personne vicieuse

Chapitre 3

Jing Ren said, "Di Zhui has always been gentle and obedient since childhood, and this is the first time he has disobeyed the Empress Dowager. But where does this magic come from?" He stroked my face with his hand, his fingertips as cold as ice. I shivered, and he said, "Are you cold?" He leaned down and hugged me, breathing gently on my ear, making me feel ticklish and uncomfortable.

"Husband?" A person pushed open the door and said, "Why are you here in the middle of the night?" Suddenly he stopped, his body swayed, and he stared at me, unable to speak. Looking down from Jing Ren's shoulder, I saw that Chan Yuan's face was both surprised and suspicious, turning pale and then red.

Jing Ren didn't let go of me, nor did he turn his head. He coldly said, "What are you doing here? Get out."

Chan Yuan swayed again, gritting her teeth as she said, "But she's someone the Empress Dowager has wanted. Why did you keep her in the manor? Aren't you afraid of implicating yourself?"

Jing Ren frowned and said, "What's it to you? When did I give you permission to express your opinions on my affairs?"

Chan Yuan glared at me fiercely, her neck stiff, and said, "I am only concerned for your safety. This demon has caused trouble many times and is no longer tolerated by the world. Why do you insist on protecting it?"

Jing Ren then turned to look at her, suddenly smiled, and said, "How fair and tender is Naihe's skin."

Chan Yuan's only regret is that her skin isn't fair enough. She used to punish me by making me stand in the sun more than once because of this. But strangely enough, I've never gotten tanned and my skin is still flawlessly fair.

Upon hearing this, Chanyuan stamped her foot and said, "I only find her dirty."

Jing Ren said leisurely, "I don't mind."

Chan Yuan's expression changed drastically, and she left in anger.

I looked at Jing Ren and said, "Why did you provoke her?"

Jing Ren smiled and said, "If you understood my heart, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

After that, Jingren slept beside me every night, but never touched me.

One day, I suddenly felt nauseous. Jing Ren felt my pulse for a long time, then suddenly smiled and ordered someone to summon a doctor to examine me. The doctor congratulated me, saying, "Your Highness, Lady Ru is pregnant." Jing Ren smiled and said, "It is indeed good news. Please do not spread it."

After seeing the doctor off, he suddenly asked me, "Is the child Junzhe's, or Dizhui's? Or that minor official's?"

I raised my hand and slapped him across the face, then pulled my hand back and was suddenly filled with fear.

Jing Ren wasn't annoyed. He nodded and gave another strange smile.

One day, after drinking that bowl of green rice porridge, I suddenly felt a sharp, excruciating abdominal pain. I fell off the bed and rolled around in agony, screaming for help. I felt a warm liquid flowing between my legs, a gushing, unstoppable flow. Before I lost consciousness, I seemed to hear Chan Yuan's cold laughter outside the window.

When I woke up, I saw Di Zhui's anxious face. When he saw me open my eyes, he couldn't help but shed tears of joy and said, "I thought you were leaving me."

I managed to speak, "What are you doing here?"

The Emperor pressed on, saying, “Someone poisoned your food. Only a secret medicine made in the palace can save you. Jing Ren brought you here to beg me. In truth, why beg me? I only regret that I cannot suffer this pain in your place.” Suddenly, her face flushed again, and she whispered, “But, but your child, there is no protection.” --- Magpie Bridge Fairy replied [11]: I remain silent. It is fine if he cannot be protected. I never intended to keep him.

Emperor Zhui assumed I was upset and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely find out who harmed you and make them pay with their life."

I closed my eyes.

Soon after, it was heard that Chan Yuan had hanged herself for some unknown reason. Before she died, she said to people, "I only regret that that demon did not die before me."

Some time later, I heard that the Empress Dowager had passed away due to illness, and some people said that she was angered to death by me. I don't know if that's true or not. I remember seeing the Empress Dowager at a grand banquet in Liangji Palace. She seemed to be a very stern old woman, but her face is now blurry in my memory.

I stayed in the palace to recuperate. During this time, my father and wife came to visit me. The two elderly figures knelt and kowtowed from afar. My father's hair was completely white. My former fear of him had somehow vanished. I just felt that the man who kept calling himself an old minister was a complete stranger. He told me that Miwu had married that minor official in my place, and the two of them treated each other with respect.

I couldn't help but ask, "What happened to my birth mother?"

After a long silence, the lady finally spoke up, "She had no respect for her master, and as a maid she seduced him and even got pregnant with you. I forced her to jump into the well. But I also promised to raise you in her place. Many years have passed, and Chanyuan is already dead. Consider it as us repaying her with our lives. Please don't pursue this any further."

