Taming Tyrants III

Arc 7: Royal Deceit (198)

[Stage 1 commenced. Is Host prepared?]

Hong Cha breathed deeply from the system. Her eyes flashed determination. "What do I have to do again to pass this test?"

The system was silent for a moment and generated sounds. Hong Cha was troubled.

[Answering Host, you only have to live and experience extreme trials. The system will remove any possible trauma the Host will gather after each stage. There are three stages and this is Stage 1: The Beginning.]

"I'm ready." Hong Cha closed her eyes and a flash happened.

Within the ancient Earth 1 of the past, both House Gu and the Imperial Palace gained two young masters at the same time. House Gu is the pillar of the imperial family. The Chancellor, Left Prime Minister and Head Minister of the Treasury Department were the example of House Gu's powerful relatives, not to mention the current emperor Gu Hai. It's headmaster is Gu Hai's closest cousin, Gu Shang. While Gu Shang married his loved woman Meng Ziyan, Gu Hai has to give up his lover and married a neighboring noble lady to be his empress in order to stabilize his position at court.

That night, raging storm occurred. Amongst the burst of thunders and flashing of lightning, Meng Ziyan's painful screams resounded. She was giving birth to her first child and her husband was waiting outside the bedchamber, worried for her sake. Not only in House Gu, the Imperial Palace was the same. Gu Hai's favored concubine finally gave birth to a male infant.

Empress Qing heard the shouts of Dao Mei vanishing. Dao Mei is her husband's favorite, the white moonlight he kept in his heart. Even though Gu Hai ignored her for Dao Mei, she wouldn't dare scheme. She heaved a sigh and opened her eyes to see the pale moonlight looming over her. Empress Qing looked up, the storm had dispersed and the full moon brightened as if rejoicing for the first prince of Tian.

"Your Majesty." A nanny came out, holding a lively young infant. She lowered her head and delivered a grave news, "Consort Mei is dead. She wished Your Majesty will be lenient to her son."

"Raise white banners and have the Head Eunuch send His Majesty a letter. Let me see the boy." Empress Qing composed herself after the grim statement. The nanny gave her the infant and a smile formed on her face. "This prince look a lot like his father. Since Consort Mei wants him safe, I will be his mother from now on. What shall we name you?"

Empress Qing wondered. Coincidentally, the moonlight brightened and shone on the boy's little frowning face. She raised her head to the sky where stars appeared but the moon outshined them.

"Jiaoyue, en. Your name should be Gu Jiaoyue."

Distances away from the palace, House Gu also went silent. Gu Shang blissfully held his wife's hand as he gently touched the newborn infant's chubby cheek. This is his son, finally a child after years of effort with his wife.

"Wife, what name do we bestow?" He softly asked. Meng Ziyan was weak after that, she can barely speak. However, she turned her head to the window left open by the storm a while ago. Stars brightened outside, flickering but never fading. Meng Ziyan smiled to him.

"Zixing, Gu Zixing." She murmured.

House Gu celebrated the birth of it's heir. Since the ancient times, House Gu is a clan of wise ministers and scholars. They anticipated for Gu Zixing's future. In the imperial palace, it was different. When Gu Hai returned after hearing Dao Mei's death, he grieved. He was overwhelmed by sorrow he lost the only woman he ever loved, the one he protected the most. Empress Qing can do nothing and took care of Gu Jiaoyue. She felt contempt towards Gu Hai, he didn't even care for his son after Dao Mei passed.

Years departed and the neighboring regimen of An southwest was in the midst of chaos. A hegemonic regimen from the north had taken over An. Few refugees are able to escape, scattering in each direction.

"Xiaoyuan?" Zhan Miao recognized that person in black martial robes. He stepped forward to see General Hong's dead body. "Did you kill him?"

"Yes." Gu Zixing shortly answered but his expression was unreadable. He held the dagger in his grasp with a tight grip, blood dripping of it's blade.

"Sister!"

"Run! You can still go!"

"Leave us, survive for us, Cha'er."

Hong Cha woke up with another terrible nightmare. She panted unevenly, her hair scattered over her porcelain face as her tearful eyes turned to the flickering candle. She started crying once more. Every night the full moon is bright, her tragic memories replayed in her dreams. Her brothers and sisters were killed when the northern regimen invaded An. She was the youngest and they loved her since small. She then grew up as a proud, arrogant and scheming young miss of An, General Hong's only legitimate daughter too. However, in one night, her world overturned.

From a pampered and admired young miss, she became a servant in a brothel. Hong Cha felt disgraced at first but she soon got used living here. She escaped that war when her oldest brother sacrificed himself to save her. All of their siblings had died, their parents perished and her father was killed defending their country. Her older brother saw that the only chance to survive is that Hong Cha must escape and he bait himself to the soldiers running after General Hong's relatives. She saw everyone important to her lose their lives but she did nothing because of fear.

It made her guilty and perhaps, she will never move on from that. Her brother could have lived better if he was the one alive. He could have avenged them. Yet, she was so scared that day, she hid herself and let her brother die for her sake.

If he was here, he will be disappointed. She lives in a brothel because while she was escaping, she ran after a madame collecting spoils of war. She took interest of Hong Cha and brought her here. Ever since then, Hong Cha was raised to seduce men and entertain them. However, the madame was saving her for special guests. Thus, even if Hong Cha is eighteen, she was not yet touched. The madame wants her to hook the favored commanders of the northern warlord.

"Brother..." Hong Cha wiped her tears and looked out to the closed window where moonlight permeated. She recalled, the moon was bright that it made it difficult for them to hide. "Brother, please save me. Or, someone, please...save me."