Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Even if Heartlessly Abandoned, I Cannot Stop...

CLANG.

The dagger fell from the Empress Dowager’s hand. She staggered back a step and collapsed onto the couch, staring in disbelief at the young Emperor before her.

His face was one she knew intimately, but at this moment, it was so foreign and terrifying that her heart pounded with panic.

Xiao Yang picked up the dagger and slammed it into the table.

"If you’re not going to kill me, Empress Dowager, then I don’t want to see you in Jinluan Palace for the next month. And you’d best not try anything funny in my Zichen Palace. For every person you send, I’ll kill one!"

As he spoke, the corners of his lips curled into a smile. It looked harmless at first glance, but his eyes were filled with malice.

Xiao Yang was lazy and disliked conflict, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight.

She had no interest in the Imperial Power of this other world, nor did she want the burden of ruling an empire. She didn’t have that kind of time to waste.

But if these people wouldn’t let her live in peace, then she wouldn’t let them have it easy, either.

The Empress Dowager was the one who craved Imperial Power, and she was also the one terrified of the Emperor’s true female identity being discovered.

’Between me and the Empress Dowager, as long as I’m reckless enough, she’s the one who should be afraid.’

She couldn’t play the part of a weak Emperor, but becoming a tyrant? That was as easy as flipping her hand.

"How are you completely fine?"

Liu Yumian was astonished to see Xiao Yang walk out completely unscathed.

Xiao Yang glanced at her, then his gaze shifted to Fang Ping beside her.

The cold, dark gaze was unsettling. Fang Ping frowned and immediately began to scold, "Your Majesty should go back and obediently copy the Classic of Filial Piety. The Empress Dowager detests disobedient people. As the Emperor..."

Just listening to her was irritating Xiao Yang.

"Bi Fang!"

Bi Fang stepped forward. "This servant is here."

"I don’t want to hear another word from her."

Bi Fang looked up. "This servant understands."

Xiao Yang turned and walked away, a terrified scream from Liu Yumian echoing behind her.

"AHHH!!!!"

Xiao Yang’s steps faltered for a moment. ’Bi Fang is very obedient,’ she thought, ’so obedient he seems like my most loyal servant.’

’What’s that saying again? No one in this world is good to you for no reason. The same goes for loyalty.’

---------

Although the Little Emperor had been poisoned and nearly died, no one thought he would actually die. Instead, they saw it as a sign of his rise to power.

The various factions kept a close watch on the Imperial Palace, waiting to see what the Little Emperor’s next move would be.

However, Zichen Palace remained completely quiet. Nothing happened.

In reality, Xiao Yang had already taken someone and left the Imperial Palace long ago.

The moment she stepped out of the palace gates, she thought she heard the ’SNAP’ of shackles breaking off her body.

’This suffocating Imperial Palace is no place for a human being.’

Da Wei had been founded for a century. Although the imperial court was currently in chaos, the empire’s economy was undeniably still in a state of prosperity.

The area at the foot of the Emperor was naturally the most bustling, with shops lining the streets, people brushing shoulders, and a constant, endless stream of carriages and horses.

It was grander and more lively than what was shown in TV dramas, but to a modern person who had seen true luxury and prosperity, it was all just so-so.

’This is the first time the original owner of this body has stepped out of the Imperial Palace since she was sixteen.’

’I wonder if she can see this.’

Xiao Yang wandered around for a bit before finding a large teahouse and going inside. A storyteller was in the middle of a tale, and everyone was listening with rapt attention.

A waiter brought tea and snacks. Xiao Yang tapped the table. "Sit."

Only then did Bi Fang sit down, but he merely held his teacup and made no other move.

After telling him to sit, Xiao Yang paid him no more mind and settled in to listen to the storyteller below.

Storytellers usually recounted biographies of heroes or various heart-wrenching, beautiful love stories. Coincidentally, Xiao Yang knew the person being spoken of today.

"The tale goes that this General Li is mighty and powerful, his silver spear whistling through the air, striking fear into the hearts of his enemies! But when it comes to matters of romance, he’s a block of wood, completely clueless! Take the battle at Changping Mountain, for instance. He was valiant and invincible, fighting one against a hundred, and routing the enemy forces!"

"That enemy commander had abducted a common girl and kept countless concubines in his manor, one of whom was said to be as beautiful as a celestial fairy. General Li descended like a god, a hero saving the damsel in distress, causing the beauty’s heart to flutter with admiration!"

