Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead is Too Arrogant - Chapter 23

Yan Qing’s heart trembled as she felt his gaze envelop her whole body.

The nannies and palace maids around them took the hint and bowed before retreating.

The bedchamber was brightly lit, multiple lamps casting shadows that seemed insubstantial. The two stood there silently.

Yan Qing faintly felt that there was a light in Ji Yecheng’s eyes, as if he was expecting her to agree.

But how could she?

Yan Qing hardened her heart and shook her head. “I’m going to rest now.”

Ji Yecheng took a few long strides forward and insisted, “Stay up with me.”

His voice carried a stubborn note, the hopeful light in his eyes dimming somewhat.

His stern, gaunt face was tight with tension, his enchanting almond-shaped eyes and long lashes quivering slightly.

However, Yan Qing would not be fooled by his appearance. Even though they had worked together for over a month, she couldn’t forget how he had treated her at the beginning. Back then, he had been gloomy, ruthless, and violent, as if he could tear her to pieces at any moment.

She shook her head again, stepping back. “I’m going to sleep! Get out!”

Ji Yecheng’s eyes darkened completely, but instead of leaving, he curled one corner of his mouth into a wicked smile and strode forward.

Sensing danger, Yan Qing, who had prepared in advance, quickly reached under her pillow and pulled out a red whip. Without hesitation, she lashed out at the approaching figure.

“Swish—” The sound of the whip slicing through the air was followed by a dull thud as it struck flesh.

Ji Yecheng winced as pain shot through his waist, his expression growing colder. As the whip came at him again, he sidestepped and caught it firmly with one hand.

This whip had been specially crafted for Yan Qing. With both her hands weakened, the whip would conserve her strength and maintain her attack power. Unfortunately, she hadn’t practiced enough and was easily disarmed.

Frustrated, Yan Qing let go of the whip, which fell into Ji Yecheng’s hand. He did nothing more than toss it aside, then pressed down on her shoulder with a firm hand. With a bit of pressure, she went limp, falling softly into his arms.

“You think you can beat me?” he asked mockingly, looking down at the woman in his arms.

Yan Qing turned her head and bit his arm, mumbling, “I’ll bite you to death!”

Ji Yecheng gasped as pain from the whip mingled with the sharp sting of her bite, but his expression softened. He gently stroked her disheveled hair, once, twice…letting her bite without moving.

Yan Qing eventually released her bite, her teeth aching. She looked up to see Ji Yecheng gazing at her with a dark, unreadable expression. Meeting his eyes, he chuckled, “Why did you stop biting?”

Yan Qing: “…Get lost!”

Annoyed, she glared at him. The last time she bit him, he had pushed her away, leaving her teeth aching for a long time. Now he was asking why she stopped?

Her temple throbbed, her heart pounded, and she wanted to hit him, but she was too weak.

Ji Yecheng, seeing her stillness, seemed a bit disappointed. Though it hurt when she bit him, it also brought him a sense of peace. This was why he had come to her.

He had snatched her back from the brink of death with his own hands. To him, Yan Qing was someone he had given new life to, someone special, someone he held close to his heart.

Ji Yecheng picked her up and carried her out.

Though the bedchamber was warm, outside it was not. As soon as they stepped out, a cold wind hit, making Yan Qing shiver. Ji Yecheng paused, then wrapped her in a blanket. “Are you cold?”

“Get lost!” Yan Qing spat through gritted teeth, turning her head away.

Unfazed, Ji Yecheng made sure she was securely wrapped before carrying her away.

He took her from Lingyun Palace to a small, unknown place.

The house was old, with a musty and dusty smell, but it was warm inside with plenty of charcoal fires.

Ji Yecheng sat on a clean couch, holding her tightly, watching two candles in the main hall. His expression gradually softened as he said softly, “My mother said we should stay up on New Year’s Eve. Will you keep me company?”

Yan Qing remembered that Ji Yecheng wasn’t a legitimate prince originally. His mother was just a palace maid, bullied in the early years. Later, the late emperor found the heir apparent unsuitable and brought him out, but his mother died soon after, supposedly for failing to teach him well, though no one believed it.

Thinking that he might be missing his mother, Yan Qing felt a rare moment of pity. Still, she didn’t want to cooperate and tried to fall asleep.

“I know nothing. I’m just someone who wants to sleep!”

“Whoosh~~~” Her gentle breathing soon followed.

Without getting a response, Ji Yecheng didn’t mind. In his rare moment of vulnerability, he continued, “My mother said she didn’t want me to take the throne, that being an emperor was not good. At the time, I thought it was fine because you would be mine.”

“Although you can be quite hateful at times…”

His deep voice filled the quiet palace.

