It was very dark and Dong Hua walking into Shi Miyuan's room he found the latter seated with a sword in his hand and looking down onto that floor.
"Your Excellency?" He called.
"Dong Hua." Shi Miyuan replied and slowly lifting his head and recognizing him from afar he smiled as he looked down at his feet once again.
"Perhaps we could go." He said hesitantly.
"And ask Mei'er to come along?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"Yes." Dong Hua replied.
"And suppose she did?" Shi Miyuan asked.
Dong Hua kept quiet.
"Don't you have anything to say to me because as far as I remember a while ago you seemed so strong." Shi Miyuan persistently remarked.
"You know?" Dong Hua replied.
"My father loves me so dearly and you are very caring as well, you wouldn't hide it from me for long as well because even you have limits but maybe I could guess by how confident you would have seemed when you walked in but you didn't look that part either." Shi Miyuan muttered.
"Then perhaps it is because you know me and your father." Dong Hua replied.
"It's funny how my whole life I studied so hard to be a scholar, nurtured all those values that any son who would be filial would do and I convinced myself that I loved the Great Song too much as well.
It's funnier now that I can forego all that, look the other way and pretend I knew nothing of what I was taught and let my father offer his head to the Empress and the house of Li in the end to have her way by toppling another of us, rid themselves of an entire clan like they threatened the peace of Yang, the Hans would have their way as they always do." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"Your Excellency, wouldn't you have done the same in your father's shoes?" Dong Hua asked.
"Except that I am not my father and I am wearing my own shoes." Shi Miyuan replied, "by now I suppose I understand Mei'er enough to know that even she would stop me fearing how I would face my ancestors in the Netherworld." He spoke and raising his head and letting go of the sword in his hand he reclined in his seat looking at the ceiling.
"These are my darkest days." He said to himself.
"Your Excellency, I understand your pain." Dong Hua consoled him.
"Then stop." Shi Miyuan replied.
"Is this a yoke you think you can bear?" Dong Hua asked.
"My mind is decided." Shi Miyuan replied.
"Alright." Dong Hua replied.
"I wish to be alone and pardon me for detaining you much longer." Shi Miyuan apologized as Dong Hua slowly withdrew from the room leaving him alone in his tears.
Emperor Xiaozong laying down in his bed he opened his eyes and noticed the young Eunuch beside him staring intensely at his face.
"You're here?" He muttered.
"Yes Your Majesty." The Eunuch Deng replied.
"I'm not feeling well." Emperor Xiaozong muttered.
"I'll summon the Imperial physician." Eunuch Deng replied.
"Don't waste your time." Emperor Xiaozong remarked, "what new thing will he say to me?" He asked.
"Your health is Paramount Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng replied.
"And there are people who want me dead can you stop them?" Emperor Xiaozong asked.
Eunuch Deng kept quiet while the old man gathering his strength he sat up in his bed on his own while Eunuch Deng moved back at a distance.
"Then Your Majesty wishes to offer them my neck?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"Is it that valuable?" Emperor Xiaozong asked.
"All charges could come back to me not looking after Your Majesty very well, there is need for an accomplice when identifying a Mastermind and I belong to none of the Palaces that are openly vying for power here." Eunuch Deng replied.
"Such good foresight." Emperor Xiaozong remarked.
"No one has yet seen you in person, the best way would claim everything that you have come in contact with was harmless, over the years the harems have never been peaceful and over and over again and Your Majesty is aware of this, still you wouldn't be as desperate to help them go on with their schemes unless you didn't have a card up your sleeve." Eunuch Deng said.
"But seeing that you don't know what the Trump card is it puts me at ease and if you alerted anyone of it's existence without evidence you could as well be digging your own grave." Emperor Xiaozong spoke as he laughed.
"So Your Majesty would rather I be buried along with you?" Eunuch Deng remarked.
"Is it that bad?" Emperor Xiaozong asked.
"What makes you different from other scheming officials?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"That's not good enough to stop me." Emperor Xiaozong replied.
"Then I suppose if I killed you with my own hands I might as well just let you doom the fate of the Great Song how would you possibly face your forefathers in the Netherworld?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"Now you are thinking." Emperor Xiaozong muttered.
