The Tyrant’s Drama Queen Empress

CHAPTER 12: She Was Bestowed The Title of Bǎo Fēi

　　Jiang Jieyu’s mouth was practically dry from talking, yet Shen Ling still refused to be swayed. Jiang Jieyu wanted to give up, but she felt unwilling. With Jing Fei and the others watching from the side, she did not want to become their joke. Refusing to give up, she said again,

　　“Your Grace, if you plead with His Majesty for Su Pin, you would be saving her life. You know, saving one life is worth building a seven level pagoda. This is a good deed that brings blessings. It is merit sent by the heavens.”

　　Shen Ling tilted her head slightly. The pearl and jade tassels on her hairpin swayed with the movement, chiming with a crisp, pleasant sound. “But His Majesty did not kill her, so why should I plead for her?”

　　Jiang Jieyu, “......” She was completely blocked.

　　Shen Ling looked at her, suspicion in her eyes. “You care so much about her. Are you her close sister?”

　　Jiang Jieyu nodded. At this point, even if they were not, they had to be.

　　Shen Ling dropped a deadly question. “If you are such good sisters, then why do you not go ask His Majesty yourself?”

　　“......”

　　Jiang Jieyu could not answer. Was she supposed to say that she just wanted to push Shen Ling to go die in front of His Majesty? Of course she was not going. She was afraid of dying! Jiang Jieyu vaguely avoided Shen Ling’s questioning by pretending to eat her sand pear instead.

　　Jing Fei, who had been waiting to watch some drama but saw none, felt a little disappointed. As for the other beauties, they all lowered their eyes, focusing on their noses and hearts, keeping their expressions perfectly neutral, unlike Jing Fei who wore her emotions openly. Still, what they were thinking inside was probably much the same.

　　Shen Ling rolled her eyes inwardly with a quiet scoff. She knew it. Of course they had not come with good intentions. Still, this whole thing made her realize one unexpected perk of having Xie Yuanxun as Emperor. She had only mentioned his name, and they were already scared stiff. Just how deep did his shadow loom over them, really?

　　“Your Grace, His Majesty has arrived,” Liu Zhu said softly as she stepped up beside Shen Ling.

　　Their conversation had already hit an awkward lull, the atmosphere so quiet that even though Liu Zhu spoke in a low voice, Jing Fei and the other beauties still heard her clearly. One of them happened to be eating a sand pear and immediately choked in fright, coughing until her face turned bright red.

　　Jing Fei jumped to her feet in a panic and said solemnly, “Has it been that long already? Ah, right, I suddenly remembered I have not taken my medicine yet. Yes, yes, Nanny Zhou said I have a stomach issue. That is right, stomach discomfort. Look at my memory. I am clearly unwell, yet I still ran around everywhere. I should hurry back to my palace to take my medicine. If I am late, it will lose its effectiveness.”

　　She wanted to leave. She really did not want His Majesty to find out that she was the one who had brought Jiang Jieyu to Chang Le Palace to cause trouble for Shen Ling.

　　Shen Ling spoke up calmly, “His Majesty has already come in.”

　　So yes, it was far too late to run now.

　　Jing Fei’s body stiffened. She and the other beauties trembled as they lowered themselves into a salute before Xie Yuanxun. He did not spare them a glance. Instead, he reached out and pulled Shen Ling up, asking her, “Why did you not go to the Beast Garden today?”

　　Shen Ling blinked, feeling a bit guilty. Had he found out that she often went there to look at the giant pandas? She had told the people there not to bother her. She had even had Liu Zhu slip them some silver as hush money.

　　Left with no choice, she answered honestly, “Mm, I did not go today. I usually just go there for a walk anyway. Sometimes when I get tired, I head back early.”

　　—Anyway, if he doesn't say anything, then I don't need to be stupid enough to tell him everything.

　　—Besides, I haven't forgotten that he wanted me to kill the giant panda. So many days have passed; he shouldn't be so petty as to still remember that, right?

　　Xie Yuanxun studied her face for a moment before saying, “You look a bit thinner. Not as round as before.”

　　Shen Ling, “……Haha, really?”

　　—Have I ever been fat?

　　—No way. Definitely not!

