Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 82
by Little PandaVolume 3: Courtly Winds and Clouds, Each Finds Their Place
Mutiny
The Fifth Imperial Daughter and the Ninth Imperial Daughter had been clashing from time to time ever since their fight at the First Imperial Prince’s residence.
During court sessions, they would even come to blows, disregarding all royal decorum.
The two sides were as incompatible as fire and water. To stir up trouble, Chancellor Xiao would put on a miserable display at court every day, demanding the Emperor severely punish the one who harmed Xiao Zhengyun. She also played the victim before Ji Qingchi and the Fifth Imperial Daughter daily, claiming that Xiao Zhengyun was so devastated by the incident that he refused to eat or drink, hoping to deepen the two imperial daughters’ guilt.
Beyond this, she colluded with her protégés to submit memorials requesting the Emperor punish the First Imperial Prince. She further played the victim, saying no one would marry Xiao Zhengyun, and she could only marry her son off to a maidservant.
Upon hearing this, the two imperial daughters glared at each other even more fiercely, vying to marry the now “unclean” Xiao Zhengyun. Later, they became so enraged that they spoke without thinking, accusing each other during court sessions of Xiao Zhengyun being the other’s primary consort.
The Emperor was thoroughly exasperated by her two daughters. Just then, a message arrived from the border, reporting that the Huachen and Dongli Kingdoms had taken the opportunity to dispatch troops.
Overwhelmed and exhausted1 by the successive events, the Emperor finally fell ill, confined to her sickbed, lacking even the strength to eat.
With the Emperor no longer presiding over the court, and the two talented imperial daughters endlessly quarreling over a man, the imperial court descended into chaos. In Jingdu, everyone felt insecure2.
After nearly two months of turmoil from top to bottom, one early morning, before the sky had brightened, the “clop-clop” of horse hooves echoed from the streets.
Emperor Ji Sheng3 stood by the window of her bedchamber, hands clasped behind her back, gazing thoughtfully at the hazy nightscape in the distance.
“Your Majesty, the City Defense General has come to report that a group of suspicious individuals, concealing weapons, has suddenly appeared at the city gates and is currently entering the city.”
“Do not obstruct them. Let them enter the city.”
“Yes.”
When Su Yi entered, she happened to see the eunuch carefully retreating to convey the Emperor’s decree.
Watching the departing eunuch, she slowly walked forward and bowed to the figure by the window. “Your Majesty, everything outside has been arranged.”
“Miss Su.” The Emperor did not turn around, merely watching the guards hurrying to and fro outside the palace. She spoke slowly, “Miss Su, which of my daughters do you think is suited to take over Zhen’s empire4?”
According to the original story’s trajectory, Ji Qingchi was, of course, the most suitable. Besides, now that she and Ji Qingchi were in a relationship, she would naturally choose Ji Qingchi.
Su Yi didn’t know why the Emperor was asking this. After some thought, she shook her head and said, “This commoner does not understand matters of governance and is ignorant of these things.”
The Emperor chuckled softly. “Zhen thought you would speak up for Little Nine.”
Su Yi quickly denied it, “Although this commoner and Her Ninth Highness are currently together, we do not…”
“Zhen understands your meaning.” The Emperor raised a hand, stopping her from continuing. Gazing out the window, she smiled faintly. “Zhen was merely asking casually. Miss Su, don’t be nervous.”
Su Yi lowered her head, suppressing a cough. “Yes, Your Majesty is wise and naturally has Your Majesty’s own judgment.”
The Emperor said no more. After a while, Hua Wuying also entered the palace through a secret passage in the imperial grounds.
She brought a woman dressed as a palace maid. This woman was also from Xuanji Tower, but she was Hua Wuying’s confidante and proficient in disguise.
Chancellor Xiao and her cohorts were audaciously daring5, wanting to stage a rebellion. Yet, they were somewhat cautious and wouldn’t act unless the Emperor was dead. Therefore, Su Yi and the imperial daughters had discussed and decided they absolutely had to feign the Emperor’s death to make all the rats hiding in the shadows reveal themselves.
The Emperor’s esteemed person could not be put at risk, so Su Yi herself proposed to take her place.
Rumor had it that the Emperor had been bedridden for over a month and was, of course, emaciated. Among so many people, only the frail Su Yi had a physique similar to the “emaciated” Emperor.
After overcoming all objections, the task of disguising herself as the Emperor fell to her.
The woman skilled in disguise quickly made Su Yi up to look like the Emperor. After Su Yi confirmed there were no flaws, she had Hua Wuying take the real Emperor to hide in the secret passage.
