Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: The Little Emperor Has Fallen for Xie Liuzheng?

Xiao Yang was the happiest that Xie Liuzheng was staying in the palace.

She had been worried about finding a chance to get close to Xie Liuzheng, and she couldn’t exactly sneak into her chambers at night.

Now that she was in the palace, all Xiao Yang had to do was wander around, and they were bound to run into each other.

Xiao Yang’s gaze fell on Xie Liuzheng’s shoulder. The little pufferfish was transparent, emitting a faint blue glow. It was crystal clear and utterly adorable.

’I want one.’

’She wanted her very own System, too!’

An inadvertent glance from Rong Yin happened to catch Xiao Yang staring at Xie Liuzheng with a burning gaze, one full of affection.

’Has the Little Emperor fallen for Xie Liuzheng?’

The Emperor’s claim to prefer men was just to anger people. ’He’ naturally liked women; he just hadn’t met the right one before.

It would be a good thing if the Little Emperor were willing to take a concubine, but the Xie family...

Xiao Yang, who simply wanted the other girl’s system, had no idea someone was already worrying about her taking a wife.

When the banquet was nearly over, Xiao Yang got up to leave. Unexpectedly, she ran into Song Qingyi and her maidservant, who were also preparing to depart.

Song Qingyi was dressed in white, her hair adorned with just two hairpins. She looked exceedingly plain and quiet, truly possessing the aura of a tragic female lead from an angsty novel.

A bandage was wrapped around her head, and her face was a little pale. She looked fragile and tragically beautiful, enough to stir pity in anyone’s heart.

"This subject, Song Qingyi, greets Your Majesty."

Xiao Yang raised her hand. "You may rise."

Song Qingyi rose, but then her eyes suddenly closed, and she fell toward Xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang instinctively caught her.

"Miss!" Song Qingyi’s maidservant cried out.

Song Qingyi awoke a moment later in Xiao Yang’s arms. Realizing the Emperor was holding her, her face instantly reddened, her eyes filled with shyness. "Thank you, Your Majesty..."

Xiao Yang helped her stand steady. "You look very weak. Have an Imperial Physician prescribe you some medicine."

’She looks like a strong gust of wind could knock her over. Can she really endure all the tragedy headed her way?’

Song Qingyi said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I just accidentally bumped my head earlier, so I’m still a little dizzy."

She gave Xiao Yang an innocent smile.

Xiao Yang clutched her chest. ’As expected of the female lead. This pure, good, and beautiful act is genuinely moving. Don’t test a sister like this!’

"Alright, you should head back now."

Watching Xiao Yang walk away, Song Qingyi’s maidservant remarked, "Miss, His Majesty doesn’t seem as terrible as the rumors say."

Song Qingyi replied, "Of course you can’t take rumors seriously."

’The scent of ambergris still seemed to linger around her. His Majesty is so gentle.’

’She recalled how her father had been agonizing over the matter of the Emperor marrying an Empress and taking concubines these past few days, even considering sending her into the palace.’

’No matter how wonderful the Emperor was, he was still the Emperor. His future was destined to be filled with countless consorts and concubines in his vast harem. She had no desire to fight with so many women over one man. She only wanted a husband who would be her one and only for a lifetime, to live a peaceful life, have children, and grow old together.’

------

Xiao Yang returned to the Imperial Study Room and sat down to sort out her thoughts.

Consort Hui was the male lead’s mother, which meant her guess was ninety percent correct.

’Good news: someone was finally serious about seizing the throne!’

’Bad news: she would have to die.’

Logically, this person was her brother, her closest blood relative, and a more suitable heir than either Xiao Lv or Rong Yin. But since they were both hiding their genders, they had never even interacted normally, and there were no feelings between them whatsoever.

’Getting him to show mercy was probably a long shot.’

Most importantly, Xiao Yang highly suspected that they were the ones responsible for the death of the body’s original owner.

