Villainous Emperor (25)
Seeing Jiang Ruoyu take the paper filled with information about the young women, even though her expression didn’t look particularly good, Song Xuyi still felt relieved in her heart.
Taking this paper at least meant that Jiang Ruoyu wasn’t completely opposed to interacting with other women.
“Your Majesty,” Song Xuyi took a deep breath. Although she could see Jiang Ruoyu’s tightly pressed lips indicating displeasure, and despite feeling somewhat fearful, perhaps because Jiang Ruoyu had been so gentle lately, Song Xuyi decided to strike while the iron was hot. Steeling herself, she finished what she wanted to say in one breath: “I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s care during this time. This humble servant understands Your Majesty lacks nothing, but took the liberty of noting some suitable young women…”
“I remain unmarried,” Jiang Ruoyu’s expression revealed neither joy nor anger as she lifted her eyelids to glance at Song Xuyi, “How do you know I prefer women?”
Song Xuyi was struck speechless.
Though Jiang Ruoyu’s face remained expressionless, Song Xuyi knew she was truly angry – otherwise, she wouldn’t have referred to herself as “I” [guǎrén, formal self-reference used by monarchs]. Though surprised by this pointed question, Song Xuyi had prepared for various scenarios beforehand. Seeing Jiang Ruoyu’s demeanor, she quickly thought of an answer and forced a respectful smile: “This servant doesn’t know whether Your Majesty prefers women or men. But being confined within the deep palace, with limited contacts, this servant heard palace rumors that these women were being prepared by Official Fu as potential consorts, so I quietly took note.”
“Your Majesty, these women are truly all good matches if you would just spend time with them…”
“I am busy managing state affairs – where would I find time to socialize with these women? Perhaps you’re thinking of bringing them into my sleeping chambers?” Perhaps imagining Song Xuyi actually bringing these women to her chambers, Jiang Ruoyu’s expression darkened further. Seemingly suppressing her anger, she cut off Song Xuyi’s words, her beautiful face frost-like: “Even the Empress Dowager doesn’t meddle in my affairs, how dare a mere little palace maid like you?”
“You are too bold. To prevent random people from appearing in my chambers,” Song Xuyi wanted to argue that the Jiang Ruoyu she’d seen these past days was actually quite leisurely, hardly busy with state affairs, but Jiang Ruoyu seemed to anticipate what she wanted to say and cut her off: “You are confined for seven days, to remain in my chambers without going anywhere!”
Song Xuyi’s eyes widened.
Spending every day with Jiang Ruoyu was a great trial for Song Xuyi. When facing Jiang Ruoyu, those feelings of blushing and heart-racing were becoming more frequent. Song Xuyi had originally thought she only needed to endure seven days before returning to Empress Dowager Dong Rou’s chambers, where she could control her growing feelings, but unexpectedly, Jiang Ruoyu had confined her for another seven days.
This was really too much!
“Your Majesty, you can’t do this!” Song Xuyi spoke up anxiously: “I only wanted to give you a gift. Though it might have been presumptuous, my original intention was for your benefit…”
“If it’s for my benefit—” Recommending other women was one thing, but Jiang Ruoyu hadn’t expected Song Xuyi to be so unwilling to stay with her. Seeing the reluctance in Song Xuyi’s eyes, Jiang Ruoyu felt as if she’d fallen into an ice cave. Words spilled from her mouth almost without thought: “Since you think I prefer women, why don’t you offer yourself to share my bed?”
A moment of silence fell.
The little palace maid’s eyes showed a moment of confusion, then awareness dawned, and her gaze gradually turned wary as she quietly took a step back…
Jiang Ruoyu stared intently at the little palace maid’s expression: there was confusion and wariness on her face, but notably no surprise…
It made sense – how she had treated her during this time had been witnessed by everyone, and the little palace maid had likely noticed.
Jiang Ruoyu felt a bitterness in her mouth: the little palace maid must have understood her feelings, and her introducing other women was, to some degree, a clear indication of her rejection.
Jiang Ruoyu knew she should let go – the little palace maid’s meaning of rejection was already obvious, and persisting would only make her seem desperate.
But Jiang Ruoyu found she simply couldn’t let go. The thought of the little palace maid leaving her sight, perhaps even marrying and having children with someone else, made her heart feel as if it were being cut by knives, causing unbearable pain…
Not knowing how to handle this situation, she could only instinctively want to hold onto the young girl, keeping her by her side…
After Jiang Ruoyu spoke those words, nearly breaking through the paper window [meaning: to expose what everyone already knows], Song Xuyi belatedly realized her rashness—this was Jiang Ruoyu’s birthday, a day when she should have been carefree and happy, but she had seemingly ruined everything…
Seeing the frost and snow in Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes, Song Xuyi gradually calmed down. She didn’t know why she had suddenly lost her head and talked back to Jiang Ruoyu, perhaps because deep down she understood: if she stayed with Jiang Ruoyu any longer, she might not be able to guard her heart.
Song Xuyi had always believed that even the most elaborate lies would one day be exposed. When all the lies were revealed, what would Jiang Ruoyu think of her?
As a Goddess who had raised Jiang Ruoyu since childhood and always spoke of virtue and morality, to develop romantic thoughts toward the girl she had personally raised—forget about Jiang Ruoyu, Song Xuyi couldn’t forgive herself.
But today was Jiang Ruoyu’s birthday.
No matter how many things were beyond her control, that wasn’t reason enough to make Jiang Ruoyu unhappy on her birthday.
“This servant has overstepped.” After coming to her senses, Song Xuyi took a deep breath and voluntarily apologized: “Your Majesty, it’s your birthday today. Don’t let this servant spoil your mood.”
