I’m Competing With The Male Lead For A Woman[Gl] Chapter 170: Don’t leave me.

The woman stood tall and straight, her figure like a sheathed blade, gazing coldly at the tightly closed gates of Qi Capital.

The biting cold wind blew, and fine snowflakes danced, brushing through her ink-black hair.

The deputy general rode his horse to the woman’s side and respectfully asked, “General Qin, when will we attack the city?”

The wind and snow grew more intense.

Looking out, beneath the layers of clouds, the entire city was covered in a vast expanse of white.

Qin Xueting brushed the snow off her shoulder and replied, “Wait for another half an hour.”

The deputy general saluted and was about to convey the military order.

But Qin Xueting suddenly raised her hand, stopping him. “Wait.”

The deputy general halted his horse and followed Qin Xueting’s gaze towards the top of the city wall.

There, a woman dressed in ink-colored attire, wearing armor and a sword at her waist, slowly ascended the tower and walked along the city wall.

Her slender face was as cold as ice, except for a touch of crimson on her lips, as thick as blood.

Qin Xueting knew who that person was.

She clenched the bow and arrows in her hand, a smile appearing on her face. She speculated that during the impending battle between the two armies, Her Highness probably didn’t have time to apply red makeup to her face in front of a mirror, so that touch of red on her lips was likely blood.

Although she smiled, the tone in which she gave orders was so indifferent that it almost seemed devoid of any emotion.

“No need to wait any longer.”

“Attack now, immediately.”

….

Before climbing up the city wall, Xiao Jin originally thought that someone else would lead the army to the city. But when she reached the wall and looked around, she didn’t see that person.

If it were said that Xiao Jin’s heart didn’t stir with any emotional fluctuations, it would undoubtedly be false.

However, regardless of anything, Ling Shiyi had given her half of the Tiger Talisman, and behind her were the Ye family and the elite soldiers guarding the capital.

This battle had to be fought.

Even though the difference in strength was vast, the disparity was as wide as the sky and the earth.

Xiao Jin looked at the dense crowd of soldiers below, unable to estimate how many there were for the time being, but it was highly doubtful whether Yao Country had this many people in total.

It seemed that Chu Shao had conscripted every able-bodied soldier from each city.

However, even if it pursued speed, recruiting soldiers based on this standard was too radical, almost bordering on terror. Perhaps Yao Country had already become an empty city, with few shadows left.

No wonder she was able to advance triumphantly all the way, sweeping through Qi Country in just three years.

Ye Ji stood beside Xiao Jin, shaking his head involuntarily. He said, “The Yao army moves swiftly and without warning. Just a few days ago, they captured the Xiling Country, and today they can bring such a large force here. It shows that they must have implemented harsh policies, and the people must have long been suffering.”

Xiao Jin naturally understood this point, so she didn’t respond.

Looking at the soldiers assembling catapults in the woods, Xiao Jin waved the flag and gave the order, “Release the arrows.”

In an instant, hundreds of black arrows shot out from the top of the city wall.

The arrows rained down like the wrath of heaven, pouring down like a torrential rain.

In a blink of an eye, the silent arrows disappeared into the forest. The fleeting figures couldn’t be seen, but the sound of them breaking echoed in their ears, sharp and distinct.

Birds and sparrows startled and flew in panic, fleeing to other places.

The sound of wailing rose and fell, but Qin Xueting paid no attention to it.

She swung her sword, cutting through the arrows, and even revealed a faint smile on her face. She gave orders to the deputy general beside her, “Let the shield-bearing soldiers come forward, block the front, set up the siege tower, and forcefully attack inside!”

“Yes!”

The shield soldiers protected the siege chariot, roaring angrily as they knocked down rows of guards.

The Imperial Guard rushed out from the left and right wings of the capital, riding on horses and wielding swords, charging forward, crossing the large shield as big as a cart cover, and taking enemy heads.

However, as soon as they fell, another group of soldiers with shields attacked, seemingly endless.

