Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 44 My Son is a Living Alarm! He Cries Instantly When Bad Guys Get Close.

It was the 18th day of the first lunar month, just past the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

The Tangli Palace was still shrouded in the darkness before dawn when Bao'er suddenly burst into tears without warning.

It wasn't the whimpering of someone who's hungry, nor the restless crying of someone who's wet themselves; it was a heart-wrenching, terrified cry.

Shen Qingci woke up instantly and hugged her son tightly: "Bao'er? What's wrong, Bao'er?"

Bao'er cried until her face was red, her little hands gripped her clothes tightly, and her little feet kicked wildly. No matter how you tried to comfort her, you couldn't calm her down.

Jinshu rushed in, throwing on a robe, and asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong with the young master...?"

Before he finished speaking, very light footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

It was so light that it was almost inaudible.

But Bao'er cried even harder, almost passing out.

Shen Qingci felt a chill run down her spine.

She immediately covered Bao'er's mouth and gestured to Jinshu to be quiet. The two of them, holding the child, hid in the innermost corner of the bed and held their breath.

The footsteps stopped outside the window.

Moonlight streamed through the window paper, casting a blurry figure—not tall, hunched over, seemingly holding something in his hand.

The figure stood outside the window for about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, seemingly listening to what was happening inside. After Bao'er's crying was muffled, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Finally, the figure moved.

Instead of leaving, he... took out a thin, long object and began to fiddle with the window bolt.

Jinshu turned pale with fright and covered her mouth tightly.

Shen Qingci remained unusually calm. Holding Bao'er in one arm, she quietly reached for the dagger under her pillow with the other.

The window bolt was pulled open.

The window was pushed open a crack.

A hand reached in, holding a paper package.

Just as the man was about to throw the paper package in, a loud shout suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard: "Who goes there?!"

It was Eunuch Li's voice.

The figure outside the window was clearly startled, dropped the paper package onto the windowsill, and turned to run away.

Then came the sound of fighting—very brief, stopping in less than ten breaths.

Then Eunuch Li's voice rang out from outside the window: "Your Highness, are you alright?"

Shen Qingci then released her hand from Bao'er's mouth.

The little one had cried himself out and was still sobbing, but his emotions had clearly calmed down considerably.

"It's alright." Shen Qingci carried Bao'er to the window and opened it.

Eunuch Li stood outside the window, his foot planted on a figure—the same dark shadow from before. In the moonlight, he could be seen to be an old eunuch in his forties, whose face was completely unfamiliar.

On the windowsill, the paper package had opened, revealing white powder inside.

"What is this?" Shen Qingci asked.

Eunuch Li bent down, carefully dabbed a little powder, brought it to his nose, and sniffed it. His expression changed drastically: "It's 'Dream Soul Powder'! Inhaling it will cause you to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up; you will die within three hours!"

Jinshu gasped.

Shen Qingci looked at Bao'er in her arms with a complicated expression.

Bao'er's crying...

It's no coincidence.

"Master, this person..." She looked at the eunuch who was being trampled on the ground.

"This old servant has interrogated her," Eunuch Li said coldly. "She was sent by Consort Liu. She said that as long as the young master is dealt with... the Empress will be thrown into a state of confusion and will be easier to handle."

Shen Qingci closed her eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, all that remained was murderous intent.

"Get rid of it," she said calmly. "Make sure it's clean."

"Yes."

Eunuch Li dragged the eunuch away, disappearing into the darkness before dawn.

Jinshu's legs went weak and she could barely stand: "Mother, Your Majesty... how... how did the young master know..."

"I don't know." Shen Qingci looked down at Bao'er, who had stopped crying and was looking at her with wide eyes. "But Bao'er knows."

She carried her son to the table and lit the candles.

As the candlelight flickered on, Bao'er's little face appeared exceptionally clear in the halo of light.

"Jinshu," Shen Qingci said, "go and bring Xiaobai here."

"Now?"

"Now."

Although Jinshu was puzzled, she went anyway. Soon, she returned carrying the snow-white Persian cat.

The little white kitten was still asleep when it was picked up and became very unhappy. It struggled in Jinshu's arms and whimpered softly.

