Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 2: Poisoned? The fetus is the antidote!

Wang Fu's scream could still be faintly heard outside the Cold Palace.

Shen Qingci had just caught her breath when the door was suddenly slammed open from the outside.

A girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in a faded palace maid's uniform, rushed in, clutching half a hardened cornbread in her hand.

She looked flustered, and her eyes were red; it was clear she had been crying.

"Your Majesty!"

The girl rushed to the bedside and saw that Shen Qingci's face still had some stale rice on it.

When she saw the bloodstained wooden hairpin on the ground, tears streamed down her face.

"Did they...did they bully you again?"

She frantically wiped Shen Qingci's face with her sleeve, her voice trembling.

"This servant was just called by Granny Liu to chop wood, and when I came back I heard the commotion... Your Highness, are you alright?"

Shen Qingci remained silent.

Memories belonging to the original owner surged up—

Jinshu, the personal maid brought into the palace from the Shen family, was also one of the maids who served in the palace during these three months.

The only one who didn't leave her and stayed with her when she was banished to the cold palace.

"I'm fine," Shen Qingci said, her voice hoarse.

Jinshu, however, seemed not to hear her, and was only concerned with checking her over to see if she was injured.

Only after confirming that it was just his face that he breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned to rush outside:

"This servant will go and reason with them! Even if Your Highness has been banished to the Cold Palace, you are still a mistress. How dare they—"

"stop."

Shen Qingci's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable coldness.

Jinshu stopped in her tracks, turned around to look at her, her eyes filled with incomprehension and grievance.

Shen Qingci sat up a little straighter, propping himself up on the edge of the bed, his gaze sweeping over Jinshu's swollen cheek—there was a clear, fresh handprint on it.

"What happened to your face?" she asked.

Jinshu instinctively covered her face, her eyes darting away: "N-nothing...it was just my own carelessness..."

"to be honest."

Three words, calm and undisturbed, yet they sent a chill down Jinshu's spine for no apparent reason.

Looking at her master on the bed, who seemed so weak that a gust of wind could blow him over, yet whose eyes were so cold that she dared not look him in the eye, her nose stung and tears fell again.

"It's...it's Eunuch Wang."

Jinshu lowered her head, her voice choked with sobs.

"He said Your Majesty, you don't have long to live, and told me to be sensible and follow him from now on..."

"When I refused, he beat me and even stole your only half-eaten steamed bun today..."

Shen Qingci closed her eyes.

The murderous intent surged in her chest for a moment, but she forcibly suppressed it again.

This body is too weak.

The force used to break Wang Fu's wrist had almost exhausted all of his strength.

She didn't even have the strength to stand up, let alone deal with that old eunuch.

Moreover... Wang Fu dares to be so arrogant, there must be someone behind him instigating him.

Turning against them now will only hasten my own demise; it will bring me no benefit whatsoever.

"Jinshu." Shen Qingci opened her eyes and looked at the little girl crying her eyes out. "Go and close the door."

Jinshu was stunned for a moment, but still obediently went to close the door.

"come over."

Jinshu walked over, and Shen Qingci raised her hand—this simple action made her vision go black.

She gently touched Jinshu's swollen cheek.

Jinshu flinched in pain but didn't flinch.

"Remember this slap." Shen Qingci's voice was soft, yet it was as cold as ice. "In the future, I will make him pay tenfold."

Jinshu stared at her blankly.

The Empress seems... different.

In the past, when the Empress was bullied, she would only cry secretly, and after she finished crying, she would comfort her by saying, "Just bear with it and it will pass."

But now, there are no tears in the Empress's eyes, only a chilling coldness.

"But Your Highness..." Jinshu bit her lip, "Eunuch Wang, he..."

"He won't live much longer."

Shen Qingci interrupted her, his tone as indifferent as if he were simply saying that the weather was nice today.

"But now, we must survive."

She gestured for Jinshu to help her get out of bed.

When my feet touched the ground, my legs were so weak I almost knelt down.

