When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 142

Volume Seven: The Years I Was a General

Reflex Arc¹

Shocked and flustered, confused and numb.

This was the second time Ye Mingxiu had seen Xiao Chuyu reveal such an expression.

The first time was three years ago, when Gu Wen Nuan directly exposed Xiao Chuyu’s true identity. At that time, her expression was also just like it was now.

He glanced behind Xiao Chuyu. It was calm and waveless, not at all like someone was chasing her. If it weren’t for Xiao Chuyu panting too heavily, he couldn’t help but suspect, did Gu Wen Nuan bully the Emperor?

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” Ye Mingxiu took a handkerchief from his bosom, handed it over, and asked with concern.

Xiao Chuyu did not take the handkerchief. She took a deep breath. “I’m fine.”

She did not linger. Her departing back looked somewhat hurried.

Ye Mingxiu looked at the handkerchief in his hand, sighed, and silently put it away.

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【Blackening value has decreased. The female lead’s current blackening value is 9.1!】

Just now, when Wen Nuan forcefully kissed Xiao Chuyu, the System watched the fluctuation of the blackening value and almost couldn’t catch its breath.

Wen Nuan licked her bitten lip and smiled smugly: “Good.”

【What do you plan to do next?】

The System watched Xiao Chuyu leave in a rage of shame, especially that final glare, which looked as if it wanted to smash Wen Nuan to smithereens.

“Let nature take its course.”

Now that she was trapped in the water prison, having methods but no place to use them was all in vain.

【Will the female lead let you leave the water prison?】

The System knew about the bet between Wen Nuan and the female lead, but it was afraid the female lead would go back on her word.

“She will.”

【So certain?】

Wen Nuan raised her eyebrows: “She has never lied to me.”

But she herself was a liar full of falsehoods and hypocrisy.

Zhongming Hall²

Xiao Chuyu stayed alone in the dim, unlit bedchamber. All the palace maids and eunuchs had been driven away by her. She only wanted to be by herself in peace and quiet.

The tingling numbness on her lips remained. Xiao Chuyu touched her red and swollen lips. Gu Wen Nuan had been too forceful; she was actually powerless to resist, ultimately collapsing limply in her arms and letting her take control.

Since returning from the zhaoyu, her mind had been in a state of chaos. She had never thought that Gu Wen Nuan would kiss her.

She had clearly been sentenced to death by her, and she was clearly weak and powerless in her arms, yet Gu Wen Nuan did not use this to threaten or coerce her, only kissing her incessantly.

With every suck, every deep kiss, Xiao Chuyu could seem to feel the thick, deep affection being transmitted from Gu Wen Nuan.

It made her feel, in a trance, that Gu Wen Nuan was deeply in love with her.

But——

She had clearly said she did not like her. Even though she had told Gu Wen Nuan the most important secret in the depths of her heart, she still could not get a trace of pity from Gu Wen Nuan. Instead, she received Gu Wen Nuan’s heartless betrayal.

In the imperial court, under the watchful eyes of all, she, in front of all the court officials and Emperor Chongming, personally exposed her true identity. The sincerity she once used to try and win Gu Wen Nuan’s affection was mercilessly trampled underfoot by Gu Wen Nuan, dripping with blood.

In that instant, she personally experienced a sentence her mother empress often told her.

-Men are all ruthless, cold, and unfeeling people. In their eyes, women are just playthings that can be used at will.

Now, she had been personally betrayed by the person she liked. That kind of pain worse than death, that kind of heart-rending agony, she could not describe in words, only because the pain was so great she could not open her mouth.

To open her mouth was to let out a miserable roar, a mournful and venomous sob, a self-deception born of disbelief…

The secret of her being a woman disguised as a man was exposed. Emperor Chongming was furious and decreed punishment. She was taken away from the court by the imperial guard, while Gu Wen Nuan looked at the emperor from beginning to end, not sparing her a single glance.

Xiao Chuyu sometimes thought, if on that day Gu Wen Nuan had glanced at her, it would have surely been a gaze full of disdain and contempt.

Why seek out hardship for herself?

But now, she knew that Gu Wen Nuan was a woman, knew why Gu Wen Nuan wanted to expose her true identity, knew that Gu Wen Nuan actually had feelings for her. But why was there more of a sense of heaviness and suspicion in her heart?

Did Gu Wen Nuan really like her?

How can women love each other? Did she act this way to save her own life?

Xiao Chuyu fell into a difficult dilemma. Her mind was a mess. She didn’t know what decision to make.

“Your Majesty, Commandery Princess Fengyan³ has come to request an audience and is currently kneeling at Guanqian Gate⁴.” The speaker was Xiao Chuyu’s Imperial Presence Eunuch, the Head Eunuch Yuan Qi.

Yuan Qi thought Xiao Chuyu hadn’t heard, so he raised his voice and continued, “Your Majesty, Commandery Princess Fengyan has come to request an audience and is waiting at Guanqian Gate. Should she be summoned?”

Xiao Chuyu lifted her eyelids and responded, “Let her in.”

