Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 36 The Tyrant Stands at My Door Every Day! My Son Smiles Whenever He Sees Him

The eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

The mornings at Tangli Palace begin with the loud cries of a newborn baby.

Shen Qingci was able to sit up with difficulty.

Postpartum hemorrhage combined with inhaling thick smoke severely damaged her health, leaving her pale and almost translucent.

But those eyes were brighter and colder than ever before.

She leaned against the headboard, holding Bao'er in her arms.

Bao'er's little face was red from crying—not because she was hungry or needed to pee, but simply because she wanted to cry.

Newborn babies have limited ways of expressing themselves; crying is their language.

Jinshu brought in a bowl of medicine. Seeing the child, she quickly put down the bowl and tried to take the child away, saying, "Your Majesty, let me coax the child. Please drink the medicine."

Shen Qingci shook her head and gently patted Bao'er's back: "I'll do it. You go and take a look..."

She paused, then lowered her voice: "Is there any news from Eunuch Li's side?"

Jinshu's eyes immediately reddened, and she shook her head:

"Not yet... After His Majesty rescued you and the young prince that night, no one has seen Eunuch Li since."

Commander Lu sent people to search the fire site, but they only found... found some...

She couldn't continue.

Shen Qingci's hand tightened suddenly.

Bao'er cried out again as she was being strangled.

She quickly let go, looked down at her child, and the pain in her eyes was almost overflowing.

Eunuch Li.

That man was both her master and like a father to her!

The old man who stayed with her in the cold palace for three months, taught her martial arts, protected her, and finally risked his life to hold up the sky for her and her child in the sea of ​​fire.

Now... his fate is unknown.

"Keep searching," Shen Qingci said hoarsely. "We need to find them alive, or...we need to find their bodies."

"Yes..." Jinshu wiped away her tears and handed over the medicine bowl. "Your Majesty, please drink your medicine first. Physician Chen said that your body needs to be recuperated slowly and cannot be rushed."

Shen Qingci took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

The medicine was very bitter, but she didn't even flinch.

What does suffering matter?

What's more painful than bitterness is the emptiness in one's heart, a hatred tinged with the stench of blood.

I hate Consort Rou's ruthlessness.

I hate the arrogance of the Liu family.

She hated even more... that man who now stood outside her door every day, but dared not come in.

Yes, Nangong Ye comes every day.

Starting the day after she woke up, he would come to Tangli Palace every day after court. He wouldn't go inside, but would stand outside the door for half an hour, sometimes even an hour.

Like a child who has made a mistake, begging for forgiveness.

But Shen Qingci only felt it was ironic.

forgive?

What can we use to forgive?

Should we use her body, which nearly perished in the fire? Or Bao'er's life, which almost burned to ashes? Or perhaps Eunuch Li's... that old life that might already be gone?

"Your Majesty," Jinshu said cautiously, "His Majesty has come again..."

Shen Qingci looked up at the doorway.

Through the half-open door, one could see a bright yellow figure standing quietly under the eaves.

It snowed a little today, and the fine snowflakes landed on his shoulders, but he didn't brush them off.

It looks like a snowman.

"Don't worry about him." Shen Qingci looked away and continued to coax Bao'er.

It's strange, really.

Bao'er would react every time Nangong Ye came.

For example, right now—

The little one, who had been crying loudly just moments before, suddenly stopped.

With her big, wet eyes wide open, she looked curiously toward the doorway, her little mouth slightly agape, as if waiting for something.

"Bao'er?" Shen Qingci called him softly.

Bao'er turned her little head to look at her, grinned with her toothless mouth, and then turned her head back to continue looking at the doorway.

Shen Qingci's heart sank.

Blood ties are a truly terrifying thing.

Even if she hated Nangong Ye, even if she wished she could tear him to pieces, Bao'er had his blood in her veins, and Bao'er... instinctively wanted to be close to him.

She hugged the child tightly.

It's like declaring sovereignty.

It's like... being afraid of losing it.

---

Outside.

Nangong Ye stood ramrod straight, but his gaze remained fixed on the half-open door.

He could see Shen Qingci's profile sitting on the bed; she was so thin it was heartbreaking.

You can also see the tiny swaddled baby in her arms, which occasionally moves and makes babbling sounds.