No response came.

After a long while, Ji Yecheng looked down to see her sleeping peacefully. His eyebrows furrowed with a hint of helplessness and loss, but then he bit down on her warm, rosy cheek. The sudden pain made her wake up with a hoarse cry, “Ahhh! It hurts! Ji Yecheng, are you insane?!”

Ji Yecheng let go and wiped his saliva from her cheek with his long, cold fingers, giving a cruel smile. “I told you to stay up with me!”

Yan Qing, now fully awake from the pain and cold, gritted her teeth. “Just you wait!”

She vowed to get her revenge!

But for now, she couldn’t.

She could only glare at the ceiling, occasionally drifting off only to be woken by another bite, whether on her neck or arm. Ji Yecheng seemed to enjoy her anger more each time she glared at him.

Yan Qing was furious but had no choice but to stay awake with Ji Yecheng until dawn.

Finally, Ji Yecheng released her.

No longer constrained, Yan Qing grabbed a pillow and started hitting him with it. “You bastard! I’m going to fight you!”

“Ouch—” The pillow was heavy with sleep aids, hitting Ji Yecheng’s head hard enough to make him wince and instinctively dodge.

Yan Qing coldly continued hitting him wherever she could reach.

This time, Ji Yecheng didn’t resist, blocking his head with his arms and letting her vent.

“Bang, bang, bang—” The sounds of her hitting him echoed continuously.

Yan Qing’s anger was frightening, and she beat him until she was out of breath.

Even hitting someone took energy.

When the blows stopped, Ji Yecheng sighed in relief, only to see her raising a chair.

“Enough! I’ve let you hit me for so long!” he protested, his anger and disbelief evident.

Yan Qing’s face twisted with rage. “Enough? Like hell!”

She swung the chair at him.

With a loud crack, the chair broke into pieces against his back, sending splinters flying. Startled, Yan Qing stepped back instinctively.

The force of her blow was evident.

Ji Yecheng felt as if his organs had been shaken by the impact. He coughed, grimacing.

She showed no mercy.

As pain coursed through his body, he looked at her flushed face, now calm but still with traces of anger and ferocity.

She wiped her face, her pretty features showing a hint of confusion. Then, gritting her teeth, she dropped the broken chair leg, her gaze dangerous. “I’m warning you, if this happens again, it will be much worse!”

She would cripple him if it came to that!

With that, Yan Qing turned and left.

How dare he imprison her all night, not even letting her sleep.

Ji Yecheng, pale and sweating from the pain, watched her cold back, feeling a strange sense of contradiction.

Had she really not noticed how he had treated her all these months?

Ji Yecheng frowned, lying on the bed, the pain in his back making it hard to move. His first thought was that Yan Qing had left without a blanket.

Struggling to get up, he sweated profusely from the pain.

Suddenly, footsteps approached, and Yan Qing returned.

His eyes brightened, but before he could speak, she flipped him over and pressed on his swollen injury.

“You…cough…” Ji Yecheng was stunned by her action and the pain that followed, choking on his own saliva.

Yan Qing sneered, pressing harder. “Does this feel good?”

Ji Yecheng: “…”

He forced a smile through the pain. “Of course it does! Ugh—”

He groaned as she struck his back again, almost fainting from the pain. She finally stopped and left for real this time.

Revenge was sweet, and she didn’t care about the consequences as long as she felt better!

…

Jiang Wende hurried in from outside, nearly collapsing at the sight. Pale-faced, he stammered, “Your Majesty, what happened? I’ll call the physician!”

Ji Yecheng, barely conscious, nodded. Seeing Jiang Wende about to leave, he pointed to the blanket. “Take it to the Noble Consort.”

Jiang Wende: “…”

This must be true love!

As soon as Yan Qing stepped out of the rundown palace, she saw the senior maids approaching, carrying clothes. They immediately wrapped her up.

She had given Bamboo Tone a holiday so she could enjoy the New Year with friends and wasn’t in the palace.

Jiang Wende, seeing Yan Qing leave, rushed back inside with the blanket. “Noble Consort, you forgot this.”

Wrapped in a thick cloak, Yan Qing glanced at the blanket in his hands with disgust. “Throw it away,” she commanded, then quickly walked off.

Jiang Wende sighed deeply, watching her retreating figure. Then he turned and yelled at a small eunuch, “Run faster! His Majesty is waiting!”

*****

After that incident, Yan Qing didn’t show Ji Yecheng any kindness for days. Even when he sent an array of gifts on New Year’s Day, she didn’t go to see him. It wasn’t until she calmed down that she finally went to the Taiji Palace study but avoided looking directly at Ji Yecheng.