Jinshu quickly supported her, tears welling up again: "Your Majesty, please slow down..."

Shen Qingci didn't speak, but with Jinshu's support, she slowly looked around at this so-called "cold palace".

It's really cold.

It's early autumn, but the house is as cold and damp as a cellar.

The roof had several holes, and sunlight shone through them.

You can see dust particles flying in the air.

The window paper was mostly torn, and the wind was howling in.

Besides a broken bed and a table with a crooked leg, there were only a few bundles of dry grass piled in the corner of the room.

The only thing that was still relatively intact was a bronze mirror standing on the table.

The mirror surface was already mottled, and the reflections were blurry.

Shen Qingci walked to the mirror.

The person in the mirror had a pale, ashen face, unnaturally purplish-black lips, dark circles under his eyes, and was so thin that his cheekbones protruded.

Only those eyes—dark, deep, and cold, like a bottomless icy pool.

She raised her hand and took her pulse.

Ling Ye's medical knowledge surfaced in his mind.

The pulse is weak and disordered, and it feels as if the internal organs are being corroded by something, with vitality slowly and continuously being lost.

This is... a chronic poison.

And it's not just any kind of poison.

Ling Ye quickly searched his memory and finally settled on a name—

Zhu Yan died.

A slow-acting poison secretly concocted by the legendary Xiling Witch Kingdom.

In the early stages of poisoning, the patient's complexion gradually worsens, followed by weakness throughout the body, eventually leading to a silent death in their sleep.

When she died, her face was withered and aged, as if she had aged instantly, hence the name "Zhu Yan Di" (meaning "death of a rosy-faced woman").

This poison has a long incubation period and is not easily detected. By the time it is discovered, it has often penetrated deep into the internal organs, and there is no cure.

The person who poisoned her was determined to let her "die of natural causes" without leaving a trace.

What a ruthless means.

Shen Qingci's eyes grew even colder.

She continued taking her pulse, carefully sensing another life force within her body—

Weak, yet exceptionally tenacious.

Like a tender sprout emerging from a crack in the rock, it desperately absorbs every bit of nourishment despite the harsh environment, struggling to survive.

The pulse indicates that the fetus is approximately two months old.

What shocked Shen Qingci the most was that... this fetus was actively absorbing the toxins in her body!

Although the process is slow, it is true that the "fading beauty" that was eroding her internal organs is being absorbed and transformed little by little by this little life.

How is that possible?

Shen Qingci frowned.

Unless... this fetus has a special constitution, or some kind of mutation occurred while she was using her last strength to protect herself.

"Your Majesty?" Jinshu called out worriedly when she saw that she was staring at the mirror without saying a word.

Shen Qingci withdrew her hand and turned to look at Jinshu.

"Jinshu, do you know anything about medicine?"

Jinshu was stunned for a moment, then her eyes reddened again:

"This servant...this servant's mother used to be a female doctor and served the old lady in the Shen family."

She taught the servants some basic skills, but... but Mother...

"What's wrong with her?"

"She was also poisoned by this kind of poison..." Jinshu cried out.

"When Mother died, her face was so withered that she looked thirty years older... The master consulted many doctors, but they all said there was no hope for her."

Later, the master found out that the poison was called "Crimson Death," something only found in the palace...

Jinshu suddenly grabbed Shen Qingci's hand, trembling with sobs: "Your Majesty, have you also... have you also been poisoned by that kind of poison? Please don't frighten me..."

Shen Qingci let her hold him, but his mind was perfectly clear.

It turned out to be the case.

Jinshu's mother was a female physician, who was also poisoned to death by "Zhu Yanmo".

This poison was "only available in the palace," and the person who administered it...

The seemingly gentle and harmless face of Consort Rou, Liu Ruyan, flashed through her mind.

"Jinshu," Shen Qingci spoke, her voice eerily calm, "who else knows about your mother's affairs?"

Jinshu shook her head, sobbing:

"The master has ordered a gag order, saying... saying anything might alert the enemy."

