I've Decided To Be This Tyrant's Dark Moonlight - Chapter 18

Gongbein looked up sharply. “What are you smiling at me for?”

Wei Ying curtsied respectfully to the consort and said, “Thank you for helping me out last time, Consort. I’m very grateful.”

Gongbein’s face flushed. She let out a soft snort. “I didn’t do it to help you on purpose. I would never intentionally help you!”

She recalled how she had originally intended to harm Wei Ying, but somehow, she had inexplicably ended up helping her instead. Thinking about it now still made her so angry!

Wei Ying bent down and gave Gongbein three respectful bows.

Gongbein asked, “What are you doing now?”

Wei Ying smiled. “Bowing to you to show my gratitude.”

Gongbein was furious and exasperated. “You… you…”

Even though the way Wei Ying expressed her gratitude was a bit strange, her expression was incredibly sincere, which made it difficult for Gongbein to get angry.

Xiao Qianxue stood to the side, covering her mouth as she giggled like a hamster. “Giggle, giggle, giggle.”

The Palace Intrigue System couldn’t bear to watch. It’s over. The female protagonist and the host are becoming more and more alike. Even the way they laugh is exactly the same!

Gongbein glared at Xiao Qianxue, her voice sharp. “What are you laughing at?!”

Xiao Qianxue’s eyes widened. “Wow, Yingying smiled at you and you didn’t scold her, but I didn’t even smile at you and you’re so mean to me.”

Gongbein didn’t know why, but whenever she saw Xiao Qianxue, a surge of anger would rise in her, making her feel restless. She just wanted to hit her! Humiliate her! See her look depressed!

Whenever she imagined Xiao Qianxue’s pained and conflicted expression after being humiliated, or fantasized about her silently shedding tears, with teardrops rolling down her cheeks, Gongbein felt a strange sense of happiness, excitement, and even a weird thrill.

She lifted her chin, nostrils flaring, and let out a huff. She glanced sideways at Xiao Qianxue and Wei Ying standing together. They were both equally charming and beautiful, and they seemed to be getting even prettier.

Gongbein pursed her lips in a huff, feeling even more frustrated.

Xiao Qianxue took Wei Ying’s hand. “Yingying, let’s go over there and pick some fresh osmanthus flowers. We can go back to the palace and have the Empress make us some osmanthus jam.”

“Wait!” Gongbein stormed in front of them, blocking their path.

Xiao Qianxue crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, not at all willing to back down. “What is it now, Consort?”

Gongbein said, “I know you two want to curry favor with the Emperor at the Mid-Autumn Festival feast. Humph, I advise you not to humiliate yourselves. You can’t compare to me.”

Seeing the two of them frown, Gongbein unconsciously puffed out her chest, feeling happy again.

Wei Ying said to her system, “Sometimes I really envy villains. Their happiness is so simple and pure. They have little joys every day.”

The Palace Intrigue System replied, “I see you’re pretty happy yourself.”

Wei Ying sighed with a world-weary air. “Sigh, you don’t understand the pressure a cute and clever person like me has to endure.”

The Palace Intrigue System was speechless.

Wei Ying saw that the female protagonist and the villain were on the verge of a conflict. She frowned. If these two started to bicker, the “dog emperor” would have to appear. Since she couldn’t pull a blind box right now, she decided it was better not to let the dog emperor out. She had to resolve this everyday argument between the protagonist and the villain quickly.

“Little Chicken, use the ‘Heart Flutter’ card.”

Gongbein was in the middle of a heated argument when her body suddenly trembled. She stared at Xiao Qianxue, her beautiful, limpid eyes filled with an unspoken emotion.

Xiao Qianxue asked, “What are you doing?”

Gongbein covered her face, her cheeks blushing crimson. “You look so… so pretty when you’re arguing.”

Xiao Qianxue froze.

Three seconds passed quickly. Gongbein, realizing what she had said, was also stunned.

She stood under the flower tree, staring wide-eyed at Xiao Qianxue.

Gongbein covered her mouth, thinking, Why am I praising her again? I was supposed to be scolding her. But the sunlight fell on the person in front of her, bathing her in a light gold, making Xiao Qianxue’s skin look as white as snow and her features as beautiful as a painting.

Gongbein’s heart pounded. She thought, But this person really is so beautiful.

