Chapter 97: The Abandoned Little Emperor (1)
The biting wind and frost, carrying early winter snow particles, drifted into the room, landing on the bright yellow sleeves. When Su Mingxiu suddenly opened her eyes, she saw the snowflakes melt silently.
A warm weight rested in her arms.
She looked down and saw a youthful face, like a blooming hibiscus, its beauty not yet fully unfolded, yet already showing hints of future elegance. A natural charm graced their eyes and lips.
But the bright yellow robe was intricately embroidered with dragons, a design exclusive to emperors.
So she instinctively reached out, pinched the small face, lifted the person’s chin, and carefully examined their throat—
Still no discernible Adam’s apple.
Su Mingxiu wondered what game her fish was playing, suddenly appearing so young, even resembling the pre-differentiation state she had only heard of in legends.
But before she could speak, the person in her arms gave her a sweet, flattering, and ingratiating smile, addressing her as: “Right Chancellor.”
The child’s voice, still in puberty, was undeniably hoarse, their gender still indistinguishable.
Su Mingxiu raised an eyebrow slightly.
Then, she noticed that her fingers pinching the other person’s cheek were bloodless and cold, as if frostbitten, their pale, slender appearance almost sickly.
At that moment, the long-lost mechanical voice appeared in her mind:
[Host deployment successful… Loading world storyline… Loading failed…]
As this voice echoed in her mind, countless fragments of memories, as if awakened, flooded her consciousness, prompting her to respond instinctively:
[Failed again? Are you even capable of doing this?]
The system, which had been planning to continue its deception, was stunned, asking subconsciously: “How do you remember?”
It had clearly erased Su Mingxiu’s memories! Could it be that after experiencing so many worlds, her soul had recovered enough strength to resist it?
[Oh? What should I have forgotten?]
Su Mingxiu narrowed her eyes. Perhaps because she was distracted, her already cold and sharp features became even more unreadable.
The person leaning against her trembled slightly.
But Su Mingxiu didn’t notice. From those countless fragments of memories, she belatedly realized… that she had already parted with her beloved fish.
She even remembered the scene of Suhui’s death, her slightly aggrieved complaint: “We merfolk don’t have ‘next lives’ like you humans, we only live once… If you have a next life, will you bully someone else like you bullied me?”
“I will find you.”
“You won’t be able to find me… Forget it, I’ll let you find me, but if there’s a next time, can I bully you a little more?”
“Okay.”
…
Su Mingxiu looked at the face before her, her grip loosening slightly. Seeing the red marks her fingers had left on the delicate cheeks, she realized she had used too much force.
Snapping out of her memories, seeing this face that was almost identical to Suhui’s, she instinctively wondered, Did their wish come true? Or… is their fate being manipulated by something else?
Just then, the system, still shocked that she retained memories from the previous world, decided to stuff the background information of this world into her mind first, then figure out how to deal with her while she was processing it.
[Loading identity…]
Su Mingxiu’s lips parted slightly, but before she could speak, she was overwhelmed by the incoming memories.
Her vision suddenly went dark.
It wasn’t blindness, but rather as if something was blocking her sight, a hazy darkness. She couldn’t see anything, but she could hear the sounds of blades cutting through skin, weapons piercing flesh.
Then came the smell of burning, a strange aroma of cooked meat, and… the nauseating stench of blood.
She didn’t know how long she had been in this darkness. Until the gnawing hunger in her stomach, the burning pain in her abdomen, made her struggle.
But she was like the Monkey King trapped under the Five Finger Mountain, an immense weight pressing down on her, making her immobile.
Until, little by little, she struggled free. As she turned over, a loud crash echoed in her ears. A skull rolled to her feet, half of its face still covered in skin, maggots crawling out of its eye sockets.
“Ah!”
She screamed and stumbled back, startling a flock of crows in the nearby forest.
Only now did she see that she had been buried under a pile of corpses, surrounded by bodies and countless nameless graves, forming small hills.
She was… in a mass grave.
“The Su family’s reign has finally come to an end…”
“Twenty years after Emperor Xiao Zhou founded the dynasty, the Su family, despite their distinguished military service, became arrogant and complacent. They repelled the Turkic invasion and defended the borders, earning great merit. But after the eldest son died on the battlefield, Elder Su requested that his second son inherit the title, which was refused by His Majesty. Resentment brewed… Now, their rebellion has given the Emperor an excuse, and their current fate is their own doing.”
“Indeed, avarice is a bottomless pit.”
Hearing these words, Su Mingxiu was struggling with a dog over a steamed bun. The dog, fat and strong, ran into a tavern in the city. She, thin and weak, tripped and fell in the mud, her clothes stained.
The dog, holding the bun in its mouth, looked at her with disdain, baring its teeth as if mocking her, then barked and ran away.
This commotion alerted a waiter from the tavern, who rushed out with a broom. “Where did this beggar come from? Get out of the way! Scram!”
Su Mingxiu had just gotten up when she was knocked back into the mud by the bamboo broom. But many voices echoed in her ears: “Brother, do we really have to go?”
“Of course, Mingxiu. You live a comfortable life in the capital, but you don’t know that on the borders, there are many children your age, living under the constant threat of foreign invaders, their lives precarious, their stomachs empty.”
“So, Brother is going to protect them?”
“Yes.”
