Chapter 105: The Abandoned Little Emperor (9)
The bedside candle was lit, casting a warm orange glow on the headboard. But the light wasn’t very bright, leaving most of the room shrouded in shadows.
The dim light made the shadows dancing on the window lattice even more ambiguous.
Especially when Xiao Miyun, still wrapped in her quilt, sat on the edge of the bed, she realized that she had been tricked onto the bed by the Prince of Zhenbei again.
Glancing at Su Mingxiu, the little emperor found that she was actually interested in reading this storybook late at night. She quickly abandoned the quilt and pounced on Su Mingxiu, trying to snatch the book back.
“It’s just a random storybook I bought from a stall. Such a vulgar thing shouldn’t taint the Right Chancellor’s eyes.”
“Since it has already graced Your Majesty’s eyes, it can’t be considered vulgar. It’s this minister’s honor to read it now.” Having heard enough of Xiao Miyun’s evasive official speak, Su Mingxiu could now effortlessly mimic those empty pleasantries.
But judging from her tone and her languid posture as she leaned against the bed, flipping through the book, it was hard to tell how much “honor” she felt.
The little emperor decided to wrap herself tightly in the quilt to avoid seeing Su Mingxiu’s reaction after reading this third-rate storybook about her. But as soon as she burrowed under the covers, the book was thrown back at her.
“This minister’s eyesight isn’t very good, would Your Majesty be so kind as to read it aloud for me?”
Xiao Miyun: “?”
Was this something a minister should be saying?
She hesitated, holding the book. Seeing Su Mingxiu close her eyes, her lips moving slightly in the shadows by the headboard, she heard Su Mingxiu say, “If Your Majesty is tired, I can have a maid come in—”
“No!”
Xiao Miyun couldn’t bear the thought of this story being read aloud by a stranger, with her and Su Mingxiu listening together. She wanted to dig a hole and bury herself.
She gave Su Mingxiu a fake smile. “The Right Chancellor was injured while rescuing Zhen today, Zhen is deeply grateful. Reading aloud is a small matter, if it can help the Right Chancellor sleep well, it’s worth it.”
The person leaning against the bed knew how reluctant she was without even opening her eyes.
But she didn’t respond.
Xiao Miyun flipped through the book, deciding to start from the end to finish this torture as quickly as possible. She had only read the beginning at the stall earlier. Now, flipping through it, she found that it was filled with explicit content, the ending particularly suggestive—
She flipped back.
But apart from the beginning, the protagonist in this storybook seemed to be either engaging in sexual activities or trying to do so in inappropriate places.
Filthy! Disgusting! Lewd!
She cursed inwardly, thinking that she would have the author of this obscene book found and executed when she returned to the palace!
“Uh…” Unable to find a suitable passage to read, Xiao Miyun remained silent for a while, then started humming incoherently, her voice like a mosquito’s buzz, as if fast-forwarding through the text.
Su Mingxiu: ?
She lazily opened one eye. “Your Majesty, are you reading, or eating the book?”
Xiao Miyun didn’t want to do either. She started tearing the book, but it was snatched away by Su Mingxiu before she could even rip it. Her eyes darted around, then she suddenly fell back onto the bed, groaning. “Oh, my stomach suddenly hurts, ouch…”
The person holding the book looked at her theatrics, then said unhurriedly: “Your Majesty dined at this manor, and everyone here is my servant. Your food was tasted beforehand, so it’s strange that you’re experiencing stomach pain now…”
“Perhaps I should call a physician for Your Majesty?”
“No need!” Xiao Miyun, her attempt to feign illness foiled, immediately gave up.
But the Prince of Zhenbei persisted, cutting her off. “Your Majesty’s health is of utmost importance, how can you refuse treatment? If I find something amiss with the food, I can also find the culprit who infiltrated the kitchen—”
If Su Mingxiu continued, Xiao Miyun wouldn’t have a peaceful night. She quickly snatched the book back from Su Mingxiu and, without even looking at which page it was open to, started reading aloud dramatically: “It is said that on this day, the emperor encountered a difficult matter and summoned the Prince of Zhenbei to the Qinzheng Palace for discussion. Three quarters of an hour later, after dismissing the palace servants, the emperor sat on the dragon throne and, hearing the approaching footsteps, eagerly went to greet the newcomer, calling out softly, ‘Sister Su’…”
“Ugh.”
Xiao Miyun couldn’t help but express her disgust.
She tried to ignore Su Mingxiu’s expression and continued reading with exaggerated emotion: “With this intimate address, the Prince of Zhenbei’s eyes filled with affection. Soon, the sound of a belt buckle hitting the floor echoed through the Qinzheng Palace… the sound…”
The little emperor couldn’t continue.
Even a fool would know what was going to happen next. So she decisively threw the book off the bed, burrowed under the covers, and said: “Zhen is sleepy, let’s continue tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Right Chancellor.”
Su Mingxiu had only read the beginning, knowing that it was a story about the two of them. But she hadn’t expected it to be so explicit.
But because the other protagonist was even more embarrassed than her, Su Mingxiu felt like teasing her. “Dream of what? The story in this book?”
Ahhhh, don’t mention it again!
