Awakening
Xiao Junqi stood not far away watching them. Gu Youan turned and left, only to hear him say, "If you leave today, rumors will spread tomorrow."
Sheng Jingche said, "Jun Qi..."
Gu Youan glared at him fiercely and said, "Do you think I care about my reputation?"
Xiao Junqi smiled and said, "You don't care about your reputation, but you do care about that sword!"
Gu Youan stormed forward, but Sheng Jingche stopped her, saying, "Let's talk about it when we get back."
He took off his mink coat and draped it over Gu Youan's shoulders, saying, "It's windy outside, let's go back inside."
Sheng Jingche glanced at her disdainfully and said, "Go back. I will not interfere with your plans from now on!"
Gu Youan gently turned the bracelet, and a needle shot towards Xiao Junqi. He clutched his chest, pointed at Gu Youan with his right hand, and couldn't make a sound for a long time before collapsing to the ground.
Sheng Jingche looked at Gu Youan in astonishment and said, "What are you doing...?"
The needle is not fatal; it can only render the person unconscious.
Gu Youan smiled and said, "Sheng Jingche, where is the Emperor's Sword?"
Sheng Jing lowered his head to examine Xiao Junqi's condition and said, "That's the Emperor's Sword that commands the world. Do you really want it?"
"Sheng Jingche, don't tell me that what happened last night has nothing to do with you." Gu Youan approached him step by step.
Sheng Jingche took two steps back, paused, and said, "You're very smart."
"You were too calm when you chased after them. What did Xie Daoqing promise you?"
She considered last night's incident as a bite; she wasn't some chaste and virtuous woman, and besides, Xie Daoqing had been very attentive.
Sheng Jingche smiled and said, "Half of the Xie family's assets will be sent to Sheng Kingdom."
Gu Youan looked at him coldly and said, "More than that!"
"For you to go so far as to lie to me, it probably isn't gold or silver treasures."
Sheng Jingche looked into her eyes and said, "Your internal injuries are healed, aren't they?"
Gu Youan checked his pulse, paused for a moment, and said, "Is this your reason for making the exchange with Xie Daoqing?"
Sheng Jingche straightened her clothes and said, "This is the best method we can think of. You are strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and you are seriously depleted. If you do not receive timely treatment, your life may be in danger."
Gu Youan's eyes darted away. She looked down at Xiao Junqi and said, "So that's the reason!"
She knelt down and inserted silver needles into Xiao Junqi's body, and Xiao Junqi woke up shortly afterward.
He rubbed the bump on the back of his head, shook his head, and reached out to hold Sheng Jingche's arm, saying, "Are you just going to watch her plot against me like this?"
Sheng Jingche said without changing his expression, "She's in a bad mood right now, please bear with her."
"Just protect her. If it were someone else today, she would have gone to the Ministry of Justice."
"Alright, it's getting late, let's go to the palace."
Adorned with jeweled hairpins and embroidered robes, Xiao Junqi led Gu Youan step by step into the main hall.
A palace maid entered with a handkerchief. The red stain on the handkerchief was so striking. Gu Youan slowly turned her head. Empress Mingzhao smiled and saw the Fifth Princess's satisfied expression.
As the old woman offered her blessings, Gu Youan held a teacup and offered tea, kneeling before the Emperor and Empress.
Emperor Huaming looked at her with satisfaction and said, "I hope the princess can pray for the continuation of your lineage."
Having offspring is the best way to trap a woman. Although it is the continuation of a woman's life, the child traps her instead.
Gu Youan and Xiao Junqi knelt down and kowtowed. The heavy headdress pressed down on her neck. Xiao Junqi helped her stand up. On the first day of her marriage, her royal family members met for the first time. Gu Youan and Xiao Junqi took their seats, and the atmosphere was lively with clinking glasses and singing and dancing.
Gu Youan slowly closed her eyes. She was exhausted after a whole night of tossing and turning.
The Fifth Princess slowly sat down beside her. Time seemed to stand still. Gu Youan turned to look at her and said, "As you wished, we consummated our marriage last night."
The Fifth Princess said, "I didn't know it was Xie Daoqing last night."
"There's no point in saying more. I want to go back as soon as possible. Since you can stop time, I'll go find the Emperor's Sword tomorrow."
The Fifth Princess pressed down on Gu Youan's hand, and Gu Youan paused before saying, "What other plot points are there that I don't know?"
She fell silent, her pupils dilated, and suddenly she remembered something. Xiao Junqi's wife had died in childbirth, and her blood was needed to activate the Emperor's Sword. Gu Youan suddenly looked up at Emperor Huaming on the high platform, and then looked down at the wine in her cup.
His fingers trembled slightly as he gripped the wine glass tightly, staring blankly. "System, have you forgotten your identity? This is a BL novel, not a sadomasochistic one. I have no masochistic tendencies."
Emperor Huaming, with his vast influence, was likely aware of what happened last night. Xie Daoqing was in Sheng Kingdom, and she was Xie Daoqing's weakness. If she had conceived last night, this child would be the best hostage. She suddenly stood up and looked directly into Emperor Huaming's eyes, where there was a clear hint of a smile. Gu Youan looked at Sheng Jingche beside her and finally realized that something was wrong.
