by the couch held a sharp sword and was dressed in a tight outfit. Her brows were sharp and severe. At this moment, she frowned tightly and shouted sternly: “Why didn’t you listen to your master and leave with me earlier?”
Otherwise, how could things have come to this state?
Shi Qingyi just looked at her, seeming to sigh. Her voice was weak: “Master, are you truly here to save me?”
She started coughing again, tears streaming down her eyes. They rolled down the corners of her eyes continuously: “Or, are you just using me as a distraction, a feint, to save… the Princess?”
Jing’e didn’t want to delay any longer and immediately picked her up. She was terribly thin. Her entire weight was not like that of an adult woman. Holding her in her arms posed no obstruction. However, perhaps she touched her somewhere, forcing her to cough non-stop. Even though she was coughing so badly, she still had to spit out those hurtful words, one by one.
Jing’e’s steady steps paused for a moment. She almost stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. The rain was torrential. She tightly pursed her lips, trying desperately not to show any flaw.
“Master…” Shi Qingyi started coughing up bl00d. The bright red bloodstains gradually soaked her clothes, mixing with rain and tears, all the way down, soaking her plain white collar: “Even if I die… you still have to use me…”
She spoke so mournfully. By the end, she seemed to be giving a bitter laugh, laughing at her own years of absurdity, and also laughing at herself for having nothing left.
“When did you find out?” Jing’e was shielded in the center. The surrounding death-sworn soldiers fell one after another, yet they were still desperately carving out a path for them with their flesh and bl00d.
Just as they were about to break out, countless archers suddenly appeared in front. At the edge of the sight, the female sovereign in red came through the rain. The stern bows and arrows were aimed from afar at everyone.
Looking closely, it wasn’t that she was in a robe of red, but that it was stained red with fresh bl00d. Beside her, the Eldest Princess had one arm wrapped in white gauze. Her eyes were utterly cold. She spoke loudly in praise: “Worthy of being the sole disciple of the former dynasty’s dark guard commander! What a brilliant feint!”
Jing’e closed her eyes, placed her disciple, who now looked like a dying person, down, and her voice was chillingly cold, as if she were explaining something: “Qingyi, it’s only because you fell in love with Xu Zhaosu—”
The bright light of the sword reflected in her eyes. Xu Zhaosu ignored the blades and walked forward step by step. Her face was as gloomy as the pouring rain sky. “Did you really think you executed this feint well?”
It was indeed used well. A series of linked stratagems: first, assassinating the Eldest Princess forced her to leave Mingze Palace as a diversion; then, suddenly attacking Mingze Palace made her think their target was Shi Qingyi, causing her to panic and bring everyone there. They willingly paved the way with their bl00d, just to rescue the person staying in the West Sixth Palace and secure her escape.
What a brilliant scheme, a feint and a diversion. Unfortunately—
In the torrential rain, two guards escorted a disheveled woman. The girl’s face, even with her eyes downcast, was still beautiful and clear. She was forcibly grabbed by the hair and lifted her head, revealing a clear and beautiful face strikingly similar to Shi Qingyi’s.
Jing’e’s hand holding the sword trembled for no reason. The composure on her face cracked inch by inch. Suddenly remembering something, she picked up the girl who was barely breathing, held the sword across her neck, and forced Xu Zhaosu with a fierce voice: “She’s still in my hands!”
Xu Zhaosu was even more ruthless than her. The moment Jing’e held the sword across Shi Qingyi’s neck, she directly drew her long sword and plunged it into the woman’s abdomen. Bl00d gushed out, pouring down in the rain. A huge wound streamed with scalding hot bl00d in the gaze of everyone’s disbelief, just as life was quickly draining away.
“If you don’t surrender immediately, you will watch her bleed out and die with your own eyes—”
The chilling voice was mixed with the heavy rain. A few drops of fresh bl00d splattered on the porcelain-white, delicate jaw and cheeks, slowly sliding down the contours of her face, like a Rakshasa in the mortal world.
Jing’e looked at her in disbelief. For a moment, she hadn’t expected her to be so insane. She didn’t have much time to hesitate, because Xu Zhaosu delivered the second strike.
