Chapter 285: Look at That Unsophisticated Look

Xiao Li had someone bring over the prepared carriage, and the Silver Armor Guards opened a massive Iron Umbrella to shield her.

Xiao Li walked to Rong Qing’s side and cut open her arm with a dagger.

The scent of fresh blood instantly provoked the already bloodthirsty Rong Qing.

“ROAR… GRH… Your… Majesty…” His pupils were ashen, and he could barely see, but he knew Xiao Li was before him. He could smell the blood.

Xiao Li pressed her arm to his lips, her eyes filled with a fierce, obsessive resolve. “Rong Qing, you’re the first person to make me harm myself willingly.”

“Drink this blood. In life and in death, you belong to me. Remember… come back alive.”

Blood seeped through his tightly clenched lips. Rong Qing resisted with all his might, but ultimately, he couldn’t fight the thirst.

He began to drink his master’s blood in great gulps. It was a fresh, sweet taste unlike anything he had ever experienced.

SLAP!

Xiao Li slapped him across the face. “That’s enough. Don’t get greedy.”

Knocked aside by the blow, Rong Qing’s sanity returned after drinking the blood. He was utterly stunned, raw terror visible on his face.

“Your Majesty…”

‘I drank Your Majesty’s blood. How could I drink Your Majesty’s blood?’

Leaving him to grapple with his guilt, Xiao Li simply wiped his mouth and turned away.

‘I don’t trust Lu Ling, but I have no other way to save Rong Qing. I’ll just have to leave it to the supernatural. My status in this world is unique, and I’ve even siphoned energy from those two world consciousnesses. My blood has to be special in some way.’

‘Rong Qing is fiercely loyal. He’s worth a taste of my blood.’

Xiao Li was escorted away, never once glancing at Lu Ling.

This didn’t stop Lu Ling from watching her leave with an obsessive gaze. He, too, caught the faint scent of blood.

Then he looked at Rong Qing, who was being docilely loaded into the carriage. Jealousy, rage, and a boiling killing intent surged within him. ‘That man dared to drink the Empress’s blood. He deserves to die!’

Lu Ling departed with his men, and the Empress sent no one to follow.

Jiang Zhou couldn’t believe he was actually being left behind. “Lu Ling, you bastard! Are we even brothers? You’re really leaving me here as a pledge?”

Jiang Zhou was exasperated to have such a devious bastard for a brother, but he didn’t realize Lu Ling was just as speechless to have a brother who couldn’t put two and two together.

‘This is an opportunity to be by the Empress’s side, something countless people could only dream of.’

‘He might get bullied for being associated with me, but so what? He gets to stay by the side of the Empress I’ve always dreamed of being with. What’s a little hardship?’

“Jiang Zhou, did you really not see it? That young lady whose name you kept trying to ask…”

Lu Ling leisurely drove the carriage away. Jiang Zhou stood frozen for a moment before his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground.

‘That young lady… she couldn’t be… the Empress… right?’

Jiang Zhou thought he was a dead man. Actually, it turned out to be slightly worse than that: a fate worse than death.

The Empress assigned a female official, Lady Wang, to supervise him. His new daily task was figuring out how to teach the soldiers to read and write.

Jiang Zhou was now a tutor. Staring down at a hall full of “knowledge-thirsty” brutes, his legs trembled and his heart ached with despair.

Wang Wanqing was a beautiful young woman. When she taught, the group of brutes was beyond excited.

Anyone who uttered profanities or let their eyes wander was harshly disciplined. They knew this was the Empress’s trusted female official and could not be disrespected. Still, having such a beautiful, albeit fierce, young woman teach them to read was a pleasure in itself.

Now that she’d been replaced by a pretty boy, the soldiers’ glares alone were enough to burn Jiang Zhou to a crisp.

On one side, he endured the bullying glares of the soldiers. On the other, he was relentlessly exploited by the stone-faced Lady Wang.

“The son of a governor, and you can’t even handle this? Are all sons of governors this useless nowadays?”

“I’m a woman, and I haven’t complained once. Have you no shame?”

“You’re a hostage, a prisoner. Know your place, or I’ll have you stripped naked and hung from the city walls.”

Jiang Zhou: “…”

‘I’m not a total pushover, am I? How am I letting a little girl walk all over me?’

Then he saw the murderous-looking Silver Armor Guard standing behind the “little girl.” ‘I’m not scared,’ he told himself, ‘I’m just being prudent.’

Just as he was lamenting to himself how terrifying the women around the Empress were, he saw Wang Wanqing’s face light up with joy from a distance. “Your Majesty!”

The tyrannical shrew from a moment ago instantly transformed into a shy, sweet maiden. She rushed before the Empress, tilted her head up, and beamed with a radiant smile.

Seeing Jiang Zhou’s shocked expression, the other soldiers looked at him with disdain. ‘Look at this country bumpkin.’

‘Everyone knows Lady Wang is two-faced.’

‘In front of the Empress, she’s a cute, coddled, well-behaved girl who everyone finds adorable. But to the outside world, she’s the Empress’s most vicious attack dog—ferocious, merciless, and iron-willed. Her martial arts may not be the best, but she’ll attack anyone for the Empress’s sake. She has no fear, knowing that if she were to die, the Empress would avenge her.’

‘Dying for the Empress is her greatest honor.’

The good news: she hadn’t fallen for a scumbag.

The bad news: her obsessive devotion had gone in a slightly different, but equally intense, direction.

At first, these soldiers didn’t respect Wang Wanqing either. But after seeing her delicate side and then her ferocious side…

…even when she whipped them, heh, they kind of enjoyed it.

Of course, this was just a private fantasy. No one dared to say a single disrespectful word, much less harass her.

The Silver Armor Guards protected her day and night. Their blades were lightning fast; one slash and a head would roll for a dozen meters. You’d have to have a death wish to mess with her.

In short, Jiang Zhou was forced to put down roots in the military camp, becoming Lady Wang’s little follower. By the time he saw Lu Ling again, he’d even managed to work his way into an official’s uniform. But that is a story for another time.

—–

Changzhou had been taken by Rong Qing. Unfortunately, King Xian’s son had escaped with the remnants of their forces to a city near Beicang, which was also part of King Xian’s territory.

King Xian wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t exactly alive, either.

Xiao Li had aimed for King Xian’s head, intending to kill him with a single shot.

But the distance was too great, and the shot lacked precision. It grazed his head, and the resulting wound left King Xian comatose.

In other words, he was in a vegetative state.

Of course, Xiao Li suspected King Xian was already dead and that his subordinates were simply covering it up.

After all, King Xian was the linchpin of their faction. Claiming he was alive would buy his son time to consolidate power.

That was time Xiao Li had no intention of giving them.

She would muster the army and prepare for a direct confrontation.

Although her other soldiers weren’t as reliable as Rong Qing, Xiao Li was not short on military generals.

“Your Majesty, two people at the city gate request an audience. They say their names are Chu Yungui and Chu Lingyi.”

‘Why are they here?’

Xiao Li was puzzled but agreed to see them.

Chu Lingyi’s leg had been bandaged, but she still couldn’t walk. She was carried in on her brother’s back.

“We greet Your Majesty.”

Resting her chin on her hand, Xiao Li asked curiously, “What do you want with me?”

Chu Yungui gave Xiao Li a profound look, then knelt on one knee, his long spear in hand. “I, Chu Yungui, wish to serve Your Majesty.”

Xiao Li’s eyebrow twitched. “Why?”

‘They left, only to come back and pledge their allegiance. They can’t have been moved to tears by my charm, could they?’