Qin Xueting followed a reckless fighting style, with several assault teams sacrificing themselves to clear the way, while protecting the soldiers who set up ladders against the city walls.

Just as the soldiers climbed up the ladder, a volley of feathered arrows aimed at the gate struck, piercing through their heads.

The body fell, leaving behind a splash of red.

Countless pairs of war boots trampled over the soldiers’ bodies, crushing his face under their soles, and his blood-soaked limbs embedded into the stone slabs, perfectly fitting.

The smoke of gunpowder filled the air, and his death left no trace.

….

Xiao Jin didn’t have the energy to calculate how long this battle had been going on.

All she knew was that when the main gate was smashed open by the siege chariot, the Yao Army seemed to erupt with a shout that could halt the clouds in the sky.

Ye Ji remained silent.

After a long while, he slowly uttered, “Your Highness, our men can’t hold them back.”

Xiao Jin placed her hand on the city wall, looking down at everything with lowered eyes.

Then she responded, “I know.”

Ye Ji’s voice had never sounded so sluggish, “Your Highness, for the sake of the people in the city, why not open the other gates and surrender?”

Xiao Jin didn’t speak.

Amidst the smoke of gunpowder, she looked at the corpses and broken spears below, and many thoughts came to her mind. But in an instant, it was as if nothing existed.

The willow on ChunTan Street, the snow in the capital.

At the banquet, a cup of Erquan Yinhao tea. In front of the Wenyue Palace red robes resembling blood, morning glory accompanied by evening glow.

The rippling blue waves, a fisherman holding an oar, his voice loud and clear, singing a Yue folk song.

The water of the Moon Crossing River flows day after day, year after year.

Year after year, flowing eastward.

Scenes flashed before her eyes, finally freezing on the magnificent palace, Chu Shao lifted her head and gazed at the moment of a hundred lanterns.

In Chu Shao’s eyes, there was a beautiful sight of lanterns.

The candlelight flickered, and she said, “Thank you.”

….

Xiao Jin closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she said to Ye Ji, “We won’t surrender.”

The clash of soldiers and weapons filled the air, creating a deafening roar.

Ye Ji seemed a bit dazed, unable to hear Xiao Jin’s words clearly.

So Xiao Jin repeated it.

“I said, I rather die than surrender.”

With that, she descended from the city tower.

The exact number of people who died in battle was uncountable.

In the end, Xiao Jin’s vision was blurred by the surging redness, and everything became hazy. She could hardly remember who she was.

All she knew was to swing her sword, sever heads, mechanically repeating the same action.

Soldiers died, others fled.

Until the last remaining defiant member of the Imperial Guard was pierced through the chest by a blade, falling to the ground, everything finally came to an end.

In the moment of his fall, Xiao Jin saw his face clearly.

It was Ye Ji, the leader of the Imperial Guard.

There was no longer any sorrow in Xiao Jin’s heart, but when she beheaded the enemy’s deputy general with her blood-stained sword, she realized her hand was still trembling.

This trembling had nothing to do with anything else, it was only because an arrow whizzed through the air, piercing her right leg.

“Whoosh—”

Before she could feel the pain, another arrow came flying and lodged into her left leg.

Xiao Jin fell off her horse.

As she hit the ground, all her wounds burst open simultaneously, but she remained silent, without making a sound.

It was strange, despite the extreme pain, she couldn’t sense any pain at all.

Blood seeped from her lips, but Xiao Jin couldn’t be bothered to wipe it away. After all, she couldn’t even lift her hand.

Besides, whether she wiped it or not, it made no difference.

Thinking this, Xiao Jin intended to close her eyes and drift away like this. However, a glaring light intruded through her eyelids, almost making her believe that she had traveled back in time.

Opening her eyes, she discovered a gleaming sword suspended in front of her, right above her face.

Looking at Qin Xueting holding the longsword and the bow behind her, Xiao Jin finally realized who had shot the two cold arrows into her leg earlier.