After thinking it over and over, she could only conclude that she was an honest person and couldn’t tell a lie.

Xiao Qianxue blinked. “You’re not arguing with me on purpose, are you?”

Gongbein stomped her foot, her face a mix of embarrassment and anger. “Of course not! Is there a conflict between me disliking you and me thinking you’re beautiful? No! I’m just being honest and refusing to go against my own heart!”

Xiao Qianxue was speechless. She had to admit that what Gongbein said actually made a lot of sense.

After explaining for a long time, Gongbein finally covered her face and ran away shyly.

Xiao Qianxue watched her retreating back for a long time before saying with a complicated expression, “Do people in the city all play like this?”

Wei Ying laughed softly. “That’s right, they do.”

For the next while, Gongbein didn’t come to bother them. The autumn wind in the Hall of Jade Dew was still as boisterous as ever. After being tormented by Consort Xian for several days, Wei Ying finally decided that even if she never got to eat good pastries again, she would not practice dancing!

She was tired.

The young woman lay sprawled on the bed, her body limp as if she had no bones.

Xiao Qianxue tried to pull her up. After much effort, she finally managed to, but the beauty collapsed onto her, weakly coughing twice. She lifted a delicate, boneless arm and touched Xiao Qianxue’s cheek. “Qianxue, I… I can’t go on. Cough, cough. Remember to take good care of our child after I’m gone.”

Xiao Qianxue was speechless.

After a long moment of silence, she finally spoke. “Yingying, the Consort said you don’t have to practice dancing today.”

Wei Ying’s coughing suddenly stopped. “Cough?… Yay!”

The person who had been on the verge of death a moment ago immediately leaped from the bed, cheerfully ran to a chair made of rosewood, grabbed a pot of tea from the table, took two sips, and then ran outside to bask in the sun.

Xiao Qianxue pursed her lips, unsure what to say. She went to join the young woman and they sat together in the sun.

They lay on bamboo loungers, feeling the warm sunlight spilling from the eaves, and squinted their eyes in contentment.

Immersed in the warm sun, Wei Ying closed her eyes in satisfaction. Suddenly, she smelled a fragrance. She opened her eyes to see Lu La holding a few plates of pastries.

Lu La said with a smile, “Consort Xian instructed that since the two masters have been working hard recently and don’t have to practice dancing today, they should rest well and eat something.”

Wei Ying picked up a piece of osmanthus cake. Lying on the bamboo chair, she thought, Life in the harem is so extravagant and decadent. It makes one lazy. Ah, tears of satisfaction are ungracefully flowing from the corners of my mouth.

Xiao Qianxue was still worried. “Yingying, what are you going to do? The Mid-Autumn Festival feast is almost here. Last time, Consort Shu and the others were giving you a hard time. If you don’t perform well this time, I’m afraid they’ll start again.”

Wei Ying said, “It’s alright, don’t worry. I’ve decided what I’m going to perform. Every person has their strengths and weaknesses. My dancing skills are too poor. If I go up there and dance, they will probably laugh at me even more. It’s better to perform something I’m good at.”

Xiao Qianxue’s eyes lit up. “Really? Are you going to do ventriloquism again? But the Empress Dowager said this feast is only for singing, dancing, and musical instruments. Nothing else is allowed.”

The Empress Dowager’s original words were that no vulgar things from common folk should be brought into the palace to corrupt the palace’s morals. By banning ventriloquism, she was also subtly scolding Wei Ying.

Xiao Qianxue felt that this was an injustice to her friend.

Wei Ying smiled and took out a handful of melon seeds to share with her, munching away. “It’s fine, don’t worry. You’ll find out on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival feast.”

Xiao Qianxue also began munching on melon seeds.

Alright, she thought. Yingying always finds a way!

However, even the Palace Intrigue System was unsure of what its host was going to perform. It was very curious and tried to sound her out.

Wei Ying remained calm. “You’ll find out tonight.”

The Palace Intrigue System was shocked. Why tonight?

Wei Ying smiled. “Because it’s a secret.”

The Palace Intrigue System had many questions in its little head. When evening came, it saw the host rummaging under her bed, and then she pulled out an erhu. The system was completely stunned.

It could barely speak. “Y-y-you, are you sure you’re going to play the erhu at the Mid-Autumn Festival feast? Aren’t you going to get executed?”

