Chapter 18: The State Preceptor Scheming to Overthrow the Court Part 2

How brazen. She wasn’t even bothering to hide it anymore. Shi Qingyi fell silent for a moment, then reached out to straighten the Female Sovereign’s cloak. She brushed her cascading hair behind her ear, humming nasally in acknowledgment before adding, “It’s cold outside, Your Majesty. Remember to add an extra layer.”

With that, as if not fully awake, she closed her eyes again. Xu Zhaosu tucked in the covers for her, finally leaving with great reluctance.

Auntie wanted to see her—she had no choice but to go. And Jing E too. These matters haunted her relentlessly. Xu Zhaosu’s eyes turned icy cold as she quietly looked back.

The girl nestled in the soft brocade quilts slept with eyes lightly shut, as if she’d be waiting here no matter what, no matter when she returned. She couldn’t run. Just wait a little longer. Once she severed all her ties in this world, she’d truly belong to her alone.

—

Shi Qingyi didn’t know what was wrong with her lately—she’d grown increasingly sleepy. It wasn’t to brush off Xu Zhaosu; she truly fell asleep. When she woke, the sun was high in the sky; she’d slept nearly six hours. Her head ached badly. She sat quietly in the hall for a while before pushing open the window. The snow outside had stopped—it was a rare sunny day in winter.

The sparse sunlight shone into the desolate, cold palace, finally bringing a trace of warmth that made her squint slightly.

When she picked up the teapot to head out, the others reacted as if facing a great enemy, blocking her path with three or four groups of people, as if afraid she’d flee.

Shi Qingyi rubbed her forehead. “I’m just going out to admire the flowers. Can’t I stay within the palace gates?”

She should have this much freedom. As the palace maids hesitated, she slipped through the crowd and headed straight for the garden.

With her currently at the height of favor, they hesitated and ultimately didn’t dare stop her. What if she got annoyed and whispered complaints to Her Majesty in bed…

They shuddered at the thought.

In the depths of winter, all flowers had withered, leaving only the cold plums blooming amid the biting winds. They were indeed rare varieties gathered from across the realm, each unique amid the branches. She selected a secluded plum tree to brew tea, separated by a covered walkway from a few little palace maids quietly sweeping snow and talking.

She had no habit of eavesdropping, but if it fell on her ears, she couldn’t pretend not to hear.

“Her Majesty has been searching everywhere for beauties resembling the State Preceptor these past six months. The West Six Palaces are almost full, but she only looks at them. Strangely, she dotes solely on one who doesn’t resemble her at all—not to mention disfigured.”

“I’ve heard those in the West Six Palaces are peerless beauties, hard for ordinary folk to glimpse. But surely none compare to the Temporary Palace. Doesn’t this count as hiding a beauty in a golden house?”

Shi Qingyi: “…”

There were too many speechless moments lately. Her fine brows arched slightly as she rubbed her brow and asked the System, “Did Xu Zhaosu do something like that too?”

Finding a body double didn’t seem like something Xu Zhaosu would do.

The System replied expressionlessly, “Isn’t this all your doing? Back then, you pretended to be a soul to visit her. She thought you were gone and got duped by a bunch of Taoists into thinking she needed to resurrect you…”

Something flashed through Shi Qingyi’s mind, and enlightenment struck. “Is the female lead—”

“Yes,” the System ground its nonexistent teeth, seething. “Because she looks like you, the female lead was killed early in her rebellion last life. This life, just for looking like you, she was snatched into the palace upon reaching the Imperial City, primed for sacrifice.”

If Xu Zhaosu hadn’t blackened so thoroughly, leaving the female lead no path to live, the Main God wouldn’t have tossed Shi Qingyi back for a redo.

While they spoke, a little eunuch suddenly hurried over, seemingly without watching the road ahead. He bumped straight into Shi Qingyi’s arm. The little eunuch, having collided with a noble person, seemed stunned himself. He turned back with a frightened glance at her before scrambling away on all fours.

A biting cold wind blew, and Shi Qingyi seemed to sense something. Unbeknownst to her, a slip of paper had appeared at her waist.

—

Xu Zhaosu pressed her brow, her mind restless.

With Shi Qingyi not by her side—even if only for a moment—panic gnawed at her heart. She wished she could keep the woman with her every second to feel at ease.

The dark guard seated before her remained steadfast under the Female Sovereign’s icy gaze, though cold sweat quietly beaded on his forehead. The news he brought was far from good for her.

“Jing E and the others have secretly infiltrated the city for several days now. They’ve split into two groups: one heading into the Imperial Palace, the other toward the Suburban Palace outside the city.”

Xu Zhaosu crumpled the memorial in her hand into a wrinkled ball. The vermilion annotations seemed stained with blood, deeply tearing through the paper, each word deliberate like endless drizzling rain.

“You say… they’re going where?”

The dark guard wished he could bury his head in the ground but steeled himself to repeat, “Toward the Suburban Palace outside the city.”

