She Was Written to Die, So She Seized the Throne Instead

Xiao Li had originally planned to vent her anger on the Emperor. But after cursing out Xiao Jingzhao, she couldn’t even be bothered to find an excuse to pick a fight with the Emperor when she saw him.

Anyway, there was nothing to gain from the Emperor, so she couldn’t be bothered to waste her breath.

She performed the perfunctory New Year’s greeting and left as soon as she was done without a second thought. After all, she was injured; they couldn’t very well bully a wounded person.

Upon returning, Xiao Li immediately had the main gates closed. She refused to see any New Year’s well-wishers, and especially not those with ulterior motives.

She had no need for any socializing or well-wishes at the moment.

With the gates closed, shutting out all the worldly hustle and bustle, Xiao Li finally had some peace and quiet. Then, she began to take stock.

She had already assembled fifteen handguns and thirty shotguns. Compared to sniper rifles, these two types were the easiest to get the hang of.

Her resources were limited, so she didn’t have many guns or much ammunition. However, as long as it wasn’t an all-out war, in any conflict with fewer than five hundred people, her firearms combined with the skills of Rong Qing and his men would guarantee a complete rout.

Xiao Li had already squeezed top-grade wound salves and several special life-saving medicines out of Cen An, and they could be mass-produced going forward.

The second-rate batches could be sold to the public. The money that flowed back in would be used to buy more medicinal ingredients for production. She wouldn’t have to worry about medicine at all; in fact, it could even generate a considerable income.

As for Ning Chong, she would have to find a few more people for him to train in surgery. It would certainly come in handy with all the fighting, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

The elderly Doctor Ning despaired. ’...It’s the middle of the New Year! Who’s trying to ruin my life?’

She had weapons, medicine, and money. The only thing Xiao Li lacked now was people.

She could certainly recruit people if she wanted to—after all, the compensation for guards at the Princess Mansion was now the absolute best in the entire country. But precisely because the benefits were so good, she couldn’t just accept anyone.

Her guards had to be elites.

She didn’t expect all of them to be as formidable and powerful as Rong Qing, but they had to at least possess one specialty she could put to use.

The armor worn by Rong Qing and his men had been redesigned by Xiao Li, forged from plates of refined steel. It was impervious to traditional weapons, and even the firearms she currently possessed couldn’t inflict much damage on it.

Armor, steel knives, and horses—these three items alone cost over a thousand taels of Gold per person. As for their special rations and salary, that was hardly worth mentioning in comparison.

How could anyone without real skill be worthy of a loadout forged with such immense wealth?

For military generals, quality was more important than quantity. Although she was desperate for talent, she would rather have a shortage than accept anyone substandard.

As for guests and scholars, she currently only had Song Junzhan, who was still in a probationary period.

She had almost no use for scholars at the moment, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

As Xiao Li mulled all this over, she studied a formula for explosives.

Gunpowder was used on the battlefields of this era, but its explosive power wasn’t very great. Even their fireworks didn’t fly particularly high.

Real explosives, however, were a Big Killer. If they were powerful enough, they could absolutely wreak havoc in every direction.

As she conducted her research, Xiao Li mused that she felt like she was playing a holographic game that combined political intrigue with base-building.

She had to craft all the powerful equipment herself, then build up her own faction to fight against others, and ultimately compete for the top spot.

’I don’t want to play, but I’m already in the middle of the game. If I don’t want to get beaten, I have to make myself stronger.’

The Nanqi King was currently an unknown, but he certainly wasn’t harmless. Prince Wei could be ignored for the time being.

Prince Yanping was clearly ambitious and had his own agenda. Prince Chen was the male protagonist; even though he was currently beaten and on the run, a protagonist always finds an opportunity to make a comeback. He would definitely fight his way back.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the Wang family, who held a grudge against her, the surviving remnants of the Lu family, and others.

The screen was filled with enemies. She was starting to develop a serious fear of insufficient firepower.