That was his son.

He and her son.

This realization, over the past three days, has been like a vine, wrapping around his heart, tightening more and more, until it almost suffocates him.

He remembered when she was deposed, she knelt before the palace, crying and saying she was innocent. What did he say then?

"The evidence is irrefutable, and you still dare to deny it?"

"Lady Shen is morally deficient and unfit to be empress. She is hereby deposed and confined to the cold palace, and is not to be released without an imperial edict."

Looking back now, every word he said was like a knife, stabbing into her heart, and into his own as well.

"Your Majesty," Lu Zheng appeared silently and reported in a low voice, "Li Dequan... has been found."

Nangong Ye turned his head sharply: "Where is he? How is he?"

Lu Zheng's expression was solemn: "In the underground secret room of the Cold Palace ruins."

The person is still alive, but... is badly injured.

His internal energy was exhausted, his meridians were damaged, and his internal organs were burned.

The imperial physician said that it was already a miracle he had survived, but his martial arts skills... were probably ruined.

Nangong Ye remained silent for a long time.

That old eunuch.

The old eunuch who served his mother his whole life was eventually sent to sweep the floor in the cold palace.

That night in the sea of ​​fire, he hunched over, yet used his inner strength to create a protective barrier, saving Shen Qingci and the child's lives.

Now, his martial arts skills are gone.

"Treat him well," Nangong Ye said. "Use the best medicine and the best imperial physicians. I want him to live."

"Yes." Lu Zheng paused. "Should we tell Her Majesty?"

Nangong Ye looked at the door.

Inside the door, Shen Qingci was lowering his head to kiss Bao'er's forehead, his movements incredibly gentle.

That was a tenderness he had never seen before.

"Let's not talk about it now," he said slowly. "We'll talk about it when Li Dequan's condition stabilizes. She... can't take any more stress right now."

Lu Zheng understood and quietly withdrew.

Nangong Ye remained standing there.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, accumulating a thin layer on his shoulders.

A palace maid passed by under the corridor and saw him. She was so frightened that she quickly knelt down, but she couldn't help but secretly look up at him. Then she exchanged a meaningful glance with her companion.

"His Majesty has come again..."

"It's been three days already, standing for this long every day..."

"It seems she really cares about the young prince..."

"It's not just the young prince; His Majesty is also concerned about the Empress."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Are you crazy?!"

The whispers were low, but they did not escape Nangong Ye's ears.

He doesn't care.

What he cared about was when the person inside the door would even glance at him.

Even just a glance.

But no.

It's been three days, and she hasn't seen him once.

She doesn't look at him when feeding him medicine, she doesn't look at him when comforting the child, and even when he's standing right here, she treats him like he's invisible.

The feeling of being completely ignored was more painful for him than being hated by her.

"Cough cough..."

A soft cough came from inside the door.

Nangong Ye's heart tightened, and he subconsciously took a step forward, raising his hand as if to push the door open and go in.

But it eventually stopped.

He heard Jinshu's panicked voice: "Your Majesty! What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?"

Then Shen Qingci replied weakly but calmly, "It's nothing. I choked a little."

"This servant will pour you some water..."

"No need. Bao'er seems hungry. Go and ask the wet nurse to come over."

"Yes……"

Then came footsteps, the door was fully opened, and Jinshu came out.

Upon seeing Nangong Ye standing in the snow, Jinshu was startled and hurriedly knelt down: "Your Majesty..."

"How is she?" Nangong Ye asked.

Jinshu lowered her head: "Your Majesty... is alright. It's just that she's weak and her cough hasn't gotten better yet."

Did you take your medicine on time?

"I drank it."

"Where are the children?"

"The little prince... is very healthy."

The question-and-answer session was like a routine procedure.

Nangong Ye knew that Jinshu was afraid of him. Everyone in the palace was afraid of him.

Only the woman inside the door was unafraid.

Not only were they not afraid, they even regarded him as an enemy.

"Go ahead," he waved.

Jinshu felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly left.

Nangong Ye stood there for a while longer, until he heard the wet nurse soothing the baby from inside the door, and Bao'er made satisfied babbling sounds. Only then did he slowly turn around and prepare to leave.

Just then—

"Wow!"

