Chapter 272: Volume 1 Chapter 272 Empress x Courtesan (2)

And beneath the thick gloom, hatred is etched into the bone marrow.

All that hatred is directed at her.

Jiang Zhi blinked, unable to understand why he hated her so much.

【Ding—The villain Wen Ci's Hatred Value has reached 100 points, Blackening Value 100 points; Host, please stay safe.】

777 anxiously said: "Host, the villain seems to have been reborn."

Jiang Zhi: "?"

The second personality Wen Ci, lying on the wooden steps, clearly felt unfamiliar with the surroundings, but his memory told him he should have returned to ten years ago.

The empress he beheaded is still alive in this world, just as in her previous life; she took his slave contract in the Pine Bamboo Pavilion and brought him to the imperial prison, where endless nightmares are about to begin.

Wen Ci lowered his eyes, suppressing his sinister and ferocious expression, desperately restraining the killing intent surging from his heart.

Empress Jiang Zhi of Jiang State loves to torment beautiful things; many nights he almost died from her inhuman torture.

In his previous life he easily ended her, merely beheading her. This life…

Wen Ci's mouth gradually curled into a sick, neurotic smile.

He will surely make her wish she were dead.

Jiang Zhi felt a chill run down her spine; her keen senses clearly detected the dark aura emanating from the youth.

She could roughly guess what the boy was thinking.

The original host was not even human; for the boy, that period was like purgatory, making life worse than death, so he would treat her this way, and she could understand.

Having chosen the second main-line task to eliminate his Blackening Value, Jiang Zhi never thought of trying to win him over, because she knew that once Favorability reached 100 points, all Hatred Value would disappear.

By then, she would have to regain his Hatred Value.

Too cruel.

Jiang Zhi yanked the blanket covering him to the ground, then kicked him with her leg; the force wasn't strong, but it was extremely humiliating.

"Is my blanket something you can touch?"

The boy knelt on the ground without making a sound.

She stepped directly on that bedding and shouted outward.

"Get in here!"

A eunuch came crawling in, kneeling low to the ground, not daring to breathe: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Jiang Zhi ordered the eunuch to bring in a new blanket from outside, then lay down, ignoring the boy kneeling before the bed, and fell asleep herself.

Wen Ci didn't sleep all night; still the second personality, his body like a statue, he knelt on the ground maintaining last night's posture.

Upon waking early, Jiang Zhi saw this, frowned, lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and kicked him over with her foot.

The boy fell, but soon stood up again, continuing to kneel, without a single fault to be found.

Jiang Zhi grabbed his chin, staring at his empty, emotionless eyes, her expression displeased.

"Do you like kneeling?"

Wen Ci's voice lacked any of last night's soft gentleness; it was calm and waveless, like a machine.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant has angered Your Majesty and deserves punishment."

Jiang Zhi withdrew her finger with disgust, carefully wiping it on a silk handkerchief, her voice icy: "Yes, you deserve punishment; I order you to clean the weeds outside thoroughly."

Wen Ci paused upon hearing this, having prepared himself for punishment, but never expecting it to be merely weeding.

What is she plotting? Could she throw poisonous snakes or unleash vicious dogs while he weeds?

While his thoughts raced, the empress had already left, and a few palace attendants came out to help him change clothes and comb his hair.

Dressed in a pale green consort's robe, her black hair bound with a jade pin, silky strands hanging at her waist, her face bare of rouge, her visage still breathtaking, an immortal beauty, her indifferent black eyes shimmering with splendid color in the sunlight, looking like a celestial being from a mural, striking to behold.

He rolled up his sleeves, squatted in the flowerbed, and attentively pulled out the weeds inside.

There were few weeds in the outer garden, as palace staff swept them daily, so he finished clearing them all in less than a morning.

A little eunuch approached him, fawning: "Consort, your palace is not far from the Emperor's sleeping quarters; please follow me."

Wen Ci snorted inwardly; it was the same as in his previous life—she had arranged his lodging in a nearby hut even worse than the servants' quarters, crude and dilapidated.

He followed the eunuch expressionlessly to a nearby palace; inside its walls grew vivid roses, the architecture exquisite, lighting superb, the furnishings all brand-new—a sandalwood noble consort's chair placed by the window, topped with a thick fur blanket, soft and comfortable.

Moreover, no other consorts resided in the side hall.

The little eunuch exclaimed excitedly: "This is a newly built palace, its furnishings personally selected by the Emperor; you alone enjoy this honor—throughout the harem, not even Consort Pity has had such treatment."

Wen Ci said nothing, his face showing no pleasure; he gave the eunuch a faint glance and said, "You may go."

The little eunuch couldn't fathom the consort's thoughts; clearly the Emperor's supreme favor, yet he seemed unhappy, his aura making people uneasy.

He answered softly and slipped away quietly.

Wen Ci strode into the room.

Besides that little eunuch, there were no other palace attendants in the hall.

A flicker of suspicion crossed his eyes.

Empress Jiang Zhi perhaps, like him, also retains memories of her previous life.

He fell into thought.

If this is her second life, then his life would already be forfeit; Wen Ci knows well the mindset of Empress Jiang Zhi of Jiang State—she is arrogant and utterly ruthless. She would absolutely not allow her killer to live, striking first to eliminate any possibility.

Regardless of whether she remembers her past life, he will make her die again.

And this time, he will absolutely make her wish she were dead.

…

At the imperial court.

The incumbent prime ministers stand left and right; the Right Prime Minister is elderly, often lying at home on leave; the Left Prime Minister is a young man who grew up with the original host, as close as brothers, and knows the original host best—unfortunately he cannot fight, but his literary talent shines.

The original owner had no interest in state affairs, constantly led troops in battle, his martial ability was outstanding; this is also a key reason why Jiang State has stood for over ten years without falling.

The two other states greatly feared her, this female emperor, because the original owner was decisive on the battlefield, never knowing defeat, and was thus called the War God.

Thus the Left Chancellor managed state affairs while the original owner waged war, and Jiang State grew ever stronger, already showing the trend of becoming the foremost of the three states.

"Your Majesty, please withdraw the order to ennoble Wen Wuhuan!"

The speaker was the Left Chancellor; his handsome looks were of the cool and aloof sort, he harbored ambition but had never considered rebelling, remaining loyal to the original owner.

He is very principled and also quite rigid; once he has decided on something, it is hard to be flexible—for instance, at present he strongly opposes her making the young page from the Pine-and-Bamboo Pavilion a consort.

His status is lowly, he has no kin in the court, and there is no way he could ever attain the rank of consort.

When he spoke, a crowd of officials behind him followed, kneeling and voicing their agreement.

This shows how high his prestige and influence are in the court.