Empress, Can I? [Transmigration + GL] - Chapter 76

Noon passed quickly, and soon, dusk approached.

Xuan Jingchi grew anxious. If Meng Wan, Mr. Meng, and Chi Xiao didn’t find her before nightfall, she and Leng Qiuci—already dehydrated—would have an even harder time tomorrow.

She leaned out of the cave entrance, straining to look below. Just as the sun began to set, her sharp eyes caught sight of a soldier’s figure.

He completely missed the clothes hanging from the tree and walked right past.

Xuan Jingchi shouted desperately, “Hey! Hey! I’m up here! Look up!”

But the cave was simply too high—her voice didn’t carry. The soldier didn’t hear her and instead turned to leave.

No, no, they had to get his attention somehow!

Xuan Jingchi grew anxious and suddenly turned to Leng Qiuci, saying, “Quick, take off your outer robe! And give me the dagger!”

At these words, Leng Qiuci’s face turned ashen, and she swayed slightly, pressing the dagger against Xuan Jingchi’s neck. “You damn emperor! Lust has addled your brain—do you want to die?”

“No, no, no, don’t misunderstand! I want to wrap the dagger in your robe and throw it down so they can see us.”

“Why don’t you take off yours?”

“I already did! If I take off any more, I’ll only be left in my undergarments. I don’t mind, but I’m afraid you’ll think I’m shameless…”

To Xuan Jingchi, a modern person, wearing undergarments was no big deal—it showed less skin than a summer tank top and shorts.

Leng Qiuci snorted coldly but indeed took off her outer robe and handed the dagger over as well.

Xuan Jingchi repeatedly thanked her, hastily wrapping the bloodstained garment around the dagger before stepping back to the cave entrance.

The soldier was still searching nearby, not yet gone far. Xuan Jingchi raised the makeshift projectile, about to throw it, when she suddenly thought of something and turned to Leng Qiuci. “Miss Leng, you do it. You’ll definitely throw it more accurately than me.”

Leng Qiuci shot her a glare but stepped forward without hesitation. Taking the wrapped dagger, she focused on the soldier’s position, gathered her strength, and hurled it with force.

As the bloodied robe left her hand, both Xuan Jingchi and Leng Qiuci watched intently, tracking its arc through the air.

Just as it was about to hit the soldier—snap—it got caught in the branches of a large tree overhead…

Leng Qiuci: “…”

Xuan Jingchi: “…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, let’s try again,” Xuan Jingchi said, this time removing her inner robe, revealing the curves of her chest and the faint hint of cleavage beneath her undergarments.

“Damn emperor, you’ve got a nice figure.”

“Heh, thanks, thanks,” Xuan Jingchi replied, genuinely pleased by the compliment. She glanced at Leng Qiuci, comparing for a moment, then added, “Yours isn’t bad either.”

“What are you looking at? Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

Xuan Jingchi clicked her tongue inwardly. She was the one who looked at me first—I was just returning the favor. Tsk tsk tsk, she can look at others, but no one’s allowed to look at her? This Leng Qiuci is such a hypocrite.

She bundled her white undergarment into a ball, sighing, “I really didn’t want to do this—I’m afraid it might start a forest fire.” Then she set the makeshift bundle ablaze.

With a strong upward throw, a burning flame soared into the sky.

The burning clothes certainly succeeded in drawing attention.

“Look, what’s that?”

Finally, one of the soldiers searching the ground spotted it.

Meng Wan saw it too—a burning ball falling from the sky—and instantly realized, “It’s Her Majesty! Her Majesty and the others are still alive!”

They had been searching since dawn, scouring the area all day with no results, and morale had begun to falter. Though no one voiced it aloud, everyone understood the grim reality: a fall from such a high cliff would likely leave nothing intact. How could they possibly find a severed limb or broken body in such dense woods?

Minister Meng and Chi Xiao wore heavy expressions, silent and grim.

In the span of a single night, Meng Wan had nearly lost both the Emperor and Leng Qiuci. Overcome with grief and despair, she had frantically combed through the jungle, breaking down in tears multiple times.

Now, spotting the fireball in the sky, their spirits were instantly lifted, and they redoubled their efforts.

Meng Wan, her voice hoarse from crying, shouted, “Don’t just look at the ground—keep your eyes on the heights!”

