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

The next meeting came quickly. After spending a day with the Empress Dowager, Li Shangxun, in a pleasant mood, entered his dream again.

This time it was in the study, and he was holding a pen, probably copying a book.

The table was piled high with various books, mainly Buddhist scriptures, mixed with some on filial piety and rules.

I remember now. That day, he deliberately embarrassed himself in front of his ministers. The Empress Dowager felt ashamed, so she sent him many books and ordered him to copy one book a day. He was not allowed to eat until he finished copying them.

His fingers were worn raw, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't stop until he finished copying one book a day.

He was willing, but the Empress Dowager wouldn't let him study, wanting to ruin him, so he had no books around him.

With these books as a cover, he would have the opportunity to hide other books.

He needs to learn more and more, to become stronger, and to trample them all under his feet.

Thinking about these things made him no longer feel tired.

Are you practicing calligraphy?

The voice came from behind him, and Liu Shuwan reappeared, peeking out to watch him write.

"Hmm." Li Shangxun put down his pen and secretly hid his blistered fingers.

"Show me your face, I can see everything." She said with a hint of helplessness.

Li Shangxun stretched out his hand, his fingers covered in thick calluses. It didn't hurt, but it looked terrible, and he didn't want her to see it.

She held his hand in her hands and gently blew on it: "Does it hurt?"

"pain."

Actually, it doesn't hurt. When you first start copying, your hands get chafed and bleed, which hurts. But once calluses form, it stops hurting.

But seeing how gently she was moving, Li Shangxun inexplicably felt a pang of pain.

"Then I'll blow on it for you, and I won't apply any medicine. If it heals and then gets calluses again, it will hurt all over again."

As she played the flute, she sighed softly, "It's a good thing you're just someone in my dreams. Otherwise, every time I see you, you're always injured, big or small. You must be living such a miserable life. It breaks my heart just to see you like that in my dreams."

Li Shangxun felt a warm current flowing through his heart. Perhaps to make up for the regret of not being able to see her, his hearing was always exceptionally good in his dreams.

"Cough, cough, cough." She started coughing again.

"Why isn't my sister's cold better yet?"

Li Shangxun frowned and reached out to pat her back to help her catch her breath.

She was indeed as thin as she looked, and the bones in her back were a bit hard to the touch. We still need to find her quickly. Thinking this, I became more and more dissatisfied with the speed at which the Embroidered Uniform Guard was searching for people.

"Okay, cough cough, much better, cough cough cough." She said this, but judging from her appearance, she didn't seem to be much better; on the contrary, she was even more ill.

"Sister, where are you?" Li Shangxun asked again, his tone and the determination in his eyes stunned her.

"Alright, cough cough cough, I'm in the Cold Palace." She probably couldn't stand his constant questioning, so she just told him directly.

"The Cold Palace?" Li Shangxun was surprised. She was actually in the palace, and so close to him.

"Now that you know where I am, cough cough cough, is Ah Xun going to send someone to pick me up?" she joked.

“Okay, sister, wait for me.” Li Shangxun replied solemnly.

"Okay, I'll wait for you." Perhaps seeing how serious he was, she gently agreed.

……

"Liu Quan, who's in the Cold Palace now?"

Eunuch Liu found it strange, but as the chief eunuch serving the emperor, he was quite capable.

Although Li Shangxun's harem was practically nonexistent, he still needed to understand and keep in mind personnel changes (new or deceased concubines), factions (mainly Consort Shu and Consort De), and so on, in case he was asked about them. This is where his knowledge came in handy.

"Your Majesty, Consort Lin and Consort Xu both passed away last month. Now, only Consort Song, who was selected for the imperial concubine selection more than three months ago, remains in the Cold Palace."

"Lady Song, only Lady Song?"

Li Shangxun felt somewhat disappointed. Could it be that everything in his dream was just his imagination, or that she had lied to him?

No, my sister would never lie to him; something must have gone wrong.

"Your Majesty, there shouldn't be any. Should I go and check again?" Eunuch Liu was certain that it was only Consort Song, but he couldn't be careless about any unforeseen circumstances. He had to leave himself a way out when reporting back in the palace.

"Never mind, I'll go see him myself after court. Please change your clothes."

During the morning court session this morning, His Majesty was inexplicably distracted, not even noticing that Minister Xu was stammering in his reply due to nervousness.

The adults who had something to report to today exchanged glances, tacitly quickened their pace, and finished their reports.

Another day of successfully surviving the morning court session!

*

[Wait a minute, the male lead has finished court and is walking this way now.]

(Okay, I'll get ready.)

The preparations Liu Shuwan mentioned involved taking away the blankets she bought from the system store, grabbing a handful of snow in the snow, and waiting for Li Shangxun to arrive quietly after her body had completely cooled down.

"Knock, knock, knock." Eunuch Liu knocked on the door of the Cold Palace. "Is anyone home?"

Liu Gonggong was helpless. He had asked his apprentice beforehand during the Emperor's morning court session, and it turned out that there was only one concubine, Consort Song, in the Cold Palace.

