Villainous Emperor (17)
Song Xuyi’s eyes widened.
In Jiang Ruoyu’s gaze there was an extremely powerful and cold pressure that slowly crept up from the spine. For a moment, Song Xuyi felt like a young animal spotted by a fierce beast, frozen in place and not daring to move…
Jiang Ruoyu truly had killing intent!
With a chill in her chest, Song Xuyi took a deep breath and finally gathered the courage to look at Jiang Ruoyu—
“I wasn’t eavesdropping, I accidentally overheard… I-I am a palace maid [court lady] in the Empress Dowager’s palace!”
“Palace maid?” Jiang Ruoyu’s expression had been lazy, but after hearing Song Xuyi speak, she narrowed her eyes as if discovering something. Jiang Ruoyu’s gaze became even deeper. Song Xuyi met Jiang Ruoyu’s deep-as-abyss eyes and her heart tightened. Before she could react, in almost an instant, Jiang Ruoyu teleported to Song Xuyi’s side.
The night wind blew Jiang Ruoyu’s long hair, and a trace of alcohol scent drifted in the air. Song Xuyi only then realized Jiang Ruoyu was already half a head taller than her. Up close, Jiang Ruoyu’s features appeared flawless, and her extreme beauty brought an overwhelming pressure. Under Jiang Ruoyu’s fixed gaze, Song Xuyi felt she could barely breathe…
Song Xuyi’s throat tightened and she instinctively stepped back, bumping open the half-closed door: “I really am a palace maid, Your Majesty can ask the Empress Dowager—”
The palace maids and eunuchs in the room, who had been trembling with fear due to the argument between the Empress Dowager and the High Priest and didn’t know how to mediate, now saw Song Xuyi push open the door. The palace maid who had earlier led Song Xuyi in grabbed her hand as if granted amnesty: “Why are you so late? The Empress Dowager is waiting for you to treat her legs…”
Song Xuyi sighed in relief and turned to look at Jiang Ruoyu.
In her peripheral vision, Jiang Ruoyu seemed about to say something, but when the room’s light shone in and she clearly saw Song Xuyi’s face, something in Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes suddenly extinguished, and she lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together.
In this moment, Jiang Ruoyu seemed somewhat disappointed…
Song Xuyi glanced at Jiang Ruoyu but couldn’t care about her reaction. Every moment spent with Jiang Ruoyu now felt like torture. Song Xuyi lowered her head and took small steps toward Dong Rou.
Time never defeats beauty [idiom: meaning true beauty is timeless]. Jiang Ruoyu and Dong Rou looked very similar, except Dong Rou’s temperament leaned toward delicate and pitiable, while Jiang Ruoyu tended toward bold and striking beauty that could capture one’s attention at first glance.
At this moment, because of the earlier argument, Dong Rou’s chest was heaving rapidly, her face had turned somewhat pale, making her appear even more pitiful.
“High Priest.” Jiang Ruoyu’s icy voice came from behind as she followed into the room: “I heard the High Priest barged into my Imperial Mother’s palace. What urgent matter brings the High Priest here?”
Fu Sheng knelt down. This High Priest who controlled the Yinyue Sect’s Holy Maiden in Guozhou was unexpectedly submissive before Jiang Ruoyu.
“This lowly official has overstepped. I willingly accept punishment.”
“Imperial Mother enjoys peace and quiet. I understand the High Priest’s concern for Imperial Mother, but her illness requires peaceful rest. To prevent public gossip, I hope the High Priest will mind his position. Let this not happen again.”
Jiang Ruoyu sentenced Fu Sheng to fifty military strikes [with a rod/staff].
Fu Sheng, being a man of letters [scholar], would either die or lose half his life from fifty military strikes.
Fu Sheng didn’t argue back. He silently followed the eunuch out to receive his punishment, but couldn’t help looking up at Dong Rou one last time before leaving. Dong Rou kept her head lowered, not sparing him a single glance.
Throughout, Jiang Ruoyu maintained the bearing of a superior, handling matters with ease, decisive and calm.
Noticing Jiang Ruoyu’s gaze returning to herself, Song Xuyi hurriedly composed herself to take Dong Rou’s pulse.
“Mother!” Jiang Ruoyu stepped forward and sat beside Dong Rou, a smile appearing at her lips: “If you truly detest Fu Sheng, I’ll have him killed.”
