Chapter 43: Yunxi Wants to Kill Me?
Seeing Yunxi's appearance, Dao Yi knew that this would definitely be another big battle.
But he couldn't help but advise, "Miss Yunxi, Princess Yong'an is already in poor health. Who knows if this fall into the water will cause her any lasting health problems? His Majesty will definitely be angry."
"Thank you, Dao Yi." Yunxi saw him frown and knew that this man was genuinely worried about her.
She patted him on the shoulder with a sense of relief.
Seeing Yunxi's nonchalant attitude, Dao couldn't help but sigh again. "Miss Yunxi, you should just not disobey His Majesty this time. Just bear with it, it will pass. You don't know what Princess Yong'an did to His Majesty in the past."
"What did you do?" Yunxi listened with great interest, eager to hear what seemed like a secret.
Dao Yi suddenly stopped talking and said vaguely, "In short, remember, Princess Yong'an is very important to His Majesty. If anything happens to her, His Majesty will not forgive her easily."
I thought Yunxi would object, but to my surprise, she nodded indifferently and said, "I know."
"You know?" Dao Yi asked.
“I don’t know the specifics of what you’re talking about, but Princess Yong’an is his future wife, so he must care about her a lot.” Yunxi gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I will try my best to speak to him properly.”
She knew this back in the Snake Mountain.
Cen Yuwei was Xiao Shenjing's darling.
So let him vent this time, anyway, the emperor and empress's wedding is in a little over a month.
Even if we're not absolutely certain, we absolutely have to give it a try.
She refused to rot away in such a place for the rest of her life.
When Yunxi arrived at Chengqian Palace, she saw a courtyard full of kneeling eunuchs and palace maids.
She glanced around and saw several imperial guards in armor kneeling in the corner.
They all bowed their heads, not daring to utter a sound.
"Your Majesty, Miss Yunxi has arrived," Dao Yi announced loudly.
In the deathly silence, Xiao Shenjing stood by the bed, turned his head, and slowly stared at Yun Xi.
They're really watching.
His dark, phoenix-shaped eyes were frighteningly deep.
Yunxi stepped over the threshold and performed the ceremony like a palace maid.
Behind them, the door slowly closed, casting a shadow over the ground.
"I wonder what Your Majesty wishes to ask me?" Yunxi asked, adopting a humble attitude.
"Tell her." Xiao Shenjing kicked the palace maid beside him without blinking.
His voice, filled with suppressed anger, was cold and deep, as if a storm was about to break.
The palace maid lowered her head and recounted everything that had just happened.
It was obvious that Xiao Shenjing wanted her to die knowing why.
"Is she wrong?" Xiao Shenjing stared at her and asked.
Yunxi shook her head. "That's right, but I don't think Princess Yong'an just came here to discipline me. She's clearly just looking for an excuse to deal with me!"
"She is the future empress and head of the six palaces, so it is only right for her to discipline the harem."
Xiao Shenjing was very tall, half a head taller than Dao Yi, while Yun Xi was barely up to his shoulder when standing in front of him.
So when he looked at her, his eyelashes were half-lowered, and the corners of his eyes were shrouded in dark shadows.
The atmosphere was both imposing and dangerous.
It looked as if they were about to drag the person out and chop off their head at any moment.
Yunxi tilted her head slightly, then decisively knelt on one knee, bowing her head obediently and humbly. "Your Majesty, this servant will definitely not fight back next time."
Desperate to avoid further trouble, Yunxi adopted an unprecedentedly humble attitude.
It seems that they have genuinely realized their mistake.
"You dared to harm the future Empress, even causing her to fall into the water and be in danger, and then you dared not save her when you saw her fall into the water? You truly deserve to die a thousand deaths."
This person clearly has an easy way of talking without understanding the situation.
In that situation, she could only save the person closest to her, and if she hadn't intervened, Cen Yuwei would have died.
In order not to anger Xiao Shenjing, Yunxi tried her best to hold back from saying these words.
She simply lowered her head and explained politely, "Your Majesty, that palace maid was the closest to me at the time."
Xiao Shenjing narrowed his eyes, just as a series of rapid coughs suddenly came from inside the room. "Brother Yin'an!"
He immediately turned around, walked quickly to the bedside, and asked anxiously, "Yuwei, how are you? Where does it hurt?"
His eyes and brows showed genuine concern.
Cen Yuwei couldn't speak, she just coughed, and her pale, bloodless face turned a strange red from the coughing.
Even the rapid coughing sounds were unpleasant.
"Summon the imperial physician." Xiao Shenjing held her hand tightly.
The room quickly became busy.
So, no one paid any more attention to Yunxi.
Yunxi knelt for a short while before her knees started to hurt. Unable to bear it any longer, she stood up and found a chair in a corner to sit down.
