The Elegant Dancing Years By Huo Li (火狸) | BL

Chapter 31 | Unexpected Crisis

An Ruolan leaned against the wall and stood up very slowly, her face was calm. Her eyes, however, were feral as she looked straight at Qi Mingyue, "Bringing calamity, killing his mother, no descendants... You've already brought chaos and still, you want to kill your mother?! You demon! You alien star!"

He brought chaos? Although he didn't believe in the ability to bring chaos that Tan Wu divined, even if he had this ability, he has no idea when or how he brought chaos? The world was so big, it would never be peaceful forever, so why should he bother with "chaos"?

[Indus: I'll be using chaos and calamity interchangeably. They mean the same thing here.]

"Why did Consort Mother say this? Although I know Tan Wu said that, but I would never bring chaos and I don't want to kill you. As long as you pretend you never saw us today, Father and I would let you go back and continue. Wouldn’t it be good to be the prosperous Consort An? Why do you obsess over the idea of matricide?"

An Ruolan laughed harshly, her shrill laughter was like that of a ghost. "Never? Isn't it already in front of my eyes? You both are clearly father and son connected by blood but you made His Majesty do such unbelievable things, he's the monarch, the Son of Heaven! He was confused by you, isn't this is what chaos is?!"

Could Tan Wu's 'bringing calamity' have meant this? Didn't it mean disaster? Instead, it actually meant confusing the Emperor? He couldn't help but start questioning the Grandmaster's words. If he had known for a long time, why didn't he explain it? Or did he have limited knowledge and just presumed everything? But if he had told about this back then, then maybe him and Father wouldn't be like they were today. Most probably, he would have been assassinated by others while he was still in a swaddle.

Qi Xutian was also surprised, but then chuckled happily, "You see, MingEr, we are destined to be together."

Seeing that they were still this unscrupulous and so close to each other right in front of her, An Ruolan suddenly felt a twist in her heart. Full of malice, her hoarse voice trembled, and the feeling of disgust in her eyes gradually became stronger, "The ability to bring calamity, taking the life of your mother," She pointed at Qi Mingyue, "Let me tell you, I won't let you do it! You can't kill me!"

She seemed to have remembered something and suddenly calmed down. As she looked at Qi Mingyue, her eyes gradually cleared and her expression appeared full of determination. Seeing this, Qi Mingyue knit his brows together only to see her straighten her clothes and surprisingly, she recovered her usual gentle-like-water appearance.

Facing Qi Xutian, she said softly: "Your Majesty wants to see this concubine die in front of you so that I can't divulge your scandal? But fortunately, this concubine had foresight. Even if you want me to die, sadly, it's not so easy. Does Your Majesty want to know? What I actually did?"

A sly smile appeared on her face as she faced the two men, she continued leisurely, "Was the sweet soup tasted by you at my pavilion good? Then, there is something--"

Before she could finish her words,  Qi Xutian's expression changed. Shadows flashed as they swept towards An Ruolan from his palm. She suddenly spurt a mouthful of blood and was pinned against the wall.

"Speak! Which poison was in there?! Where is the antidote?!" Qi Xutian's voice was filled with infinite fury as if he would kill her the next moment. Qi Xutian resisted the murderous intent rising in his heart and thought of MingEr. Although he took Zuizhu, the medicine hadn't been fully absorbed. If he encountered a highly toxic poison... although it won't cause death, it would severely damage his internal organs. It would be very harmful to him and he might become seriously ill. Thinking of this, his voice turned even colder, "If you don't say it, I'll make you live a life worse than death!" The words he spat out were bloodthirsty and its meaning could make people tremble but An Roulan, with blood still on her lips, smiled slyly, "There is no antidote. It's not poison, but gu!"

Seeing the shock in Qi Xutian's eyes, she laughed proudly, "If Your Majesty kills me, he would not survive!"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you see it, Your Majesty? Behind you, your baby can't hold it anymore." The gleeful look in her eyes made Qi Xutian turn back abruptly only to see MingEr holding his chest, his face pale and trembling as he fell back on the bed. He was drenched in sweat and his convulsing appearance full of pain was several times more severe than when he was under the influence of Nian Chen, it was as if... he would die the next moment!

•×•×•×•

Indus' Notes:

• Gu - It's a legendary Chinese poison made by sealing several venomous creatures (such as snakes, scorpions, centipedes, etc.) in a container and forcing them to fight until a single survivor remains, which then consumes the other dead and defeated creatures, thereby concentrating all of their toxins into itself. It was used in black magic as per Chinese folklore. Might be different here, though.
Source: Wikipedia.

It's an even worse cliff.