Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 112

Volume 4: The Perils of the Jianghu

Seize Her

After properly settling her father and brother and entrusting some matters to her confidants, Hua Wuying was escorted into a sedan chair under guard. Feng Ruoqing, worried about her, went with her.

Their sedan chairs were lifted under the watchful eyes of the guards. Two imperial daughters took Ji Qingchi by the arm, about to lead her away, but she didn’t move an inch.

The Second Imperial Daughter was surprised, “Little Nine, why aren’t you leaving?”

“Su Yi is missing. I have to find her.”

Ji Qingchi and Su Yi were usually inseparable. When the imperial daughters saw Ji Qingchi without Su Yi, they knew something must have happened in Changsheng Valley¹ that caused them to be separated.

The Seventh Imperial Daughter hurriedly said, “Come back to the imperial palace with us first. You don’t know how furious Mother Emperor was when she heard you were in trouble.”

Ji Qingchi hesitated, “But…”

The Second Imperial Daughter continued, “Look at the state you’re in. Your injuries haven’t even healed. How are you going to save Miss Su?”

Ji Qingchi retorted, “I can—”

Before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed limply.

The Second Imperial Daughter hastily caught her sister. Looking up, she saw the Fifth Imperial Daughter standing behind Ji Qingchi, still in the posture of having knocked her out. “Why waste so much breath talking to her? Just take her away directly.”

The Fifth Imperial Daughter spoke with disdain, glancing at Ji Qingchi’s pale face and snorting through her nose. “To go out on one trip and end up in this wretched state, she’s truly a disgrace to our Yanxue Imperial Clan².”

Ji Qingchi was normally a very alert person; it was unlikely she wouldn’t notice someone standing behind her, let alone be knocked unconscious without a clue.

A couple more glances at Ji Qingchi revealed the dark circles under her eyes that she couldn’t hide.

Injured and poorly rested, no wonder her alertness isn’t what it used to be.

The Second Imperial Daughter sighed, looking at her sister in her arms with pity. “These past days, you have suffered.”

“Her skills were inferior, what’s there to say?” the Fifth Imperial Daughter snorted coldly, glancing at the person in her arms. “Alright, let’s go. Don’t keep Mother Emperor waiting.”

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Xue Zhining led them winding through the imperial palace, dodging the patrolling guards. After walking for quite some time, they arrived at a palace hall carved with nine dragons.

There were also many guards inside and outside the palace. Xue Zhining threw a stone and used a magical art to lure the guards at the entrance away, then slipped into the palace gates with the other two.

As soon as they entered, a foul odor permeated the air.

The palace was filled with a noxious smog. The smell of sulfur powder³ mixed with traditional Chinese medicines like ginseng⁴ and angelica⁵ was nauseating.

Su Yi, who had practically grown up steeped in medicine jars, could identify the concoction the moment she smelled it.

These are all for prolonging life.

She looked at Xue Zhining beside her. Xue Zhining gave her a slight smile, nodded, and mouthed for them to follow.

After taking a few more steps towards the main hall, they saw a person lying on a sandalwood bed carved with dragons⁶.

Seeing the dragon robe⁷ on him, Su Yi immediately understood that he was the emperor of the Huachen Kingdom⁸.

The emperor of the Huachen Kingdom was of a similar age to the female emperor of the Yanxue Kingdom, but his vitality was far worse. Not to mention his completely white hair, his face was wrinkled like the trunk of an old tree and covered in many age spots⁹. One look was enough to tell he was on the verge of death from taking the wrong kinds of medicine.

Xue Zhining called out softly, “Your Majesty.”

The man, who had been lying with his eyes shut, breathing out more than in, actually opened his eyes. The sharp glint in them was undiminished. His attitude toward Xue Zhining was relatively gentle, but when he saw the two strangers, Su Yi and Yue Ling, a murderous intent flashed across his eyes. “You are—”

“Your Majesty, these two are distinguished guests from Dongli Kingdom.” She pointed at Yue Ling. “This is the Sixth Princess of the Dongli Kingdom.”

Then she pointed at Su Yi. “And this is the Third Princess.”

The old emperor didn’t believe it. “Cough cough… Where is the proof?”

Xue Zhining glanced at Yue Ling. Yue Ling took out a crescent-moon-shaped jade pendant. “This is something our imperial family has worn close to our bodies since childhood.”

The surname of the Dongli Kingdom’s royal family was Yue, meaning ‘moon’, and it was widely known that their tokens were all carved in the shape of a moon.

The old emperor was reassured. He didn’t bother to verify Su Yi’s identity; since Yue Ling had produced the token and was genuine, the person next to her must also be genuine. “For the two princesses to come from so far away… cough cough… what is your purpose?”

Apart from the unconventional Fourth Princess, the other princesses of the Dongli Kingdom were all demure, graceful, and rule-abiding, strictly obeying the commands of their father and brothers.

The Third Princess and the Sixth Princess were the full-blooded sisters of the Dongli Kingdom’s Fifth Prince. The Fifth Prince was highly favored by the emperor and was the most promising contender for the throne.

Now that the Fifth Prince’s sisters had come, it must have been at his clandestine instruction.

As expected, the “Sixth Princess” spoke up. “To tell you the truth, Your Majesty, we have come on the orders of our Imperial Brother. He wishes to unite with Your Majesty to attack the Yanxue Kingdom once more.”

“Hmph, we’ve been fighting the Yanxue Kingdom for years, losing so many of our people, yet we haven’t conquered a single inch of land. That imperial brother of yours is ambitious and craves greatness. He just wants to use this matter to curry favor with your Imperial Father. Zhen will not be fooled.”

