Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 41

In the dim palace, the Emperor sat alone on the throne.

Princess Nankang stood with her younger siblings in the distance, gazing at him with mixed emotions.

The Emperor’s health was failing. Sitting on the throne for so many years had irreversibly damaged his body.

He sat stiffly as a vast amount of data flowed through the data cables behind him, streaming from his conscious mind.

It was all the information about the Wang Chuzhong Rebellion.

This rebellion had severely crippled the Empire financially and undermined imperial authority and prestige even more.

It exposed the true vulnerabilities of imperial power under its facade, prompting numerous ambitious individuals and rebels to plunge the entire Empire into a dreadful abyss.

Yet, he was now powerless to stop anything.

Following royal tradition, he intended to upload his entire consciousness to the server, joining the consciousnesses, memories, and knowledge of all previous Emperors for his successor.

Only Sima Zhengdu had deviated from this tradition in history, and his achievements and reputation were well known throughout the world.

“Nankang,” the Emperor suddenly spoke.

“Father.” Princess Nankang took a half step forward, and the guards did not stop her.

“I truly had no knowledge of the death of Xie Guyan in the past,” the Emperor said.

Princess Nankang did not respond.

She didn’t believe the Emperor’s words. However, his next words left her inexplicably horrified:

“Nankang, Luling, I had planned to choose suitable husbands for you from the fifth-grade noble families before I died.”

“But it seems too late now.”

Princess Nankang pondered silently, while Princess Luling visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Shigen,” the Emperor called again.

Sima Shigen stepped forward (he was the Emperor’s eldest legitimate son, who had once accompanied Princess Nankang to meet Cheng Jinyang under the alias Cheng Yan). He was trembling all over.

“Are you afraid?” the Emperor asked.

“Your child…”

“If you have any thoughts, speak freely,” the Emperor sighed, “In a few hours, you will be sitting in this position.”

“You will control everything in the Empire, like reading the palm lines; at the same time, you will bear the destiny of the entire Empire, carrying the future it should head towards, whether good or bad.”

“Your child…” Sima Shigen said softly, “Your child does not want to be the Emperor…”

The hall instantly fell into silence, or rather… deathly quiet.

“Do not want to be the Emperor?” the Emperor muttered to himself.

Suddenly, Sima Shigen knelt down, his frail body shivering in the cold wind.

“Yes,” after a long pause, the Emperor smiled as if relieved, “Who would want to spend their remaining life sitting on this server, unable to leave, devoid of joy or sorrow due to suppressive drugs, and even after death, becoming part of server data?”

He reached out and lifted the data cable plugged into his back, his bony hand contrasting with the sturdy optical fiber. The former was fragile, while the latter remained robust and intact.

“But… Shigen,” the Emperor murmured again, “If you do not sit in this position, your fate will be even more tragic. Even so, are you willing?”

“I am willing,” Sima Shigen answered without hesitation.

To him, what could be more tragic than being confined around the server, unable to leave for eternity?

While others thirsted for that throne like it was life-sustaining water, who would know that I avoid it like a fierce beast?

“Very well,” the Emperor said.

Although his tone remained unchanged, strangely, everyone sensed a hint of relief.

After a moment, the Emperor remained silent, which puzzled everyone.

Suddenly, Princess Nankang smelled a subtle hint of burning in the air.

“Oh no!” She was immediately shocked and rushed towards the throne

The synthetic guards on both sides failed to intercept her because their operational programs had been deactivated. Before she could reach halfway, Princess Nankang saw the Emperor seated on the throne ahead, suddenly enveloped in a swirling blaze of flames.

The overheating of the throne’s server sparked a fire, swiftly engulfing the Emperor seated atop it. He struggled instinctively in agony but was restrained by neural data lines inserted into his spine, unable to break free.

By the time Princess Nankang rushed to him and pulled him out of the flames, the Emperor had already ceased breathing amidst extensive burns. His visage was charred and darkened, his blonde hair withered like dried grass and his eye sockets were deeply sunken.

………………

At the Cheng Clan estate that night, Xing Yuanzhi had finished bathing and left the bathroom.

She was in a rather pleasant mood now, not only because of the refreshing bath but also because a certain troublesome young lady who had always been at odds with her was now in the emergency room of the hospital.

She was cool and reserved, while Cui Xiaoniang was lively and talkative; she was dignified and self-respecting, while Cui Xiaoniang was intimate and excessive. She is wholeheartedly doing good for Jinyang’s well-being, whereas Cui Xiaoniang only cares about her own happiness, not caring about how their rumored relationship could fracture the relationship between the Qinghe Cui clan and the Shendu Cheng clan!

I, Xing Yuanzhi, really can’t stand this Cui Xiaoniang!!!

But at least today I won’t have to see her in the dream anymore… Thinking this, Xing Yuanzhi hummed a cheerful tune as she left the bathroom and walked into Cheng Jinyang’s bedroom.

Then a figure pounced on her.

“Xing Yuanzhi, I’m going to bite you to death!” Cui Jinqi, who had spent the whole day undergoing various tests at the hospital, angrily hugged Xing Yuanzhi unexpectedly, then turned and threw her onto the bed.

Cheng Jinyang, lying next to them playing with his phone: ???

After he reacted (although this reaction was indeed a bit slow), he went over to pull the two girls apart from their brawl.

Xing Yuanzhi’s shoulders were half exposed, and there were red and swollen marks on them from Cui Xiaoniang’s pinching. At this moment, she coldly stared at her opponent.

Cui Jinqi had disheveled hair, red eyes, clenched teeth, messy clothes, and stared back without any fear.

“Alright, alright, don’t quarrel.” Cheng Jinyang hugged the two girls who were still “fighting” each other with their eyes, and said with a smile, “Everyone, give me some face and stop fighting, okay? If you want to fight, do it in the dream realm.”

Giving face to this loser… Of course, that’s impossible. But his words reminded them that due to their identities and family ties, they couldn’t brawl in reality, but they could in the dream realm where there were unlimited revivals!

Xing Yuanzhi shook off Cheng Jinyang’s hand, while Cui Jinqi blushed and wriggled out of his embrace. The two continued to stare at each other for a moment, already reaching a tentative agreement through their eyes: Very well, we’ll settle this with a fiery battle in the dream realm later!

After a while, Wang Wanrou came in carrying a book.

She glanced at Xing Yuanzhi quietly tidying up the bedclothes on her bed, then at Cui Jinqi heading towards the bathroom, and finally settled her gaze on Cheng Jinyang.

“You…” Miss Wang shook her head.

“What’s wrong with me?” Cheng Jinyang was puzzled.

“Take care of yourself.” Wang Wanrou said lightly.