When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 161

Volume Seven: The Years I Was a General

Bad Person

Wen Nuan asked the System to help check Xiao Chuyu’s body, to avoid any hidden drawbacks they might not have discovered in time, which could affect Xiao Chuyu’s future physical condition.

【The Female Lead is fine now except for being a little weak; she will be fine after slowly recuperating.】 the System said comfortingly.

“That’s good, then,” Wen Nuan felt relieved.

She saw that some of Xiao Chuyu’s qi and blood had been restored. “Once we return to the Imperial Palace, we just need to properly supplement her.”

【Mhm, don’t worry.】 The System saw Wen Nuan’s face growing paler and paler. 【Compared to the Female Lead right now, you look more like the one who should be lying in bed.】

Wen Nuan let out a laugh. “It’s nothing. Once she’s better, I’ll be able to recover after a night’s sleep.”

【Alright, then. You should take better care of yourself.】

A knock came from the door. Wen Nuan heard the sound and looked over; it was Ye Mingxiu.

“How is Consort Yun?”

Last night, when the blood was drawn, Consort Yun’s appearance of being on the verge of death had truly startled everyone present.

Ye Mingxiu walked in and looked at Wen Nuan’s face, which was even paler than Xiao Chuyu’s. “Consort Yun is better. She can recover completely after resting for a few days. But you, how did you end up like this?”

“I’m fine,” Wen Nuan brushed aside Ye Mingxiu’s comment about her poor complexion.¹ “Is Su Hong locked up?”

“Mhm, the Imperial Guard found him trying to hang himself,” Ye Mingxiu glanced at Xiao Chuyu. “Without the Emperor’s decree, Su Hong can’t even think of dying so easily.”

However, there were still some things he was rather curious about.

“Why does Su Hong hate Her Majesty to the bone²?”

Back when Su Hong and Xiao Chuyu were cooperating, Ye Mingxiu had been very puzzled. After all, for the Imperial Preceptor Su Hong, who never participated in political struggles, to suddenly agree to help Xiao Chuyu seize the imperial throne was a matter that had greatly shocked him.

Wen Nuan sighed. “It was merely a transaction, but Su Hong considered it coercion.”

“You mean to say, Her Majesty used Su Hong’s beloved to threaten him, forcing him to help Her Majesty seize the imperial throne?” Ye Mingxiu said in shock.

“To say it was a threat is too severe. I imagine Her Majesty used Su Hong’s beloved as a bargaining chip to invite him to cooperate with her,” Wen Nuan said pensively. “Su Hong, this person, appears on the surface to have a pure heart and few desires and to be indifferent to fame and fortune, but in reality, he is a person who most values emotions and passions. For this type of person, as long as you find their weakness, they are the easiest to control.”

“And that woman named Yue Yao is precisely Su Hong’s weakness.”

Ye Mingxiu lowered his gaze. “So that’s why Su Hong helped Her Majesty seize the imperial throne?”

“Actually, the one who truly helped Her Majesty seize the imperial throne was herself. Su Hong merely rescued Her Majesty from the Imperial Prison. He didn’t contribute much, yet he thinks this current situation was his own doing.”

She let out a cold laugh. “He’s just a fellow who relies on his talent and is arrogant towards others, with his eyes higher than the sky³. Does he really think he can defy the heavens and change his fate?”

“No wonder back when Her Majesty was in the Imperial Prison, she asked me to help her summon Su Hong. I was still wondering at the time what relationship Her Majesty had with Su Hong. It turns out that even back then, Her Majesty had already schemed him into her plans,” Ye Mingxiu said with a sigh of admiration, glancing at Xiao Chuyu.

Wen Nuan smiled. “Her Majesty has always been this way, exceptionally intelligent.”

“Then can I ask you… why did you kill Empress Xianren?”

Ye Mingxiu still didn’t understand. Even if Empress Xianren was not Xiao Chuyu’s birth mother, she had still raised her. Such a debt of gratitude was as heavy as Mount Tai.

