Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Mid-Autumn Festival, the twentieth year of Jinghe.

The moon is full and round, its clear light shining for thousands of miles.

Nangong Ye and Shen Qingci stood side by side at the highest point of the palace—the Zhaixing Pavilion.

This pavilion was built during the reign of Emperor Taizu and is the highest point in the imperial city. It is said that Emperor Taizu often stood here to overlook the empire he had conquered.

Today, standing here are his descendants.

And the woman who changed everything.

-

Beneath my feet, the lights of countless homes shone.

The capital city unfolded under the moonlight, like a giant scroll painting.

Over at the East Market, lanterns hung like dragons, and the night market was bustling with activity. Even from this distance, one could almost hear faint laughter.

In the West Market, the signboard of Jinxiu Huangfang glittered in the moonlight, and there were people queuing at the entrance.

The orphanage in the south of the city was brightly lit, and the figures of children running around could be vaguely seen.

In the school in the north of the city, the sound of reading aloud filled the air—it was a night school, specifically for people who worked during the day to study.

Further away, there are endless fields.

The autumn harvest has just ended, and stacks of straw are still piled up in the fields, standing like silent guardians under the moonlight.

"It's really beautiful," Shen Qingci said softly.

Nangong Ye stood beside her and followed her gaze.

"Yes," he said, "I've looked at it my whole life, and I still can't get enough."

Shen Qingci turned to look at him.

Under the moonlight, his temples were already streaked with gray, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were deeper than in previous years.

But those eyes remained gentle.

As gentle as the moonlight.

"Ah Ye," she suddenly said.

"Um?"

"Do you remember what I said back in the Cold Palace?"

Nangong Ye was taken aback.

Then, I laughed.

That smile contained bitterness, relief, and above all, the gentleness that comes with the passage of time.

"I remember," he said. "You said, 'Nangong Ye, when I crawl out of hell, I will definitely ask you... to die for me.'"

He paused, then said softly:

"Those words have pained me for a long time."

Shen Qingci looked at him.

I saw the fleeting pain in his eyes.

Twenty years have passed.

He still remembers.

I remember every single word.

"Ah Ye." She took his hand.

His hands were still warm, and still dry.

It's just a bit rougher than it used to be—over the years, he has personally gone to the fields to encourage farmers, personally supervised the construction of dikes, and personally patrolled the border to comfort the troops, resulting in thick calluses on his hands.

"That Shen Qingci," she said softly, gazing at the distant lights, "guess what happened to her afterwards?"

Nangong Ye was taken aback: "Later? Isn't she you?"

Shen Qingci shook her head.

"She is not me," she said. "Or rather, not just me."

"She was a betrayed wife, a deposed empress banished to the cold palace, a woman filled with nothing but hatred."

"Her only reason for living is to crawl out and kill you."

Nangong Ye held her hand tightly.

"And then?"

"Later—" Shen Qingci's lips curved into a smile, "she died."

Nangong Ye was stunned.

Shen Qingci turned her head and looked at him.

The moonlight shimmered in her eyes, clear as water.

"Right in that inferno," she said, "when she gave birth to Bao'er with all her might, and you rushed in and picked her up—she died."

"Shen Qingci, who only knew how to hate, died in the sea of ​​fire."

"The one that survived was another."

Nangong Ye's eyes were slightly red.

"What about... Nangong Ye?"

Shen Qingci looked at him.

"Which one?"

"That..." He paused, "that Nangong Ye who only knows how to protect himself with violence, who doesn't understand love, and doesn't believe in love."

Shen Qingci remained silent for a moment.

Then, she reached out and gently stroked his face.

"He died too," she said. "That night at Fengxian Temple."

"When he knelt before me, crying and saying, 'Shouldn't this tyrant have died long ago?'"

"That Nangong Ye is dead."

Nangong Ye closed his eyes.

Tears streamed down my face.

It's not sadness.

It's a sense of relief.

"So," he said softly, "they're all dead?"

"Um."

"So who is standing here now?"

Shen Qingci smiled.

That smile was as gentle as the moonlight.

"It's you," she said. "It's Nangong Ye."

