Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Still Able to Curse in This State

Xiao Yang never thought she was particularly badass. She was just an ordinary woman. Despite having endured some torture, at her core, she was still delicate, vain, and fond of life’s pleasures.

But she never expected that one day, she’d be in so much pain that tears would stream down her face.

The kind of ugly, unrestrained sobbing where you just bawl your eyes out.

She curled up on the massive Dragon Bed, wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, and trembled as she wailed, as if crying it all out could somehow lessen the agonizing pain.

Standing by the bed, they watched the cocoon-like shape and listened to the heart-wrenching sobs.

Xiao Lv and Rong Yin exchanged a look. It was heartbreaking, yet also a little amusing.

Unfortunately, neither of them could help Xiao Yang.

When the sounds from under the quilt finally stopped, the two men quickly pulled the covers back to get her out. As expected, she had fainted from the pain.

Doctor Han skillfully administered acupuncture.

The Little Emperor passing out at a time like this was not a good thing; she might really just slip away for good.

So, after she passed out, they had to wake her up, only for her to continue suffering.

Xiao Yang’s eyes were bloodshot. "....Han Yang, We... will have... you... executed..."

The pain made Xiao Yang see stars, and she gritted her teeth in hatred, but in the end, she couldn’t get the last two words out.

Han Yang said helplessly, "Whatever Your Majesty says. Just get through this first."

’The Emperor looks so pitiful,’ he thought. ’Even I, the Imperial Physician, can’t bear to see it.’

Eventually, Xiao Yang was in so much pain she no longer had the strength to even writhe. All she could do was lie there, enduring the torment.

She wanted to kill herself, but Rong Yin had already confiscated all her weapons and hairpins.

She was filled with such hate!

"Rong Yin... if you... have the guts... kill me..."

Rong Yin replied, "I don’t have the guts."

Xiao Yang: "Use... useless..."

"Xiao Lv... you kill me... I won’t... blame you... The throne... is yours..."

Xiao Lv’s heart ached hearing this. "Your Majesty will get through this."

Xiao Yang: "...Ah... coward... You utter... trash..."

Han Yang: "..."

’The Emperor’s life force is truly astonishing,’ Han Yang thought. ’To still have the energy to curse people in this state.’

"Bro... Brother... I’m begging you... kill me..."

Xiao Yang clutched Xiao Lv’s sleeve, her pleading voice like a kitten’s mewl.

Xiao Lv had only been around the Emperor for a short time and didn’t think they had a deep bond, but her repeated cries of ’Brother’ were tearing his heart out.

He recalled what his investigation had turned up: the Little Emperor had been whipped and abused by the Empress Dowager. She was the Emperor, but she was also the one who had suffered the most in the Imperial Family.

And now, she had been poisoned and was on the brink of death.

Images flashed through his mind: her baring her teeth and threatening him and his father in the Prince Jing Mansion; her quirky, clever expression when she’d skipped her lessons; those sly, bright eyes that seemed to hold all the stars in the sky.

The day they fought Li Wei together, they were brothers-in-arms, united against a common foe.

They may not have shared the same mother and father, but they shared the same blood.

He bent down and pulled her into an embrace, his voice choked with emotion. "Brother is here. Brother can’t kill you. Brother is begging you to live..."

Every word was filled with genuine, heartfelt emotion.

Han Yang turned away and sighed secretly.

’He knew the Little Emperor would definitely survive. She might seem to be crying pathetically, but to have held on for so many days... that was truly incredible.’

’I should probably light a candle for myself,’ he thought. ’I just hope the Little Emperor has a shred of humanity left and won’t just burn the bridge after crossing it—convicting me of abuse.’

Rong Yin sat on a couch not far away, a stack of memorials beside him, but he hadn’t read a single word.

He shifted his gaze slightly, watching the pair of brothers in their embrace.

’He had always believed the Little Emperor had been replaced, but the Empress Dowager’s attitude to this day had overturned his suspicions.’

’The Empress Dowager would never fail to recognize her own child. Besides, the Little Emperor’s grief wasn’t feigned. This was, in fact, the same Little Emperor.’

