Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Mess With Her and Die

After court was dismissed, Liu Sheng followed on Xiao Yang’s heels, afraid she would run off again. "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager invites you for a meal."

Liu Sheng was one of the Empress Dowager’s people, and one of the few who knew the Emperor’s true gender.

As if afraid Xiao Yang would run, Liu Sheng had brought several Imperial Guards, each one tall, broad, and powerfully built.

There was no way Xiao Yang could escape under so many watchful eyes.

But she wasn’t about to go to the Empress Dowager’s residence either. ’Just walk in there and let her beat me?’

"I’m not going."

A sycophantic smile was plastered on Liu Sheng’s face. "Your Majesty, this is an order from the Empress Dowager. Please don’t make things difficult for me."

As he spoke, he gestured to the guards, looking as if he were ready to use force. His gaze toward Xiao Yang held a clear threat.

In his eyes, the person standing before him wasn’t the Emperor, but a puppet he could control.

Xiao Yang lowered her gaze. "Liu Sheng, the Empress Dowager will beat me to death."

His face creased into that same false smile, his wrinkles bunching together. "Your Majesty has made a mistake, so naturally the Empress Dowager must teach you a lesson. As long as Your Majesty learns from it and apologizes properly, you can spare yourself some of this pain in the future."

Her lowered gaze concealed her expression. "But I’m the Emperor..."

’I don’t even have the right to speak, and I’m supposed to be flogged by the Empress Dowager. Has there ever been an emperor in history who’s had to live like this?’

Upon hearing this, Liu Sheng found it utterly laughable.

’The Little Emperor is just a puppet with no connections and no real power, yet she dares to dream of resisting the Empress Dowager?’

’If she were a man, that would be one thing. But a mere little girl, an impostor, thinks sitting on the Dragon Throne actually makes the empire hers?’

’So naive it’s laughable.’

’After the scene she caused in Jinluan Palace today, the Empress Dowager is sure to be furious. A flogging is unavoidable.’

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will inform the Imperial Hospital at once and have them prepare the finest wound medicine for you." ’I’ll make sure she doesn’t die from it.’

Liu Sheng’s words carried an undisguised hint of gloating. The Emperor had been too disobedient these past few days. She deserved a good lashing from the Empress Dowager to teach her to behave.

Xiao Yang’s lips curled, and a bloodthirsty glint appeared in the corners of her eyes. "I am so..." ’...grateful to you.’

With a clean motion, she raised her hand and slit his throat.

As Liu Sheng stared in utter shock, she tossed the dagger aside and screamed, "Guards! An assassin!"

The Emperor had been attacked. Liu Sheng had sacrificed his own body to shield the monarch, saving the Little Emperor’s life.

Meanwhile, the Little Emperor, overcome by the shock, had fainted on the spot.

As soon as the news spread, the ministers still within the palace walls rushed over. The Regent King, Prime Minister Song, and Duke Rong all gathered in one place.

The Imperial Physician had already examined the Little Emperor, concluding that he was merely suffering from shock.

After some needle treatment, the Little Emperor had awoken. He was now leaning listlessly against the bed, his face a ghastly white.

In his weak and pitiful state, he was utterly devoid of an emperor’s majesty.

Prime Minister Song stroked his beard. "This assassin is far too brazen. There must be a thorough investigation."

Duke Rong stared at the Little Emperor, his eyes filled with suspicion. "An investigation is already underway. However, the Imperial Guards were on duty right outside. How did an assassin slip in so silently, only to vanish without a trace?"

A flash of understanding flickered in Rong Yin’s dark eyes.

"Your Majesty needs to rest. Let us step outside to confer."

The ministers filed out. The Empress Dowager then dismissed everyone else in the room. She stood before the bed, looking down imperiously at her own daughter.

Her brow was deeply furrowed, her expression a mixture of anger and exhaustion.

In just a few short days, the Emperor had thrown the entire palace into turmoil.

The Emperor had left her utterly drained. She hadn’t even put out one fire before another, even larger one had been lit.

She gripped the Buddha Beads in her hand, forcing herself to calm down. Her gaze was dark. "Jin’er, what exactly are you trying to do? What good does it do you to deliberately oppose me?"

Others might not know the truth, but she certainly did.

Those Imperial Guards had been standing not far away when the Emperor killed Liu Sheng; they had seen it with their own eyes.

But so what if they saw? Did they dare speak of it? Did the Empress Dowager dare let them?

The Empress Dowager had truly never imagined that the daughter who had always been under her thumb would suddenly rebel so spectacularly, even daring to kill.

Xiao Yang answered calmly, "There’s no good that comes of it."