"’I wish to give myself to you in marriage; though I be cruelly cast aside, I will not regret it...’ But alas, while the Goddess was willing, Prince Xiang was blind! General Li actually thought she had ulterior motives and had her taken away for interrogation."

The romantic affairs of heroes were always the most captivating. Not only were the patrons engrossed, but even the waiters slowed their steps, afraid of missing a single exciting moment.

"And then? What happened next?"

"Hurry up and tell us!"

The storyteller deliberately paused to build suspense, earning a flurry of impatient urges from the crowd.

He lightly rapped his gavel. "Don’t be hasty, the rest of the story is coming right up."

"This young lady was originally from an innocent family, but she was abducted and sullied by that brute. Knowing her purity was lost and she could no longer face her family, she sold herself to Wanfang Building to become a courtesan."

"From then on, Wanfang Building had a new resident: Miss Tao Yao. She was cold and emotionless, and it was said that only when she played the pipa would a trace of tenderness and sorrow surface. Every note she played was filled with longing, waiting for the day the General might glance her way... Truly... what devotion..."

Imperfect love stories always felt both beautiful and sorrowful.

"She’s so devoted! General Li really is a block of wood!"

"Does General Li even know? Can’t he just go and see her?"

Xiao Yang stood up, leaving the sighs of regret and sympathy behind her.

’Other people’s love stories are fine to listen to, but I can’t empathize with them.’

However, as she stepped out of the teahouse, her gaze swept idly across the street and she saw someone about to board a carriage. That face...

Xiao Yang whipped her head around, but the carriage curtain had already been lowered, obscuring everything from view.

She couldn’t snap back to her senses until the carriage had slowly driven away.

Bi Fang raised a hand to block a passerby from bumping into Xiao Yang. "Young Master?"

Xiao Yang came to. The carriage was already far away. In that fleeting glimpse, she hadn’t even gotten a clear look at the person’s face.

’My brain must be malfunctioning after listening to all that sentimental nonsense. To think I’d see someone I know here.’

"Let’s go."

Xiao Yang hadn’t come out just for fun; she had a purpose.

The carriage slowly came to a stop before a mansion. Xiao Yang lifted the curtain and glanced at the gilded plaque—Prince Jing Mansion.

Prince Jing, Xiao Xuan. Her father’s older half-brother. Her uncle.

One of the few remaining direct-line Princes.

Xiao Xuan had no love for Imperial Power. He was obsessed with landscapes, travel, and the Mechanical Techniques of the Mo Family. He was either on the road exploring nature or holed up in his mansion tinkering with various mechanisms.

As it happened, he was in the Capital City at this time.

Xiao Yang disembarked from the carriage. Bi Fang went ahead to knock and present a Token. The gatekeeper didn’t dare to obstruct them and immediately opened the gate to let them in.

The Prince Jing Mansion was unlike any other. The first impression was not one of elegance or luxury, but of chaos.

Only the area from the gate to the spirit screen was relatively clear. Once past it, one could see all sorts of oddly shaped pieces of wood scattered everywhere.

Some had been carved, while others were still in their raw, wooden state.

Wooden birds, wooden fish, wooden horses... It all looked rather childlike and whimsical.

’A middle-aged man approaching forty, and a Prince of the ruling dynasty at that. Childlike whimsy?’

’Hypocrisy taken to the extreme becomes sincerity; concealment taken to the extreme becomes admission.’

’But that’s not important.’

Xiao Yang hadn’t been sitting in the guest hall for long when a young man walked in. He was dressed in simple but fine brocade, his gentle face wearing a faint smile.

He bowed low. "Your Majesty has graced us with your presence. I have failed to welcome you properly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

This was Xiao Lv, Prince Jing’s eldest son, her cousin.

Despite her young age, Xiao Yang sat naturally in the seat of honor and accepted his bow.

"You’re too kind, Cousin. Is my uncle not in the mansion?"

Xiao Lv replied, "He is. However, my father recently acquired a fragmented manuscript from the Mo Family and has been studying it through the night. He only just fell asleep this morning."

An ordinary person, upon hearing this, would certainly not wish to disturb him. But was Xiao Yang an ordinary person?

"It is a rare occasion that I leave the palace. I must ask you, Cousin, to wake my uncle."

Xiao Lv: "..."