Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Tonight, You’re the One Serving Me in Bed

Xiao Yang was making too much of a commotion to be ignored. Besides, she arrived with such arrogance, making no attempt to hide her identity.

When they learned the Emperor had arrived at midnight, the people of the Regent Prince Mansion looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Rong Yin was already asleep. When a servant came to knock on his door and report the news, he almost thought he had misheard.

"Who is it?"

"Prince, His Majesty has arrived. He is currently in the main hall, drinking tea."

Rong Yin was silent for a moment before getting up. He threw on an outer robe and came out without even tying up his hair.

His loose hair softened his sharp features, but he remained handsome, dignified, and inviolable.

Seeing the Little Emperor sitting in his main hall, acting more arrogant than the master of the house himself, a vein throbbed in Rong Yin’s temple as a murderous aura began to rise.

"Your Majesty, to what do I owe the pleasure of this late-night visit?"

Xiao Yang leaned back lazily in her chair, lifting her eyes to gaze at him. Her tone was eerie. "Regent King, can you sleep? I can’t."

"I heard the Regent King is an expert at chess. I came to play a game with you."

Rong Yin’s expression was cold. He turned to leave. "This Prince needs his rest. I have no time to entertain Your Majesty. Guards, see the guest out!"

Xiao Yang stood up and followed him, completely fearless. "Sleep? An excellent idea. You accepted my decree of conferral, but you haven’t attended to me in bed yet. Tonight, you shall be the one."

Rong Yin spun around, his cold, dark eyes boring into her. "Does Your Majesty truly believe this Prince wouldn’t dare to touch you?"

Xiao Yang found his words laughable, completely unfazed. "You’re wrong. Anyone has the ability to harm me, but no one dares. Especially not now, in your own mansion. The Regent King murders the Emperor—on that charge alone, you’d be a dead man. Forget Imperial Power, you wouldn’t even be able to keep your title as Regent King."

She leisurely raised a hand to pat his shoulder, grinning a completely punchable grin. "Feel free to make your move anytime."

With that, she walked straight toward his bedchambers.

However, before she could take more than a few steps, she was grabbed by the collar. A frigid, menacing voice sounded from above her head. "Didn’t Your Majesty want to play chess? This Prince will play with you until the very end!"

And so, the lamps were lit in the Regent King’s study, and the two sat down to play chess.

But Xiao Yang hadn’t really come to play chess. Her skills were average at best; she was no match for Rong Yin. If she played seriously, she would only get crushed. Her goal was to torture Rong Yin, so...

"I’m thirsty."

"I’m hungry."

"It’s impossible for me to lose! Start over, start over!"

"You can’t cheat! I wasn’t looking at that spot just now."

Xiao Yang acted up in every way possible, relentlessly testing the limits of the Regent King’s patience.

Although Xiao Yang was also exhausted, seeing Rong Yin’s expression grow fouler and fouler made her feel much better.

’During study time, the Regent King tortures me. So now, during sleeping time, I get to torture him. It’s only fair, right?’

The two battled under the lamplight until dawn. Xiao Yang finally couldn’t hold on any longer. She collapsed onto a daybed, closed her eyes, and was instantly fast asleep, dead to the world.

Rong Yin glanced over, only to feel the throbbing in his temples intensify.

’I really want to just pick this thing up and throw it out.’

’The previous one was a coward, but at least he was obedient and didn’t cause trouble. This one seems clever, but all that cleverness is used in the wrong ways.’

’A complete and utter scoundrel!’

He restrained himself again and again. Finally, he got up, went into the room, grabbed a blanket, tossed it carelessly onto her, and turned to leave.

Rong Yin didn’t go back to sleep. He went straight to wash up and eat before heading off to handle state affairs.

By the time he had finished most of his work, with the sun high in the sky, Xiao Yang finally began to stir.

"Ughhh..."

Xiao Yang’s face contorted in pain the moment she opened her eyes.

The daybed was hard as a board, and her back ached from sleeping on it.

