The emperor is ruthless

"I... Mother?" Shui Yuting looked at the mysterious figure in astonishment.

"Yes, I am your mother, Xianling," the figure replied.

"And you, in a past life, were my child, Yun Jin," she continued.

Shui Ying stepped forward, demanding an explanation. "What is all this about? Please clarify."

"Are you the one who has been haunting my dreams these days?" she asked. "And who is Su Ce? What is their relationship with me?"

Xianling turned her head, gazing at Shui Ying with a frantic hatred in her eyes. "How dare you come here!"

"Su Ce!" She pounced at Shui Ying, baring her teeth and claws.

However, under the cherry blossom tree, an invisible barrier appeared, imprisoning her inside.

Crackle! As soon as she touched the barrier, she experienced a searing burn.

"Why? Why would you do this?"

"I waited eight hundred years! Why won't you let me kill Su Ce?"

Xianling cried in despair.

"Child, kill her! Kill her quickly!" Suddenly, she commanded Shui Yuting.

But Shui Yuting shook her head firmly. "Please tell me the truth. I have my own judgment!"

"Even if I was your child in a past life, in this life, I am me. My name is Shui Yuting, not Yun Jin!" She spoke resolutely, her attitude strong.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll tell you everything. Mother will tell you everything."

Seeing Shui Yuting's demeanor, Xianling helplessly shook her head.

After a moment of contemplation, she began to narrate a story from eight hundred years ago.

Everyone gathered beneath the cherry blossom tree, as if transported to that era.

A magnificent imperial city, resplendent in gold and jade.

On a raised platform, the emperor wore a golden dragon-patterned robe, with a charming woman standing beside him, her belly swollen.

"Ling'er, it's windy outside. Come inside and rest," Emperor Su Ce protected the woman's belly, his eyes filled with doting affection.

"But, Your Majesty, the scenery of the imperial city is beautiful. Your humble concubine wishes to see more. Our child would surely think the same," Xianling pouted and said.

"Ah, there's nothing much to see. When you, Ling'er, give birth to the prince, I will crown him as the Crown Prince. The entire realm will be his in the future!"

"Does Your Majesty truly mean what you say?" Xianling looked at the emperor, her eyes shimmering.

"A ruler does not jest!" Emperor Su Ce waved his sleeve and laughed loudly. "For that, I thank you on behalf of our child."

As Xianling was about to leave, the emperor immediately scooped her up in his arms. "You are my beloved consort, the one I cherish the most. There's no need for such formalities!"

"Oh, Your Majesty, stop teasing. So many people are watching!" Xianling nestled in Su Ce's embrace, her face blushing.

"Hahaha! I am the ruler of a nation. Whoever dares to laugh, I shall behead them!" He then turned to the maidservants around him. "Did you see?"

The maidservants trembled and said fearfully, "We didn't see anything!"

"Hahaha!" Su Ce burst into laughter, carrying Xianling into the palace.

...

"Your Majesty! The Empress has given birth. It's a princess!"

"A princess, huh?" Su Ce's expression dimmed.

"Hahaha! A princess is also good! I like it too!" Time passed, and Princess Yun Jin turned one year old. On the same day, another consort, Consort Yun, became pregnant.

Consort Yun was the daughter of the current prime minister. Since her arrival in the palace, Su Ce's favor for Xianling had waned, spending his days and nights in Consort Yun's palace.

"Consort Yun is pregnant. Let's have a grand banquet and invite the court officials!"

Su Ce waved his sleeve, laughing heartily. "As for Princess Yun Jin..."

Su Ce contemplated for a moment and said, "Send some gold, silver, jewels, and fine silk to Xianling's palace."

"Did Your Majesty truly say that?"

Xianling's face showed a dim expression as she looked at the maid before her.

"Yes," the maid replied respectfully and curtseyed. "You may leave."

As Xianling looked at the gold, silver, and precious gems before her, she sighed and hugged her child tightly.

"From now on, it will be just the two of us in this palace, relying on each other for survival."

Yun Fei's child was born, a boy. Su Ce was overjoyed and immediately proclaimed him as the Crown Prince, while also elevating Yun Fei to the position of Empress. Xianling had always suspected that Su Ce had been treating them well for the sake of consolidating his throne, knowing that Yun Fei was the daughter of a powerful minister. She had been deceiving herself all along and found herself locked away in the depths of the palace, gradually losing the emperor's favor until she became completely ignored.

Day and night, she waited, but the person she yearned for never appeared. Then, the capital city fell under attack. Millions of troops besieged the city and breached the palace. Su Ce fled, taking countless treasures of gold and silver, along with Yun Fei and the Crown Prince. He left behind the other concubines, including Xianling, to delay the rebel forces.

How could a group of women delay a rebel army? The methods employed can be imagined. Three days later, a weary Xianling emerged from the palace, carrying the lifeless body of Yun Jin. Her eyes were hollow, devoid of any light. Yun Jin had already died, succumbing to illness. The palace's imperial physicians had all been taken away, leaving no one to tend to the sick. And at that time, Xianling was still trapped in the demonic abyss, enduring torment day after day.

Xianling walked to the sakura tree and hung a white silk cloth. "Child, the royal family is heartless, and those who sit atop the throne are even more heartless. Their eyes are only set on the nation, on power. I was blind; I loved the wrong person. He is unworthy of being your father, unworthy of being my husband."

"I only hope that in the next life, you can be born into a good family, away from the world of emperors and kings."

"How ridiculous my life has been, obsessed with the intrigues of the harem, only to meet such an end."

"I deserve it, truly."

Having said that, Xianling tightened her grip on the white silk cloth and hung herself from it.

"If there is a next life, I will make Su Ce pay for his debts with blood!"

Xianling's eyes filled with hatred, but in the next moment, even that hatred gradually faded away. Her eyes lost their light, completely dimmed. And so, Xianling hanged herself under the sakura tree she had planted together with Su Ce.

Back to the present.

"That's how it is," Xianling said sorrowfully. "You are the reincarnation of my child, Yun Jin. And she!" She pointed towards Su Ying. "She is the reincarnation of the foolish ruler, Su Ce. It's just that, for some reason, this time he has become a girl."

"But regardless, we cannot deny the fact that she is Su Ce!" Xianling continued. "After hearing all of this, can you help me kill her?"

All eyes turned to Shui Yuting, including Su Ying's.

"I... I..." Shui Yuting hesitated. "I can't do it!" She shouted, covering her face and collapsing to the ground.

"You can't do it?" Xianling sighed. She looked up at the sky, her eyes filled with countless thoughts. "Well, well, when will the cycle of revenge end? It's true, you are no longer the Yun Jin you once were. You should have your own life now. I shouldn't have disturbed you. I was too impatient."

Then, Xianling shifted her gaze to Liu Lin. "I suppose this is the person you love in this lifetime," she said. Liu Lin awkwardly touched his head. "Hello, Auntie," he greeted with a smile.

"Not bad, young man," Xianling commented. She then turned to Shui Yuting and said, "Child, can you bring him to let his mother see you both? I have missed you so much over the countless years! It would also allow me to witness your love with my own eyes and make up for the regrets of our past lives."

Shui Yuting stood up and nodded eagerly. "Okay, okay!" She then took Liu Lin's hand and walked towards Xianling.

The barrier had no effect on humans.

As the two of them walked slowly towards her, a fleeting and eerie smile crossed Xianling's face, gone in an instant. And all of this, only Ye Li saw clearly.