She realized that after pretending for so many years, she had finally transitioned from a fake cripple to a real one.

Lying on the ground, Xiao Jin felt somewhat resigned as she thought about how she would soon transform from a complete corpse into a disabled one.

In her helplessness, she couldn’t help but start laughing.

Hearing the laughter by her ear, Qin Xueting moved her wrist and pressed the sword against Xiao Jin’s forehead. “Your Highness, what are you laughing at?”

Xiao Jin couldn’t speak, she just continued laughing.

With each laugh, more blood gushed from her lips, as if it would never stop flowing.

Qin Xueting furrowed her brows slightly, but her voice was charming. “Are you thinking that you shouldn’t have saved me back then?”

Xiao Jin really wanted to defend herself, to say, “Girl, you’re overthinking. I’m lying on the ground, not thinking about anything, nor is there any need to think about anything.”

Unfortunately, she couldn’t utter a word.

Xiao Jin was just happy that she would finally die in peace.

Although it was regrettable that she couldn’t see Chu Shao before she died, which was an unresolved regret even in death, it seemed that she had no other choice now.

So be it.

However, Qin Xueting had no intention of granting her the tranquility of a dying person.

She moved her lips, still saying something.

Fortunately, Xiao Jin had no interest in listening to Qin Xueting speak, so conveniently, she fainted….

Xiao Jin didn’t expect that she would wake up again.

Or rather, what woke her up was a splash of cold water on her face.

It seemed to be a ladle freshly scooped from the river, refreshing and awakening. If she had a few sips of it, she would probably cough up a few drops of blood.

Xiao’s eyelids felt heavy and hard to open.

Thanks to the splash of water, she regained her senses and started thinking about where she was now.

The room was dark, with only a dim lamp illuminating it.

Under the lamp, there was a chair with a person sitting on it. The person was casually holding a wooden ladle and gazing at her.

Xiao Jin recognized the woman’s face and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She was relieved that it was Qin Xueting. If it had been Chu Shao, Ye Juege, or someone like them who splashed cold water on her head, her state of mind would have collapsed, and she might have bitten her tongue and committed suicide in despair.

Looking at the pile of torture instruments around her, Xiao Jin estimated that she had been brought to a prison cell. It was evident which country’s prison it was.

It turned out that she had passed out on Qi Country Road and ended up in Yao Country.

While Xiao Jin was contemplating this, she marveled at the impressive favorability mechanism of Chu Shao.

It allowed her to hold on and survive from the journey until now, which was ten thousand times more useful than the Mountain Bandit System.

Beside Qin Xueting, a familiar voice sounded.

“General Qin, I advise you to stop now. There is still time.”

Su Tan’s voice remained calm and composed, but there was an unusual earnestness in her words. “Once that person returns from Xiling Country and discovers what you have done, they will surely be furious. At that time, neither of us can bear the consequences.”

Qin Xueting raised an eyebrow and looked at Su Tan. “Doctor Su, the decision to lead troops and attack Qi Country wasn’t mine alone. What do you have to bear?”

Su Tan met Qin Xueting’s gaze, her eyes filled with complex emotions. “Because I know, that’s why I advised you not to act rashly. Some things… are beyond our qualifications to interfere with the Empress.”

“Qualifications?”

Qin Xueting smiled and raised her lips. “For all these years, I have risked my life for the Empress, and I have been the one by her side. I have witnessed every injury she endured, and she hurt her deeply. Don’t I even have the right to splash her with a ladle of water?”

Su Tan opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and swallowed her words. Rubbing her brow, she said, “General Qin, you are now the Grand General of Yao. I indeed don’t have the authority to control you. Forget about the words I just advised you.”

“I said those words because I didn’t want the Empress to come back and ask me why I didn’t stop you, blaming me for everything.”

After speaking, Su Tan glanced at Xiao Jin a few times.

Before leaving, she instructed Qin Xueting, “You can interrogate, but do not resort to torture.”