Even with Jing’e’s tenacious character, she couldn’t bear it any longer. Collapse was only a moment away. The sword clattered to the ground with a clang. She screamed out: “Don’t—”
That was the former emperor’s only child, entrusted to her hands with a great responsibility back then. Now, how could she watch her die before her eyes and betray the former sovereign’s last words?
—Xu Zhaosu had won.
The moment Jing’e put down her sword, the Imperial Guards quickly surrounded them, disarming the death-sworn soldiers and restraining them. Xu Zhaosu threw away the bl00d-stained sword and stumbled towards Shi Qingyi step by step, faster than the last. The rain was so heavy that it had drenched her entirely. She lunged forward and hugged the girl on the ground tightly, almost suffocating her.
It was as if if she had arrived a moment later, she would never see this person again.
“A’Qing, A’Qing… I’m here, I’m here…”
After a long time, a cold little finger struggled to hook her little finger.
Xu Zhaosu was like a person pulled up from hell. Her ears were ringing until she heard Jing’e shouting and begging for a physician behind her before she reacted.
“Physician—Physician—”
Except one was for Shi Qingyi, and the other was for the others.
The torrential rain tore open all wounds.
Perhaps it was a final burst of vitality. After this incident, Shi Qingyi was rarely much more lucid. She didn’t have any serious physical injuries, only being soaked in a heavy rain and having given up on life once more.
Xu Zhaosu dared not entrust anyone else, personally bathing, changing her clothes, wiping her body, and feeding her medicine, then holding her and refusing to let go. They huddled together in a rocking chair. Shi Qingyi had a nightmare while half-asleep and half-awake. After waking up, she suddenly held Xu Zhaosu’s hand and softly said: “Shall I tell Your Majesty a story?”
Her spirits were uncommonly good, almost like a final burst of vitality.
Xu Zhaosu was more than happy for her to be able to speak, and held her hand, saying hoarsely: “You tell it. I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
Shi Qingyi’s voice was very soft. Xu Zhaosu leaned her ear close to listen.
She told the story of a poor girl. She was originally born into a poor hunter’s family. When she was seven or eight years old, a flood struck her hometown. When the family fled, they were on the verge of starvation, so in order for the adults to survive, they planned to sell the child.
A seven or eight-year-old girl was too young to be sold to a brothel and too old to be adopted as a daughter. Later, a female Taoist priest took pity and bought the child. The child timidly followed behind the priest. The priest gave her a steamed bun and said to follow her, and she would never go hungry again.
She gently held out her hand, thus entrusting her whole life.
Later, the priest took her in as a disciple and made her drink medicine, saying it was to nourish her body. She listened to everything her master said. After drinking it for a year or two, she completely forgot her past. The master touched her face and gave her a new name and a new identity.
The Princess of the former imperial house, Shi Qingyi.
She remembered nothing. Whatever her master said was the truth. So, she studied diligently in the mountains, learning everything from poetry and prose, governance, to archery, all with the utmost care, dedicated to restoring the country. Then, one winter day, she saved a girl who was being chased and had mistakenly entered a complex array.
She grew up in the mountains and later lost her former memories. Her master told her that the reason she couldn’t remember her past was because she had been pursued and attacked by the tyrannical monarch, and injured her brain during the escape.
That girl was the only color in the eternally unchanging snow-capped mountain. From the first sight, she couldn’t help but feel joy. It was also the first time she realized that there were colors in the world, that the mountains held more than just white snow, and the human world held more than just surging hatred and enmity.
She led her to experience the wonders of the world, watched fireworks, and appreciated plum blossoms. Later, she wanted to take her down the mountain.
Her master told her that the girl was her lifelong mortal enemy, the one who bore the bl00d debts of her parents and brothers, and the one she absolutely had to kill.
Everything she learned since childhood was to kill this monarch and overthrow her rule. But how ridiculous it was; she had fallen in love with her enemy.
The affairs of the world might all be this unpredictable. Circling around and around, it was like fate had played a huge joke on her.
Love and the master’s grace could not be reconciled, especially with countless bl00d feuds separating them. She restrained her burgeoning feelings, acted cold towards the girl she liked on one hand, and yet couldn’t help but be soft-hearted, unable to refuse, yet not daring to get close.
Later, she finally launched a rebellion, driven by the bl00d feuds and the expectations of countless people, and seized the position of the emperor, but she always only regarded herself as the National Preceptor. She never deposed the monarch, nor did she ever kill her.