Bao'er suddenly cried out.

It wasn't the usual kind of crying, but... it sounded like he was shouting something?

Nangong Ye paused in his steps.

Inside the door, Shen Qingci was holding Bao'er, gently coaxing her, "Don't cry, the wet nurse is coming soon..."

But Bao'er wouldn't have it, turning her little face toward the door and crying again.

This time, she cried even louder.

She even stretched out her little hand and waved towards the door.

It's like... trying to persuade them to stay?

Shen Qingci's heart felt as if it had been squeezed tightly by something.

She hugged the baby tightly, buried her face in the swaddling clothes, and said in a muffled voice, "Baby, be good..."

But Bao'er wouldn't listen.

He stared stubbornly at the doorway, his little mouth pouting, tears welling up in his eyes.

She looked extremely aggrieved.

Nangong Ye, standing outside the door, felt his heart clench with pain as he listened to the cries.

He couldn't resist in the end.

He turned around, pushed open the door, and went inside.

This was the first time he had stepped into the room in three days.

Shen Qingci heard footsteps and suddenly looked up.

The moment she saw him, the tenderness in her eyes froze, turning into icy wariness.

She hugged Bao'er tightly and shrank back a little.

It's like they're hiding from a plague.

Nangong Ye stopped three steps away from the bed, not daring to approach any closer.

He looked at her, then at the baby in her arms.

Bao'er has stopped crying.

She was staring at him with wide, curious eyes.

Those eyes, as pure as a mountain spring, reflected his image.

"He..." Nangong Ye began, his voice slightly hoarse, "Does he... want to see me?"

Shen Qingci sneered: "Your Majesty is overthinking it. Bao'er is just hungry."

"But the wet nurse hasn't arrived yet."

"That has nothing to do with His Majesty."

The conversation came to an abrupt end.

An awkward silence fell over the room.

Only Bao'er's occasional babbling sounds seemed to lighten the mood.

Looking at the small face that resembled his own, Nangong Ye took a step forward as if possessed.

Shen Qingci immediately hugged the child tightly, her eyes like knives: "What does Your Majesty intend to do?"

"I..." Nangong Ye paused, "I just want to see him."

"I've seen it, you can leave now."

"Shen Qingci," Nangong Ye's voice deepened, "He is my son."

"So what?"

Shen Qingci raised her head, her eyes sharp as knives.

"Does Your Majesty wish to return?"

Do you want to take him away from me and hand him over to Consort Rou to raise?

Or...should we just kill him to prevent future trouble?

Every word was like a poisoned needle.

The stab made Nangong Ye's face turn pale.

"I won't," he said through gritted teeth. "He is my son, and I will protect him."

"Protect him?"

Shen Qingci laughed, a laugh that was both desolate and ironic.

"How can you protect me? Your Majesty, I cannot accept your protection."

Nangong Ye opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Yes.

He also said he would protect her during their wedding.

But the result?

She was banished to the cold palace and nearly died in a fire.

Now, he says he will protect the child.

What letter should we use?

"Your Majesty, please return." Shen Qingci lowered her head, no longer looking at him. "Bao'er needs to sleep."

The order to leave was made perfectly clear.

Nangong Ye stood there for a long time.

It was so long that the wet nurse came in with the milk, saw him, and was so frightened she almost dropped the bowl.

After a long time, Jinshu returned, but knelt at the door, too afraid to come in.

So long... Bao'er really fell asleep, her little head nestled in Shen Qingci's arms, sleeping soundly.

Finally, he slowly turned around and walked out of the house.

He stopped at the door, his back to her, and said:

"Li Dequan has been found."

Shen Qingci suddenly looked up.

"He's still alive," Nangong Ye continued. "In the underground chamber of the Cold Palace. He's badly injured, but... he's still alive."

After saying that, he strode away.

Shen Qingci was left sitting on the bed, holding the sleeping Bao'er, tears silently streaming down her face.

Eunuch Li...

still alive.

Great.

That's really...wonderful.

She lowered her head, kissed Bao'er's forehead, and her voice choked with emotion:

"Bao'er, can you hear that? Grandpa Li is still alive..."

Bao'er smiled in her sleep.

It's as if it's saying: Mother, everything will be alright.

Outside the window, the snow is still falling.