"Then tell me what to do Your Majesty?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"Prince Zhao Kuo is yet one person I cherish the most, wouldn't it be safer if he heard my last words?" Emperor Xiaozong asked with a smile on his face.
"Your Majesty?" Eunuch Deng cried as he fell down onto his knees and bowed his head.
"You Eunuchs have connections like cobwebs in the Palace if I asked you to get the Prince to come to me you'd have to find all possible means, do that for me kindly then I might consider, after all as it is that you belong to none of these Palaces, they wouldn't hurt to offer your head in exchange for their own security." Emperor Xiaozong cautioned.
"Yes Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng said as he stood up and bowed his head.
"I knew that choosing you was right, after all, you are in deed the best person for this job as long as you keep it between the both of us." Emperor Xiaozong whispered.
"Yes." Eunuch Deng agreed as he walked out of the room.
The first beam that announced the dawn of a new day appeared brilliant from the horizon as a saffron shed settled on the once dark firmament and conquered it.
The light was cast over the Imperial Palace that stood on top of the Phoenix mountain and illuminating the valley it found the whole Shi household gathered in their outer Courtyard.
Their guards opened the gates and through them a set of Imperial guards led by Li San marched in while Eunuch Deng and a very small retinue of attendants carrying with themselves trunks of gifts landed and there before them they offered their most humble salutation.
"This is His Majesty the Emperor's decree to Shi Miyuan of the Shi Manor and his entire household." Eunuch Gong announced and at once every one fell onto their knees and bowed their heads while the Eunuch opened the golden scroll in his possession.
"Scholar Shi is very smart and intelligent, benevolent in nature and filial, his principles are quite rare and unique while he himself is a man of calm and excellent mental faculties, I hereby bestow upon him and the Imperial Princess Qi'an the blessing of marriage and ask that the heavens grant them Longevity and eternal bliss, that all men will learn from his example and be good citizens and that they may become Yao and Shun in the eyes of our descendants for generations to come." Eunuch Gong announced as he folded the scroll once again.
"This is His Majesty the Emperor's Decree." He remarked as Shi Miyuan hesitantly stretched out his hands and took it into his possession.
"Your humble subject Shi Miyuan is eternally very grateful to Your Majesty." He muttered.
"Long live His Majesty." The rest of his household spoke in unison as they kowtowed to the Eunuch and his entourage thrice.
The Eunuchs that were carrying with themselves the trunks they took them into the living room while Shi Miyuan remaining on his knees, the temporary guests made their departure.
"Your Excellency." Dong Hua moved over to the young man that was totally emersed in his thoughts he barely spoke a word or two and merely gazed at the Edict in his hands.
"Take it." Shi Miyuan commanded.
"Your Excellency?" Dong Hua pleaded.
"I don't wish to see it." He went ahead to mutter while the latter reluctantly freed the document from his grip and withdrew at a distance Shi Miyuan was left to gaze up at the saffron sky that seemed to be darkening soon enough as well.
"I'm sorry Mei'er." He muttered to himself as he bowed his head and before long the lightning streaked and the thunder roared throughout the whole capital.
Yang Meizi who was seated in her Chambers and preparing to sip at a cup of tea was startled by it's sound that she let it slip from her grip and landing onto the ground beneath her feet it shattered into pieces that Nuwa moved away.
"Milady?" She cried aloud concerned.
"I'm alright." Yang Meizi replied, "I just wasn't feeling well at all for a while I must have lost my stamina for a while." She remarked as Nuwa moved closer and touched her forehead.
"You don't seem to be yourself today." Nuwa remarked.
"Maybe slightly uneasy." Yang Meizi replied as one of the ladies in waiting quickly rushed into her room and she was caught off guard by her presence.
"Big news Milady." She announced that Yang Meizi turned to her that very instant and studying the expression on her face she seemed aware that it wouldn't suit her liking.
"Is it the Retired Emperor?" She asked.
"Grand Chancellor Shi Hao's son." The young woman replied and reserved her silence while Yang Meizi acted up calmly yet her soul felt most uneasy.
"What did Scholar Shi do?" Nuwa asked.
"Scholar Shi received an Edict from His Majesty the Emperor to which he agreed to take the hand of Imperial Princess Qi'an in holy matrimony." The young woman replied.
"Imperial Edict?" Nuwa asked.
