CH 224

Villainous Emperor (24)

After going through this, Song Xu Yi finally understood: Jiang Ruoyu would never agree to let herself leave her chamber.

To maintain the persona of a submissive maid, since Jiang Ruoyu was unwilling to let her leave the chamber, Song Xu Yi did not insist and could only continue staying in Jiang Ruoyu’s chamber. She thought that eventually, when Jiang Ruoyu grew tired of her, she wouldn’t need to make any suggestions to leave, as Jiang Ruoyu would probably kick her out of the chamber herself.

In the following days, Song Xu Yi continued to pretend to be gentle and submissive. Whatever Jiang Ruoyu said, she would do accordingly, and she frequently flattered her.

Song Xu Yi’s flattery was exaggerated to the extreme, sometimes even making herself cringe. If someone said Jiang Ruoyu was an unwise ruler, she felt like she was the top sycophant by her side.

However, something strange seemed to be happening to Song Xu Yi. Perhaps it was because of the Divine Attractor within Jiang Ruoyu, clouding her judgment. Before the age of fourteen, Jiang Ruoyu was a clever and smart young girl. But the Jiang Ruoyu that Song Xu Yi encountered seemed to have been captivated by the flattery. Every time she heard Song Xu Yi flattering her, she not only didn’t feel disgusted but even stared at her with bright eyes, as if she genuinely believed in the words of her flattery. Sometimes, her face even turned red in response.

As she watched the blushing Jiang Ruoyu, Song Xu Yi often found it hard to control the warmth rising to her own face, causing her cheeks to redden too.

Time flew by quickly, and five days had passed like a fleeting moment.

As time went on, Song Xu Yi gradually felt a sense of crisis. She believed that during this time, she had fully played the role of a sycophant. However, instead of growing tired of her, Jiang Ruoyu seemed to become even more affectionate, keeping a close eye on her…

Song Xu Yi couldn’t understand what was happening to herself. Perhaps she had caught the habit of blushing from Jiang Ruoyu. The number of times her face turned red increased whenever she saw Jiang Ruoyu.

On the sixth day, it was Jiang Ruoyu’s birthday.

On Jiang Ruoyu’s birthday, she would ascend the altar amidst the chanting of prayers by the young girls, receiving the well-wishes of thousands of people and praying to the heavens above.

Though Song Xu Yi stayed in the rear hall, she had been paying close attention to the situation in the front court these past few days.

This was Jiang Ruoyu’s first birthday after becoming the Emperor. It should have been a grand celebration, but due to the incident involving Linzhu and the marriage proposal to Jiang Ruoyu, Lin Zhu’s father was extremely furious. He saw it as a display of the puppet Emperor’s disobedience. As a result, apart from Fu Sheng, who led the Hidden Moon Sect, working tirelessly to handle the birthday arrangements, the officials and nobles led by Lin Xiang showed little enthusiasm for the occasion.

However, Jiang Ruoyu displayed even less enthusiasm than those people, spending her days holed up in the palace, staying with Song Xu Yi.

Until the day before Jiang Ruoyu’s birthday, Lin Xiang and others finally could no longer sit still.

Perhaps to save face, Lin Xiang came to the palace with a stern expression on his face and inquired about the arrangements and schedule for the following day from Jiang Ruoyu.

Jiang Ruoyu appeared nonchalant, and as the prime minister of the country, Song Xu Yi initially thought about advising Lin Xiang, but he seemed remarkably calm and indifferent. He exchanged a few words with Jiang Ruoyu hastily and then took his leave.

Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but realize that according to the original plot, Jiang Ruoyu would have killed Lin Xiang. In reality, Jiang Ruoyu wasn’t entirely incompetent. From the current situation, it seemed that Lin Xiang barely regarded Jiang Ruoyu and even handled their conversation carelessly. Any other ruler would not tolerate such a dismissive minister.

Song Xu Yi sighed: If things continued like this, it was hard to say that the Jiang Kingdom wouldn’t follow the path of internal chaos as mentioned in the original plot. However, now that Song Xu Yi was in Luiyi’s body, she couldn’t find the courage to advise Jiang Ruoyu.

After Lin Xiang left, Song Xu Yi’s mood visibly sank. She was never good at hiding her emotions, and all of this was naturally seen by Jiang Ruoyu.