After Su Tan left, only Xiao Jin and Qin Xueting remained in the prison cell.

The cold water mixed with blood continued to drip down her chin.

Xiao Jin lowered her head and looked at the dark iron shackles on her wrists and ankles. She felt that it was somewhat unnecessary for Qin Xueting to use these on her. Even with arrows in her legs, where could she possibly run to?

Qin Xueting seemed to understand Xiao Jin’s thoughts and smiled. “Even if your legs are useless, you are still the Prince Yan of Qi Country. You cannot afford to be lacking in the treatment you deserve.”

Treatment? What kind of treatment? A first-class war criminal, perhaps?

Xiao Jin didn’t speak to Qin Xueting.

The bandages wrapped around her wounds emitted a faint herbal scent, indicating that Su Tan had taken care of her injuries. She also thought about the words Qin Xueting had said, and her thoughts wandered away.

When she came to her senses, Qin Xueting had already grabbed her chin and was looking down at her from above.

In the past, Ming Xun had tempted her, urging her to become a monk at the Dali Temple.

Xiao Jin had believed some of Ming Xun’s nonsense, thinking that she was approaching a state of emptiness.

However, the moment she heard that Chu Shao was sad and injured, she was instantly brought back to her true self.

Three years had passed, and she hadn’t made much progress.

Thinking of this, Xiao Jin looked up at Qin Xueting, and her eyes carried a touch of humanity. More accurately, it was coldness.

Qin Xueting seemed satisfied that Xiao Jin finally reacted. “Xiao Jin, when you killed my father, did you ever think that you would end up like this?”

Xiao Jin hadn’t expected that Qin Xueting would still be concerned about her father, who used to visit brothels. So she answered honestly, “No impression.”

The pressure on her chin became slightly stronger.

But for Xiao Jin, who had endured countless injuries, it was still too light.

Under this pressure, Xiao Jin added casually, “As for your father, I have no impression either.”

The only thing she remembered was the dissection of Qin Xueting’s father’s body, which Su Tan had dissected into pieces and cleaned with a ladle of water. Everything was clean.

Qin Xueting laughed. “You are the Prince Yan of Qi Country, born with a golden key in your mouth. Of course, you wouldn’t care about the lives of us commoners.”

“Although my father was a despicable person, did you think I didn’t know? Since my father died at your hands, the reason you saved us back then was only to use it as leverage against the Blood Rain Pavilion. Otherwise, how could you have been so kind?”

Xiao Jin continued to agree, “You’re right.”

It’s just that people in ancient times couldn’t grasp the power of these words. If Qin Xueting could understand, she would probably be furious by now.

However, Qin Xueting genuinely didn’t know, so she still had a smile on her face. “You are the Prince Yan of Qi Country. If you want someone dead, it’s just a matter of lifting a finger.”

“On the night when Qin Xueyi died, there were guards in the courtyard before, but they inexplicably disappeared afterward. Do you dare to say that it wasn’t your order? Can you swear that it wasn’t your doing, using it as an opportunity to blackmail the Blood Rain Pavilion and get rid of Mu Yuan?”

Xiao Jin had no words.

After all, at that time, as the Crown Prince’s visit to the mansion she set up in Qingzhou as the envoy could be considered a disguised private visit.

The whereabouts of the Crown Prince were confidential and couldn’t be revealed.

Most of the people in the mansion were unaware of it.

Qin Xueting was not her confidante, so she naturally couldn’t have known about the Crown Prince’s visit that night.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come up with such an absurd line of thought. However, considering the situation that Qin Xueting didn’t know, following that line of thought from earlier, the possibility of herself being the mastermind behind it seemed quite high.

What else could Xiao Jin say? It was all a matter of fate, a mix-up of circumstances.

Moreover, even if Qin Xueting knew the truth and assumed she had malicious intentions from the beginning, she would probably still consider her the true culprit.

So Xiao Jin had nothing more to say.

