20demayo Chapter 193 Empress Li Yang Wants to Commit Suicide? Too bad, before me, you have no chance to die.
Chapter 193 Empress Li Yang Wants to Commit Suicide? Too bad, before me, you have no chance to die.
A soft sound.
It's very light, very light.
So light it was almost drowned out by the sound of horses' hooves.
The tip of the whip landed on the brocade cushion beside Zhao Qingxue.
She wasn't hurt in the slightest.
He didn't even touch the hem of her clothes.
At that moment, Xiao Yu's tears welled up in her eyes.
She abruptly dropped the whip, fell to her knees with a thud, her forehead slamming heavily against the carriage floor, her voice choked and broken:
"I can't do it... I really can't do it..."
When Qin Mu saw this, he was not angry at all; instead, he smiled gently.
"take it easy."
He said in a gentle tone, as if soothing a frightened little animal, "Just be like you normally would."
He paused, his gaze passing over Xiaoyu's trembling shoulders and landing on Zhao Qingxue's face, the smile on his lips deepening.
Xiao Yu trembled all over.
She remained kneeling on the ground, her forehead pressed against the cold carriage floor, trembling like a leaf.
Disciplining a disobedient puppy...
Of course she knows how to discipline a puppy.
But what's in front of me? It's not a puppy at all.
That was Empress Li Yang.
He is a legendary figure above the clouds.
She was the peerless woman whose fame resounded throughout the Eastern Continent, a woman she had heard countless times from the storytellers in the village.
She didn't even dare to look directly at such a person, and she had to hold her breath. How could she dare to raise a whip?
Xiao Yu's tears fell in large drops onto the floor, spreading out dark stains.
But she dared not stop.
They dared not disobey.
They dared not keep Qin Mu waiting too long.
She scrambled to her feet, her legs weak and barely able to stand.
She bent down, trembling as she picked up the whip. When her fingertips touched the whip, she shuddered again.
The whip was cold and supple, like a sleeping venomous snake.
At this moment, Zhao Qingxue's gaze remained fixed on Qin Mu's face.
Those deep purple phoenix eyes were now burning with flames powerful enough to incinerate everything.
There was anger, humiliation, and resentment in those flames.
There is also an extreme, bone-chilling coldness.
She understood what Qin Mu meant.
There is no doubt that Qin Mu is humiliating her.
They compared her to a dog, trampled her dignity underfoot, and made her watch helplessly as a fisherwoman, whip in hand, waited to be disciplined like an animal.
She, Zhao Qingxue, the Empress of Liyang, has commanded a million soldiers in the five years since her ascension to the throne. She has executed eight princes, consolidated military power, and dominated the court, causing countless heroes to bow down and submit.
When have I ever suffered such humiliation?
Judging from Qin Mu's attitude, he was completely ready to turn against him.
All those gentle words, those seemingly sincere invitations, and that playful remark about "becoming my beloved concubine" were nothing more than a cat-and-mouse game before the cat catches the mouse.
Now that it's had enough teasing, the cat has finally shown its claws.
Zhao Qingxue's heart sank little by little.
Sinking into a cold, bottomless abyss.
She was acutely aware of what she was about to face.
She will not die.
Qin Mu will not kill her.
but--
It would be worse than death.
Imprisonment. Humiliation. To while away one's time.
Use every means to make her submit.
He transformed her from the high and mighty Empress of Liyang into his plaything.
Just like how he treated Xu Fenghua.
Just like how he treated Jiang Qingxue.
He took her from a whole person, crushed her bit by bit, and then reshaped her into the person he wanted.
This process may take a long time.
It might be very painful.
It's possible...
Make her lose everything.
Zhao Qingxue clenched her fists.
Her fingernails dug deep into her palm, the stinging pain keeping her barely conscious.
No.
no way.
She could lose on the battlefield, she could lose in political maneuvering, she could lose to this man's unfathomable power.
But she will never lose to herself.
We will never succumb to this humiliation.
She would never allow Qin Mu to turn her into a groveling dog as he wished.
Even if it means death.
We absolutely cannot be so humiliated.
Zhao Qingxue took a deep breath.
Then--
She moved.
With the last of his strength, he slammed into the car wall!
Her movements were so fast that Xiaoyu didn't even have time to react, and the whip she had just raised was still suspended in mid-air.
Her eyes were fixed on the car wall.
Only that car wall, if you crash into it, can end everything.
As long as it hits—
Even if she doesn't die, she wants Qin Mu to know that she, Zhao Qingxue, is not a fish to be slaughtered.
But her head was still three inches from the car wall—
stopped.
It felt like I had run into an invisible wall of air.
The air barrier was soft yet incredibly tough, instantly annihilating all her power.
Her body felt as if it were being gently pressed down by an invisible hand, rendering her unable to move.
Zhao Qingxue froze.
She struggled desperately, trying to exert force again, but her body seemed to be frozen in place, and she couldn't even lift a finger.
Only breathing remains.
Only the heartbeat remains.
A soft laugh came from behind.
The laughter was soft, yet it was like a needle piercing Zhao Qingxue's heart.
"Your Majesty the Empress,"
Qin Mu's voice came from behind, languid, casual, and with a perfectly measured hint of helplessness, "Why bother?"
He paused, a hint of genuine doubt creeping into his voice:
"Am I really that scary?"
Zhao Qingxue did not answer.
She just stared intently at the car wall, her eyes reddening and her eyelashes trembling violently.
It's not because of fear.
It's because of anger.
It's because of resentment.
It's because we're powerless.
She finally understood what "despair" meant.
It's not the kind of composure one has when facing a formidable opponent, knowing full well that defeat is inevitable.
