I've Decided To Be This Tyrant's Dark Moonlight - Chapter 15

The Empress Dowager didn’t sit with the children; instead, she returned to the main hall to rest.

After the Emperor realized she was a “bystander” in the situation, she sadly tucked the garlic clove into her sleeve and went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. No one knew what she said, but when Wei Ying left, the Empress Dowager didn’t punish her for clashing with Consort Shu. Instead, she gifted her a batch of high-quality spices and a maid.

In the original book, these two items were tools the Empress Dowager used to trap the female protagonist.

The spices, when smelled for a long time, would cause nightmares, making the female protagonist mentally unstable for a long period. And the maid, named Dong E, was an informant the Empress Dowager planted by the protagonist’s side.

Wei Ying shook her head and thought, “How vicious.”

Gong Dou Ji (the Palace Strife System) echoed, “That’s right, how vicious!”

Wei Ying: spits

Gong Dou Ji: spits

Then Wei Ying happily accepted the gifts from the Empress Dowager, and also managed to get some silk and accessories.

Gong Dou Ji: “…Is it really okay to let an enemy force infiltrate our ranks? You don’t have to use the spices, but that maid staying in the Jade Dew Palace is a hidden danger. Sooner or later, she will cause trouble.”

Wei Ying smiled, “This is no ordinary enemy force.”

Gong Dou Ji: “Then what is it?”

Wei Ying clenched her fist: “This is a free delivery of points!”

Gong Dou Ji: “It’s rare to see you so responsible about the mission.”

Wei Ying silently teared up. It’s only because of her bad luck that she couldn’t draw good cards, so she could only hope to exchange for new ones with points. This maid, Dong E, was the Empress Dowager’s confidant, and a high-level one at that. If she could be won over, it would definitely earn her a lot of points.

Maybe enough for a purple card!

Wei Ying, with her terrible luck, revealed a pre-gacha smile, looked at Dong E, and her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled at her.

Dong E smiled back, feeling a little shy.

The Emperor, standing to the side with the garlic clove in her sleeve, felt even more sour. “This person serves the Empress food, imitates a bird for her, and now even smiles so brightly at a mere maid, yet she only gave me a garlic clove.”

She sighed deeply.

“Initially attracted to Xiao Qianxue’s face, now her attention is always on this frail-looking girl.”

The Emperor and Empress left the Palace of Longevity together. The Empress turned back several times to say goodbye to Wei Ying, her eyes full of reluctance.

The Emperor: “…You’re so protective of her? Do you like her very much?”

The Empress sat beside her, poised and indifferent: “Since Consort Ying has entered the palace, she is… she is His Majesty’s woman. Besides, she has a weak constitution, so it’s natural for me to look after her more.”

Yun Shao (the Emperor) thought: “You were about to say ‘my woman,’ weren’t you?”

The Empress showed no expression: “I didn’t.”

Yun Shao was startled: “Did I say that out loud?”

The Empress: “Yes, you did. The women of the harem all belong to His Majesty, so you shouldn’t overthink things.”

Yun Shao’s ears turned slightly red. She crumpled her sleeve, her slender fingers clenched, and she coughed a couple of times to cover it up.

“Anyway, anyway,” she took a deep breath, “it’s a good thing for you sisters to be harmonious. Empress, you’ve worked hard managing the six palaces.”

The Empress: “Your Majesty, you also work hard managing state affairs.”

After their very superficial conversation, the Emperor and Empress parted ways. The Empress returned to her Palace of Eternal Spring, and the Emperor went back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to continue reviewing memorials.

Yun Shao buried her head in the memorials. Unconsciously, when she looked up again, it was already late at night. The food on the table had been reheated many times.

With Fu Shou’s help, she quickly finished her meal and went back to the memorials.

Fu Shou felt sorry for the young emperor and advised, “Your Majesty, please rest.”

The Emperor didn’t even lift her head and threw a memorial to him. Fu Shou picked it up and glanced at it. It was a letter of complaint from a local official, stating that some officials were using the new policies as a pretext to collude with local gentry and landlords to oppress the people, leaving them in a miserable state.

