Chapter 112: "Your Subject Does Wish to Be a Traitorous Official for Once.
Xiao Yang was in the Imperial Study Room handling state affairs past midnight. She was rarely this busy. Previously, she’d shirk her duties whenever she could, but now she had proactively taken on all the work herself.
She had accomplished a great deal today and was exhausted, but she was so tired she couldn’t sleep.
She wasn’t in a hurry to sleep. She had a pot of wine brought to her and began drinking alone, taking the opportunity to review the events of the past few days.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, the incident with Liu Shixu had occurred. At the time, she had only assumed the Empress Dowager was stirring up trouble with someone again. But then she learned from Rong Yin that the late Emperor had a brother who was still alive.
Whether it was the Empress Dowager or the late Emperor’s brother, their target was her, the Emperor. If they joined forces, they would undoubtedly make their move much faster.
There was another point: if the Empress Dowager joined forces with them, her identity as a woman would become their sole—and fatal—point of attack.
The Empress Dowager valued her prestige, but she feared death even more. After nearly being poisoned to death, she was well aware that she might not live much longer; the Little Emperor would take her life sooner or later.
’Better to risk it all than be imprisoned until I die.’
Xiao Yang thought for a long time that night.
The Empress Dowager and that Prince were a ticking time bomb. As everyone knows, the terrifying part isn’t the blade that has already fallen, but the one hanging over your head, never knowing when it will drop.
So, Xiao Yang decided to detonate this bomb herself.
And this grand play required two crucial chess pieces: Prince Jing and Nanny Yang.
Prince Jing’s nature was all too clear. He was the most useful and most easily manipulated pawn. Xiao Yang knew this, and she imagined others did as well.
Xiao Yang’s goal was to deliver him to her enemy. Because Prince Jing was so easy to control, he would certainly lure them out. Then, all Prince Jing had to do was act like he was being manipulated, and that would open up a world of possibilities for her to exploit.
Nanny Yang’s role, however, was a bit more complex.
She performed her duties flawlessly and was respectful to Xiao Yang, but it was hard to pin down where her true loyalties lay.
But when Xiao Yang discovered that Nanny Yang had once been one of the servants attending the late Emperor, she began to form a clearer picture.
So she went to find Yang Xiu, sword in hand. There were no superfluous questions, just a single sentence: "Either serve Us, or die."
Yang Xiu had clearly long anticipated this day and confessed everything about her relationship with the late Emperor.
Yang Xiu had been the late Emperor’s personal maid and had indeed shared his bed once. But, knowing the Empress Dowager’s cruel methods, she had refused any official title. She continued to serve by the late Emperor’s side, but he never again showed her such favor.
Bi Fang had indeed been the late Emperor’s man. Everything he controlled was authentic: the late Emperor’s Hidden Guards, secret correspondence, and loyal officials. But six years of court turmoil had passed. People’s loyalties are fickle, and after Bi Fang discovered the Emperor’s secret, he developed his own ambitions.
Similarly, Yang Xiu was also one of the officials the late Emperor had entrusted with the care of his heir, tasking her with serving the Little Emperor. But the Empress Dowager, knowing she had once shared the Emperor’s bed, was always wary of her. She kept Nanny Yang close only to humiliate and suppress her.
It wasn’t until Xiao Yang appeared and began resisting the Empress Dowager that Nanny Yang had the opportunity to get close to her.
The people under her command were merely palace maids and eunuchs. They weren’t a significant power, but they made it convenient to operate within the palace walls.
She and Bi Fang had discovered the Emperor was a woman at almost the same time. Bi Fang had tried to persuade her to join him, but she had neither agreed nor refused.
With the Empress Dowager in power, she couldn’t openly side with the Little Emperor. She could only watch from the shadows, and had secretly saved his life several times.
She was loyal to the late Emperor and would never betray the Little Emperor.
After scrutinizing her story, Xiao Yang ultimately spared her life. This entire scheme was also a test for her.
If Yang Xiu had failed, she would have been sent to join the late Emperor.