Apart from the master and a few trusted confidants, no one knew the real cause of Mother's death.

The master told me to pretend to be stupid and serve the lady well, saying that one day... one day he would clear the Shen family's name.

As she finished speaking, she burst into tears again: "But the master has also been arrested, the eldest young master has been imprisoned, and Your Majesty has been banished to the Cold Palace... This servant... this servant thought there was no hope left for this lifetime..."

Shen Qingci gently patted the back of her hand.

"As long as I am here, there is hope."

Jinshu looked up at her, her eyes blurry with tears.

Shen Qingci didn't explain, but simply asked, "In these past three months, besides you, who else has contacted us?"

Jinshu thought for a moment and said softly, "Actually... there's one more person."

"Who?"

"Eunuch Li."

Jinshu lowered her voice.

"It's that old eunuch who's always sweeping the courtyard."

He looked hunched over and didn't speak.

But... but a few times when the servants went to collect their meals, they returned to find an extra half-eaten steamed bun or a pot of warm water in the room.

"I saw it secretly; it was Eunuch Li who put it there."

Eunuch Li?

A blurry figure flashed through Shen Qingci's memory—always with his head down, slowly sweeping the floor, his presence as insignificant as dust on the ground.

He was an old eunuch who served the Empress Dowager. After the Empress Dowager passed away, he continued to serve near the Cold Palace.

Why did he secretly help?

"Your Majesty, is Eunuch Li... a good person?" Jinshu asked anxiously.

Shen Qingci did not answer.

In the palace, the word "good person" is too extravagant.

But at least so far, this eunuch Li has not shown any hostility, and is even secretly providing assistance.

This is enough.

"Jinshu." Shen Qingci sat down, leaning on the table, feeling her strength returning slightly. "Don't tell anyone about my poisoning. Not even Eunuch Li."

Jinshu nodded vigorously: "This servant understands!"

"Also," Shen Qingci looked at her flat stomach, "I have to keep my pregnancy a secret."

Jinshu's eyes widened: "Mother, Your Majesty, you...you're pregnant?!"

"Hmm." Shen Qingci said calmly, "Two months."

Jinshu was initially overjoyed, but then her face turned pale: "But you've been poisoned... this... this child might..."

"He's very resilient." Shen Qingci lowered her head, her hand gently resting on her lower abdomen, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "More resilient than I imagined."

It was so tenacious that it was actually absorbing the toxins from her body.

What kind of child is this?

Or perhaps... it was because of her body, or her soul's transmigration, that brought about some kind of variable?

In any case, the appearance of this fetus gave her a slight chance of survival, which was originally a certain death situation.

But it also carries a huge risk—if outsiders find out she's pregnant...

Especially knowing that the child might be Nangong Ye's,

The person who poisoned the victim would likely resort to more drastic measures.

"Jinshu." Shen Qingci looked up at the only person she could trust. "From today onwards, we need to do three things."

Jinshu wiped away her tears and listened attentively.

"First, survive. Do everything you can to get food, water, and medicine."

"Secondly, if we find out the origin of 'Zhu Yanmo,' there is still a possibility of finding an antidote."

"Third..." Shen Qingci paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, "Wait."

"Wait?" Jinshu asked, puzzled.

"Wait for an opportunity." Shen Qingci looked out the drafty window, her voice as soft as a sigh.

"Wait until I recover, until my child grows up, until those people outside... lower their guard."

Then, she will crawl out of this hell.

One debt at a time, we will collect all the debts.

Jinshu looked at her mistress's cold profile and suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, yet inexplicably... she felt more confident.

"This servant will obey Your Highness."

Shen Qingci nodded and lay back down on the bed.

My body is still weak, the poison is still eroding me, and the road ahead is shrouded in darkness.

But at least now, she's not alone.

And... she touched her lower abdomen.

There is also an unexpected little life here, fighting alongside her in his own way.

"Nangong Ye..."

She closed her eyes and silently recited the name in her heart.

You'd better pray I die here.

otherwise--

When I return from hell with your child, that will be your death day.