Wei Ying had a somber expression. “It’s all to complete the mission.”

The Palace Intrigue System said, “Doesn’t the mission say to stun everyone? Do you understand the word ‘stun’?”

Wei Ying said, “Of course I do. Nobody understands it better than me. Sigh, this is one of only two instruments I know how to play.”

The Palace Intrigue System asked, “Don’t you know one more?”

Wei Ying said, “The other one is the suona.”

The Palace Intrigue System fell silent.

Wei Ying started walking outside, coughing weakly. “If my body wasn’t so weak and my breath so short, I’d play the suona instead.”

The Palace Intrigue System thought, No, you would not.

She couldn’t practice the erhu in the Hall of Jade Dew. Wei Ying could already imagine Consort Xian and Xiao Qianxue’s reactions to her taking out an erhu. After much thought, she decided there was a perfect place in the palace for her to practice the erhu.

She pushed open two doors. “Ghost lady, I’m back!”

The ghost lady seemed to be absent tonight, but for Wei Ying, this was a good thing.

After all, it wasn’t very considerate to play the erhu next to a person in the middle of the night.

Wei Ying sat down on the steps, took out her beloved little erhu, and began to play a tune so mournful it would break your heart.

Just then, a group of eunuchs approached the long-abandoned palace with lanterns.

“Look, this is… this is the place,” said Little Liu, his face pale as he pointed the way, afraid to get closer.

He had been scared three times already! The first time, he saw a pale-faced ghost at night. The second time, the ghost even spoke to him, claiming to be a palace maid from the Hall of Stored Beauties.

Fortunately, he was smart enough to notice the bloody footprints on the ground and was able to escape. He had tried to get a job guarding the storeroom so he wouldn’t have to encounter ghosts, but who knew…

Who knew that a while ago, the abandoned palace next to the storeroom started echoing with the ghost’s mournful screams again.

A cold wind blew by. Little Liu pulled his clothes tighter, his face tear-streaked. “I-I’m not going any closer. If you’re curious about the ghost, you can go see for yourselves.”

The ones with him were all young eunuchs who had just entered the palace and had not yet been tormented by the deep palace. They were hot-blooded and didn’t believe in ghosts.

The tallest eunuch held up his lantern and scoffed, “I don’t believe in ghosts. You must have been mistaken.”

Little Liu refused to go, but the other eunuchs pushed him forward. He was terrified, his face turning white. “Don’t, don’t go! There really is a ghost! Ah, help!”

The leading eunuch said disdainfully, “There are no ghosts in this world. You’re just talking nonsense. You’re probably trying to find an excuse to get a good job working during the day. Don’t even think about it. I’m going to expose your scheme today.”

The moment the group pushed open the doors, a chilling gust of wind blew at them. A mournful tune echoed through the palace courtyard.

The young eunuchs’ faces immediately turned pale.

The sad and mournful sound of the erhu was like the resentful sigh of a female ghost, like a wisp of smoke, drifting in the wind.

The old red lanterns on the eaves swayed back and forth. They suddenly trembled violently in the wind, and a few of the young eunuchs trembled as well.

Little Liu’s heart pounded, and his palms grew sweaty. “Look, there really is… something. Let’s run.”

The leading eunuch was still trying to hold his ground. “I don’t believe it. Someone is probably pretending to be a ghost. When I catch her, I’m going to make her pay.”

He said this and suddenly felt a profound silence behind him. He turned his head and saw the remaining eunuchs staring ahead, their eyes wide with fear, trembling.

The leading eunuch followed their gaze and froze.

The sound of the erhu had stopped at some point.

A pale figure stood in the abandoned palace courtyard, her long hair reaching her waist.

She slowly lifted her head and floated toward them.

“A ghost!!!” Little Liu was the first to shout. He ran out of the courtyard in a panic. The rest of the eunuchs realized what was happening and scattered, screaming in fear. The abandoned courtyard became lively for the first time in a long time.

Wei Ying stared at their fleeing figures. “Ah, I wanted to explain myself. Why did they run away?”

She let out a sigh of disappointment, put down her erhu, and couldn’t help but say, “Some people are so low-key, yet they still become a legend.”

The Palace Intrigue System asked, “What kind of legend? Like Xing Tian dancing with his shield and ax?”

Wei Ying said, “An urban… a deep palace ghost story.”

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