Chapter 3: You, How Shameless You Are!

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Yuan Peipei spoke slowly, which gave Concubine Mei an opening to seize the advantage and speak first: “Sister, you really are something. Today the Emperor is coming to see me just once, and you rushed over without hesitation. Besides, today is also my birthday. Why don’t you stay and celebrate with me?”
[The despicable Concubine Mei poisoned the villain but tried to frame beloved Peipei.]
[The poison causes the victim to fall under others’ control, making the villain even more violent until he is despised by all and ultimately taken down by the protagonists.]
So that’s the reason behind the Emperor’s notorious cruelty and love of killing.
Yuan Peipei quickly moved beside Dugu Jin and took his hand. “Your Majesty, will you come with me?”
Having witnessed many battles for favor, such straightforwardness was a first.
Concubine Mei hurriedly blocked them. “Your Majesty, you’ve at least drunk this cup of wine, so consider it a birthday gift to me. Afterwards, if you visit my sister, I will harbor no complaints.”
She looked truly aggrieved.
Yet her eyes remained fixed on the wine cup.
Drink it.
Hurry and drink it.
Recalling her father’s advice that everything after entering the palace must be for the Emperor’s sake—if the Emperor is well, then she is well, and the Prime Minister’s household prospers—Yuan Peipei snatched the cup and drank it in one gulp.
How spicy!
Having never tasted alcohol before, she immediately burst into tears, looking at Dugu Jin with watery eyes. “Your Majesty…”
Then she fainted right away.
Dugu Jin hurriedly caught her and held her in his arms. “Concubine Mei, celebrate your birthday on your own. I will send gifts later,” he said, then left.
Concubine Mei stomped her feet in anger.
That meddlesome Concubine Rou!
Why did she have to drink it first?
Dugu Jin carried Yuan Peipei back to Nishang Palace, initially thinking she had just passed out from drunkenness. But when she awoke, her temper was unusually fierce.
“How dare you! Who allowed you to stand there?”
“So what if you are the Emperor! You’re still a big liar who can’t keep your word!”
“You only know how to deceive me in bed!”
She threw a pillow at him, hitting Dugu Jin squarely.
Everyone else was so frightened they dropped to their knees.
Especially Cuizhi and Lanxin, who were trembling with fear.
“Your Majesty, please calm down. The Empress must have been speaking nonsense in her drunkenness.”
“Yes, this pillow surely wasn’t meant to be thrown at you.”
Yuan Peipei was still furious. “Why are you all afraid of him? He just looks fierce. What’s there to fear? I’m not afraid!”

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She even tried to grab something else to throw.
Dugu Jin originally thought she was just drunk and acting out, but then noticed her eyes lacked their usual spark and seemed somewhat vacant.
“Summon the imperial physician!”
The physician gave Yuan Peipei a pill, which finally calmed her down. After checking her pulse, the doctor’s face turned grave.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, Concubine Rou has been poisoned. This poison won’t kill, but it will make her temper increasingly violent and unreasonable. Over time, it will turn her into a murderous lunatic.”
Dugu Jin’s heart trembled.
That cup of wine was supposed to be his!
If he had drunk it, he would become unpredictable and violent, ultimately nothing but a killer—and that would give others a reason to rebel and purge him!
He would become the infamous tyrant remembered in history!
“Is there an antidote?” Dugu Jin asked.
The physician bowed deeply. “I happen to know how to prepare one. I will start at once.”
After sending everyone away, Dugu Jin sat by the bed and gently held Yuan Peipei’s hand.
The tenderness and devotion in his eyes were almost obsessive, startling to behold.
“You saved me again, silly girl. I don’t know what kind of wine you were so eager to drink.”
He felt a chill down his spine.
Luckily, it wasn’t a deadly poison.
Otherwise, he would have dragged Concubine Mei’s entire family down with her.
Once the antidote was ready, Dugu Jin personally fed it to Yuan Peipei and stayed by her side all night, only leaving when it was time for the morning court.
That night, many other events unfolded in the palace.
For example, Concubine Mei and Lord Bo’an were caught in an intimate moment by Concubine Shu, whose screams summoned the palace guards. Disheveled, Concubine Mei and Lord Bo’an were imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison.
At court the next day, both Concubine Mei’s family and Lord Bo’an’s clan fell into disgrace, with punishments ranging from exile to confiscation of all property.
Yuan Peipei was unaware of all this, busily trying to recall the previous night’s events with the help of Cuizhi and Lanxin.
She had scolded the Emperor.
She had thrown a pillow at him.
She had even said he looked fierce...
“Boo hoo hoo…” Yuan Peipei began to cry uncontrollably. No one could stop her. “Am I going to be beheaded? Boo hoo hoo… And the Prime Minister’s household will be ruined too! I’ve dragged them down with me…”
Her cries were heart-wrenching, instinctively stirring pity. Dugu Jin hadn’t even entered yet when he heard them.
“What’s going on?”
His usual cold expression hardened further, and in his impatience, his tone grew stern.
Startled, Yuan Peipei quickly knelt, continuing to sob: “It’s all my fault. If the Emperor wants to kill me, go ahead—just don’t kill my father and the others… boo hoo hoo…”
“When have I ever said I would kill you or your father?” Dugu Jin pulled her up.

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Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Yuan Peipei was still a little dazed.
He wasn’t going to behead her?
“But I scolded you,” she admitted softly.
“And threw a pillow at you.”
“And said you looked fierce…”
[Scold him all you want. Beatings show affection, and scolding is love. Don’t be fooled by his stern face—he was secretly delighted last night!]
[He’s just waiting for you to throw a pillow at him again.]
[He wouldn’t kill you. He loves you madly and would give you his life!]
Yuan Peipei: “Hic?”
She timidly probed, “You do look fierce and get angry easily.”
Dugu Jin wiped away her tears with his fingertip, expressionless but with an overgentle touch.
“Hmm, what else? Tell me everything.”
Yuan Peipei seemed bolder. “There are so many rules. We have to wait so long to eat, and I’m always so hungry.”
Dugu Jin: “Hmm, you won’t have to wait anymore. What else?”
Yuan Peipei’s courage grew. “You’re not allowed to eat food from Concubine Mei’s place. No, I mean, not allowed to go near her.”
What if Concubine Mei poisons her again?
Dugu Jin understood and couldn’t help but smile: “Concubine Mei was caught in an affair with Lord Bo’an and has been imprisoned.”
Yuan Peipei gave a relieved “Oh” and let out a breath.
Dugu Jin pulled her onto his lap. “I’ll be busy these days, but I’ll try to come by as often as I can. No more crying and worrying by yourself, understand?”
Deep down, Yuan Peipei was still timid. “Oh, I understand.”
Dugu Jin couldn’t resist teasing her shy expression and leaned close to whisper in her ear, “When I’m done with these busy days, I’ll teach you some new moves.”
With a sudden flush, Yuan Peipei’s face turned scarlet.
Dugu Jin gently pinched her cheek. “So easily embarrassed—what will you do when it happens more often?”
Yuan Peipei, like a frightened little rabbit, retorted, “You, you’re not shy!”
After a long pause, that was all she could manage to say.
Dugu Jin kissed her lips. “Hmm, I’m not shy. You belong entirely to me. Why would I be shy?”
Yuan Peipei: “…”