Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Now I’m Crazy, Are You Satisfied?

Seeing Xiao Yang rise with a sword in hand, the Empress Dowager frowned and stood up. "Jin’er, what do you think you’re doing?"

Duke Rong stepped in front of Sun De and the palace maid. His cloudy yet shrewd eyes glared at Xiao Yang, filled with displeasure and menace. "Your Majesty, put the sword down!"

Duke Rong, Chen Guangzong—the Empress Dowager’s father and the Emperor’s maternal grandfather. When it came to seniority in the court, no one surpassed him.

’And what of it?’

Xiao Yang’s eyes were frigid as she descended the steps, sword in hand. "Bi Fang!"

Bi Fang darted forward in a flash, pulling Chen Guangzong aside. At the same instant, Xiao Yang’s sword thrust out, killing the palace maid in a single blow.

Fresh blood splattered onto Sun De’s face. He was scared witless. Watching the Emperor slowly withdraw the bloody sword, he pleaded in terror to the figure behind the beaded curtain, "Empress Dowager, save me! Empress—"

Xiao Yang’s sword slashed across his throat, cutting off his words.

In the vast throne room, all the civil and military officials were present, yet not a single sound was made. Even their breathing was suppressed.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t seen death before; the shock was because the one doing the killing now was the cowardly Puppet Emperor.

Blood splattered onto the young Emperor’s face. She tilted her head slightly, and a drop of blood trickled down her fair, delicate cheek.

Bewitching and uncanny.

Suddenly, she broke into a radiant smile. Sword dripping with blood, she turned to face the beaded curtain hanging behind the dragon throne.

"I was on the brink of death. You must have been worried sick, Mother. You probably haven’t slept well these past two days. You should hurry back and get some rest."

She gave a shallow, insincere bow. "A respectful farewell to the Empress Dowager!"

The Empress Dowager had challenged the Regent King, only for the Emperor to kill people in open court and now bid the Empress Dowager farewell.

’Was this farewell simply a dismissal, or was it a signal of a coup?’

A jolt went through everyone’s heart. Before they could process it, they instinctively chorused, "A respectful farewell to the Empress Dowager!"

The Empress Dowager didn’t leave immediately. In truth, she was still reeling from the shock.

’The Emperor had killed.’

’After killing Liu Sheng, she had now killed two more people in front of everyone.’

’She hadn’t ordered their deaths, but had killed them with her own hands.’

"Your Majesty, what in the world are you trying to do?"

Duke Rong demanded loudly, "As the Emperor, you kill people in open court! Where is your sense of propriety? What of the law?"

The matter of the Emperor dismissing the Empress Dowager was too sensitive for him to dare mention, so he could only harp on the fact that the Emperor had killed people.

Xiao Yang raised her hand, resting the blade of her sword steadily against Duke Rong’s neck. "Does Duke Rong recognize this sword?"

Duke Rong didn’t think Xiao Yang would dare to kill him, but the feel of the freshly bloodied sword against his neck still put him on edge.

The Regent King’s voice came from behind: "That is the late Emperor’s personal sword. Emperor Taizhong had it forged and gifted it to the late Emperor when he was still the Crown Prince."

"The Regent King has sharp eyes, indeed." Xiao Yang’s lips curved into a shallow smile. "And *this* is my law and propriety."

"Duke Rong is of an advanced age, his eyes grown dim. Handling court affairs must be a strain. You should no longer trouble yourself with such burdens. Effective immediately, go home and enjoy your retirement."

The officials couldn’t help but gasp.

If the Emperor’s dismissal of the Empress Dowager had only planted a seed of doubt, then her words to Duke Rong were an open declaration of her intent to seize power.

’And she was starting with the Empress Dowager’s faction!’

"Xiao Jin!"

The Empress Dowager couldn’t believe it. The puppet she had worked so hard to suppress now dared to bite back.

Shock, panic, and rage.

’How dare she?’

Yang Xiu entered, handing a piece of paper to the Empress Dowager. When she saw what was written, she was so furious she almost coughed up blood. There were just five words on it—*Taking you down with me!*

No one knew what the Empress Dowager had seen, but in the end, she stormed away in a rage.

The Little Emperor sat down on the dragon throne. Her face was still pale with weakness, but the single, unwiped drop of blood on her cheek was glaringly conspicuous.

Xiao Yang leaned on her sword for support, sighing weakly. "I am an Emperor, after all. How is it that when I fall ill, no one comes to visit?"

Tilting her head toward Rong Yin, her eyes held a wicked glint. "What was it the Regent King said just now? I didn’t quite hear."