“In your view, even if Empress Xianren wasn’t Her Majesty’s birth mother, she still bestowed the grace of having raised her, so I shouldn’t have killed her, is that right?”

Ye Mingxiu nodded. “…Correct.”

“Then what if I told you that from the very beginning, Empress Xianren treated Her Majesty as a tool for her to compete for wind and eat vinegar⁴ and to scheme for power? Would you still think she is pitiful?”

Ye Mingxiu froze. “What do you mean?”

Wen Nuan’s face was full of mockery. “If Empress Xianren had truly regarded Her Majesty as if she were her own born and cared for her meticulously, I would not have personally killed Empress Xianren and made Her Majesty hate me to the bone.”

“Are you saying Empress Xianren abused… Her Majesty?” Ye Mingxiu’s voice became much hoarser.

“Then let me tell you a few things Empress Xianren did to Her Majesty, and you can judge for yourself whether it was care and nurturing or abuse and humiliation.”

Wen Nuan raised her hand and brushed the hair from the tip of Xiao Chuyu’s nose, her gaze gentle and full of pity as she looked at her.

“At that time, Consort Yun and Empress Xianren became pregnant one after the other. The Imperial Physicians all confirmed that both were carrying male children, and the Late Emperor was overjoyed.”

“Later, the two of them gave birth on the same night. Empress Xianren knew she had a false pregnancy, so she deliberately had the midwife steal the beams and replace the pillars⁵, taking Consort Yun’s child for herself and then giving Consort Yun a stillborn infant brought in from outside the palace to pass it off.”

“As a result, Empress Xianren miscalculated. She never expected that Consort Yun would actually give birth to a girl. In the heat of the moment, to deceive the Late Emperor, Empress Xianren deliberately lied about the child’s gender.”

“The Late Emperor looked at the newborn Her Majesty and was overjoyed, immediately naming Her Majesty as the Crown Prince. And from that moment on, Empress Xianren’s ambition and jealousy completely pushed Her Majesty into an endless abyss.”

Wen Nuan took a deep breath and slowly began to narrate.

“When Her Majesty was five years old, Empress Xianren deliberately drove Her Majesty out of her room. In the freezing snow, she made Her Majesty stand outside for a full two shichen (4 hours) wearing only a single thin layer of clothing. Her body and face were frozen purple. Later, Her Majesty truly couldn’t take it anymore and fainted in the snow. A high fever lasted for three full days and nights, nearly burning out Her Majesty’s mind. And all of this was just so Empress Xianren could fight for favor, snatching the Late Emperor away from the then-favored Consort Rou⁶ by deliberately using Her Majesty to win the Late Emperor’s sympathy and pity.”

Ye Mingxiu’s pupils trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief. “How could… could it be like this?”

“Why couldn’t it be?” Wen Nuan let out a few cold laughs. “The Inner Palace⁷ is deep water and scorching fire⁸, incomparably filthy. Who is truly innocent and clean?”

If the Empress Dowager hadn’t been fond of her and often summoned her to the palace for company; if Empress Xianren hadn’t wanted to build a good relationship with the Gu family and often had Xiao Chuyu get close to her; if she hadn’t held the world’s plotline in her hands, how would she have known that Xiao Chuyu’s childhood was so miserable and bitter?

“When Her Majesty was seven years old, Empress Xianren became pregnant with her own child. At that point, Her Majesty was of no use to her, so Empress Xianren planned to eliminate Her Majesty quietly. While she was strolling with Her Majesty in the Imperial Garden, she deliberately had a eunuch push Her Majesty into Changqu Pond. That pond hides dirt and contains filth⁹ and was unfathomably deep. The seven-year-old Her Majesty struggled in the water, crying for help, while Empress Xianren watched from the bank, perfectly content, as Her Majesty was submerged by the water. If I hadn’t happened to pass by, Her Majesty would have nearly drowned in that Changqu Pond.”

Later, Changqu Pond was filled in by Emperor Chongming.