Qin Xueting released Xiao Jin’s chin, but she still had something to say: “Are you feeling guilty too? Tell me, besides Your Highness, who else can move the guards away? And who else has the power to control the life and death of us commoners so effortlessly?”

“It’s ridiculous. You achieved your goals, yet you’re still pretending to be compassionate and erecting a monument for my sister… Do you, as a person like that, even deserve it?”

Xiao Jin regained control of her lower jaw and simply nodded, “I don’t deserve it.”

Seeing Xiao Jin cooperate like this,

Qin Xueting lost interest in mocking her.

Before leaving the prison cell, she stared at Xiao Jin’s bandaged legs and smiled, “Noble people like you who treat human lives as worthless shouldn’t exist in this world. If you didn’t exist, my father wouldn’t have died, my sister wouldn’t have died, and those who were exploited and oppressed by you wouldn’t have died in resentment. You… should die.”

Xiao Jin looked at Qin Xueting, almost thinking that she was also someone who had crossed over.

This statement was just a step away from uniting the proletariats of the entire world and projecting it onto the public screen.

Xiao Jin had too many emotions but couldn’t put them into words. In the end, she simply said, “It’s not that others view you as worthless; it’s that you yourself see yourself as too lowly.”

In response, Xiao Jin received a powerful kick on her shoulder from Qin Xueting.

After Qin Xueting left, Xiao Jin coughed up several mouthfuls of blood before gradually recovering.

In the evening, perhaps afraid that she would starve to death, someone came to deliver food.

Looking at each other through the prison door, Xiao Jin couldn’t help but smile because the person who came was her old acquaintance, Doctor Su Tan.

Presumably, due to their past relationship, although the prison food was stale, Su Tan brought a box containing other dishes, bribing the jailer to bring it in.

Su Tan stood outside the prison cell, talking incessantly, “These are dishes cooked by the chef in my mansion. He always cooks casually, and his skills are definitely not as good as those in the Prince Yan’s Mansion. I don’t know your dietary restrictions, so I put a little bit of various dishes for you to try. Please bear with it and have some.”

Seeing Xiao Jin remaining silent for a long time, she continued, “I have already sent a message to Her Majesty and General Ye. I believe that in another three or four days, they will return. Please endure a little longer, and you will be able to leave here soon.”

It was only when Su Tan’s feet were about to go numb that Xiao Jin shook her head and said, “Doctor Su, I am now a prisoner under arrest. There’s no need for you to address me with such respect.”

Su Tan raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Back when the neighbors and everyone called me Doctor Su, didn’t you insist on calling me Doctor Su Tan?” After that, Su Tan also left, and the prison cell once again became empty.

Xiao Jin opened the food box and found a pair of silver chopsticks inside. It seemed that Su Tan had truly developed a professional habit—when delivering a meal to the prison cell, she had to guard against poison.

With her wrists shackled in iron chains, it was inconvenient for Xiao Jin to handle things.

After fumbling for a while, Xiao Jin finally uncovered the first and second layers of the food compartments and placed them on the ground.

But when she saw the dishes in the third compartment, she was momentarily stunned.

Inside was a bowl of water tofu, snow-white and translucent, with a few green onions sprinkled on top and a layer of sauce or vinegar-like seasoning poured over it.

Xiao Jin remained silent for a long time before picking up the bowl of tofu and started eating.

Just as she took a few spoonfuls, before she could taste how much vinegar or salt was added and what else was in it, something fell from her eyes.

It landed in the tofu, instantly making the already slightly salty bowl of tofu even saltier.

Su Tan had said that her own chef cooked dishes casually.

But in Yao Country, located in the south, they mostly ate sweet tofu.

Without her instructions, how could they make an overly salty tofu?

After finishing the meal, Xiao Jin looked at the pile of straw in the prison cell, patted off the dust, and thought it could still be used for sleep.

Fortunately, she wasn’t the real Prince Yan. After three years in this world, she hadn’t acquired the idle and luxurious illness of a dissipated life. Even lying on a pile of straw, she could fall into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, Xiao Jin didn’t even dream. It was just cold, and she kept waking up from the cold.