When facing Dong Rou, Jiang Ruoyu seemed to return to her formerly gentle and obedient self. If not for her casual way of deciding someone’s life or death, in all other aspects she appeared no different from when she was fourteen.
“He’s just an insignificant person!” But Dong Rou seemed unwilling to discuss Fu Sheng. Looking at Jiang Ruoyu, she sighed softly: “Ruoyu, Mother just wants to know what Fu Sheng did to you back then? Why have you, over these years, become harder to see happy with each passing day?”
“Mother, he didn’t lie. He didn’t get the chance to do anything to me back then. I’m the one who holds his life in my hands,” Jiang Ruoyu laughed at these words, patting Dong Rou’s hand: “Mother, don’t overthink things. Focus on recovering your health…”
“You’re my child, how could I not understand whether you’re happy or not?” Dong Rou looked at Jiang Ruoyu with pain in her heart: “Look at you reeking of alcohol. When you were young, you wouldn’t touch a drop of wine. Who could have imagined you’d become a drunkard?”
“When you returned eight years ago, I could barely recognize you: you suddenly had magical powers, dealt with matters ruthlessly, wouldn’t listen no matter how I tried to stop you, and even watched them tear down all the Goddess temples! The Goddess bestowed so many favors upon us mother and daughter, how could we repay kindness with enmity?”
“Ruoyu, you’ve done so many wrong things these years. I know you’ve been feeling regretful lately, and you’ve slowly been changing back. Listen to mother’s advice: welcome back the Goddess, perhaps then your heart will find some peace…”
“Little palace maid,” but Jiang Ruoyu didn’t answer Dong Rou’s words, instead raising her eyes to look at Song Xuyi: “Do you have any way to treat my mother’s legs?”
Song Xuyi had been listening intently to the gossip [private conversation], but unexpectedly Jiang Ruoyu suddenly turned the topic to her. Song Xuyi was stunned for a moment before responding truthfully: “The Empress Dowager’s leg ailment cannot be cured in one day, it needs long-term planning.”
“Are you saying you can cure it?” Jiang Ruoyu narrowed her eyes.
Song Xuyi thought for a moment. Dong Rou’s legs had been affected for too long; if relying purely on medical skills, it might not be curable. But Song Xuyi also had divine power, and if she used divine power to clear the meridians, she was about seventy to eighty percent confident she could cure Dong Rou.
Song Xuyi nodded.
“Such big words from such a little palace maid!” Jiang Ruoyu coldly snorted, clearly not believing Song Xuyi’s words.
Over the years, Dong Rou’s legs had been seen by many famous doctors but never cured. She also didn’t believe this young girl could cure her legs, and originally hadn’t planned to let Song Xuyi treat her. But seeing Jiang Ruoyu’s reaction, Dong Rou swallowed back the words of dismissal that had reached her lips.
A mother knows her daughter best.
These eight years, Ruoyu’s temperament had been cold as ice, indifferent to outside people and matters, rarely initiating conversation with anyone like this.
Was there something unusual about this little palace maid?
Harboring confusion, Dong Rou also abandoned the thought of dismissing Song Xuyi, waving her hand: “Then give it a try!”
Song Xuyi glanced at Jiang Ruoyu, who was looking down at the ground but didn’t raise any objection.
Although feeling that post-reunion Jiang Ruoyu’s temperament was unpredictable and treating the illness might be dangerous, once it came to medical treatment, Song Xuyi almost instinctively focused her attention, solemnly taking out silver needles [acupuncture needles].
“It will hurt a bit at first, please bear with it,” Song Xuyi pulled up Dong Rou’s trouser leg and spoke softly.
At this moment, Song Xuyi had a young, ageless childlike face, yet maintained such a serious expression that Dong Rou couldn’t help but laugh: “I understand, little divine doctor. I’ve been in pain for so many years, how could I fear this small amount of pain?”
Song Xuyi didn’t speak again, picking up the lamp to sterilize the silver needles, but Jiang Ruoyu took the needles, and a handful of blue-black flames appeared in her palm.
The fierce energy [negative energy/aura] belonging to Yin Shen came forth, and Song Xuyi pressed her lips together: sure enough, Yin Shen still existed within Jiang Ruoyu.
The flames produced by Yin Shen’s fierce energy could devour everything, naturally able to eliminate anything on the needles’ surface, including any possible poisons.
Jiang Ruoyu tempered the needles in the flames before handing them to Song Xuyi.