"Nangong Ye is someone who has learned to love, to trust, and to be a husband and a father."

"Nangong Ye is also someone who is loved, trusted, and needed."

Nangong Ye opened his eyes and looked at her.

Looking at the woman who had been with him for twenty years.

Looking at this woman who crawled out of the cold palace and pulled him out of the abyss.

Looking at this person he never wanted to let go of in this life, the next life, and the life after that.

"Then who are you?" he asked.

Shen Qingci thought for a moment.

"I am Shen Qingci," she said, "and also Ling Ye."

"She is that lonely soul from another world, and also the empress of this kingdom."

"She is the mother of Bao'er, Heng'er, and Yao'er, and also..."

She paused, looking at him:

"She is also your wife."

Nangong Ye looked at her.

Under the moonlight, her eyes were gentle, and her smile was faint.

Twenty years have passed.

She has changed.

She has transformed from a fierce and resentful woman in the cold palace into the gentle and composed woman she is today.

She hasn't changed either.

Those eyes were still so bright.

That resilience remains as deep as ever.

That heart is still so warm.

He suddenly remembered the first time she called him "A-Ye".

It was in Kunning Palace. She was ill and, in her delirium, grabbed his sleeve and said, "Don't go."

At that moment, his heart skipped a beat.

Now, twenty years have passed.

That shot has been missed until now.

"Qingci," he said softly.

"Um?"

"I have remembered those words for twenty years."

Which sentence?

"That phrase, 'Please go to your death.'"

Shen Qingci smiled.

"And now? Does it still hurt?"

Nangong Ye thought for a moment.

Then, he shook his head.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," he said. "Because I know that the one who was supposed to die is already dead."

"The one who is alive is you, and the one who is alive is me."

"It's us."

Shen Qingci looked at him.

Looking at the tears in his eyes, the smile on his lips, and his unwavering gentleness over the past twenty years.

She leaned gently on his shoulder.

"Ah Ye".

"Um?"

"You said, if there is an afterlife..."

Nangong Ye's heart tightened.

He had been waiting for those words for a long time.

"If there is an afterlife," Shen Qingci whispered, her voice drifting on the night breeze, "would you still be able to find me?"

Nangong Ye took a deep breath.

Then, I laughed.

"Yes," he said firmly, "It's definitely possible."

"How do I find it?"

"I...I..." He thought for a moment, "I will stand in the highest place and wait for you."

"Just like now."

"No matter where you are, no matter who you are, as long as you look up—"

"You'll be able to see me then."

Shen Qingci smiled slightly.

"What if I don't recognize you?"

Nangong Ye thought for a moment, then suddenly took something out of his pocket.

A silver ring.

It's very delicate and simple, with two characters engraved on the inside:

"Aye"

It's exactly the same as the other one.

He took her hand and placed the silver ring in her palm.

"Take it," he said. "In the next life, I'll wear another one, and you'll wear this one."

"If you meet them, check them."

Shen Qingci looked down at the silver ring in her palm.

Under the moonlight, those two words were as clear as ever.

Twenty years have passed.

He always wore it.

So is she.

"Okay," she said, putting the silver ring back on her ring finger. "It's a deal."

Nangong Ye took her hand.

Their fingers are intertwined.

Two silver rings gently touched in the moonlight.

It makes a crisp sound.

-

In the distance, the sound of children's laughter could be heard.

Bao'er—who should now be called His Highness the Crown Prince—was setting off lanterns in the courtyard with Heng'er and Yao'er.

That's a Mid-Autumn Festival custom: everyone sets off a lamp and makes a wish.

Three lanterns rose slowly and gently.

The largest lamp was inscribed with the words "May Father and Mother live to be a hundred years old."

A medium-sized lamp bears the inscription "May your younger brother and sister grow up safely."

The smallest lamp had the words "I want to be taller than my brother" written crookedly on it.

Nangong Ye looked at the three lanterns and couldn't help but smile.

"That cup for Yao'er," he said, "I doubt it will come true."

Shen Qingci smiled too.

"Don't underestimate children," she said. "What if?"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Moonlight bathes the world.

Thousands of lights shine, and the Milky Way hangs low.