“Father! The Turkic forces have breached the Protectorate General to Pacify the West, capturing eight cities! If we don’t act now, once they cross the river and head east, the capital will be in danger!”
“His Majesty has replaced several generals, yet he continues to ignore our Su family’s pleas. He’s clearly wary of us, Ling’er. You’ve read history books since childhood, how can you not understand?”
“He’s wary of this, afraid of that, but he’s not afraid of losing the country?!”
“Silence!”
…
Like the power struggles between emperors and their subjects often recorded in history books, the victor between the Su family and the Xiao Zhou dynasty was the emperor.
But only for a while.
After Su Mingxiu wandered for half her life, during the tyrannical reign of the emperor’s later years, she raised a rebel army, sweeping from the south to the north, conquering the capital, and opening the palace gates. The tables had turned, and the victor was now the Su family.
Just like Emperor Xiao had done to the Su family, Su Mingxiu retaliated in kind. The imperial edict that had condemned the entire Su clan to death was now used against the Xiao family. From the emperor to the palace maids, blood flowed through the streets of the capital for half a month, the stench lingering in the palace.
Before her, the Su family had never coveted the throne. After her, no one could touch it without her permission.
The Xiao Zhou bloodline was almost completely eradicated. Only a bastard daughter, born to an unknown palace maid, remained, like a cruel mockery of fate. Su Mingxiu personally placed the yellow robe on this child, carried her to the court, and announced that this was the last descendant of the Xiao Zhou dynasty, the rightful heir to the throne.
The officials, with swords held to their necks, were forced to acknowledge this unknown child, watching helplessly as the Xiao Zhou dynasty was inherited by this… girl.
Since ancient times, warriors died in battle, scholars died remonstrating. Many officials, to demonstrate their loyalty or to leave their names in history, chose death, refusing to be complicit with this “traitorous minister.”
Su Mingxiu, holding the new emperor she intended to enthrone, sat on the dragon throne and said with a smile: “Very well.”
“Someone, hang this official’s body on the palace gates for all to see—but before that, cut out his heart and liver and bring them to me. Let me see what this ‘unwavering loyalty’ looks like.”
“If it’s no different from that of a commoner, if there’s nothing special about it, then he shall be charged with deceiving the emperor, and his entire clan shall be executed.”
The bloody liver was presented, and the court fell silent.
The little emperor, not yet enthroned, fainted from fright. From then on, she couldn’t stand the smell of meat for three months.
[Identity established. Imperial System activated! Issuing ultimate mission—]
Before Su Mingxiu could even process her tumultuous past, she was interrupted by the eager mechanical voice in her mind.
She came back to her senses and pursed her lips. She had already suspected the system’s ill intentions in the last world, but it had always been so passive and inconspicuous that she hadn’t bothered dealing with it.
Now, it seemed its true nature was finally revealed.
[Hey? Weren’t you the Culinary God System before? Changed your name now? Did you fail so miserably that you need a new disguise?]
System: “…”
It typed out a string of code that could be translated as a curse word.
Unable to keep up the act, it finally revealed its true colors: “Tempering System activated. Issuing ultimate mission: Before Xiao Miyun reaches adulthood, give her the most difficult trials, make her transcend petty emotions, seize power, and become a qualified emperor.”
[Warning! No OOC behavior allowed.]
Heh.
Su Mingxiu ignored it and asked: “How much of my memory did you devour? Spit it out first.”
The system pretended not to hear.
She was about to continue grilling this garbage system when the person in her arms, startled by her prolonged silence, suddenly scrambled out of her embrace and stammered nervously: “Did… did Ayun displease you?”
Su Mingxiu responded instinctively, her voice light yet carrying a hint of warning: “I am your subject, you are the ruler. I’ve taught you how an emperor should address themselves.”
“Xiao Miyun, if you don’t want to be the emperor—”
She drew out her words, seeing the little emperor tremble before her. Using the most noble self-address, the little girl uttered the most humble plea: “Zhen… Zhen does.” (Zhen is the word emperors use to refer to themselves)
Su Mingxiu had too many questions to sort through. From her earlier observation, she already knew that this little girl, although sharing Suhui’s appearance, had a completely different personality.
But the truth hadn’t been fully revealed yet, so she didn’t dare to jump to conclusions. She used this incident as an excuse, feigning disappointment as she flicked her sleeves and left.
Only the little emperor remained in the hall.
After an unknown amount of time, the trembling figure stopped. As the palace maids cautiously approached, the weak and pitiful, cautious aura around her vanished, replaced by a deep disgust in her eyes.
She even vigorously rubbed the cheek that had been touched by Su Mingxiu with her sleeve, until it was red and raw, still unsatisfied.
It was as if that person’s disgusting, bloody scent still lingered on her. Thinking of this, Xiao Miyun said with displeasure: “Zhen wants a bath!”
Only after soaking in the petal-filled bath did Xiao Miyun finally relax. Thinking about how she had been trying to please Su Mingxiu, only to be met with disdain, she unconsciously crushed the petals in her hand, staining her fingers with their juice.
Just you wait.
When she truly held power, she would see if this woman would grovel before her in the throne room, begging for mercy, just like the officials of the Xiao Zhou dynasty she had killed.
That scene would be quite a show.
Would she grant her a merciful death… or have her drawn and quartered in the marketplace?
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