Villainous Emperor (2)
Song Xu Yi carefully examined the little girl on the ground, and unexpectedly, Jiang Ruoyu opened her eyes.
The young girl seemed still half-asleep, rubbing her eyes in confusion. She glanced outside at the sky, which was just beginning to brighten, then sat dazedly on the cushion for a while. Eventually, she turned around, knelt respectfully on the cushion, and bowed to Song Xu Yi.
“Respected Goddess Sister, I apologize. This is the twelfth time I’ve taken fruits from you,” she stood up slowly and picked the smallest fruit from the altar, hiding it in her embrace. With utmost sincerity, she kowtowed to Song Xu Yi, saying, “As a tainted person like me, I doubt you would notice me, but I still want to express my gratitude.”
After kowtowing, the little girl curled up under the altar, holding the fruit, and disappeared from sight. The altar was spacious enough to conceal a person completely. Not long after, a distinct sound of unlocking came from outside the door, and two dusty nuns entered, yawning.
The nuns glanced around before going out to fetch water and clean the temple’s dust. Taking advantage of this moment, a small figure swiftly slipped out through the gap of the temple door.
Song Xu Yi floated gracefully, following behind Jiang Ruoyu.
The young girl seemed familiar with the path, deliberately choosing the shadows and dark corners to remain unnoticed. Like a wandering spirit drifting between darkness and light, she moved farther and farther away. From the grand palace, she strolled past dilapidated buildings, where some patches of thatched grass seemed taller than Jiang Ruoyu herself. Finally, she walked into the depths of the shadows, disappearing.
Beyond the bustling palace lay a row of neglected buildings, showing signs of age and decay. Some areas were overgrown with grass, taller than Jiang Ruoyu herself. Jiang Ruoyu stumbled her way to a dilapidated palace, where several elderly Eunuchs were having breakfast. Spotting Jiang Ruoyu returning from outside, a large guard dog tied nearby began barking fiercely, as if threatening her.
At the dog’s feet lay two dirty rolls of bread.
Jiang Ruoyu maneuvered around the dog and approached the group of Eunuchs. “Eunuch Li, our breakfast,” she said.
“Oh dear, Princess Seventeen,” an elderly Eunuch lifted his eyelids and glanced at Jiang Ruoyu with a strange tone, “What happened to you? Your bread got knocked over by Big Yellow. He’s always fierce, and we dare not go near him…”
As Song Xu Yi looked at the ferocious-looking dog and then at Jiang Ruoyu, who stood with clenched fists on the side, despite knowing that Jiang Ruoyu might be a future villain, after a moment of hesitation, Song Xu Yi decided to use her powers to make the big dog obediently lie down.
Seeing the wolfhound not as aggressive as before, the little girl’s dark eyes flickered. She looked around, slowly took a step, picked up a large stone from the grass pile, and held it close to her chest, approaching the dog step by step.
“Looks like Princess Seventeen still knows fear! Always wandering outside without going home. If you accidentally offend any favored concubine, you might end up dead without even knowing how…” the Eunuch on the other end interrupted with his peculiar tone.
“This Big Yellow is the new favorite of Princess Fifteen. If you hurt this dog, and Princess Fifteen throws a tantrum, the Noble Consort will blame us. All of us here in this hall won’t escape unscathed…”
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“As for you, it doesn’t really matter,” another elderly Eunuch chimed in with a sly smile, “You still have some Imperial blood in your veins. The Noble Consort might spare your life, but the one inside, who’s gone mad, might not be so lucky. The Emperor probably forgot who she even is…”
……
The elderly Eunuchs were extremely harsh, and Song Xu Yi didn’t expect them to be so malicious towards a five or six-year-old girl. Unable to hold back, Song Xu Yi conjured a gust of wind.
The wind carried sand and dust, blowing towards the direction of the Eunuchs. Fearful of sand getting into their food, the Eunuchs grumbled and reluctantly moved inside the courtyard, away from the wind.
Taking advantage of this moment, Jiang Ruoyu quickly reached the front of the dog, picked up two bread rolls, and disregarding the gossip from the Eunuchs about how “what kind of princess, even a dog eats better than her and her mother,” she carefully patted off the dust on the bread and ran into the dark and dilapidated palace.
By now, the sun had risen, and in the Cold Palace, there was only one window that allowed passage for a single person. Through the faint light, Song Xu Yi could barely make out the room’s condition: several armless and legless stools, a rough and worn-out table with an ancient porcelain teapot placed on top.
Jiang Ruoyu placed the bread rolls on the table, tiptoed, skillfully poured a bowl of water into a bowl, and carefully carried it to the bedside. She softly called out, “Mother!”
On the bed was a blackened blanket, with some parts exposing tattered cotton filling. Upon hearing Jiang Ruoyu’s voice, the blanket moved, and a black head slowly emerged. Following that, Song Xu Yi saw a gaunt face, devoid of any flesh, smaller than the size of a hand, with a pair of bloodshot eyes that stood out prominently due to the smallness of the face.
Initially, those eyes had no focus, but after clearly seeing Jiang Ruoyu’s appearance, a hint of obvious resentment flickered through them. Song Xu Yi couldn’t comprehend how those skeletal hands had such strength. The woman reached out and pushed Jiang Ruoyu away, clutching the tattered blanket in fear as she drew closer to the bed, shouting loudly, “Get away, don’t touch me…”
Jiang Ruoyu stumbled and fell to the ground from the push, the bowl slipping from her hand and shattering into pieces.
