The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 98: Just Destroy Everything Already

Lady Li, however, had no intention of feigning civility.

After all, it was just her, Hua Qingqing, and Hua Manman here. No one else was around.

Even if they said or did something, no one would ever know.

Lady Li dropped the coy and delicate act she usually put on. She stared sinisterly at Hua Qingqing, her eyes filled with venomous hatred.

"Don’t think you can soar to great heights just because you spent one night with the Emperor. I’ve seen plenty of shameless women like you, so desperate to climb into his bed. Not a single one of them met a good end, and you will be no exception."

Hua Qingqing replied, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Thank you for the reminder, Lady Li Fei. I will keep it in mind."

Her response left Lady Li with the frustrating feeling of punching a wad of cotton, and her heart grew even more stifled.

’Hua Manman knew that given the plot’s usual shenanigans, Lady Li was definitely about to do something stupid and get herself killed.’

However, before Lady Li could make her move, she heard the familiar system notification—

"Host has successfully triggered a random task!"

"Please cooperate with Lady Li to make Hua Qingqing fall and injure herself in public."

"The time limit is ten minutes. Upon completion, the Host will be rewarded with a special lucky bag."

"Failure to complete the task within the time limit will result in task failure."

"In the event of task failure, the Host will receive the heartache punishment."

"Please complete the task as soon as possible!"

Hua Manman was speechless.

’System, go fuck yourself!’

’Did you hear me, System? GO! FUCK! YOUR! SELF!!!’

System: "Nine minutes remaining. Please complete the task as soon as possible."

’Hua Manman wished she could dig the system out of her brain, throw it on the ground, and stomp on it a million times over!’

’Other people’s systems worked hard to find opportunities and benefits for their hosts.’

’But when it came to her, this goddamn system only ever set traps for her.’ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

System: "Eight minutes remaining. Please complete the task as soon as possible."

’Hua Manman really wanted to throw in the towel and quit.’

’Whoever wants to do this stupid task can go ahead and do it!’

’Let it all burn! The sooner the better!’

But the thought of the heart-wrenching, knife-twisting pain made her back down.

She wasn’t afraid of death, but she was afraid of a fate worse than death.

Hua Qingqing noticed her sister’s pale face and asked with concern.

"What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Hua Manman forced a smile. "I’m fine."

Just as the sisters were talking, Lady Li suddenly reached out and shoved Hua Qingqing!

Hua Qingqing instinctively raised a hand to block the push.

Seeing this, Lady Li’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

She planned to go along with Hua Qingqing’s movement and fall to the ground. Then, she would turn the tables and accuse Hua Qingqing of pushing her, shifting all the blame onto her.

After all, there was no one else nearby to serve as a witness for Hua Qingqing.

As for Hua Manman, she was Hua Qingqing’s sister, so her testimony wouldn’t be credible.

Then Hua Qingqing would be unable to defend herself and would have no choice but to suffer the injustice in silence.

The plan was simple and crude, with no real finesse, but it would yield immediate results. For Lady Li, it was perfect.

Just as Lady Li thought her wicked scheme was about to succeed, an unexpected Cheng Yaojin burst onto the scene!

Hua Manman’s hand shot out from the side, grabbing Lady Li’s wrist.

"Lady Li Fei, what do you think you’re doing?"

Caught red-handed, Lady Li felt a flicker of panic.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth, forcing a stiff smile.

"I saw something dirty on Hua Jieyu’s clothes and wanted to help her brush it off. Now, let go of me."

With that, she yanked her arm forcefully, trying to shake off Hua Manman’s hand.

She wasn’t very strong, but Hua Manman stumbled backward from the force. It was as if she had stepped on something; she slipped violently and slammed right into Hua Qingqing.

Hua Qingqing was slender and frail; how could she possibly withstand such a forceful blow?

And so, the two sisters toppled backward together.

Behind them was a thicket of flowers with soft soil beneath.

Normally, they wouldn’t have been seriously injured from the fall. At most, they would have gotten a few small scratches from the branches.

But Hua Manman’s sharp eyes spotted several thorny briars among the flowers.

Summer clothes were thin. If they fell straight on them, their skin was sure to be torn to shreds.

Hua Qingqing’s back was to the bushes, so she couldn’t see the briars.

Hua Manman remembered how Hua Qingqing had stepped forward to defend her just moments ago, and she steeled her resolve.

She grabbed Hua Qingqing and twisted her body fiercely, forcing her sister, who had been underneath, on top. Hua Manman herself crashed heavily into the bushes below.

Hua Qingqing landed on top of her, while Hua Manman’s back landed squarely on the briars.

Hua Manman gasped in pain, her face instantly turning pale.

At the same time, she heard the system’s notification.

"Congratulations to the Host for completing an important plot task."

’Hua Manman furiously cursed the goddamn system in her mind.’

Hua Qingqing scrambled off Hua Manman and asked frantically.

"Manman, are you alright? Where are you hurt?"

The commotion attracted everyone’s attention.

People quickly gathered around. Even the Empress, supported by Yichongyuan, hurried over.

"What happened?" the Empress asked as she approached.

The moment Lady Li saw Hua Qingqing and Hua Manman fall, she had a bad feeling.

She scrambled to deny any involvement.

"Your Majesty, I swear, they lost their footing and fell on their own! It has nothing to do with me!"

At her words, not only was the Empress speechless, but everyone else was at a loss for words as well.

No one had even accused Lady Li, yet her eagerness to deny involvement only made her seem more suspicious, like someone protesting their innocence far too much.

The Empress ignored the foolish woman and walked straight over to Hua Qingqing and Hua Manman.

By this time, Hua Manman had been helped to her feet.

But because of her back injury, her face was still pale as a sheet. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and the rims of her eyes were red, making for a pitiful sight.

As Hua Qingqing helped her up, she accidentally touched her sister’s back. Her hand came away covered in fresh blood, and the color drained from her face in shock.

The Empress also saw the blood on Hua Qingqing’s palm. Her heart sank, and she immediately ordered someone to summon the Imperial Physician.

The Imperial Physician arrived in a hurry.

Arriving with the Imperial Physician was none other than Prince Zhao, Li Ji.

The Empress was quite surprised. She hadn’t expected Prince Zhao to hear the news so quickly.

Li Ji saw the injury on Hua Manman’s back.

The back of her dress was stained red with blood—a shocking sight.

That much blood proved the wound was deep.

The Imperial Physician stated that they would need to remove her clothes to treat the wound.

This was obviously not a suitable place to treat an injury.

Li Ji took off his outer robe and draped it over Hua Manman, covering her bloody back. He then lifted her up and settled her gently onto his lap.

"Don’t be afraid," he murmured. "I’ll take you back."

Hua Manman whimpered, nestled in his arms.

"It hurts..."

...