I've Decided To Be This Tyrant's Dark Moonlight - Chapter 83

Wei Ying was silent for a long time, and the palace-system chick didn’t speak either.

She hadn’t thought about “obedience” for a long time. Now that it suddenly came up tonight, she realized everything was still clear as though it happened yesterday.

Wei Ying hugged her knees, buried her head in her arms, took a long breath, and when she raised her face again, her expression had been restored. She carefully took out the flowers by the window one by one, rearranged them, then went to the table and patiently sorted the scattered items back into the cabinet.

After pacing around the room in what looked like busy work but was actually aimless, she returned to the bed, pressed her palms together, and said to the palace-system chick:

“Little Chick, good night.”

Palace-system chick: “Good night, Host.”

Wei Ying smiled. Somehow this scene felt strangely familiar, reminding her of when she was a child.

After that time she nearly dismantled the little robot, she resigned herself to the fact that her parents were always busy and couldn’t stay by her side. From then on, she got along with the little robot much better.

Every night before bed, she would obediently lie down, wear her little pajamas, pull the quilt up to her chest, press her palms together, and sweetly say good night to the robot. The robot would reply “Good night,” then switch off the lights and sit beside her until she fell asleep.

Wei Ying closed her eyes. It felt as if she were back in her childhood again—still that little girl who owned a tiny planet, fell asleep hugging fairy tales, and had nothing in the world to worry about.

But where had that little robot gone?

She furrowed her brows, suddenly realizing that her childhood companion had been missing for a very long time.

After her parents went missing in that accident, she had been sent to a welfare home. As for the things in her old house… perhaps they had long been sold off.

Her little planet, her little robot, her fairy tales, and the bright, beautiful childhood she once had had all disappeared into the boundless night, buried beneath stardust.

She turned to her side with a low sigh.

In truth, she wasn’t all that sad. If one wanted to live well, the first lesson was to learn how to accept loss. After all, life was nothing but a cycle of constant losing.

After a while, when she still couldn’t fall asleep, Wei Ying sat up again.

The palace-system chick asked: “Host, can’t you sleep?”

Wei Ying flopped back down like a salted fish in despair: “Sigh, if the moon doesn’t sleep, then I won’t sleep either. Why should I? Let’s go have some fun!”

Palace-system chick: …

So Wei Ying crawled out of bed, got dressed, carefully avoided the palace maids and guards, and slipped away like a mischievous sprite.

She ran all the way to Cuiyu Tower, where the emperor lived. At the foot of the building, she lingered, hesitating whether to go up. What if the emperor was already asleep? Besides… she didn’t really have anything to say. She’d just wandered around and somehow ended up here.

She thought of the summer, when she lived at the summer retreat. Back then, the emperor had secretly hidden beneath the willow trees, peeking up at her in the tower. Only a few months had passed, and now the positions were reversed: the one below and the one above had switched places.

When Her Majesty paced beneath those willows, gazing up at the bright moon through the branches—what had she been feeling then?

Wei Ying tried to put herself in the emperor’s place, but before she could, her mind filled with the image of that girl quietly weeping under the grapevine trellis.

She thought of how the emperor had been all alone at sixteen. How she had grown up with no kin. How she had watched, with her own eyes, as the person she revered and loved died before her.

She thought of how that little girl had already fallen for someone, treating them as if they were her sun and moon—only to discover that the one she loved had no heart at all.

The more Wei Ying thought, the heavier her chest felt. Her eyes grew damp, her heart aching.

She crouched down, tugged and plucked at clumps of foxtail grass, yanking stalk after stalk until nearly the whole bush was stripped bare. Only then did she stand again, lifting her gaze toward the tower.

The lights inside still shone brightly.

Like a thief, she crept around to the back of Cuiyu Tower and, through an open lattice window, caught sight of the emperor’s quiet profile.

A sliver of carved window had been pushed open, letting out a soft yellow glow.

Yun Shao sat by the window, head lowered over state documents. Her pale lips were pursed; her eyes gleamed with a faint, ruthless sharpness. A few loose curls had slipped from her immaculate golden crown, falling against her bloodless cheeks.

Wei Ying squatted beneath a tree, still like a thief, gazing upward. She always felt that the emperor, when dealing with state affairs, seemed like an entirely different person from when facing her. She propped her chin on her hand, halfheartedly holding up a nearly bald clump of foxtail grass to cover her face.

The palace-system chick fell silent again: …

Wei Ying murmured: “She looks so, so…”

Palace-system chick: “So fierce?”

The emperor, immersed in government work, had eyes sharp as blades. The brush in her hand looked like an executioner’s knife; the vermilion ink at the tip dotted the silk folds like splashes of blood.

Wei Ying whispered, breath catching: “So alluring! No wonder they say women look most beautiful when they’re working.”

The palace-system chick wisely offered no opinion.

Wei Ying sighed. “So being emperor is really miserable. 007 shifts with no breaks. Honestly, it would’ve been better if she hadn’t become emperor. Anyway, she’s emperor now, and I still haven’t finished my mission.” She exhaled in frustration, noticing that the emperor had lowered her head as if looking this way. Startled, she quickly raised the foxtail grass again, camouflaging herself as a bush.

But Yun Shao had only flicked her brush aside, leaning over the desk, gazing at the moon outside the window. Whatever thought crossed her mind, her lips curved faintly upward.

After a while, she bent her head again and picked up another memorial, diligently reviewing it.

Wei Ying lowered the grass and muttered, “Seriously? More memorials? If she just worked harder during the day, she wouldn’t have so many piled up.”