I remained silent. A chill, seemingly from nowhere, made me shiver uncontrollably. I detected not a trace of remorse in the lady's voice; perhaps in her heart, the life of a maid was as insignificant as grass, not worth mentioning. Besides, she had indeed kept her promise to raise me, so of course she felt no need to feel any remorse.

But my mother, who is now drowning in the well, how can you accept this?

It was midsummer again, and I had fully recovered. I was sitting idly in the garden, sipping tea. I heard a voice behind me sneer, "Teach me what kind of seductive tricks you have."

I calmly stood up, bowed deeply, and said, "What brings the Empress and the Imperial Concubine here?"

Serphie sneered, "I don't know if you're just incredibly lucky or if your sorcery is amazing, but you managed to get into the palace after all these twists and turns. I'm truly impressed."

Jiao Li just stared at me blankly for a long time before saying, "Did you force Chan Yuan to her death?"

I said, "She really wanted to kill me."

Serphie sneered, about to say something, when suddenly she grabbed Jiao Li and hurried away. The Emperor chased after her, saying, "Who was that just now? Was it Serphie? Did she come to cause you trouble?"

I said, "No."

Di Zhui didn't ask any more questions. He sat down, took my half-bowl of tea, and drank it, his brows furrowed.

I asked, "What?"

Emperor Zhui sighed and said, "Alas, do you know? Actually, the one who should be emperor is not me, but Jing Ren and Jun Zhe."

I was surprised.

The Emperor continued, “When Jingren and Junzhe were born, because they were twin brothers, it was feared that this would cause much controversy regarding the succession. According to custom, one of them should have been drowned, and the other should have been made crown prince. However, the late Emperor couldn't bear to do that, and their birth mother, the Empress, pleaded repeatedly. So, the late Emperor decreed that they be exempted from the right to inherit the throne. Coincidentally, less than a month later, the Consort gave birth to me, so the late Emperor made me crown prince. Therefore, Jingren and Junzhe did have their grievances.”

I said, "Now you are the emperor."

The emperor pressed on, saying, "Actually, I'd rather not be emperor." He held my hand and said gently, "I just want to grow old with you."

I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Although I was of lowly status, had been married to a minor official, and had conceived a child with Jun Zhe, Emperor Zhui, the ruler of the country, still cherished me as the most precious and sacred treasure. Jun Zhe treated me very well, but it seemed that his affection for me was not as deep as Emperor Zhui's.

In the dead of night, I pressed myself against Di Zhui's bare, burning chest, listening to his heartbeat. Di Zhui twirled my long hair around his fingers, their embrace tender and lingering. Suddenly, he chuckled, "Naihe, do you remember the scene when we met at Liangji Palace?"

I said, "Yes, I'm having a nightmare. Hmm, it seems like I dreamt I went to the underworld."

The Emperor pressed on, "Why would you have such a strange dream?"

I said, "I often dream of the underworld, and I always see many ghosts. It's so scary."

The Emperor stroked my back and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

I laughed: "You'll have to go there too, even after you've passed away."

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [12]: Di Zhui laughed and said, "When I go, I will surely be the king of hell."

I said wistfully, "There are ten Yama kings and eighteen hell kings in the underworld. What king would you be if you went there?"

Emperor Zhui laughed and said, "Otherwise, I swear I will not go to hell."

I asked, "Then where can I wait for you?"

The Emperor kissed my forehead and said, "Just wait for me at the intersection of Yin and Yang, and I will definitely go. Or, I will wait for you."

I smiled and said, "It's a deal."

“Well, I’m taking you to see someone,” Serphie said with a smile.

I asked, puzzled, "Who?"

Serphie laughed, "You'll see when you get there." She then pulled me along, and I had no choice but to follow. As we passed the waterside pavilions, suddenly a person jumped up to greet us, shouting, "Naihe!"

Ah, I'm surprised, Jun Zhe?

Junzhe hugged me and said, "I missed you so much."

I said, "Weren't you imprisoned in Shuyun Palace by the Empress Dowager?"

Jun Zhe said, "After the Empress Dowager passed away, the Emperor released me, but he refused to let me see you." He had become much thinner.

Jun Zhe held my hand, then suddenly burst into tears, saying, "I heard that our child..." I quickly asked, "How did you end up here?"

Jun Zhe said, "Sephiroth brought me here."

I turned around, only to find that Serphie was already gone.

