Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 41 I've decided not to kill him! I want him to witness everything crumble before he dies.

The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year's Eve.

The palace was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and the aroma of stewed meat wafted from the imperial kitchen. Eunuchs and palace maids hurried along, their faces beaming with rare joy.

Only the Tangli Palace remains as desolate as an isolated island.

After nursing, Bao'er fell asleep in Shen Qingci's arms. The little one had grown quickly recently; her face had become much rounder, and her eyelashes were long and thick, casting a small shadow in the candlelight.

Shen Qingci held him and sat on the couch by the window.

It's snowing again outside the window. The snowflakes are fine and dense, like the heavens sprinkling salt. Faint sounds of string and wind instruments drift from the distant palace—the New Year's Eve banquet has begun. Nangong Ye should be sitting in the Taiji Hall at this moment, receiving the congratulations of the officials and watching the singing and dancing.

And she, holding their child, sat in this secluded palace.

Jinshu tiptoed in, carrying a bowl of medicine: "Your Majesty, it's time to drink your medicine."

Shen Qingci took the medicine bowl, tested the temperature, and drank it all in one gulp.

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

"Your Majesty," Jinshu whispered, "Imperial Physician Chen just secretly told me that something seems amiss with Consort Liu."

"explain."

"The eunuchs in the Cold Palace said that Consort Liu has been having nightmares every night for the past few days, screaming that there are ghosts. She's also acting strangely during the day, talking to the walls." Jinshu paused. "Imperial Physician Chen examined her pulse; it was irregular, but he couldn't find the cause."

Shen Qingci gently patted Bao'er's back, her eyes calm: "It's only been three days, and the medicine is already showing its effects. It seems her body is weaker than I thought."

"Your Majesty," Jinshu hesitated for a moment, "Wouldn't what we're doing... be too cruel?"

"Ruthless?" Shen Qingci raised his eyes. "Jinshu, do you remember three years ago when she gave me the Zhuyanmo poison? Did she ever think of the word 'ruthless'? Do you know what it feels like when that poison takes effect—it feels like your internal organs are being pierced by countless needles, your skin gradually ulcerates, and you finally die in extreme pain."

Her voice was very soft, but it sent a chill down Jinshu's spine.

"That's how my mother...died." Jinshu's eyes reddened. "Her whole body was ulcerated, she wasn't even left with a complete corpse..."

Shen Qingci grasped her hand: "Therefore, being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself. If Liu Ruyan doesn't die, it will be us who die."

Bao'er stirred in her sleep and smacked her lips twice.

Shen Qingci looked down at him, her eyes softening instantly.

"Jinshu," she said softly, "you go and rest. I'll stay with Bao'er tonight."

"But Your Highness, your wrist..."

"It's much better now." Shen Qingci moved her wrist; the bruises were still there, but the pain had lessened considerably. "Go on."

After Jinshu left, only Shen Qingci and the sleeping Bao'er remained in the room.

The candlelight flickered, casting swaying shadows on the wall.

Shen Qingci gently stroked Bao'er's cheek, her fingertips feeling its soft warmth. This little life was her deepest concern in this world, and the only reason she lived.

She recalled that snowy night three days ago, when Nangong Ye, drunk, barged in, grabbed her wrist, and demanded, "Do you hate me that much?"

Do you hate it?

Of course I hate it.

She hated him for listening to slander and banishing her to the cold palace.

She resented him for not investigating the truth, which led to the entire Shen family being wrongly accused.

She resented that when she needed him most, he chose imperial power instead of her.

but……

Shen Qingci closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When I opened my eyes again, all that remained was a cold, clear light.

"Killing him is too easy," she muttered to herself, her voice exceptionally clear in the quiet night. "A single blow will end it all; the pain will only last a moment. He's dead, and someone will naturally inherit the throne, and the empire will continue to function as before."

She looked down at Bao'er's peaceful sleeping face.

"But what about Bao'er? What kind of father does he need? A tyrannical father who was killed by his mother? Or a father who... truly repents and knows how to love?"

The wind howled outside the window.

Shen Qingci stood up and slowly paced around the room with Bao'er in her arms.

"What does Nangong Ye care about most?" she asked herself. "Power. The dignity of being an emperor. His unwavering belief that 'an emperor cannot be wrong.'"

She stopped at the window.

Through the window paper, you can see the vast expanse of white snow outside.

"I want him to watch this all crumble before his eyes." Her voice grew colder, yet more resolute. "I want him to watch his most trusted minister betray him, watch the power he values ​​most slip away bit by bit, and watch everything he believes in be proven wrong."

"Then, in his most painful and desperate moment—"

She paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Invite him to his death again."

It is not physical death.

It is the death of the identity of "tyrant". It is the death of Nangong Ye, who was stubborn, suspicious and cold-blooded.

She never intended to kill just one person.

Rather, it is a symbol.

Bao'er suddenly uttered a soft "ee-yah" in her sleep and reached out with her little hand in the air.

Shen Qingci looked down and saw that Bao'er's brows were slightly furrowed, as if she sensed something uneasy.