Shen Qingci carried Bao'er and walked to a place three feet away from the cat.

When Bao'er saw the cat, her eyes lit up, and she stretched out her little hand, making "woof woof" sounds.

Something magic happened.

The previously restless white kitten suddenly stopped struggling. It pricked up its ears, stared at Bao'er with its blue eyes for a few seconds, and then let out a soft, sweet "meow."

Jinshu tentatively put the cat down.

The little white cat didn't run away. Instead, it walked gracefully to Shen Qingci's feet, rubbed its head against the hem of her skirt, and then looked up and meowed at Bao'er again.

That voice... it sounded almost like she was being coquettish.

"Go catch another sparrow," Shen Qingci said.

"Your Majesty, it's not even dawn yet..."

"There should be some by the back wall," Shen Qingci said. "Use grains to guide them."

Jinshu went. A quarter of an hour later, she returned with a sparrow in a small bamboo cage. The sparrow fluttered around in the cage, making a clanging sound as it hit the bamboo, clearly frightened.

Shen Qingci placed the bamboo cage on the table and brought Bao'er close to him.

Bao'er looked curiously at the sparrows in the cage, her little hands reaching out to grab at the air.

The sparrows suddenly stopped colliding.

It perched at the bottom of the cage, tilting its head, its beady black eyes fixed on Bao'er. Then, it let out a soft chirp, as if in response to something.

Shen Qingci opened the cage door.

The sparrow didn't fly away immediately, but hopped around the cage opening, seemingly hesitant. Finally, it jumped out, landed on the table, and hopped two steps towards Bao'er.

Bao'er giggled happily.

The sparrow moved closer, only an inch away from Bao'er's little hand.

Jinshu was dumbfounded.

"That's not enough," Shen Qingci said thoughtfully. "We need more extreme tests."

She looked at Jinshu: "Go to the Imperial Kitchen and ask them for a guard dog. Just say... say that there are rats in our palace and we need to borrow a dog. Get the fiercest one."

Jinshu was startled: "Your Majesty, what if the dog hurts the young master..."

"I'm here," Shen Qingci said. "Go."

Jinshu gritted her teeth and went.

As dawn approached, she returned with a large yellow dog.

The dog was indeed ferocious, baring its teeth and growling lowly. It lunged at any stranger it saw. The eunuch leading the dog looked nervous: "Miss Jinshu, this dog guards the meat storeroom in the imperial kitchen. It's very fierce. Please be extremely careful..."

"Understood, thank you." Jinshu slipped a small piece of silver to the eunuch. "Don't tell anyone about this."

"Yes, yes, yes." The eunuch took the silver and left in a hurry.

The big yellow dog was tied to the jujube tree in the yard, pacing back and forth anxiously. When it saw Shen Qingci carrying Bao'er out, it started barking even more wildly.

"Your Majesty!" Jinshu anxiously stepped in front of her.

"Make way." Shen Qingci, holding Bao'er, approached step by step.

When they were still three zhang away from the dog, Bao'er suddenly frowned and made a dissatisfied "hmm hmm" sound.

The big yellow dog barked even louder.

Two zhang away.

Bao'er's face fell, and she looked like she was about to cry.

One zhang away.

Just as the big yellow dog was about to pounce, Bao'er burst into tears.

It wasn't crying out of fear, but rather... crying out of anger.

I feel offended.

A miracle happened.

The previously frenzied yellow dog seemed to be struck by something invisible, and suddenly stopped barking. Its ears drooped, its tail hung down, and it let out a mournful "woof woof" from its throat.

It took two steps back, lay down, and buried its head in its front paws, as if... admitting its mistake.

Bao'er's crying gradually subsided.

He looked at the big yellow dog, sobbing, and stretched out his little hand.

The big yellow dog raised its head and cautiously approached, stopping about half a foot away from Bao'er's hand. It let out a soft "woof," its voice light and gentle, completely different from before.

Shen Qingci's heart was pounding.

She stepped back while holding Bao'er.

The big yellow dog stood up, staring longingly at Bao'er, its tail wagging slightly.

"Jinshu," Shen Qingci's voice trembled slightly, "take the dog back, and send some silver to the Imperial Kitchen, and tell them not to tell anyone."

