Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Becoming Her Accomplice

Sun Yi entered, carrying a tray. Though a dagger was hidden underneath, if judged solely on his deportment as a servant, he considered himself impeccable.

He had only just walked in and hadn’t had a chance to do anything yet.

Yet without any warning, the Emperor drew a sword and attacked.

CLANG!

The tray hit the floor, and the dagger flashed with a cold light.

Sun Yi’s martial arts were impressive, but Xiao Yang was no slouch either. Furthermore, she was currently in a towering rage, radiating killing intent and focused solely on attack, forgoing all defense.

Sun Yi was forced to retreat again and again. Just as a sword was about to slit his throat, he dodged desperately. He threw the dagger in his hand like a projectile, forcing Xiao Yang to evade the fatal blow. Only then was he able to make a quick escape.

Xiao Yang parried the dagger but didn’t give chase. She glanced at the blood on her sword’s tip and smiled in satisfaction. "Lock down the Imperial Palace! Capture the assassin alive!"

Sun Yi quickly shed his Eunuch Uniform and changed into the attire of an Imperial Guard. Using his familiarity with the Imperial Palace, he hid in a corner to wait for backup.

He didn’t panic as he watched his men get captured one by one. He didn’t panic when the imperial guard marched past him time and again. Not until Consort Hui was brought out.

"By His Majesty’s order, Consort Hui has colluded with an assassin in a plot of rebellion and treason! She is to be immediately thrown into the Heavenly Prison!"

Sun Yi... or rather, he should be called Xiao Suixi.

As he watched Consort Hui being unceremoniously dragged away, he could no longer hold back, and his eyes reddened with tears.

But he didn’t dare try to save her. He waited for the searching imperial guard to pass, then turned and headed down another path.

Xiao Yang changed into a purple and gold Dragon Robe and chose a golden crown inlaid with rubies.

She looked at her handsome reflection in the mirror and gave a vain twirl.

’A little flat-chested, maybe, but still so handsome.’

Xiao Yang walked out the door and took a detour to the side hall behind the Imperial Study.

She pushed the door open and went inside. A man was tied to a pillar in the center of the hall. The veins in his wrists had been severed, and blood dripped steadily to the floor.

Bi Fang watched Xiao Yang enter and gave a wretched smile. "Your Majesty never trusted me."

’Sun Yi hadn’t even made his move, yet the first thing the Little Emperor did was have Li Wei imprison me.’

Xiao Yang eyed him. "To be overly attentive for no reason means you’re either a villain or a thief."

"Did you really think I was so stupid I would trust someone who just popped up out of nowhere, pledging allegiance?"

Bi Fang had countless chances to reveal his identity to my former self. But no, he chose to appear at the most "opportune" time—right after I survived an assassination attempt and began to resist the Empress Dowager.

That wasn’t loyalty. It was just a change of plans after the original one went awry.

Even now, Bi Fang tried to argue his case. "I truly am one of the late Emperor’s men. Everything was left to you by him. Every word I’ve said is true, without a hint of deception."

Xiao Yang said, "Oh, you didn’t deceive me. It’s just that before you told me any of this, you had already offered it all up to your *other* master."

"’A servant cannot serve two masters.’ No, that’s not right. From the very beginning, you’ve only ever been loyal to that one master."

Others might not know the Emperor is a woman, but how could Bi Fang not know?

He came to my side and accepted everything about me so calmly, without a shred of suspicion. He even discreetly covered for me when I was in danger of being exposed. That’s proof enough that he knew everything.

Because he knew the Emperor was a woman, he chose to back the real, hidden Prince. Everything he did was for his master. To me, he was an enemy from the very beginning.

"The assassin in black who tried to kill me two months ago... that was you, wasn’t it?"

Bi Fang’s pupils trembled. Though he remained calm, he didn’t deny it.