“Nuo⁵.”

“Someone, light the palace lanterns.”

Xiao Chuyu concealed the complex emotions in her eyes. Her expression was cold, as if the flustered and confused look had never appeared.

“Nuo.”

Before long, Zhongming Hall was as bright as day. Yuan Qi led Commandery Princess Fengyan in.

Commandery Princess Fengyan knelt on both knees and kowtowed, “Fengyan pays respects to the Emperor.”

Xiao Chuyu sat in her chair, propping her cheek with one hand. “To enter the palace at this hour, is there some urgent matter?”

“When Fengyan celebrated her birthday last year, Your Majesty once promised Fengyan a reward, saying that whatever Fengyan wanted, Your Majesty would find a way to satisfy Fengyan. Does Your Majesty still remember?” Commandery Princess Fengyan looked at Xiao Chuyu cautiously.

Xiao Chuyu nodded. “I remember.”

She looked at Fengyan and saw she was dressed in a pale white palace gown, looking plain and thin. “What is it that you want?”

Fengyan pursed her lips. “Fengyan implores Your Majesty… to spare Gu Wen Nuan.”

Yuan Qi, standing to the side, sucked in a breath of cold air in fright when he heard Fengyan’s words. He saw Xiao Chuyu’s face darken, and he immediately knelt on both knees, not daring to make a sound.

Xiao Chuyu’s cold eyes shifted, as if a cold light shot out, looking directly at Fengyan. An invisible pressure seemed to crush Fengyan to the ground, making it impossible to breathe.

Fengyan stiffened her neck and continued, “Fengyan and Wen Nuan grew up together. I know well that he is open and honorable, pure and kind by nature, with a child’s heart⁶. The Gu clan, for their entire lives, have been loyal to the Emperor and devoted to Ming’an Country. Their ancestors have never had hearts that colluded with the enemy, betrayed the country, or offended their superiors. Your Majesty is farsighted, brilliant, and wise. I hope Your Majesty… will investigate with the clarity of autumn down⁷.”

Yuan Qi was already scared out of his wits by Fengyan’s words. Cold sweat covered his face, stinging his eyes and making him afraid to open them to look at Xiao Chuyu’s current expression.

“Fengyan, Zhen remembers that you once had a marriage contract with Gu Wen Nuan, is that right?” Xiao Chuyu asked, neither coldly nor warmly.

Fengyan’s body trembled. She nodded and said, “Replying to Your Majesty, yes.”

“By saying these words, does it represent that your old feelings for him have not ended?”

Fengyan closed her eyes and hesitated, “Replying to Your Majesty, yes.”

“Then do you know…” Xiao Chuyu leaned down, looking at Fengyan’s flustered eyes, as if in retaliation.

She said, full of malice, “that the Gu Wen Nuan you like is actually a woman?”

Yuan Qi’s eyes widened, deeply feeling that he was going to have to end himself here today.

Fengyan had no reaction. There was no surprise or disbelief in her eyes. Her reaction was too calm, causing a wave of anger to rise in Xiao Chuyu’s heart.

She pinched Fengyan’s chin, her tone emotionless but transparently bone-chilling cold. “You knew long ago that Gu Wen Nuan was a woman?”

Fengyan lowered her eyes, was silent for a moment, and said, “…Yes.”

She had known long ago that Gu Wen Nuan was a woman. But what could be done?

Such a wonderful person, regardless of whether she was a man or a woman, made one’s maiden heart stir, unable to forget her dashing and heroic bearing.

“Good, very good.” Xiao Chuyu laughed from extreme anger. The coldness in her smile sent a chill down the spines of the two people present.

“You and Gu Wen Nuan are truly sincere and devoted, ah?” Her fingertips clenched tight, pinching finger marks in her palm. “One unreservedly hands over her most important secret, and the other, fearing not imperial power, risks her life to enter the palace and plead for mercy. Your deep affection for each other has truly opened Zhen’s eyes, ah?”

Fengyan lowered her head, not daring to answer Xiao Chuyu. She could feel the Emperor’s monstrous anger and killing intent, without any concealment, pressing down on her directly.

Xiao Chuyu’s jade finger scraped across the tabletop, making a piercing sound. “Fengyan, are you truly not afraid of death?”

Fengyan’s body trembled. She swallowed, her words earnest. “Fengyan only wants Gu Wen Nuan to live. Even if she is dismissed from office, demoted, or exiled to serve labor, as long as the Emperor lets Gu Wen Nuan live, Fengyan is willing to do anything.”

“Even if Zhen sends you to a marriage alliance, you are willing?”

A trace of panic flashed in Fengyan’s eyes. Then she clenched her fists and said, her voice landing on the ground with a sound, “Fengyan… is willing.”

Crack——

A high-quality blue and white porcelain teacup shattered on the floor. The two people kneeling on the ground trembled in fright.

Xiao Chuyu roared in a low voice, “Fengyan, do you really think Zhen can tolerate you provoking the imperial might⁸ again and again?”

Fengyan kowtowed. “Fengyan does not dare.”

