The Cannon Fodder Was Pampered By The Tyrant - Chapter 3

“Idiot.”

Lin Yutian scrambled out of Si Yan’s embrace, her original purpose completely forgotten. Her voice trembled with grievance. “It was clearly you who grabbed my waist just now.”

Si Yan remained unmoved. Instead, the hand supporting her waist tightened, pulling the distance between them even closer. “Who can prove that?”

“I am the Emperor. What I say is the truth.”

The smile faded from Si Yan’s ink-black eyes. “I can punish you however I please. Beheading in the streets or feeding your flesh to dogs, the choice is not yours to make.”

“So, do not dream of bargaining with me.”

Lin Yutian’s lips turned slightly pale, she was truly terrified now. But things had already reached this point, she had no other choice.

With their chests pressed tightly together, Si Yan could feel the girl’s heart racing violently.

A flicker of doubt crossed Si Yan’s mind. Is she really this easy to scare? Did she receive no training before coming here?

No matter who sent her, an assassin should have undergone layers of training. They would never end up in a state like Lin Yutian’s. Moreover, if the enemy knew of Lin Yutian’s supposed deep affection for her, they wouldn’t have made such a reckless decision.

Before Si Yan could finish the thought, she felt a cold sensation against her neck.

Lin Yutian was now straddling her, holding a hairpin against Si Yan’s throat. In an instant, a red mark appeared on Si Yan’s fair, delicate skin.

Lin Yutian was determined to leave. At worst, she would face torture. Since things had come to this, she had to find a way back.

Si Yan offered no resistance. She curled her lips into a smile, her voice as pleasant as a spring breeze. “Lin Yutian, you want to kill me?”

Lin Yutian looked at her in surprise, wondering how Si Yan knew her name, but she forced herself to remain calm. “Yes.”

“You tyrant! I’ve endured you for long enough! Even if I die, I will kill you to rid the people of this scourge!”

Excellent.

Classic NPC dialogue.

It would be insulting not to be angry after hearing that.

Yet, after hearing those words, Si Yan’s indifferent and exquisite face actually broke into a laugh.

“Rid the people of this scourge.”

She repeated the words slowly.

“Then do it.”

Si Yan tilted her chin up, her voice light and relaxed. “Stab it in.”

“Kill me, and you can walk out of this room. If you can’t,” Si Yan’s smile widened, “don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

Lin Yutian’s hands were shaking uncontrollably, and her heart was in a panic.

Why is it going like this?

Shouldn’t Si Yan be snatching the weapon away, kicking her aside, and barking orders for the guards to drag her out?

“Why haven’t you moved yet?” Si Yan said lazily. “Can’t bear to part with this tyrant?”

She reached out and forced Lin Yutian’s hand to press the hairpin deeper into her neck. Bright red blood began to trickle down.

Lin Yutian’s face turned deathly pale. She instinctively tried to withdraw her hand, but Si Yan pinned it in place, leaving her unable to move.

“Do you need me to help you?”

Blood stained Si Yan’s neck, yet she continued to smile as if the person wounded wasn’t her.

Madwoman!

Lin Yutian had only intended to use the weapon as a hollow threat. She couldn’t stand the sight of blood, the memory of her parents’ death was a lifelong trauma she could never forget. Though she had spent years trying to heal, the sight of the blood on Si Yan’s neck triggered those buried memories.

Lin Yutian’s complexion turned ghastly. In the next second, she vomited all over Si Yan.

Si Yan’s brow furrowed. Noticing that Lin Yutian’s expression was wrong, she immediately asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Lin Yutian was completely lost in her own world. Seeing that something was seriously amiss, Si Yan quickly struck the back of Lin Yutian’s neck with her palm.

A moment later, the girl collapsed limply beside her.

Si Yan shouted sternly, “Summon the Imperial Physician!”

Inside the Imperial Bedchamber.

The young Emperor stood to the side, brow slightly knit, her voice heavy. “How is she?”

The physician was breaking out in a cold sweat. She withdrew her hand and knelt on the floor. “There is no great danger. However, this lady has long suffered from pent-up emotional stagnation, leading to poor blood circulation. Coupled with the sudden fright just now, her reaction was quite severe.”

The physician spoke slowly, observing Si Yan’s expression with every word. She didn’t dare mention that the girl had essentially been scared unconscious, the “emotional stagnation” was just a professional embellishment. After all, no one knew if Si Yan would have her head on a whim.

Fortunately, the frigid aura surrounding the young monarch seemed to thaw slightly.

Si Yan listened, but her gaze never left the thin, delicate figure on the bed. Lin Yutian had been cleaned up and was now dressed in inner robes, her lips parched and peeling as she lay there quietly.

The scenes from last night and this morning played back in Si Yan’s mind.

Her intuition told her that Lin Yutian’s presence by her side was by no means voluntary. If she really came to find her out of love, there was no need for this method, nor a need to feign amnesia.

Even if she truly had amnesia, why would she smash the porcelain and light the aphrodisiac incense the moment she managed to become a maid in the palace?

But if she were a spy sent by another country, why would she be afraid of blood? Why would she be so terrified of her?

No matter how skilled a person is, a heartbeat cannot be faked.

“Your Majesty, shall I prescribe some medicine for her?” the physician asked tentatively, peeking at Si Yan’s face.