Then, watch the show with detached indifference.
Once Cen Yuwei had calmed down, she burst into tears, "Brother Yin'an, I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime."
"No, it won't happen." Xiao Shenjing took her hand in return.
Tears streamed down her face like broken pearls. Her face was deathly pale, and her reddened eyes looked at Xiao Shenjing with a sorrowful expression as she said, "Just a little bit more... cough cough... just a little bit more..."
Their pitiful and distressed state evoked pity in me.
It makes one feel only heartache.
Xiao Shenjing suddenly looked at the culprit.
Seeing her sitting calmly in the chair, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"Yunxi, who gave you permission to get up?"
Yunxi remained silent, watching as Xiao Shenjing stood up from his chair.
He lowered his eyes, about to kneel down to avoid trouble, when his voice suddenly rang out.
"Someone come here!"
He stared at her coldly and said, "Drag Yunxi away and give her twenty strokes of the cane."
"Xiao Shenjing." Yun Xi suddenly looked up at him. "What are you saying? What right do you have to hit me? What did I do wrong?"
Dao Yi quickly pushed the door open and entered, only to be met with a tense atmosphere that made his head spin.
He held his breath and dared not utter a sound.
"What did you do wrong?" Xiao Shenjing stood up and said, "I've always indulged your temper, but I never expected you to become so arrogant!" His voice grew colder as he spoke. "She is the future Empress, the mother of the nation. I'm disciplining a lowly slave like you."
"You lowly slave, you lowly slave!" Yunxi felt a surge of anger rise in her throat. For every inch she retreated, he advanced ten feet. Did he really think she would give up even the slightest dignity just to survive? "You keep calling me a lowly slave. Are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten that you forced me into the palace and forcibly made me a slave?"
Xiao Shenjing's eyes were frighteningly cold. "So what? You made a mistake and you should be punished. Do you think you can get away with it?" He stared at Yunxi as if he had lost patience with her. "What are you still standing there for? Drag him away and give him twenty strokes of the cane!"
The last three words were spoken almost one at a time, with a very heavy tone.
Yunxi felt her blood rushing to her ears.
With a deafening roar, all the suffering he had endured in the palace over the past few days erupted forth as blazing magma.
Twenty strokes of the cane?
She did nothing wrong, so why should she?
All the humiliation she is experiencing now is brought about by Xiao Shenjing.
It's all his fault!
Since he wanted to torment her and wouldn't let her go...
Then kill him; at worst, we'll both die.
Her gaze towards Xiao Shenjing suddenly flashed with intense killing intent.
Dao Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately tried to stop Yun Xi.
But the astonishing potential that can be unleashed when a person is extremely angry is even greater than that of a martial artist like Yunxi, who has top-notch lightness skills.
The moment his hand reached out to her, Yunxi's figure had already disappeared from the spot.
Dao Yi was terrified. "Your Majesty, be careful!"
When Xiao Shenjing turned around, he only felt a flash of cold light. He saw Yun Xi holding a sharp piece of porcelain and rushing towards him with a hateful expression.
He raised his hand and stabbed fiercely at his neck.
"Yunxi!" His face turned cold, and he subconsciously stepped aside.
Although Xiao Shenjing was not a martial arts expert, he practiced martial arts every day to strengthen his body, so he was not a weak scholar who could be easily defeated. He barely managed to dodge the fatal blow aimed at his neck.
"Your Majesty!" The sword was about to split.
He reached for Yunxi's shoulder as fast as he could, trying to stop her.
"Brother Yin'an cough cough cough!" Cen Yuwei on the bed was so frightened that her whole body trembled.
But Yunxi pounced on Xiao Shenjing, sitting on his lap and raising the porcelain shard in her hand high.
"Xiao Shenjing, you'd better die!" she shouted angrily, lunging at his neck.
She really wanted to kill him, without even the slightest hesitation.
"Yunxi!" Xiao Shenjing tilted his head, trying to grab her wrist.
The moment he dodged, Yunxi realized that Dao Yi was already behind her.
She has already missed the chance to kill him with a single blow.
But as she stared at Xiao Shenjing, the anger in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
She was willing to risk her own life to kill him?
The resolute decision to perish together with the enemy struck Xiao Shenjing's heart like a heavy hammer, causing his eyelashes to tremble violently.
In that moment of distraction, Yunxi had already plunged the porcelain shard in her hand deep into Xiao Shenjing's chest.
"Brother Yin'an, get out of the way!" Cen Yuwei shouted from behind.
Not satisfied with pulling the porcelain shard from Xiao Shenjing's chest, Yunxi angrily stabbed it into his chest again.