Hua Wuying urged, “You must be careful. If anything happens, shout a few times, and I’ll come out to help you.”
“Don’t worry.” Su Yi waved at her. “Her Ninth Highness and the others will protect me.”
Ji Qingchi, with her hidden guards, lay in ambush outside the bedchamber. The slightest sign of trouble6 within the bedchamber, and they could immediately jump in to save her.
After they were hidden, Su Yi coughed a few times, slowly sat on the couch, and waited for the impending assassination.
They had switched identities during the night. Xiao Zhengyun and his group were extremely cautious, only sending someone to the Emperor’s bedchamber two days later.
The person who came was not some palace maid or eunuch, but an attendant lord lord whom the Emperor was quite fond of.
He carried a bowl of fish soup, slowly walked up to Su Yi, his eyes and brows full of ingratiation. “Your Majesty, please have some soup.”
Su Yi was exceptionally wary of anyone approaching at this time. Afraid of exposing her identity, she dared not speak. She took the soup, brought it to her lips, and her peripheral vision scanned the attendant lord’s expression.
He was extremely nervous, his smile almost frozen on his face. His hands kept fidgeting with his sleeves, and beads of sweat slowly formed on the tip of his nose.
Su Yi immediately knew there was a problem with the fish soup in her hands.
She pretended to take a sip. The fishy smell made her very uncomfortable, and coupled with her deteriorating health these days, she couldn’t hold it back and retched.
Her heart-wrenching coughs echoed in the empty palace. Ji Qingchi, hidden in the shadows, couldn’t resist wanting to go out but was held back by an accompanying hidden guard. “Your Highness, the overall situation is paramount.”
Ji Qingchi had no choice but to wait patiently.
Su Yi retched a few times, spitting out the fish soup. The attendant lord quickly came forward to pat her back. “Your Majesty, are you alright?”
Su Yi shook her head, bit into the blood pill Feng Ruoqing had given her, and blood slowly seeped from the corners of her mouth.
Seeing this, the attendant lord was shocked, scared, and yet joyful. He had been coerced into poisoning the Emperor, so of course, he was afraid. Seeing he had succeeded, he was also pleasantly surprised; the Gu poison he was afflicted with could be cured. “Your Majesty… You… You’re not…”
Before he could finish, Su Yi pointed at him, her eyes wide with a look of despair and unwillingness, and collapsed to the ground without saying a word.
She played the part of dying from poisoning so remarkably lifelike that a little person inside her was applauding herself. This year’s Oscar definitely belonged to her!
“Your Majesty…” the attendant lord called out to her twice with a trembling voice. When he received no response, he boldly reached out a hand to her nose.
Su Yi quickly held her breath.
Feeling no breath, the attendant lord stumbled back two steps in fright. After a good while, he recovered and feigned crying, “Your Majesty… Your Majesty has passed away.”
The palace maids and eunuchs outside rushed in like a swarm. Seeing the “fallen” Su Yi, they cried out “Your Majesty” loudly.
Amidst the chaos, the head palace maid quickly sent someone to call the imperial physician and also to notify the imperial daughters and court ministers.
Soon, the imperial physician, ministers, and the imperial daughters arrived at the scene.
The imperial physician was Feng Ruoqing in disguise. Upon entering, she first pretended to check her pulse, then shook her head with a grave expression. “Her Majesty has been poisoned. It is already… beyond saving.”
Even though they were mentally prepared, seeing Su Yi on the ground disguised as the Emperor, the scene evoked emotions in the imperial daughters, and they were still heartbroken, throwing themselves beside her, crying “Mother Emperor.”
The usually chirpy Seventh Imperial Daughter and Second Imperial Daughter cried reservedly. In contrast, the normally quiet Third Imperial Daughter and the less talkative Fifth Imperial Daughter cried the hardest, especially the Fifth Imperial Daughter; Su Yi could even feel her tears splashing onto her face.
Just as Su Yi thought her ears were about to go deaf from the crying, Xiao Quan circled her, confirmed she was no longer breathing, and felt relieved. She scanned the surroundings but didn’t see the Ninth Imperial Daughter. She asked a palace maid, “Where is Her Highness the Ninth?”
“Someone has been sent to call her. The steward at her residence said Her Highness was dead drunk last night, went to bed very late, and is still sleeping.”
It was even better that the highly skilled Ji Qingchi didn’t come. They had already contacted the Dongli and Huachen Kingdoms. As soon as reinforcements arrived, they would immediately surround the Imperial Daughter’s residence and execute her there.