Getting out of bed was like a zombie trying to transform; it took her ages before she could walk normally.

Bi Fang was waiting at the door. Even after staying up all night, his expression remained unchanged. He only spoke once Xiao Yang seemed to have recovered. "Your Majesty, it is time to return to the palace."

Xiao Yang glanced at him and let out a lazy yawn. "Let’s go back. My Dragon Bed is still the best place to sleep."

A young man approached them, a calm smile on his face. "This commoner greets Your Majesty."

Xiao Yang shot him a glance. She didn’t recognize him. A quick look told her he had proper features, was dressed in fine clothes, and wore a Jade Pendant. He didn’t look like a servant, and he moved about the Prince Mansion with ease. ’With that kind of bearing, could he be the Regent King’s strategist?’

Xiao Yang gave a slight nod. ’No need for pleasantries. I am the Emperor, after all. I have to maintain a cool and aloof image!’

In truth, she just felt awful from the lack of sleep and didn’t feel like talking.

’I must have been a fool to come to the Regent Prince Mansion just to cause trouble. I don’t know if the Regent King suffered in the end, but I sure did.’

Feng Xian’s gaze followed Xiao Yang as she left. He had only learned this morning that the Emperor had come and tormented Rong Yin all night.

He had to admit, he rather admired this Little Emperor. The boy truly wasn’t afraid of death.

’Though, this Little Emperor looks far too harmless.’

He walked to the study, where Rong Yin was discussing matters with someone. Feng Xian waited until they were finished before approaching. "The Little Emperor has left."

Rong Yin didn’t react. He clearly had no desire to speak of it.

Feng Xian was curious. "What did you do to offend him? I heard he kept you up all night."

Rong Yin put down his brush. "Nothing. I just made him study."

Feng Xian was skeptical, suspecting some sort of scheme. "He’s provoking you just because you made him study?"

Rong Yin knew what he was thinking. He had considered it himself, but her recent antics had convinced him of one thing: he didn’t know about anything else, but she truly, genuinely hated studying.

------

Xiao Yang had just returned to Zichen Palace when she saw the Empress Dowager was already waiting for her. The moment she entered, she was met with a dark, gloomy stare.

"Where were you last night?"

Two palace maids were kneeling on the floor, cleaning up the shards of a teacup the Empress Dowager had just smashed.

Xiao Yang walked over and sat down. "The Empress Dowager should already know. Why bother asking me?"

The Empress Dowager raised a hand, and Wang Hai immediately led the Palace Attendants out of the room.

"Are you trying to conspire with the Regent King against your own mother?"

Clearly, the Empress Dowager knew she had gone to the Regent Prince Mansion and had not returned all night.

Xiao Yang said, "Who knows?"

The Empress Dowager gripped the armrest, suppressing her rage. "Xiao Jin, this Dowager gave you the throne! What right do you have to defy me? Don’t forget that you are a woman. Without my protection, once they find out, you will die without a burial place!"

Xiao Yang remained emotionless. She simply asked, "Did you truly give birth to a daughter? Or was this body of mine adopted from somewhere? If you were going to adopt, why not get a boy? That would have saved you all this fear and anxiety."

The Empress Dowager made no attempt to hide her loathing. "This Dowager wishes you *were* adopted! How could I have given birth to such a wicked creature?"

’Her own flesh and blood, yet she’s filled with disgust.’

’Some people despise their children, either because of a bad marital relationship and hatred for the other parent’s bloodline, or because they have high hopes for their child’s success and feel the child is a disappointment, or because the child has made some unforgivable mistake.’

’But the Empress Dowager’s loathing for the original owner of this body was for none of those reasons.’

’When the original owner studied diligently, she was never praised. When the original owner occasionally had her own ideas, she was either beaten or cursed. The slightest thing that went against her will would send her into a furious rage.’

’She beat the original owner into submission, until all resistance was gone, and then she would despise her for having no backbone, finding the very sight of her irritating.’

’In the end, there was only one reason: the original owner was a girl.’

’Because she was a girl, everything she did was wrong...’