’It’s just that before, I was the only one who was miserable. Now, I’m making everyone else miserable too.’

’I can do without power, and I don’t want to fight for anything. But people had better not provoke me.’

’And I’ll wreck anyone who does.’

’And that’s not even mentioning the Empress Dowager, who so obviously just wants to abuse me. I was inexplicably dropped into this world, haven’t gotten a single perk out of it, and I’m supposed to just take the abuse lying down?’

The Empress Dowager’s face twisted with so much rage she looked as if she might pass out. And yet, somehow, she managed to suppress it.

’She’s a tough one, all right!’

After convincing herself of something, she tried to play the sympathy card. "Ah, Jin’er, we mother and son are walking on thin ice in this palace. The only way I can protect you is by being strict. With so many eyes watching, I don’t dare relax for a single moment. One misstep, and we’ll be doomed beyond salvation."

"Whatever you want, you can simply tell me. Is there anything your mother wouldn’t give you? Everything I do, I do for you. So why are you in such a hurry to grasp at things you are utterly incapable of controlling?"

She assumed Xiao Yang’s rebellion was a bid for power.

She sat down and gently tucked Xiao Yang in, but the veins were bulging on the back of the hand that clutched the blanket.

Her eyes, fixed on Xiao Yang, were filled with menace. In a voice only the two of them could hear, she hissed, "Don’t forget, you are, in the end, a girl."

"Without me to protect you, the moment you’re exposed, the whole world will tear you to shreds."

"The throne does not belong to you, and neither does the Imperial Power."

The Empress Dowager left, leaving behind her Chief Eunuch, Wang Hai, as well as two elderly matrons to watch Xiao Yang like hawks.

Xiao Yang paid them no mind. It didn’t matter who was watching her; they weren’t her people anyway.

She thought back to the Empress Dowager’s words. ’Doesn’t belong to me?’

’Laughable. As if I cared. I never felt like any of this belonged to me in the first place—not even this body.’

-----

Night fell, enveloping the buildings. The glow of lanterns spilled out, faintly outlining the cold, hard contours of the eaves.

"AHH!"

The scream was shrill and brief, then gone in the blink of an eye.

At the door to the study, Rong Yin slowly straightened his tall frame. An attendant stepped forward, offering a handkerchief on a tray.

His long, slender, pale hand took it, and he slowly wiped the blood spatter from his wrist.

His cold, sharp gaze swept over the corpse on the floor. "Dispose of it."

As Feng Xian watched the corpse being carried past him, he clicked his tongue in surprise. "I thought you said you weren’t going to deal with these people yet. Is this because the Emperor berated you today?"

I heard the Little Emperor gave everyone a piece of his mind today. He was remarkably fierce.

Feng Xian was now quite curious to meet this replacement Little Emperor. Just what kind of backing and abilities did she have to be so audacious?

Rong Yin would never admit to being provoked by a few words from that little brat.

"The Little Emperor’s tantrum wasn’t entirely without effect. After today, Liu Zhongwen will surely have to do something to prove he isn’t worthless. At the very least, Li Wei will be able to get more of the military supplies he requires."

Getting all of it is impossible. Even if Liu Zhongwen were willing to regurgitate what he’s already swallowed, he couldn’t possibly gather it all on such short notice.

Feng Xian nodded. "True. Liu Zhongwen is in for a major headache."

If anyone else had said it, that would be one thing. But for the Little Emperor to say it, and in public no less... if Liu Zhongwen doesn’t do something to prove himself, he’ll become the laughingstock of all the civil and military officials.

Rong Yin continued, "The Little Emperor was assassinated at noon."

Feng Xian didn’t find that surprising. "She’s offended every official in court. There must be plenty of people who want her dead."

"This time was different." Rong Yin stated, "There was no assassin. *She* killed Liu Sheng."

Feng Xian was genuinely shocked. "But Liu Sheng was a loyal member of the Empress Dowager Faction. What is she thinking? Is she declaring war on the Empress Dowager?"

"Where is the Little Emperor getting this confidence? Could it be she has some expert pulling the strings from behind the scenes?"

Rong Yin lowered his gaze slightly. "That is unclear for now. But her little ruckus has broken the deadlock. Write to Meng Xuechen. His opportunity to enter the Ministry of Revenue has arrived."

Meng Xuechen was a junior apprentice from the same master as Feng Xian. He wasn’t much of a scholar, but he had a unique talent for making money—a man born to work in the Ministry of Revenue. Unfortunately, the Ministry was monopolized by the Liu Family, and Rong Yin had never been able to get a foothold in it.

Who would have thought it would be the Little Emperor who created this opening?