NCCnovel Chapter 228 She refused to be a pawn any longer! She wanted to take control of her own destiny!
Chapter 228 She refused to be a pawn any longer! She wanted to take control of her own destiny!
Jiang Qingxue's body trembled violently.
She turned her head and looked at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu remained leaning back in his chair, one hand supporting his chin, his posture languid.
His gaze fell on her face, and he smiled.
That smile contained appreciation, amusement, and a complex emotion she couldn't decipher.
It seems to be saying—
Look, this is my method.
See, this is what happens when you disobey.
look--
Be thankful.
I'm glad you listened to me.
Fortunately, you haven't fallen to that point yet.
Jiang Qingxue met that gaze and felt a deep chill run through her.
A chill rose from the bottom of her heart, spreading along her spine, making her shiver involuntarily.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something.
But it felt like something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't say a word.
He could only stare blankly at Qin Mu.
Looking at the smile on his lips.
Looking into the deep light in his eyes.
Sister Hong is still playing.
one more time.
Zhao Qingxue's consciousness was beginning to fade.
But those deep purple phoenix eyes remained open.
Through her disheveled long hair, through her face streaked with tears and blood, the tears fell on Jiang Qingxue.
There was so much in those eyes.
Some accept their fate.
There is sorrow.
There was self-deprecation.
When Jiang Qingxue met that gaze, an indescribable bitterness welled up in her heart.
She didn't know what Zhao Qingxue had done, or why she was being treated this way.
But she knew—
Those eyes once burned with such pride.
That pride is now slowly fading away.
And that man was sitting right next to her.
She watched with a smile.
waiting.
Waiting for the day when that pride is completely extinguished.
Then--
What will happen then?
Jiang Qingxue dared not think any further.
She simply lowered her head and clenched her fingers tightly.
My fingernails dug deep into my palm, and the pain was excruciating.
But she would rather be in pain.
She preferred to use the pain to suppress the surging, frightening emotions within her.
In the side room, Sister Hong was covered in sweat, but she was getting more and more excited.
Zhao Qingxue's muffled groans grew fainter and fainter, almost inaudible.
Jiang Qingxue lowered her head, her whole body stiff and motionless.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, watching all of this with a smile.
Sunlight streamed in through the carved windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
The light and shadow fell on everyone, flickering and fading.
This scene was captured in exceptional clarity.
Also exceptionally—
cruel.
"Well……"
Zhao Qingxue's body arched suddenly, and a barely audible groan escaped from deep in her throat.
The voice was suppressed to the extreme, as if it were squeezed out from between the teeth, broken and weak.
Her calves were covered with bluish-purple bruises, which looked particularly shocking against her fair skin.
The moon-white skirt was torn to shreds, now covered in dust and mottled bloodstains, hanging down in a sorry state, unable to conceal the newly added wounds.
Zhao Qingxue was suspended in mid-air with her arms tied behind her back, her whole body swaying slightly.
Her head was lowered, and her long, messy hair fell down, covering most of her face.
Only a few strands of hair were damp with sweat, clinging to his reddened cheeks.
Sister Hong, panting heavily, took two steps back and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
The gauze wrapped around her severed wrist was already seeping out a faint yellow liquid.
But she was completely oblivious, staring intently at the woman who had once been high and mighty.
"What?" Sister Hong's voice was shrill and hoarse, carrying an almost manic excitement. "Still not begging for mercy? Still not bowing your head?"
She stepped forward and poked Zhao Qingxue's chin with her finger, forcing her to look up.
Those deep purple phoenix eyes were half-open, their eyelashes wet with tears, yet they stubbornly remained open, their gaze fixed on some empty direction through their disheveled hair.
His gaze was empty and calm.
It was as calm as a stagnant pool.
But deep within that stagnant water, something is slowly breaking apart.
Looking into those eyes, Sister Hong's excitement was suddenly replaced by a strange sense of irritation.
That look in her eyes again.
It's that insane look in her eyes again.