One less obstacle; it was as if heaven itself was helping them.
Xiao Quan was overjoyed internally but did not show it on her face. She asked, “Her Majesty died of poisoning. Who was the last person she saw?”
The palace maids pointed, “It was Attendant Lord Li.”
“How dare he poison Her Majesty! Men! Drag him out and kill him!”
“Yes!”
The guards on duty in the palace today were all her people. Hearing the order, they directly dragged the attendant lord outside the hall, and with a swift stroke of the blade, beheaded him.
The other ministers didn’t even have time to shout “Spare him!” before it was too late. The poor attendant lord died without even understanding how.
Minister of Revenue Cui Luo, a woman of integrity and loyalty, finished mourning the Emperor. Turning around, she saw Xiao Quan have the attendant lord killed and immediately said angrily, “Chancellor Xiao! How can you kill him without an interrogation?!”
“He was the last person Her Majesty saw before she passed. He must have been the one who poisoned Her Majesty. Does that still need interrogation?” Xiao Quan looked around at the ministers present with arrogance and smiled. “Now that Her Majesty has passed, the most important thing is to decide on the next emperor. Who do you all think should be the emperor?”
“Her Highness the Fifth is suitable.”
“Her Ninth Highness is also suitable.”
Opinions were divided. Xiao Quan listened with a smile. “Why are you all only mentioning people from the Ji family? Aren’t there others?”
Cui Luo was aghast. “What do you mean by this? Are you planning to plot to usurp the throne?!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. This throne, naturally, the capable should occupy it. How can this be considered plotting to usurp the throne?”
Xiao Quan sneered and clapped her hands. Soon, many soldiers armed with swords and sabers rushed in, surrounding them.
Seeing this, the Second Imperial Daughter abruptly stood up and said angrily, “Xiao Quan! You dare to rebel against your superiors?!”
“How is this called rebelling against superiors? It’s your Ji family that is dissolute and tyrannical, unfit to be emperors. I am merely following the Mandate of Heaven7.”
Xiao Quan said with a smile, then called to the soldiers, “Take all these people down!”
The Fifth Imperial Daughter sneered, “Courting death!”
She snatched a saber from the nearest soldier and leaped forward to fight the soldiers. The Second and Seventh Imperial Daughters also rushed to help her.
The Third Imperial Daughter, knowing her own strength was insufficient, quickly joined Feng Ruoqing. While barely fending off the soldiers, they carried the feigning-death Su Yi backward to avoid accidental injury.
As the imperial daughters fought, they reached the entrance of the bedchamber. The Fifth Imperial Daughter blew a whistle and shouted, “Where are the Imperial Guards?!”
Ji Qingchi, hidden in the shadows and pretending to have just woken up from a drunken stupor, arrived late with a troop of soldiers.
“Second Imperial Sister, Fifth Imperial Sister, Seventh Imperial Sister, what’s wrong with you all?”
The Fifth Imperial Daughter raised her hand to block a saber slashing towards her. Seeing Ji Qingchi’s feigned act, she was furious. “Are you blind? Can’t you see we’re surrounded?! Hurry up and help!”
“Alright, alright.” Ji Qingchi, feigning inability to hold her liquor, quickly moved forward to fight alongside them. The troops she brought also clashed with the rebelling soldiers.
Amidst the clash of swords and sabers, the neighing of horses and the grating sound of iron armor suddenly erupted from the palace gates.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Several thousand cavalrymen clad in Dongli iron armor, holding iron shields and grappling hooks, galloped in from the palace gates, kicking up clouds of dust, their killing intent palpable.
Though only a few thousand, they possessed the imposing aura of a mighty army.
Everyone was startled by this turn of events. Cui Luo quickly understood, pointed at Xiao Quan, wishing she could rush forward and bite her to death. “You actually colluded with foreign enemies!”
Xiao Quan smiled. “How can they be called foreign enemies? They are willing to help me, so they are my friends.”
The area outside the Emperor’s bedchamber was quickly surrounded by cavalry.
Leading them were Xiao Zhengyun and a young woman. It was his first time wearing armor; he was somewhat amazed, but more so exhilarated. Looking at the magnificent imperial palace before him, his eyes gleamed.
As long as he charged in today and killed everyone here, then this Yanxue Kingdom would be his.
“Charge! Kill everyone here!”
Following his order, four young men from his entourage flew out, targeting Ji Qingchi and the Fifth Imperial Daughter, the two most skilled martial artists, and engaged them in a fierce battle.
