Chapter 75

Xiao Changyuan held Yun Pianpian in his arms, feeling her warmth and softness. Only then did the icy heart in his chest slowly begin to beat again.
Blood flowed once more through his limbs.
“Pianpian, don’t leave me.”
Yun Pianpian felt that Xiao Changyuan was even more prone to anxiety than she was. She didn’t know why he was like this, but her heart instinctively tightened with a faint, lingering pain. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly.
“I will never leave you, husband.”
Yun Pianpian whispered many sweet nothings to Xiao Changyuan and made numerous promises, finally coaxing the temperamental tyrant back to sleep.
She too drifted into slumber.
Xiao Changyuan dreamed again.
This time, he dreamed of the tiger that had accompanied him through his difficult childhood, and the little butterfly that had disappeared, both ultimately turned into candy figurines.
That candy figurine that looked exactly like Yun Pianpian.
Xiao Changyuan still remembered the tiger's eyes, as clever and lively as a cat's.
She was very much like Yun Pianpian.
Perhaps she was Yun Pianpian, but it didn't matter if she wasn't.
Because the woman Xiao Changyuan loved was, from beginning to end, the one who woke up by the stream in Jiangjia Village, deceived him, and claimed to be his wife. If Yun Pianpian was the little butterfly, that would be wonderful, like adding flowers to brocade. If Yun Pianpian wasn't the little butterfly, that would be fine too, as it would prove she hadn't suffered the hardships the little tiger had endured.
His Pianpian should live under the bright sun.
He couldn't bear to let her suffer even a little.
The next day, when Xiao Changyuan woke up, he casually asked her, “Did you dream of your past life last night, wife?”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback and shook her head. “I didn't dream at all yesterday, husband. I have no past life.”
She suspected that the luminous wine pot might only show scenes from the original story, and since she wasn't a character from the book, she wouldn't see the original plot in her dreams.
Because she had already read it in real life.
Xiao Changyuan nodded slightly and asked no more.
He appeared uninterested.
Recalling the scene of scattering silver notes on the city wall the day before, Yun Pianpian felt an endless aftertaste, joyful yet tinged with worry. “Husband, with us squandering like this, will we bankrupt the Mo Kingdom's treasury?”
Though Yun Pianpian was determined to be a seductive queen, she was a prudent one who planned ahead.
“It won't be bankrupted.”
Xiao Changyuan said calmly, “Forget the national treasury; you couldn't exhaust my private treasury in this lifetime.”
Yun Pianpian's eyes lit up, and she eagerly threw herself into Xiao Changyuan's arms. Her slender, pale arms wrapped around his waist, her cheeks flushed crimson. Like a bewitching little enchantress, she rubbed against the nape of his neck, both innocent and alluring. “Husband, I want to see the world in your private treasury.”
Yun Pianpian's nature was as clingy as a cat's.
Xiao Changyuan's gaze deepened, his voice husky.
“What are you acting out now?”
Yun Pianpian cooed sweetly, “I'm now a butterfly sprite seducing the monarch.”
After all, she was determined to be a seductive queen.
Of course, one must be dedicated to their craft.
She absolutely had to play the role of a seductive enchantress, the most alluring and ethereal kind.
Xiao Changyuan was equally committed, masterfully portraying a tyrant bewitched by a butterfly, like enchantress.
The woman’s voice gradually grew hurried and flustered.
“Husband, it’s still daytime…”
“What of it?”
“One should not indulge in pleasure during the day…”
“If I say it’s allowed, then it’s allowed.”
The man swallowed the rest of her words.
His voice was deep, husky, and imbued with authority.
“I am the law.”
They carried on until the afternoon. By the time Yun Pianpian climbed down from the dragon bed, her legs were so weak she could barely walk. She began to deeply regret provoking him earlier, who knew he would be so easily ignited, like dry kindling, catching fire at the slightest spark?
Once started, it was impossible to stop.
Xiao Changyuan narrowed his phoenix eyes, a look of satisfaction on his face, his expression lazily content.
He scooped Yun Pianpian up in his arms and carried her to the white jade bathing pool for a bath.
After they finished bathing, Xiao Changyuan held Yun Pianpian and took the imperial carriage to the palace’s private treasury.
The treasury was resplendent and magnificent. Golden shelves were piled high with all kinds of gold, silver, jewels, antiques, calligraphy, paintings, jade artifacts, goldware, ornaments, and curios. Chests of pearls and jadeite were scattered everywhere, and exquisite jade bracelets and accessories adorned the golden walls, creating a dazzling spectacle.
Although Yun Pianpian knew Xiao Changyuan was wealthy, she had never imagined he was this rich.