Her heart tightened, and she immediately picked up Bao'er, walked to the door, and gently pushed it open.

The courtyard was deserted, with only snowflakes falling silently.

but……

Shen Qingci narrowed her eyes.

Something seemed to move slightly in the shadows of the corner.

She closed the door silently, picked up Bao'er, and returned to the bedside. She pulled a dagger from under her pillow—it was given to her a few days ago by Eunuch Li, who said it was for self-defense.

"Baby," she whispered, "you sensed something, didn't you?"

Bao'er, of course, didn't answer, but the little guy's brows furrowed even more.

Shen Qingci blew out the candle.

The room was plunged into darkness instantly.

She held Bao'er in her arms, hiding in the shadows behind the door, holding her breath.

A quarter of an hour.

Two quarters of an hour.

Just when she thought she was imagining things, she heard a very faint "click" sound outside the window.

It was the sound of snow being crushed underfoot.

Someone is coming.

Shen Qingci gripped the dagger tightly, and covered Bao'er's ears with her other hand.

A small hole was poked in the window paper, and a bamboo tube was inserted.

Sleeping smoke!

Shen Qingci immediately held her breath and covered Bao'er's mouth and nose with her sleeve. She gently shook Bao'er awake, and just as the little one was about to cry, she immediately put her finger to her lips and made a "shh" gesture.

Surprisingly, Bao'er actually stopped crying and just stared at her with her big eyes.

A faint smoke drifted from the bamboo tube, almost invisible in the darkness.

After about half a cup of tea's time, the bamboo tube was retracted. Then, the latch was gently moved.

The door opened.

A dark figure flashed in, holding a short knife, and lunged at the bed.

It's now!

Shen Qingci darted out from behind the door, her dagger aimed straight for the other person's back. But she held back—not to a fatal spot, but to the thigh.

With a "thud," the dagger pierced through flesh.

The dark figure screamed and staggered to the ground.

Shen Qingci quickly lit the candle.

The moment the candlelight flickered on, she saw the face of the newcomer clearly—a strange eunuch, a completely unfamiliar face.

"Who sent you?" Shen Qingci asked coldly, a dagger pressed against his throat.

The eunuch gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"Not going to talk?" Shen Qingci flicked her wrist, and the dagger made another cut on his leg. "I have plenty of ways to make you talk. Ever heard of 'being sliced ​​into a thousand pieces'? I can slice off your flesh piece by piece, three thousand six hundred times, and you still won't die."

Her tone was as calm as if she were talking about what to eat today, but her eyes were as cold as ice.

The eunuch shivered.

"It's...it's Consort Liu..." he finally spoke, "She said...she said that if she killed you and the young prince, His Majesty would forgive her..."

"Fool." Shen Qingci sneered, "You think you can survive after killing me?"

She kicked the knife out of the eunuch's hand and shouted outside, "Jinshu!"

Jinshu hadn't actually slept at all. Hearing the commotion, she had been waiting outside and immediately pushed the door open. When she saw the scene inside, she gasped.

"Go and call Eunuch Li, and Xiao Luzi," Shen Qingci said. "Get rid of this."

"yes!"

Jinshu left in a hurry.

Shen Qingci, holding Bao'er, looked at the trembling eunuch on the ground and suddenly smiled.

"Go back and tell Liu Ruyan," she crouched down and patted the eunuch's face with the dagger, "that her nightmare has only just begun."

She cut the ropes binding the eunuch's feet: "Get out."

The eunuch scrambled away, leaving a glaring red trail of blood on the snow-covered ground.

Eunuch Li and Xiao Luzi arrived soon after.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Eunuch Li asked with a grave expression.

"It's alright." Shen Qingci handed Bao'er to Jinshu. "Master, it seems we're still too slow."

Looking at the bloodstains on the ground, Eunuch Li said in a deep voice, "This old servant will prepare the medicine tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will have Physician Chen deliver it."

"No." Shen Qingci shook her head. "Tomorrow is the first day of the month, and there will be a lot of movement around the palace. Let's wait until after the fifth day."

She walked to the window and looked in the direction the eunuch had fled.

The snow was still falling, and it quickly covered the bloodstains.

Just like the sins within this deep palace, the surface appears pure and flawless, but beneath lies countless filth.

"Master," she suddenly asked, "what do you think an emperor fears most?"

Eunuch Li was taken aback: "What I fear most is... losing the people's hearts? Or, the instability of the throne?"

"All right, but not enough." Shen Qingci turned around, the candlelight illuminating her profile, half bright and half dark. "What an emperor fears most is discovering that everything he believed was wrong. It's discovering that what he thought was loyalty was actually betrayal, and that everything he thought he controlled had already spiraled out of control."

She picked up Bao'er and gently kissed his forehead.

"I want him to experience this fear."

"Take it one step at a time, slowly."

Bao'er babbled contentedly in her arms, her little hand clutching a strand of her hair.

Shen Qingci looked down at him, her eyes gentle and tender.

"Baby, Mother will give you a brand new father," she whispered. "If he doesn't want to be reborn, then Mother will... send him to his death."

Outside the window, the New Year's Eve bells rang.

A new year has begun.