In these past few days, Jiang Ruoyu felt like she was living in a dream.

During this time, she experienced an unprecedented sense of joy, especially when she heard the little palace maid awkwardly flattering her. Her words were so amusing that she couldn’t help but smile, and her guilty expressions made Jiang Ruoyu feel incredibly delighted…

Throughout her memories, Jiang Ruoyu rarely experienced such happiness.

The more she interacted with the little palace maid, the more she liked her. She wished she could keep her by her side at all times…

However, Jiang Ruoyu didn’t know why, perhaps because she had never been treated kindly by the heavens before, she always felt that this happiness was like an illusion, as if it might suddenly disappear one day.

Moreover, what made Jiang Ruoyu feel uneasy was that she didn’t understand herself. She had originally made up her mind to restrain her feelings for her Divine Sister and live her life properly. However, Jiang Ruoyu occasionally saw glimpses of her divine sister’s shadow in the little palace maid…

Could it be that she was truly indecisive, seeking the company of the little palace maid yet still yearning for her Divine Sister?

This left Jiang Ruoyu feeling immensely guilty and tormented: It was disrespectful to the little palace maid and a blasphemy against her Divine Sister.

Therefore, Jiang Ruoyu had initially decided to express her feelings to the little palace maid on her birthday. But with her wavering resolve, Jiang Ruoyu reconsidered and gave up on this decision. She planned to wait until she completely eradicated her yearning for her Divine Sister before revealing her heart to the little palace maid.

Due to this sense of guilt, Jiang Ruoyu became increasingly indulgent towards Song Xu Yi.

She noticed the little palace maid’s silence after seeing Lin Xiang, and she recalled what the little palace maid had mentioned about Lin Zhu saving her life. After some thought, she secretly sent someone to investigate the relationship between the little palace maid and Lin Xiang’s family: If Lin Xiang had done something wrong to the little palace maid, Jiang Ruoyu would definitely seek justice for her.

To make the little palace maid happy, Jiang Ruoyu put on the birthday dress she would wear the next day and applied light makeup. She then took the little palace maid to the highest mountain range in the Imperial City…

Because it was the Emperor’s birthday celebration the next day, the entire Imperial City was adorned with lights and decorations. When viewed from a height, the city was aglow with lights, a breathtaking sight.

Jiang Ruoyu had arranged for the fireworks that would be lit on the next night to be prepared in advance. She took the little palace maid to a secluded spot and set them off.

Amidst the brilliant display of lights, Jiang Ruoyu saw the little palace maid looking at her with a mixture of fascination and joy. Jiang Ruoyu couldn’t find the words to describe this gaze; she seemed to understand why ancient Emperors staged military exercises to entertain their vassals. Jiang Ruoyu’s heart began to race uncontrollably, and this feeling extended into her dreams. On that day, after returning, she had a magnificent dream about herself and the little palace maid…

Before going to sleep, just like on any previous birthday, Jiang Ruoyu prayed to her Divine Sister.

She couldn’t articulate the unspoken thoughts she had for her Divine Sister, and yet, she desperately wanted to share her current happiness with her. She didn’t even know what she said—

“Divine Sister, tomorrow I’ll be twenty-two. I believe this will be the happiest birthday I’ve ever had.”

“Rest assured, I know your wishes. Under my guidance, the Jiang Kingdom will not perish; it will thrive, and the lives of its people will surely improve…”

“I will strive to fulfill your wishes.”

After expressing the determination that she had kept hidden in her heart, Jiang Ruoyu still felt like there were more words left unsaid. Somehow, she found herself talking about the little palace maid again—

“The little palace maid is truly adorable. She is kind and amiable like you, but I know she is not you. Every time I see her, I feel incredibly happy. I believe she might have a slight fondness for me too; otherwise, she wouldn’t go to such great lengths, trying awkwardly to say pleasing words to please me…”

“Recently, whenever I see her, I have the urge to kiss her, but I’m afraid she’ll be embarrassed, so I’ve been restraining myself. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on…”

Perhaps, after expressing her desire to be close to the little palace maid before going to sleep, that’s why Jiang Ruoyu had that vivid dream. Song Xu Yi didn’t know the contents of Jiang Ruoyu’s dream, but just listening to her words was enough to make her want to abandon the disguise and run away immediately—

What should she do? Jiang Ruoyu didn’t seem to reject her despite the insincere flattery she received; on the contrary, she appeared even more infatuated…

Song Xu Yi was genuinely afraid that the next day, Jiang Ruoyu might indeed become too elated on her birthday and couldn’t resist kissing her, which would turn everything into a messy tangle that couldn’t be sorted out.

