Chapter 2: The Tyrant is Coming

Hearing this milky, soft voice, Emperor Qixuan’s mouth twitched, and he nearly tripped over the threshold.

A tyrant?!

Emperor Qixuan looked at the only baby in the room. It seemed his princess had quite a strong opinion of her imperial father.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

The crowd knelt down in a flurry.

"Everyone, rise."

Emperor Qixuan’s gaze lingered on Consort Shu first, then shifted away to look at the Empress. His tone was indifferent. "The Crown Prince is ill. Why is the Empress not attending to him in the Eastern Palace, but instead running over to Qionghua Palace?"

The Empress looked grief-stricken, glaring at Consort Shu. "If I hadn't come to this Qionghua Palace, I wouldn't have known that the Crown Prince’s illness was actually caused by someone!"

"Oh?"

Emperor Qixuan looked at the items presented by the eunuch with an unreadable expression. "Noble Lady Li, you have always been close to Consort Shu. What is your take on this?"

Yaoyao let out a milky, soft huff.

[Who is close to her? It’s clearly her who uses the excuse of visiting Mother every time to seduce this cheap father. To gain favor, she even imitates Mother’s style of dress and her mannerisms.]

Noble Lady Li bit her lip. She glanced at Consort Shu first, then said weakly, "Speaking from a personal standpoint, I naturally should believe in Sister, but..."

"Well said!"

Emperor Qixuan put down the talisman paper, interrupting her. He looked at Consort Shu with a reassuring expression. "I also believe in Consort Shu."

The Empress urged anxiously, "Your Majesty!"

Emperor Qixuan raised a hand to tell her to be patient, then called out to the outside, "Bring them in."

Two eunuchs dragged a palace maid inside. That maid was none other than Xu'er, who served Noble Lady Li.

Emperor Qixuan narrowed his eyes, casting a meaningful look at Noble Lady Li, his tone filled with murderous intent. "I presume you know by now that I have saved your life. Tell me everything you know, and I can spare you from death. Otherwise, for the crime of deceiving the Emperor, your entire clan shall be executed!"

Yaoyao’s eyes lit up. [Yo-ho, the tyrant’s IQ has come online. But how did he figure it out?]

Consort Shu looked at her daughter, who was wearing a blank expression. Could the Emperor also hear Yao'er’s inner voice?

Realizing this, she hugged the little one in her arms a bit tighter.

How would the Emperor treat Yao'er?

Seeing Consort Shu’s guarded expression, how could Emperor Qixuan not understand? Beyond anger, he felt more aggrieved. Wanzhi actually didn't trust him. Yaoyao was his daughter too; what could he possibly do to her?

Emperor Qixuan stood with his hands behind his back. In truth, he had been here for a while. After the morning court session, he went to the Eastern Palace and learned that the Empress had brought people to Qionghua Palace with ill intent. Fearing trouble, he had rushed over.

Having just heard Yaoyao’s inner voice, he had ordered someone to bring Xu'er over.

Xu'er knelt on the ground, looking panicked. "It was the Noble Lady. The Noble Lady bribed Nanny Zhao to add pollen to the Crown Prince’s clothing and food. After silencing Nanny Zhao, she bribed Xia Ci to frame Consort Shu."

"Shut up!"

Noble Lady Li no longer maintained her weak and fragile posture. "You lowly maid, how dare you slander your mistress! You truly deserve to die!"

Then, biting her lip with a tearful voice, she said, "Your Majesty, it’s not true. I didn't do it."

Xu'er took out a stack of papers. "Your Majesty, please take a look. These are the characters Noble Lady Li practiced to imitate Consort Shu’s handwriting."

Emperor Qixuan slammed the papers onto the table. "What do you have to say for yourself!"

His icy gaze swept over Xia Ci.

Xia Ci was terrified and had no choice but to confess. "It was Noble Lady Li who threatened my fiancé’s life; I had no choice but to comply. Furthermore, the little princess falling into the water was also designed by Noble Lady Li."

"Smack!"

Consort Shu walked over and slapped Noble Lady Li across the face. "I treated you like a sister, and you actually harmed my daughter!"

Noble Lady Li covered her face and threw herself at Emperor Qixuan’s side, tears shimmering in her eyes, looking pitiful. "Your Majesty, I am truly wronged."

The Emperor loved this look of hers the most. In the past, whenever she made this expression, the Emperor would agree to her requests. This time, he would surely soften his heart again.

Yaoyao curled her lip and leaned her head into her mother’s neck.

[What is she doing? Honestly, with this getup that looks seventy or eighty percent like my dear mother, making such a pretentious, affected pose is so disgusting. This couldn't be the cheap father’s twisted taste, could it?]

[Let me check... Ah, found it. When the cheap father once argued with Mother, he said he hoped Mother could be more docile and rely on men more. I didn't expect those words to be overheard by the then-Concubine Li... My god, so it really was the scumbag father’s fault.]

Hearing this, Consort Shu looked at Emperor Qixuan with suspicion. Was it really like that?

Emperor Qixuan, who had heard it too, naturally noticed Consort Shu’s gaze. He felt instantly ashamed and furious. He immediately pushed Noble Lady Li away and averted his eyes in disgust. Looking at her now, he only felt it was incredibly nauseating.

He had been truly muddled before. Someone like Wanzhi—how could just anyone imitate her?

"Noble Lady Li, for plotting against the Crown Prince and the Princess, framing a consort, and harming the innocent, you are hereby demoted to a commoner, confined to the Cold Palace, and shall be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation once the Crown Prince recovers!"

"Your Majesty! I didn't mean to, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Qixuan waved his hand impatiently. The personal eunuch, being tactful, gagged Noble Lady Li—no, now a commoner—and dragged her away.

[Tsk tsk, yesterday you were all lovey-dovey, and today you’ve cast her into the Cold Palace. Oh man, thy name is fickleness.]

Hearing this, Emperor Qixuan snatched Yaoyao from Consort Shu’s arms and pinched her cheek. You little ungrateful thing, who do you think he was backing up?

"Wuwu, it hurts." Yaoyao covered her pinched cheek, her large eyes instantly misting over. The pitiful little look made Consort Shu’s heart ache.

"Your Majesty, Yaoyao is still young, her skin is delicate." Consort Shu helped rub it, looking at the culprit with a reproachful gaze.

Seeing the red mark on the fair, tender little face, Emperor Qixuan rubbed his nose. He hadn't even used much force.

"Let Father see."

"Hmph!"

Yaoyao directly abandoned the scumbag father, throwing herself into her mother’s arms and burying her head in her mother’s neck, refusing to come out no matter what.

System: Detected that the host has changed her own destiny, counterattack progress +1, reward 5 points. Detected that the host has changed Consort Shu’s destiny, counterattack progress +2, reward 10 points. Current points: 15. Would you like to draw a prize?

[What? As your noble host, I changed my destiny and only got five points? Did you calculate that wrong?]

Yaoyao was very dissatisfied.

System: The progress is based on a comprehensive assessment, there is no error. So, host, would you like to draw a prize?

[What can points be used for?]

System: Drawing prizes and upgrading the system.

[What are the benefits of upgrading?]

System: After the system is upgraded, more functions can be unlocked to better assist the host.

[Will the good stuff in the prize pool increase too?]

System: That is correct, the rewards will be more generous.

[I see.]

[Then I want to draw! Give me a ten-pull first!]

System:...

If you weren't going to upgrade, why ask so much!

(End of chapter)