The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 39

Hearing that tone, Shen Lingyan knew immediately who it was. She simply didn’t look up, turning away to avoid Zhou Jin’s gaze.

Zhou Jin, however, brought a stool over herself and sat down beside Shen Lingyan. She casually picked up a plate of pastries and offered it to Shen Lingyan: “Your Majesty must be hungry, right? Only if you eat dare, we eat…”

Shen Lingyan, with a dark expression, picked up a piece of pastry and put it into her mouth. In fact, she wasn’t hungry; when she woke up and was getting dressed in the morning, Yun zhu had already managed to feed her a few bites.

However, both of them were thinking that Ji Xi had run around for so long without eating breakfast, and if she didn’t have some pastries now, she might starve.

As Shen Lingyan delicately chewed the pastry, she sized up Zhou Jin, feeling very puzzled. She hadn’t expected Zhou Jin to have such a thoughtful side.

Ji Xi sat blankly between the two of them, unsure why a sudden pang of bitterness rose in her heart. While still in a daze, Shen Lingyan handed her a piece of pastry, smiling approachable: “Eat your pastry quickly. Aren’t you tired after playing cat-and-mouse with us all morning?”

Ji Xi accepted the pastry, and upon hearing Shen Lingyan’s words, she shyly lowered her head again. She had just taken a bite and hadn’t had time to swallow it when she heard a rumble of thunder outside. It was going to rain again.

This rain was different from usual. Normally, it would be cloudy for a long time, brewing the rain, but this time, heavy rain poured down just moments after a few claps of thunder.

The room instantly grew much darker. Yun zhu led the palace maids to light candles in Chaohui Palace. Ji Xi held the pastry, sitting by the window, watching the spring flowers in the courtyard being beaten by the rain. A cold wind kept blowing in. Shen Lingyan brought a cloak and draped it over her: “I know you’re in a bad mood right now, but don’t catch a cold. Wear this.”

Ji Xi nodded in thanks and let out a long sigh. There seemed to be moisture on her face, but she couldn’t tell if it was tears or raindrops.

Shen Lingyan looked at the pouring rain outside. Perhaps affected by the environment, she felt a sense of unease in her heart.

Zhou Jin walked over but didn’t hold Shen Lingyan’s hand as she usually did. The smile had completely faded from her face, and her words were as cold as the pervasive rain: “Are you comfortable using the political power after taking it? What’s your reason for not letting Ji Xi leave?”

Shen Lingyan’s heart sank, and she stared in disbelief at Zhou Jin’s unwavering eyes: “What do you mean by that? Doesn’t the political power rightfully belong to me?” Shen Lingyan tried to evade the question, hoping to escape Zhou Jin’s inquiry. Unfortunately, the more Shen Lingyan acted like this, the more Zhou Jin noticed the discrepancy.

“I’m only giving you two choices now: either secretly hand the political power back to me, or hand Ji Xi over to me.” Zhou Jin’s tone was extremely cold, facing Shen Lingyan as if she were a little rabbit waiting to be slaughtered.

Shen Lingyan’s eyes widened, and she was almost breathless with anger: “Zhou Jin, what do you mean by this? Are you threatening me?”

Shen Lingyan felt for a moment as if she didn’t recognize Zhou Jin. The person in front of her was frighteningly unfamiliar.

“Zhou Jin… what exactly do you mean…” Shen Lingyan bit her lip fiercely, controlling her volume. She pulled Zhou Jin to a place where Ji Xi couldn’t see them, her eyes bloodshot.

Zhou Jin tightly clenched her hands, her lips moved, but she ultimately said nothing. Just as the two were locked in a standoff, someone violently pushed open the wooden doors of Chaohui Palace. Carried by the wind and rain, the cold armor looked terrifying in the candlelight. Ji Xi was startled and hastily stood up, hiding behind the screen.

“Who is so ill-mannered?” Shen Lingyan was already upset, and being disturbed now made her even angrier. She walked out of the corner, emanating hostility.

However, seeing a soldier in full armor in the depths of the palace surprised Shen Lingyan. Apart from the patrolling guards, Shen Lingyan had never seen anyone dare to walk around the Imperial Palace wearing armor. Now, this soldier was not a guard, carried weapons, and had barged straight into Chaohui Palace. Something was clearly wrong.

“What happened!” Shen Lingyan walked over and first took the soldier’s weapon, then stared intently at him kneeling on the ground, covered in raindrops.

“Reporting to Your Majesty… The border is on the verge of collapse. The brazen minor state has already captured a city. If the imperial court does not send reinforcements immediately, I fear…”

“What??!” Shen Lingyan was stunned. She had never expected that a reckless minor state would dare to invade at her most relaxed moment, and had already captured a city?!

Zhou Jin also heard the conversation from behind. She immediately darted out, grabbing the soldier’s armor, and fiercely demanded: “When did this happen? Why are you the only one reporting?”

The soldier knelt there trembling, pulled out Dai Junwu’s waist token, and handed it up with both hands: “I encountered General Dai on the way here. General Dai has already led his personal troops forward and specifically ordered this humble one to come to the Imperial Palace to request reinforcements.”

Shen Lingyan and Zhou Jin’s faces grew darker as they examined the token. It was genuine. Dai Junwu, who had just been encouraging Shen Lingyan in the imperial court, was now already rushing to the border.

“I understand, you may withdraw for now.” Shen Lingyan instructed. The soldier knelt outside the door, ostensibly withdrawing, but actually waiting for Shen Lingyan’s decision.