She was so overwhelmed with happiness she felt she might faint.
“A-are all these yours, husband?”
Her tyrant husband truly hadn’t lied. With this hall full of gold, silver, and jewels, she could never squander it all in this lifetime.
Not even in the next lifetime.
Seeing Yun Pianpian’s wide, eyed, awestruck expression, Xiao Changyuan’s pale lips curved almost imperceptibly.
“Now, they all belong to Pianpian.”
Yun Pianpian threw herself into a gold, lacquered wooden chest filled with pearls, practically wanting to bathe in them. She pushed up her sleeves, extended her delicate, fair hands, and buried them deep into the pearls, stirring them around, feeling the smooth glide of each pearl against her skin. The silky, rounded sensation brought her immense physical and mental comfort.
Yun Pianpian had a little quirk.
She loved touching rice.
She adored the feeling of each grain of rice sliding between her fingers, it was incredibly soothing. She often went to the supermarket to buy rice, poured it into the rice container at home, and touched it. But she couldn’t indulge too much, as rice was food and had to be eaten eventually. Touching it too much might make it dirty. Now, Yun Pianpian had finally found a substitute for rice.
“You like pearls?” Xiao Changyuan asked from behind her.
Yun Pianpian nodded eagerly, like a little pecking chick.
“Yes, I do.”
Xiao Changyuan said calmly, “I’ll order the Imperial Workshop to inlay all these pearls onto your phoenix carriage.”
“No, I prefer pearls that flow freely.”
Xiao Changyuan paused. “Then I’ll have this chest of pearls moved to the bedchamber. You can play with them every day.”
Yun Pianpian leaped joyfully into Xiao Changyuan’s arms.
“Husband, you’re the best to me!”
Besides the pearls, Yun Pianpian also picked out many other treasures from the treasury, mostly gold and silver ornaments. She brought them all back to the bedchamber, constantly reminding herself that she was now a wealthy woman who could live a life of extravagance and indulgence.
She was descending into decadence remarkably quickly.
Xiao Changyuan sat at the imperial desk, reviewing memorials.
Yun Pianpian poured tea for him and, recalling Xiao Changyuan's original dream from the novel, she suddenly said, “Husband, did you dream of Jiang Sheyu yesterday?”
“No, Pianpian, why do you bring him up?”
Xiao Changyuan's gaze turned icy. He disliked hearing any other man's name from Yun Pianpian's lips, especially a wild man.
Pretending not to notice the coldness in Xiao Changyuan's eyes, Yun Pianpian continued on her own, “In history, Jiang Sheyu was a very famous prime minister. He implemented new policies that brought peace and prosperity to the dynasty, with clear rivers and calm seas, and bountiful harvests year after year.”
“What are you trying to say, Pianpian?”
Yun Pianpian lifted her clear, bright almond, shaped eyes to look at him.
“Husband, put him to good use.”
She wanted to steal Chu Yi's underling.
Xiao Changyuan's gaze grew colder. “Pianpian, I don't like you interfering in state affairs. Politics is dirty.”
Yun Pianpian sat in his lap, wrapping her slender arms around his neck. “I'm not interfering in state affairs.”
“Then what are you doing?”
Yun Pianpian leaned in to kiss his thin lips, her voice muffled as she said, “I'm blowing the pillow wind.”
She was determined to play the seductress to the fullest.
Xiao Changyuan's eyes darkened, his voice low and husky. “Pianpian, that's not how you blow the pillow wind.”
“Then how should it be done?”
Xiao Changyuan pushed aside the memorials on the imperial desk, lifted Yun Pianpian, and placed her on it before leaning down to kiss her.
“Like this.”
Scattered memorials fell to the floor like summer leaves.
Later, Xiao Changyuan bypassed the imperial examination system entirely and exceptionally promoted Jiang Sheyu to the seventh, rank position of Compiler in the Hanlin Academy. The rest of the Jiangjia Village residents were all rewarded according to their merits.
The village chief, for his merit in saving the emperor, was enfeoffed as the fourth, rank Count of Huaishan with an annual stipend of seven hundred dan. Xie Yu was appointed as the ninth, rank Commissioner of the Guangying Treasury in the Ministry of Revenue, and Mu Bai followed Xie Yu to the capital.
Oh, and there was also Buling Buling.
Buling Buling was appointed as the Imperial Pet by Xiao Changyuan. Though it held no official rank, it was given its own palace within the imperial grounds, with dedicated servants to attend to its bathing and meals. Buling Buling didn't like living in the palace and preferred clinging to its two masters. It often ran to their bedchamber to find them. Later, Xiao Changyuan ordered the Construction Department to build a luxurious dog palace right outside his bedchamber for Buling Buling to settle in. Buling Buling was so happy it barked incessantly.
