Chapter 194 -

Chapter 194: Chapter

Back in her chamber, the silence was broken by a familiar voice echoing straight inside her head.

[Alright, hothead, stop glaring at the walls,] Nine said, his tone popping back into her thoughts. [You survived the night, the doctor came, and your guard bought the lie. What’s next on the agenda?]

Yueqing pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, staring blankly at the carved wooden ceiling. Open the novel interface, Nine. I want to look back at the Chapters and see what has actually been occurring and what might happen next.

[Don’t get your hopes up,] Nine gave a short, unhelpful scoff. [For now, there isn’t much of a future update because our timeline is completely derailed. But if you want to read past Chapters of things that have already happened, knock yourself out.]

A semi-transparent floating screen flickered to life in front of her eyes. Eager to piece together the chaotic political mess that had trapped her in this world, Yueqing began scrolling back through the historical records. She wanted to check the exact details of how Wenzhe had been ambushed and captured two months ago.

Her fingers swiped across the glowing text, skipping through campaign logs and military reports until she stopped cold.

Her eyes landed on a scene set inside the northern camp tent, featuring a conversation between herself and Xiao Chen.

The text described the moment after Xiao Chen had slipped back into the tent under the cover of night. His personal subordinate had stepped forward, whispering urgently, "My lord, were you able to give Lady Su the poisoned sweet?"

In the text, Xiao Chen had nodded solemnly. "When she gives it to Wenzhe, he will be disoriented, weak, and unable to defend himself. Let’s move out."

Yueqing’s hands turned stark white and ice-cold. Her breath hitched in her throat.

She stared at the words in absolute horror and scrolled frantically down to the next page. It detailed the exact night Wenzhe had returned to the tent late after she had fallen asleep—the night he had looked at the food, picked up the poisoned sweet sitting right on the table, and popped it into his mouth.

Memory slammed into her like a physical blow. She remembered setting that sweet out. She remembered Xiao Chen handing it to her.

Y-this was why he couldn’t defend himself... Yueqing thought, her hands trembling as the terrifying truth settled over her. He was poisoned, and I helped poison him.

Yueqing didn’t know how to feel. Her muscles went completely weak, the heavy blanket slipping from her fingers as icy dread pooled in her stomach.

[Hey, host, you look like you just saw a ghost,] Nine said, his voice echoing in her mind with sudden concern. [Are you okay?]

"Shut up!" Yueqing shouted aloud, her voice cracking with fierce panic as she snapped at the void. "Why didn’t you tell me something like this was happening?! How could you let me walk around completely blind while I helped poison him?!"

[There are some things I cannot tell you, host,] Nine replied, his tone dropping its usual teasing edge for something heavy and restricted. [I’m just a system. I don’t face as much free will as you do.]

Yueqing hugged her trembling arms, her breath coming in shallow gasps as the pieces finally clicked together in her mind. She stared down at the wooden floorboards, whispering the agonizing realization to herself.

"No wonder Wenzhe was so angry with me... He blames me for helping Xiao Chen and poisoning him."

[Host, stop beating yourself up,] Nine said firmly, his words sharp inside her head to snap her out of her spiral. [It wasn’t exactly your fault. Yes, you did warn the third prince not to take that route, but you never told him Wenzhe’s full plan. You just told him not to go that way, which could mean many things. And don’t get me started on the poisoned sweet, you fell asleep before Wenzhe entered the tent. You didn’t hand it over to him; he took it by himself and ate it. None of that had to do with you.]

Yueqing couldn’t hold it back anymore. The weight of the guilt, the sheer terror of what she had unwittingly caused, and the overwhelming helplessness of her situation crashed down on her all at once. Her shoulders shook, and silent tears streamed down her face as she buried her face in her hands.

[Oh, come on, don’t do that,] Nine sighed softly.

In a flicker of shifting light right beside the bed, Nine materialized out of thin air, snapping back into his solid human form. Without a second thought, he sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled her trembling body into his arms, wrapping her tightly against his chest.

[I got you,] Nine murmured gently, resting his chin against her head and rubbing her back. [It’s not your fault, Yueqing. You didn’t know. Stop punishing yourself.]

The fierce, defensive walls she had built up instantly crumbled. Melting into his warm embrace, Yueqing let out a small, broken sob, clutching onto the fabric of his sleeve as the tears finally flowed freely.

Just then, the heavy wooden doors banged wide open with a violent crash.

Wenzhe strode into the room, his eyes fixed on his wife only to freeze dead in his tracks. His expression twisted instantly, his face turning pitch black and terrifying as he stared at the sight before him: the insolent new personal guard from earlier, sitting comfortably on the bed and holding his weeping wife tightly in his arms.

The air in the bedroom instantly froze, dropping to a sub-zero chill.

Wenzhe’s dark eyes locked onto Nine with a murderous intensity, the veins in his temples bulging as a terrifying, suppressed fury radiated off his entire frame. He looked ready to commit murder right then and there.

Yueqing snapped out of her crying fit, jolting upright as the sudden pressure hit the room. She turned her head, her breath catching in her throat when she saw Wenzhe standing by the doorway looking like a god of carnage.

[Well,] Nine muttered under his breath, not even moving an inch away from her. [Talk about bad timing.]

"Wenzhe—wait, it’s not what it looks like!" Yueqing stammered, frantically pushing against Nine’s chest to break the embrace.

"Get your hands off my wife," Wenzhe spoke, his voice dangerously low, stripped of all warmth and echoing like cracking ice from the depths of hell. He took a slow, deliberate step forward, his knuckles popping as he cracked his hand into a fist.