This Sheng Kingdom is a giant puppet show, where everyone is a puppet in the hands of Emperor Huaming. Whether it's Empress Mingzhao or Sheng Jingche, everyone's fate is firmly in Emperor Huaming's hands.
"System, have you been controlled as well?"
The Fifth Princess remained silent. Gu Youan gently stroked the Fifth Princess's face, a hint of disbelief flashing in his eyes. The person on the high platform slowly walked down.
Gu Youan looked at Emperor Hua Ming in astonishment and said, "System, what's going on?"
Emperor Huaming looked at Gu Youan with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He said softly, "Isn't this what you see? My daughter protects you in every way, my ministers safeguard you, and my son wants to marry you. Princess Hejing, you are the only one to unlock the Emperor's Sword. Don't you want to become the ruler of the world?"
Gu Youan held the Fifth Princess's hand, felt her pulse, and looked at her incredulously, saying, "You actually planted the Gu worm in her body."
"Please, Princess Kazumasa."
Emperor Huaming could control the Fifth Princess, but not the system. Due to an operational error, the world came to a standstill, and Gu Youan saw the shadow of the system through the Fifth Princess's eyes.
A sword was pressed against her waist. Gu Youan smiled gently and said, "It's not hard for Your Majesty to have such a plan."
A pair of hands gripped the back of her neck, saying, "Princess, be sensible and don't risk your life."
Gu Youan said, "Does Your Majesty really think you can use me to threaten Xie Daoqing?"
Emperor Huaming said with the disdain of a superior, "Only by having you forge the sword can my Sheng Kingdom prosper. I'm sorry to have wronged Princess Hezheng."
Blood contains iron, and when sword-making technology was not advanced, blood was the best nutrient. It is not her blood that can forge a sword. Emperor Huaming, as an NPC, has already broken out of the original plot. Gu Youan cannot die at this moment. She cannot force herself to die for the sword.
"Your Majesty's ambitions don't stop there, do they?"
Emperor Huaming glanced at the Fifth Princess and said, "My daughter obeys your orders. I don't know why. If I can capture you, I will know what happened. I'm sorry to have wronged the princess."
The sword moved forward a few inches, and Gu Youan turned around and kicked the sword away with the hem of her clothes. She grabbed Emperor Huaming's shoulder and flipped over to be behind him.
Her vision blurred, and Gu Youan collapsed to the ground, her eyes filled with pity as she looked at the Fifth Princess.
Gu Youan touched her swollen forehead, surrounded by darkness. Good heavens, everything could be discussed properly, why did they have to lock her up? She was weak, if she accidentally died, all their efforts would be in vain.
A bright yellow skirt appeared before her eyes, and Gu Youan slowly sat down, pulling on the hem of her dress.
"Your Majesty can discuss what you want, why do you insist on locking me up here?"
Emperor Hua Ming slowly squatted down and slashed her wrist with a knife. Gu Youan gasped in surprise as he gripped her wrist tightly, and drops of blood dripped into the bowl.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, do you also believe those rumors? My blood cannot activate the Emperor's Sword?"
"ah!"
Emperor Hua Ming gripped her hand tightly, and the blood flowed faster.
She weakly raised her head, her eyes flickering, and said, "Your Majesty just wants to unify the Central Plains. If you kill me, this world will collapse, and Your Majesty will not survive."
Emperor Huaming smiled, then flung her arm away. She crashed into the wall behind her, wincing in pain. Pressing her injured wrist, she slowly got up and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Sword is the key to another world, and I am originally from that world. If Your Majesty forcibly opens it, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Emperor Hua Ming pinched her face and said, "Whether it works or not, we'll know once we try. Princess He Zheng, you should worry about yourself. If Xie Daoqing doesn't show up, I'll kill you as a sacrifice to the flag."
Gu Youan's calm face remained expressionless. She removed her clothes to bandage her wounds and said indifferently, "Your Majesty, please give it a try. Only if I am willing can the Emperor's Sword be activated."
Emperor Huaming gently picked up the bowl, looked around, and said, "You must hold on until Xie Daoqing comes to save you."
Gu Youan snorted coldly and said, "If you kill me, no one will survive."
An NPC in the book unexpectedly awakens and tries to kill her, the transmigrator. The system is controlled, and the legendary research institute makes no move. When she gets out, she wants to call the police, but the code malfunctions. She, an innocent person caught up in this mess, is about to suffer such an undeserved disaster.
"Then I will kill you. A monster like you will only bring trouble if you are left alive."
Gu Youan suddenly paused. The one who was forced to comply was the ruthless emperor. She was the only one who could wield the Emperor's Sword. If she could not be used for her own purposes, keeping her around would only bring trouble.
“Your Majesty, I am an envoy of the Emperor’s Crew. If you spare me, the Emperor’s Crew will pledge allegiance to Your Majesty. If you kill me, the Emperor’s Crew will pledge allegiance to Xie Daoqing.”
For a century, the Emperor's Name has maintained a neutral position and never shown favoritism. Gu Youan, a person without power or influence, now only has the Emperor's Name in her hands. She attempts to use the Emperor's Name to make Emperor Huaming wary.
"I have said before, the princess is not useful in this respect."
Gu Youan smiled desolately. If Xie Daoqing knew that she had ulterior motives towards him, why would he have saved her?
"Your Majesty overestimates me. Once my identity is exposed, I will be nothing more than a useless pawn to the Xie family."
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