Chapter 136: If You Have the Ability, Come and Take It

"To what do I owe the honor of the Empress's unexpected visit?" Shen Fuyu picked up her teacup and took a shallow sip. She thought to herself that the act of drinking tea really made one look like a master; everyone used this gesture to project an air of nonchalance and invulnerability.

"Consort Xian, if I were to kill you right here and now, how do you think Qin Zhiyi would react?" Jing Lanxi stared at her like a hawk eyeing its prey. She had developed a genuine murderous intent toward Shen Fuyu.

"He wouldn't react at all." Shen Fuyu was remarkably frank. She and Qin Zhiyi were in a mutually beneficial partnership, not a romantic one; he wouldn't be heartbroken if she died. "Furthermore, you would actually need the ability to kill me first."

Setting the teacup down gently, under Jing Lanxi’s watchful gaze, Shen Fuyu snapped the tassels off her hair ornament. In that instant, several glass beads shot out in different directions, smashing through the windows with such speed that it was impossible to react in time.

Jing Lanxi’s eyes widened, a flicker of panic racing through her heart. Shen Fuyu’s martial arts were actually at such a supernatural level? How could this be? She was merely a concubine's daughter from the Shen family!

"Oops, I pulled off one too many." Shen Fuyu placed the remaining glass bead from her palm onto the table. It bounced with a few tapping sounds before rolling into a corner.

Jing Lanxi gripped her fingers inside her sleeves, staring fixedly at Shen Fuyu.

"Your Majesty, remember to have someone clear things up later. It wouldn't do to let those people outside rot in my palace; dead bodies are so ominous." Shen Fuyu smiled indifferently. Jing Lanxi was truly bold; the woman had come here today specifically to kill her.

"I have indeed underestimated you." Jing Lanxi laughed, though it was a cold sound. Their conversation was filled with staggering implications, and Jing Lanxi’s eyes were wide—the threat posed by this woman, Shen Fuyu, was far too great!

"You flatter me, Your Majesty. Just a few minor tricks, not worth mentioning." Shen Fuyu began her humblebragging.

"Consort Xian is too modest. With such remarkable skills, it is no wonder Qin Zhiyi listens to you so much. You must have helped him quite a bit, haven't you? I am rather curious—with your abilities, are you truly content to be a mere concubine to him?" Jing Lanxi was testing her.

"I am, after all, only the daughter of a noble family. I cannot compare to Your Majesty’s status as a former princess of another nation, so being a concubine is only natural." Shen Fuyu felt perplexed. Did she look like the type to care about such things? Whether wife or concubine, in this era, one had to rely on men or family to survive; fundamentally, she had no interest in it.

Rage points were her one true love.

"No, that shouldn't be the case." Jing Lanxi had investigated Shen Fuyu’s background thoroughly, but the woman before her—composed, confident, and highly skilled—was definitely not the cowardly, low-status daughter of the Shen family. "You may deceive others, but you cannot deceive me."

"Whether it is so or not is not something you can decide with a single word, Your Majesty." Shen Fuyu smiled faintly. "Do you have proof that I am not who I claim to be?"

She was inhabiting Shen Fuyu’s body, so no one would truly suspect her. Jing Lanxi was deeply suspicious, but even Shen Fuyu could not fathom why Jing Lanxi was targeting her so relentlessly.

***

The two stared at each other for a long time before Jing Lanxi suddenly said, "In terms of ability, I am no match for you."

"It is excellent that Your Majesty possesses such self-awareness." Shen Fuyu agreed wholeheartedly. She had always tried to advise people not to be foolish enough to make an enemy of her.

"Your tongue is truly sharp; it makes one want to sew it shut!" Jing Lanxi was infuriated, but she had not come here to lose her temper. "Shen Fuyu, I am very curious: what exactly did Qin Zhiyi promise you that makes you help him so much?"

"I have always had great confidence in my own tongue. As for what Your Majesty is saying, I don't understand. I am the Emperor's consort; if I don't look out for him, what should I be doing?" Shen Fuyu blinked. Her current identity was that of Qin Zhiyi's consort, right? If she didn't side with him, what was she supposed to do? Start a rebellion?

"Don't play coy with me." Jing Lanxi’s gaze turned icy. "With your abilities, you could do anything you wish in this world. Are you really content to stay by Qin Zhiyi's side for the rest of your life?"

"I am content."

Why wouldn't she be?

Where else in the world could she find someone who generated more rage points than the Emperor?

Shen Fuyu was baffled. Why wouldn't she be content? She could obtain the rage points she craved most by being by Qin Zhiyi's side; only a fool would leave!

Moreover, to ensure a steady supply of rage points, she needed to make sure Qin Zhiyi stayed alive and well, so using her system space to help him a little wasn't excessive at all!

Right?

The conversation hit a dead end.

Jing Lanxi had never encountered someone so impervious to reason. The more this went on, the more curious she became: what on earth could make Shen Fuyu so willingly follow a good-for-nothing?

"What is so great about Qin Zhiyi? What could you possibly gain by following such an incompetent emperor?" Jing Lanxi realized that beating around the bush was useless with Shen Fuyu, so she spoke plainly. "With your strength, you should follow someone more powerful."

"For instance... yourself?"

Shen Fuyu took a sip of tea to moisten her lips and said calmly, "And what could you offer me? Something more tempting?"

***

"Wealth, status, men—whatever you desire, I can grant you." Jing Lanxi looked arrogant. "Shen Fuyu, we are both capable people. Are you content to live beneath a man, to be just one of his countless women?"

"I can give you status, power, and wealth that surpass any man. You could even turn the tables and have men at your beck and call."

"Oh." Shen Fuyu pursed her lips. "But I have no interest in those things."

"Then what do you want?" Jing Lanxi demanded.

"You cannot give it to me," Shen Fuyu replied.

Her rage points were earned through her own efforts; did she need someone else to give them to her?

"Have you considered the consequences?" Jing Lanxi’s eyes narrowed as she stared intently at Shen Fuyu. "By refusing me, you have ensured that one day, I will take your life!"

"I repeat my previous words: if you have the ability, feel free to take it," Shen Fuyu retorted. "Also, the Emperor is not incompetent."

Qin Zhiyi was far from incompetent. If he had been given ten more years before ascending the throne, he wouldn't have needed her help at all; he could have handled the court, suppressed the noble families, and secured his seat as a true sovereign. But in reality? He had been pushed onto the throne by the Cui family while he was still a teenager, just as he was beginning to develop a desire for power.

"I bid you a respectful farewell, Your Majesty."

The grudge with Jing Lanxi was now set in stone, and it was the kind that would last until the bitter end. Shen Fuyu stood up and scratched her head; it was a nuisance. Jing Lanxi was, after all, Princess Yunjing. If it were anyone else, she would have just slipped over at midnight and finished them off.

But if she had to be passive, so be it. As long as Jing Lanxi couldn't kill her, she would be perpetually enraged—that meant another stable source of rage points! It wasn't a loss!

Behind her, Yinling was already trembling and crying in fear.