Her eyes, which had shown no emotion before, finally revealed a hint of sorrow. She whispered with a touch of resentment, “This was the last bowl.” Casting a glance at the woman, who cowered like a frightened bird, she pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and carefully picked up the shards of the broken bowl from the ground. Accompanied by the woman’s increasingly terrified cries, she slowly walked out of the room.
Jiang Ruoyu dug a hole in the open space outside, buried the broken shards in the soil, and then sat on the steps, holding her arms tightly without moving.
The woman’s screams echoed chillingly from inside the room, while the Eunuchs outside resumed their unabashed gossiping:
“Did you hear that? She’s having another episode! Don’t be deceived by her current deranged state. When she entered the palace, she was known as the most beautiful woman in Dong Kingdom. The Emperor was captivated by her at first sight. But the Emperor prefers submissive and gentle women, while this mad woman had a fiery temperament. So the Emperor deliberately made her a palace maid to temper her character. Who would have thought this mad woman’s fierce nature would allow her to endure the menial tasks of a maid.”
“So, when one plan failed, the Emperor devised another. Now, everyone says that the Emperor, under the influence of alcohol, had dalliances with this palace maid. But that’s just a rumor! Even though we no longer have that maid, aren’t we all men who were once in her position? If he were truly drunk, how could he… hehe!”
“I heard this mad woman was the daughter of Dong Kingdom’s Prime Minister before entering the palace. She even had a childhood sweetheart, but what does her former high status matter now? The Dong Kingdom lost the war and became a vassal state. This mad woman is now reduced to a state worse than a dog’s! She can’t even compare to us, a few Eunuchs who have preserved our purity…”
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“…”
Song Xu Yi knew that the villain’s childhood days in the Cold Palace would not have been easy. After all, the palace was a place where hierarchy was strictly observed. However, Song Xu Yi never expected Jiang Ruoyu to face such adversity at such a young age.
If the world had never shown her any kindness from a young age, it’s no wonder Jiang Ruoyu would later wield a celestial sword and slaughter the Three Realms, descending into madness and bloodlust.
Song Xu Yi didn’t know whether Jiang Ruoyu had heard these heart-wrenching words or if she pretended not to hear them. The little girl sat curled up on the steps, breaking open a bread roll and slowly chewing it, her gaze fixed on the broken sky beyond the dilapidated palace walls.
Time passed, and the frenzied screams from inside the room finally ceased. Jiang Ruoyu stood up, shook her head, and patted her own face, revealing an expression of immense joy.
She took out the offerings she obtained from the temple, carefully wiped them with her sleeve, and entered the room. The woman on the bed now had clear, pained eyes.
With a touch of sorrow, the woman glanced at Jiang Ruoyu and hoarsely spoke, “Ruoyu, did your mother scare you again?”
“I wouldn’t be scared by my mother,” Jiang Ruoyu shook her head, a hint of embarrassment on her face. She then offered a fruit to the woman’s lips and said, “Mother, that esteemed person gave me some fruits today. They looked delicious, so I ate a bit more. I saved only one for you. Please try it and see if it’s tasty.”
The woman’s gaze fell upon the fruit, and after glancing at Jiang Ruoyu, she coughed twice, furrowing her brows. “The crimson fruit tastes sour at this time of the year, Ruoyu. You mustn’t eat too much—”
“Ah?” Jiang Ruoyu clearly didn’t recognize the fruit and hesitated for a moment before softly speaking, “Mother, won’t you try it? Although… although this fruit is sour, the palace servants wouldn’t dare withhold anything from that esteemed person. When I tasted it, it actually had a good flavor…”
Just as Jiang Ruoyu finished speaking, the woman embraced her, tears streaming down her face filled with sadness. “Ruoyu, you didn’t eat this fruit, did you?”
Seeing that Jiang Ruoyu seemed about to say something, the woman gently interrupted her, saying, “The moment the crimson fruit turns red, it becomes as sweet as honey, without a trace of sourness—”
Jiang Ruoyu looked at the fruit in her hand, realizing that she had fallen into her mother’s trap. She pursed her lips and lowered her head.
Meanwhile, the tears in the woman’s eyes flowed even more fiercely.
“It’s your mother who has wronged you,” the woman hugged Jiang Ruoyu, gazing at the towering courtyard walls outside, murmuring in pain. “If there’s ever a chance, you must escape from this place, regardless of your mother! Your mother only hopes for you to become a light feather, capable of flying over those high walls, forever escaping this dog eat dog palace…”
Jiang Ruoyu remained silent, perhaps understanding that at this moment, no matter what she said, it would be unable to comfort the crumbling woman. She simply held her mother’s head, skillfully and gently supporting her emaciated back.
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In the end, the mother and daughter shared the small crimson fruit, taking turns to take a bite. The awakened woman gently braided Jiang Ruoyu’s hair and inquired about the appearance and character of the person who had given her the fruit. Jiang Ruoyu described each aspect according to the image of the goddess, and the woman had no doubts. After advising Jiang Ruoyu to always be cautious, she began to teach her how to read…
As Song Xu Yi watched Jiang Ruoyu kneel by her mother’s bedside, massaging her legs, she bit her lip tightly.
This future villain was far more intelligent and pitiable than Song Xu Yi had imagined.
Within these Cold Palace walls, Jiang Ruoyu was like an ignored little weed, trampled on by everyone.
If the world had always dealt Jiang Ruoyu suffering, how could one expect her to respond with kindness in the future?
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late for everything now.
Song Xu Yi drifted back to the temple of the goddess, listening to the nuns discussing how the offerings on the altar seemed to be lacking fruits lately. A certain plan slowly took shape in her mind…