The time she spent awake throughout the night was longer than the time she spent sleeping.

There were no windows in the prison cell, nor any light. The only source of air came through a few cracks in the iron bars.

Xiao Jin couldn’t drink wine or see the moon, but she could summon the system and immerse herself in fragments of memories, looking at the person she had seen countless times.

Just as she was about to listen to a few melodies of young Chu Shao’s flute and accompany her on a stroll in the imperial garden, a bucket of cold water was poured, jolting her awake.

This time, Xiao Jin’s mood wasn’t too pleasant, and her eyes were filled with killing intent, almost making the prison guards feel a chill down their spines.

One of the guards touched his nose, suddenly realizing that there was no need for him to fear a prisoner like Xiao Jin.

Dragging the iron chain, he wore an impatient expression.

“Today, Her Majesty has returned victorious, and the whole country is celebrating. It would be best for you to be sensible and not bring bad luck upon yourself, or else your old man here won’t spare you.”

Xiao Jin was taken aback.

Did Chu Shao return so quickly?

Another guard whispered, “Brother Zhao, Her Majesty didn’t mention any specific name, but didn’t she want to meet the Prince Yan from the Qi Country at the grand ceremony? Shouldn’t we treat her better…”

The guard sneered, “What do you know? Apart from those few border states, Her Majesty has already brought the entire land under her control. Naturally, she wants to demonstrate benevolence and grant amnesty to all.”

“She is the Prince Yan from the Qi Country. If they brought her here, it must be to grant her pardon. Otherwise, do you think Her Majesty would really treat an enemy general as an honored guest?”

“So that’s how it is.”

Xiao Jin was shaken by the previous news, and for a moment, she was somewhat dazed and didn’t hear where they were taking her.

After a while, she saw the guard bring a wheelchair for her. He said it was sent by Su Tan.

Xiao Jin felt like a puppet, with the strings still in her hands. When she pulled a certain nerve, she sat in the wheelchair and left the prison cell.

Since her leg injury hadn’t healed and there was no one to support her, she had to crawl onto the wheelchair, which took some time.

But even so, when Xiao Jin was pushed out and arrived at the place they mentioned, she still didn’t see Chu Shao’s figure.

Next to the Xuanzheng Hall, there was a large empty space with courtiers dressed in official robes.

They wore crowns and carried ceremonial ribbons, leaning against stone pillars made of Hanbaiyu.

They exchanged greetings and discussed court matters, emitting an extremely refined fragrance of a nobleman from their sleeves.

Xiao Jin looked at her blood-stained prisoner’s clothing and suddenly felt that there was no comparison, so there was no harm done.

If it were usual, it wouldn’t matter to appear like this.

But when she thought about meeting Chu Shao in such a miserable state, Xiao Jin felt that fate was playing with her.

Why didn’t Qin Xueting hate her more, hate her enough to end everything with a sword at her throat?

The courtiers were busy chatting, and the guards responsible for escorting Xiao Jin, looking at the snowy sky, also exchanged sentiments. “The winter of Yao Country has come early this year. The wild geese had just flown away, and it started snowing yesterday.”

“Yes, yes. I think in a few days, we’ll have to buy some cotton clothes to wear for the New Year.”

“By the way, why did Her Majesty return so quickly? Wasn’t she still in Xiling a few days ago? Why did she return to the capital today? The officials in charge of arranging the celebration haven’t had time to make grand preparations.”

“I don’t know. All I know is that Her Majesty didn’t seem to bring many people with her. It seems she came back with only a small elite force.”

“I think it’s to reward General Qin for capturing the Qi Country. That’s why she hurried back.”

The guards continued their conversation.

Xiao Jin sat in the wheelchair, the cold wind biting, making her eyes ache. The thin layer of her prisoner’s clothes couldn’t withstand the wind, and her body grew cold and stiff.