Rong Yin stared at the Emperor’s Sword for a long moment before slowly lowering his gaze. "I have prepared some restorative herbs for Your Majesty, as well as a Nourishing Body Warm Jade. I pray Your Majesty will accept them."

Xiao Yang smiled, her eyes crinkling like a contented cat’s. "How very thoughtful of the Regent King."

Prime Minister Song immediately caught on. "I have a five-hundred-year-old ginseng root, which would be perfect for Your Majesty’s medicine."

Xiao Yang replied, "Much appreciated."

With the Regent King and the Prime Minister setting an example, everyone else scrambled to offer their own "get well" gifts.

The Little Emperor wasn’t shy, accepting every single one.

Finally, with a wave of her hand, she dismissed the court.

With that innocent expression, she looked just like a child delighted by new presents.

But this ’child’ had just killed two people in public and forced the powerful Empress Dowager into retreat.

Rong Yin stared solemnly in the direction the Little Emperor had disappeared. ’So the mysterious power backing the Little Emperor was the late Emperor all along.’

’Unexpected, and yet, it made perfect sense.’

’He should have realized it sooner.’

Prime Minister Song and Duke Rong had clearly reached the same conclusion.

Duke Rong’s expression was the foulest of all. The late Emperor had left people behind for the Little Emperor. It was obvious who he had been guarding against.

Prime Minister Song adjusted his sleeves and couldn’t help but remark, "The late Emperor’s plans were truly profound."

’What more was there to say?’

’They had been outmaneuvered by a dead man. There was nothing to do but marvel at his foresight.’

「Cian Palace」

It was a place despised by both its original inhabitant and Xiao Yang, but this time, she entered of her own accord.

Liu Yumian was still crying and tattling, with Fang Ping chiming in from time to time. Their objective was clear: they wanted the Empress Dowager to punish the Little Emperor.

At that moment, they were still unaware of what had transpired in the Golden Hall. In their minds, the Little Emperor was still the puppet who was like putty in the Empress Dowager’s hands.

"All of you, get out!"

The Empress Dowager, already simmering with anger, completely exploded upon hearing their chatter.

"Out!"

The two were driven out, utterly bewildered.

Xiao Yang arrived like a phantom.

Wang Hai raised a hand to block her path, but a single glance from Xiao Yang rooted him to the spot. Her eyes were smiling, yet the look held him fast. By the time he snapped out of it, Xiao Yang had already strode into the palace.

Liu Yumian was still gloating. "The Empress Dowager is in a rage. Walking in just like that... she’s really in for it now."

She had seen the Empress Dowager flog the Little Emperor before—the beatings were vicious. She eagerly anticipated a repeat performance.

Wang Hai shot her a sidelong glance. ’A storm is about to break over the Imperial City,’ he thought, ’and some people are still utterly clueless.’

"Xiao Jin, so you’re all grown up. Your wings have stiffened, have they? You actually dare to defy me."

"Do you think this power is so easy to control? Without my painstaking schemes, how could you be sitting so securely on the throne?"

"You turn on your own mother! You are a disgrace! A fool!"

The shock of the day was too great, and the Empress Dowager’s composure completely shattered.

Seeing her grab a rattan cane and raise it to strike, Xiao Yang lunged forward, catching her wrist and holding it in a vise-like grip.

"A whip won’t be enough, Empress Dowager."

She pulled a dagger from her sleeve, forced it into the Empress Dowager’s hand, and aimed the point at her own heart as the older woman watched in utter shock.

Smiling, she invited, "Do it, Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager’s pupils trembled, the muscles in her face twitching.

"Xiao Jin! Have you gone mad?"

She gritted her teeth, seething with anger and hatred.

"You don’t dare." Xiao Yang stared into her eyes with certainty. "You hate that I’m not a son, but you need a fake son like me on the throne. Once my gender is exposed or I die, your position as Empress Dowager will be forfeit, and even the Chen and Liu Families will be torn to shreds by other powers."

"I am your own flesh and blood, yet you abused and suppressed me as if I were livestock. You wanted to use me, yet you tortured me. Now I’ve gone mad. Are you satisfied?"

Xiao Yang’s eyes held a crazed light, her smile manic. "You care about Imperial Power, but I don’t. You’re afraid of the Chen Family’s destruction, but I’m not. Now, I don’t even fear death. I am fearless, while you are far too greedy. From this day forward, if you so much as touch me, I will let the entire world know I am a woman, and I will drag all of you down to hell with me..."

"What do you think, Mother?"