I've Decided To Be This Tyrant's Dark Moonlight - Chapter 71

Wei Ying pursed her lips, while the palace schemer in her mind kept chattering, constantly plotting strategies.

Yun Shao lowered her head, looking somewhat sad, her feather-like eyelashes trembling, and the corners of her eyes tinged with a pitiful red, as if she were about to cry.

Wei Ying’s heart softened slightly. She cleared her throat twice, forcing herself to look away, and sneered, “How does His Majesty know what fragrance Qianxue’s powder is?”

Yun Shao froze, her reddened eyes staring at her.

Wei Ying answered for her: “Because it’s the rose-scented powder His Majesty once gave Qianxue.” She sat down and started unreasonably dredging up old grievances: “Back then, His Majesty favored Qianxue so much, giving her everything.”

Yun Shao blinked her watery eyes, tilted her head, and quietly asked, “Wei Ying… are you jealous?”

Wei Ying: …

Jealous? She already knew this was just the influence of the original storyline.

Yun Shao carefully tugged at her sleeve and softly said, “It’s my fault. Don’t be mad, Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying patted her head, “Alright, I’ll reluctantly forgive you.”

Yun Shao smiled and then asked, “But why did you go to Qiao Qianxue’s bed in the middle of the night?”

Wei Ying groaned, pinching her brow. Yun Shao took the opportunity to snuggle closer, resting her chin on her shoulder.

“Your Majesty,” she sighed. Managing time is so difficult. She had wanted to be fair to everyone, but His Majesty simply wouldn’t allow it—insisting that she favor only her.

Yun Shao obediently tucked in her chin and nuzzled against her, smiling: “Aren’t you going to give me an explanation?”

Wei Ying countered: “We are all Your Majesty’s women. You want me to call Qianxue over to sleep together?” She rose to fetch Qianxue, but Yun Shao quickly held her, wrapping her in an embrace.

Wei Ying smiled, “Not calling her?”

Yun Shao pouted: “No.” After a pause, the emperor helplessly said, “I can never do anything about you.”

Wei Ying: Hehe.

She sat back on the bed. The beauty in her arms lingered, insisting on rubbing off the rose scent from her body before stopping.

Wei Ying looked at the emperor, smiling: “Your Majesty, really not calling Qianxue over? If she comes, you could enjoy the best of both worlds.”

Yun Shao ran her fingers through Wei Ying’s cool, silky hair, murmuring, “No. I only want Wei Ying, no other woman, only you.”

Wei Ying tried reasoning: “How can that work? Your Majesty should share affection. There are so many sisters in the harem; neglecting any of them is bad—they’d feel lonely.”

Yun Shao: “…So that’s your reason for warming their hearts?”

Wei Ying smiled.

Yun Shao bit her lip, and after a long moment, said: “When I eventually dismiss the harem, then no one will be neglected.”

Then no one would need Wei Ying’s warmth anymore.

Wei Ying paused for a moment, then casually smiled, tilting her head at the emperor: “Are you serious, Your Majesty?”

Yun Shao nodded, looking at her earnestly. Her black eyes were like obsidian soaked in water, and her pale lips slightly parted. This sharp, exquisite beauty, a ruthless young emperor to everyone else, in front of Wei Ying always had moist eyes full of tender affection—soft, obedient, and pitifully submissive, making one unable to bear it.

Wei Ying slowly said: “Your Majesty, you shouldn’t like me this much.”

Yun Shao’s eyes reddened further, hugging her arm without speaking.

Wei Ying looked elsewhere; the osmanthus in the corner had been drenched by cold rain, scattering jade-like petals across the ground. After a moment, she quietly said, “Liking someone like me is very hard.”

Yun Shao buried herself in her, and after a long while, stubbornly said: “But I insist.”

Wei Ying helplessly closed her eyes.

——

Three days passed quickly.

Wei Ying and Qianxue left their happy home and returned to Yulu Palace.

The autumn hunt was held as usual this year. The imperial consort would definitely attend; the other accompanying concubines were Wei Ying, Qianxue, and Li Pin.

Li Pin was a little confused: “Why is it me?”

Qianxue smiled: “The Empress ordered sister to go out and stretch her legs.”

Li Pin sighed sadly, holding an osmanthus branch: “How could the Empress remember me? I’m just a foot-washing maid.”

Qianxue: “How could that be?”

In reality, Li Pin was filling in because no one else could take the spot.

The Empress and the virtuous consort were busy with palace affairs; Shufei and Gong Beinu feigned illness; the other concubines had little interest in the hunt.

Li Pin sniffled: “I knew it. I’m only remembered when no one else can go.”

Qianxue tried comforting her without success, and signaled Wei Ying.

Wei Ying put down her book and smiled: “Sister, at least you’re one of the Six Concubines. If anything, we’d be your foot-washing maids.”

Li Pin shook her head, frowning: “With you favored by His Majesty, you’ll soon surpass me. Alas,” her eyes teared up, “my younger sisters are so capable, and I am the worst.”

Wei Ying: “Then should I ask His Majesty to come and keep you company?”