—She couldn’t bring herself to do it, and she couldn’t bear to.
She tormented herself this way, and also tormented the girl she liked. Countless times in the middle of the night, she wanted to rescue her, but every time she thought of the grievances, she despised her own incompetence. How could she be so soft-hearted towards an enemy?
She detained and tormented that girl for a whole year. Even under immense pressure, and her master’s coercion, she never considered killing her.
During that year, she often felt heart palpitations. To cure this ailment, she summoned countless reclusive masters to the palace. One particularly skilled physician found a gu worm in her body and memories that had been artificially sealed for a long time.
A year after she imprisoned that girl, she finally remembered all her past. She was merely a substitute for the former princess, a scapegoat to take all the blame for the pursuit and attacks outside. There had never been a bl00d feud between them.
She retrieved the girl from the dungeon overnight, but it was already too late.
The girl had suffered greatly in the darkness. Her eyesight was permanently damaged and she couldn’t tolerate bright light. Her legs and feet ached terribly every winter, and there was no cure. More importantly, the girl hated her to the core.
Fate had played such a trick on her, making her realize her mistake too late to turn back.
She relied on the girl’s blindness to get close to her, not daring to reveal her true identity. She only dared to say she was a little palace maid, quietly taking care of her, staying by her side, and secretly kissing her temples when the girl was asleep in the dark night.
Later, she finally let the girl in her heart go, to the vast world, allowing her to be free and unrestrained.
The girl still hated her, hated her enough to burn her to death. She let the fire consume her as the girl wished. But her life was too tenacious. She eventually escaped, but her face was ruined, and she dared not return to see her.
She didn’t know why, but even though the girl had achieved her wish to burn her enemy to death, she still didn’t cherish herself and insisted on tormenting herself until she was riddled with illness. She had to go and see her, but the girl had already developed a complex, wanting to trap her by her side for the rest of her life.
She was actually willing.
It was just a pity that there was no opportunity. She wouldn’t live much longer.
The gu worm was planted by her master. It was meant to quietly replace her after she had usurped the throne. She possessed a face that resembled the princess, which was why the indifferent female Taoist priest had singled her out and bought her all those years ago.
Her master knew she was still alive, but since she was unwilling to be used by her master again, she became a useless pawn. The fate of a pawn was predictable.
—Only death.
Either obey her master, or be consumed by the gu worm and die.
She had been played by fate all her life. In the end, she wanted to live for herself, to at least spend more time with the girl she loved, one more day at a time.
“Your Majesty, I truly wanted to… stay with you a little longer…”
So she drank the bitter medicine, and endured the pain of the gu worm’s consumption. There had already been too much suffering in this life, but the time she spent with her was too short.
“I know… I know everything.”
Warm liquid silently spread across her entire face. She really didn’t want to let go. How could she let go?!
“A’Qing, wait a little longer, just a little longer, alright? My aunt has already led people to destroy their stronghold. Soon, very soon, they will find the mother gu. You just bear with it a little longer, alright?”
“Mm… but Your Majesty, I really… hurt so much…” It hurt so much that even breathing felt strained.
Xu Zhaosu hugged her tightly, tears streaming out of her eyes. She kept coaxing her to bear it, to bear it a little longer: “This is the last time. I swear, from now on, I will never let you suffer even the slightest pain, never let you hurt again, alright?”
Shi Qingyi struggled to stretch out her hand and clung to her slender neck, like a dying flower clinging to the only plant beside her.
The rain stopped and the sky cleared. The gentle sunshine poured in brightly through the window. The sparse shadows slanted, carrying the warmth and moisture of vigorously growing plants.
“Your Majesty… I have one last thing to ask of you…”
“You say it, I will agree to whatever you ask…” Saying this, she suddenly regretted it, afraid that these were her last words, and refuted herself with red eyes, “No, no, I won’t agree to anything you ask of me, unless you get better. If you get better, I will agree to anything, anything at all…”
Only with an unfulfilled wish could she sustain her last breath. She was truly too afraid.
Shi Qingyi leaned in close to her ear, smiling weakly, yet speaking softly like a sigh: “Your Majesty, take me, alright?”
She didn’t know if the antidote would ever arrive, but she didn’t want Xu Zhaosu to have any regrets.
This was the last thing she could do for her now.