Chapter 16: Can a Mad Tyrant Be Forced? [16]

Chapter 16: Can a Mad Tyrant Be Forced Too? "16"

When Mu Jin arrived at Qiushui Hall, where Zhao Ruoqian resided, she was sitting under the plum blossom tree in the courtyard making a sachet.

The palace maids and eunuchs knelt down and respectfully hailed, "We pay our respects to Your Majesty."

Zhao Ruoqian froze for a moment, her hands stilling. She set down the sachet and turned to look behind her.

The moment she saw Mu Jin, a smile spread across her face and her eyes lit up with joy. She immediately rose and bowed to him, speaking with a mix of surprise and delight:

"Your Majesty, this concubine pays her respects."

This truly caught Zhao Ruoqian off guard. She had expected Mu Jin to come in the evening, not so soon.

Hearing Zhao Ruoqian's voice, Mu Jin said indifferently, "No need for formalities. Have a seat."

"All of you, withdraw. I want to talk with Noble Lady Zhao in private."

"Yes."

The maids and eunuchs replied in unison, then silently withdrew, leaving just Mu Jin and Zhao Ruoqian behind.

Zhao Ruoqian returned to her stone stool and sat down, a flicker of confusion appearing in her eyes as she looked at Mu Jin.

She really couldn't read Mu Jin anymore...

Zhao Ruoqian thought to herself, but her face betrayed nothing. Instead, she smiled lightly and asked, pretending to be puzzled:

"What matter does Your Majesty wish to discuss with this concubine alone?"

As she spoke, Zhao Ruoqian flicked her finger, sending the half-stitched sachet toward Mu Jin's hand so that the slightest movement would make him touch it.

Mu Jin didn't notice Zhao Ruoqian's little trick, thinking instead about how to bring up the topic of her leaving the palace.

According to how Zhao Ruoqian was described in the storyline, just telling her to leave probably wouldn't work.

He really wasn't good at talking to people, let alone convincing someone to do something...

Mu Jin said with a sigh, "I want to go to Jiuyun Temple in a couple of days. Would you like to join me?"

Hmm, maybe he should just trick her into going out, then knock her out and send her off.

Zhao Ruoqian was dumbfounded: "Huh... what?"

Jiuyun Temple? Why would Mu Jin suddenly want to go to Jiuyun Temple?

Zhao Ruoqian's look at Mu Jin grew more and more complicated, with a hint of wariness mixed in.

What on earth is going on...

Mu Jin shouldn't be acting this way toward her.

Could losing his eyes have changed his personality too?

Zhao Ruoqian's heart sank deeper. Her fingers curled, her nails almost digging into the soft flesh of her palms.

Mu Jin tilted his head to look at her, raising an eyebrow with a smirk: "What, you don't want to?"

Zhao Ruoqian quickly snapped out of it, pushing down the complicated feelings in her chest, and said with a light smile:

"Of course I'm willing, Your Majesty. I'm just curious why Your Majesty suddenly wants to go to Jiuyun Temple..."

After all, from what she remembered, Mu Jin had never left the palace since his legs were ruined.

Not to mention now that he was blind too, making him a total wreck who couldn't even go to court.

All court affairs were completely taken over by the Grand Tutor and the Regent Prince, not giving Mu Jin the slightest chance to get involved.

Zhao Ruoqian couldn't help but sneer to herself. Mu Jin probably had no idea how chaotic the court was right now.

The followers of the Grand Tutor and the Regent Prince had split into two clear factions. There had originally been a few old ministers who supported Mu Jin as the last of the royal bloodline.

But once Mu Jin became a total wreck, those people all picked sides, and the last two or three had all been killed by the Grand Tutor and the Regent Prince.

Mu Jin used to at least be a puppet emperor, but now he could only throw fits in the harem. If it weren't for that dragon robe, he wouldn't even count as an emperor.

Zhao Ruoqian thought about the news she'd gotten recently, and her mood improved a lot.

Almost there. Almost.

This time, she'd make Mu Jin lose everything and then kill him herself!

Mu Jin's fingertip touched the sachet Zhao Ruoqian had just pushed over, and he picked it up without thinking.

"Your Majesty, watch out! There's a needle on it!"

Zhao Ruoqian suddenly gasped, as if she'd just noticed what Mu Jin was doing.

Caught off guard by Zhao Ruoqian's sudden cry, in that brief moment of distraction, he felt a sharp sting on his index finger as the needle pricked him.

He frowned so slightly it was barely noticeable, but just put the sachet down without saying a word.

Seeing the blood on his finger, Zhao Ruoqian hurriedly grabbed his hand, gently blowing on it, her voice trembling with worry:

"Your Majesty, are you okay? Does it still hurt? It's all my fault for being careless, Your Majesty. I just wanted to embroider a sachet for Your Majesty, but I never expected Your Majesty to get hurt before it was even finished."

Zhao Ruoqian hung her head, looking upset and disappointed.

Mu Jin's body went a little stiff. He had no idea how to comfort people, so he could only open his mouth and force his voice to be gentle:

"I... I'm okay. Don't cry, it doesn't hurt..."

As he spoke, he reached up and gently touched Zhao Ruoqian's face, then gently patted her head.

"There, there. It was just a little needle prick. It doesn't hurt at all. Don't cry."

Zhao Ruoqian was completely frozen, staring at Mu Jin in utter disbelief.

Mu Jin's reaction was completely different from what she'd predicted.

The Mu Jin she knew would never, after being hurt by someone, comfort them in such a soft voice like this!

Zhao Ruoqian had only been putting on a show, and the tears she'd barely managed to summon were welling up in her eyes.