"Yes." Jinshu was still shaken and left with the dog.

As the dog walked away, it kept turning back to look in Bao'er's direction.

Shen Qingci carried her son back into the house and closed the door.

She sat on the couch, looking at the baby in her arms, and remained silent for a long time.

Bao'er has calmed down and is playing with a strand of her hair, making babbling sounds, innocent and naive.

But Shen Qingci knew that this child harbored a huge secret.

"Baby," she whispered, "you can sense danger, can't you? You can sense who the bad guys are, can't you?"

Bao'er, of course, didn't answer; she just grinned at her.

Shen Qingci hugged her son tightly.

"This ability must not be known to anyone," she muttered to herself. "Absolutely not."

She recalled what Eunuch Li had said—"A person with a spiritual body is one in ten thousand. To possess such a treasure is a crime."

If the Liu family finds out, if those with ulterior motives in the palace find out...

Bao'er will become the target of everyone's criticism.

They will be robbed, exploited, and even... treated like monsters.

"Jinshu," she called to Jinshu, who had just returned, "from today onwards, Bao'er must not be left alone. You and the wet nurse will take turns watching over her. Apart from me, you, Eunuch Li, and Physician Chen, no one else is allowed to approach Bao'er alone."

"Yes." Jinshu nodded emphatically. "This servant will protect my young master even at the cost of my life."

"Also," Shen Qingci pondered, "we need to use Bao'er's ability, but we can't let anyone notice."

"How do I use it?"

Shen Qingci walked to the desk, picked up his brush, and wrote a line of words.

"Trial subjects: three. The medicine will be delivered to Tangli Palace at Chenshi (7-9 AM), Wushi (11 AM-1 PM), and Youshi (5-7 PM) respectively. Also, a list of newly recruited palace maids and eunuchs."

She handed the note to Jinshu: "Have Xiaoluzi deliver this to Physician Chen."

Jinshu took the note and hesitated, "Your Majesty, what do you mean...?"

"Testing for poison," Shen Qingci said calmly. "The Liu family won't just send one person. From now on, everything sent to Tangli Palace—food, supplies, medicine—will be tested by those three testers first. But testing alone isn't enough; we also need advance warning."

She looked at Bao'er in the cradle.

"If someone approaches with malicious intent, Bao'er will react," she said, "but that reaction is too obvious. So... we need to train him."

"train?"

"Mmm." Shen Qingci walked to the cradle, squatted down, and held Bao'er's little hand. "From now on, every day, I'll take you to see different people. If they're good people, smile. If they're bad people, you... frown, or turn your face away, but don't cry."

Bao'er, of course, didn't understand; she just played with her fingers.

But Shen Qingci knew that this would take time.

Just like training a police dog, it requires patience, repetition, and establishing conditioned reflexes.

Bao'er's talent is the ability to perceive good and evil.

What she needs to do is turn this talent into a controllable "weapon".

"Jinshu," she stood up, "go and fetch Eunuch Li. I need his help to prepare a certain medicine."

"What medicine?"

"A medicine that can temporarily suppress Bao'er's abilities," Shen Qingci said. "We don't usually use it, but in case... in case someone suspects something, or if we need to take Bao'er to a crowded place, we'll give him a little. To make him look... like a normal child."

Jinshu's eyes reddened: "Your Majesty, the young master is still so young..."

"I know." Shen Qingci's voice was also a little choked up, "But this deep palace... never lets anyone off the hook just because they are young."

She leaned down and gently kissed Bao'er's forehead.

"Baby, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I had no choice but to do this. Once we leave here and are safe, I'll make sure you grow up freely."

Bao'er seemed to sense something, and reached out her little hand to touch her face.

The movements were very light and gentle.

It was like offering comfort.

Shen Qingci's tears finally fell.

A drop landed on Bao'er's little hand.

Bao'er looked curiously at the water droplets on her hand, then looked up at her mother, and suddenly grinned.

They laughed without a care in the world.

Her smile... melted Shen Qingci's heart.

"Okay." She wiped away her tears, her eyes regaining their resolve. "Mother promises you, I will get you out of this hellhole as soon as possible."