　　While Shen Ling and Xie Yuanxun were talking, Jing Fei and the others remained half-crouched in their salute for a long time without being told to rise. Their bodies were trembling slightly from the strain.

　　Shen Ling said, “Your Majesty, should you let them get up now?”

　　Xie Yuanxun’s gaze swept calmly over Jing Fei and the others. He reached out and pinched Shen Ling’s cheek, saying, “You do not need to mind them. And do not assume that just because they look like they are about to collapse, they actually will. They are all quite capable. Let them stand a bit longer. Consider it a bit of entertainment.”

　　Then he continued coolly, “You are stupid. You think that if you plead for them, they will be grateful. You are thinking too simply. They are only taking advantage of your stupidity to seek benefits for themselves.”　　

　　Shen Ling, “......” If you are going to talk, can you at least stop with the personal attacks?

　　Stupid, stupid! He had already called her stupid twice in a row. Was Xie Yuanxun worried that the word “stupid” was not stuck to her clearly enough, not bright enough, so he decided to slap another one on her?

　　—If you like calling me stupid so much, why not just call me Stupid-Stupid?

　　—That actually sounds kind of affectionate.

　　Xie Yuanxun looked at her, brought his index and middle fingers together, and lightly tapped the cheek he had just pinched. “Forget it. Let it be.”

　　She was already stupid enough as it was. If he really indulged her and started calling her Stupid-Stupid, just how stupid would she become? Right now, she was at the perfect level. Too stupid, and he would start finding it boring.

　　Xie Yuanxun did not tell Jing Fei and the others to rise. They stubbornly endured with their delicate little bodies and somehow did not faint. Shen Ling thought to herself: as expected, human potential really can be squeezed out if you push hard enough.

　　She did not plead for them again.

　　Xie Yuanxun said, “Oh, I almost forgot. There is something I have not given you yet.”

　　“What is it that Your Majesty wants to give me?”

　　He glanced at her. “Meat.”

　　Shen Ling, “???” Chang Le Palace was not that poor, was it? Surely it was not so poor that she could not even eat meat. She was currently the infamous, widely acknowledged “favored consort” type. Who would dare skim her meals?

　　Xie Yuanxun did not bother explaining. He simply had a plate of tender, sauce-glazed meat placed in front of her. Clearly in a good mood, he said, “Eat. I had this specially made for you.”

　　Shen Ling tested the waters. “Is it really okay for me to eat alone? Should Your Majesty take a bite first?”

　　—I am afraid it is poisoned.

　　Xie Yuanxun placed a pair of silver chopsticks into her hand, his tone unusually gentle. Gentle enough to send chills down her spine. “What are you afraid of? You are sitting right beside me. With me here, do you really think someone would dare poison you?”

　　Shen Ling smiled. 　　

　　—I'm afraid you'll poison me, you, it's you!

　　Shen Ling said, “Then I will eat it now.”

　　Xie Yuanxun replied, “Go ahead.”

　　Shen Ling took a bite of the meat. The moment it entered her mouth, her brows knit slightly. It smelled fragrant, but once she tasted it, it was not fragrant at all. In fact, it was the worst piece of meat she had eaten since entering the Palace. Meat in the Palace was usually pork or lamb and the like, so how did something this awful appear? And what kind of meat was this, anyway?

　　Under Xie Yuanxun’s gaze, Shen Ling chewed the mouthful of meat. When their eyes met, she smiled at him. It was too dry, so she had to chew for a long time before swallowing.

　　Xie Yuanxun said casually, “This is the most tender piece of meat from that divine beast.”

　　“I killed it myself. I stayed by its side and watched it breathe its last breath. When the Imperial Chef cut the meat, he said the blood was still warm, not even cold yet.”

　　“......” Wait. Wait a second. What kind of meat was this? Did she just hear divine beast? She lowered her head and stared at the plate of meat in front of her, clutching her chest. So, so the meat she was chewing right now was Panda’s meat?!

　　Her expression twisted. Jail! Jail, jail, jail! Hurry up and go to jail! Wuwu, but he was the Emperor. Only he could throw people into jail. No one dared throw him in!

　　—Wuwu, Xie Yuanxun, you trash! Bastard! Hurry up and go to the eighteenth level of hell!

　　Shen Ling felt nauseous and wanted to spit the meat out.