Work had lightened, so Yan Qing relaxed a bit. The cold weather made getting up hard, and sometimes she didn’t go to the study at all, leaving important documents for Ji Yecheng and Fu Rong to handle.

Ji Yecheng, quietly healing, stayed by her side, subtly trying to win her favor. This made Fu Rong and Jiang Wende anxious.

Fu Rong worried that tension between the Noble Consort and the emperor would affect him, as he still handled some tasks as her secretary.

Jiang Wende felt sorry for his master. The emperor had suffered greatly since the incident. His back had been badly injured, and the new ointment only helped a little. He looked noticeably thinner and weaker.

Despite this, the Noble Consort remained angry, which pained Jiang Wende.

Yan Qing pretended not to notice, focusing on her tasks.

As tensions with the aristocracy grew, a request for an audience came from the northern frontier, reminding Yan Qing that six months had passed quickly.

Winter was fleeting, and spring had arrived.

When a memorial arrived in March, it caught Yan Qing’s attention. The memorial, written in classical Chinese, took her a while to decipher. Shocked, she exclaimed, “What does this mean? Suspecting Song Yu of rebellion?”

Yan Qing felt a moment of panic and confusion.

She had sent Jia Heng to the northern frontier, hoping he would join forces with Song Yu to overthrow Ji Yecheng. But now Jia Heng was accusing Song Yu of treason?

Fu Rong remained silent.

Ji Yecheng’s eyes glittered as he calmly said, “I’m not sure. Jia Heng’s report claimed he improved the northern frontier significantly, which is commendable. As for the suspicion… I’ll send a supervisor.”

Yan Qing, distracted by guilt, didn’t notice his different tone. Reluctantly, she said, “Fine, send someone. If Jia Heng has done well, he deserves a promotion.”

“Not yet. The northern frontier needs him,” Ji Yecheng replied.

Yan Qing took a deep breath and picked up another memorial. “Oh.”

Ji Yecheng studied her, while Yan Qing avoided his gaze, pretending to focus on the document.

Her unusual behavior only raised more suspicion.

Normally, she would shout at him or throw the memorial at him.

…

Despite tensions with the court, Jia Heng’s success eased the situation. He had resolved issues that previous governors couldn’t, proving Yan Qing’s judgment right.

Ji Yecheng capitalized on this, highlighting her wisdom.

News spread that the Noble Consort, despite being a woman, had a keen eye for talent, and the negative perception of her governance began to change.

A young nobleman listening to a debate on her influence laughed and said, “You’re too conservative. Has the Noble Consort ever harmed anyone?”

The group fell silent until a scholar hesitantly said, “No, I haven’t heard of that.”

The nobleman continued, “I know she prevents merchants from hoarding goods. This helps common people.”

Others nodded, seeing the sense in his words.

The scene was not unique. The emperor’s promotion of Jia Heng’s achievements and the Noble Consort’s policies gradually improved her reputation. People began to recognize her efforts and the benefits they brought.

However, two consorts, Xu Jin and Yuan Xiu, who had been demoted to lower ranks, harbored resentment. Yan Qing’s rise had drastically changed the court’s dynamics. They plotted to use a mysterious note they received to poison Yan Qing during the emperor’s birthday celebration.

In the distant northern frontier, war was brewing. Every spring, the nomadic tribes attacked for food, and the northern city suffered. The situation worsened when Song Yu, leading the vanguard, was ambushed and separated from his troops.

While the soldiers worried, Song Yu lay in a small cave, recovering from his injuries. He awoke to find his wounds bandaged and saw a woman sitting by the fire.

“Second Miss Yan?” he asked in disbelief.

Yan Yin turned, her expression complicated. “Yes, I saved you.”

Song Yu examined his surroundings, seeing no one else. “Did you save me?”

“Yes,” Yan Yin said, looking at her fingers. “Disappointed it wasn’t Yan Qing?”

“No,” Song Yu replied honestly. How could Qing’er be here? She should be safe in Chang’an.

Thankful for Yan Yin’s help, Song Yu pledged, “You’ve saved my life twice. If you need anything, even my life, I will repay you.”

Yan Yin’s eyes softened. “Even your life?”

“Yes,” Song Yu confirmed, his gentle eyes filled with gratitude.

Yan Yin, avoiding his gaze, felt a mix of emotions. She had come to the northern frontier hoping to escape her feelings for Song Yu, only to end up saving him.

She had risked everything to be here, enduring numerous hardships. Finding Song Yu near death, she had nursed him back to health, but hearing him call for Yan Qing in his delirium had hurt her deeply.

Despite her mixed feelings, she saved him again.

Now, she looked at him, her expression shifting between sarcasm and hope. “Will you marry me?”