’So, I’d better get back to my research.’

And so, Xiao Li buried herself in her work, toiling away from the third day of the New Year all the way to the thirteenth.

Working alone meant she couldn’t mass-produce anything; it was an accomplishment just to create something at all. But then Xiao Li looked at the chemical concoction on her desk, which was still emitting terrifying bubbles.

’Er, this thing might be a little too advanced for this era!’

In a matter of moments, a large pit was corroded into her golden-thread nanmu wood desk. If she hadn’t run out of the chemical, it probably would have burned straight through.

’Even golden-thread nanmu wood can’t withstand it. With corrosive power like this, it’s the perfect choice for disposing of a body without a trace.’

The only problem was the horrible stench.

GAG!

The smell made Xiao Li throw up, and she vomited until the world was spinning.

And so, after many days, the first person she saw upon opening the mansion gates was Cen An.

Her enemies hadn’t managed to kill her, but she had nearly poisoned herself to death.

Cen An was speechless. ’This Princess always manages to shock me time and time again. Every time I see her, it’s under some new, unexpected circumstance. What, is she no longer satisfied with plaguing others? Has she started tormenting herself now?’

Xiao Li lay on the bed, staring blankly. In truth, a part of her had already died.

’I thought I was charging up a super move, but it turns out the enemy is perfectly fine and I nearly took myself out instead.’

’How... humiliating!’

Fortunately, the poisoning wasn’t too severe. Two bowls of medicine were enough to alleviate the symptoms.

Cen An came over, his face grim, and took her pulse. "You’re fine now. Just drink two more bowls of medicine."

Xiao Li was always drinking medicine, two bowls a day, every day. She treated it like a morning coffee, downing it without so much as a frown.

But as she looked at Cen An, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck her.

"Doctor Cen, when you gather herbs in the wild, how do you distinguish between poisonous plants and medicinal ones?"

Cen An found her question odd, but answered nonetheless. "Our predecessors left behind pharmacopoeias and toxicology manuals. Once you’ve thoroughly studied the appearance and properties of various herbs, you can naturally tell them apart on sight."

Xiao Li asked again, "Then do you harvest poisonous plants when you find them?"

Cen An replied, "Of course. Poisonous plants and medicinal herbs are two sides of the same coin. Every medicine has a touch of poison; it all depends on the application. Used correctly, even a poisonous plant can be a potent medicine."

"Oh!" Xiao Li nodded. "So, you know how to make poisons?"

Cen An’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with alarm. "What exactly is the Princess getting at?"

Xiao Li gave him a mischievous smile, and Cen An went on full alert. "You can’t possibly want me to make poisons for you, can you? Don’t even think about it! I am a physician. All my learning is for saving the dying and healing the wounded. I would never use my knowledge to harm people."

His vehement refusal made him look like a virtuous man about to be defiled by a scoundrel, swearing to defend his innocence to the death.

The scoundrel, Xiao Li, was speechless. ’I haven’t even said what kind of poison I want. Is all this drama really necessary?’

"Get out!"

’If he’s not willing to make poisons, does he really think I can’t find someone who is?’

It was an oversight on her part. Medicine could also be an excellent weapon. Used well, it could achieve twice the results with half the effort.

From Xiao Li’s expression, Cen An could tell she hadn’t given up on the idea. He was furious, but he had no standing to stop her.

In the end, all he could do was leave, seething with anger.

"Feng Yin requests an audience with the Princess. Might I trouble you to announce me?"

Cen An had just reached the door when he heard an exceptionally pleasant voice. He couldn’t help but glance over; it was the young man from the other day.

’The vicious Princess treats him quite well, and Jun Zhan seems to have some kind of grudge against him.’

Before Cen An could leave, a guard came out and informed Feng Yin that he could enter.

The young man, who had been perfectly composed just a moment ago, broke into a joyous smile. He took a gift box from his attendant’s hands and personally carried it as he strode inside.

’That attitude... is clearly something special.’

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