No sooner had she spoken than another fireball shot upward. This time, Chi Xiao clearly saw its origin and pointed, shouting, “Over there! On the mountainside!”

Inside the cave, Xuan Jingchi stood at the entrance wearing nothing but her undergarments, her long legs bare. She turned back and said, “I’ve already taken mine off. Now it’s your turn.”

Leng Qiuci snorted. “If they still can’t find us, we’ll set the tree at the cave entrance on fire! A big blaze—they’ll definitely see it.”

Xuan Jingchi was stunned. “But when I suggested lighting a fire earlier, you stopped me, saying we’d choke to death on the smoke first!”

“Now we’ve got no clothes left to burn, so we have to use the tree,” Leng Qiuci retorted matter-of-factly.

So my undergarments were fair game to burn, but not yours?

So my legs are fine to expose, but not yours?

Xuan Jingchi was so furious her tongue twisted. She glared at Leng Qiuci. “You’re unbelievable! Leng Qiuci, today I finally understand what it means to be a hypocri—”

Leng Qiuci suddenly frowned. “Shut up!”

Xuan Jingchi obediently fell silent—she, too, heard movement below.

Peering out, she saw several people standing below, pointing and gesturing excitedly. When she realized they had finally spotted her outer robe hanging from a tree, she nearly burst into tears of joy. Waving her arms wildly, she yelled, “Here! Over here! Hey!”

Meng Wan rushed over and, faintly making out two figures in the cave above, tears of relief streamed down her face. “It’s Her Majesty and the others! They’re alive!”

When the rope was lowered, Yan Xing was the first to jump into the cave.

Xuan Jingchi’s first instinct was to step forward and thank him for coming to their rescue. But before she could take a single step, Leng Qiuci shot her a sharp glare.

Instantly, Xuan Jingchi remembered her current state of undress and how inappropriate it was. Like a startled rabbit, she darted behind Leng Qiuci, peeking over her shoulder.

To her surprise, the moment Yan Xing landed, he dropped to his knees, bowing his head, looking even more embarrassed than she was. He held up a bundle with both hands. “Minister Meng instructed me to bring this for Your Majesty and Miss Leng.”

Leng Qiuci stepped forward to take the bundle, forcing the barely clad Xuan Jingchi to cling to her like a shadow.

Opening the bundle, they found two outer robes inside. Xuan Jingchi was overjoyed and couldn’t help but praise, “Wan’er really thinks of everything!”

She had just reached for the plain-colored outer robe on top when Leng Qiuci snatched it away and shoved a pink one at her instead. Xuan Jingchi didn’t mind at all, immediately putting it on with delight. Leng Qiuci then picked up another outer robe, but held it in her hands for a moment, gently stroking the fabric before carefully putting it on.

After dressing, Xuan Jingchi even took a moment to smooth her hair before saying to Yan Xing, “Rise.”

Yan Xing seemed to finally exhale in relief. He stood up but still kept his head slightly bowed, not daring to look directly at Xuan Jingchi as he said respectfully, “This subordinate will escort Your Majesty up.”

Xuan Jingchi looked at the two hanging ropes and said, “Take Miss Leng up first.”

Yan Xing was startled and showed hesitation.

Xuan Jingchi said, “Don’t dawdle. The order doesn’t matter. Take her up first. I want to enjoy the sunset scenery here a little longer.”

“Yes!” Yan Xing obeyed, tugging on the rope as he said to Leng Qiuci, “Miss, please.”

To his surprise, Leng Qiuci glanced at Xuan Jingchi and said sternly, “I hate it when people are polite to me. You go first.”

Xuan Jingchi was touched that she hadn’t called her “damn emperor” and was even letting her go first. She stopped refusing and walked over, saying, “Wait here for a bit. Don’t be afraid—they’ll come down to get you soon.”

Leng Qiuci glared at her. “Are you going or not?”

Yan Xing was shocked. How dare she speak to the emperor like that? He couldn’t help but glance at Leng Qiuci, finding it strange that this assassin hadn’t taken the opportunity to harm the emperor while she was alone.

Xuan Jingchi was quickly pulled up. The moment she saw Meng Wan waiting anxiously at the cliff’s edge, she rushed over and hugged her tightly as if reuniting with her dearest loved one. “Wan’er, Wan’er, thank goodness you came to save me! Wuwuwu…”

Meng Wan hugged her back, choking up as she said, “This humble official was late in rescuing Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”

“No fault, no fault,” Xuan Jingchi mumbled, wiping her tears on Meng Wan’s shoulder when she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, making her hair stand on end.