Li Pin quickly shook her little head, refusing: “No, no, better not. His Majesty is fierce, but if you two could often come and keep me company, that would be great.”

Wei Ying smiled: “That’s exactly why we accompany you to the hunt.”

Li Pin: “But I’m bad at riding.”

Qianxue promised: “Sister, you’ll ride with me. I’ll take you on the horse! I ride very well!”

Finally, Li Pin’s mood lifted, smiling and nodding lightly.

Wei Ying continued reading the book. Night fell without her noticing.

Someone gently pushed open the door, adjusting the lamp, instantly brightening the room.

Wei Ying thought it was Green Wax, and without looking up said: “Go sleep early tonight. No need to serve me.”

After waiting a moment, the person didn’t leave but sat across from her. Wei Ying looked up and saw the Empress quietly sitting by the lamp.

“Empress?” Wei Ying was surprised and delighted: “Why are you here so late?”

Yue Qinghui looked a little thinner, smiling faintly: “You’re about to leave soon; I came to see you off.”

Wei Ying frowned in curiosity. She had been out before—to the hunting ground or the summer villa—yet the Empress had never personally seen her off.

But the Empress didn’t mention the reason, so she didn’t ask.

Noticing the book in Wei Ying’s hands, Yue Qinghui became interested: “This one… do you remember it?”

Wei Ying: “Hmm? Remember what? I just flipped it out of boredom.”

Yue Qinghui nodded, expression neutral, resting her chin on her hand, staring at Wei Ying. Wei Ying felt uneasy under her gaze, frowning: “Your Highness?”

Yue Qinghui smiled softly, voice gentle: “Wei Ying, what do you think of this book?”

Wei Ying nodded: “It’s quite good.”

Yue Qinghui responded with a soft “Hm,” then covered the flickering lamp and continued sitting silently, like meditating.

Wei Ying sensed she had something on her mind, so she quietly waited. After a while, Yue Qinghui sipped her tea and said softly: “Sometimes I dream of when I was at the academy.”

Wei Ying sat upright, brushing away her usual laziness, looking at her attentively.

Yue Qinghui slowly spoke: “Back then, we were young. If anything happened, there was someone to rely on, someone to confide in. They would also tell me how to move forward.”

“Now I realize, no one can make decisions for anyone. We are all born into a fog, and perhaps even she has her own dilemmas.” Yue Qinghui sighed, relaxing her tense body slightly, stretching her long legs on the couch.

Only in front of Wei Ying did the disciplined Empress show this relaxed side.

The lamplight cast warm yellow pools on the blue brick floor. Yue Qinghui looked at the illuminated area, smiling: “I just want to ask, if you want to do something that risks universal condemnation, but you feel it’s not wrong and harms no one, would you still go on despite the world’s judgment?”

Wei Ying pursed her lips: “Your Highness already has your answer, don’t you?”

She suddenly remembered the emperor’s words and couldn’t help but echo them with a smile: “The world be damned, yet I insist, I insist anyway.”

Yue Qinghui’s lips twitched into a smile, fingers unconsciously rubbing her palm, softly: “I insist, I insist anyway.”

To reach for the moon, to catch the turtle in the ocean;

To swim against the current when everyone else retreats;

Life is short. Some things are worth a lifetime’s courage. If you hesitate… how can you move forward?

Yue Qinghui smiled, bowing slightly: “Thank you for your guidance, Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying quickly waved her hands: “No need to thank me. Thank His Majesty.”

“Thank His Majesty?” Yue Qinghui was momentarily surprised, then her smile faded, returning to her usual solemn expression: “What did His Majesty say to you?”

Wei Ying: “Nothing at all.”

Yue Qinghui lowered her gaze, lips slightly downturned, and after a while whispered: “Don’t believe everything His Majesty says; the emperor’s mind is layered, and the monarch’s heart is hard to fathom.”

Wei Ying squinted, saying nothing.

Yue Qinghui clenched her hand briefly, then slowly relaxed it: “Besides, His Majesty has… always been fond of deceiving people.”

Wei Ying raised her brows in surprise: “You were together with His Majesty as a child?”

Yue Qinghui shook her head: “Just a few encounters.”

Few encounters, and none pleasant.

She remembered back then, not understanding how that girl could ascend the throne.

The girl had always been gloomy, pale, quietly observing from the shadows, seemingly out of place in the world.

Yue’s treasured daughter had always been free-spirited and excellent in the academy, always the best in every subject, adored by all.

So she had looked down on the gloomy girl, never imagining she would become the young emperor atop the golden hall.

Now, in hindsight, she had been too proud and arrogant, yet Yun Shao was not entirely blameless.

Yue Qinghui smiled, recounting an old story.

She first met Yun Shao in the summer of the sixteenth year of Qingyuan. Missing her senior sister in Shengjing, she secretly snuck out of the academy, hitching rides with merchants, arriving safely.

However, her senior sister was furious upon seeing her, and after ensuring she was unharmed, picked her up and placed her on a stone table under a grape arbor, taking a vine to spank her.

She cried helplessly, unaware of the dark black eyes watching from behind the arbor, startled.