Ye Mingxiu unconsciously opened his mouth, listening in shock as Wen Nuan recounted the terrifying truth in a completely calm tone.

“Unfortunately, heaven does not grant one’s wishes¹⁰. The child in Empress Xianren’s womb was lost after a confrontation with Consort Rou. She was devastated. To compensate Empress Xianren, the Late Emperor threw Consort Rou into the Cold Palace. But Empress Xianren’s body was ruined, and she could never again bear a child. And at this time…” Wen Nuan sneered coldly, “she remembered Her Majesty. Her Majesty was still the Crown Prince personally appointed by the Late Emperor, which made Her Majesty her only life-saving straw¹¹ and a bargaining chip in the struggle for power.”

“When Her Majesty was fifteen, during the imperial hunt, Emperor Chongming was attacked by assassins. An assassin shot a poisoned arrow at the Late Emperor, and Her Majesty stepped forward to block the fatal arrow for him. At that time, the Late Emperor greatly favored the Sixth Prince and had thoughts of granting him the title of King. The Sixth Prince’s prominence was even beginning to surpass Her Majesty’s. Empress Xianren worried that the position of the heir apparent was in jeopardy, so she decided to straighten up and walk into danger. She deliberately set a trap, arranging for assassins to attack the Late Emperor during the hunt, and then had Her Majesty risk her life to save him. This was to make the Late Emperor feel deeply indebted to Her Majesty, thereby solidifying the Crown Prince’s position and furthering Empress Xianren’s ambition.”

Ye Mingxiu swallowed, his chest feeling as if it were stuffed with cotton.

“Empress Xianren was jealous by nature and wildly ambitious. She did many other things to Her Majesty that made heaven angered and people resentful. There are simply too many, and I can’t be bothered to tell you them one by one,” Wen Nuan’s expression was hard to put into words. “You only need to know that if Empress Xianren had not died, the Her Majesty of today would only be a powerless puppet under her control. Or, after Her Majesty ascended the throne, Empress Xianren would have eventually found an opportunity to murder Her Majesty, ascend the throne herself, and become the master of all under heaven.”

In the original world’s plotline, after Xiao Chuyu ascended the throne, although she knew of Empress Xianren’s ambition, she was constrained by the debt of gratitude for being raised by her. Even when Empress Xianren wanted to kill her, she could not bring herself to have the heart to kill Empress Xianren.

Even later, when Xiao Chuyu and Ye Mingxiu joined forces and defeated Empress Xianren after a three-year struggle, Xiao Chuyu only imprisoned her in the Imperial Mausoleum. Afterward, Empress Xianren’s greatest sorrow was a dead heart¹²; she went mad and lived out the rest of her miserable life.

Ye Mingxiu was so shocked his mouth was mute and he had no words. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his entire being seeming much more weary.

His voice was low and hoarse. “I never thought… it would be like this.”

Wen Nuan’s throat was a little hoarse from all the talking. “All of these things are in the past now. The future will get better and better, so you don’t need to dwell on it so much.”

Ye Mingxiu sighed a few times, closed his eyes, and slowly digested what Wen Nuan had told him.

“Then, when you exposed Her Majesty’s true identity back then, was it just to allow Her Majesty to ascend the throne as a woman and no longer be controlled by Empress Xianren, is that right?”

“All the reasons you mentioned are part of it,” Wen Nuan sighed. “Moreover, at that time, I was too close to Her Majesty, which had already aroused the Late Emperor’s dissatisfaction. The Late Emperor was a man of deep thoughts; he would certainly have thought that Her Majesty and I had privately gave and received¹³. This undoubtedly made the Late Emperor feel a great sense of crisis regarding his power. If Her Majesty and I had continued our close relationship, the Late Emperor would definitely have taken action against Her Majesty.”

“And at that time, the Late Emperor preferred the Sixth Prince.”

Ye Mingxiu said in a deep voice, “So you deliberately exposed Her Majesty’s true identity in the Imperial Court, in front of all the officials, to show the Late Emperor that you were not cooperating with Her Majesty to seize power, thus temporarily putting his mind at ease regarding Her Majesty, is that right?”