An itch surged in her throat, and although Xiao Jin tried to suppress it with all her might, she couldn’t hold it back. She covered her lips and coughed violently.

The cough shook her heart and lungs, and a few dots of red leaked through her fingers.

Athis moment, those noble officials wearing high crowns and brocade robes no longer laughed and turned their gaze towards Xiao Jin, their brows furrowed in suspicion.

“General Qin, who is the person sitting in the wheelchair?”

Qin Xueting glanced at Xiao Jin, who was wearing prisoner’s clothes, and a smile curved on her red lips. “She, she is the prisoner of war captured by this general. She is Xiao Jin, the Prince Yan from the Qi Country.”

There was a moment of silence on the stage.

After a moment, the discussions were endless, “Prince Yan, Xiao Jin? You mean the same Xiao Jin who invaded our Yao Country before? But… how can she be a woman?”

“General Qin, could you have made a mistake? I see that woman is already seriously ill and about to cough herself to death. She doesn’t possess the bearing of a general at all.”

Qin Xueting pointed at Xiao Jin’s leg and said lightly, “She is indeed the Prince Yan, Xiao Jin. That is a fact.”

“But, she fell off her horse when this general shot her, and now she is lame.”

The platform, engraved with the sun, moon, stars, and constellations, was already large in size.

At this moment, it became even more spacious and empty due to the silence of the crowd.

No one knew who laughed first, but soon, many courtiers began to laugh.

A high-ranking official with good manners lifted his sleeve to cover the disdain and contempt on his face. “So she is indeed Xiao Jin, the Prince Yan. This arrogant person turned out to be a woman. No wonder, no wonder she has fallen to such a state!”

Xiao Jin didn’t know what state she had fallen into or how it was inevitably connected to her being a woman. She just felt the burning gazes of the crowd on her, and it made her sick to her stomach.

“I say, Her Majesty can pardon anyone, but Prince Yan, Xiao Jin, is truly despicable. She killed so many of our Yao Country’s generals. Even if she were tortured to death, it would be considered a favor.”

“What does it matter if she’s chopped into a thousand pieces? In my opinion, Her Majesty should go find some ferocious dogs from the Western Regions, put her and the dogs in a cage, let them bite each other for a few days, and then only bones will be left.”

“I heard that Her Majesty had another identity before the restoration of Yao Country. It was the Princess of Yan, I think… This Xiao Jin, now that she has been captured here, she still hasn’t bitten her tongue and killed herself. I hope she doesn’t still harbor feelings for Her Majesty…”

“What is her current status? How dare she still have thoughts for our Majesty. Truly delusional!”

The crowd continued to whisper and chuckle, contemplating countless ways to execute Xiao Jin, mixed with mocking remarks.

Finally, it all condensed into one statement: “Now that Xiao Jin has become useless, even ten thousand deaths would be enough. Let’s wait for Her Majesty to come and see how she will deal with her.”

After finishing her cough, Xiao Jin’s mindset was elevated.

It didn’t matter. She was only one step away from completing her mission.

The timing, the advantages, and the people were all in place.

Now that everything was ready, with nothing lacking, she only waited for Chu Shao to return and give her the final blow. Then it would all be over.

Thinking about finally getting her ticket back home, these people’s words naturally fell on deaf ears.

Xiao Jin ignored the humiliation and insults from the crowd, raised her head, and gazed at the swirling snow in the sunlight.

Her mood even began to turn delightful.

As she kept looking, she suddenly noticed that the surroundings seemed to have become unusually quiet.

At first, Xiao Jin thought that she had transcended again, reaching a level where she could automatically block out all noise.

But when she withdrew her gaze, looked straight ahead, she realized that it wasn’t the case.

There was a person standing on the high platform.

Amidst the flying snowflakes, that person stood there, looking at her.

Time seemed to freeze in this moment.

Xiao Jin’s heartbeat also halted, frozen by the snow and mist in the air, along with the icy breath she exhaled.