“I should rest? If they don’t stop, how can I rest?”

Fu Shou quietly placed the memorial back, “This servant just feels for Your Majesty.”

This empire was once glorious, worshipped by all corners, but by the time of Emperor Fengqi, it was no longer as prosperous as before. It was like a big tree that still looked magnificent on the outside, but was riddled with holes on the inside by pests.

Fu Shou knew the Emperor’s difficulties. He sighed softly and stood by her side until late into the night, when the sky turned into a dark curtain and was dotted with stars.

The Emperor walked out of the palace gate and stood on the marble terrace, gazing at the cold, bright moon.

Soon, it would be the Mid-Autumn Festival.

She closed her eyes and took off her golden crown. Her long hair cascaded like ink. The moonlight shone on her eyebrows and eyes, making them as cold as ice.

The Emperor was born with a beautiful face. Her features were delicate, her skin was extremely fair, and her eyebrows and eyes were very dark, creating a strong contrast. Her eyes were always misty and vast, and when she looked at people, she always gave off a feeling of distance and coldness.

A monarch’s heart holds a thousand secrets.

The Emperor’s eyes, looking through the upturned eaves and swaying palace bells in the night, saw the beautiful landscape and the common people.

After a while of gazing at the moon, she suddenly turned her head and asked Fu Shou, “Do you see…”

Fu Shou: “It’s a beautiful moon tonight.”

Yun Shao was silent for a moment, and clenched her hand. “Don’t look at the moon, look at me,” she paused, “What color is my hair?”

She thought of what she saw during the day and subconsciously frowned.

Fu Shou thought, “A monarch’s heart is hard to fathom, truly hard to fathom. Who would have thought the Emperor would make him identify hair color?” He clasped his hands, hesitated for a while, and seeing the Emperor’s frown getting tighter, he tentatively said, “The color of the Emperor?”

Yun Shao: “…”

Is the “color of the Emperor” green?

No one told her.

Wei Ying returned to the Jade Dew Palace from the Palace of Longevity. From a distance, she saw a figure standing at the palace gate, craning her neck to look in their direction.

“Yingying!” Xiao Qianxue ran over, her skirt lifted, out of breath. She looked like a tender yellow rapeseed flower swaying in the wind. “You’re finally back!”

Wei Ying jumped off the carriage and held Xiao Qianxue’s hand, thanking the eunuch who escorted her back.

The eunuch smiled, “The relationship between you two consorts is truly good.”

Xiao Qianxue looked at Dong E, who was following behind, tilted her head, and whispered, “Yingying, who is this?”

Wei Ying: “She’s a maid the Empress Dowager rewarded us with.”

Dong E’s heart stirred. She quietly remembered this sentence. Instead of saying she was rewarded to her, she said she was rewarded to “us,” which meant these two consorts were truly like sisters and had a close relationship. At night, she saw that Xiao Qianxue stayed in Wei Ying’s room and refused to leave, which made her even more certain of this.

“My ladies,” Dong E served them freshly brewed tea, “This is newly brewed Longjing tea.”

As she spoke, she naturally walked to the incense burner and placed the incense gifted by the Empress Dowager into it. Wisps of white smoke rose from the cloisonné-enameled bronze three-legged incense burner.

Dong E looked at the smoke, glanced silently at the two consorts who were chatting, and quickly walked out of the room.

“Wait.” Wei Ying called out to her.

Dong E looked a little nervous, her palms sweating. She pretended to look over naturally: “Is there something you need, my lady?”

Wei Ying smiled with a harmless and gentle expression, her eyes curved like kingfisher feathers. “Our rule here is to share good things with everyone. I’m not used to smelling incense, so let’s put this incense burner in your room.”

Dong E’s eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head in refusal.

But how could Wei Ying let her refuse? She smiled, “Since you’re here, we’re a family now. Don’t be shy. Green Wax, take someone to send the incense burner to Auntie Dong’s room. Remember to add incense for her regularly.”

