CH 228

Villainous Emperor (28)

Song Xu Yi felt that Jiang Ruoyu’s words had a strange feeling, as if there was a kind of bitter resentment hidden behind them.

However, after finally hearing Jiang Ruoyu speak more openly for the first time, Song Xu Yi naturally wouldn’t give up so easily.

Taking a deep breath, Song Xu Yi decided to persevere, “Ruoyu, forget about her. You’ll be the Emperor, and there will be plenty of people who will adore you. Forget about her, for both your sakes…”

But Jiang Ruoyu remained silent, her lips pressed together tightly. Her gaze was heavy as she glanced at Song Xu Yi, seemingly trying hard to suppress something. The hint of tears in her eyes, however, became even more apparent in an instant.

A sense of guilt surged to its peak within Song Xu Yi at that moment.

Jiang Ruoyu was supposed to be the glorious and esteemed Emperor, and life would have been very comfortable if it weren’t for herself…

But now was not the time to be soft-hearted.

Song Xu Yi clenched her lips and was determined to persevere. She closed her eyes, took the initiative to reach out her hand, and gently touched Jiang Ruoyu’s head, just like she used to do when she was young. She softly spoke, as if telling Jiang Ruoyu, but also telling herself, “Ruoyu, some things were wrong from the beginning. It’s better to cut losses in time. It’s good for both you and her. Treat her as a nightmare! When we wake up from the dream, we still need to move forward…”

When Jiang Ruoyu felt Song Xu Yi’s touch on her head, her stiff body suddenly relaxed.

However, Jiang Ruoyu seemed to appear even more tormented.

With a sudden burst of strength, Jiang Ruoyu pulled Song Xu Yi, and they both ended up sitting on the floor covered with a long, plush carpet. Jiang Ruoyu clung tightly to Song Xu Yi’s waist, burying her head in Song Xu Yi’s neck, and tears kept falling, resembling a wounded little beast.

Jiang Ruoyu’s embrace was incredibly tight, and Song Xu Yi could hardly breathe. Instinctively trembling, she tried to break free, but when she felt the tears on her neck, and saw Jiang Ruoyu’s apparent pain, Song Xu Yi hesitated and felt that the warm tears were scalding, as if burning into her heart.

Ignoring the awkwardness in her heart, Song Xu Yi gave up on breaking free and relaxed her body. Hesitantly, she reached out her hand and gently patted Jiang Ruoyu’s back.

In that moment, Song Xu Yi also felt like crying.

She had believed that she didn’t deserve to cry, that it was her own doing that had messed up everything to become what it was now. However, tears kept falling uncontrollably from her eyes…

In the end, Jiang Ruoyu didn’t know when she had stopped crying, but Song Xu Yi’s sobs and sniffles intensified, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.

Song Xu Yi could feel Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes on her, and she knew she had no reason to cry in front of the person she had hurt so deeply. After all, she was the heartless woman who had slept with Jiang Ruoyu and then run away. But her tears were uncontrollable, and she couldn’t stop them no matter what…

“Stop crying!” Song Xu Yi heard Jiang Ruoyu’s slightly annoyed tone. Jiang Ruoyu reached out her hand, her voice still carrying the coldness that had been present for these days. Yet, her gesture of wiping away Song Xu Yi’s tears was surprisingly gentle.

Song Xu Yi’s body stiffened, she turned her head away, feeling increasingly ashamed and indignant. She felt so useless—being the main culprit, yet still needing comfort from the one she had hurt…

The better Jiang Ruoyu treated her, the more Song Xu Yi couldn’t control her tears.

“I… I just remembered some sad things,” Song Xu Yi sobbed, hiccuping as she lowered her head, unable to meet Jiang Ruoyu’s gaze. She felt embarrassed and utterly ashamed, and in an attempt to cover it up, she hastily came up with an excuse, “Please don’t mind me. I’ll be fine in a moment.”

However, Jiang Ruoyu didn’t walk away.

She spoke softly, after a moment of silence, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness and sigh, “So, sister still cares about me, right?”

Song Xu Yi dared not lift her head, tears streaming down her face as she nodded, “When you’re sad, I feel sad too.”

Another moment of silence followed, and all that could be heard in the air was the sound of Song Xu Yi’s sobbing. After a while, Song Xu Yi once again heard a sigh, and then Jiang Ruoyu embraced her once more.

“The immortal caressed my head and granted me eternal life.” This time, Jiang Ruoyu’s embrace was not as strong as before, and she gently patted Song Xu Yi’s back while soothingly speaking, “Since I met you, I never thought about immortality or the need for power and status. I only wanted to live peacefully with you and my mother. Later, when I met Liu Yi, she became a part of my plans…”

“Sister, stop crying! I’ll listen to you and stop seeking Liu Yi.”

