Kill That Transmigrator Woman - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Cold Water to the Head

Beneath the red city walls, Cui Wanwan walked slowly along the bluestone path. The clear, bright moonlight hung silently in the sky and spilled down around her, casting a cool, lonely glow upon her.

She walked alone, quietly, reaching out her right hand to gently touch the red wall, cold and hard.

She was someone who loved freedom deeply. Since childhood, she had been lively and full of energy, hating nothing more than being confined, trapped within a small, narrow world.

And now, she was about to lock herself inside this rigid, square enclosure. The inner palace of the imperial city was filled with strict rules, utterly devoid of joy.
Did she not know that? Of course she did. She also fully understood the displeasure in her father’s eyes.

But still, she chose it.

All because it had been too long since anyone had truly loved her. Whether the Empress Dowager saw her as a substitute for her deceased daughter, or simply as a novelty to pass the time, Cui Wanwan didn’t care.

She also did it for the sake of seeing that person.

This time, she would torment him.
She would live a different kind of life.

If they were going to call her vicious, then she would live up to it. The corners of her red lips lifted, if she were to die, she’d drag him down to hell with her.

If she couldn’t live well, then those who had once hurt her… would not meet a good end either.

Cui Wanwan lowered her gaze. Her thick, long lashes cast a faint shadow beneath her eyes, and the shadow she left on the ground was bleak and desolate.

This winter was about to pass.
Spring would come, and the flowers would bloom… wouldn’t they?

———

The people by the Empress Dowager’s side had prepared a room for her. It was quite close to the Empress Dowager’s residence, but separated by a wall.

“The Empress Dowager enjoys quiet. Aside from her usual scripture recitations, best not to disturb her. At all other times, miss may do as she pleases,” the old mama said with a bow.

“This place was arranged according to Her Majesty’s instructions. Please have a look, miss, if there’s anything you need added, just say so.”

Cui Wanwan lifted her head and looked around. Tears nearly welled up in her eyes.

She had assumed, given the Empress Dowager’s temperament, that her residence would be extremely plain, perhaps even with a Buddhist austerity to it.

But it wasn’t.

Her room was incredibly luxurious, not rigid, not dreary.

On the table were many delicate little folk trinkets girls would like. The dressing table was overflowing with exquisite items, far more lavish—by a hundredfold—than what she used to have in the Cui Mansion.

Around the bed were soft gauzy curtains on all four sides, a gradient of pale blue and pink shark silk. It was said to be the only one of its kind in the entire Northern Lin treasury.

The late emperor had once bestowed it upon the Empress Dowager back when she was still the empress. She had never had the heart to use it, and kept it locked away in a chest for decades.

Now, she had taken it out… for her.

Such precious shark silk, used as a bed canopy, for her.
It was a true waste of treasure.

Wherever her gaze landed, she saw more fine and beautiful things, including a delicately crafted, lovely little bell.

That was—?

Cui Wanwan took a few steps forward. The small bells hanging around the bed canopy were nearly transparent, their colors exceptionally beautiful. Upon closer inspection, she realized they were made from top-quality glazed glass.

She counted silently in her heart, there were ten glazed bells in total.

“The Empress Dowager said, no matter what the young lady was like in the past, from now on, in Her Majesty’s eyes, you are flawless and perfect, one of a kind. There is no woman in this world who could compare to you.”

The old mama beside her noticed the shock and confusion in her eyes and explained softly.

Cui Wanwan was moved to tears.
“Is the Empress Dowager not afraid of spoiling me too much, of indulging me?”
The furnishings in her room, even if not the finest in the palace, were certainly among the very best.

“Did the young lady eat well at the banquet tonight? The side kitchen is ready at all times to serve you,” the old mama asked again.

She shook her head.
“No need. I’m not hungry. Thank you, Mama. It’s late, go rest.”

“Then this old servant will take her leave.”

“Mm.”

That night, Cui Wanwan didn’t fall asleep.

Not because she wasn’t used to a new bed, but because it didn’t feel real.
She lay on the bed, raised her hand to touch the soft shark silk, then turned her head to look out the window at the night view beyond the lattice.

The charcoal in the brazier was burning well, and the floor had been laid with thick carpets—she could walk on it barefoot without feeling the slightest chill.

This feeling—of being cherished—felt like a dream.

In the early days after she was reborn, seeing her parents’ endless affection and doting, she had known all along that it was merely a fragile illusion, a bubble that would burst sooner or later.

But now, it was different.

This was a dream whose ending she didn’t know. She didn’t know what the future held, didn’t know if the Empress Dowager would always love her.

If possible, she hoped this beautiful dream would never end.

At the very least, it told her that there was still someone in this world who loved her, who cared whether she was happy or not.

By the latter half of the night, Cui Wanwan’s eyes were still wide open, like copper bells.

Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she simply got up, dressed, and walked outside.

The Empress Dowager lived right next door. It was said that the elderly slept lightly, so to avoid disturbing Her Majesty, she used lightfoot skill to silently leap onto the rooftop.

This way, she wouldn’t make a sound.

Her memory of the Cold Palace only lingered from her past life, just a vague and faded impression.

The imperial palace was heavily guarded, but in the inner palace, the farther from the emperor’s quarters one went, the more relaxed the watch became.

By the time she reached the Cold Palace, not even the shadow of a palace maid or eunuch could be seen.

The Cold Palace was incomparably desolate. The shadows of withered trees looked eerie and bleak under the moonlight, and the rundown little courtyard exuded a lifeless stillness.

Found it.

Cui Wanwan leapt down from the rooftop. The courtyard was full of fallen branches, long left uncleared. As she stepped on them, every movement produced a crisp creak.

Dongfang Mosang had grown up in the Cold Palace. With no master to teach him martial arts, even in her past life, he only began learning after he grew older.

It was solely due to his exceptionally high talent that he eventually achieved mediocre martial skills.

So the current Dongfang Mosang, even if she were discovered tonight, it didn’t matter.

The man now was nothing more than a useless waste.

Cui Wanwan walked up to the window. There was no need for her to deliberately break it, it was already in such disrepair it couldn’t block wind or rain. From outside, she could clearly see the entire scene inside.

The young man was curled up on a narrow, shabby bed, covered with a filthy, tattered quilt that hadn’t been washed in who knows how many years. There were even holes in it, chewed through by rats.

He was even thinner and frailer than she remembered. Even in sleep, his brows were tightly furrowed, his body trembling as he lay on the bed.

He was sleeping very uneasily, one could even say painfully.
Cui Wanwan curved her lips.
Then let’s make it even worse for you.

She turned and walked over to the well, picked up the gourd ladle lying on the ground, scooped a full dipper of water, and turned around.

With a gentle press of her toe, she leapt back onto the roof.

This Cold Palace prince really was out of favor to the extreme, even the house he lived in was falling apart.

There was a large gap in the rooftop.

She squatted down, picked up a few more broken tiles, and casually made the ruined house even more ruined.
Then she curled her red lips into a smile.

She flipped her wrist, and the entire dipper of icy, bone-chilling well water came pouring down—all of it, not a single drop spared—straight onto the sleeping youth’s forehead.

Freeze to death, you damn bastard!

After finishing, Cui Wanwan quickly flipped off the roof, silently returned the ladle to its place, and quietly slipped away using the fastest lightfoot skill.