Jun kissed me, murmuring, "Do you know that I think of you every moment? Your shadow is everywhere. I dream of you when I close my eyes. I'm crazy for you."

"Release Naihe!" Di Zhui roared angrily.

I was startled and saw Di Zhui's furious face. Jun Zhe hugged me tightly and shouted, "I won't let go. But I'm mine to begin with."

Emperor Zhui's face turned pale with anger, and he roared, "How dare you defile my beloved concubine?"

Jun Zhe sneered: "You don't need to put on airs like an emperor to intimidate me. Ask your conscience, you have an empress, concubines, and three thousand beauties, but in my heart and by my side there is only Naihe. Can you compare to my sincerity towards her?"

Emperor Zhui shouted to his men, "Seize him!"

I quickly broke free from Junzhe and went forward to beg the Emperor to chase after him: "Just send him out of the palace. You know he's always been arrogant and spoiled. Please forgive him this time."

Jun Zhe, still stubbornly insisting, shouted, "Naihe, you don't need to beg him. I will never give you up, even if it means my death. Di Zhui, Jing Ren and I have already relinquished the throne, are you still not satisfied? Why do you even want to take away the woman I love?"

The emperor was furious: "Throw him out. He shall never be allowed to enter the palace again."

Serphie came to me and said, "You devil, you've caused Di Zhui so much suffering."

Seeing my blank expression, she said, "The matter of Jun Zhe and the Emperor vying for your favor has shocked the court and the public. Everyone is talking about it, saying that the Emperor has disregarded the law and lost his dignity for the sake of a vixen. Some people are even advising him to abdicate and give way to a worthy successor."

I exclaimed in surprise, "Abdicate? Abdicate to whom?"

Serphie sneered, "Who else? Are you suggesting we give it to that madman Jun Zhe?"

I slumped down and said, "Jing Ren."

Yes, that's Jing Ren's purpose.

That night, seeing Di Zhui's furrowed brows for the first time, Di Zhui said, "Naihe, why don't you come with me and become an ordinary couple in the common world?"

I said through tears, "I'd be willing to go to the ends of the earth with you."

The Emperor grasped my hand, his brow furrowing slightly, and said, "Having you in my life, my life has not been in vain."

Suddenly, a jade pendant fell from my neck, with the character "Zhe" clearly engraved on it. Emperor Zhui's face changed color, and he said, "You still carry it with you? You still can't forget him?" He then turned and left.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [13]: How can I explain this? In any case, I can never repay Junzhe's kindness in this life, but Dizhui, you have already possessed my body and my heart. Can't you even tolerate this little bit of guilt and memory?

Soon after, Jun Zhe launched an attack on the capital. The emperor chased after me and said, "Alas, this time it concerns the world and the people. I can no longer listen to you and spare him."

Living deep within the palace, I am unaware of the bloodshed and deep resentment outside, but I can glean some understanding from the Emperor's increasingly furrowed brow and Serphie's cold words. I know people blame this civil war on me. If it weren't for the vixen Naihe's defilement of the court, there wouldn't have been this war, so many deaths, so many broken families. It's all because of me, all because I caused two men who could have controlled the world to turn against each other.

One day, the Emperor's army defeated Jun Zhe's rebel army, and Jun Zhe was given poisoned wine.

Although the battle was won, Emperor Zhui lost all authority in front of the people. Soon after, Jing Ren, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, joined forces with officials from the court to force Emperor Zhui to abdicate and imprison him in Shuyun Palace.

Jing Ren ascended the throne.

The emperor's concubines have all been imprisoned in Shuyun Palace, but no one has come to touch me; I remain in the inner palace.

One day, Jing Ren summoned me. He was wearing imperial robes and was indeed more imposing than Di Zhui. I stood silently, neither kneeling nor bowing.

Jing Ren smiled and said, "I've built a new place. Let me show you."

A grand hall, with a deep cave in the center, and a dragon throne placed high on one side, the hall illuminated by candlelight as bright as day. I leaned on the railing in front of the throne and looked into the cave, almost vomiting. Countless venomous snakes were writhing and thrashing inside. I quickly stepped back, already drenched in a cold sweat.

Jing Ren smiled and pulled me to sit down beside him, saying, "Naihe, of all the women I've ever met, you are the most outstanding. Back in Liangji Palace, you were dressed simply, yet you were like a pearl covered in dust, captivating all who saw you. It is thanks to you that Di Zhui and Jun Zhe fell in love with you. I only stirred things up a little, and I was able to achieve what I have today. I am truly grateful to you."