Even the desire to die has become a luxury.
They couldn't even bring themselves to end it all with their last shred of dignity.
She was like a bird trapped in a cage.
No matter how much it struggles, it can't fly away.
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't break through that invisible cage wall.
Qin Mu stood up.
The carriage was moving, its body swaying slightly, but he walked inside with a steady gait as if he were walking on flat ground.
He walked up behind Zhao Qingxue and stopped.
Moonlight streamed in through the car window, casting his shadow on Zhao Qingxue and enveloping her in darkness.
He stretched out his hand.
Long, slender fingers gently landed on Zhao Qingxue's shoulder.
The touch was warm, yet it sent a shiver down Zhao Qingxue's spine.
"I know what you're thinking."
Qin Mu's voice came from above, gentle to the point of being cruel.
"Want to die?"
"To maintain dignity through death?"
"Will you use your death to show me that you, Zhao Qingxue, would rather break than bend?"
He paused, leaned down, and whispered in Zhao Qingxue's ear, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe.
"pity--"
His voice was very low, as if he were telling a secret known only to the two of them:
"Before me, you don't even have the right to die."
Zhao Qingxue's pupils suddenly contracted.
An emotion never before revealed itself in those deep purple phoenix eyes.
despair.
A deep sense of despair.
She slowly closed her eyes.
There was a very faint, almost invisible sheen of water on her eyelashes.
It flashed and disappeared in the moonlight.
Qin Mu looked at her profile, at her trembling eyelashes, at her tightly pursed lips, and at her slightly reddened eyes.
Then, he withdrew his hand.
"Xiao Yu," he called out.
Xiao Yu trembled and quickly responded, "Your Majesty..."
Qin Mu walked back to his seat, leaned back lazily, and sat down again.
"Continue," he said.
Those two words, though seemingly light, struck their hearts like a boulder.
Zhao Qingxue's eyelashes trembled violently.
Xiao Yu's hands trembled again.
She looked at Zhao Qingxue's back, at that straight back that remained even in such dire straits, and at that peerless face that was as cold as ice under the moonlight.
Her hand, gripping the whip, trembled like an autumn leaf in the wind.
But this time, she didn't hesitate.
She slowly raised her hand.
Under the moonlight, that slender figure resembled a statue.
Then--
"Smack."
It landed on the brocade cushion beside Zhao Qingxue.
It still didn't hurt her in the slightest.
Xiao Yu's tears welled up again.
She did not kneel down again, nor did she beg for mercy. She simply stood there, holding the whip, her shoulders trembling violently, tears streaming silently down her face.
She didn't know what she was doing.
I don't know if doing this is the right thing to do.
All she knew was—
She can't.
I really can't do it.
Even if His Majesty is angry, even if His Majesty punishes her, even if she faces an even more terrible fate from now on—
She can't do it either.
Behind him, Qin Mu watched this scene quietly.
Looking at Xiao Yu's trembling back, looking at Zhao Qingxue's stiff back, looking at the moonlight shining on the two of them, outlining two completely different scenes.
A frail woman, yet she is holding on to something in her own way.
A strong man, yet he was using all his strength to maintain the last shred of dignity.
Qin Mu suddenly smiled.
"That's enough."
He spoke, his tone tinged with helplessness.
"Xiao Yu, come back."
Xiao Yu trembled and turned around abruptly to look at Qin Mu.
Through her teary eyes, she couldn't see Qin Mu's expression clearly, only that he was leaning against the car wall, one hand supporting his chin, his posture languid, with a faint smile on his lips.
There was no blame or disappointment in that smile.
There was only one kind of complex light that she couldn't understand.
"Your Majesty..." she stammered, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.
"Come back," Qin Mu repeated, his tone gentle.
Xiao Yu felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She quickly put down her whip, walked back to Qin Mu's side, and knelt down at his feet, her shoulders still trembling slightly.
Qin Mu reached out and gently patted her head.
The movements were very light and gentle, as if soothing a frightened kitten.
"Well done," he said.
Xiao Yu was stunned.
well done?
She clearly did not follow orders, clearly disobeyed the emperor's will, clearly...
But His Majesty said, "Well done?"
She looked up at Qin Mu through her teary eyes, her gaze filled with confusion.
Qin Mu did not explain.
He simply turned his gaze away from Zhao Qingxue and onto Xiao Yu, who was trembling at his feet.
Qin Mu chuckled softly.
Xiao Yu shuddered and instinctively lowered her head, burying her face even lower.
She dared not look at Qin Mu, nor dared to speculate on the meaning of that laughter.
Is he angry?
Disappointment?
still is……
"Xiao Yu," Qin Mu said gently.
Xiao Yu suddenly looked up, her eyes blurred with tears as she gazed at him.
The moonlight shone on her face, revealing a delicate face streaked with tears. Her eyes were red, her nose was red, and her eyelashes still held wet teardrops.
"Your Majesty..." she stammered, her voice hoarse.
Looking at her like this, Qin Mu's complex light deepened.
He spoke slowly, his tone calm, yet each word clear:
"It's easy for someone to turn evil."
Xiao Yu was stunned.
Turning evil?
She blinked, not quite understanding the meaning of the word.
Qin Mu continued:
"Being oppressed, betrayed, or driven to the brink of despair—it only takes one time for the little bit of goodness in a person's heart to be crushed."
His gaze fell on Xiaoyu's face, her deep eyes gleaming with a dark light under the moonlight.
"But it is extremely difficult to remain pure and good after turning to the dark side."
He paused.
"Especially under absolute pressure, they still maintain their goodness—"
"That would be even more remarkable."