As expected, Qin Wuheng really did report Jing Xin’s meddling to Qi Shen.
She only learned this after bribing a young eunuch close to Cang Ji. Originally, she had intended to bribe Cang Ji himself, but that shrewd eunuch refused, unwilling to offend Qi Shen even at the cost of offending her.
Jing Xin could only proceed with her plan immediately. Fortunately, she now had several ministers backing her. Matters outside the palace were being properly arranged by Wen Boyuan, and now all that remained was to lure Qi Shen, that “devil,” to the City God Temple.
The next day after court, Jing Xin went to Ziyan Palace to request an audience with Qi Shen.
This time, she was not turned away. Qi Shen actually granted her permission.
Jing Xin understood why. Demolition of the City God Temples had already begun outside the capital. Several had already been torn down in Biandu after the imperial decree arrived. The situation was already settled, so Qi Shen had no concern that she might cause trouble.
“Your servant greets the Son of Heaven.”
On the imperial desk lay stacks of memorials, yet Qi Shen’s attention was clearly not on them. He leaned against a neck cushion, one arm holding a soft pillow in his embrace, the other propping up his chin. At her greeting, he merely lifted his eyes lazily to glance at her.
Just that single indifferent look.
This tyrant really did know how to enjoy himself, even using cushions so comfortably.
But cushions?
Jing Xin’s gaze sharpened slightly.
Behind him was a dark blue dragon-patterned cushion, and the one in his arms was soft and pliant, clearly also a cushion.
Why would a backward ancient dynasty like this have neck cushions and pillows like these? Everyone else used wooden or porcelain pillows, even though she herself only had a hard wooden one padded with cloth.
Did Qi Shen like these things? Has someone from the modern world transmigrated here before?
But if that were true, this dynasty would not still be so underdeveloped.
“I said, if you have nothing to say, then leave.”
Jing Xin quickly replied, “Your Majesty, that cushion in your arms looks very comfortable.”
Qi Shen opened one eye lazily. “Finished speaking? This belongs to me. I will not reward it to you. Leave.”
Jing Xin smiled brightly and stepped forward. “Your Majesty, I have not been outside the palace for a long time. Since the City God Temples are being demolished outside, why not let me accompany you to take a look?”
“Oh? So the Consort Jing has given up on being a virtuous consort already?”
“If it cannot be changed, then I can only do my best. Those memorials are dull anyway. Would Your Majesty not want to see whether anyone dares disobey your decree outside?”
A trace of mockery flashed in Qi Shen’s eyes, but he rose and descended from the jade steps.
He intended to go.
Jing Xin quickly followed.
However, he did not travel incognito. Instead, he rode in the Son of Heaven’s imperial carriage, escorted by dozens of palace attendants and a hundred imperial guards. After receiving reports on construction progress, the grand procession headed toward a City God Temple scheduled for demolition.
Through the carriage curtain, Jing Xin saw the streets of Biandu filled with kneeling commoners, stretching endlessly like a river.
The streets resembled those seen in television dramas, yet more vivid with life. Shop banners fluttered in the wind, the scent of food and wine drifted through the air. Yet not a single person dared to lift their head. Many trembled uncontrollably even while kneeling, fear etched deep into their bones.
Jing Xin felt that cleansing Qi Shen’s image would be far more difficult than she had imagined.
Then she heard shouts of “Dog Emperor” and “Tyrant.”
Two middle-aged men suddenly stood up from the crowd, wielding kitchen knives as they rushed toward the imperial carriage. But imperial guards reacted like lightning. In barely two seconds, both men were struck down, their heads severed. Blood splattered across the surrounding crowd, triggering screams that were immediately silenced by the guards.
Jing Xin’s “don’t” was swallowed back by shock. The brutality of the scene made her instinctively recoil, falling straight into Qi Shen’s chest.
Her body went limp as she gasped for air.
Qi Shen held her. “Scared?” A faint smile appeared. “It was you who insisted I come out. These two died because of you.”
Her face turned pale.
Her fear was not an act, but Qi Shen clearly misunderstood her intent. He assumed she was still scheming, performing another act of manipulation.
Yet as he looked at her trembling expression, something dark and heated rose within him. He lifted her chin and kissed her, stealing the air from her lips.
Jing Xin struggled, but the more she resisted, the more he intensified. She was nearly suffocated until he finally released her.
She gasped for breath, eyes burning with anger, and without thinking struck his abdomen with her elbow.
Qi Shen reacted instantly, catching her and restraining her in his arms.
“Still mischievous, Consort Jing. Did I hurt you, or did you remember something from the past?”
Jing Xin understood what he meant. He was referring to the “past,” likely meaning Prince Zhou.
He had not forgotten that incident.
She should not have resisted just now. The original Jing Xin would never act like this; she would only cling to him even more wildly.