Two against one. As soon as they clashed, Ji Qingchi realized these two men were highly skilled. Her heart sank; these were likely the ten top masters of Xuanji Tower that Hua Wuying had warned her about.
Hua Wushang wanted Xiao Zhengyun to win. Fearing their deployment and the men sent by Dongli were insufficient, he had specially sent four of his top masters.
Fighting the Fifth Imperial Daughter were Number One and Number Three; one was bald, the other had an aquiline nose. Battling Ji Qingchi were Number Eight and Number Ten; Number Eight had a broken eyebrow, and Number Ten had a scar on his face.
These four men were not the most skilled among the ten top masters, but two of them together were enough to take the lives of these imperial daughters.
Hua Wushang’s plan was flawless, yet he hadn’t expected his own sister to get involved in this matter.
Hua Wuying, in the secret passage, heard the incessant sounds of fighting and killing. After a while, not hearing the pre-arranged signal, she grew very worried and came out to investigate.
Upon emerging, she saw these four individuals and sneered. Indeed, her “good brother” was very cunning. These four’s martial arts ranked lowest among the ten top masters; even if they were lost, it wouldn’t be a great loss. But if they could actually kill the imperial daughters, it would be even better—a no-lose gamble, truly a fine calculation.
She immediately shouted, “Your Highness the Ninth, that man with the broken eyebrow has an old injury on his right shoulder! Strike his right shoulder! The man with the scar has weak eyesight, attack his eyes! Your Highness the Fifth, that bald man’s right leg is impaired, cripple his right leg!”
As for the one with the aquiline nose, he was afraid of birds.
Hua Wuying blew her beast-taming flute. Soon, a large flock of birds flew in from all directions. Seeing so many birds, Number Three was terrified, his movements slowed, and the Fifth Imperial Daughter beheaded him with a single slash. Blood spurted out, drenching the bald head of Number One beside him, slowly dripping down his shiny scalp.
With one dead, the other three were greatly alarmed and all looked towards Hua Wuying, who had given the pointers.
Number Eight condemned, “Eldest Miss! How can you aid a tyrant! Aren’t you afraid we’ll report this to the Tower Master when we return?!”
“Worry about yourselves!” Ji Qingchi thrust her flexible sword towards Number Eight’s right shoulder and threw a hidden weapon at Number Ten’s eyes with her left hand, sneering, “You won’t be returning today!”
The two hadn’t expected she could wield weapons with both hands simultaneously. Caught off guard, their movements became flustered. Ji Qingchi seized the moment they were distracted and killed them with one blow from her flexible sword.
Number Three’s blood dripped into Number One’s eyes. Before he could wipe it away, the Fifth Imperial Daughter’s saber severed two tendons in his right leg. While he was reeling from the pain, she thrust her saber through his chest.
“Truly can’t withstand a single blow. And they call themselves top ten masters.”
The two of them dispatched their opponents almost simultaneously. After retracting their weapons, they glanced at each other, then simultaneously turned their heads away.
The Fifth Imperial Daughter sneered, “You dog, you actually have some skill.”
Ji Qingchi gave a faint smile. “Likewise, likewise.”
After their mutual sarcastic exchange, the two immediately threw themselves among the Imperial Guards and confronted the leading Xiao Zhengyun.
They were covered in blood, looking like Asuras8 emerging from hell.
Xiao Zhengyun was terrified at the sight. Relying on the Dongli army behind him, he blustered, “So what if you killed those few people? This Young Master has the elite soldiers of Dongli. You’d best allow yourselves to be captured without resistance!”
“Is that so?”
Ji Qingchi smiled faintly and looked behind him. “Who will be the one to be captured without resistance is still unknown.”
Footnotes
- 心力交瘁 | xīn lì jiāo cuì | Lit. heart and strength exhausted; mentally and physically drained.
- 人人自危 | rén rén zì wēi | Lit. every person is in danger; a state where everyone feels threatened and insecure.
- 姬晟 | Jī Shèng
- 江山 | jiāngshān | Lit. rivers and mountains; often used metaphorically to mean the state or empire.
- 胆大包天 | dǎn dà bāo tiān | Lit. courage so big it envelops the sky; incredibly audacious, daring to do anything.
- 风吹草动 | fēng chuī cǎo dòng | Lit. wind blows, grass moves; the slightest hint of trouble or activity.
- 顺应天命 | shùnyìng tiānmìng | To comply with the will of Heaven; to follow destiny.
- 修罗 | Xiūluó | Asura; a demigod or titan of Hindu and Buddhist mythology, often depicted as fierce and warlike.
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