Xiao Miyun wished she could go back in time and chop off her own hand for putting the book in her sleeve, so she wouldn’t have to face this awkwardness.
She rolled around under the covers, then mumbled: “Zhen’s back hurts.”
Su Mingxiu initially thought she was just making excuses to avoid the awkwardness. But then, remembering the palm strike from that Turkic woman, she pulled back the covers and lifted Xiao Miyun up. “Take off your shirt.”
The little emperor: “?”
She stared at Su Mingxiu with suspicion, clearly still affected by the storybook.
“I’ve heard that those foreigners have secret techniques that can kill people without a trace. If Your Majesty continues to dawdle, you might turn into a puddle of water in my room before we even realize it.”
Frightened by this description, Xiao Miyun, trembling, started unbuttoning her shirt. Su Mingxiu waited patiently. When Xiao Miyun turned around, revealing her back where she had been struck earlier, a dark purple handprint, edged with blue, was clearly visible on her fair skin.
It looked poisonous.
Su Mingxiu’s expression changed immediately. She instructed the servants waiting outside to call a physician, and also summon an imperial physician from the palace.
The manor was brightly lit once again.
The imperial physicians, dragged out of the palace in the middle of the night by the Prince of Zhenbei’s men, were all panicking. Upon learning that they were treating the emperor, they breathed a sigh of relief. But after diagnosing the emperor’s condition, their panic intensified.
Seeing that the physicians hadn’t reached a conclusion after their consultation, the little emperor, lying on Su Mingxiu’s bed, felt her chest tighten and her heart race. She stared blankly at the ceiling and whispered to the figure in purple in her peripheral vision: “Is Zhen… dying?”
Su Mingxiu was asking the system about Xiao Miyun’s symptoms and didn’t answer immediately. Then, she heard the little girl mumble: “It’s fine if Zhen dies, Zhen wasn’t a good emperor anyway, only listening to those treacherous ministers, being played like a fool. If the Right Chancellor were to take the throne, the world would be at peace long ago.”
Hearing her starting to give her last words, Su Mingxiu, having just received the diagnosis, interrupted her with a faint smile. “Whether Your Majesty was a good emperor or not, history will judge. There’s no need to rush—”
She leaned closer, her gaze meeting Xiao Miyun’s. Her usually intimidating black eyes were still deep and unreadable, yet they somehow calmed Xiao Miyun’s restless heart.
“Besides, the current chaos is the former emperor’s doing. As the saying goes, a son should repay his father’s debts. Your Majesty, now that you’re on the throne, you should strive to govern wisely and bring peace and prosperity to the people. How can you let down their expectations?”
After saying this, she went to find the imperial physicians and discuss how to treat the little emperor.
It was a Turkic poison. That Ayue must have specialized in this kind of technique. Thankfully, it was also a type of cold poison. Su Mingxiu herself was already afflicted by this poison, so one more wouldn’t make much of a difference. As long as she could transfer the poison from Xiao Miyun to herself, the little emperor should be fine.
The problem was how to transfer it.
Hearing her words, the imperial physicians all knelt down, pleading with her to reconsider.
Su Mingxiu didn’t care. She didn’t want to reveal her own condition to anyone.
So, after the imperial physicians came up with a plan, she specifically called for her own army physician and asked him to assess her condition.
“Wangye… this is absolutely unacceptable…”
The physician said worriedly, “Your old illness hasn’t been cured, and now, with your injury, adding this poison, I’m afraid—”
“It’s fine, just tell me if the Imperial Hospital’s method will work.”
“Uh…” The army physician didn’t answer. But the little emperor, who had been resting in the inner chamber, had gotten out of bed at some point and overheard their conversation. Her expression was complex.
She had initially thought that the Prince of Zhenbei had ulterior motives for saving her, perhaps to avoid the soldiers’ gossip, or perhaps on a whim.
But…
Why now?
Why was Su Mingxiu willing to transfer the poison to herself? Was she worthy of it?
Hadn’t this person said to Ayue that the puppet emperor was stupid and difficult to teach, that it would be easier to take the throne herself?
If Xiao Miyun died, who in the world could stop Su Mingxiu from becoming the emperor?
She returned to bed with a heavy heart, her mind in turmoil, the scent of sandalwood incense filling the room.
When Su Mingxiu returned, she heard the person on the bed ask: “Why did you save Zhen?”
Because I’m dying, Su Mingxiu thought. A country can be without a general for a day, but not without a ruler. With proper guidance, Xiao Miyun could still become a wise emperor.
She didn’t answer, only walking to the bedside and reaching out to help the little emperor sit up.
But Xiao Miyun’s eyes stared at her intently. She had never been so bold before. Su Mingxiu met her gaze and, for some reason, suddenly heard the little emperor ask: “Could it be that the Right Chancellor…”
“Has feelings for Zhen?”
Even the calm and collected Su Mingxiu was stunned by this bold guess.
Before she could decide whether to simply agree with this absurd assumption, to prevent the little emperor from wasting her time and energy on such pointless speculation, she heard Xiao Miyun murmur to herself: “No, that’s not it.”
“Then it must be that the Right Chancellor once loved someone who looked a lot like Zhen, right?”
“Uh…!”
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