Wen Nuan lowered her gaze. “Whether it was exposing Her Majesty’s true identity or personally inflicting punishment on Her Majesty in the Imperial Prison, these things had to be done by me in order to completely eliminate the Late Emperor’s suspicion and wariness of Her Majesty.”

Otherwise, the Female Lead would have been slaughtered by an imperial edict from the Late Emperor before she even ascended the throne.

Ye Mingxiu’s expression went blank for a few seconds. He looked at Xiao Chuyu, then at Wen Nuan. He no longer knew what to ask or what to say.

“Do you want to… go rest for a while? I’ll watch over Her Majesty.” Ye Mingxiu felt that Wen Nuan was in a very bad state, as if she were hanging on by her last breath.

Wen Nuan looked at her wrist, which was being held by Xiao Chuyu. “It’s fine. Her Majesty is still holding my hand. I’m afraid that if I leave, it might affect her, so I’ll just…”

She saw Xiao Chuyu’s five fingers loosen, paused, and her brow furrowed. “…Then I’ll go rest. You watch over Her Majesty well. Call me if anything happens.”

“Okay,” Ye Mingxiu said, seeing the purple bruises on Wen Nuan’s wrist where Xiao Chuyu had gripped it. “Put some medicine on your wrist.”

“It’s fine,” Wen Nuan said, seeing Xiao Chuyu’s fingertips tremble. “I’ll be going now.”

“Mhm.”

As Ye Mingxiu watched Wen Nuan leave, he walked to the bedside, only to see that Xiao Chuyu had already opened her eyes.

He paused. “When did Your Majesty wake up?”

Don’t tell me Xiao Chuyu heard everything Gu Wen Nuan said, right?

Xiao Chuyu slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard. “Zhen heard everything.”

She had heard every single word they said.

“….” Ye Mingxiu didn’t know what to say to Xiao Chuyu. What was done was done; blaming or resenting anyone now would only be pointless.

Xiao Chuyu raised her gaze. “Why did you help Zhen back then?”

Three years ago, she had been thrown into the Imperial Prison by Emperor Chongming. Everyone had avoided her like the plague, yet Ye Mingxiu alone had visited her and helped her. She still remembered this debt of gratitude in her heart today.

Ye Mingxiu pondered for a moment, then smiled.

Xiao Chuyu raised an eyebrow. “What are you laughing at?”

“This humble subject is laughing at how a person like Gu Wen Nuan truly has deep plans and far-reaching thoughts.” Ye Mingxiu said, seeing the questioning look in Xiao Chuyu’s eyes.

He explained, “Actually, given Your Majesty’s situation back then, this humble subject should not have gotten involved with you, or I too would have suffered an unexpected disaster.”

Ye Mingxiu spoke bluntly, and Xiao Chuyu understood, not blaming him for being heartless.

“However, my Ye family once received a favor from Empress Xianren. Now, I can only repay this debt of gratitude to Your Majesty. That is why this humble subject went to the Imperial Prison to see you and try to find a way to rescue you.”

“A favor?” Xiao Chuyu never knew that Empress Xianren had done the Ye family a favor.

“Mhm. Back then, my Ye family suffered a great disaster and was nearly accused by the Late Emperor of trying to secretly cross to Chencang¹⁴ with an enemy state, as if with treasonous intent. If Empress Xianren had not vigorously defended the Ye family, I’m afraid the Ye family would have long ago been executed to the ninth degree¹⁵ by the Late Emperor on charges of treason.”

At the time, the Ye family didn’t know who had saved them. That person acted meticulously, leaving not a single clue. If Gu Wen Nuan hadn’t told him that it was Empress Xianren who saved the Ye family, they would still be searching for who their benefactor was.

Thinking about it now, Gu Wen Nuan truly was meticulous in her calculations with every step, never making a single mistake.

Now, he could be considered to have seen Empress Xianren’s true colors. In that case… did the Ye family being framed for treason back then mean there was something else suspicious going on?

