Chapter 7: Her identity

Shanguan Zu Jin's POV

I was ready to defend myself if Empress Wu Jinmai tried to hurt me and kill me like we did to her. I plotted that myself because a mad woman like her is not fit to be the empress.

"I hate you. I detest you. You're my greatest nightmare, and marrying you is like a poison that slowly kills me!" I roared, pointing my finger in her face.

"Are you an actor that Chen Yuan paid, huh? Did he ask you to make me crazy by setting up this shit?! That bastard! I won't go crazy because of what he did. He and Xie Lusi will pay for what they did. Tell that to him, you asshole!" she says, pointing her finger at me.

'She's sticking her middle finger. What is she doing?!'

"What are you doing? Have you gone crazy?! Is this how you want to push me to the edge because I killed you, huh?! I won't be sorry, and I will always do that, no matter how long it takes to kill you!" I roared in a controlled tone.

I grab her wrists and hold her tightly. She needs to know that I was serious, and she's the one who is crazy here! She looks at me.

"I can pay you double for what Xie Lusi and Chen Yuan paid you and everyone here. Listen to me; stop acting already. I have a friend in the entertainment industry," she remarks.

She moved her face closer and gave me that scary expression in her eyes.

"I can ask her to make you guys an extra in a television series. Who knows? You might be the next Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo, Yang Yang, or Arthur Chen! Name it! Now, give me my phone, and I'll fix everything, I promise. Come on," she added. She even raised her palm. I pushed her away.

"Phone? Celebrity? Yang Yang, Wang Yibo, and Xiao Zhan? Who are they? What are you talking about, huh!? You are nothing but a tyrant and sickening woman!" I roared.

She grabbed my clothes and pinned me to the pillar. My back! When did she have this kind of strength? What is wrong with this woman?!

I grab my hairpin and stab her in the chest. Her servants will never speak, as they know how evil this woman is.

"Agh!" she groans. I pushed the hairpin further and hoped that it would reach her heart.

She grabbed the hairpin and kicked me. She takes it off, and her white clothes are slowly stained by her own blood.

Empress Wu smiled and slowly sat on the floor, touching her heart. "Finally… I can die now. Don't you dare give me another chance to live! Let me just die and never see Chen Yuan and Xie Lusi again. I don't want to be a queen or an empress. Dying as Li Susu is much better…" she says, coughing.

She wiped her lips and saw the blood on her lips. She slowly lies down on her body. She placed her hands on her abdomen and closed her eyes. I thought she'd be dead already, but she speaks.

"Being on the throne doesn't mean you'll be happy. You stained your hands with this woman's blood. It will make you lonely as time goes by. You have to bear with it. It's the price of killing this woman," she utters.

I slowly sat down and leaned my back on the pillar. I already achieved what we desired, but what is this? What is wrong with me? My heart still beats for this woman…

'I will bear the consequences. This is the only way to make you stop. I'm sorry… I will pay you in my next life. Seeing you like this Wu Jinmai hurts me the most…'

I close my eyes and cover them with my palm as tears stream down my cheeks. No matter how I fooled myself, I'm still the man who was the happiest three years ago. I'm still that same person who hopes for the best for us.

'I've been in love with you for five years, your highness. I've been longing for you all these years, but...'

The door opened, and Eunuch Liu saw what happened. He crouches down and looks at me. "We should call the doctor, Your highness! She can't die yet!" he roars.

I know he's being sentimental because he technically saw how the empress grew up and turned into a beast.

"Let her die. We can finally free ourselves from this tyrannical empress," I mumbled. He shakes his head.

"You don't understand your majesty. I will explain the details later. Someone! Call the imperial doctor!" he roars.

He scoops the empress up on the ground and dashes to her bed. The servants were in panic based on their footsteps and murmurs.

I didn't move an inch, and I let them do what they wanted. I will condemn myself for killing the only woman who stole my heart.

Someone suddenly grabbed my arms and pulled me up. I turn my face to see who that is. It's Eunuch Liu.

"Everyone, leave us for a while. Remember to keep your lips sealed," he says.

They all bow their heads and withdraw. He held my arms and dragged me to where the empress was lying. They had already changed her clothes.

"What do you want from me, Eunuch Liu? Do you want me to beg for her forgiveness or silence her forever?" I remarked.

He sighs. Eunuch Liu was a loyal servant of the royal family, and he never betrayed them. I wonder if he wants me to kill myself and atone for my sins. He sighed deeply.

"I'm the only one who was standing behind the door and heard what the empress told you. She told you the reasons why I believed that the real Empress Wu Jinmai was gone. This woman is not from this era," he remarks.

I look at him and give Eunuch Liu a puzzled and confused reaction. His expression changed while he looked at her beautiful face.

"Fifteen days after she locked herself up because of what happened in the pond, she summoned me. We went into the kitchen, and she cooked this type of dish that I had never seen in my life. She called it Carbonara."

I frowned and looked at him intently. I want him to explain further. I remember how she broke down and insisted that she never wished to be reborn in this era.

Eunuch Liu faced me. "I trust her as she speaks strange words that I never heard. She also knows martial arts, which the empress never knew. She can cook, make a garden, eat poorly, and most of all, she knows what suffering means."

"Your Majesty, can you trust me?" Eunuch Liu asks. I look at the empress and give him an honest answer.

"Tell me why I would trust you first," I replied.

He looks at the empress. "I will take a beat, Your Highness. The tyrant empress was gone. The person who wakes up in the empress's body might be the hope we are waiting for. Would you mind trusting her and seeing if she's lying?"

My jaw clenched. "Let's see if the empress was acting to fool us and the empire itself," he added. Should I gamble and take a risk?

"One wrong move and I'll kill her."