Just then, Yao Xianhui’s voice asked from the side, “And who is this young lady?”

Xuan Jingchi quickly straightened up and turned around—sure enough, Leng Qiuci had already come up and was glaring at her with a dark expression.

“Wan’er, I owe Miss Leng my life down there. On my behalf, thank her properly.” After saying this, Xuan Jingchi turned to Yao Xianhui and asked, “Do you have any water?”

Yao Xianhui, flustered to see the emperor wearing her clothes, blushed. “Y-yes, this servant will fetch water for Your Majesty right away.”

“I’ll come with you,” Xuan Jingchi said decisively, following her toward the carriage. Yao Xianhui took out a waterskin, and Xuan Jingchi drank several gulps, feeling as though she had never tasted water so sweet before. Ah, the taste of H2O was truly wonderful.

Yao Xianhui noticed that although His Majesty appeared very thirsty, she only took a few sips and didn’t drink her fill from the waterskin. Blinking her eyes at Xuan Jingchi, who was dressed in pink fabric remarkably similar to her own, Xuan Jingchi smiled and asked, “Is this robe I’m wearing yours?”

Yao Xianhui blushed and nodded.

Xuan Jingchi glanced toward the cliffside and suddenly understood, laughing, “And is that robe on Miss Leng actually Minister Meng’s?”

“Yes. The situation was urgent, and we had no time to prepare new clothes for Your Majesty. My teacher and I could only offer one set each.”

Xuan Jingchi observed the two figures in the distance—clearly overwhelmed with emotion and concern, yet refraining from embracing each other. She shook her head with a chuckle before turning to see Mr. Meng and Chi Xiao approaching. After paying their respects, Mr. Meng proposed, “Since both testimonies and evidence are complete, Your Majesty should strike Yanzhou with swift justice—public trials to restore the imperial authority.”

Xuan Jingchi raised her head decisively. “Well said, Mr. Meng! To Yanzhou we go!”

Upon arriving in Yanzhou, Xuan Jingchi acted with lightning speed, arresting everyone from the prefect down to the county captains—a total of 139 officials, along with over twenty wealthy landlords and local gentry. The next day, she summoned the people of Yanzhou, beat the drums to open court, and held public trials. Illicit gains were confiscated on the spot—officials were dismissed, imprisoned, exiled, or executed as warranted. Meanwhile, extorted land deeds were returned to their rightful owners, granaries were opened for relief, and river embankments were rebuilt with dredged waterways.

Finally, Chi Xiao was appointed as the new Prefect of Yanzhou to oversee all affairs. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Chi Xiao kowtowed in thanks. Xuan Jingchi said, “You governed Yunzhou well—caring for the people and striving for good governance is loyalty to the court. I trust you will do even better in Yanzhou.”

The people of Yanzhou, witnessing the Emperor’s personal intervention—punishing corrupt officials, aiding the poor, and restoring land—were astonished and overjoyed. By the time Xuan Jingchi had accomplished all this, Wang Zhan arrived belatedly with 3,000 troops from Yunzhou. Stunned to see Chi Xiao and his 2,000 soldiers behind the Emperor, Wang Zhan could only stare.

Xuan Jingchi was equally surprised at his arrival. “Why are you here?”

Wang Zhan quietly explained everything. Learning it was the Empress who had given the order, Xuan Jingchi was deeply moved and impressed. She nodded. “Since you’re here, General Wang, stay and assist in disaster relief, reconstruction, and helping the displaced rebuild their homes.”

Then, Xuan Jingchi assembled the troops and addressed all 5,000 soldiers with fervor: “You were all born of parents and come from among the people. How can you stand idle while the people of Yanzhou suffer? Today it is Yanzhou—tomorrow, it could be your hometown, your own kin in distress. By helping them today, others will surely help your families in the future. From this day forth, you are not just my army—you are the people’s own soldiers! In war, defend the homeland; in peace, aid the people!”

Among the crowd, many scholars and literati, moved to tears by this unprecedented speech, cheered and applauded: “What noble words—’the people’s own soldiers’! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!”

Instantly, emotions ran high, and the roar of the people shook the heavens.