Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao

Just as Ning Xiaoyao prepared to raise a fist, Empress Dowager Xie wiped her eyes and said in a low voice, “Yu’er, you can’t talk to This Dowager like this.”

“.....” Ning Xiaoyao was mute. She hadn’t even made a move. All she did was say she wanted some peace and quiet, and this woman couldn’t take it anymore?

“The walls have ears in the palace, too. I didn’t mind when it was only you speaking to This Dowager just then, but if your imperial brothers’ spies spread news of this, they can accuse you of being unfilial,” Empress Dowager Xie was full of sincerity. “Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important. You can’t afford to be unfilial; otherwise, This Dowager and your grandfather won’t be able to protect your title even if we risked our lives!”

As she spoke, Empress Dowager Xie raised her hand to lightly brush against the swollen lump on Ning Xiaoyao’s forehead. Her expression was filled with tender affection, while Ning Xiaoyao had been too surprised by her speech to move away. Just a few words could cost her the position of emperor? Then what if she killed her own mother? What would be the consequences for her then?

“Silly child,” Empress Dowager Xie sighed. “If your Imperial Father hadn’t passed away so early and your little brother wasn’t just a newborn, how could This Dowager bear to have you dress up as a boy and sit on the knife’s edge that is the emperor’s seat?” 𝒇𝙧𝚎𝐞𝙬𝒆𝑏𝑛𝑜v𝚎𝒍.c𝑜m

Ning Xiaoyao still wanted to make a move. This woman could act too well. Couldn’t bear to? When she killed her own daughter, why didn’t she seem unwilling at all?

“Esteemed Empress Dowager,” a mama’s [1. mama (嬷嬷) - a form of address for an elderly female servant, also a wet nurse.] voice called from outside. “Prince Cheng is awake.”

“You little brother woke up,” Empress Dowager Xie said in a rush to Ning Xiaoyao. “He's still young and cries when This Dowager isn’t around after he wakes. This Dowager’s going to see him. Your Majesty, you have to remember This Dowager’s words. What happened then, can't happen again.”

There was a little person in Ning Xiaoyao’s heart waving a handkerchief at Empress Dowager Xie. See you some other time, but it’s best if we part and never meet again!

Empress Dowager Xie still felt that there was something off about her daughter, but right now she was concerned about the son that’d just woken up from his midday nap. She put Ning Xiaoyao’s affairs to the back of her head. Compared to this chess piece, the child in her own palace was the true guarantee for her Xie family’s future riches and glory.

After Empress Dowager Xie left with her retainers, Ning Xiaoyao looked at the rest of the people standing by her side. She was about to ask them how she could avoid Empress Dowager Xie forever when she heard a voice coming from the Wutong tree outside the window.

“That ninny’s been tricked by that Xie Clan woman again, meow~”

“An emperor like her might as well die. Even the people by her side are all that Xie woman’s subordinates, meow~”

Ning Xiaoyao looked expressionlessly outside the window, where three fat, black, white, and yellow cats sat perched on the wutong tree’s leafy branches. During the last epoch of mankind, humanity had adapted itself to an environment unsuitable for human life. They evolved until their bodies surpassed that of normal humans and developed various abilities. Ning Xiaoyao had the power to heal. Although she couldn’t cure people bitten by zombies, she was still capable of treating diseases including malignant tumors and late stage cancer so that the patient could live for 10 to 20 more years. Besides that, she also possessed the power to understand animal speech. This ability was rather pointless during the apocalypse, since all the animals on land, in the air, or underwater had mutated into zombie beasts. Humanity couldn’t even ensure its own survival, much less keep pets, so Ning Xiaoyao’s second skill only allowed her to hear the animals crying out meat, meat, meat, I want to eat meat! （o(╯□╰)o）

“Miaow,” the black cat that had kept silent all this time saw Ning Xiaoyao looking their way and swished its tail. “This ninny’s still looking at us. Supreme Commander’s about to die, but she doesn’t even know to save him! Idiot! Blockhead! Go die, die, die!”

“Big Boss, calm your anger,” the yellow cat with a tummy as round as a ball spoke, “She’s just a puppet, so how can she save Supreme Commander?”

“Meowmeow, that’s right, Big Boss,” the cat with long white fur added, “No matter how much we adore Supreme Commander, it’s no use. These are human affairs, meow.”

All of the fur on the black cat stood on end as he arched his body and bared his teeth towards Ning Xiaoyao. It looked like he wanted to spring over and bite her to death.

“.....” Ning Xiaoyao was speechless. Who was this Supreme Commander? Even cats were this person’s fans? This person’s charms were enough to transcend species boundaries?!free𝚠𝚎𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵ𝐞l.𝑐oｍ