Xue Zhining said softly from the side, “The previous attempts failed because the Yanxue Kingdom’s Ninth Imperial Daughter is valiant and skilled in battle. This time, we’ve heard that the Ninth Imperial Daughter is severely injured and can’t even stand. The other imperial daughters are not of much use. The Fifth Prince received this news and eagerly came to find Your Majesty, believing this is an excellent opportunity.”

Hearing that Ji Qingchi was injured, Su Yi subconsciously looked at Xue Zhining. Could it be that she predicted this through divination as well?

Xue Zhining smiled. “Even if we fail this time, it doesn’t matter… Your Majesty can—appoint His Highness the Crown Prince to take charge.”

Hearing this sentence, the old emperor’s eyes slowly lit up with a sharp glint, not at all like a gravely ill man.

Power is the best medicine. That saying is indeed true.

“Priestess Ning, do you mean that if the Crown Prince takes charge, this battle is bound to be lost?”

Xue Zhining didn’t answer, but asked in return, “Does Your Majesty want the Crown Prince to win?”

The old emperor fell silent, closing his eyes to think slowly.

In the imperial family, there is no father and son; there is even less familial affection. He had personally appointed the Crown Prince. Now, during his grave illness, the one he was most wary of was the Crown Prince. Moreover, the Crown Prince had recently grown close to the High Priest. If those two were to join forces, it would be extremely disadvantageous for him.

No emperor wants to lose power and be forced to become a retired emperor¹⁰. Imperial power is only real when held firmly in one’s own hands.

The old emperor thought for a long while before slowly opening his eyes. “Let’s discuss this matter later.”

He was indeed wary of the Crown Prince, but rashly sending out troops would also be a great loss for the Huachen Kingdom. It was better to be cautious.

Xue Zhining knew he would say this. She smiled slightly and agreed, then said with a troubled expression, “The two princesses have special statuses. If they are seen by others, it might attract undue criticism, Your Majesty…”

“What’s the issue? There are several empty palaces in the rear court. The two princesses may go and reside there.”

The old emperor gave them a token for entry and exit to the rear court. Seeing their beautiful faces and recalling the dispositions of his own sons, he gave them another token. “If anyone speaks disrespectfully or acts offensively towards the two princesses, I ask for your forbearance. If you show this token, they will not dare.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Mm, Zhen is tired. Priestess Ning, take the two princesses back to rest.”

After saying this, the old emperor seemed to have exhausted all his energy. His voice grew faint, and he closed his eyes.

Xue Zhining gestured to the two of them, and the group tiptoed out of the emperor’s palace, arriving at an uninhabited one.

With no one else around, the two who had been mostly silent could finally speak freely.

First, it was Su Yi, who frowned and said, “Just now, Miss Xue said the Ninth Imperial Daughter was injured. Is that true?”

Yue Ling followed up, “And why does the emperor listen to everything Miss Xue says? Wasn’t the man chasing us just now the High Priest? I thought it was said that the emperor of the Huachen Kingdom listens to the High Priest the most.”

Xue Zhining answered with a faint smile, “It was just a casual excuse. The current High Priest is close to the Crown Prince. With his father not yet dead, of course he would be wary of them. By extension, the High Priest is also viewed with suspicion. Isn’t that the most normal thing?”

Of course, a scene of a father and son being estranged like this wouldn’t be possible without her fanning the flames. As the future Crown Princess Consort, being able to meet the emperor directly really saved her a lot of trouble.

She had originally wanted to just be a minor priestess in peace. But since those people wanted to put her on a spit and roast her over a fire, she didn’t mind making sure they died without a burial place.

Xue Cong had his father’s help from the moment he was born, while she had nothing. If she didn’t rely on her own intelligence to navigate this imperial court, how could she ensure she would survive unscathed?

Yue Ling had spent more than a decade in the rear court and understood these twists and turns best. Hearing this, she gave a sarcastic smile. “It seems that all the imperial families in the world are the same.”

“Alright, with His Majesty’s order, we won’t be harmed while we stay here.”

“Our future Crown Princess Consort’s scheme is truly excellent. But unfortunately for you, you’ve miscalculated.”

The palace door was suddenly kicked open. Xue Cong, leading soldiers dressed in modern military uniforms, stood smilingly at the entrance, blocking the light from outside.

Su Yi: “…”

What’s with this feeling of being pulled out of the story? Are we some kind of thugs? Why are they wearing special Counter-Strike¹¹ outfits?

He waved his hand. “Seize them.”

Yue Ling assumed a fighting stance, about to fight them to the death, but Xue Zhining pressed down on her hand and shook her head slightly.

Yue Ling looked at her as if she were a lunatic. “Are you tired of living?”

Xue Zhining smiled confidently. “Someone will come to save us.”

Yue Ling didn’t want to believe her, but with this interruption, they had already lost their chance. The soldiers had already reached them.

Xue Zhining was about to raise her hands, but Su Yi was faster, raising her hands without the slightest hesitation. “Alright, we surrender.”

“As expected! As expected!” Seeing Su Yi’s action, Xue Cong was stunned for a moment. Then, as if possessed, he clapped his hands, staring straight at her and laughing loudly, “Truly a soul from another world! Exactly the same as in the water mirror!”

Su Yi: “…”

I really have to thank you. It’s just a surrender, do you have to judge whether my posture is standard or not? If you had grown up watching Hong Kong dramas¹² and playing Counter-Strike, your surrender pose would be even more practiced than mine, okay?

Xue Cong couldn’t hear her inner monologue. After laughing a few times, he commanded the soldiers behind him, “Take those two away, and seize her and bring her to the Priest Hall alone!”

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