Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Xiao Yang Only Lives for Herself

The system floated in front of Xiao Yang, wagging its tail. "Your memories from before you died were incredibly painful, so you chose to forget them. I’m really not lying to you."

It was only because Xiao Yang had awakened her past-life memories that she could see it.

Just as the system finished speaking, its entire fishy body suddenly turned red. "Emergency mission: Erase incorrect memories. Execute immediately!"

Xiao Yang’s expression changed the moment she heard this. She shot up to run, but couldn’t escape the scan of the red light. She froze on the spot, dazed.

A moment later, the red light vanished.

Xie Liuzheng cautiously waved a hand in front of her face. "Your Majesty?"

’Her memory was erased, just like that?’

Xiao Yang gripped her hand, her expression twisted in pain. The light returned to her eyes, and she forced herself to turn and quickly walk away.

Leaving Xie Liuzheng looking baffled. "System, did you really erase her memories?"

The system replied, "Of course. She will no longer remember her past life, and she’ll forget what happened today, too."

Xie Liuzheng was a little disappointed. She had finally found someone from back home, so why did her memory have to be erased? "So what should I do now?"

The system said, "Conquer Rong Yin."

Xie Liuzheng asked, "Still have to conquer him?"

The system explained, "Her memory has been erased. Things will soon be back on track, so it won’t affect your mission. The situation has changed a little, so you need to find a way to protect Consort Hui and build up some favorability with the male lead."

The system glanced at the red question mark hovering behind the male lead’s name and subconsciously assumed it was because the Emperor had awakened her memories. It didn’t suspect anything else.

------

Xiao Yang’s head was splitting. Upon returning to Zichen Palace, she collapsed onto her bed, unconscious.

She had a long, drawn-out dream. Scene after scene from her past flickered before her eyes, so distant and yet so clear.

Her life was short, ending at the age of twenty-six. But it was also long—long enough to give her a lifetime of things to think about.

She was the product of a passionate love affair between the only daughter of the Star Emperor Group’s chairman and a talented prodigy from a family of musicians. But after the passion faded, the two discovered they were incompatible. They became enemies and divorced in a fit of rage.

Xiao Yang was awarded to the Xiao Family and received a hefty alimony payment. But she was just a child. Her nanny abused her, nearly starving her to death. She was kidnapped, but her parents ignored it. She was even forced to jump off a bridge to save her own life.

They claimed it was for her protection when they sent her abroad at a young age. There, she was repeatedly robbed, stalked by a pervert who nearly killed her, caught in countless gunfights, and even had a predatory teacher.

She fought to stay alive, diligently learning how to protect herself.

She finally made it to adulthood, finished her studies ahead of schedule, and returned home, only to find she had nowhere to go.

Her mother had remarried and had two more children. Her father had remarried and was cheating again. The great artist’s household was a complete mess.

She had no choice but to live on her own. While managing her own investments, she decided to fight her two half-siblings for the Xiao Family inheritance. To do so, she joined the Star Emperor Group and worked herself to the bone. She single-handedly saved the company from major losses twice and negotiated countless international deals. Eventually, she secured the position of regional president, earned lifetime shares, and joined the board of directors.

Her entire life, it seemed, was a quest for her family’s approval, a search for a place where she belonged.

However, fate played a cruel joke on her. Her father was duped into going into business, lost the entire family fortune, and was saddled with enormous debt.

With nowhere else to turn, he came to her, demanding she return the assets he had once given her.

Xiao Yang didn’t agree right away. The money he was asking for wasn’t nearly enough to cover his debts. A better solution would be for her to acquire his company and restructure it. He could retain shares, and while he’d still be in debt, he could live comfortably and eventually pay it all back.

But he thought Xiao Yang was just as mercenary as her mother, trying to squeeze him for every last drop.

He then dropped a bombshell: Xiao Yang wasn’t his biological daughter. He claimed that if it weren’t for saving face, he would have never given her a cent. He called her a bastard, just as calculating and obsessed with money as her mother.

In disbelief, Xiao Yang turned and called her mother to find out the truth.

Xiao Yang couldn’t get through. Meanwhile, her father was being bombarded with calls from debt collectors, all while his new wife berated him. After one such call, he flew into a rage, stabbed Xiao Yang with a knife, snatched all her credit cards, and fled.

Her internal organs had been pierced, and blood was pooling on the floor. Xiao Yang propped herself up, fumbled for her phone, and was about to call for help when a call from her mother came through.

The voice on the other end was cold, devoid of emotion, and full of impatience. "Didn’t I tell you not to contact me for a few days? Why are you calling so many times?"

Xiao Yang knew she probably wasn’t going to make it. She asked calmly, "Mom, Dad said I’m not his child."

Her mother’s voice was perfectly level, without the slightest ripple of emotion. "Your father is sterile. Back then, to put our families’ minds at ease, we chose a donor from a sperm bank for artificial insemination. So, technically, you’re right. You aren’t his child."

"But that doesn’t matter now. He’s bankrupted the family, so don’t contact him. Just focus on your work..."

In her last moments of consciousness, Xiao Yang heard a little girl on the other end of the line happily shouting, "Mommy!"

She died alone and in despair, her soul torn apart by such pain that she buried this memory deep within, choosing to reincarnate into an unfamiliar world where they would never meet again.

Xiao Yang ripped the dream to shreds.

"Bullshit! It’s all bullshit!"

"I had a net worth in the hundreds of billions, owned seven or eight companies, and had countless properties! I enjoyed every luxury life had to offer and was always surrounded by handsome men. Lonely? What’s so lonely about having so much cold, hard cash you can’t even count it all by yourself?"

"Sure, my father didn’t give a damn about me. But in the adult world, the fight is for power and status. Who the hell cares about family ties that were severed long ago?"

"The moment my parents refused to save me, forcing me to jump off that bridge to survive, was the moment I stopped having parents."

’I, Xiao Yang, live for myself and myself alone!’

’No one could save me; only I could save myself. And time and time again, I dragged myself out of hell and made myself stronger and better than before.’

’I am the eldest daughter of the Xiao Family! The president of the Star Emperor Group! A business tycoon with controlling shares and a net worth in the hundreds of billions! I am a devastatingly charming femme fatale! The most successful woman there is!’

’Even now, it’s not that I think I’m unworthy of being Emperor. It’s that the life I had was way better than any emperor’s! You think I actually want the throne of this backwards place? Please!’

’And that idiot who spent the last sixteen years pining for the Empress Dowager’s affection—that wasn’t me!’

Xiao Yang was furious, but she couldn’t deny the truth. She really was dead.

She’d been in shock after suddenly learning the truth of her birth and let her guard down around her despondent father. He had stabbed her, piercing her organs, and she had died.

But she absolutely did not die of despair. She died of indignation!

Indignant that her death was so sudden, so... anticlimactic.

"All the wealth and status I fought so hard for, and all the handsome men in my orbit... why is it all gone?! Why?!"

「Shuyun Palace.」 The system suddenly zipped into view. ’What’s happening? Where is this overwhelming aura of resentment coming from?!’

「Zichen Palace.」 Xiao Yang slowly lifted the bed curtains. She lazily picked up the Emperor’s Sword from beside her feet. A layer of gloomy frost covered her exquisite, beautiful face as she smiled malevolently. "You’re finally here. What should I call you? Sun Yi? Or... Princess Suiyi?"