One day, Xiao Changyuan went to the morning court as usual.
Yun Pianpian wandered into the imperial garden and suddenly heard a melodious yet sorrowful tune from a zither.
Yun Pianpian asked Liu Shun, “Who is playing the zither?”
Liu Shun said, “Perhaps it's that songstress, Ye.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. “Ye Suxin?”
Liu Shun seemed surprised. “Your Majesty knows this songstress?”
Yun Pianpian hadn't expected Ye Suxin to still be in the palace; she thought she had left long ago. “Please bring Miss Ye here, Eunuch Liu.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Liu Shun quickly brought a stunningly beautiful woman to the waterside pavilion. Yun Pianpian finally met the female protagonist from the original story, Ye Suxin.
Ye Suxin had bright, captivating eyes, skin as white as snow, and hair like a waterfall, truly a breathtaking beauty.
She was incredibly beautiful.
Yun Pianpian couldn't believe that such a beauty had been placed by Xiao Changyuan's side, yet he hadn't been moved.
While Yun Pianpian was observing Ye Suxin, Ye Suxin was also sizing up Yun Pianpian.
Ye Suxin had always been confident in her appearance, but in front of Yun Pianpian, she felt inferior.
Yun Pianpian had delicate eyebrows and almond, shaped eyes, her features as exquisite as a painting. Her clear, sparkling eyes were like a gentle stream, reflecting everything in the world, clearer than any eyes she had ever seen. The slight upward tilt at the corners carried a natural, innate charm.
Her beautiful eyes were enchanting, like those of a pure yet alluring goddess.
Ye Suxin felt she couldn't compare.
She knew she was no longer pure.
Ye Suxin knelt before Yun Pianpian, bowing her head.
“This humble servant pays respects to the Empress.”
“Rise.”
Although Yun Pianpian disliked Chu Yi, she didn't dislike Ye Suxin. On the contrary, she felt sorry for her, thinking she was merely a pawn in Chu Yi's games.
“Miss Ye, do you wish to leave the palace?”
Yun Pianpian assumed Ye Suxin hadn't left because she lacked an exit token. Out of kindness, she said, “If you wish to go, I can help you.”
Ye Suxin's delicate brows furrowed slightly, carrying a trace of sorrow.
“This humble servant does not wish to leave the palace.”
Yun Pianpian was puzzled. “Why not?”
Tears welled up in Ye Suxin's eyes. “As the Emperor's songstress, I should continue to sing for His Majesty.”
Yun Pianpian was stunned.
She never imagined that Ye Suxin was refusing to leave the palace because of Xiao Changyuan.
Wasn't the female protagonist supposed to be in love with the male lead?
Yun Pianpian looked at Ye Suxin with a complex expression.
“Chu Yi is dead.”
Ye Suxin trembled, the color draining from her face. She looked at Yun Pianpian, pale. “How does Your Majesty know about my relationship with Chu Yi?”
Yun Pianpian lied, “The palace servants mentioned it.”
But that wasn't the point. The point was that Ye Suxin seemed to have already known about Chu Yi's death; otherwise, her reaction wouldn't have been like this. This struck Yun Pianpian as odd, the female protagonist didn't seem as infatuated with the male lead, Chu Yi, as the novel had portrayed.
Yun Pianpian couldn't help but ask, “Are you staying in the palace because you want to seek revenge?”
She thought Ye Suxin wanted to kill Xiao Changyuan.
Ye Suxin immediately shook her head in denial.
“This humble servant would not do such a thing.”
Yun Pianpian pressed, “Then why won't you leave?”
Ye Suxin lowered her head and remained silent.
Yun Pianpian pursed her lips. “If you don't wish to speak, I will have someone escort you out of the palace directly.”
“Because this humble servant wishes to sing for Your Majesty for a lifetime!” Ye Suxin hurriedly explained, her cheeks flushing as soon as the words left her lips. Lowering her gaze, she continued softly, “I know my status is too lowly to become a consort or concubine, but I only wish to sing for Your Majesty all my life. As long as I can stay by Your Majesty's side, I will be perfectly content.”
Yun Pianpian stood frozen in shock.
So the female lead actually had feelings for Xiao Changyuan.
“Weren't you in love with Chu Yi?”
A shadow crossed Ye Suxin's eyes. It was true she had once deeply loved Chu Yi, before learning of his death, she had believed she would love him forever.
