Chu Lu took several deep breaths. Only after barely calming down did he return, open the Chat Group, and say, "I'm back. Keep going. The Empress framed Consort Ping—what happened after that?"
Xu Liniang: "After that, the little maid came begging me for help, so I rushed over at once. By the time I arrived, the Empress had already tied up Consort Ping and piled firewood beneath her. I told the Empress to stop. But with a whoosh, she drew the Imperial Sword bestowed by the late Emperor and said that this sword struck down foolish rulers above and treacherous ministers below. Since I had sheltered the Winnowing Basket Demon, I was already a foolish ruler, and she was going to chop me to death."
"I was horrified and could only run."
Chu Lu: "..."
Chu Lu: "Wait. Bestowed by the late Emperor? Wasn't that given by your dad? Uh, your mom?"
Xu Liniang: "Mm."
Chu Lu: "So your Empress took a sword your mom gave you and wanted to chop you to death? And you got so scared you ran all over the place."
Xu Liniang: "Mm."
Chu Lu: "...Wait a little longer."
A moment later, Chu Lu returned after venting and said, "Continue. Did you get away?"
Xu Liniang: "Honestly, no... Back then, I ran while calling for the Imperial Guards to protect their sovereign, but the Imperial Guards' commander was the Empress's older female cousin. She refused to act and kept dragging her feet. Some soldiers tried to shoot arrows, but she stopped them too."
Chu Lu: "In simple terms, the commander of the Imperial Guards was helping the Empress assassinate the emperor? I..."
Chu Lu: "I need to step away again."
Xu Liniang was unhappy. "Chu Lu, can you stop leaving at the drop of a hat? Didn't you say urgent matters came first?"
The other goofballs also voiced their displeasure. "Yeah. Besides, why do you keep leaving? Is your stomach bothering you?"
Chu Lu looked deeply pained.
—My brain is bothering me!
He took a deep breath and said, "Fine, fine, I won't—I won't leave. Continue."
Only then did Xu Liniang continue. "In the end, I couldn't run anymore and got caught by her. She held the sword to my neck and said that if I still refused to come to my senses, she would kill me. At that moment, my stepmother—the Empress Dowager—hurried over after hearing the news. She was stunned by the sight and quickly told the Empress to stop."
"The Empress said the emperor had been in the wrong first, and unless she received an explanation, she would not stop. The Empress Dowager told me to hurry and admit my mistake. Seeing that none of the Imperial Guards were willing to act, I could only obediently kneel and apologize."
Chu Lu: "You kneeled..."
Chu Lu rubbed his forehead, feeling his blood pressure soar. He gritted his teeth and barely held it in before saying, "Continue."
Xu Liniang said, "Only then did the Empress put away her sword. Afterward, she burned Consort Ping to death. I was so furious that I fell seriously ill. For the time being, the storm passed."
Chu Lu: "That's it? She wanted to chop up the emperor! There was no punishment at all?"
Xu Liniang said, "But she had the Imperial Sword..."
Chu Lu stood up and dismantled the chair beneath him. Only then did he feel his mindset improve slightly. "What happened next?"
Xu Liniang said, "After I fell ill, the Empress pretended to be attentive and brought me medicine every day. At first, I thought she felt guilty, but the more medicine I drank, the weaker I became. Only then did I realize she had poisoned it. So I refused to drink it."
"But when she saw that, she said she had meant well, yet the emperor refused to appreciate it. It must have been Consort Ping's wronged ghost causing trouble after her death, clouding the emperor's mind. She said she would go scatter Consort Ping's ashes at once. My beloved woman... Failing to save her life was one thing, but how could I fail to protect even her ashes? I could only grit my teeth and drink it."
"After I drank it, she even burst into laughter and said, 'You really drank it? You truly love her.' Then she turned and left."
Chu Lu: "...I take back what I said. I need to step away for a while."
Only after smashing five sandbags and seven stone locks did he return and say, "Continue!"
Xu Liniang: "After that, I understood that I had to fight back. So during the day, she came to feed me medicine. After she left, I stuck my fingers down my throat and vomited it all out, planning to report her to the civil and military officials once I recovered. But the Empress Dowager noticed something strange about me first and went to settle accounts with the Empress. Instead, the Empress scolded her until she fell ill."
"Seeing this, I knew I could not delay any longer, so I forced my sick body to attend court. But no one was willing to support me. The Empress even came running over, crying that I had gone mad. She said things could not go on like this and that I should return to the inner palace to recuperate properly. As for court affairs, she would temporarily govern from behind the curtain."
"Later, I learned that while I was ill, she had stolen the Imperial Seal, reviewed memorials, finalized personnel changes, and promoted every member of the Liu Family. Even the prime minister was from the Liu Family. That was why no one listened to me."
Chu Lu: "..."
Stars swam before Chu Lu's eyes. He felt his sanity was about to crumble beneath the corruption of women-oriented fiction.
This was far too absurd.
Xu Liniang: "After that, I was confined in the inner palace. That commander of the Imperial Guards, the Empress's older female cousin, led a group of soldiers to watch outside my door, claiming they were protecting my safety. I was overwhelmed with grief and indignation, and cursed the Empress as a poisonous woman. That enraged the commander. She grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up, slapped me twice, and asked whether I still dared to curse her. I could only shut up."
"Later, a great drought swept the land. The Empress claimed that Heaven had sent down punishment because the emperor lacked virtue. So she tied me up, set me on the rooftop, and whipped me for half a shichen. After that, I had barely half a life left and could never leave my bed again."
Chu Lu: "No, I can't take this much longer. How could there be an emperor as outrageous as you? Even if you... Was there really no one to help you?"
Xu Liniang said, "There was. Vassal Kings from every region heard about this and attacked the imperial capital in the name of cleansing the emperor's side. An army of three hundred thousand arrived together. But the Empress flew into a rage and said she had never abused the emperor at all; they were merely seizing the chance to rebel. So those Vassal Kings said, 'It was all a misunderstanding? Then we'll be going.'"
"After that, no one came to help me again. My illness worsened by the day, and one day, I died."
Chu Lu's cheeks twitched. He was so furious that blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Chu Lu: "You... you... Sigh! What about after you were reborn? What's the situation now?"
Xu Liniang: "I was reborn two months ago. The Empress killing Consort Ping happened twenty days ago. Since I already knew how things would unfold, I fought back desperately this time."
Chu Lu: "Then things should be much better than last time, right?"
Xu Liniang: "...I'm in the inner palace now, guarded by the commander. Yesterday, she had just finished slapping me."
Chu Lu: "..."
Chu Lu could no longer endure it. With a puff, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
—Heaven-defying! How could it be this heaven-defying?! Who was writing this kind of plot, and who was reading it?!
Before you continue