Chapter 45

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Chapter 45

"Why is the queen here?"

Right now, Yun Chuyou cannot decide whether the mountain of documents is more of a headache or these chaotic people in the harem.

But now, looking at the queen who came to pick a fight, she felt that not only was her head hurting, but her eyes hurt even more.

Maybe it was because the last time she called Xie Fuzhi simple, the queen who came to see her today was dressed in a way that was truly extravagant and sparkling. The shiny golden hairpin and the red ruby made her feel like her neck was heavy and sore.

The headdress was beautiful and splendid, but with so many jewels, it was clear it was quite heavy. It must weigh at least several pounds around her neck. Such an extravagant outfit was only bearable because of the queen’s stunning looks.

They say Hu Xiaobai is a fox spirit and Zhong Wei is a half-demon, but in Yun Chuyou’s eyes, her own master was the most enchanting of all.

When Xie Fuzhi was at Qingxu Sect, he always dressed very simply, often in white robes that made him look as pure and elegant as freshly fallen snow. But in the secret realm, under the name Xie Qi, Xie Fuzhi became quite alluring. There was an otherworldly charm about him that was captivating.

Xie Fuzhi used his sorrowful expression to plead, "Your Majesty, if I hadn’t come, would you not say a single word to me?"

"What should I say?" Having only been apart for two or three days, Yun Chuyou felt calm seeing Xie Fuzhi again. She no longer had the overwhelming urge to explode, as she had tired of that feeling after so many bursts in the past few days. Even if someone told her that Ye Xuanye was not disguised as a girl, but had truly transformed, she could accept it with a peaceful expression.

"Naturally, it’s about Concubine Xian. Concubine Xian is one of the four consorts. Your Majesty, you are truly generous. To give such an important position without even informing me, the queen!"

What she said sounded like she was coming to demand an explanation.

Yun Chuyou calmly said, "Yu Jiu had a very hard time outside the palace. Only when he is inside can I feel a little more at ease."

Yu Jiu’s reckless actions did indeed make her angry, but it wasn’t really her junior’s fault. Blaming others never helps; it’s all part of the script set by this illusion. That’s why she arranged for someone to enter the palace, giving Yu Jiu a title and granting him some rights.

Becoming aware needs a trigger. Yun Chuyou didn’t quite understand why only she remembered, but she guessed that maybe it was because she was not originally from this world. Her soul came from a place very different from the world of cultivation, so in this special illusion, she was lucky to retain her original memories.

Even though she hadn’t found a way to break the situation, one thing was certain: if she remained trapped in the inner palace, worrying about her safety every day, Yu Jiu wouldn’t have extra time to notice what was wrong and would surely have a hard time awakening.

The queen said with a sarcastic tone, "Your Majesty is truly protective of beauty. After all, cousin sister and cousin brother are even closer related; it would be a lovely story to tell."

Yun Chuyou was speechless; she understood Xie Fuzhi’s script. The son of the Prime Minister and Grand Princess Ye Xuanye grew up together and loved each other. He only wished to be her true husband, but he was forced to marry me, this ‘old emperor,’ as his consort.

That’s why he always acted coldly toward her, and whenever she saw the queen, she couldn’t help but feel especially angry.

Which emperor could bear to know that his queen was thinking of someone else, especially if that someone was his oldest daughter? Even if there was nothing inappropriate happening between them at the moment, just thinking about that relationship made Yun Chuyou feel she was wearing a Schrödinger’s green hat, sometimes present, sometimes absent, sometimes visible, sometimes hidden.

Yun Chuyou asked, "Is the queen feeling jealous?"

These words seemed to touch Queen Xie’s sore spot. She reacted like a cat that had its tail stepped on, her tone sharp, "Your Majesty, are you going to say again that I am narrow-minded, and let me keep copying the rules for men, this time two hundred times? Or do you want to say I am harsh and too jealous to be a queen, and that I should give up my place to someone else?"

The queen shouted loudly, but a mist appeared in her eyes, "I tell you, Yun Chuyou, don’t even think about it! Unless I die, the position of queen belongs only to me!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the palace servants looked down at the ground and kept silent, wishing they were deaf and blind, seeing and hearing nothing.

Yun Chuyou quietly replied, "You are just a queen who follows; there used to be Queen Yuan. Even if she has passed away, she cannot be buried with me."

"Good!" The queen became even angrier, her face showing she was ready to explode. "Yun Chuyou, you truly have a cruel heart. You want to drive me to death so that your favorite Concubine Hui or Concubine Xian can take my place!"

In the palace, there were only a few concubines, and the queen was not missing any of them. She saw everyone as a thorn in her side, a sharp pain in the emperor’s heart, and her own rival.

Seeing him angry, Yun Chuyou felt a sense of satisfaction, thinking it’s about time he felt this way. She couldn’t be the only one to be upset. She still hadn’t settled the score about Xie Fuzhi making up a fake name and tricking her.

