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

"Cough cough cough." Liu Shuwan woke up from her dream and coughed a few more times.

Before entering the dream, I bought a medicine in the system shop for 100 points.

It won't harm your body, but your pulse and appearance will make you look like you have a cold, which can last for ten days.

The side effect of coughing is that it can be quite bothersome, but thankfully it gets better after a while.

*

"Qin Ming." Li Shangxun also emerged from his dream.

"The minister is here."

"Did you get any results with the person I asked you to find last time?" Li Shangxun asked.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. There are many families in the capital with the surname Liu whose younger brother died young. There are many food vendors, but none of them have a woman named Shu Wan." Qin Ming knelt on the ground.

“Useless thing.” Li Shangxun glanced at him. “Then let’s find someone who’s locked up somewhere.”

"This... what kind of imprisonment does His Majesty mean?" Qin Ming asked.

“Not many people go there often, and the people inside aren’t allowed to see a doctor,” Li Shangxun said.

Liu, who was listening nearby, thought to himself, "Isn't this just the Cold Palace?"

But the ladies in the palace were all daughters of officials of the fifth rank or above, and their families couldn't possibly sell food. Besides, there didn't seem to be any ladies in the palace with the surname Liu.

He silently went over it in his mind and then remained silent.

"Alright, then focus your search in this direction and find the person for me as soon as possible."

Li Shangxun waved his hand, telling him to get on with it as soon as possible. Feeling irritable and not wanting others to have an easy time, Li Shangxun sighed, "It's been a long time since I've seen the Empress Dowager. I really do miss her."

"His Majesty is extremely filial," Eunuch Liu echoed.

"Let's go see the Empress Dowager." Li Shangxun twirled his thumb ring, then got up and walked towards Cining Palace.

"Get ready—"

*

In Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager recovered quickly after her serious illness, probably due to the good care of the imperial physicians, her own attention to health, and the fact that Li Shangxun did not cause her any more trouble. She is currently having breakfast.

"Your Majesty has arrived——"

The Empress Dowager, who had been slowly and elegantly sipping her porridge, almost choked. She coughed a few times, inwardly cursing this plague god for coming. But when she saw him, she could only smile and say, "Your Majesty has arrived."

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager." Li Shangxun performed a proper bow, and seeing that she was having her meal, he sat down opposite her. "I haven't had breakfast either, let's eat together."

As the ruler of a country, the Empress Dowager could only finish the meal with indigestion, assuming that Li Shangxun would leave after eating.

Unexpectedly, Li Shangxun said, "Alright, breakfast has been served. I guess the Empress Dowager hasn't offered prayers to Buddha yet today."

The Empress Dowager nodded hesitantly, unsure of his meaning.

"Why don't I accompany the Empress Dowager today?"

Li Shangxun led the way. He had walked this road from Cining Palace to the ancestral hall many times and knew it by heart.

The Empress Dowager had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow, arriving at the ancestral hall, the very place where Li Shangxun had knelt many times.

Li Shangxun stood respectfully at the entrance of the ancestral hall and said to the Empress Dowager, "Mother, please. Oh, by the way, you can't accept this cushion. Mother is sincerely devoted to Buddhism, and we can't let these external things diminish your sincerity, can we?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Eunuch Liu quickly took away the kneeling cushion.

"You!" The Empress Dowager was furious, her long-held authority suddenly revealed, "You wretched child, I am your mother!"

"I know that, but I am doing this for the sake of my mother. I believe that Buddha will see her sincerity."

Li Shangxun spoke the words the Empress Dowager had once told him, his smile as gentle as a breeze and the bright moon.

Back then, when he said he wanted to take revenge on the Empress Dowager, all he really did was kill a few of her close maids in front of her.

These old women were her capable subordinates, and they often offered her advice and schemes. Many of the punishments he received were suggested by them.

The knife was inserted into his body and then pulled out. The man, who was once strong and powerful and could easily restrain him, fell to the ground with his eyes wide open.

Blood splattered on his and the Empress Dowager's faces. He could see the fear, sadness, and hatred in her eyes.

It turns out that even the death of her personal nanny caused her sadness.

But all she felt for him was disgust.

Every time I saw her when I was a child, her eyes were always filled with disgust, as if I was born a sinner and she was the victim.

She always said he had done many evil deeds, that whatever he did was wrong, and that he was destined from birth to be a cold-blooded, ruthless, and cruel person.

But back then, he hadn't killed a single person; on the contrary, he was always the one being trampled underfoot.

Later, he killed many people and took revenge on those who had hurt him.

He was indeed the vicious person the Empress Dowager described. He wanted none of those who had harmed him to have an easy time, and even though they were dead, he didn't want them to have a good life.

He didn't touch the Empress Dowager, not because he was bound by filial piety, but simply because he felt naturally inferior to her in her presence.

Just like when he was a child, he had to look up at her countless times. Even though he was now much taller than her, he still felt that way.

So they simply kept her confined in the Cining Palace and kept her there.

But he thought it was fine this way. Didn't she want him to die early? He was determined not to do as she wished.

He wanted her to watch, to watch him live a very long time, to live much, much longer than her eleventh son who died young.

As long as she lives, she will watch him sit on the throne that originally "belonged to Little Eleven" and live a good life.

But when he woke up from the dream today, he felt that it was still not enough.

The Emperor is the most powerful person in the world; no one can make him suffer anymore.

Seeing her being dragged into the ancestral hall by the servants and locked inside, cursing him in a completely unseemly manner, the gloom in his heart seemed to dissipate considerably.

Today was a day off, and he didn't want to do anything else, so he sat outside the ancestral hall to keep the Empress Dowager company.

Having just finished her breakfast, the Empress Dowager, full of energy, cursed and swore for an hour without repeating herself.

He must have cursed quite a bit on a regular basis; he was very eloquent. The palace maids and eunuchs serving him lowered their heads lower and lower, and large beads of cold sweat dripped down their backs.

He was in a great mood, and even while she was scolding him, he ate half a bowl more than usual for lunch.

By the afternoon, she was probably too weak and stayed inside without making a sound.

After the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Li Shangxun waved his hand, ordering his men to carry the Empress Dowager out from inside.

Her expression was somewhat unfocused, but she perked up when she saw him and was even able to glare at him fiercely, which was good.

Li Shangxun stood up, brushed off his sleeves, and said in a gentle voice, "Mother, it's getting late. I'll take my leave now and come to see you again in a few days."

Just as the Empress Dowager was about to feel relieved, he added, "But worshipping Buddha is something that requires perseverance. Although I can no longer accompany you, Mother, you must not give up. I will send someone to accompany you, just like today, starting at dawn and ending at dusk. Do not neglect it."

The Empress Dowager was so anxious and angry that she fainted.

"Hurry and call the imperial physician to take a look. We must ensure that the Empress Dowager is healthy and lives a long life," Li Shangxun said obediently.

……