Song Xuyi understood this was Jiang Ruoyu’s warning, after all, the needles would enter Dong Rou’s legs, so naturally Jiang Ruoyu wouldn’t feel at ease.
Song Xuyi took back the needles with an unchanged expression.
If Jiang Ruoyu weren’t present, Song Xuyi had planned to use divine power to nourish Dong Rou’s meridians, which would make the needle treatment less painful. But with Jiang Ruoyu beside her, Song Xuyi didn’t dare act rashly, and Jiang Ruoyu couldn’t substitute with her divine power either: after all, Jiang Ruoyu’s power came from Yin Shen, and although Yin Shen’s power was mighty and gathered all fierce energies, it couldn’t enter the human body…
They could only let Dong Rou endure some suffering.
Song Xuyi inserted the first needle into Dong Rou’s body.
Jiang Ruoyu sat nearby, seemingly bored as she played with Song Xuyi’s hair.
The first few needles were fine, but after a while, as more needles were added to the leg, large beads of sweat appeared on Dong Rou’s forehead: she had endured the torment of leg illness for years, with pain like ants gnawing at her body, slow and gradual, but now this pain changed, as if tendons were breaking inch by inch, like knives cutting flesh, pain seeping into the bone marrow, causing her to shed tears from the unbearable pain!
Jiang Ruoyu’s hand holding Song Xuyi’s hair tightened.
A strand of hair floated down from beside Song Xuyi’s cheek, and killing intent surged from Jiang Ruoyu. Song Xuyi almost felt that in the next moment, Jiang Ruoyu would grab her throat and snap her neck—
“You can only trust me!”
By now it was already mostly successful. Song Xuyi didn’t want to give up halfway, and couldn’t care about her fear of Jiang Ruoyu, turning her head to glance at Jiang Ruoyu.
She didn’t know how long she could pacify Jiang Ruoyu, after all her somewhat childish face indeed didn’t carry much convincing power. She could only turn back and continue inserting needles quickly.
To Song Xuyi’s surprise, Jiang Ruoyu actually quieted down and withdrew her killing intent, but Song Xuyi could feel her gaze still darkly fixed on herself, as if carefully contemplating something.
Afraid Jiang Ruoyu would notice something unusual, Song Xuyi could only further increase her speed.
It felt like an instant, yet also like a very long time. Song Xuyi watched the black blood flow down Dong Rou’s leg and sighed in relief: “Empress Dowager, do you feel better?”
Dong Rou stretched her leg in amazement, eyes widening: “It really doesn’t hurt anymore!”
Only then did Song Xuyi completely relax, collapsing on the ground, feeling her hands that had been applying needles trembling from overexertion: Jiang Ruoyu’s pressure just now had been truly terrifying!
Thinking this, Song Xuyi unconsciously glared at Jiang Ruoyu, but unexpectedly found Jiang Ruoyu looking down, thoughtfully watching her.
Caught glaring, Song Xuyi hurriedly blinked guiltily and gave Jiang Ruoyu a smile. Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes flickered, and suddenly she pulled at the corner of her mouth, breaking into a cold smile—
“You’re quite skilled for a little palace maid!”
“But why must I only trust you?” She crouched down and mischievously pinched Song Xuyi’s baby-fat cheeks, letting out a cold sneer: “Such a disrespectful little palace maid!”
?!
Song Xuyi felt she would die of anger!
Although Jiang Ruoyu’s pinch didn’t hurt, Song Xuyi never imagined that post-reunion Jiang Ruoyu would have such an unpredictable temperament!
Song Xuyi didn’t notice Dong Rou’s interested gaze nearby: Ruoyu’s temper had grown increasingly strange these years, extremely averse to touching uninvolved people these past two years, doing everything herself. This was the first time Dong Rou had seen Jiang Ruoyu actively approach someone; moreover, Ruoyu’s temper had been violent these years, sometimes not even listening when Dong Rou advised her, yet just now she had actually suppressed her killing intent…
Ruoyu’s treatment of this little palace maid seemed… unusual indeed!
The author has something to say:
Jiang Ruoyu: When she talks, she’s like Sister Goddess, but she’s not Sister Goddess; when she’s serious, she’s like Sister Goddess, but she’s not Sister Goddess; when she scolds me, she’s like Sister Goddess, but she’s not Sister Goddess…
When she glares at me…
So cute!
She’s not Sister Goddess, so I can punish her!
Pinch cheeks! rua~
LP: Re-translated on December 20, 2024
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