Quick Transmigration: The Female Supporting Character's Counterattack, A Guide to Cunning Strat

"Wanwan, the male lead has already started investigating you," Qiqi said.

(Well, the Song family's actions were done discreetly, after all, it was a crime of deceiving the emperor. It will probably take him some effort to find me, but I'll have to appear in his dreams more often. Living in this cold palace is indeed not comfortable.)

Liu Shuwan frowned as she looked at the dilapidated house.

(And lately he's been holed up in bed, eating but not moving. I feel like the original owner's body is getting fatter; this doesn't seem like someone staying in the cold palace. I'll tell him more next time.)

【Uh-huh. 】

*

Life in the palace was monotonous; apart from vying for favor, there seemed to be nothing else to do.

In the remaining decades of their lives, the ladies could only pass the time by playing musical instruments and practicing calligraphy.

The Empress Dowager enjoyed vegetarianism and Buddhist chanting, or rather, she began doing so after giving birth to the seventh prince, who is now the emperor.

The reason is simple: giving birth to Li Shangxun, a son with a broken eyebrow, must have been a warning from Buddha, perhaps because she had done too many things like beating and killing maids before.

She didn't really think she had done anything wrong. The maids and servants were people, but they were really just objects in her hands. If she didn't like them anymore, what was wrong with throwing them away or breaking them?

Isn't this the kind of philosophy that young ladies and gentlemen in aristocratic families are instilled with from childhood?

But she could only assume that she was wrong and slowly hid her thoughts.

By treating her servants kindly and showing devotion to Buddhism, she gradually earned praise from the palace maids and eunuchs for her compassionate heart, and the late emperor came to appreciate her sincerity and tranquility.

As for why she gave birth to Li Shangxun, who has a broken eyebrow, it certainly wasn't her fault. She's so kind, what could she possibly do wrong?

Having experienced the benefits of worshipping Buddha, she became even more compassionate.

When Li Shangxun re-entered the dream, he was in the ancestral hall, kneeling on the cold floor. The doors and windows were tightly closed, and there was only one candle burning shakily in the room. Behind the candlestick was a small Buddha statue. No matter what angle he looked at it, he seemed to be looking at it with a mixture of joy and sorrow.

Li Shangxun twitched the corners of his mouth. After ascending the throne, the Empress Dowager disliked him, but she had no choice but to see him every day. Every time she saw him, she would think of the miserable days when she was demoted to a concubine after giving birth to him, and of her obedient and intelligent little eleventh child who died young. Thinking of these things, she felt intense hatred in her heart.

The more she hated him in her heart, the more compassionate she appeared on the surface. She spoke condescendingly, saying that he was born with a broken eyebrow because he must have committed some sin in his past life and needed to pray to Buddha for forgiveness at all times. She made him kneel in the ancestral hall all night long, and only after he finished kneeling could he go to court the next day.

At first, the nanny would keep an eye on him, making sure he kept his back straight and his heart was sincere. But when it got late at night, the nanny would go back to sleep because she was tired, and he would have to continue kneeling.

If he is found to have slacked off the next morning and not kneeling properly, he won't get breakfast.

So he often wakes up in a fright after falling asleep, warning himself not to oversleep.

As for his affection for his mother, he did have it in the past. He was delighted when he first learned that his mother wanted to help him become emperor.

He wasn't overjoyed that he could become emperor, but rather overjoyed that his mother still remembered him, and he hoped that his mother would treat him with the same loving kindness he had shown to his eleventh brother, just as she had secretly seen him before.

Later he realized that all of this was just wishful thinking on his part, and that he was nothing more than a puppet.

When he learned about this, he didn't seem too upset. He was used to it. Sure enough, he was a person with weak family ties and a cold heart.

Li Shangxun was still kneeling on the ground. In fact, no one would have come to see if he was still kneeling at this point. He could have stood up long ago, but he had been kneeling for a while and his legs were numb. It was painful to move. Fortunately, he was in a dream, so he just stayed kneeling like that.

"Ah Xun, we meet again." She's here again.