The palace-system chick thought, Isn’t that because you’ve been distracting her all day?

This demon concubine!

But the demon concubine was efficient with missions, even if she loved exploiting loopholes. After thinking it over, the palace-system chick admitted it was rather fond of her antics.

It asked gently: “Host, since you’re already here, why not go up and see her?”

If the emperor discovered her visiting late at night, surely she would be touched. Then, the path to being favored above all consorts, even ascending to the Empress’s seat, would be right before her eyes. What a beautiful future!

Wei Ying: “System, since I’m already here, how about you give me a mission? Otherwise, I have no motivation.”

The palace-system chick was silent for a long time before it said: “Host, can’t you stop being such a dog for even one moment?”

Wei Ying spread her hands. “Our bond is shallow, built only because you spent money.”

Palace-system chick: “I won’t!”

Wei Ying: “Then neither will I!”

The palace-system chick had never seen such a shameless host. She was only a few steps away from entering and spending time with the emperor, but instead she squatted in the bushes haggling. Infuriating! And yet, there was nothing it could do.

Wei Ying declared righteously: “My labor is expensive. I must defend my worker’s rights!”

Finally, the palace-system chick, unable to stand it any longer, shouted angrily: “Fine, fine! I’ll give you a mission, dog host!” A sly idea suddenly struck it.

If it set an impossible mission, then the host would fail, collapse in tears, and taste defeat.

With a sly grin, it thought darkly: Dog host, you forced me to this! I used to be a kind and upright system, but battling wits with you every day has turned me into this.

Wei Ying, still squatting with her foxtail grass, teased: “System, hurry up and assign me one, or else the emperor will fall asleep.”

The palace-system chick chuckled, a sound that made Wei Ying wary.

“Very well. The mission is issued. Host, listen carefully,” it said coldly. “You must serve the emperor in Cuiyu Tower’s bed—serve her until she’s satisfied, until she’s delighted!”

Wei Ying froze, eyes wide.

The palace-system chick crossed its little arms, smug. A mission this difficult—whether she completed it or not, it would win either way.

After a pause, Wei Ying slowly said: “System, you’ve grown ambitious.”

Palace-system chick: “Hmph. Woman, I am state-of-the-art intelligence.”

Wei Ying thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, I’ll try. But—you’ll have to pay me more.”

So the two of them haggled back and forth beneath the tower until finally Wei Ying, foxtail grass still on her head, climbed up to Cuiyu Tower.

The guards recognized her, surprised for a moment, but didn’t stop her. The emperor had long decreed that Wei Ying could go wherever she pleased.

Wei Ying gently pushed open the door. She gazed at that slender backlit figure by the window, watching for a long time before softly clearing her throat.

Yun Shao stiffened at once. Without turning, she instantly recognized Wei Ying’s voice. Eyes wide in disbelief, she tossed the vermilion brush onto the memorial, instinctively straightened her robes, then turned toward her. “Yingying! Why are you here?”

She hurried to the door, eyes fixed on Wei Ying. A faint blush colored her pale cheeks. After the initial joy, she frowned slightly: “It’s so late and Yingying still hasn’t slept. Is something troubling you?”

Before Wei Ying could answer, she added softly: “Or… did Yingying miss me?” Her gaze rippled, lips curving: “These past few nights, I’ve been the one accompanying Yingying to sleep. Tonight I didn’t go, so Yingying missed me instead, didn’t you?”

Unable to help herself, Yun Shao chuckled, lowered her head, and gently held Wei Ying’s hand. Her fingers brushed something rough and scratchy. Frowning, she looked down—and discovered Wei Ying was clutching a bunch of foxtail grass.

A bunch already nearly bald.

Wei Ying had forgotten she was still holding it. Naturally, she shoved it into the emperor’s hands. “I thought it looked nice along the way, so I picked it for Your Majesty.”

Yun Shao’s eyes lit up, lips tugging upward as she hugged the foxtail grass to her chest, reluctant to put it down.

She murmured softly: “Since Yingying gave this to me, I’ll declare it our national grass, to be revered by all.”

Wei Ying panicked. “No, no, no!”

For the sake of ecological balance, she absolutely couldn’t let the emperor issue such a decree.

Thinking quickly, she said: “If you declare this one today, then what about next time when I give you another flower or plant?”

Yun Shao asked quietly: “Yingying will give me more flowers?”

Wei Ying hesitated. “…Yes, if Your Majesty likes them.”

Yun Shao smiled sweetly, cradling the scraggly foxtail grass as if it were a priceless treasure. She whispered: “I will like anything Yingying gives me.”

The moment she saw Wei Ying, all state affairs vanished from her mind. She threw aside the brush, closed the memorials, and let the instincts of a besotted ruler take over.

Yun Shao even dug out a row of exquisite vases from her room, lined them up, and asked Wei Ying which one best suited the foxtail grass.

Wei Ying sighed. Every vase here was worth a fortune, priceless antiques—and now they were being used to hold this scrappy, bald little bunch of grass. What a waste.

She casually pointed at one that looked plainer and cheaper. Yun Shao immediately praised her: “Yingying truly has an eye. You chose this rarest piece at a glance.”

As she spoke, she placed the foxtail grass into the vase, then cupped her face in her hands, gazing at the grass. The more she looked, the more she liked it, smiling like a fool.

Wei Ying found her silliness irresistibly cute and couldn’t help smiling too.

The palace-system chick reminded her maliciously: “Host, don’t forget your mission.”

Wei Ying stiffened. She turned, lifted the curtain, sat down on the bed, and said to Yun Shao:

“Your Majesty, let’s do something fun.”

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