Chapter 112: The Abandoned Little Emperor (16)
It was an ordinary night for Xiao Miyun.
Her feelings were insignificant compared to the suffering of the people of the Great Zhou dynasty, plagued by natural disasters and human strife. Especially after the Prince of Zhenbei returned from her victory against the Turkic forces, the court spent half a month debating how to handle the remaining Turkic people. Meanwhile, news arrived of a plague outbreak in the northern Protectorate General, near the two cities that had been flooded earlier.
Disease often followed floods. If not contained properly, it could wipe out entire cities. And the most alarming thing was that this news came from the Prince of Zhenbei’s intelligence network. If she hadn’t reported it to the court, Xiao Miyun would have been kept in the dark.
Was it because the local officials were hiding the information, or were there traitors right under her nose…?
Troubles came one after another, making Xiao Miyun feel like this year was cursed. The document she was most familiar with now was the edict of self-reproach, constantly blaming herself, but abdicating was out of the question.
She sat wearily in the Qinzheng Palace, the palace servants outside silent, afraid of triggering another emotional outburst.
But Xiao Miyun remained calm.
She stared at the sunlight streaming into the hall, then suddenly stood up. “Wang Dan, Zhen wants to visit the Zhenbei Manor, make the arrangements.”
Wang Dan was the eunuch who had first offered to donate his meager savings during the grain shortage. He and the other palace staff who had followed his example had all been promoted, but he was especially favored by the emperor and was now a high-ranking eunuch who could attend her personally.
His fellow countryman, Chan Yu, was now the emperor’s chief maid, responsible for her daily needs.
And he was responsible for conveying the emperor’s messages, the two balancing and checking each other’s power.
“Yes,” a shrill voice answered from outside the hall.
Soon, the gatekeepers of the Zhenbei Manor saw the emperor’s carriage arrive.
Even though the little emperor had chosen ordinary clothes for her outing, with no dragon patterns on her sleeves or collar, the hint of bright yellow at her neckline still revealed her identity.
Su Mingxiu, studying the map of the Great Zhou in her study, heard the announcement and waved her hand dismissively, indicating that she knew. She didn’t want Xiao Miyun to come, but no one in the manor dared to stop the emperor. It was only a matter of time before the little emperor barged in.
“Cough, cough.”
Staring at a small red flag on the sand table, she suddenly felt an itch in her throat and coughed lightly. The cough intensified, and she instinctively turned to the side, covering her mouth with her hand. After a couple of coughs, she felt a warmth in her palm.
Without looking at the bloodstains, she clenched her hand and called out in her mind: “System.”
The thing that had been almost nonexistent in this world responded, its voice explaining: “The closer the Host is to completing the mission, the faster you’ll leave this world. With your current symptoms, I should congratulate you, you’re about to complete the mission.”
Su Mingxiu ignored its sarcastic tone and only asked: “Why aren’t you urging me to pursue a relationship with her this time?”
[Because I’m no longer the Culinary God Strategy System. Romance is too small-minded.]
Su Mingxiu scoffed.
Erasing her memories, appearing before her in disguise, yet still issuing commands to pursue a relationship with the protagonist, meant that having her fall in love with the protagonist was crucial.
But since arriving in this world, the system hadn’t urged her at all… This didn’t mean the system’s focus had shifted, but rather that it was certain that this would happen.
Su Mingxiu was sure she hadn’t transferred her affections to the little emperor. Or rather, she had been deliberately minimizing their interactions to avoid any undue influence on Xiao Miyun due to her feelings from the previous world.
But even so, the system was still confident.
Why?
Because the little emperor had already fallen for her?
And she was destined to die young, so their ending had already been written by the system?
So, the system’s true goal wasn’t for the task performer, Su Mingxiu, to fall in love with the protagonist, but for the protagonist to fall in love with her… To love her, then lose her, this was important to the system.
“Making her see me again and again, fall in love with me again and again, then lose me again and again, did she offend you? Why does she have to endure such cruelty?”
Su Mingxiu’s gaze was unfocused, fixed on the sand table, her eyes sweeping over the territories of the Great Zhou, calculating how much more she could expand Xiao Miyun’s empire.
At the very least, she had to restore it to its former glory.
The system instinctively wanted to say that heaven’s secrets couldn’t be revealed, but then it realized: “You’ve recovered your memories?”
Impossible, although Su Mingxiu had recovered many of her soul fragments, she was still far from regaining the power to defy the system.
“Tsk.”
The woman couldn’t help but click her tongue. She knew that some of her memories were still missing.
“What, do you think I need to recover my memories to figure out your intentions?” Su Mingxiu said slowly. “The reason you erased my memories was to prevent me from realizing that these protagonists are all the same person, right?”
This connected all the clues.
System: “…”
“Your silence means I’m right?” Su Mingxiu added, pressing her advantage.
She was about to continue when she noticed that the room had darkened. She instinctively called for someone to bring more lamps. Glancing at the elongated shadow beside her, realizing that its length wasn’t right, her right hand tensed. She turned around and, seeing the familiar figure, narrowed her eyes.
The figure under the lamp turned around, meeting her gaze. Flicking her sleeves, she cleared her throat and asked, “Is the lighting in here to your liking?”
Su Mingxiu’s expression softened. “Your Majesty’s presence brightens this humble abode, this light is even brighter than an eternal flame, how could it not be to my liking?”