’Could it be that being suppressed by the Empress Dowager for so long caused a sudden, drastic change in personality? But this change was too absolute.’

’The former Little Emperor was timid and quiet to the point of being unnoticeable. The current Little Emperor, though a troublemaker, was fiery and flamboyant, possessing an indescribable vitality.’

’She had influenced Xiao Lv so much that he was now eager to treat her as his own flesh and blood. Li Wei was willing to raise his sword for her. Even he himself had risked a legacy of eternal condemnation to watch over her here for so many days.’

’Li Wei had already gone to raid the Chen and Liu Families. With the Emperor’s decree—"The illicit funds need not enter the National Treasury; use them as military provisions"—Li Wei would definitely move heaven and earth to strip those two families of everything they owned, down to the very land they stood on.’

’The Empress Dowager had held power, Imperial Power had been sidelined, and a situation that even he hadn’t dared to easily overturn had been completely overthrown in such a short time.’

’She truly is the child of my Brother, the Emperor. The imperial bloodline, indeed.’

***

Xiao Lv held Xiao Yang in the same position, patting her back soothingly again and again. He felt her body tremble and watched as she bit down on the quilt in agony, biting so hard her gums began to bleed.

Xiao Lv carefully wiped the blood away, comforting her in a low voice, "Just endure a little longer, Your Majesty. It will be okay, it will be okay..."

An unknown amount of time passed. Xiao Lv’s limbs had grown stiff and numb. An indescribable fatigue washed over him, and he couldn’t help but start to doze off.

His head bobbed once, and he jolted awake. He looked down at the Emperor, only to find that she had gone still. Her body was no longer trembling.

DRIP!

A single, unexpected tear fell from his eye. He froze on the spot, afraid to move a single muscle.

It wasn’t until Rong Yin came over, helped Xiao Yang sit up, and took the ginseng soup from Han Yang to pour down her throat.

Only when he saw the liquid go down did Xiao Lv’s spirit seem to return to his body. "Your Majesty... did she make it through?"

His voice was dry and cracked, and he spoke with extreme caution, as if speaking any louder might disturb her, yet terrified he wouldn’t hear the answer he was hoping for.

Fortunately, after taking her pulse, Doctor Han nodded. "Your Majesty has made it through. But she is exhausted and will likely sleep for a while. She will be weak for some time afterward and will need to rest and recover properly."

Xiao Lv tried to stand up, but he had forgotten his body was completely numb and collapsed directly onto the floor.

It was a hard, graceless fall, but he smiled.

"That’s wonderful. She’s still alive."

Rong Yin glanced down at him. "She lived. That means the abdication doesn’t count."

If the Little Emperor had died, Xiao Lv would now be the new Emperor.

The new Emperor that the Little Emperor herself had acknowledged in front of so many officials.

Xiao Lv gave a self-deprecating laugh. "There’s no need to remind me, Regent King. I know what I’ve given up. But I am not suited to be Emperor, or rather, I’ve never been prepared to be one."

’His father might have had some ideas about it before, and he himself had also considered his father becoming Emperor.’

’But he had never truly thought about becoming Emperor himself. It was all too sudden.’

’He had been doted on by his parents since childhood. Even after his mother died in childbirth, his father had always cherished him. His life had been a happy one.’

’A child who has known too much happiness cannot cultivate immense ambition.’

’Besides, the Little Emperor had a well-behaved appearance. Though her personality was erratic and perverse, she wasn’t a bad person. And she kept calling him Brother.’

’How could he wish for his sibling’s death just to clear a path to the throne for himself?’

’He wasn’t that malicious. Which also meant he was destined never to be a good Emperor.’

His expression was so transparent that Rong Yin understood his thoughts at a glance.

’It’s really quite fascinating,’ Rong Yin thought, considering Xiao Lv’s attitude toward the Little Emperor.

’Two people who had been strangers for over a decade, and now, thanks to the Little Emperor’s antics, they’ve developed a genuine bond.’