The brush in the Female Sovereign’s other hand finally snapped with a crack.

The dark guard fell silent for a moment before continuing timidly, “There’s one more thing. While tracking Jing E and her group, this subordinate discovered they seem to have ties to remnants of the previous dynasty…”

Xu Zhaosu’s father, the founding emperor, had risen from a mere bandit to a wise ruler. No hero, but a true hegemon. Under his protection, Xu Zhaosu had grown up safely, always poised and composed—until later.

Until she harbored that mad obsession, acquiring her reverse scale.

The Female Sovereign’s eyes narrowed slightly, concealing the murderous glint within.

“Tell my aunt that I have urgent business today and cannot pay my respects. I’ll atone for it in a few days. Mobilize all the Jinwu Guards to surround the Suburban Palace. Without my personal decree, no one leaves. Trespassers will be killed without mercy!”

She refused to believe anyone could snatch her away from under her nose. She’d only just found her—there was no way she’d let her escape again!

Absolutely impossible!

The dark guard acknowledged the order gravely and continued, “And the Imperial Palace—”

The Female Sovereign had already strode out, moving so swiftly she stirred a faint chill wind. Her voice was as cold and piercing as ice. “Prioritize the Temporary Palace above all.”

For a fleeting moment, the dark guard felt dazed. A ruler concealed their emotions, and Her Majesty had always done so. This was the first time she’d shown such urgent anxiety, as if fearing that one step too slow would cost her a priceless treasure.

He didn’t understand, but he obeyed the imperial decree faithfully. Thousands of Jinwu Guards assembled amid the snowstorm in the biting wind, escorting the Female Sovereign to the Suburban Palace at utmost speed.

Whipping their horses onward, Xu Zhaosu gripped the reins tightly with both hands, eyes closed. This time, she wouldn’t be half a step late.

The Suburban Palace remained as silent as when she’d left, with only the cold plums blooming wordlessly. “When did she wake? Did she say anywhere she felt unwell? Has she eaten breakfast?”

She asked as she walked, pushing open the bedroom door with a creak—only to find it empty. Xu Zhaosu’s face turned deathly pale.

“Where is she?”

Her hand gripped the doorframe so hard it nearly snapped, her voice low and chilling to the bone.

The palace maids knelt in a trembling crowd. “The physician said she went to the back garden to admire the flowers. She should be in the Plum Garden now—someone has been following her the whole time, Your Majesty. Rest assured.”

“Without my word, you dared let her out?” Xu Zhaosu laughed in fury, her gaze sharp as knives, but she had no time to punish them. She hurried toward the back garden.

At this moment, she only wanted to confirm Shi Qingyi was still there.

Yet the vast Plum Garden was deserted, utterly devoid of people. Xu Zhaosu, supported by attendants, barely stayed upright, her hands trembling faintly. Where else? The Temporary Palace wasn’t that big—where could she have gone?

In a flash of insight, she suddenly remembered something and rushed forward to shove open a certain door.

With a creak came the fading twilight glow, falling upon the young woman’s brows and eyes. She turned her head upon hearing the sound. In the hazy light and shadow, her expression was indistinct. She held a brocade box in her hand and simply turned to gaze quietly at her.

Xu Zhaosu stumbled forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, her arms trembling slightly as they wrapped around her neck like clinging vines.

“You’re still here, you’re still here…”

Her words tumbled out incoherently, heartbreaking.

Shi Qingyi didn’t turn or push her away. After a long pause, she asked, “Your Majesty, why take something like this?”

It was the first time Shi Qingyi had spoken to her in such a stern tone, her face grave. In the dimming light, she even appeared faintly angry.

In her hand was a box of dark-colored ointment.

—Five Stones Powder.

The drug was fiercely heating and violent. Upon ingestion, it made the body burn with fever, inducing hallucinations that bewitched the mind. Legend held it allowed ascent to paradise, visions of the impossible, encounters with the unseen.

But this thing was clearly poison, destined to destroy the mind and kill the user.

She had long sensed something wrong with Xu Zhaosu’s body. The poison in the lamp was only part of it—there had to be more. So it was this.

Even caught, Xu Zhaosu held her without fear, confining her tightly. With heavy weariness, she murmured into her ear, “My Qingyi is dead. Across the Yellow Springs and vast lands, I can never find her again. It hurt too much. Five Stones Powder lets me see her. It’s my medicine. Doctor, if you want to heal me, what am I to do without my medicine?”

Shi Qingyi’s eyes darkened, her grip tightening on the brocade box. She truly hadn’t expected Xu Zhaosu to be this insane—this was suicidal. No wonder her temperament had grown so volatile lately; it was surely tied to this stuff.

“Your Majesty, what do you want?”

The words were forced through clenched teeth.

She whispered softly in her ear, as if plotting for ages: “Be my medicine. Serve me in bed. Will you?”

Shi Qingyi’s lashes fluttered wildly as she abruptly closed her eyes.