　　Xie Yuanxun covered her mouth with his hand, his voice cool as ice. “It is just a bit of meat. You cannot even handle this little? You are too delicate. Come, swallow it.”

　　Meeting his cold, piercing gaze, Shen Ling obediently put on a perfectly measured smile and forced the meat down her throat. “Your Majesty, I am done eating.”

　　—Scum!!! Bastard!!!!!

　　—I will never like cute things again!

　　—Ahhhhhhh you idiot, just you wait! I am going to explode from anger! How can there be such a dog thing like you in this world?!

　　Xie Yuanxun pulled her into his arms and said, “Very good.”

　　—Good my foot!

　　Shen Ling went limp, her expression dull, but she took the initiative to squeeze herself further into Xie Yuanxun’s embrace. Did he want to hold her? Fine. She would let him hold her all he wanted. Best case scenario, she would crush him to death. 　　

　　Xie Yuanxun patted her head. “You really are the most delicate one in my Harem. Just a bit of meat and you can’t handle it. It makes me feel so tender toward you.”　　

　　“......”

　　“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

　　Shen Ling said, “I want to hear more of Your Majesty’s voice.”

　　—I still don’t get why he had to kill the divine beast. There are so many animals in the Beast Garden, and he hasn’t killed any of them. Why this one, of all creatures?

　　—Could it be because he thinks I like the divine beast and that I’ve somehow tainted what’s his? But that doesn’t make sense either. I’ve touched him, his Taiji Hall, his bed, so many of his things, and nothing bad happened. His brain is impossible to figure out!

　　—Maybe he saw me going to see the divine beast, thought the beast stole my attention, and—like a selfish child—he wanted it only for himself. If someone else got to play with it, it had to be taken away. Only he was more extreme and just killed it.

　　—Hehe.

　　Xie Yuanxun’s expression was unreadable. His hand paused for a moment on her head, then pressed down even harder. Shen Ling’s lips twitched: ouch, my scalp hurts!

　　Xie Yuanxun lifted Shen Ling in his arms. He glanced at Jing Fei and the others and happened to catch one of the beauties sneaking a peek at him. He said, “That eye is worthless. Take it out.”

　　The beauty’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor in tears.

　　Xie Yuanxun said, “My Ai Fei (beloved consort) hasn’t seen fresh eyeballs yet. When it’s ready, you can hold it and take a good look.”

　　Shen Ling said, “......” No, no thanks!

　　She was already half-dead from Xie Yuanxun’s weird antics. Now the idea of him gouging out someone’s eyeball barely even registered. It was just another thing. Nothing serious... Look at what he’s turned her into! Even if she’d been cold before, she’d never been this twisted. Staying around a maniac like him long enough, you’re bound to get dragged into his madness.

　　Xie Yuanxun glanced at the freshly removed eyeball with utter disgust. “The color’s terrible. Too many impurities. Uglier than the ones I’ve taken before. Ugly. Throw it away.”

　　Shen Ling just treated it like she was watching a medical dissection video, fully achieving the ultimate calm, detached high-definition state in her mind.

　　Xie Yuanxun waved at Jing Fei and the others. They quickly bowed and left. Only after they were gone did Shen Ling realize something was off. “Did they just call me ‘Ai Fei,’?”  

　　Xie Yuanxun nodded. “Mm.”

　　Shen Ling immediately fell silent. Honestly, the title “Ai Fei”... oh my God! Was this meant to socially destroy her?

　　Xie Yuanxun placed Shen Ling on the bed and followed her up. Napping in the Taiji Hall wasn’t nearly as comfortable as here. “You’re officially a Fei (Consort) now. Your title will be Ai, my Ai Fei (beloved consort). Judging by your tone, you don’t like this title?”

　　She nervously shook her head. Seeing he wasn’t angry, she added, “I prefer something more elegant.”

　　“Elegant? Then it will be Bǎo Fēi (Precious Consort).”

　　“......” Elegant? Where’s the elegance in that?

　　“Bǎo Fēi should suit you.” Xie Yuanxun said it as if it were obvious.

　　“......” Shen Ling’s eyes went dead.

　　Fine. Bǎo Fēi it is. It’s still better than that “Ai Fei” nonsense!    

    

     

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