Perhaps Xie Liuzheng and the others hadn’t transmigrated too early. Instead, it was because she had replaced the Little Emperor, who didn’t die as he was supposed to. As a result, the male lead couldn’t ascend the throne smoothly, and the plot had gone awry.

But none of that was important. What mattered was Xie Liuzheng.

She had to figure out if she could hitch a ride and get Xie Liuzheng’s System to send her back home.

As Xiao Yang was thinking, she opened a memorial. Just then, Rong Yin arrived.

He very naturally went to his usual spot to the side and began dealing with the pile of memorials.

Xiao Yang actually admired him quite a bit. He went through so many memorials every day, yet surprisingly never showed a hint of impatience.

Not only was he patient, but he was also so loyal to the late Emperor’s bloodline that he refused to rebel. He was practically born to be a workhorse.

Xiao Yang tilted her head. "Regent King, let me ask you a question."

Rong Yin had just finished commenting on a memorial and looked up.

Xiao Yang asked him, "If my Father Emperor had another son, one who is smarter and more outstanding than I am, and he wanted to seize the throne, what would you do?"

Rong Yin glanced at her, a look that clearly said he didn’t want to entertain her question. But after a moment, he answered anyway. "It’s impossible for the late Emperor to have a blood relative living in obscurity. And even if he did, the throne is not an examination. It’s not a matter of who is smarter."

"If he were to plot a rebellion, even if he were the late Emperor’s own blood, I would show no mercy."

’Spoken like a true great villain.’

Xiao Yang felt she had asked a very stupid question.

After speaking, Rong Yin picked up another memorial. It was one advising the Emperor to marry an Empress. This kind of memorial should have been in the pile for the Emperor, but it had somehow ended up with him.

Since he had already opened it, he read it from beginning to end before handing it to Xiao Yang. "Your Majesty, take a look at this."

"I think he makes a great deal of sense. Your Majesty should marry an Empress as soon as possible to stabilize the court. If there is a woman you fancy, choosing a concubine first is also an option."

Xiao Yang didn’t understand how the topic had jumped back to choosing a consort. A woman being hounded every day to marry a wife—life was truly surreal.

She took the memorial and saw it was indeed pushing for her marriage.

SMACK! She casually tossed it aside.

"Not happening." She was just that rebellious.

Rong Yin was speechless. ’Why wasn’t he frowning? Why, instead, did he feel a strange sense of relief?’

------

「Cian Palace」

While Xiao Yang was still speculating, the Empress Dowager had already taken action.

However, the answer she received was disappointing.

"Empress Dowager, this servant would never make a mistake. Princess Suiyi is indeed a girl."

The speaker was Lady Zhang from the Shanggong Bureau. She was one of the Empress Dowager’s people and was also in charge of making clothes for the various palaces.

The Empress Dowager had ordered her to take Princess Suiyi’s measurements under the pretext of tailoring winter clothes for the Imperial Concubine and the princess. She had felt with her own hands—it was undeniably a female body, impossible to fake.

The Empress Dowager’s first reaction was anger. The Little Emperor had lied to her.

But even so, she felt a deep sense of unease.

Once the seed of suspicion was planted, looking back at Consort Hui’s past actions, everything seemed strange.

"Find me the midwife who delivered Xie Wan’s child back then."

"Yes."

The Empress Dowager gripped her handkerchief, her eyes terrifying. ’Xie Wan, you had better have truly given birth to a daughter!’

Xiao Yang learned of the Empress Dowager’s actions, but she wasn’t particularly curious about the details.

The information the Empress Dowager found could be faked, but there was no faking things on Xie Liuzheng’s end.

She, the Emperor, was a woman, so the male lead absolutely could not be one too.

Therefore, all she needed to do for information now was to find Xie Liuzheng.

So, she found a very nice pavilion in the Imperial Garden near Shuyun Palace and prepared snacks and fine wine.

She took a fishing rod to the lakeside, ready to sit and wait for the willing Hu Xiaoyu to take the bait.

Finally, after she had caught and released the same stupid fish three times, Xie Liuzheng appeared in the Imperial Garden with her attendants.