Xiao Yang pressed a fingertip to the space between his brows. Her calm tone was laced with a chilling, penetrating killing intent. "I didn’t see your face, but you didn’t cover your eyebrows. As I was suffocating in agony on the brink of death, the one thing I remembered was this very faint mole at the tip of your brow."

"I hadn’t even figured out how to find you, yet you delivered yourself right to my doorstep. How very considerate of you."

"If I hadn’t used you as a catalyst, I wouldn’t have been able to make the Empress Dowager panic and lose her composure. So, as a reward, I’ll send all of your people down to join you."

Xiao Yang had kept Bi Fang by her side, but she’d also had Xiao Lan and Xiao Cheng keep a close watch. Anyone who had any unusual contact with Bi Fang was added to a list. And now, it was time to round them all up in one fell swoop!

’The late Emperor’s men?’

’The late Emperor has been dead for six years. Who would be loyal to a dead man?’

’These people were just using the late Emperor’s name as a cover. Only they knew who they were truly loyal to.’

Bi Fang knew he was utterly defeated. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with menace. "This empire was stolen by you in the first place! You’re nothing but a—"

A dagger in Xiao Yang’s hand flashed across his throat, silencing the words about to leave his lips.

"You’re too late."

’He didn’t say anything when I didn’t want the throne. Now, it’s too late.’

’Because I’m a woman, even as a puppet Emperor, I had to endure abuse from my own mother and scorn from my servants. Even someone like Bi Fang, who was supposedly acting on the late Emperor’s orders, betrayed me without a second thought.’

’It’s as if my being a woman absolves them of all their crimes against me.’

’Unfortunately for them, that excuse won’t fly with me.’

-----

A slender figure vaulted over the courtyard wall of the Regent Prince Mansion. He clutched his shoulder in pain, and before he could even regain his footing, a sharp sword lunged at him.

He immediately dropped and rolled. "I serve the late Emperor! I have urgent business with the Regent King!"

The sword’s tip stopped half an inch from his face. The guard saw that he was injured, and after checking him for hidden weapons, finally led him to see the Regent King.

Sun Yi presented a Token to prove his identity and explained who he was and why he had come to Rong Yin.

"The Empress Dowager has committed high treason! She deceived the late Emperor! I am my Imperial Father’s only son! Now Xiao Jin wants to kill me! I implore you, Regent King, help me set things right and save the Xiao Family’s empire!"

Only now did Rong Yin understand who the "fish" the Little Emperor had been trying to bait was.

Rong Yin was stunned into a long silence. ’Was I that blind, or were they just that brilliant?’

’The Empress Dowager gave birth to... a princess? But she was raised as a prince, became the Crown Prince, and then the Emperor?’

’And Consort Hui gave birth to a Prince but raised him as a princess? And now he’s being hunted by the Emperor and wants to ’set things right’!’

’No wonder the Little Emperor kept insisting on giving the throne away.’

And now, the Emperor had let the answer walk right up to his door.

She was forcing him to make a choice.

Either he could help overthrow the Emperor and "set things right."

Or he could honor his promise, conceal the truth, and become her accomplice.

Seeing Rong Yin’s hesitation, Sun Yi immediately made a promise. "Your Highness has served the nation tirelessly and with great distinction. You deserve to be named a Prince of Equal Standing."

A promise from a prince whose own identity wasn’t even confirmed held no allure for Rong Yin.

"It was your people who poisoned Xie Liuzheng."

Rong Yin stated it as a fact. "Who were you originally trying to poison? His Majesty, or Xie Liuzheng?"

Sun Yi denied it instantly. "That has nothing to do with me. Perhaps the Emperor did it. Or perhaps someone else was trying to poison the Emperor, and Xie Liuzheng was caught in the crossfire."

’The poison was Consort Hui’s doing, so of course it had nothing to do with me.’

’And he could admit to neither target—the Emperor or Xie Liuzheng.’

’One scenario, poisoning a person, would make him seem despicable and treacherous. The other, using a life to sow discord between the Emperor and the Regent King, was just as shameful. Neither reason was something he could admit to openly.’