But after Chu Yi's death, Ye Suxin only grieved for a few days. She quickly shifted all her attention to figuring out how to see Xiao Changyuan. She realized that Chu Yi's death hadn't plunged her into despair; instead, it brought her a strange sense of relief, as if something had finally been settled.
Because she no longer had to waver between choices.
It was at that moment Ye Suxin finally understood: she had long fallen for Xiao Changyuan, this lonely and aloof emperor. Her heart had been torn between Chu Yi and Xiao Changyuan all along. No matter which of the two men ultimately triumphed, she would have fallen for the victor.
Now Xiao Changyuan had won so she fell in love with Xiao Changyuan.
When it came down to it, perhaps what she truly loved was imperial power.
“What do you mean by that?”
Ye Suxin said, “Does Your Majesty know that His Majesty has been searching for a woman all these years? For her, he built the Moon-Snatching Tower and had servants sing in the bitter cold to the immortals in the heavens, all to find that woman’s whereabouts. Have you never wondered, Your Majesty, that you’ve only known His Majesty for a short year, why would he love you so deeply? Is the woman he truly loves really you? Could it be that he sees you as a substitute for someone else?”
Jealousy robs one of reason.
Pushed to the brink by Yun Pianpian, Ye Suxin couldn’t help but entertain a desperate, mutually destructive thought. These words were all fabrications, aimed at driving a wedge between the emperor and empress.
The man she couldn’t have, she would make sure Yun Pianpian couldn’t have him either.
But Yun Pianpian suddenly remembered that day.
After Xiao Changyuan regained his memories, he had once asked her a strange question: “Are you Little Butterfly?
If not, forget it.
She’s not someone important.”
Yun Pianpian had clearly seen the disappointment in Xiao Changyuan’s eyes.
And now, that disappointment was magnified infinitely.
Yun Pianpian finally understood why he had forgiven her so easily, it was because he had always seen her as a stand, in for Little Butterfly. And why, when she claimed to be a butterfly spirit, Xiao Changyuan had treated her so harshly.
So she was merely Little Butterfly’s replacement.
Tears welled up uncontrollably in Yun Pianpian’s eyes.
Crystal is fragile.
A love that seems too perfect is like crystal, sparkling and beautiful, yet easily shattered into pieces.
Yun Pianpian lifted her skirts and ran out of the waterside pavilion.
She was going to find Xiao Changyuan.
She had to get to the truth.
She wanted to know if he had ever truly loved her.
The palace attendants chased after her.
“Your Majesty, be careful not to fall.”
Ahead, a figure in black robes as dark as ink appeared.
Xiao Changyuan had just finished court and was heading to the imperial garden to find Yun Pianpian. Seeing her disheveled and running frantically, his brows furrowed. He immediately used his lightness skill to land beside her, pulling her into his embrace, his eyes icy cold.
“Pianpian, who has bullied you?”
Yun Pianpian lifted her head, her eyes red as she looked at him.
“Xiao Changyuan, have you ever loved me?”
Xiao Changyuan reached out and touched her forehead.
“What nonsense are you spouting again?”
Tears streamed down Yun Pianpian’s face as she cried, “Do you see me as a substitute for Little Butterfly? Have you never loved me? Are you still searching for Little Butterfly?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Xiao Changyuan’s cold eyes.
He flusteredly wiped away her tears.
“I haven’t-“
Yun Pianpian stared at him through tear, filled eyes.
“You haven’t what?”
Xiao Changyuan said anxiously, “I haven’t seen you as her substitute. She was just a passerby.”
She didn’t hear the rest of his words because she saw a sharp, cold arrow.
The arrow was shooting straight toward Xiao Changyuan’s back.
In the past, Xiao Changyuan would have sensed such an arrow. But Xiao Changyuan had only one weakness, and that was Yun Pianpian.
He also had only one fatal flaw.
And that was Yun Pianpian’s tears.
When Yun Pianpian cried, Xiao Changyuan became oblivious to everything else. All he could see were her tears.
All he wanted was to comfort her so he couldn’t sense the danger speeding toward him from behind.
In that instant, Yun Pianpian suddenly understood why the author had given her this golden finger, the ability to topple Xiao Changyuan.
It wasn’t so she could reject him, nor was it so she could return home.
She did it to save him!
Countless images flashed through her mind, but in reality, only a brief moment had passed.
The instant the sharp arrow shot toward them, Yun Pianpian did not hesitate to stretch out her hand and forcefully pushed Xiao Changyuan aside. The cold arrow pierced through her chest with the sound of splattering blood.
She saw the shock and pain in Xiao Changyuan's eyes.
Crimson blood splattered across the emperor's pale, handsome face, making his complexion as white as frost.
It was her blood.
Xun Changyuan trembled as he held her in his arms.