Even though she had been beaten so badly, and was in such a sorry state that she couldn't even look like a human being, there was still no fear or submission in her eyes that she wanted.
Only that damned, agonizing calm.
"Fine," Sister Hong nodded through gritted teeth, "You're something else. I'd like to see how long you can hold out."
"Snapped!"
Jiang Qingxue stood to the side, her whole body stiff.
Her gaze fell on Zhao Qingxue, on that disfigured face, on those empty, deep purple phoenix eyes, and on the shocking wounds covering her body.
Her fingers were clenched tightly inside her sleeve.
My fingernails dug deep into my palm, and the pain was excruciating.
But she dared not move, dared not speak, and dared not even let her breathing be too loud.
She is afraid.
She was afraid that the crazy woman would notice her.
She was afraid Qin Mu would make her stand there too.
She was afraid that she would become the next Zhao Qingxue.
But she couldn't take her gaze away.
She looked into Zhao Qingxue's eyes.
Those eyes that once gazed at her from afar, through the twelve-tasseled imperial crown, at the grand ceremony in the imperial city.
At that time, she sat on the phoenix throne, surrounded by red silk and golden candles, with officials paying homage. She wore heavy ceremonial robes and a heavy phoenix crown, and seemed to be nailed to the chair, unable to move.
She remembered looking up and meeting those deep purple phoenix eyes.
Those eyes, through the beaded curtain and through the shadows of the people filling the hall, fell upon her.
That gaze was complex.
There was scrutiny, evaluation, and a complex glimmer that she couldn't understand at the time.
At the time, she thought it was the emperor scrutinizing his concubines.
But only now did she understand—
There was a subtle emotion in that gaze that only a woman could understand.
They share the same plight.
It's a pity.
Jiang Qingxue closed her eyes.
Countless images surged wildly through my mind.
On the day of the imperial ceremony, Zhao Qingxue sat in the VIP section, exuding an aura of dominance over the world.
Xu Longxiang stood outside the east gate of the imperial city, gazing at Zhao Qingxue with intense eyes.
There were notes handed over by Xu Fenghua, which contained news of an alliance between Liyang and the Northern Border.
And this moment—
This once high and mighty Empress Li Yang was hung from a beam and tortured by a madwoman.
She suddenly realized something.
Something that gave her the creeps.
Xu Longxiang wants to form an alliance with Empress Liyang to fight against Qin Mu.
This is the information revealed in Xu Fenghua's notes.
But Empress Li Yang is now a prisoner.
That Empress Li Yang, whose every stomp of her foot could shake the entire Eastern Continent.
The Empress of Liyang, who purged eight princes in five years and whose power shook the Eastern Continent.
The Empress of Liyang, who commanded the submission of countless powerful figures.
It was hanging right in front of her right now.
He was beaten beyond recognition.
They were humiliated and had no dignity left.
He was tortured like a dying dog.
What about Xu Longxiang?
The Northern prince who commanded 300,000 iron cavalry and believed he had victory in his grasp.
Xu Longxiang, who vowed before she entered the palace, "When I rule the world, I will offer the entire country as my dowry"?
Xu Longxiang, who doesn't even remember who Chun'er is?
What is he anyway?
What makes him think he can compete with Qin Mu?
Jiang Qingxue's heart sank little by little.
Sinking into a bottomless ice cellar.
She remembered the assassin sent by Xu Longxiang.
I recall that breathtaking moment in the Imperial Garden that night.
She recalled what Qin Mu said to her later.
He said his nighttime prowess would decline, and that was his biggest secret.
But thinking about it now—
Is that really his biggest secret?
A person who could capture Empress Li Yang, hang her up, and have her beaten with wooden sticks.
Would he have such a ridiculous weakness?
Jiang Qingxue's fingers clenched even tighter.
She recalled that night when, in order to "protect" Qin Mu, she bravely rushed forward to shield him from the knife.
She recalled how she had later felt smug about it, thinking she had gained Qin Mu's trust.