"Sister," Li Shangxun called out, unaware that his eyes had suddenly lit up.

Seeing him kneeling, she asked, "Why are you kneeling here all by yourself? Is there something you want to ask for?"

"My legs are numb, I can't get up." Li Shangxun shook his head; he had stopped believing in such things long ago.

As a child, he prayed countless times that God would take back his broken eyebrow.

Later, he hoped that his wet nurse could stay with him forever.

After that, he hoped that the Empress Dowager would treat him better.

But these are just wishful thinking.

Everything he has achieved now is through his own hard work, and only through his own efforts.

She lifted him up from the ground so he could sit up against the wall.

She looked like she was struggling; he had indeed grown a lot, and she was really thin.

As soon as he stood up, his legs were covered in a dense, aching pain. She knelt down beside his legs, slowly straightened them, and massaged them to help him unblock the meridians.

Li Shangxun struggled for a moment, as men and women shouldn't touch each other, but she held him down: "Don't move, aren't your legs numb? Let me massage them for you."

Once he was held down, he stopped moving, though his face turned slightly red, and he obediently let her do as she pleased.

Since it was all in a dream, and she might just be his fantasy, he easily convinced himself.

"Your legs are numb, why didn't you call for help?" she asked.

Li Shangxun simply said he had forgotten. He was being deliberately tormented; what good would calling for help do?

"Silly." She tapped his forehead helplessly and coughed twice. "Cough cough."

"Sister, are you sick?" Li Shangxun asked.

No wonder her body was a little hot today; he just thought it was because the ancestral hall was too cold.

"It's nothing, I just caught a cold. I didn't expect it to spread. I'll stay away from you so you don't catch it too."

She turned her head away, couldn't help but cough twice, and got up to move away from him.

Li Shangxun reached out and pulled her back, placing his other hand on her forehead, which was burning hot: "Sister, have you seen too much…"

He was about to say "imperial physician," but remembering Liu Shuwan's status, he changed his question, "Did you see a doctor?"

"Cough cough," she struggled for a moment, but found she couldn't break free, so she sat sideways, covering her mouth to try to keep her away from him. "No, don't worry, cough cough, it'll be fine in a few days."

"Is there some difficulty?" Li Shangxun frowned, thinking of her family background. "Is it because you don't have enough money? Or is your family preventing you from seeing a doctor?"

The thought of this possibility flashed with a ruthless glint in his eyes.

"No, cough cough, don't overthink it, cough cough cough, cough cough cough," she replied, her coughing becoming even more violent as she spoke.

Li Shangxun patted her back to soothe her: "Sister, don't worry, what happened? Is it that you don't want to tell me?" He lowered his eyes, his voice tinged with grievance.

"No, it's just that I'm locked up in a place where people don't come often, and even if they do, they probably won't find me a doctor," Liu Shuwan said deliberately.

The violence in Li Shangxun's eyes seemed about to burst forth, but his movements remained gentle as he asked softly, "Tell me where you are, and I'll come to save you."

Liu Shuwan didn't reveal anything more, only saying, "It's okay, cough cough, I'll take good care of myself, don't worry."

“Really, as long as you tell me where you are, I can find you,” Li Shangxun emphasized.

"Leaving aside how someone from a dream could find me, even if you really exist, you're not the emperor, how could you possibly find me?"

Liu Shuwan spoke very softly, but he still heard her clearly and spoke again: "I am the Emperor."

He shouldn't have revealed his identity before knowing why she entered his dream.

But if it's her, it seems like anything is fine.

Regardless of why she enters his dreams so many times, and regardless of whether she has ulterior motives, as long as she stays with him and cares about him, that's enough for him. He wants to find her.

"Alright, Ah Xun is the Emperor, and the Emperor is the most powerful person in the world. From now on, no one can make you suffer anymore. Cough cough cough, you must grow up well, understand?" She still didn't believe it.

Li Shangxun suddenly felt a little deflated, regretting that he was too young in his dream and that he met her in his dream.

When he finds her, he'll definitely let her see him properly; he's not just making empty promises.

……