But seeing the other person so upset made Yun Chuyou feel uneasy inside. She had returned the hurt, yet she didn’t want Xie Fuzhi to be unhappy. In the end, Xie Fuzhi had raised her, and they had relied on each other for so many years. Whatever anger there was, it faded in an instant.

It’s alright, her master doesn’t remember anything now, with a foggy mind, saying all sorts of confusing things. She sighed deeply, realizing she didn’t really want to hurt Xie Fuzhi, "You all leave for now; I need to speak with the queen."

She put down her pen and first asked the other palace servants to leave. After days of testing, Yun Chuyou learned some rules of the illusion. When others were present, she had to follow the script given by the illusion, at least trying to behave like an emperor.

She could not speak about the spiritual world in front of these people, and she must not mention anything about cultivators. Yun Chuyou tried to hint at it gently, but the palace servant who had been so gentle a moment ago suddenly transformed and showed a frightening change in expression. There were even faint sounds of thunder in the air.

Her intuition told her that she had said something she shouldn’t have. If she did, there would be heavenly thunder to punish her, the one who occupied the emperor’s body.

The emperor had the power over life and death and could easily influence the fates of others in the illusion. But if she was struck by heavenly thunder, even a lowly servant could judge her as a monster.

The method Mirror Country used to deal with monsters was very simple: they would tie the person to a wooden frame and burn them alive. If that person was not a monster, it meant that a true dragon was protecting them.

Yun Chuyou was just a mortal now; if she were burned, she would surely die. She had a feeling that if she died in this illusion, at best her soul would be damaged and her abilities would decline, and at worst, her soul would cease to exist, turning into dust.

This was also why she had been cautious these past few days and hadn’t exposed herself in front of Song Mingzhu and Shi Rujing.

In this script, Shi Rujing, the Buddha Child, was an opposing force to her, and his grand master status gave him an advantage in divine abilities.

As for a stranger she wasn’t familiar with, Yun Chuyou was unwilling to place her life in their hands.

Although Song Mingzhu is a kind girl, Yun Chuyou does not dare to trust her completely. If she had to take a chance, she would bet on Meng He, Yu Jiu, or Xie Fuzhi, not on those unfamiliar cultivators.

The few palace servants sighed with relief as they stepped outside; after all, the words from the emperor and the empress were too shocking for them to hear.

With those people no longer watching, Yun Chuyou felt she could say a few bold words.

She stared without blinking at the empress’s beautiful face, which looked very young, probably around sixteen or seventeen years old, but she was not delicate, "Does the empress remember that she has a beloved friend, the childhood sweetheart Grand Princess?"

The empress immediately became agitated, "This is slander; it is slander! His Majesty has slandered me before!"

"Alright, alright, you can say that I have slandered you."

This was not something she made up; anyone could find out with a little investigation. Yun Chuyou felt a twinge of bitterness, thinking that Xie Fuzhi was clearly from the Qingxu Sect, but when he entered the secret realm, he claimed to be a cultivator of the Tianyuan Sect.

Ye Xuanye is also from the Tianyuan Sect and he is a natural sword genius. Even though she had worked very hard, she could never match Ye Xuanye’s talent in swordsmanship.

As Xie Fuzhi’s most beloved disciple, Yun Chuyou felt a pang of jealousy and discomfort in her heart.

In her last life, she was the only daughter, cherished by her parents, the one and only precious gem in their hands, enjoying complete and unconditional love.

In this life, she became the first disciple of the sect, and later many disciples joined the sect. Yun Chuyou felt ready to be the Elder Martial Sister and treated her younger martial brothers and sisters very well. Sometimes, when she saw Xie Fuzhi’s strange attitude, she would even encourage her master to be kinder to the younger martial brothers and sisters.

After all, her master was very good to her, so it was right to give more attention to the younger martial brothers and sisters.

However, when it came to the cultivators of the Tianyuan Sect, that was a different matter.

The latter sat back down, "You were originally slandering me. Once I entered the palace, I became nothing more than the emperor’s queen, with no one else in my heart. Unlike the emperor, who speaks sweetly, one new person after another enters the palace, and soon he will certainly have a harem of three thousand beauties."

Yun Chuyou: …

She felt like she was speaking a different language from Xie Fuzhi; they were not even on the same page.

"Does the queen still remember her surname and her name?"

Xie Fuzhi looked up at her, "Who would forget their own name? I am from the Xie family, my name is Qi. Yet with so many new people, I’m afraid the emperor has forgotten my name long ago."

"Xie Fuzhi," Yun Chuyou suddenly said, "of course I remember."

The fierce queen suddenly stopped.

"How could I forget the queen’s name? Right, Xie Fuzhi?"

"What does your majesty say?" The arrogant queen crossed her legs and made a cat-like gesture, "I don’t understand."

"You remembered from the very beginning, didn’t you?" Yun Chuyou ground her teeth; she had suspected Xie Fuzhi all along, and now seeing the attributes above his head confirmed her thoughts.

"My dear master, you have tricked your student so badly!"