Si Yan was naturally suspicious; as long as there was even a possibility of a spy, she would never let it go.

She stared at Lin Yutian’s small, thin face for a long time before giving a cold “Mm.”

Realizing her head was safe for now, the physician breathed a sigh of relief. “Your Majesty, I shall take my leave.” She grabbed her medical chest and hurried out.

Si Yan walked to the bedside, looking down at Lin Yutian with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze.

Then, she sat on the edge of the bed and said softly, “So timid, and so delicate.”

She scrutinized Lin Yutian closely, her gaze finally landing on the girl’s hands. They were hands with slight calluses, but they bore no traces of any combat or weapon training.

Ultimately, she couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch Lin Yutian’s cheek, her voice filled with complex emotions. “Are you really a spy or not?”

Five years is more than enough time for things to change and people to become unrecognizable. Si Yan had understood this truth since childhood in fact, she had seen many people reveal their dark, predatory fangs when she was very young.

Yet, when facing Lin Yutian, she found herself unable to use cold logic to judge. Even knowing she might be a spy, even knowing she might no longer be the person from the past.

Suddenly, there was a sound at the door.

“Your Majesty.”

Si Yan closed her eyes briefly. “Enter.”

A guard entered, eyes fixed straight ahead, holding a dossier. “This is the matter you ordered me to investigate.”

After taking the dossier, Si Yan said calmly, “You may withdraw.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Once the door was fully closed, Si Yan waited for a moment of silence before slowly unfurling the document. It contained a detailed record of Lin Yutian and her relatives. As she scanned the contents, the coldness in Si Yan’s eyes finally began to soften.

The record showed nothing out of the ordinary.

Though she knew that anyone truly intent on infiltrating the palace to assassinate her would find it easy to forge official records, still…

A monarch who had always lived by the code of “better to kill a thousand innocents than let one guilty person escape” suddenly thought that perhaps, for once, she should trust the odds and not be so suspicious.

Lin Yutian was having a dream, one she hadn’t had in many years.

Her father was driving, her mother was in the passenger seat helping him navigate, and she was lying in the back seat reading a book.

But in the next second, a cry rang out in her ear: “Something’s wrong!”

Then, Lin Yutian remembered the world turning upside down. Everything went black. When she woke up, her entire body was in agonizing pain, and the sound of sirens wailed nearby. When she reached out to feel her surroundings, her hand came back covered in bright red blood. Looking ahead…

Lin Yutian woke up with her forehead drenched in sweat. Her chest heaved, and her small face was deathly pale.

Si Yan had been sitting by the bed watching her all afternoon. Seeing that Lin Yutian was in distress, she reached out and tapped her cheek to wake her. “What’s wrong?”

Still submerged in the dream, Lin Yutian’s almond-shaped eyes filled with tears as she stared blankly at Si Yan. She hadn’t had this nightmare in a very long time. It had been five years since the incident, she had slowly begun to recover, and as long as she didn’t consciously think about it, the nightmares stayed away.

Si Yan raised a hand to wipe away her tears. “Speak.”

Only then did Lin Yutian realize where she was. She instinctively shrank back. She hadn’t forgotten Si Yan’s fierce expression from that morning, nor the fresh blood on her neck.

Si Yan’s neck had already been bandaged now, only the snow white gauze was visible.

Assuming the girl was still terrified of the threats made earlier that morning, Si Yan softened her voice. “I won’t kill you for now. Don’t cry.”

Lin Yutian became even more guarded. She immediately grabbed a pillow and held it in front of her like a shield. “I don’t believe you.”

A person like Si Yan would surely wait for her to let her guard down before delivering a fatal blow.

Si Yan: “……”

The two stared at each other for a long time, but the scene Lin Yutian imagined didn’t happen. She was filled with doubt, how could she still be alive after stabbing Si Yan? Was there some even more horrific execution being prepared outside? Perhaps as soon as she stepped out the door, she would see two guards holding wooden planks, saying sinisterly, “After you.”

In the next second, Si Yan snatched the pillow from her arms.

Startled, Lin Yutian instinctively tried to pull it back.

Si Yan gave a light scoff. “If I truly wanted to kill you, how long do you think you’d last with just a pillow?”

Lin Yutian thought about it and realized she was right, so she could only let Si Yan force it out of her grip. Her mind was clearer now, and she suddenly remembered that before she fainted, she had seemingly vomited all over Si Yan.

I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead.

Since Si Yan bothered to have her treated, she must be planning some elaborate way to torture her. Lin Yutian felt a wave of regret. If she had known, she should have just jumped into the river yesterday and ended it all.

“Does your body still feel unwell?” Si Yan asked.

Lin Yutian grew alert. Why was Si Yan suddenly concerned about her physical condition? She studied Si Yan’s expression and answered tentatively, “…It feels very comfortable?”

“?”

Sensing the hesitation in her voice, Si Yan looked into Lin Yutian’s eyes. They were as clear as ever.

Lin Yutian wasn’t sure how to answer. It felt like any answer would lead to her death. Even pigs are played soothing music before they are slaughtered to keep them relaxed.

Si Yan couldn’t help but sigh. She lightly flicked Lin Yutian’s forehead.

“Are you stupid? You don’t even know if your own body feels unwell?”