Song Xuyi had yielded first, thinking this would temporarily resolve the matter, but Jiang Ruoyu seemed even more displeased.
She pressed her lips together, no longer looking at Song Xuyi, and turned to go to the outer hall to handle state affairs. Even without this incident, Minister Lin’s faction would have made moves due to Jiang Ruoyu’s performance during the ritual. Jiang Ruoyu had originally planned to focus on state affairs these days to cultivate power, but now she used it as an excuse to avoid this awkward situation.
Handling state affairs wasn’t difficult for Jiang Ruoyu, so she had enough leisure to divide her attention: while appearing to handle political matters, her mind kept conjuring images of the little palace maid. She secretly sent a trace of her consciousness to the chambers, and only after seeing the little palace maid obediently copying books did she withdraw her divine awareness and continue her distracted state.
She knew that human hearts were the hardest things to control in the world. She couldn’t really blame the little palace maid – after all, the little palace maid had the right not to favor her. Perhaps the little palace maid didn’t like women at all, and her affection was merely a burden to her.
But she couldn’t help feeling heartache: this was the first time in her life she had liked someone so much…
While Jiang Ruoyu’s mind was in turmoil, the long-dormant consciousness of Yinshen within her body emerged, letting out a sinister laugh: “She’s just a woman, isn’t she? You’re such a coward! You’re now a deity and the mortal world’s emperor – it would be her honor to be with you! Since she’s so ungrateful, you could easily erase her consciousness and turn her into your obedient puppet. Then she wouldn’t resist anything you do…”
Yinshen in her body seemed to sense Jiang Ruoyu’s intentions and suspiciously fell silent. Usually, based on years of experience competing with Yinshen for control of her body, Jiang Ruoyu would have noticed something was amiss, but she was too troubled now to pay attention to Yinshen’s schemes. After all, Yinshen only had a trace of consciousness left and would soon be completely consumed, so Jiang Ruoyu had no spare attention to notice her.
Jiang Ruoyu quickly finished handling state affairs, but suddenly felt afraid to face the little palace maid, fearing to hear more hurtful words. Not daring to return to her chambers, she once again took out the wine she had barely touched these past few days…
Wine couldn’t normally intoxicate Jiang Ruoyu – she had always maintained clarity before, but this time, Yinshen used its last divine power to weave a dream where she and the little palace maid shared intimate conversations and a night of passion—
Jiang Ruoyu passed out drunk.
And Yinshen, who had been waiting for this chance, seized control of Jiang Ruoyu’s body.
Yinshen only had a wisp of consciousness left.
She looked hatefully at ‘herself’ in the mirror.
Yinshen despised Jiang Ruoyu, never imagining she would die before achieving her goal, dissipating within the body of a mere mortal who had become divine!
After seizing the body, Yinshen’s face instantly turned paper-white. Though she didn’t have enough strength to destroy Jiang Ruoyu’s now-divine body, she believed she had found the perfect way to exact revenge!
Yinshen revealed a sinister smile, carrying wine as she stumbled back to the sleeping chambers.
Song Xuyi in the chambers hadn’t fallen asleep.
After much consideration, she felt she needed to apologize to Jiang Ruoyu again, while also making a firm decision: while their involvement wasn’t too deep and before she completely fell in, she would cut the knot decisively [meaning: to resolve a problem decisively] and find an opportunity to leave Jiang Ruoyu.
Perhaps because she was still angry, Jiang Ruoyu didn’t return until late that night.
Jiang Ruoyu’s face looked extremely pale, her entire being shrouded in a gloomy aura. This Jiang Ruoyu looked both familiar and strange; for a moment, Song Xuyi even felt this wasn’t Jiang Ruoyu at all…
Had her avoidance really affected her so deeply?
Song Xuyi felt a bitter ache in her heart. She originally wanted to go apologize, but Jiang Ruoyu told her that if she wanted to apologize, she should first join her for a drink.
Song Xuyi remembered that her original tolerance for alcohol was poor, but now having a divine body, she couldn’t get drunk no matter how much she drank, so she agreed to drink with Jiang Ruoyu.
Jiang Ruoyu barely drank, just staring intently at her with a contemplative gaze. For some reason, while Song Xuyi had always felt shy under Jiang Ruoyu’s gaze before, now she felt extremely uncomfortable and strange. After some thought, not wanting Jiang Ruoyu to keep staring at her, she decided to pretend to be drunk…
However, as soon as Song Xuyi closed her eyes, dark divine power swept through her entire body. She opened her eyes wide to find herself transported to an unfamiliar place—inside Jiang Ruoyu’s dream.
In the dream was a disheveled Jiang Ruoyu with flushed cheeks, holding her tightly.
Song Xuyi finally realized: the ‘Jiang Ruoyu’ who had encouraged her to drink was actually Yinshen!
The dream created by Yinshen was utterly evil: Jiang Ruoyu had been drugged with something that could only be cured by sharing spring romance with a woman.
And this was a dream Jiang Ruoyu herself desired, so she was completely immersed in it. Unless events unfolded according to Jiang Ruoyu’s dream, Song Xuyi would never be able to escape from the dream!
If the little palace maid died trapped in the dream, Jiang Ruoyu would surely regret it for life; if she shared intimacy with the little palace maid, given that the little palace maid already didn’t like Jiang Ruoyu, she would surely hate Jiang Ruoyu for life afterward. Given how much Jiang Ruoyu cared for the little palace maid, she would never have peace again…
Having used its last bit of strength to send Song Xuyi into the dream, Yinshen curved its lips in a smile: and completely dissipated within Jiang Ruoyu’s body.
The author has something to say:
Jiang Ruoyu: Yinshen, thank you, grateful to have you…
LP: Re-translated on January 05, 2025
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