His voice shook uncontrollably.
“Pianpian.”
“Don't die.”
Yun Pianpian had never imagined that this arrogant and untamed emperor would show such a vulnerable expression.
Noisy voices echoed in her ears.
“Capture the assassin!”
“The Empress has been assassinated!”
“Summon the imperial physician quickly!”
In her last moment before losing consciousness, with tears in her eyes, she mustered all her strength, her voice weak and hoarse.
“I am Yun Pianpian.”
“I am not Little Butterfly.”
An unknown amount of time passed.
Yun Pianpian gradually regained consciousness, but her vision was pitch black, and her limbs were immobile.
All sorts of chaotic and noisy sounds reached her ears.
“Your Majesty, the Empress has stopped breathing.”
“Her Majesty is beyond medical help. Even a deity could not save her. Please, Your Majesty, restrain your grief.”
“The Empress is already dead.”
Yun Pianpian heard the emperor's icy, gloomy voice.
“Guards, execute them.”
The imperial physicians pleaded for mercy: “Your Majesty, spare us!”
An elderly physician cried out, “If we could find the legendary Qi Qingning herb, perhaps we could save the Empress. But this herb is only a legend, none of us have ever seen it. Please, Your Majesty, spare our lives.”
After a long silence, the emperor's cold, chilling voice sounded.
“Describe it.”
The elderly physician's voice trembled as he replied, “The Qi Qingning herb is entirely snow, white, like crystalline frost. When crushed, it turns into green medicinal juice and has the power to revive the dead.”
Xiao Changyuan whispered, “Buling, go find it.”
“Woof, woof!”
Yun Pianpian’s consciousness was hazy. She had no idea how much time had passed when she heard the excited voices of the imperial physicians by her ear.
“The imperial pet actually found the Qi Qingning herb! Heaven truly blesses Her Majesty!”
Yun Pianpian sensed someone feeding bitter medicinal liquid between her lips. Unable to move, the medicine trickled down the corner of her mouth. That person then used his thin lips to sip the medicine, prying open her lips little by little to feed her.
A moment later, his voice turned icy and grim as he asked, “Why hasn’t she woken up yet?”
The imperial physicians began pleading for mercy: “Her Majesty’s pulse has returned to normal after taking the Qi Qingning herb, and her breathing is steady. The reason she hasn’t awakened might be that her soul has left her body. We need to summon Taoist priests to perform a soul, calling ritual…”
“Summon the Taoist priests.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yun Pianpian heard the sound of the Sanqing bells.
Various ritual instruments echoed around her.
So noisy.
Yun Pianpian wanted to escape the noise.
With that thought, she realized she was indeed moving away from the sounds.
The noises grew fainter and fainter, until they disappeared completely.
Yun Pianpian could hear nothing.
She fell into a deep slumber.
She didn’t know how long had passed.
Maybe two days, maybe two months.
Or perhaps even two years.
Yun Pianpian suddenly opened her eyes.
She found herself inside a massive iron cage, surrounded by vermilion walls and golden tiles, with palaces sprawling in the distance.
The iron cage was placed in the courtyard of a palace.
But that wasn’t the main point.
The main point was, Yun Pianpian discovered her paws had turned into tiger paws.
Her body had become that of a tiger.
Yun Pianpian’s body trembled, her eyes filled with unmistakable disbelief.
She realized she had turned into a tiger.
Eunuchs passed by the tiger cage in small groups, sighing, “This tiger looks emaciated, as if it’s about to die from illness. The eunuchs are utterly useless to present such a tiger.”
“You don’t understand. His Majesty locks the young prince in the tiger cage every day, forcing him to fight ferocious tigers. Countless tigers have died at the young prince’s hands. By now, tigers in the entire Mo Kingdom are nearly extinct. Finding one like this is already quite an achievement.”
“His Majesty is truly ruthless. How could he treat his own flesh and blood like this…”
“Keep your voice down. If His Majesty hears, we might all be thrown to the tigers…”
Yun Pianpian’s mind went blank.
She seemed to understand where she was now.
Just then, the tiger cage was suddenly opened from the outside.
Yun Pianpian saw a young boy dressed in black robes slowly step inside. His small face was as cold as frost, his eyes deep like icy pools, his thin lips pressed tightly together, and his skin pale.
He looked exactly like Xiao Changyuan grown up, but his features were more youthful.
The boy held a blood, stained longsword, crimson blood dripped from the tip of the blade.
Drop by drop, it fell to the ground.
He walked slowly toward Yun Pianpian, the cold sword in his hand.
In his youthful, icy eyes, there was nothing but cold, murderous intent.