But now, hearing Mu Jin's gentle words, they suddenly spilled over.

Zhao Ruoqian parted her lips: "Your Majesty seems... different from what they say about you."

For a split second, Zhao Ruoqian wondered if the person in front of her had also been reborn, just like her.

But recalling Mu Jin's eyes, filled with hatred for her when she was burned alive in her previous life, Zhao Ruoqian suddenly found the thought ridiculous.

How could this man possibly have been reborn?

If he truly had been, given his hatred for her, he would've had her beaten to death the second he found out who she was.

He never would've let her stick around this long, or let her get close to him.

Maybe it was just that after she was reborn, she'd secretly cast a spell to blind Mu Jin, which caused this change...

Zhao Ruoqian gritted her teeth, feeling like something was off, but she couldn't afford to care anymore.

No matter what Mu Jin became this time, she'd make him pay!

Mu Jin had no idea what Zhao Ruoqian was thinking; he could only feel the tears splashing onto the back of his hand.

That just confused him even more.

He didn't get it—he was the one who'd been pricked by the needle, and he'd already said he was fine, so why was she still crying?

Did liking someone really make you act like this?

Mu Jin didn't know, but he still tried to comfort her patiently,

"Alright, I really don't feel a thing. How about you stop crying, okay?"

He used his fingertip to wipe away the tears at the corner of Zhao Ruoqian's eye, a slight curve in his eyes, a faint smile forming,

"If you don't believe me, look—the wound's almost gone now."

Mu Jin was about to say more when he felt a cold, sinister stare land on him.

But there were too many people in the palace watching him; he'd gotten used to it by now, so he didn't pay it any mind.

Zhao Ruoqian was briefly dazed by Mu Jin's smile. Her lips twitched, but in the end, she pulled her hand back from his wrist, held back her tears, and gave a soft reply.

"Mm."

That little moment was brushed aside, and Mu Jin didn't think much of it. He kept chatting with Zhao Ruoqian about other stuff, casually testing whether she wanted to leave the palace.

Zhao Ruoqian, hearing questions she'd never heard answered even when she died in her past life, just took them as Mu Jin testing her and answered them all with a smile, making it clear she was determined to stay by Mu Jin's side forever.

Mu Jin didn't say anything, but inside he was already scheming to trick Zhao Ruoqian into going to Jiuyun Temple, knock her out, and send her off, only letting her come back once everything was done.

After all, the time he'd leave this world was after both villains were dead.

By then, no matter what Zhao Ruoqian did, at least she wouldn't be in danger of losing her life because of them.

The two sat face to face, each showing the other their gentlest smile, hiding all their little schemes and calculations behind it.

When Mu Jin left, 648 asked, confused:

"Host, why are you being so nice to Zhao Ruoqian? That doesn't seem to have anything to do with our mission."

Mu Jin pulled his cloak tighter and thought: [Maybe because I feel like if 'Mu Jin' knew Zhao Ruoqian liked him that much and never betrayed him, he'd want her to live too.]

[After all, Zhao Ruoqian is the only person in this world who genuinely likes him.]

648 suddenly got it: "So you want to save Zhao Ruoqian because of 'Mu Jin'!"

Mu Jin: [Mm, if you wanna put it that way.]

He'd never been liked by anyone before, and now seeing someone like Zhao Ruoqian love "Mu Jin" that deeply, even though he wasn't "Mu Jin," he couldn't stand to let her die like that.

648 sighed: "So have you figured out what to do with her?"

"I just helped you sort through the people you can use right now. Here's the list, with their abilities and positions. Take a look."

Mu Jin thanked him sincerely: [Thanks, Xiao Liu.]

The trip to Jiuyun Temple was set for five days later, partly because he wanted to use those days to sort out Zhao Ruoqian's future.

The list 648 had just given him was a huge help.

648 chuckled: "No need to thank me, but now we've got a bigger problem to deal with."

Mu Jin asked, curious: [What problem?]

"Just now, when the male lead's snake saw you sitting with Zhao Ruoqian, his darkening value shot way up."

648 said helplessly: "I don't know what he's freaking out about; it even scared me."

Mu Jin was puzzled: [Darkening value?]

648 thought for a moment and explained: "You can think of it as something really important to our mission."

"When a villain or male lead goes through intense emotional swings and an urge to give up on the world because of certain events, their darkening value goes up."

"But this usually happens with villains; it's rare for protagonists. If a protagonist fully darkens, it could easily lead to the destruction of the small world."

Mu Jin nodded thoughtfully: [So if Ying Huaifeng darkens, it's like him dying?]

648: "..."

That sounded kinda weird, didn't it?

648 hesitated: "If you put it that way... then yeah, pretty much."

Mu Jin felt sure of his guess but got even more confused:

[You said he darkened because he saw me sitting with Zhao Ruoqian. Could it be... he likes her?]

648 said sincerely: "I don't know."

Mu Jin: [No way, the male lead can't possibly like a cannon fodder character, and it's not in the plot either.]

[Could he think I'm conspiring with Zhao Ruoqian against him?]

648 suddenly realized: "That's it! After all, Zhao Ruoqian is one of Yun Fuyue's people, and Ying Huaifeng hates Yun Fuyue to the core right now, so naturally he despises everything and everyone connected to him."

"No wonder the male lead suddenly darkened!"

Mu Jin felt he had guessed the truth behind Ying Huaifeng's darkening:

[So in Ying Huaifeng's eyes, me contacting Zhao Ruoqian means I, his ally, have betrayed him.]

648: "Right! It must be exactly that! Host, you're so smart!"