The worst part is that she didn't have a better weapon; this piece of porcelain wouldn't kill Xiao Shenjing.
But at least it will hurt him!
"Brother Yin'an!" Cen Yuwei screamed and fell off the bed.
"His Majesty!"
Before Yunxi could even plunge her knife in, she sensed a fierce attack from behind.
If she doesn't dodge, her neck will most likely separate immediately.
Yunxi had no choice but to stop and roll to the side.
"Don't move!" Just as she dodged and before she could regain her footing, the hand holding the porcelain shard was forcibly twisted behind her back, and she instantly felt a chill as a sharp sword was pressed against her neck.
As soon as Dao finished speaking, he shouted to the door, "Summon the imperial physician!"
Xiao Shenjing clutched his chest and slowly sat up.
He didn't check his own injuries immediately, but instead looked in Yunxi's direction.
Their eyes met, and he could still see the lingering killing intent in those almond-shaped eyes.
It was so intense it was alarming.
"Yunxi, do you want to kill me?" Xiao Shenjing endured the sharp pain emanating from his chest and slowly asked, turning his head.
Crimson blood stained his robes, and it seemed to stain Xiao Shenjing's eyes as well.
Yun Xi stared at him coldly, almost gritting her teeth as she said, "Just like you never intended to let me go."
"Brother Yin'an!" Cen Yuwei, in a panic, crawled to him on all fours, crying, "Brother Yin'an, how are you? How are you? cough cough cough!"
The murderous intent in Xiao Shenjing's eyes slowly faded the moment he saw her.
He patted her head with his other, bloodless hand, comforting her, "It's okay, don't cry."
At this moment, the imperial physician and Fu Shun rushed in.
Seeing Xiao Shenjing sitting on the ground with a frown, blood seeping from between his fingers pressed against his chest, they were all terrified and turned ashen-faced.
The imperial physician knelt on the ground, about to stop Xiao Shenjing's bleeding, when this person waved his hand to stop him.
He frowned in pain but still forced himself to stand up.
Eunuch Fu was terrified. "Your Majesty, your wound needs to be bandaged immediately!"
“Brother Yin’an, you’ve lost so much blood!” Cen Yuwei cried, tears streaming down her face, her expression full of worry.
No matter what others said, he ignored them, staring intently at Yunxi and demanding, "What do you think has allowed you to live until now? Do you think it's because of your mediocre skills? Or because of my repeated mercy and leniency towards you!" Every word he spoke clearly aggravated the wound in his chest, causing more blood to flow from between his fingers, yet he insisted on enduring the pain, walking towards her step by step as if in self-torture. "You have repeatedly deceived the emperor, repeatedly murdered the emperor—any one of these is enough for me to confiscate your property and exterminate your entire clan!"
The room was completely silent; no one dared to look at the emperor.
Cen Yuwei coughed, anxiously trying to stop the bleeding with a handkerchief, but several times she was too weak to stand up.
She could only watch helplessly as he walked toward Yunxi, covered in blood.
Step by step, without ever looking back.
He only stopped when he was completely standing in front of Yunxi.
He looked down at Yunxi at his feet.
He pressed his hands tightly against his chest, his knuckles clearly visible and veins bulging, as if he was in excruciating pain.
"Xiao Shenjing!" Yun Xi lowered her head, chuckled, her tone unmistakably sarcastic. Even with a sharp sword pressed against her neck, she disregarded her injury and turned to stare at Xiao Shenjing.
Her porcelain-white skin was instantly cut and bled because of her stubborn movements.
Her face was streaked with crimson, yet she seemed oblivious to the pain, glaring at him angrily. "If it weren't for you, why would I have to suffer all this? It's all your fault, you're out of your mind! You've ruined my life completely, and now you claim to be kind? If you were truly kind, you should have let me go!"
"Let you go?" As if he had heard a ridiculous joke, Xiao Shenjing suddenly laughed out loud. "What makes you think I should let you go? What makes you think I should let you go?"
His bloodshot eyes were dark and deep, while his voice was so cold it seemed to sever everything.
"Yunxi, even if you die, you must die in my palace. You are not allowed to go anywhere else."
"You're really sick!" Yunxi glared at him hatefully. "Let me tell you, it's either you or me. I, Yunxi, would rather perish together than let you have your way of being trapped and dying in this disgusting place that's the size of a palm."
She was so emotionally distraught that she didn't care about anything else, allowing the sword to cut even more of her skin.
Even though Dao Yi quickly moved the knife, he still couldn't stop more blood from flowing along the blade, staining the abnormal white cloth around his neck red.
She seemed completely oblivious to the pain, focused solely on keeping her eyes on Xiao Shenjing.
He stared at him with eyes that seemed to want to kill him immediately.