"Holy Matrimony you say?" Yang Meizi asked.
"General Li San and Eunuch Gong have returned from the Shi Manor and they have passed on the news to His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress." The young lady replied.
"And what about the decision of the Empress Dowager, is it not in the very least most relevant?" Yang Meizi asked.
"Her Highness gave the blessing of the the Retired Empress as a mother, she gave the blessing of the Empress as a grandmother, His Majesty the Emperor is the light of the dynasty and the voice of heaven, he is prudent and wise in his judgements and to think that such is a political marriage it is the blessing of the house of Shi to be chosen among the many, with respect to the Empress Dowager's old age and some time to rest, this is a matter of the Inner Court at the time which is headed by the Empress who seems to have beheld with her two eyes evidence of the undying love between the two." The young woman replied.
Yang Meizi clenched her fists.
"This is the Empress' doing." She confidently remarked as she smacked the table so hard Nuwa couldn't bring herself to understand why her mistress seemed so furious over the issue.
"The Empress had the horoscopes of the two examined by the Imperial astronomers and they concluded that the pair would make a good match so definitely the say of the Empress Dowager still beneath that of heaven it wouldn't be considered relevant." The lady in waiting muttered while Yang Meizi stood up from where she was seated and she moved around.
"Impossible." She tried to convince herself, "how could it come to this?" She asked.
"I don't know." Nuwa replied as she waved all the others out of the room and the two remained alone, "I heard for a while that the Empress was trying to get Shi Hao on her side and he was unyielding yet still it is very likely that she desires to use him to bolster her power as it seems that at the end of it all close to all the power shall be centralized to herself she might as well be in every position to counter Han Touzhou's power." She added as the latter closed her eyes and shed a tear.
"It's going to rain." She replied.
"Is there anything wrong?" Nuwa asked while she kept quiet as she stared through the very window on her side that overlooked the rest of the city.
"Congratulations Your Highness." Li San muttered to his sister who smiled at herself contently.
"He was bound to come around." Empress Li remarked.
"Certainly considering all the privileges that come along with being an Imperial relative, who in their right mind would say no?" Li San asked as the latter nodded.
"Perhaps the Crown Prince was right." Empress Li said.
"It makes me happy to say this Your Highness, he does take after you when it comes time managing these Courtiers." Li San muttered as he smiled ghastly.
"But at this rate I feel quite sorry for Shi Hao." Empress Li remarked.
"Why is it sister?" Li San asked.
"By now he must have realised that he has had a target attached to his back and soon enough the others will grow wary of him and the warier they become you can't expect the seas to be any calmer for him." Empress Li replied.
"If all fails to go according to plan for him, it can be asserted for his sake that the proposal is a double edged sword." Li San remarked.
"This is yet the very least of my worries, for the time being if it can put Han Touzhou in his limits the succession needs to be secured." Empress Li said as she reclined in her seat and clapping her hands the doors of her Chambers were flung open and Liu Zhan and Yom Salhwa rushed in.
"Deliver the good news." Empress Li ordered and the latter bowing his head he stood upright and faced the Empress.
"His Majesty the Retired Emperor won't survive through the night." He announced and Li San widened his eyes as he turned to his sister who smiled at herself contently.
"Are all the preparations ready?" Empress Li asked.
"You can rest assured Your Highness, if the investigations commence and they must be concluded, the murderer shall be the Empress Dowager and perhaps the Retired Empress as an accomplice." Yom Salhwa replied.
"And the Courtiers?" Empress Li asked as she faced Liu Zhan.
"I passed on your orders Your Highness, our people shall petition that the investigation be carried out by His Majesty and in the most formal way possible, he certainly won't decline." She affirmed.
"Very well." Empress Li muttered as she smiled at herself ghastly.
Emperor Xiaozong coughed aloud in his Chambers and covering his mouth with a handkerchief Eunuch Deng held him up.
"Your Majesty, please." He cried.
"Where is the Crown Prince?" He asked.
"He'll certainly come to see you." Eunuch Deng replied.
"I don't have much time left." Emperor Xiaozong muttered.
"Please hold on a little bit longer." Eunuch Deng convinced him.
"What?" Yang Meizi asked.
