“Why hasn’t Yue’er woken up yet? Why did she suddenly faint again today? As the empress, how exactly are you taking care of her?”
The man dressed in luxurious brocade spoke coldly, his tone heavy with reproach. The woman standing before him lowered her head, her face full of guilt.
“This is all my fault,” the empress replied softly. “I failed to take proper care of Lady Yue. The imperial physician said that the wound to her chest from before still needs long-term recuperation.”
The empress felt helpless. A year ago, His Majesty had gone hunting and accidentally shot a young woman. Seeing how pitiful she looked, he brought her back to the palace and ordered her to be cared for.
Who would have thought that after so much time had passed, the wound left by that arrow still hadn’t fully healed? From time to time, she would still faint.
With a sharp flick of his sleeve, the emperor turned and left, not sparing even a glance at the woman lying in bed.
If not for her resemblance to Yingyue, he would never have brought her back in the first place.
The palace’s rarest medicinal herbs were all spent on her—only to keep her alive, to ease his longing by having her nearby.
But as for truly caring for her… it didn’t quite reach that point.
“System, what’s going on here? The mission’s starting already?”
The person lying on the bed was Yunshang. Though her eyes remained closed, she clearly heard the exchange between the two.
Just from the man’s tone alone, she felt irritated—always losing his temper, nothing else!
“Host, open your eyes slowly and wake up first,” the system said gently.“I’ll block your pain for now and transfer the memories into your mind.”
The system was considerate. After all, this body had been shot through the chest by that damned emperor, leaving severe aftereffects.
“Your Majesty, Lady Yue seems to be waking up?”
The maid Jinru was sharp-eyed. Noticing movement on the bed, she softly alerted the empress.
The empress steadied herself and walked over.
Having just been scolded, she felt deeply wronged. Even after so many years as husband and wife, she had never truly received warmth from him.
All because there had always been another woman in his heart.
“What’s wrong, Your Majesty? You look like you’ve been crying. Were you scolded just now because of me?”
Supported by the maid, Yunshang sat up. If not for the system blocking the pain, her chest would have been aching unbearably—breathing itself would have been difficult, let alone speaking such a long sentence.
“It really is my fault,” the empress said with a gentle shake of her head.“I didn’t expect that after so long, you’d still faint like this. I’ll have the imperial physicians prescribe more medicine. We’ll make sure to restore your health.”
She carefully tucked the blanket around Yue’er, her demeanor gentle and dignified.
“What does this have to do with Your Majesty?” Yunshang said coldly.“The arrow that pierced my chest was shot by the emperor himself. The real culprit is clearly him!”
Recalling the memories the system had given her, Yunshang felt nothing but disgust toward that wretched emperor—hypocritical, obsessed with appearances, utterly revolting.
“You never used to say things like this,” the empress said, puzzled.“Are you harboring resentment over the arrow His Majesty shot into your chest?”
When the emperor first brought this girl back to the palace, he seemed genuinely anxious and concerned. But as time passed, something felt off.
He looked worried, granted her the title of consort—yet at times, it felt as though he didn’t truly care.
Just now, after scolding her, he left immediately without waiting for her to wake or offering any comfort. It was impossible to tell whether His Majesty truly favored her.
“He shot me in the chest—why wouldn’t I resent it?” Yunshang said bluntly.“If he hadn’t shot me there, maybe I’d still be healthy and lively right now!”
This was the beginning of Yue’er’s tragic fate.
She had once been strong and healthy, but that single arrow changed everything.
Even though she was brought into the palace and cared for with the finest luxuries, she still didn’t live past twenty.
Worse still, the final chapter of her life was filled with humiliation—she died in despair.
“Lady Yue must be muddled from illness,” the empress said gently, smiling as she advised,“You’re speaking nonsense. Rest properly. Some thoughts may be true in your heart, but you shouldn’t voice them.”
She spoke kindly, yet couldn’t shake the feeling that Yue’er had changed—she now carried a trace of temper, nothing like her former frailty and helplessness.
“You’re right, Your Majesty. I understand. I’ll rest well.”
Yunshang smiled and nodded. This empress was far better than that emperor.
As the empress stepped outside, she happened upon several palace maids leading a little girl of three or four.
“Your Majesty,” a maid said, “the little princess insisted on coming to find you.”
“Mother, why is it this lady again?” the princess asked, tilting her head to peer inside.“Why does she always get into trouble?”
She was too young to understand what was happening—only that whenever something happened to this consort, her father would scold her mother.
“That’s because this lady isn’t very healthy,” the empress said gently, crouching down to lift her daughter into her arms.“Once she recovers, nothing like this will happen anymore.”
Most of the time, the empress didn’t dwell on the emperor’s attitude toward her.
Perhaps because she herself wasn’t deeply attached to him either.
She had long known that the emperor had loved a certain commandery princess—one who had been sent north in a political marriage. Their own marriage had been arranged by imperial decree.
Even after so many years, they were little more than respectful companions.
Fortunately, she had a son and a daughter.
With children by her side, life felt far more fulfilling.
“System,” Yunshang muttered after dismissing the servants under the excuse of resting,“Don’t tell me I’ve been thrown into some kind of substitute-love tragedy? And the original heroine doesn’t even live past twenty?”
Based on her experience with these worlds, the treatment of tragic female leads was usually terrible.
“Host, the original heroine Yue’er was actually very healthy and could’ve lived a long life,” the system explained carefully.“It was because the emperor shot her that her lifespan was cut short.”
“I’m speechless,” Yunshang rolled her eyes.“Every tragic-romance male lead is trash. I already hated him just hearing his voice.”
“Yue’er only wanted to repay the empress, who genuinely cared for her,” the system continued, clenching its metaphorical fists.“She lost her life because of the emperor—so she doesn’t want him to live long either.”