Furthermore, amidst her worries, a voice quietly spoke in Song Xu Yi’s mind, telling her that her feelings for Jiang Ruoyu were not mistaken. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, after spending this time together, Song Xu Yi had indeed developed feelings for Jiang Ruoyu: Every time she saw Jiang Ruoyu, her face would blush, and her gaze would involuntarily follow Jiang Ruoyu’s direction. While a large part of it was due to being enamored by her appearance, there was no denying that, faced with Jiang Ruoyu’s endless indulgence, Song Xu Yi had indeed fallen for her to some extent…

This can’t go on any longer!

Song Xu Yi told herself again: Jiang Ruoyu is a junior, and she can’t lose her resolve. She couldn’t follow along and get lost in these feelings. Since the path of flattery and attentiveness was no longer viable, there was no choice but to change the course and continue with her previous plan!

Even though it was a plan she had long decided on, when the moment came, Song Xu Yi inexplicably felt a blockage in her heart, causing her to agonize all night without sleep. When she woke up the next morning, her complexion was terrible, frightening Jiang Ruoyu. After consulting a physician and learning that Song Xu Yi didn’t have any serious health issues but only lacked sleep, Jiang Ruoyu abandoned the plan of bringing Song Xu Yi to pray together and advised her to rest well. Then, she left alone.

For a long time afterward, the people of the Jiang Kingdom discussed the Emperor’s birthday ceremony. Amidst the chanting and prayers of the young girls, a strong gust of wind swept through, and the Emperor descended from the sky. Originally, the Emperor was supposed to kneel and pay respects to the ancestors, but as soon as she stood still, fresh flowers bloomed on the tomb of the founding Emperor . Colorful butterflies came from all directions, surrounding the Emperor and forming a crescent moon behind her…

Everyone in the Jiang Kingdom knew: the crescent moon was a symbol of the Divine Attractor.

The Emperor already possessed an otherworldly appearance, and with this extraordinary phenomenon during the ceremony, the people became even more convinced: the Emperor was the Divine Attractor in human form!

All were awestruck by this spectacle and knelt, shouting “Long live the Emperor.”

Whether it was the Hidden Moon Sect or the ministers and nobles, no one had expected that Jiang Ruoyu would win the hearts of the people through this single appearance.

The Hidden Moon Sect was relatively fine since Fu Sheng’s aim was to restore Dong Kingdom, but the ministers and nobles led by Lin Xiang secretly gnashed their teeth. They had never expected to be so mistaken about the seemingly unremarkable Imperial Princess, who turned out to be the most difficult one to deal with…

But those are stories for another time.

Even though Jiang Ruoyu had harvested public support as planned and further enhanced her divine power, she wasn’t as happy as one might expect. She had been worried about the little palace maid in her chambers. After the ceremony ended, she hurriedly returned to her quarters, and there she saw the face of the little palace maid had already returned to normal.

The little palace maid smiled shyly at Jiang Ruoyu and said she had a gift to give her. Taking Jiang Ruoyu through a path adorned with flowers and willows, they arrived outside the palace where the blessed girls resided. The little palace maid took out a piece of paper and handed it to Jiang Ruoyu with eager anticipation.

“Your Majesty, this is the information I gathered about these girls.”

“The Wang family’s youngest daughter has exquisite embroidery skills and a charming appearance; the second Miss from the Liu family is delicate and pitiful, with the talent to write exceptionally well, almost on par with a top scholar…”

As if a basin of cold water was poured over her head, the smile at the corner of Jiang Ruoyu’s lips gradually froze. So, the birthday gift the little palace maid gave her was an introduction to other girls?

…

Jiang Ruoyu’s lips curved with a sneer, and her gaze turned icy as she looked at Song Xu Yi, slowly pursing her lips.

The author has something to say:

Tomorrow or the day after, this small world will be completed~