Only the dream-like image of that corner of clothing she had grabbed countless times remained in front of her, watching her draped in the falling snow, descending the steps with a sword in hand, approaching her.

The courtiers all prostrated, kneeling on the ground, shouting something, seemingly calling out “Your Majesty.”

The young Empress walked straight ahead, the tip of her sword sliding across the folded steps, producing a crisp sound like the striking of ice shards.

In black robes and red attire, she brushed over the snow-covered steps.

Along the way, numerous high-ranking officials, including the greatly trusted Grand General, knelt down, but the new Empress didn’t speak or even spare a glance.

Chu Shao simply continued forward until she could see the person sitting in the wheelchair, and then she paused.

Only when the person in front of her approached, did Xiao Jin, looking up at the young Empress of Yao Country, finally see the face hidden behind the pearl tassels.

Clear and cold eyes, untainted by dust, eyebrows dusted with snow, even the slightly lowered eyelashes were covered in a layer of glistening white.

Another gust of snowflakes drifted by, and the pearl tassels swayed in the wind, gently trembling.

Chu Shao extended her hand, brushing aside the twelve pearl tassels that obscured her vision, gazing at Xiao Jin sitting in the wheelchair.

Her expression softened to the point where it almost trembled.

But soon, it transformed into a different emotion.

Chu Shao curved her lips into a faint smile, turned her head slightly, and asked in a soft voice, “Who did it?”

No one answered. Or rather, no one dared to answer. No one replied, but Chu Shao already had an answer in her heart. She lifted her sword and swung it towards the wheelchair.

Xiao Jin didn’t even blink her eyes, staring at Chu Shao’s actions. The sword’s blade, glimmering with a cold light, came before her, but Xiao Jin had already made up her mind.

Even if she were pierced through the heart by this sword, she would accept it willingly, without the slightest hesitation.

The sword blade descended, severing the iron shackles on Xiao Jin’s wrist.

Immediately after, the sword’s edge shifted and aimed at the throat of the guard beside her, ruthlessly and decisively slashing downward.

Blood splattered, staining the steps of the Xuanzheng Palace. A touch of splendid and dazzling red.

Everyone witnessed the Empress killing someone in front of the court officials during the celebration.

They were all stunned and speechless.

In an instant, they also remembered the reason why Chu Shao started this slaughter. Those mouths that had just been cursing and scolding were now trembling incessantly.

The remaining guards turned pale, kneeling in a large group, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for the Empress’s mercy.

However, Chu Shao seemed to be unable to hear any words. There was still a smile on her lips, but the sword in her hand, which casually took lives, never stopped for a moment.

At this moment, Chu Shao couldn’t even care about elegance. Her wrist trembled violently, and the sword strokes that fell were chaotic and lacked any form of technique. She was simply relying on instinct to vent her almost uncontrollable desire to kill.

As more blood splattered before her eyes, her sleeves and the twelve-patterned ceremonial gown she wore were completely drenched in blood.

It wasn’t until a familiar voice called out her name that Chu Shao raised the sword and turned around.

Her god sat there, clean and spotless, holding onto her sleeve, pulling her back from hell.

She spoke softly, “Shao’er, that’s enough.”

So Chu Shao halted her actions, crouched down, and looked up at her god.

The blood-stained, filthy sword had been discarded long ago, and Chu Shao tremblingly pleaded to her god.

“Don’t go.”

“Don’t leave me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Translator’s note: I… I felt uncomfortable while reading this chapter. I kind of want to cry and feel pity, experiencing a mix of emotions. I didn’t even realize that tears were rolling down my eyes 😭😭😭. This kind of situation is truly heart-wrenching for Chu Shao. After finally finding the love she yearned for, to have it disappear in her own hands is incredibly difficult to accept. I… I’m at a loss for words to describe the ending. I’m torn between hoping for a happy resolution or a plot twist that could save Xiao Jin from dying. This chapter has brought me to tears 😢😭😭😭😭.

TO BE CONTINUE…