The words were sharp, making even Bai Ying's heart sink.
The city lord toiled day and night for the people, exhausting every effort to secure a better future for Azure Cloud, and this was the thanks she got?
Filled with both anger and sorrow, Bai Ying turned to look at Mingyi, only to find her expression calm, her eyes tinged with faint mockery.
"You're overthinking it." Mingyi crouched down, pinching a strand of pure white, almost translucent Essence Power between her fingertips. "I just wanted to say—your Essence Power is so weak. No strength, no precision, not even comparable to a woman who's only trained for a month in the Academicians' Court. Did you just start practicing yesterday?"
The assassin's face stiffened, then turned green with rage.
"Take him away. Before he dies, let him take a look at the Register of Fighters. Maybe he'll die with his eyes closed then." Mingyi waved dismissively.
As the guards dragged the struggling assassin away, he couldn't help but shout furiously, "Why did you have to come back? You should have died as Ming Xian! You were once our hero, but now you're our enemy! Don’t you feel disgusted by all the filthy things you’ve done?"
His mouth was quickly gagged, the fabric of his clothes scraping against the ground, stirring up dust.
Mingyi lifted her head, gazing at the distant sun. After a long pause, she chuckled softly and turned indifferently back toward the palace.
She would never consider wanting a world where both men and women could live well as something filthy. Nor would she ever feel disgusted by helping women who were currently disadvantaged. Hero or enemy—it was merely a matter of perspective. She wasn’t wrong, and she wouldn’t bow to them.
With a cold expression, she stepped through the palace gates. Just as she was about to ask Bai Ying to fetch a physician, she spotted someone sprinting toward her from afar. The hem of his dark robe, embroidered with a dragon pattern, fluttered in the wind, and the beaded curtain of his crown swayed wildly.
She studied him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Your Majesty, what are you doing? If Tianguan sees you like this, they’ll surely say you’ve lost all propriety and are unfit to—"
"Shut up!"
Ji Bozhai was frantic. The moment he reached her, he saw the blood on her arm and immediately scooped her up into his arms, striding swiftly toward the palace chambers.
Only then did Mingyi realize—he must have heard about the assassination attempt.
She found it both amusing and exasperating. "At the Six Cities Tournament, we suffered far worse injuries than this. What’s a scratch like this worth getting worked up over?"
Ji Bozhai glared at her.
Noticing how violently his chest heaved, as if he’d been terrified, Mingyi finally pressed her lips together and fell silent.
The physician carefully bandaged her wound, confirming it was only superficial. Only then did he relax slightly, though he remained seated beside her on the soft couch, clutching her hand and rubbing his thumb absently over her knuckles.
Mingyi sighed softly and reassured him, "It’s alright."
Her reassurance only seemed to make him more aggrieved. His voice was hoarse as he muttered, "I couldn’t find you after court. Fuling told me to wait here for you, but no matter how long I waited, you didn’t return. Just as I was about to go look for you, I heard you’d been attacked."
He couldn’t describe how he’d felt in that moment. The fearless lord of the Six Cities had, for the first time, truly felt as though the sky had fallen.
Yan Xiao had once joked, asking her to imagine how she’d react if he didn’t have long to live. Her response at the time had delighted him, making him believe there was still hope between them.
But today, Ji Bozhai understood—his feelings for her ran far, far deeper than hers for him.
In the past, he might have wanted to compete, to win. But now, all he wanted was to hold her close.—Lost in thought, she suddenly spread her arms.
Mingyi raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing?"
"Hurry up," he said, his voice hoarse.
Wrinkling her nose, Mingyi reluctantly reached out and gave him a perfunctory hug.
Then she was pulled entirely into his embrace, listening to his rapid heartbeat and feeling his slightly unsettled breath.
Mingyi blinked, her eyes suddenly growing warm as well.
"Someone scolded me today," she finally admitted. "I was actually quite angry, but I didn’t want to show it and let others see."
"Who?" Ji Bozhai narrowed his eyes.
Mingyi looked up at him but could only see his bobbing Adam’s apple. "Your Majesty isn’t going to ask what they said?"
"Why bother? Cut out their tongue and have them torn limb from limb. If they have powerful backing, I’ll find a charge to pin on them now."
"..." She couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
This man was utterly unreasonable, but at this moment, his unreasonable protectiveness was exactly what she needed.
When angry, she didn’t want to hear justifications or debates over right and wrong—she just wanted someone to stand unconditionally by her side.
Most of Mingyi’s anger dissipated, and she waved her hand. "Never mind. Tomorrow at court, Song Lanzhi and several other women will be wearing official robes to enter the hall. Is Your Majesty prepared?"
"A trivial matter. Don’t worry about it." Ji Bozhai smirked. "They’re already painting me as the most tyrannical ruler in history—dictatorial, ignoring the counsel of wise ministers. I think this so-called tyrant sounds rather comfortable. I might as well play the part."
If he were to be a virtuous ruler, he’d have to care about his reputation, be kind to old ministers even if they sat around gossiping about how he’d bring ruin to the country. He’d have to show humility to scholars, even if they were all talk and no substance. He’d have to restrain himself and uphold propriety, even if he truly liked Mingyi and couldn’t show it.
—Then what was the point of being emperor? They might as well take the throne and rule themselves.
Ji Bozhai scoffed.
Before, he had found the throne dull and the world uninteresting, so he hadn’t cared much about them. But now he realized that if he fell, Mingyi would bear double the pressure.
These people slandered her, framed her, and even tried to assassinate her—did they think he was already dead?
Thus, the next day, before court convened, Mingyi was walking along the palace road when several high-ranking officials suddenly blocked her path.
"City Lord, spare us!" The Minister of Personnel repeatedly bowed to her.
Mingyi found it odd. This minister had always disliked her. Though he hadn’t resigned like Liu Gelao, he’d rather feign illness than handle the matter of Song Lanzhi and the others’ official appointments. Why was he suddenly begging for mercy?
Before she could ask, the Minister of Personnel lamented, "Yesterday, when the City Lord was attacked—though it happened outside the Ministry of Personnel’s gates—it truly had nothing to do with us. Yet in his fury, His Majesty detained over twenty of our officials, with three sentenced to execution. I truly... ah!"
Mingyi was stunned but quickly understood Ji Bozhai’s intent.
A light punishment would have left these ministers feeling unjustly implicated, blaming her for bewitching the emperor. But with such a heavy penalty, they would realize the severity of the situation. Later, if he showed some leniency, he’d earn praise as a wise ruler while also letting her gain a few favors.
Ji Bozhai had begun scheming against the court officials.
There was a kind of person who, when scheming against you, made you feel utterly miserable. But when they schemed alongside you against others, they became the most reliable ally.A glimmer of amusement flashed in Mingyi's eyes before he solemnly cupped his hands toward the Minister of Personnel. "I'll do my best to persuade Your Majesty later," he said.
OpenNovel