After shedding tears and venting her emotions, Jiang Ruoyu seemed to let go of her stubbornness, and finally, Song Xu Yi heard the words she had been longing to hear.

Facing Song Xu Yi’s teary gaze, Jiang Ruoyu sighed once again, “But, sister, it’s so painful to forget someone you’ve always cherished. Can you, in the time to come, stay with me?”

Song Xu Yi naturally wouldn’t refuse Jiang Ruoyu’s request.

After all, even if it was unintentional, much of Jiang Ruoyu’s suffering was caused by herself, and she felt responsible for helping Jiang Ruoyu recover.

“Then, sister, can you move in with the deity statue and live with me?” After Song Xu Yi finally stopped crying and heard her agreement to stay, Jiang Ruoyu’s voice became even softer, “Now, the only time I feel a little better is when I see you. Every time you return to the deity statue, I worry that you’ll disappear again like ten years ago, and I won’t be able to find you anymore…”

“At that time, I was injured because of the Divine Attractor and remained dormant for eight years before awakening. Then… then I went into seclusion to cultivate.” Song Xu Yi had always known that she owed Jiang Ruoyu an explanation for those eight years. She had also witnessed Jiang Ruoyu’s longing and manipulation of her deity statue. The guilt in her heart deepened.

But Song Xu Yi was afraid that she couldn’t control her feelings, and she simply couldn’t dare to live with Jiang Ruoyu. Moreover, she felt something odd about the entire room full of chains and the bed that looked like a glistening cage.

“What is sister afraid of?” As if understanding Song Xu Yi’s worries, Jiang Ruoyu spoke softly and waved her hand, making all the chains disappear. Seeing that Song Xu Yi still didn’t relent, Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes darkened, though her expression appeared deeply desolate, “Liu Yi is a kind and lively girl, just like sister. I always feel that she doesn’t want me, it must be because I did something wrong, or because I’m too foolish or too timid… I used to hope she would come back, afraid that she would be bored when she returned, and I wanted to catch some small beasts for her to play with…”

“Now there’s no need for that.”

Song Xu Yi felt relieved in her heart. She couldn’t help but admit that when she saw the room’s arrangements, she had an unpleasant association in her mind. However, hearing Jiang Ruoyu’s explanation, her guilt towards Jiang Ruoyu deepened, realizing that she had misunderstood her.

Driven by this guilt, when Jiang Ruoyu gave up on living together but requested access to Song Xu Yi’s deity statue so she could visit her anytime, Song Xu Yi considered it carefully and eventually granted Jiang Ruoyu access to her own deity statue, even though usually, such privileges were only given to partners or close relatives.

Jiang Ruoyu immediately pulled Song Xu Yi into her deity statue. Seeing that she could indeed enter Song Xu Yi’s deity statue unobstructed, Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes lit up, and she happily held onto Song Xu Yi’s arm, saying, “Sister, you’re so kind!”

Although Song Xu Yi wasn’t accustomed to Jiang Ruoyu’s sudden physical contact, seeing her genuinely happy, she felt some comfort in her heart, and her lips curved into a smile as well.

“As long as you’re happy.”

In the following day, Song Xu Yi stayed with Jiang Ruoyu the whole time, and Jiang Ruoyu’s excitement was soaring. She personally cooked a table full of delicious dishes for Song Xu Yi, then pulled her to be a model as she painted her portrait. Finally, during dinner, Jiang Ruoyu took Song Xu Yi to meet Dong Rou…

Dong Rou had only seen the goddess a few times before, and at first, she treated Song Xu Yi with utmost respect. However, after spending some time in the room with Jiang Ruoyu, when she came out again, her gaze towards Song Xu Yi became strange—seemingly shocked, yet also carrying a hint of pity…

Song Xu Yi naturally wouldn’t eavesdrop on their private conversation as mother and daughter. Instead, it was the system that seemed to overhear something, as it let out a mysterious chuckle in Song Xu Yi’s mind.

But the peculiarity in Dong Rou’s eyes quickly faded away, and she engaged in a casual conversation with Song Xu Yi.

Dong Rou’s attitude towards Song Xu Yi had silently undergone a change. She no longer treated Song Xu Yi as a superior deity, but rather as a likable peer or even a younger counterpart…

Song Xu Yi had never possessed the arrogance of those high and mighty deities, and she didn’t pay much attention to the shift in Dong Rou’s behavior. She believed that Dong Rou’s previous unfamiliarity was due to their limited interactions, and now that they were getting along well, it was understandable for Dong Rou to be more friendly.

However, in the following days, the peculiarities became more and more noticeable.

The next day, when Song Xu Yi woke up from her meditation in the deity statue, she found Jiang Ruoyu staring at her without blinking. When Song Xu Yi looked back with surprise, Jiang Ruoyu appeared surprisingly composed, saying, “So this is how sister looks when meditating.”