The girl hid, revealing only a pale half-face, her deep black eyes secretly observing them.

Yue Qinghui, sensitive to emotions since childhood, immediately noticed the desire and envy in those eyes.

She actually envied being spanked!

The young Yue Qinghui shivered and stopped crying.

The senior sister lowered the vine, worried: “Did I hurt you? Was it too hard?”

Actually, it wasn’t heavy.

Recalling this, Yue Qinghui smiled, not embarrassed by the spanking—after all, she had snuck out, causing her sister to worry. But the girl’s deep black eyes left her with lingering fear.

Even the spanking… she envied.

Such a person.

Yue Qinghui sipped her tea, shaking her head, smiling: “I really don’t understand people like that.”

Wei Ying suddenly asked: “Did it hurt, Your Highness?”

Yue Qinghui paused: “No, it didn’t,” tilting her head in slight distress. “I would rather my sister spank me, but no matter what I did, she only did it once. She hides herself too deeply; a beauty apart from the world, appearing gentle and approachable, yet no one can truly reach her heart.”

The Empress pondered for a long while, then said: “It’s like locking yourself in a brightly lit, cold palace, hoping someone will come, but if they enter, all the lights go out.”

Wei Ying smiled wryly: “People like that are really hard to deal with.”

Yue Qinghui looked up at her slowly: “Not hard to deal with. I like them. Everyone likes them.”

She set down the tea, gave Wei Ying a faint smile, and walked into the ink-dark night.

Wei Ying lowered her gaze, resting on the book, her hand slowly stroking the yellowed pages.

——

The sky was crisp and clear, deep blue like a pool, almost dripping with color.

The autumn hunt took place at this time. A grand procession left the palace. The emperor rode a tall horse, clad in armor, the sunlight outlining her clean, sharp features. She glanced back at Wei Ying, smiling faintly, a small shadow under her deep brows.

Wei Ying sat in the carriage, calculating when the assassin might strike.

Pei Jian escorted her out of the city on horseback.

Outside Shengjing, he knelt to bid farewell.

Yun Shao dismounted, helped the young man up, and whispered: “Qing, Shengjing is in your hands.”

Pei Jian bowed: “I understand!”

Yun Shao sighed softly: “You are a lonely minister, I a lonely ruler.” Without waiting for his reply, she patted his shoulder and returned to Wei Ying’s carriage.

The procession moved slowly forward.

The sun had been beating down all the way; Yun Shao’s cheeks flushed. She loosened her tight collar, revealing half her clavicle and fair skin, casually glancing at Wei Ying, noticing her distracted gaze, and huffed in dissatisfaction, snuggling closer.

“Wei Ying, what are you thinking?”

Wei Ying shook her head: “Nothing.”

Yun Shao softly “hmph,” grabbed her sleeve, and soon fell half-asleep, head resting against the window, hair messy on both sides.

The carriage shook; her head bumped, making a crisp sound each time.

Seeing her bump several times, Wei Ying felt pity, gently leaning over so Yun Shao could rest her head on her shoulder. Yun Shao nuzzled twice, humming in contentment, then closed her eyes.

Wei Ying smiled lightly.

The palace schemer alerted: “Host, the assassin is coming! Mission: Protect the emperor in the host’s place. Reward: one card draw (guaranteed blue card), Fusion +10.”

Wei Ying: Yay!

“Let’s redeem a card first!”

Palace schemer: Yay!

“What card do you want, host?”

Wei Ying tilted her head, smiling: “Exchange points for a blue card: Invincible.”

Palace schemer silently applauded and mourned for the assassin.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the carriage. The carriage jolted; the emperor fell forward. Wei Ying reacted swiftly, catching her, seeing her frown as if waking, and decided to cover her ears.

The carriage curtain was flung open. A masked man in black leaped in, freezing upon seeing them hugging.

The assassin carried a knife, and seeing the composed imperial consort, he felt fear for the first time.

Too calm.

Wei Ying calmly looked up: “Hurry, strike me.”

Her composure made the assassin hesitate. Was there a trap? Why was the concubine so calm? She should be screaming in terror.

The assassin took a deep breath. As a death warrior, he shouldn’t feel fear. Pointing at the sleeping emperor, he shouted the ritual: “Dog Emperor! You are tyrannical and favor the concubine! You shall be killed!”

Wei Ying frowned: “Keep your voice down.”

The assassin: …

He decided not to overthink and swung the knife with all his strength. The blade hit with a loud crack, expecting blood to spurt.

The assassin rubbed his eyes.

No blood spurted; the blade had bent.

Wei Ying smiled: “Try again. You can do it!”

Outside, the commotion grew louder. People rushed over. The assassin, knowing time was short, swung again. The knife cracked in two, falling to the ground.

The assassin’s pupils widened in shock.

Wei Ying sighed: “Who sent you? Not even given a decent-quality blade.”

The carriage curtain lifted again. Eunuch Fushou and attendants scrambled inside, kneeling and shouting: “Your Majesty! Are you alright?”

They were stunned by the bizarre scene inside.

Wei Ying: “Shh… keep it down.”

Support