Chapter 273: Volume 1 Chapter 273 Empress x Courtesan (3)

Jiang Zhi wore a bright yellow dragon robe, her fist pressed against her chin, her elbow resting on the dragon throne's edge, her phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, revealing a hint of coldness as she locked gazes with the Left Chancellor Yan Yao below.

He was neither humble nor arrogant, showing no intention to retreat or avoid, meeting her gaze directly with a resolute attitude.

"Then, Left Chancellor, you shall sit in my place upon the dragon throne."

As these words fell, the entire court fell silent like cicadas in winter; the officials kneeling broke out in cold sweat on their foreheads, their bodies trembling incessantly.

"Your Majesty..." Yan Yao stared for a moment, then suddenly knelt on the ground, still wanting to speak further.

Jiang Zhi rose to her feet, cutting him off, and said in a neutral tone: "Dismiss the court; there's nothing else."

With that, she turned and left the court.

Inside the Palace of Nurturing Heart.

Jiang Zhi, flipping through a book, asked: "Is he still here?"

The old eunuch replied: "The Chancellor has been kneeling outside the palace gate since the court dismissed, never leaving."

Jiang Zhi felt helpless: "Summon him inside."

If it weren't for the villain Wen Ci in this world, the one giving her a headache would be this Left Chancellor.

Trivial matters pile up, and he insists on handling everything.

He knows the original owner best, and any slip will cause the persona to collapse.

Soon after, a man in an immortal crane black robe entered at a leisurely pace, clasping his hands in salute.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Jiang Zhi tossed a grape into her mouth, gave him a lazy glance, dismissed the palace attendants, then said: "Yan Yao, you need not meddle in this any further."

Yan Yao stepped forward, walked behind her, peeled a grape and brought it to her lips, asking: "A Zhi, do you really like him that much?"

When they were alone, Yan Yao always called her A Zhi.

Jiang Zhi bit into the grape he offered, her teeth unintentionally grazing his fingertip, and murmured: "Mm."

Excitement flickered in her eyes as she said: "Yan Yao, you haven't seen him yet; you don't know how supple his body is, and you can't imagine the pleasure of tormenting him."

Yan Yao withdrew his fingertip, a strange feeling stirring in his heart—something he had never felt for A Zhi before.

He lowered the emotion in his eyes, his fingers tidying a strand of her black hair, and said: "Since A Zhi likes it, let it stay."

After Yan Yao left, Jiang Zhi lingered, unwilling to return to her sleeping quarters.

She fundamentally had no such fetish, taking pleasure in tormenting others.

But the persona cannot collapse, so she merely goes through the motions.

Until the sky darkened, a eunuch from the Bureau of Rites entered carrying a wooden tray laden with green tallies.

"Your Majesty, it's time to retire."

Jiang Zhi glanced casually at those green tallies—there were over twenty of them; the concubines in the rear palace numbered even more, some men sent to fill the harem remained uninvested, merely awaiting opportunity, yet many concubines spent their whole lives in this harem without ever seeing the empress.

"Go to Snow Peace Palace."

This is the residence of the villain Wen Ci.

The old eunuch announced outside: "The procession proceeds to Snow Peace Palace."

Riding the dragon palanquin, they arrived outside Snow Peace Palace.

Jiang Zhi ordered the attending palace servants to wait outside, then she entered the palace alone.

Being emperor is no easy task; rising at dawn to attend court and handle affairs from across the realm, by day's end she is exhausted, wanting nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

Yet she still must follow the plot.

Wen Ci, who had long received the news, waited outside the palace, wearing a light blue women's dress that outlined a slender, graceful waist, his dark hair simply bound; in the dim light, his godlike visage was captivating as he knelt on the ground to salute, his expression cold.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhi felt a headache coming on.

Why is it still his second persona? Could it be that he hasn't slept at all since last night?

She also learned from the plot that the villain switches personas when he falls asleep.

Compared to the sinister, deeply scheming second persona, Jiang Zhi still prefers interacting with the first.

At least the first persona isn't this difficult to get along with.

Jiang Zhi stood half a head taller than him, which is also the advantage of women in a female-respected world— their strength and stature far surpass those of men.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth, her voice laced with malice: "Come in."

With that, she walked into the palace interior.

The air was suffused with a faint fragrance; likely Wen Ci had lingered here too long, the whole room soaked in his scent, leaving one feeling refreshed and delighted.

Behind her came light footsteps; the youth stopped not far away, his back slightly bent.

Jiang Zhi pointed to the cold floor and said slowly: "Kneel here."

The youth obeyed, kneeling obediently, prostrating himself in utter humility.

Jiang Zhi no longer looked at him, climbed onto the bed, and went to sleep.

She fell asleep quickly; within minutes she sank into deep sleep, her breathing even and steady.

Wen Ci raised his forehead, staring intently at the sleeping empress on the bed, his fingers dug deep into his palms, the pain allowing him to regain a semblance of consciousness.

Now is not the chance to kill her.

Only by making her lose what she treasures most, letting her taste the flavor of despair and agony, is that what he truly desires.

Having gone long without sleep, his eyes felt heavy; he did not want to fall asleep, for once he did, that other person would take over his body— that person is foolish and stupid, tormented by women to the point of wishing for death, yet never blaming anyone.

Sooner or later he will fully seize this body, causing that person to vanish.

But he can barely hold on now, drowsiness growing stronger, his eyelids drooping, and he slipped into sleep.

—

Early morning.

Jiang Zhi, awakened by her biological clock, lay in bed unwilling to go to court; being emperor is utterly meaningless, the harem full of beauties yet she cannot touch a single one.

Every day like an office worker, busy from morning till night, exhausted and bitter.

"Brother Seven, I hope I won't become an emperor again in the next world."

777 knew she felt wronged, and soothed: "Don't worry, Host; I'll try to avoid letting you become emperor again."

Jiang Zhi felt relieved, her face instantly shifted to that of a tyrannical female emperor persona.

She lifted the curtain and saw a boy kneeling on the floor, thinly clothed, his complexion excessively red and abnormal.

Jiang Zhi, seeing this, strode forward; upon touching his skin, she felt a scorching temperature.

Immediately, she called for the palace attendants outside to come in and ordered the imperial physician to come.

In that moment, she was delayed from going to court.

The old eunuch beside her advised: "Your Majesty, go to court; I'll look after the imperial consort well."

Jiang Zhi wasn't entirely at ease with him, shaking her head: "Convey my verbal order; I will not attend morning court today."

The old eunuch, hearing the voice, panicked, his eyes showing undisguised shock: Your Majesty actually dotes so much on a young page from Pine Bamboo Pavilion; if this got out, how many imperial concubines would be jealous!

He left quickly.

The imperial physician arrived and examined the boy who had collapsed on the bed.

When he came out, his face solemn, he knelt on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, the imperial consort is naturally weak; this high fever nearly took his life."

Jiang Zhi grabbed his collar angrily and said: "If you can't cure him, I will surely exterminate your entire clan."

—I was just saying that.

The imperial physician was so frightened he almost fainted, quickly agreed and went to prepare the medicine.

Jiang Zhi sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the boy with closed eyes, brows tightly furrowed; his cheeks glowed like rosy clouds, the high fever made his whole body red, temperature rising, he slipped into a nightmare, fists clenched, appearing especially painful.

Seeing this, she instinctively took his hand, gently squeezed it, and softly called his name in a tender voice:

"Wen Ci…"