Fortunately, Yang Xiu didn’t disappoint her, and Prince Jing also completed his mission perfectly.
The Regent King harbored improper desires for her, and until he got what he wanted, he was the easiest to manipulate. The three brothers of the Xiao Family were a similar case; Xiao Yang had long since dragged them onto her ’pirate ship,’ and they had no power to refuse.
Unless Prince Jing ascended the throne, they would meet a terrible end no matter who became the new emperor.
The only unexpected variable was probably Meng Xuechen revealing his identity. Although it wasn’t part of her calculations, it did increase her plan’s chances of success.
’It might make me seem ruthless, all these schemes,’ she thought, ’but such is the nature of the game.’
In the struggle for Imperial Power, everyone is a pawn. If the player can’t even control their own pieces, they won’t even know what killed them.
Xiao Yang didn’t want to be the Emperor. She didn’t want to indulge in pleasures and become the kind of decadent ruler who brings about the fall of a nation. Nor did she want to work herself to death shouldering the responsibility for the entire realm.
But while she could choose to give up the throne, she would absolutely not be driven from it in front of everyone.
Besides, the throne couldn’t be handed to just anyone, especially not to a cruel man like Xiao Sheng.
’My being a woman is a fatal flaw?’ she mused. ’Then I’ll let the entire world know and sit on this Dragon Throne in plain sight.’
She had indeed won this battle of wills. With Xie Liuzheng’s help, she had been even more successful than she’d imagined.
However, setting the trap and watching the show had been exhilarating. The cleanup, however, was proving to be a nightmare.
Now, this throne would not be so easy to get rid of.
As a woman on the throne, the entire world was watching. Future generations, for hundreds and thousands of years, would be scrutinizing her every move.
She absolutely could not give up halfway, only to be condemned by history and, in doing so, ruin the prospects of countless women in the future.
At the thought of the days to come, she took a long, hard swallow of wine.
’Well, there’s no running away now,’ she thought. ’So I might as well get on with it.’
’No matter the circumstances, one ought to live life to the fullest at least once.’
Xiao Yang was about to pour herself another drink when a hand reached out and took the wine jug before she could.
Xiao Yang looked up. "What are you doing here?"
Rong Yin replied, "Your Majesty has been working late. I came to check on you."
Rong Yin glanced at the memorials on the desk. "I will be able to help Your Majesty with these tomorrow."
Xiao Yang said, "That won’t be necessary. I don’t make a habit of working injured men to the bone. Focus on your recovery."
Rong Yin then turned to her. "Your Majesty should get some rest."
Xiao Yang nodded. "You’re right, it’s time for bed."
Xiao Yang rose and started toward her bedchamber, but after a few steps, she noticed Rong Yin was following her.
Fighting off her drowsiness, she turned back. "Why are you following me? Shouldn’t you be heading back at this hour?"
Rong Yin stared at her, a hint of grievance in his eyes. "Meng Xuechen is still in Zichen Palace. Is Your Majesty only sending *me* away?"
Xiao Yang was speechless. ’Where is this coming from?’
Rong Yin stepped closer, his tall, slender frame casting a shadow over her. He looked down, his gaze intense. "What exactly did Meng Xuechen say to you? Why has he suddenly become so close to Your Majesty?"
Xiao Yang raised a hand to push him away, but the moment she touched him, she remembered his many injuries and couldn’t bring herself to use any force.
She raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is the Regent King planning to commit an act of insubordination?"
Rong Yin seized her hand, making no effort to hide his aggressive aura. "I do indeed wish to play the part of a treacherous courtier for once."
Xiao Yang couldn’t help but laugh. ’What kind of traitorous courtier dreams not of the throne, but only of climbing into the Dragon Bed?’
Xiao Yang cupped his face and pressed a kiss to his lips. "If you want to seduce me, you’ll have to recover first. I won’t have you dying on my Dragon Bed."
Rong Yin’s breath hitched, and the intense aura he had gathered around himself instantly dissipated.
All the grievances in his heart were, in the end, no match for a single sentence from her.