Xiao Chuyu raised an eyebrow. “Do you know who it was that framed your Ye family back then?”

“Changnan Prefecture, Commander Lin.”

“Lin Bin¹⁶?”

Ye Mingxiu nodded. “Yes.”

Xiao Chuyu pondered for a moment, then sneered. “Then did you know that Empress Xianren was actually having an affair with Lin Bin?”

Ye Mingxiu was greatly shocked. “What?”

“Before Empress Xianren married the Late Emperor, she had a lover. That was Lin Bin.”

This was a secret Xiao Chuyu had once discovered by accident, because she had personally seen Empress Xianren and Lin Bin being intimate in the palace. Later, she secretly investigated and learned of their entangled relationship.

“Now, we can be certain that the Ye family was, from beginning to end, just a chess piece played in the palm of Empress Xianren’s hand. She used Lin Bin to frame your family for treason, and then she herself stepped forward to put your Ye family in her debt. I imagine this was so that when she made her move for power later, she could obtain the full support of the Ye family. That way, she could fight for power and firmly hold the winning ticket.”

At that time, the Ye family was practically like the sun at midday¹⁷. Whomever the Ye family supported would be favored by the Late Emperor.

“As for Lin Bin, once his usefulness was over, he naturally had to be eliminated to prevent future trouble.”

“That is why when Commander Lin was dispatched by Emperor Chongming to Mobei to reward the army, he was intercepted and killed by mountain bandits on the way. They didn’t even leave a complete corpse for Lin Bin.”

Ye Mingxiu’s eyes stared and his mouth was agape, his heart filled with lingering fear.

Now, when it came to her heart being ruthless and her hand being spicy¹⁸, who could possibly rival Empress Xianren?

Xiao Chuyu closed her eyes. “So, Gu Wen Nuan told you that Empress Xianren had saved your Ye family, and you, determined to repay the favor, went to the Imperial Prison to see Zhen.”

Ye Mingxiu nodded.

“And how do you suppose Zhen knew that Su Hong had a beloved?”

Ye Mingxiu’s eyes shifted. “It was Gu Wen Nuan who told you, correct?”

Xiao Chuyu smiled. “Mhm. She told me long ago that Su Hong had a beloved, and that this person was his weakness. At the time, Zhen didn’t know why she told me this, but when Zhen was in the Imperial Prison with nowhere to turn, that information became Zhen’s turning point.”

Emperor Chongming believed in gods and buddhas, and in his heart, Imperial Preceptor Su Hong was like a deity. It so happened that year that the Ming’an Kingdom was suffering from many disasters. Su Hong deliberately claimed that Ming’an Kingdom’s fortune was exhausted, which made Emperor Chongming turn pale with fright. He begged Su Hong to defy the heavens and change their fate. Su Hong feigned difficulty and began to calculate the heavenly secrets, saying that Xiao Chuyu’s birthdate¹⁹ was that of a person who possessed great fortune. He claimed that a person with this birthdate could ensure the country’s prosperity and could protect their closest relatives, allowing them to attain the Dao and ascend to immortality and take their place among the celestial ranks²⁰ after death.

This miraculous-sounding pronouncement from Su Hong directly led Emperor Chongming to release Xiao Chuyu and re-appoint her as Crown Prince, to reside in the Eastern Palace. Emperor Chongming naively believed that by doing this, he could beg for the protection of the buddhas.

Xiao Chuyu lowered her gaze, her expression complex. “Gu Wen Nuan set up a very large scheme. She schemed everyone into it, including herself.”

“Her goal was to have me ascend to this supreme position, and for herself, she chose a path of certain death.”

“She forced Zhen to kill her with my own hands, to fulfill Zhen’s heroic plan and hegemon’s enterprise²¹.”

Xiao Chuyu’s voice began to tremble. Tears slid silently down her face, dripping onto her pale, trembling knuckles.

She said, gritting her teeth, “She really is…”

…so terrible.

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