The Ninth Princess Reigns Supreme [Transmigration] - Chapter 23

The surroundings were pitch black, with only a faint light from a lantern held by Ning Zisheng, illuminating the path ahead.

The cloak she was wearing was still the one Liu Li had given her. The black silk material accentuated Ning Zisheng’s jawline, looking very good on her.

Liu Li was initially afraid that giving her own clothes to Ning Zisheng would make her feel uncomfortable. After all, she was proud and arrogant. What if she thought Liu Li was humiliating her?

But Ning Zisheng unexpectedly accepted it.

Liu Li looked her up and down with satisfaction, thinking that her taste was very good. The cloak matched Ning Zisheng perfectly.

“Hmm?” Ning Zisheng turned her head slightly, her eyes also reflecting the light swaying in the night wind, waiting for Liu Li to catch up with her.

Liu Li: Obedient.jpg.

The further they went, the darker it got. By the time Ning Zisheng skillfully led Liu Li around half of the cold palace, Liu Li had already started to feel scared.

With the arrival of autumn, most of the trees in the palace were showing signs of decline, and their leaves were falling. Liu Li wondered if it was her imagination, but when the night wind blew through some of the bare branches, it made a sound like a woman’s faint cry.

Liu Li was very timid, but seeing Ning Zisheng’s calm demeanor, she felt ashamed of herself as a modern adult.

“Go up.”

Ning Zisheng raised her hand, illuminating a ladder in front of her.

The ladder was placed next to the side door of the cold palace, leading directly to the roof. Its color almost blended with the dilapidated palace, making it very inconspicuous. If you hadn’t been here before, it would be difficult to find it at night.

“Whoosh—whoosh—”

Another gust of wind blew down some dead branches and leaves, and Liu Li shivered again. Fortunately, she quickly recited the core socialist values in her mind, which helped her steady herself.

“What’s wrong?” Ning Zisheng looked at her.

“Nothing, nothing.” Liu Li shook her head, not wanting to show her timidity in front of Ning Zisheng. “Your Highness, please shine some light for me… I, I’m afraid of the dark.”

Ning Zisheng said “hmm”: “You go up.”

Liu Li’s body had no other advantages, but it was physically strong, so climbing a ladder was naturally not a problem.

Soon they were both standing on the roof. The reason it was so dark here was that several towering trees grew next to the cold palace. Their dense foliage, even though some had fallen in autumn, still surrounded the roof.

Liu Li vigilantly scanned her surroundings. She always felt that something was hidden in these trees, especially—

She saw a pair of fleeting eyes!

As it turned out, Liu Li was right. After a moment, something jumped out of the leaves, reaching out its claws to pounce on Liu Li.

Ning Zisheng frowned, clearly not expecting such a change in this place. But she would never allow anyone to be hurt in front of her. Just as she was about to warn Liu Li to be careful and reach out to draw the thing on her back, she heard—

“Ahhh! What is that! Your Highness, save me!”

Liu Li was startled and took two steps back. She was so scared that she shouted a few times and subconsciously closed her eyes. Perhaps it was her body’s instinct to punch out, which hit the thing squarely.

Then there was silence.

Huh? What happened?

Liu Li cautiously opened her eyes a crack and saw a small monkey lying on the roof.

But its condition didn’t seem very good. It was foaming at the mouth, convulsing all over, and looked like it had no will to live.

Liu Li: ?

Ning Zisheng: “……”

While shouting “Your Highness, save me,” she delivered a powerful punch that gave the monkey a concussion.

Not only Ning Zisheng, but even the monkey itself probably didn’t expect this outcome.

“Me? Did I do that?” Liu Li incredulously raised her hand and looked at her small fist, her face full of surprise. “I’m so amazing.”

Ning Zisheng: “…Good skill.”

“No, no.” Liu Li didn’t dare to be proud in front of Ning Zisheng and quickly became modest. “Compared to Your Highness, it’s nothing. By the way, Your Highness, why did you bring me here tonight?”

Ning Zisheng only told her to find her at night, but didn’t say why.

“Isn’t it to deliver a letter to Concubine Shi?”

Ning Zisheng unbuttoned her cloak, revealing the bow and arrows on her back, and casually threw the cloak and lantern to Liu Li.

She took out a letter from her arms. Liu Li brought the lantern closer and saw that Ning Zisheng had written a few lines in a completely different handwriting from usual.

Concise, appropriate, enough to arouse suspicion, but without revealing too much information. If Liu Li hadn’t been busy at the moment, she would have applauded.

“Your Highness wants to…”

“Yes.”

Yaochi Palace, where Concubine Shi lived, was some distance away from the cold palace, but from a high place, you could see the location of her palace.

Ning Zisheng raised her hand to draw an arrow, gently attached the letter to the front of the arrow, then drew the bow and pulled the string, closing her left eye slightly and aiming at the direction of Yaochi Palace with her right eye.

Liu Li didn’t dare to breathe loudly, afraid of disturbing her performance. She couldn’t tell how strong this bow was, but she wondered how Ning Zisheng, with such slender arms, had the strength to draw the bow.

Could it be that she looked thin in clothes but had muscles when she took them off?

With a “whoosh” sound, the arrow left the string, sharply piercing the air, cutting through the sky and finally disappearing out of sight.

For some reason, perhaps because Ning Zisheng’s archery was so cool, Liu Li remembered it for a long, long time.

Years later, she would often bring it up, adding a bit of bragging, and showing off to the ignorant little palace servants.

“…When your emperor was twelve years old, she knew what it meant to be furious for a beauty. She drew a fifty-stone bow in one go, and with one arrow, it was a river of bl00d and a field of corpses… Oh, this beauty is me.”

So, during that time, the whole palace was rumored that under the female emperor’s slender appearance, she was actually a muscular woman.

Ning, Muscular Woman Emperor, Zisheng: …Forget it, as long as she’s happy.

The topic has strayed far, let’s get back to the present. Anyway, Liu Li tiptoed, wanting to see if the arrow had hit Yaochi Palace.

Before long, she saw that Yaochi Palace seemed to have lit up, revealing a faint light, which quickly went out again.

Liu Li knew that the letter had been delivered, thinking that the female lead was amazing, and she generously praised her: “Your Highness’s archery is superb, amazing.”

Ning Zisheng put on her cloak again: “…You’re more valiant with your one-punch knockout.”

Until they left, no one paid any attention to the miserable little monkey. It was still struggling in place, seeing stars, but unable to move.

If the monkey could speak, it would definitely say at this moment:

“I’m not human, but you guys are really dogs.”

••••

Inside Yaochi Palace, Concubine Shi had already gone to bed. She was a light sleeper and could wake up at any sound, so she specially burned sleep-aiding incense.

But tonight, the incense didn’t seem to work. Concubine Shi tossed and turned for a long time and still couldn’t fall asleep. Just as she was about to call the servant in to rub her head, she heard a soft sound on the eaves.

“What’s that?” Concubine Shi frowned and asked her subordinates to check. “Be quiet and don’t make too much noise.”