Song Xu Yi thought Jiang Ruoyu was curious about the deity statue and didn’t think much of it. However, this behavior continued for the second day, the third day… and so on.

Moreover, as Song Xu Yi spent more time with Jiang Ruoyu, their intimate interactions increased. Jiang Ruoyu would often look at Song Xu Yi with an intense gaze that made her blush and her heart race. She liked holding Song Xu Yi’s hand and occasionally called her “sister” affectionately.

Song Xu Yi felt increasingly uneasy about these changes, and what frightened her even more was that she found herself blushing and her heart racing more frequently in Jiang Ruoyu’s presence.

Trying to calm herself down, on a certain day, after meditating in her deity statue and returning to her own abode, Song Xu Yi finally realized what a huge mistake she had made by granting Jiang Ruoyu access to her deity statue.

After meditating for a night, Song Xu Yi saw Jiang Ruoyu at the entrance of her abode. Jiang Ruoyu followed her through the deity statue passage and back home. Song Xu Yi widened her eyes, but before she could pull Jiang Ruoyu back to the Mortal Realm, she saw her father, Song Fu, who had come looking for her.

Song Fu was not like other deities who held themselves above others, and he engaged in a conversation with Jiang Ruoyu.

Facing Song Fu, Jiang Ruoyu dropped the deliberate clinginess and cuteness she showed in front of Song Xu Yi. Instead, she appeared calm, strong, and endearing with her intelligence. Song Fu glanced at Jiang Ruoyu, then looked at Song Xu Yi, who seemed nervous. He finally chuckled with a meaningful smile but didn’t say anything, letting them return together to the Mortal Realm.

Back in the Mortal Realm, Song Xu Yi couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off. She felt that her father’s gaze towards her and Jiang Ruoyu was peculiar. Throughout the day, she was absent-minded and even stumbled over a chair, nearly falling to the ground.

Despite the considerable distance between them, Jiang Ruoyu immediately rushed over and caught Song Xu Yi before she fell.

Due to the momentum, Song Xu Yi ended up in Jiang Ruoyu’s embrace. As she met Jiang Ruoyu’s gaze, she saw a clear desire in her eyes, as if she was about to lean in for a kiss…

Even more alarming, when Song Xu Yi encountered that look from Jiang Ruoyu, she involuntarily felt her legs weaken.

Song Xu Yi became increasingly aware of the potential danger. She vaguely remembered watching a talk show in another world that mentioned how people who were heartbroken were more susceptible to developing feelings for those they interacted with during that period. Fearful of falling into an entangled and unresolved relationship with Jiang Ruoyu again, Song Xu Yi considered the situation and remembered the women that Fu Sheng had prepared for Jiang Ruoyu.

Learning from her past mistakes, Song Xu Yi couldn’t directly suggest that Jiang Ruoyu should meet those women. Instead, she said that she wanted to go and see them. When she brought up the idea, Jiang Ruoyu’s expression momentarily froze, but she eventually agreed with a cold face.

Following her recollections of the strengths of those women, Song Xu Yi asked them to showcase their talents. However, whether it was due to the icy gaze of Jiang Ruoyu or the girls’ lack of focus, their performances were lackluster.

Song Xu Yi was dumbfounded by Jiang Ruoyu’s replay: “Am I not good enough? Does sister want me to see other girls? I can do everything they can do, and if sister likes it, I can perform for sister every day!”

The bitterness in her words was evident, leaving Song Xu Yi at a loss for how to respond.

However, following Jiang Ruoyu’s words, Song Xu Yi was stunned and her eyes widened in shock.

“Or does Sister want me to marry one of those girls?” Jiang Ruoyu’s voice carried a hint of mockery. “But, as far as I know, there is a girl from the Wang family with excellent embroidery skills, and the second miss from the Liu family possesses extraordinary talents. There are also other girls, many of whom have found their own beloved ones… Is Sister trying to intervene and create discord among us?”

Song Xu Yi was taken aback. She hadn’t expected the situation to be like this. After all, Jiang Ruoyu was now the Emperor, and these women were officially part of her palace. Their actions could be seen as tarnishing Jiang Ruoyu’s reputation. Worried that her interference might lead Jiang Ruoyu to truly dislike these women and bring disaster upon them, Song Xu Yi finally decided to back down and not mention it again.

It seemed that Jiang Ruoyu sensed Song Xu Yi’s unease, and after two days, she informed her of her plan to make discreet visits to various places in Jiang Kingdom.

Jiang Ruoyu took Song Xu Yi out of the palace.

Jiang Ruoyu ruled with an iron fist, and while most areas had now achieved order, there were still some remote regions where local officials considered themselves rulers and disregarded Jiang Ruoyu’s decrees, causing misery and suffering among the people.