“According to what we discussed, you should lead the troops in the punitive expedition,” Shen Lingyan mimicked Zhou Jin’s icy demeanor. Zhou Jin didn’t seem afraid of Shen Lingyan like this, still leaning there and negotiating conditions with Shen Lingyan.

“It’s not impossible for this Prince to go on an expedition. The two conditions I mentioned just now, Your Majesty, which one can you satisfy?” Zhou Jin’s appearance was somewhat provocative, making Shen Lingyan want to rush up and hit her, but she still restrained herself: “You have the nerve to call me selfish, yet now, with a great enemy before us, aren’t you also using those two conditions to delay me?!”

“You are the sovereign of the nation, the first Empress. And I am merely a small Regent Prince. People are inherently selfish…”

“Zhou Jin!!” Shen Lingyan felt a rush of sweet blood rising in her throat, accompanied by a violent cough. She opened her mouth and spat out dark red blood. Everyone fell silent…

“Shen Lingyan!!” Zhou Jin was no longer wearing that expression. She ran forward in a great hurry, immediately embracing Shen Lingyan to keep her from standing there any longer. However, Shen Lingyan, furious, directly pushed Zhou Jin away, blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.

“Someone, take Zhou Jin down and hold her, awaiting orders…” Shen Lingyan commanded weakly. All the imperial guards rushed out from the surroundings and held down Zhou Jin’s shoulders. The highly skilled Zhou Jin would normally not be troubled by them, but now that Shen Lingyan was in this state, Zhou Jin dared not go against her wishes and obediently allowed herself to be restrained.

“My Empire cannot be ruined in my hands! Zhou Jin…” Shen Lingyan wanted to say something more, but suddenly her vision went black, and she fainted, falling straight backward. Seeing this, Zhou Jin immediately broke free from the restraint and caught Shen Lingyan just before she hit the ground.

“Shen Lingyan! Summon the Imperial Physician! Summon the Imperial Physician!!” Zhou Jin had never been so distraught. Even the first time she killed someone, she didn’t blink an eye; a person whose heart was cold from the inside, yet now lost control for Shen Lingyan’s sake.

Yun zhu scrambled out, and the entire Chaohui Palace was in chaos. The soldier kneeling outside looked bewildered. He then dropped his weapon and also rushed into Chaohui Palace. The heavy rain outside never stopped, with thunder rumbling and lightning flashing through the clouds.

Shen Lingyan had been carried to the bed. Calming incense was lit by the bedside, lingering around the bed frame like smoke in the rain.

Everyone was kneeling on the floor in a cluster, only Zhou Jin sat by the bed, holding Shen Lingyan’s cold hand, occasionally bringing Shen Lingyan’s hand to her own cheek to warm it.

Qi Mian, who had willingly crippled his own martial arts, endured the bone-chilling pain and walked in, asking, “Your Highness, why did you do this…”

Qi Mian was asking Zhou Jin why she had pressured Shen Lingyan, but Zhou Jin seemed to be in a daze, repeating only one sentence: “I’m warming Yan yan’s hand so she won’t be cold when she wakes up…”

As she spoke, she reached out to wipe the blood from the corner of Shen Lingyan’s mouth, lightly smeared it on her own wrist, and stared blankly at the patch of red.

“Empress Sister coughed up blood…” Zhou Jin was terrifyingly still, as if her sanity had suddenly fractured. Seeing Qi Mian arrive, Ji Xi instinctively retreated to the furthest corner. The room was eerily quiet.

Zhou Jin stared blankly for a long time before finally remembering the situation at the border. She looked at the kneeling soldier and coldly ordered: “Qi Mian, first lead the Regent Prince’s personal troops and elite guards to the border as support. This Prince will follow in a few days…”

Although Qi Mian’s martial arts were crippled, the Regent Prince’s residence had many elites. They naturally understood Zhou Jin’s intention. Seeing that Zhou Jin could still make careful judgments, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was good that she hadn’t gone mad.

But just as they relaxed, their hearts leaped to their throats again. Shen Lingyan’s condition was not good. Even though she was unconscious, she kept coughing, and blood continued to seep from the corners of her mouth.

Zhou Jin kept using a handkerchief to wipe her, until the handkerchief was stained bright red. Unable to stop it, she could only cover it with her hand, but the blood always flowed out between her fingers, impossible to staunch.

“Where is the Imperial Physician?!!” Zhou Jin shouted again, sending several more people to summon the Imperial Physician. However, the rain outside was too heavy, the journey was extremely difficult, and the Imperial Physician could not arrive quickly.

Fortunately, Shen Lingyan stopped coughing after a while and fell into a deep sleep, like the Sleeping Beauty, without a sound.

Just a moment ago it was coughing, now it was too quiet. Either way, it was nerve-wracking. Seeing Qi Mian leave, Ji Xi finally dared to kneel closer and hold Shen Lingyan’s other hand.

But her tone was very low: “Your Highness, is my background the reason for your argument…”

Zhou Jin froze. Didn’t Ji Xi know her own identity? She wanted to discuss it with Ji Xi but couldn’t calm her mind, so she simply waved her hand, telling her to sit down for now and wait until Shen Lingyan woke up.

“Your Highness!! The Imperial Physicians you asked us to find have arrived!!”

Ji Xi looked up. Good heavens, not just one Imperial Physician; almost half of the Imperial Hospital had been mobilized.