But this was her first kiss.
This was not a kiss at all. It was suffocating, like being devoured.
“I do not like this,” she said.
“Then what do you like?” he asked.
Jing Xin had no choice but to commit fully.
She tilted her face up and wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing softly by his ear.
“I want gentle kisses.”
Qi Shen frowned.
Her slender fingers slid from his throat to the soft ornament at his waist, gently kneading it.
“I like soft kisses like this.”
Qi Shen’s expression darkened.
Jing Xin looked at his strikingly handsome face. It was indeed beautiful, but also terrifyingly bloodthirsty.
“I like your eyes,” she said softly, “and your lips.”
He pushed her away.
Jing Xin finally exhaled in relief, realizing fully that Qi Shen had never truly cared for the original owner. Everything had been nothing more than physical indulgence.
Cang Ji announced from outside, “Your Majesty, we have arrived at the City God Temple. This servant will assist you in disembarking.”
Qi Shen did not get out. He ordered the curtain lifted and observed from the carriage.
The temple walls were being torn down, dust rising into the sky. Suddenly, the cry of a baby pierced the air.
Qi Shen’s pupils contracted sharply.
Amid the sounds of demolition were cries from women, children, and the elderly. Some tried desperately to rush forward but were blocked by spears and blades. Officials accompanying them, including Guan Zong, watched cautiously.
Qi Shen suddenly spoke coldly, “What is happening?”
Guan Zong hurried forward. “Reporting to Your Majesty, it is unruly commoners causing disturbance.”
Qi Shen’s gaze turned ice-cold, signaling him to get to the point.
Guan Zong explained that the temple had been sheltering abandoned children. During demolition, many had been displaced, and an infant had been injured by falling bricks, prompting the protest.
Qi Shen’s expression darkened terrifyingly.
Jing Xin noticed the change immediately. His grip tightened on his waist ornament, crushing it almost out of sight.
He was angry. His Adam’s apple moved sharply with restrained fury.
Jing Xin seized the moment. “Your Majesty, please do not demolish it. The children are innocent.”
She covered his hand.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse. “Do not demolish it.”
Jing Xin’s eyes lit up. She immediately ordered the officials to halt the demolition and summon physicians.
The carriage returned to the palace.
Jing Xin could not suppress her smile. She had succeeded.
However, she also realized two men had died earlier due to her miscalculation. For the first time, she felt a faint burden of guilt.
When she looked up, she realized they had returned to Ziyan Palace. Qi Shen had been absent-minded the entire journey.
She had never seen him like this before.
The handsome man sat rigidly on the throne, his expression cold and murderous. The entire palace fell silent, servants kneeling in fear.
Qi Shen stared into empty space, repeatedly gripping the small ornament at his waist.
For a moment, he looked almost childlike and lost.
Then suddenly, he lifted his head and looked directly at her.
“You arranged it,” he said coldly. “Everything was your arrangement.”
His voice was not a question, but a certainty.
He was not a foolish ruler. Once emotions subsided, his rationality returned instantly.
He swept the memorials and objects off the desk in fury. The entire hall trembled in silence.
He strode toward Jing Xin.
Standing over her, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look up.
“Do not try to read my mind. Listen clearly. Do not try to read my mind.”
His voice was filled with killing intent. “Otherwise, I will kill you.”
Jing Xin was thrown aside, barely managing to steady herself against a pillar.
“Get out. Without my summons, you are never to enter Ziyan Palace again.”
Then, as if still unsatisfied, he added, “You and I will not meet again.”
Was she being sent to the cold palace?
He had already turned away.
Jing Xin looked at his back and said softly, “Your Majesty, I only hope you are happy.”
She had not misjudged him.
Qi Shen could be cruel to the world, but he would never harm infants.
In the novel, his attachment to Shen Qingyue’s child had a reason. He himself had once been an abandoned infant.
Born as the legitimate son, the most rightful heir, yet abandoned as a child.
His mother, Empress Dowager Zhao Kang, had been beautiful and favored, but after political intrigue and jealousy, she gradually lost favor. When Qi Shen was two years old, she was forced to abandon him in an abandoned well filled with corpses. He spent a whole night there in the freezing cold before being rescued.
From then on, rumors followed him. At his birth, strange omens were recorded; at his birthdays, disasters always occurred. He was labeled an ill omen, a disaster star.
He was despised by his mother, abused, and abandoned. The emperor later descended into illness and tyranny, and Qi Shen grew into the ruthless ruler he was today.
No one understood him. No one had ever considered that perhaps none of those so-called omens were real.
Perhaps he had always been the victim.
Jing Xin sighed softly. She had succeeded in saving the City God Temples.
But now she had also angered Qi Shen beyond repair.
She decided to return to her palace and eat something first.