The blood was so bright red it was almost blinding.
Xiao Shenjing slowly clenched his fingers.
It felt like there was a fire burning inside him, scorching his internal organs.
He felt nothing but anger, anger at Yunxi for daring to treat him this way.
"Cough cough cough, Brother Yin'an!" Princess Yong'an suddenly spoke up, "Killing the emperor is a capital offense. If we don't make an example of him this time, won't everyone in the palace dare to do it in the future!"
Killing the emperor is listed as the most heinous crime, constituting treason and rebellion, and is unforgivable.
Being subjected to slow slicing, dismemberment by chariots, or being cut in half at the waist, along with the extermination of nine generations of one's family, was all justified.
The might of Heaven is awe-inspiring and cannot be violated or invaded.
Even high-ranking officials and ministers were subject to this rule, let alone a lowly palace maid or slave.
Even being executed by slow slicing was a mercy to her.
Yunxi must die.
Princess Yong'an coughed as she thought of something.
Xiao Shenjing didn't turn around, but instead frowned and coldly stared at Dao Yi. "Drag Yun Xi away and give him twenty strokes of the cane!"
"Brother Yin'an?" Princess Yong'an stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"What right do you have? What right do you have?" Upon hearing his punishment, Yunxi immediately began to struggle without any regard for the consequences.
Throughout her life, even her adoptive parents never hit her once.
And what right does Xiao Shenjing have to insult her like this?
"Let me go, let me go."
As she struggled, the veins in her neck bulged, and more blood gushed out.
Staring at her increasingly deep wound, Xiao Shenjing's eyes were chillingly calm. "Having repeatedly violated palace rules without remorse, I hereby banish Yunxi to the laundry department without pardon. She shall never, ever step out of here again!"
"Xiao Shenjing, how dare you!" Yun Xi's blood boiled, and like a wolf cub, she was so angry that she wanted to kill Xiao Shenjing.
Dao Yi quickly suppressed her struggles, sheathed his sword, and led her rapidly toward the door.
He knew that only by getting rid of this troublesome ancestor could things calm down; otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble he would cause next.
Because of her actions, blood fell onto Dao Yi's hand. He sighed and, while leading Yun Xi toward the door, whispered, "Miss Yun Xi, please don't do anything rash. His Majesty has already shown great mercy by giving you such a light punishment."
"Commander Dao, wait!" Before Yun Xi could speak, Cen Yuwei spoke first, coughing as she stood up.
Dao Yi dared not disobey the future empress's words.
"Your Majesty." Cen Yuwei coughed, no longer addressing the affectionate Yin'an brother. She suppressed her dizziness, dressed in plain clothes with her hair down, and knelt at his feet. "The six palaces can be without an empress, but the world cannot be without a ruler. Cough cough cough. Anyone who endangers the state, even if they are a relative, shall be executed."
She straightened up, looked at the king before her, and earnestly advised, "Your Majesty, the crime of regicide must not be treated lightly."
"Even if we spare her death by a thousand cuts out of consideration for our past relationship, we must not let her live and escape justice. Otherwise, the court will be in turmoil tomorrow, with countless officials impeaching her and endangering the emperor's dignity."
Xiao Shenjing's cold, sharp eyes flickered twice. He narrowed his eyes but remained silent.
For a moment, the huge main house was as quiet as a tomb.
The kneeling palace maids and imperial physicians wished they could bury themselves in the ground and become invisible.
At this dangerous moment, Yunxi suddenly spoke up.
She was always very tolerant of girls and never wanted to make things difficult for them.
But now she is clearly in the eye of the storm.
She is not afraid of death, but not in this way.
"If you hadn't provoked me today, how could this have happened?" Yunxi's hands were tied behind her back, but her back was straight. "If you want to fight in the palace or vie for favor, don't drag me into it. Because what you want, I, Yunxi, disdain and would even discard as trash."
Xiao Shenjing suddenly looked up.
"So, Cen Yuwei, remember this: I will never be your enemy in the struggle for your favor." Yun Xi glanced lightly at Xiao Shenjing, then slowly looked at Cen Yuwei again. "I saved you today not because I'm stupid, but because I don't want to bear the burden of your lives. Whether I save you or not is my business, whether you're grateful or not is your business. Your choices will never affect me in the slightest."
Cen Yuwei suddenly frowned.
"Finally, Xiao Shenjing, let me tell you, I'm not wrong. Cen Yuwei is your precious darling, but I only did my best to save those I could." She sneered, "Have you ever considered that if I couldn't swim and hadn't intervened, they would all be dead today?"
If she couldn't swim, she would be dead today.
No one will save her.
She would never say the rest, even if she were beaten to death; it was as if she were begging for mercy.
And that's the last thing she needs.
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