I wonder if the Lady Song inside is the person His Majesty is looking for, that it's worth His Majesty personally waiting outside to open the door. Otherwise, if His Majesty were here in person, there would be no need to knock on the door.

Someone inside seemed to hear a noise and got up. First, there was the sound of tables and chairs moving, then a response: "Yes, cough cough cough, cough cough, wait a moment."

Li Shangxun could tell it was the voice from his dream; it really was her, she really was in the Cold Palace.

"coming."

The door opened, and she appeared even thinner than in my dream, dressed in light clothing, her exposed hands red from the cold.

The face I could never see clearly in my dreams, I can finally see clearly now.

Just as he had imagined, she had beautiful features, a gentle and peaceful demeanor, and was neither competitive nor aggressive.

Someone like her couldn't survive in the palace. No wonder she was locked up in the Cold Palace; she wasn't suited for the palace.

He was momentarily stunned and didn't dare to make a sound, lest he disturb her.

"Ah Xun?" She saw him, her eyes filled with doubt. He was much taller than in her dream, and his appearance had changed, making her hesitate.

"How dare you address His Majesty by his name!"

Liu Gonggong's command startled her, and she inhaled a chill as she gasped for air. Her cough worsened, and her bent waist was so thin it seemed it could be broken: "Cough cough cough, cough cough cough cough."

Li Shangxun suddenly woke up, kicked Liu Gonggong away, took a few steps forward, took off his cloak and wrapped it around her. Unlike the warmth in the dream, her body was as cold as ice.

"Go and fetch the imperial physician." Li Shangxun picked her up and strode into the house.

"The slave obeys."

Eunuch Liu quickly got up from the snow and walked very fast. He really wanted to slap himself for talking too much earlier. It seemed that things were about to change in the palace.

Once inside the room, Li Shangxun's brow remained furrowed.

The blanket on the bed was so thin it was almost unrecognizable; it wasn't even as thick as his cloak.

I wanted to pour her a glass of water to calm her down, but the kettle was empty.

If you put the kettle down with a little too much force, the table will start to wobble.

He could only wrap her up even tighter in his cloak, hold her close, and gently pat her back.

Liu Shuwan finally calmed down and realized that she was being held in Li Shangxun's arms. The scent of a grown man enveloped her, making her feel flustered. She shifted slightly, a little embarrassed, and asked, "Your Majesty?"

Still frightened, Li Shangxun sensed the caution in her tone: "Now that I'm not in your dreams, does my sister already dislike me? You're so distant, you don't even want to call me Ah Xun anymore."

"I don't dislike you. I just didn't expect you to be the Emperor." Her voice was low, and her tone was cautious.

Li Shangxun feigned nonchalance, speaking as naturally as in his dream: "I told my sister about it in the dream before, and we agreed that I would come to pick you up, but she didn't believe me?"

"No normal person would believe things that happen in dreams," Liu Shuwan muttered.

"Now do you believe it?" Li Shangxun asked with a smile.

"Hmm," Liu Shuwan replied softly, "Your Majesty, could you please release me first?"

Li Shangxun suppressed his irritation and readily released her, though a hint of melancholy lingered on his face.

"Fine, it's better if you don't call me Ah Xun anymore. I'm an unlucky person anyway, so it's only right that you stay away from me. My sister is the only one who's good to me. As long as my sister is alright..."

"That's not what I meant. I... then can I still call you Ah Xun from now on?"

Liu Shuwan grabbed his sleeve urgently, and after he looked over, she explained in a low voice, "I'm just worried that it might be unreasonable."

"I am the one who is right!" Li Shangxun suddenly exuded the aura of an emperor, but he quickly restrained himself, worried that he might frighten her again. "No, as long as you are not afraid of getting close to me and getting bad luck on me, that's fine."

"Don't say that." Liu Shuwan reached out and covered his mouth, saying seriously, "I told you this before, but you may not remember. Let me say it again: our eyebrows are just different in shape, and they have nothing to do with bad luck or misfortune. Don't belittle yourself anymore, it will make me feel bad."

Her hands were cold, but Li Shangxun felt that the places her fingers touched were very hot, so hot that it warmed his heart.

Everyone used to say he was an unlucky man, but it was this very unlucky man who ascended the throne and is still alive and well today.

Now nobody talks about it anymore, and nobody dares to talk about it. In any case, he's doing better than them.

Of course, he didn't think there was anything wrong with his broken eyebrow now. Just like now, he could even get more of her heartache because of it.

It feels so good to be cared for by others.

It was so good that his heart trembled, so good that he couldn't help but want her to feel more sorry for him, even more.

Ideally, that gaze could remain fixed on him for a long, long time, and solely on him.

Just imagining such a scene excited him immensely, even more than dealing with those who had wronged him.

However, all of this still needs to be carefully planned. The woman in front of him still seemed somewhat afraid of him, and she wasn't as intimate and natural as she was in his dreams. Moreover, what he wanted was even more than in his dreams.

But it doesn't matter, he already knows she's a soft-hearted person, and there's still a long road ahead.

Thinking this, Li Shangxun's smile became even more obedient, showing no trace of his usual ruthlessness, and he even resembled the Empress Dowager somewhat.