Green Wax nodded in a soft, childish voice.

Wei Ying looked as kind as an old mother looking at her own daughter: “Auntie Dong is an old hand from the Empress Dowager’s side. You should learn from her. Even if you learn just a little, you’ll benefit from it for the rest of your life.”

Dong E was a little confused by Wei Ying’s exaggerated praise. She couldn’t tell if Wei Ying knew the secret of the incense or if she genuinely respected her.

After the maid left, Wei Ying continued to stick with Xiao Qianxue. Xiao Qianxue tilted her head and asked if the Empress Dowager had made things difficult for her.

“No, the Empress Dowager is very kind,” Wei Ying’s eyes curved. “She even said she’d take care of my side business in the future. She’s such a good person!”

Xiao Qianxue: ???

“Did your progress get that fast?”

Wei Ying: “I also ate hot pot with the Empress and the Empress Dowager.”

Xiao Qianxue: !!!

After a long pause, she asked carefully, “Was the Consort there?”

Wei Ying shook her head: “No. Didn’t you forget, the Consort went to rest a long time ago.”

Xiao Qianxue propped her chin up with her hands, a little disappointed: “I thought she would come back later… Yingying, you said the Consort’s back hurts. Is there anything I can do?”

Wei Ying: “You could send her some plaster?”

Xiao Qianxue: “Would that be too presumptuous?”

Wei Ying patted her on the shoulder and said earnestly, “True love needs courage.”

Xiao Qianxue gained courage from this sentence and nodded hard. “My family has a plaster recipe. I’ll go give it to the Consort in a few days!”

Wei Ying blinked: “Oh, she has a plaster recipe at home?”

She grabbed Xiao Qianxue’s hand excitedly: “Qianxue, you also have a side business now! This way, even if we fall out of favor and are sent to the Cold Palace, one of us can do ventriloquism and the other can sell plasters. We’ll definitely live better than others!”

Xiao Qianxue: “That’s right!”

Gong Dou Ji: “…You two, one the original female protagonist and the other with a system, why are you so enthusiastic about starting a business after falling out of favor?”

Wei Ying replied: “This is a plan for a rainy day. Didn’t Xiao Qianxue have a Cold Palace plot in the original book?”

Gong Dou Ji thought about the original plot and then looked at the two excited women. It suddenly felt a little scared.

“But,” Wei Ying changed the subject, “why do you admire the Consort so much? You two shouldn’t have had any contact before.”

Xiao Qianxue pursed her lips: “I’ve always admired the General Pei’s family for their loyalty and their dedication to guarding the border for the country. My family is from Yunzhou. My father told me that when the barbarians invaded when I was little, Yunzhou was almost lost. It was General Pei and his men who held the city and helped us repel the Northern Qi.”

Her eyes lit up: “They are heroes, and the Consort is a hero’s daughter!”

In her heart, the Consort was just like the cavalry that descended from the sky back then, draped in a thousand rays of light and stepping on colorful clouds. In short, she was super amazing!

Wei Ying applauded her: “That’s right! Let’s develop our side businesses. Even if we fall out of favor later, we can still go work for the Consort. You can apply plasters for her, and I can do ventriloquism for her!”

Xiao Qianxue’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Then should we fall out of favor now?”

Wei Ying patted her: “Don’t rush. First, we need to improve ourselves. What if the Consort also falls out of favor later? We can all live in the Cold Palace together and earn money to support the Consort!”

Xiao Qianxue was even more excited: “Should we go to the Cold Palace now?”

Wei Ying: “Fall out of favor, fall out of favor! Cold Palace, Cold Palace! Let’s go!”

Xiao Qianxue: “Fall out of favor, fall out of favor! Cold Palace, Cold Palace! Let’s go!”

Gong Dou Ji: “…You two are not right.”

Consort Xian walked to the entrance and heard the excited voices of the young women inside. She stopped and listened closely. As she listened, she couldn’t help but frown—

“Yo yo, check it out now, a set of falling out of favor and going to the Cold Palace?”

What are they doing?!

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