Chapter 74: The Sickly Prime Minister Poisoned to Death by Her Beloved

That night, the killing continued until dawn, and unusually, Shi Qingyi woke up earlier than Xiao Jinse.

In the June heat, Xiao Jinse slept uncomfortably, curling up and coughing. In the middle of the night, Shi Qingyi pulled back the brocade quilt for her, stripped off her sweat-soaked clothes, wiped her down with hot water, and finally changed her into clean nightclothes. She placed her back gently, as if holding a fragile piece of candy.

Only then did she open the windows, letting the morning breeze blow in and disperse the heavy gloom in the room.

When she had gone out earlier to fetch clothes, she asked why there was a bloody smell in Xiao Jinse’s room. Xinyi fell silent for a long time before speaking, saying that the Prime Minister had been vomiting blood all month, several times already.

Shi Qingyi was stunned for a moment and remembered what the System had said—that she would never live long.

—But that was a matter for the future.

Xiao Jinse was reluctant to open her eyes, but she had medicine to take morning and night without fail. Shi Qingyi held her and fed her the medicine. By the time the thick bowl of medicinal soup was finished, the person woke up, but she had no strength and just lay in her arms.

The fifty thousand troops that Shi Qingyi had smuggled in under the guise of muddying the waters were dispersed by her. Those truly loyal to her entered the city with her, while those hoping she would rescue the emperor were left outside.

Xiao Jinse asked her, “In the current situation, what does Your Highness plan to do?”

Her face was as white as winter snow, evoking deep pity, and no one would imagine the black heart beneath.

Her gaze shifted subtly, quietly probing Shi Qingyi’s thoughts.

At this time, any slip of the tongue would make Xiao Jinse as skittish as a startled bird. Shi Qingyi scooped up a spoonful of lotus seed congee with a porcelain-white spoon, blew on it, and fed it to her lips, her eyes clear.

“This world has indeed been too peaceful for too long.”

—So it was time to change the person in charge.

June skies brewed with impending storm, a blanket of gloom.

She fed Xiao Jinse her porridge, the air filled with soft, gentle sweetness. “I will always be by your side.”

Xiao Jinse felt that this proud, awkward person, when truly gentle, was like some enchanting spirit, making her unable to resist sinking into it, yet inexplicably wary.

This was a promise, whether Xiao Jinse believed it or not.

On the night of the fifteenth of June, the moon was exceptionally round. Shi Qingyi donned her armor and mounted her horse. Xiao Jinse, weakened by illness, couldn’t stand on her legs. She sat in a chair, watching the girl she loved wield her sword, clad in splendid armor on a fiery steed, just like in the old days.

It felt as if many years had passed in the blink of an eye. She smiled as she watched Shi Qingyi mount up. Before leaving, she solemnly kissed her forehead and said, “Jinse, wait for me to return.”

Xiao Jinse hummed in response, wrapping her arms around her neck with some reluctance. After a thousand turns in her mind, she could only say, “Your Highness, you must be careful not to get hurt.”

Shi Qingyi agreed, waited a moment longer, then touched her forehead to Xiao Jinse’s. “You be careful too.”

Their clinginess went unnoticed by others—or at least, it was much better than before, when the two would quarrel at the drop of a hat, with the Eldest Princess wishing the Prime Minister an early death.

Gu Ciyan had broken out of the Imperial City at the beginning of June to fetch reinforcements and was about to return. The Little Emperor’s plan was to coordinate with Gu Ciyan from inside and out, trapping Xiao Jinse in the Imperial City and killing her off completely.

Shi Qingyi was an unexpected variable in this contest. She had inserted herself and, being outside the game, learned of Gu Ciyan’s movements. Now, before Gu Ciyan could return, she aimed to capture the emperor quickly, and everything else would fall into place naturally.

Xiao Jinse watched the figure in silver armor gallop away in the morning light until it vanished completely at the street corner. The dawn light fell on her forehead, casting a mottled, dim halo.

Behind her, Xinyi lowered her head and said softly, “Miss, we should go.”

The Eldest Princess entered the palace, while she would go out of the city to intercept Gu Ciyan. Shi Qingyi had stood in the wind and told her this: it was a matter between their aunt and niece, and she had to settle it personally.

Xiao Jinse said nothing, just gripped her hand.

She always trusted Her Highness, no matter how long she had been deceived.

—

Storming the Imperial Palace was far easier than imagined, with almost no resistance. It took only two hours to pass through the palace gates and enter the main hall. At around three quarters past noon, the Golden Throne Hall gleamed magnificently under the sunlight, with the ruler of this world seated above.

“Light breeze and clear moon”—the emperor’s name was actually given by her. Her imperial brother’s first and only child. When her father had been delighted at the birth of a legitimate son and racked his brains for a name, she had pointed to this character and said it was good, so the little prince was named with “Ji.”