In the distance, bells rang.

Ancient and solemn.

Wandering between heaven and earth.

-

Nangong Ye suddenly remembered something.

"Qingci."

"Um?"

"When you wrote that volume of the 'Emperor-Empress Covenant' back then, the sentence you crossed out was 'If the Empress is no longer alive, the Emperor may be established as another'—which you later changed to 'She will never be gone, she will be here for life'."

He paused, then said softly:

"How long is a lifetime?"

Shen Qingci thought for a moment.

"A lifetime..." she said, "from now until a very, very long time from now."

"When Heng'er gets married, when Yao'er marries, when Bao'er becomes emperor."

"Until our hair turns completely white, until we can no longer walk, until we sit together in the yard basking in the sun."

"Until..." she smiled, "until the day the moon is no longer full."

Nangong Ye looked at her.

Looking at the thin layer of tears in her eyes.

Reach out and gently wipe it away.

"Okay," he said, "then let's do it on that day."

The two stopped talking.

He just stood there quietly.

Looking down at the myriad lights of homes.

Looking at the full moon overhead.

Looking at the three lanterns in the distance, soaring higher and higher.

-

A gentle night breeze blew by.

It brings the fragrance of osmanthus.

It brought a faint laugh.

It marks the end of an era.

And the prelude to another era.

-

Suddenly, Yao'er's voice came from afar:

"Father! Mother! The lantern is flying so high! Did you see it?!"

Heng'er's voice followed:

"My brother's lantern is the tallest!"

Bao'er's voice was the loudest:

"That's right! My wish is the biggest!"

Nangong Ye smiled.

Shen Qingci smiled too.

The two exchanged a glance, then turned around hand in hand.

We descended from the Star-Picking Pavilion.

Walk towards that brightly lit place.

They walked toward those who were waiting for them.

Heading towards—

What belongs to them, the most ordinary, yet the most precious—

The rest of my life.

-

[The End]

---

postscript:

In the fortieth year of Jinghe, Emperor Nangong Ye died at the age of sixty-eight.

On the same day, Shen Qingci passed away at the age of sixty-three.

The emperor and empress died on the same day, their hands clasped tightly together, their fingers intertwined, and no one could tell them apart.

Crown Prince Nangong Yue ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Renzong.

Emperor Renzong followed his will and had the emperor and empress buried together in the same tomb.

In the tomb, only two items were buried with the deceased—

A scroll of the "Covenant between the Emperor and Empress" was stamped with two imperial seals.

Two silver rings, with each other's names engraved on the inside.

Emperor Renzong knelt before the tomb for three days and three nights.

As he stood up, he only said one sentence:

"Father, Mother, in the next life, I want to be your child again."

-

It is said that on the night the emperor and empress were buried together, hundreds of birds circled above the mausoleum and lingered for a long time.

It is said that a merchant from Xiling passed by and saw a snow-white leopard crouching on a hilltop, gazing eastward, all night long.

It is said that the veterans of the North all dreamed that night of General Xiao standing on the city wall, facing south, raising a cup in a toast.

It is said that an old eunuch in the capital passed away peacefully in his sleep with a smile on his face.

It is said that...

It's all just hearsay.

But one thing is true.

Forty years after Jinghe, many, many more years passed.

A young man, while sorting through old things, found a yellowed storybook.

The storybook had five characters written on it:

Annals of Emperors and Empresses

He opened it and began to read.

When I got to the last page, I suddenly froze.

On that page, there was a line of small print, which appeared to have been added by later generations:

"The tyrant is dead, and the assassin is gone."

"Only love transcends time—"

"Forever."

The young man stared at the words for a long time without saying a word.

Outside the window, the moonlight was just right.

He suddenly remembered that tonight was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

He stood up and walked to the window.

look up.

The moon is very round.

It's very bright.

It was as if two people were standing at the highest point, looking down upon the world.

Looking at the myriad lights of homes.

Looking at these lifetimes.

He laughed softly.

Facing the moon, I said two words:

"Thanks."

-

[The End]

---

Killer Queen: Tyrant, Please Die!

—End of Volume Four—

Until we meet again.