She recalled that she had even considered pledging complete loyalty to Qin Mu in exchange for a chance to live.
But now it seems—
In Qin Mu's eyes, her so-called "sacrifice," "loyalty," and "choices" were probably nothing more than a laughable farce.
Xu Longxiang believed that he had broken down the old and built the new, and that he had seen through the illusions and the truth.
Empress Li Yang believed herself to be in complete control and to have a flawless strategy.
But she was hanging there, looking utterly pathetic.
Meanwhile, Xu Longxiang was far away in the northern border, probably still dreaming of forming an alliance with Liyang to fight against Qin Mu.
He had no idea that the Empress Li Yang, whom he longed for, had already been captured by his rival.
He had no idea that all the undercover agents, pawns, and seemingly foolproof plans he had painstakingly cultivated had long been eliminated by Qin Mu.
He had no idea—
I am nothing but a joke.
A thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Qingxue's mind.
A thought arose almost instinctively.
Pass this message on to Xu Longxiang.
Tell him that Empress Liyang has been captured by Qin Mu.
Tell him that his plan has been exposed.
Tell him—
The moment the thought crossed Jiang Qingxue's mind, she froze.
This was her purpose in entering the palace.
This is the significance of Xu Longxiang sending her to the palace.
This is the only thing she has been doing for the past few months.
But at this moment, the thought seemed so ridiculous in her mind.
Passed on to Xu Longxiang?
What's wrong with passing it on to him?
Tell him that Empress Li Yang has been captured, and then what?
What else can he do?
Can he come and save her?
Can he beat Qin Mu?
What can he change?
Nothing can be changed.
Jiang Qingxue suddenly realized that she had been deceiving herself all along.
She told herself that she entered the palace to help Xu Longxiang accomplish his great cause.
She told herself that all the humiliation, the torment, and the moments that felt like living hell that she had endured were meaningful.
She told herself that as long as Xu Longxiang succeeded, it would all be worth it.
But now, watching Zhao Qingxue hanging there, watching those once proud eyes slowly lose their light—
She suddenly understood.
Pointless.
It never meant anything.
Xu Longxiang had no chance of succeeding.
All his so-called plans, schemes, and grand schemes were nothing but fragile bubbles in front of Qin Mu.
Everything she has endured these past few months—
Those humiliating nights, those moments of forced smiles, those self-deceptive comforts—
These are all just excuses she made for herself.
An excuse for her to keep living.
This gave her an excuse to endure all of this.
A sudden surge of bitterness welled up in Jiang Qingxue's eyes.
The sourness was faint, yet it felt like a thorn, piercing the softest part of her heart.
She took a deep breath and suppressed the bitterness.
The thought flashed through her mind for a moment, but she suppressed it.
She has decided to sever all ties with the North.
From the moment that assassin appeared, from the moment Qin Mu told her that her "nighttime power was waning," from the moment she stood in the Imperial Garden, watching Xu Longxiang hide on the artificial hill—
She made up her mind.
No messages were sent.
No longer a pawn.
I will no longer waste my time on someone who doesn't even remember who Chun'er is.
She was just—
I want to live.
I want to live like a human being in this deep palace.
She wants to take control of her own destiny!
This thought filled her with a deep sense of weariness.
The weariness surged from the depths of her bones, overwhelming all her thoughts.
She suddenly didn't want to think about it anymore.
I don't want to think about Xu Longxiang anymore, I don't want to think about the Northern Border anymore, I don't want to think about those messy schemes and calculations anymore.
I just want to—
Just stand there.
Just watch.
Watching how the once high and mighty Empress Li Yang was destroyed bit by bit.
And then I felt relieved, relieved that I wasn't her.
This thought filled her with a deep sense of shame.
But that shame was quickly overwhelmed by an even greater fear.
Because at that very moment—
A voice rang in her ear.
"My beloved concubine,"
The voice was languid and gentle, carrying a hint of meaningful laughter.
"Don't you have anything to say?"