Later, Xiao Jinse disguised herself as a man and entered the court. Her appearance was exceptionally handsome and refined, her talent and character unmatched in the world, praised by great scholars as “light breeze and clear moon.” The four characters thus became hers.

The Little Emperor was undoubtedly a pearl of great price, but he was born at the wrong time, right under the sun and moon.

The moment Shi Qingyi pushed open the hall doors, the emperor lifted his head from the light. He wore bright yellow dragon robes, the formal attire for sacrificial ceremonies to heaven, but his expression carried a certain sorrow. Seeing the doors broken open, he was stunned for a long time before uttering two words.

“Aunt—”

The figure outside the hall hesitated for a moment but quickly adjusted. She advanced with sword in hand, tall and bathed in blood, exuding a chilling coldness that made hearts race.

The Little Emperor gripped the dragon throne and revealed a strange smile. “Aunt, have you come for Us or for Chancellor Xiao?”

“Why must it be for one or the other?” The woman quirked her lips in a thin, cold smile, stepping through the doors and blocking that beam of sunlight. “Why can’t it be for myself?”

Perhaps because the light she blocked was the very ray shining directly on the dragon throne, the Little Emperor’s mild facade finally crumbled, cracking like a perfect painted skin.

He closed his eyes heavily, as if mocking something, murmuring lowly, “We knew it, We knew it…”

“We always suspected Aunt would go soft on Chancellor Xiao, that you had fallen for her. Turns out We were the stupidest one. How could it be her using you? Xiao Jinse and I are nothing but pawns in your hand—”

“We wondered why Xiao Jinse suddenly fell gravely ill and then went mad, driving things to this point when We were completely unprepared. It was you, it was you…”

A thread in his heart slowly connected: Shi Qingyi’s sudden disappearance, the Eldest Princess secretly building her own forces—something secretive and unknown. So it could only be pinned on him, making Xiao Jinse go mad, thinking he had aided the Eldest Princess’s escape.

Xiao Jinse had searched the world fruitlessly and placed her last hope on him, hoping to get information or force Shi Qingyi to surrender.

No one had imagined Shi Qingyi left on her own, and he knew nothing.

“The snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits.” The Little Emperor suddenly opened his eyes, a touch of crimson in their depths. He stared deadly at the figure below the steps, revealing only self-mockery.

“Aunt, We underestimated you. You deliberately stirred conflict between Us and Xiao Jinse, waiting for us to be mutually wounded before reaping the fisherman’s benefit. What you scheme for is this throne of Ours, isn’t it?”

Shi Qingyi stood in the hall, noncommittal. “And so what if it is?”

“Our blood is the same. Why can you sit on this seat, but not me?”

The woman raised her neck, finally revealing the long-hidden edge. She was a blade not yet sharpened, sheathed for ten years, and once unsheathed, aimed straight at the world.

This declaration made the emperor’s lips twitch uncontrollably, but moments later, he seemed to recover, rasping.

“We still remember when We were young, how Aunt brought Us osmanthus candy from outside the palace, gave Us a little wooden bow. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed, and now Our aunt and nephew must come to this point of swords drawn—”

His tone slowed, even his self-reference lowered.

“When Father Emperor was gravely ill and wished to see Aunt one last time, the road was too far, and it never happened. Later, he held Our hand and made Us swear to treat Aunt well. Father Emperor said that once he was gone, the only blood kin left in the world would be us two—”

His voice was slow, tinged with bewilderment and helpless sorrow. “If Aunt wants it, what towering power and influence can We not give? Why resort to kin slaying, leaving Father Emperor and grandfather restless in their graves?”

Shi Qingyi listened quietly until he finished. After a long while, she raised her head to look at the emperor on high and asked softly.

“Then did you honor Imperial Brother’s last wish?”

The emperor froze abruptly.

Shi Qingyi continued, stepping up the Ninefold Jade Steps one by one. Her boots were bloody, drops splattering on the white jade steps, dripping onto the dragon’s eyes.

“Indeed, we two are the only ones bound by blood in this world. But did you ever truly see me as kin of flesh and blood?”

“In the end, I was just a bargaining chip for you to placate and threaten Xiao Jinse. When I was imprisoned and humiliated by her, you never thought to save me. During the barbarian marriage alliance, you wanted to throw me away to win hearts. Shi Ji, you even thought of killing me to cut the grass at the root, didn’t you?”

It was impossible to be swayed by his family sentiments; the Eldest Princess remained terrifyingly clear-headed.

The Little Emperor’s body shook. The panic of his inner thoughts being laid bare left him nowhere to hide, like a dark secret exposed to sunlight for all to see his ugliness within.