Song Xu Yi was wholeheartedly devoted to helping the victims, and her attention was completely taken up by these suffering people. Although she still felt her heart flutter whenever she faced Jiang Ruoyu, the task of aiding the disaster-stricken people diverted her focus, and she felt that the awkwardness between them had finally diminished.

Sometimes, when they traveled together, Song Xu Yi even felt a sense of tranquility as if they had been together for many years.

However, several months later, one evening, Song Xu Yi received a message from her father through a communication bead. For some unknown reason, her father’s voice was unusually loud, so loud that Jiang Ruoyu nearby could also hear it. When she heard her father say, “The Divine Lord with whom you agreed to meet for a blind date before your seclusion is now available. Should you return home for a meeting?” Before Song Xu Yi could respond, Jiang Ruoyu’s eyes had already turned red.

Without warning, Jiang Ruoyu’s immense strength came crashing down. Before Song Xu Yi could react, Jiang Ruoyu had already embraced her waist and passionately kissed her.

Song Xu Yi’s eyes widened as she tried to break free, but she felt the burning tears on her face…

Song Xu Yi stood frozen in place.

“Song Xu Yi, or should I call you Liu Yi,” this was the first time Jiang Ruoyu directly called Song Xu Yi by another name. She passionately kissed Song Xu Yi’s lips, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, “Do you even have a heart?”

Jiang Ruoyu had never told anyone outside about the incident with the little palace maid who slept with her and then ran away. Not even her mother, Dong Rou, was aware of it. Except for the parties involved, no one else knew about this…

When Song Xu Yi spoke about what the little palace maid had done, Jiang Ruoyu instantly understood. Song Xu Yi was the little palace maid she had desperately searched for.

Jiang Ruoyu did not lack resentment in her heart. She had originally planned to test all her ideas on Song Xu Yi…

However, when Song Xu Yi started crying.

Jiang Ruoyu found that she couldn’t bring herself to be ruthless. Her heart felt like it was being pricked with needles, and she couldn’t bear it. Subconsciously, she tried to comfort Song Xu Yi and make her happy…

Jiang Ruoyu suddenly realized — she had completely lost control.

But her sister still cared for her…

This was her last chance.

Instead of using forceful means, Jiang Ruoyu wanted Song Xu Yi to willingly stay by her side.

She had thought she could endure it because she noticed that Song Xu Yi had some feelings for her. However, she never expected to hear the news of Song Xu Yi going on a blind date…

*

The last layer of paper covering the window was completely torn apart. Song Xu Yi had no idea how to respond. She closed her eyes like an ostrich, but this time Jiang Ruoyu didn’t give her any chance to escape. She pressed her nose against Song Xu Yi’s and with a bitter tone, she exposed her true feelings, “Long ago, I wanted to keep you by my side, never allowing you to leave. But at that time, I was just a humble mortal, while you were a revered goddess. I could only suppress my desires and pretend to be an ordinary disciple.”

“When Liu Yi appeared, you can’t imagine how happy I was. I thought I could let go of my desires for you and focus on loving a girl I could have. But I never expected it was still you…”

“It’s my foolishness too. Apart from you, no one else in this world can give me such a sweet yet agonizing state of mind…”

“It was you who transformed into Liu Yi to entice me! This time I won’t let go again! If you try to escape again, even if I have to slaughter the Three Realms, reaching the end of the universe or descending into the Yellow Springs, I will still find you…”

While speaking harshly, Jiang Ruoyu cried miserably, looking at Song Xu Yi in front of her. Tears streamed down her face. Even before Song Xu Yi could say anything, Jiang Ruoyu denied all her previous words herself:

“But I am terribly timid. I dare not do anything that might hurt you…”

“Sister, can’t you really care for me just once?”

……

Song Xu Yi was speechless.

Jiang Ruoyu’s words had a profound impact on her, and amidst Jiang Ruoyu’s pleas of “Xu Yi, can you love me a little?” her eyes finally softened.

In this lifetime, the two of them spent many years together: Jiang Kingdom prospered, and they selected a new Emperor. They traveled the world, resolving injustices in the Mortal Realm.

However, one day, while holding Song Xu Yi close, Jiang Ruoyu’s expression suddenly changed. She gazed at Song Xu Yi’s face with a mixture of melancholy and nostalgia.

The woman before Song Xu Yi seemed like Jiang Ruoyu, yet somehow not quite.

Song Xu Yi was taken aback, countless memories flashed through her mind. There was a name on the tip of her tongue, a memory deeply engraved in her heart.

But before Song Xu Yi could speak, accompanied by the system’s startled exclamation of “What’s happening? What’s going on?” a whirlwind of sensation engulfed her, and once again, she found herself falling into familiar darkness…