“Don’t dare?” Xiao Chuyu sneered. “Zhen thinks you are audacious enough to wrap the sky, not knowing the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth⁹. Is it that in your eyes, Zhen is less important than Gu Wen Nuan?”

Fengyan shook her head in panic. “That’s not it. Fengyan did not think that.”

“Didn’t think that?” A pain shot through Xiao Chuyu’s chest. “You say Gu Wen Nuan is open and honorable, pure and kind by nature, with a child’s heart, and would not do something sordid like colluding with the enemy and betraying the country. Does that then represent that you think Zhen is a fatuous and benighted ruler, has wrongly convicted a good person, and has let a loyal minister be unjustly imprisoned, ah?”

Tears instantly streamed down Fengyan’s face. She choked out, “Fengyan… Fengyan did not. That’s not it.”

Yuan Qi said in a loud voice, “Your Majesty, calm your anger. Please do not get angry and harm the dragon body¹⁰.”

“Scram!” Xiao Chuyu was extremely irritated and kicked Yuan Qi away.

She looked at Fengyan with eyes about to split. “Fengyan, you want to save Gu Wen Nuan, you want to lift the tray to eyebrow level¹¹ with her, you want to grow old together until your hair is white with her, you want to rekindle old feelings with her. Zhen will lay the words down here today: impossible!”

Fengyan looked at Xiao Chuyu in disbelief, her eyes full of grief and despair.

Xiao Chuyu was shaken by the emotions in her eyes, her heart trembling. She was like a frozen, stiff venomous snake, revealing its sharp fangs, its latent deadly venom displayed without any cover.

So what if jade and stone burn together¹²? What she cannot have, no one else can even think of getting.

Xiao Chuyu viciously pinched Fengyan’s chin, her gaze fierce. “Fengyan, even if Zhen leaves Gu Wen Nuan her dog’s life, she will never walk out of the imperial palace in this lifetime. In life, she is Zhen’s person; in death, she is Zhen’s ghost. She has no relation whatsoever with you, Xiao Fengyan.”

“Get rid of these thoughts as soon as possible, and don’t even think of using the promise Zhen made to you to test me. Zhen can give it to you, and Zhen can also take it back.”

“Don’t challenge Zhen’s patience, otherwise…” Xiao Chuyu moved closer to Fengyan, looking with satisfaction at the terror and hesitation in her eyes, “Zhen will personally chop off Gu Wen Nuan’s head and send it to you. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

Fengyan’s body instantly tensed, her hands trembling slightly.

Her lips turned white, her voice tight. “Fengyan… would not dare.”

Xiao Chuyu flung her away in disgust and said coldly, “Scram!”

Fengyan was already so frightened her legs had gone soft. Yuan Qi, afraid that Xiao Chuyu would get angry again, immediately helped Fengyan leave Zhongming Hall.

Xiao Chuyu stroked the white jade thumb ring¹³ on her thumb, her gaze gradually turning sinister.

She finally knew what Gu Wen Nuan’s inexplicable show of goodwill towards her was for.

In the zhaoyu, with Gu Wen Nuan’s martial arts, she must have long known she was hiding in the dark. So she deliberately said those words that sounded like they would touch one’s heart, about how women should be more powerful than men, about how a woman can be the master of all under heaven. These words were nothing more than her ill intentions and wolf cub’s wild ambitions.

Gu Wen Nuan knew she had feelings for her and deliberately used this affection that made her hate her to the bone to confuse and bewilder her, thereby making her heart soften and lowering her hatred and defensiveness towards her.

She did all this, perhaps to make her let her go, so she could go roost and fly together¹⁴ with her little beauty. Or perhaps Gu Wen Nuan didn’t want to be some general at all; what she wanted to be was the master of this world.

In order to achieve her own goals, Gu Wen Nuan could even endure disgust and revulsion to get close to her. Truly, if you can’t bear to part with the child, you can’t catch the wolf¹⁵.

Bang——

Xiao Chuyu slammed her hand fiercely on the table. The jade thumb ring shattered at the sound.

She gritted her teeth, the words seeming to be squeezed from between them, “Gu Wen Nuan, don’t even think about it!”

Even if she, Xiao Chuyu, were to die, she would drag Gu Wen Nuan down to hell with her.

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Wen Nuan was in the water prison, not seeing the light of day. When she was tired, she slept. When she was hungry, no one gave her anything to eat. Fortunately, Xiao Chuyu had come today, so her punishment for the day was cancelled.

After watching the food documentary the System had cheekily shown her, Wen Nuan gave a big yawn. Just as she was about to close her eyes and sleep, she heard the System’s heart-rending roar.

【Ah ah ah ah the blackening value is rising! The female lead’s current blackening value is 9.7! Ah ah ah!】 The System made a “Scream”¹⁶ pose worthy of a famous painting.

It rebuked Wen Nuan: 【I told you not to forcefully kiss the female lead! Retribution is here, ah ah!】

Wen Nuan: “….”

Several hours had already passed, and only now did the blackening value rise?

Is Xiao Chuyu’s reflex arc that long?

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