The little emperor’s face lit up with pleasure, but the smile quickly faded. She walked up to Su Mingxiu and held out her hand. “Give me your hand.”
Su Mingxiu, rarely being ordered around, raised an eyebrow and looked at the little emperor for a moment with a playful smile, then slowly placed her right hand in Xiao Miyun’s. Xiao Miyun, however, grabbed her hand and pushed up her sleeve, her expression darkening upon seeing her empty wrist.
“The other hand,” she said.
Su Mingxiu didn’t move, guessing what Xiao Miyun wanted to see. She offered a gentle excuse: “I’ve been keeping the prayer beads close these days and forgot to have them repaired. If Your Majesty insists—”
“Forgot, or… unwilling?” Xiao Miyun interrupted her.
The little emperor, who had trembled in her arms a year ago, even forgetting how to address herself properly, was now challenging her. Su Mingxiu felt more amusement than annoyance. She looked into Xiao Miyun’s eyes, then said casually: “Is Your Majesty worried about the plague-stricken city?”
The little emperor was about to nod, then realized Su Mingxiu was changing the subject. She brought the conversation back on track. “If the Right Chancellor has any recommendations, please do tell… but before that, you must answer Zhen’s question.”
The Prince of Zhenbei ignored the second part of her sentence and only responded to the first: “This Wang would like to volunteer to go to the north—”
“No way!”
Xiao Miyun’s eyes sharpened, interrupting her.
She didn’t understand why Su Mingxiu, having just returned, wanted to leave again. The Great Zhou dynasty wasn’t lacking in people. This person, having fought so hard to reach this position of power, why would she give it up so easily?
This Prince of Zhenbei… seemed to be planning to abandon everything she had achieved and return to being an ordinary general, like generations of the Su family before her.
Loyal to the emperor, dying on the battlefield.
Startled by her own guess, she maintained a calm facade and said to Su Mingxiu: “Zhen is still discussing your new title with the Ministry of Rites. The plague-stricken city can be handled by others, why would the Right Chancellor need to go personally?”
“Because I’ve discovered that this plague isn’t natural, someone is deliberately spreading it.”
Su Mingxiu’s right hand rose slightly, gesturing towards the sand table, directing the little emperor’s attention to the location of the outbreak, marked with a black flag. She mentioned that the Marquis of Linyang in the northeast might be involved.
When the Marquis of Pingyang learned that the Prince of Zhenbei’s army was marching north, he had betrayed his Turkic allies and retreated, accelerating their defeat.
Later, Su Mingxiu, busy pursuing the main Turkic force, had sent her subordinates to chase after this old fox, but the Marquis of Linyang had escaped, disappearing without a trace.
Now, he had resurfaced, a troublesome rat.
“The Marquis of Linyang once fought alongside our dynasty’s founder. He’s skilled in military strategy. If I don’t go, I’m afraid no one in the Great Zhou can defeat him.”
She gave a reason the little emperor couldn’t refute.
Xiao Miyun hesitated, then said weakly: “If Zhen says you can’t go, then you can’t go.”
The plague was terrifying. History was filled with accounts of its devastation, wiping out entire nations, leaving cities deserted. The plague wasn’t human, it wouldn’t be deterred by the Prince of Zhenbei’s reputation. The thought of Su Mingxiu going to such a dangerous place filled Xiao Miyun with dread.
“What, does Your Majesty not want this minister to go?”
Su Mingxiu teased casually.
But the little emperor didn’t back down, her gaze meeting Su Mingxiu’s dark eyes. She replied calmly: “Indeed, is Zhen’s affection not obvious enough, or is the Right Chancellor simply blind?”
This time, it was Su Mingxiu who looked away. She was about to say something when Xiao Miyun, as if suddenly angered, flung her hand away, Su Mingxiu’s pale wrist hitting the corner of the sand table, leaving a red mark.
Xiao Miyun hadn’t expected her to not even flinch. Staring at the red mark, her own eyes even redder, she looked away and asked sharply: “Do you find Zhen annoying? Do you not want to see Zhen? Then why not just kill Zhen and replace Zhen with someone you like?”
The Prince of Zhenbei glanced at the back of her hand, then casually lowered it, her wide, black sleeve concealing the mark. She warned lightly: “Your Majesty should choose your words carefully.”
Xiao Miyun was furious, Su Mingxiu’s nonchalant response only fueling her anger. Her chest heaved, the redness in her eyes still lingering.
She took two steps back, nodding repeatedly, as if having made a decision, her words both to herself and to Su Mingxiu:
“Fine, go.”
“There are plenty of women in this world, many even by my side. If I like warriors, I’ll choose Sun Feiyan. If I prefer scholars, I’ll choose Cheng Qing.”
Su Mingxiu had always known Cheng Qing’s true allegiance, but she hadn’t expected the little girl to have figured it out as well.
Distracted for a moment, she heard the little emperor continue: “It’s not a big deal without you, you can go wherever you want, I can’t control you, the Regent, anyway.”
A pang of sadness struck Su Mingxiu.
But she remained motionless. She knew that compared to petty jealousy, what mattered more was making Xiao Miyun’s future happier, preventing her from falling into the path set by the system.
Not falling in love with her, not suffering a lifetime of longing.
So, she bowed slightly to the emperor, her left hand clenched into a fist, her right hand covering it. She said slowly and sincerely: “This minister wishes Your Majesty… all the best.”
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