“No…” The emperor opened his mouth, trembling. “Aunt, when did We ever…”

“Then swear on your life to the ancestors, to your father and grandfather! Shi Ji!” Covered in blood, she stepped onto the final stair. Though a woman, her momentum surpassed the solemnly robed emperor.

Shi Qingyi called the emperor by name. “Do you dare?”

The longsword pressed against his neck, drawing a line of blood that trickled down the blade. Her voice thundered like a blade piercing the heart. “If you conceal anything, I will send you to meet your father and grandfather right now!”

With his innermost thoughts exposed, the Little Emperor’s expression darkened instantly, like frustrated rage at his feigned deep affection being punctured. Trapped by the dragon throne, he was like a furious lion.

“What wrong is there in Our suspicions? Doesn’t this prove them right? Our greatest mistake was not killing you outright when We first suspected you!”

If he had killed her then, there wouldn’t be all these troubles later. But the court changed in an instant, and his momentary hesitation had cost him the initiative.

The hall fell deathly silent, only thin rays of light filtering in. Shi Qingyi’s expression carried an indescribable weariness and relief.

“So you see, I did nothing wrong.”

I merely guessed your thoughts correctly. Before you could strike, I fought for a path to survival. What wrong is there in that? Even ants cling to life—how could I surrender tamely?

This insight came from having died once before.

The coldly gleaming longsword was sheathed. The Eldest Princess turned away, like an emotionless statue, joyless and sorrowless as she descended.

She wouldn’t kill him, nor exterminate him utterly, because—

In that moment, the emperor, who had seemed soul-lost, suddenly laughed maniacally for some unknown reason, his expression twisted with terrifying malice and mockery.

“Shi Qingyi, you think this means you’ve won?!”

“Far from it! Far from it being that easy. Shi Qingyi, you could have waited for Xiao Jinse and me to be mutually destroyed before swooping in legitimately to claim the profits. Waited until one of us died. But you didn’t—you came too early. You went to the Prime Minister’s Mansion first, Shi Qingyi—”

The Little Emperor stood behind her, as if seizing her weakness. “You’ve fallen for her! You’ve fallen for that madwoman Xiao Jinse! You’ve fallen for the lunatic who humiliated and imprisoned you!”

She walked down against the light, her expression unreadable, her voice still indifferent. “And so what?”

But it was no refutation.

The Little Emperor watched her back with sickly malice, rasping, “Do you think you breached the palace so easily because of your prowess? Because We sent most of the troops outside the city. Do you really think you’ve won, Aunt?”

“A-Yan is already back. With attacks from inside and out, do you think Xiao Jinse has any chance of survival? If you go save her now, she might have a slim hope.”

In that instant, dead soldiers burst into the hall again, firmly protecting Shi Ji at the rear. He gripped the dragon throne, malice spreading boundlessly in his heart. “The troops in A-Yan’s hands are twice the intimate guards from Xiao Jinse’s mansion. If Aunt goes to save her, the palace will surely fall. The throne or her—you can only choose one. Aunt, have you thought it through?”

This was his greatest malice, his hatred for these two boundless.

He hated Xiao Jinse for stealing all his radiant glory, and Shi Qingyi for her pride and schemes. Why should they be the winners?

He knew this choice was viciously cruel, but so what? It was what they deserved!

No matter what choice Shi Qingyi made, she was doomed to be the loser. If she chose the world, she would carry the guilt of harming her beloved for the rest of her life. And if she chose Xiao Jinse, that would be even better.

For someone as ambitious and ruthless as Xiao Jinse, the greatest retribution would be for her and Shi Qingyi to slaughter each other for power!

They were fated to turn against one another and fight to the death.

That figure stood rigid in the grand hall, as if she had lost the ability to move, frozen in place.

Behind her, the Little Emperor continued to laugh maniacally. “I have already given the orders. Xiao Jinse won’t die smoothly or with dignity. Before she goes, she’ll be passed around for the army brothers to enjoy, then bled out as a sacrificial offering to the flag. Rest assured, Aunt, you will wait here for news of her death. A-Yan will deliver her head to your desk as a congratulatory gift for your ascension to the throne.”

No one could resist the temptation of the supreme ruler. The Little Emperor knew this well, so all he could do was make Shi Qingyi suffer unbearable agony in the years to come.

What did it matter if he was the victor? He couldn’t defeat Shi Qingyi outright, but at least he could make her feel the pain that pierced her heart.

—

Outside the city in the distant suburbs, Xinyi pushed the wheelchair through a field littered with corpses. Xiao Jinse coughed lightly, specks of blood staining her handkerchief, as the sun gradually dipped toward the horizon.

Xinyi spoke from behind her, her voice low. “Prime Minister, everything is prepared. Shall we—”

“Wait… just a little longer…”

What if Her Highness came?