"I heard from the Empress, apparently it was the idea of the Crown Prince to have Shi Miyuan and the Imperial Princess Qi'an to get married." Chiyun Ling confirmed in the presence of Nuwa that furiously, Yang Meizi smacked the table with her fists as she gritted her teeth.
"Crown Prince you say?" She asked.
"Yes." Chiyun Ling replied.
"Are you sure?" Nuwa asked concerned about her mistress' fury.
"How could I lie about something this big?" Chiyun Ling replied.
"I suppose in deed the apple doesn't fall so far from the tree." Yang Meizi asserted in a very cold and lowly tone.
"Please calm down." Nuwa pleaded.
"Sooner or later I should have noticed that the son and daughter would turn out the same." Yang Meizi replied as she recalled the words that the Crown Prince frequently said to her, "I recall that it was more than once that look of determination filled his eyes, I forgot that every time I looked at him I could see something burning behind his dark eyes but I couldn't point out what it was." She spoke smiling at herself.
"But why?" Chiyun Ling asked.
"Why?" Yang Meizi reechoed as she stood up from her seat and raising her head high she faced the doors that marked the entrance into her Chambers and Nuwa seemed to realise at that moment whatever it was that was going on through Yang Meizi's mind.
"Please don't." She muttered.
"And he must be as broken unable to face me, aching so much that he failed me." Yang Meizi spoke in tears.
"Contain your anger Milady." She warned.
"No." Yang Meizi replied as she charged out of the room while she was accompanied by her retinue leaving Chiyun Ling behind all of a sudden while Nuwa rushed after her.
Crown Prince Zhao Kuo walking into his residence he was greeted by the servants and at that moment mounting the stairs that led to his room he was intercepted by Lan He who bowed his head to him.
"Tell me that it's true." He inquired.
"As you must have heard Your Highness." Lan He replied with a smile on his face that the latter barely controlling his excitement he quickly stormed into his Chambers and moved up to the table where he usually wrote memorials and studied his books.
"What are you doing Your Highness?" Lan He asked.
"It's good enough that it has worked out well so far, I have a small favour to ask of my mother." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo replied.
"You can just talk to her Highness, I'm sure that she wouldn't mind." Lan He said.
"It's much more convenient this way." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo muttered when the doors of his room were flung open and Yang Meizi rushing in towards him as Lan He watched, she halted in front of him and looked him in the eye.
"You?" He asked but the young woman infuriated she raised her hand and Nuwa rushing towards her she slapped the Crown Prince across his cheek that everyone shocked and surprised they fell down onto their knees immediately and bowed their heads.
"You dare to touch His Highness' Imperial cheek?" Lan He scolded aloud as he charged towards her and ceased her by the hand tossing her away.
She stumbled and collided with a lamp stand that was nearby and furious she picked up the candle stick and preparing to launch it at the Crown Prince Nuwa quickly put herself in between the two.
"Milady?" She cried and the Crown Prince still shocked by the events Lan He froze that very instant while the two women faced one another.
"Nuwa?" Yang Meizi called.
"Is it worth it?" Nuwa asked for a moment having lost her head she seemed to process everything that was going on before she let go of candle stick in her possession and she lowered her hand.
"Just who do you think you are too...." Lan He about to question the Crown Prince halted him halfway.
"You are aware of the crime that you have committed." He spoke coldly.
"And just what did I do wrong?" Yang Meizi asked in tears, "just what did he do wrong to force him down a path he did not choose?" She questioned the Crown Prince.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo muttered.
"I bet you don't." Yang Meizi replied as she walked backwards while Nuwa lowered her hands.
"Do you really hate me that much?" Crown Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"Perhaps before I was only too lenient Your Highness but I don't care before you can order me to be beheaded I can take my life at this very spot." Yang Meizi said.
"Get out." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo ordered.
"So you don't want to see me?" Yang Meizi asked.
"I wasn't really asking." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo remarked.
"And you think that I was Your Highness?" Yang Meizi said while he kept quiet.
"You were that desperate to make Shi Miyuan your brother in law and yet I know and you know and perhaps everyone around us knows why." She added, "you'd envy him to the very end because between me and you he is that complex that exists that you want to get away with, that complex that you wish to annihilate." She rubbed it in his face.
"For your information to marry my sister was his choice, he had every right to decline and not even fulfill that Imperial Decree, and that's if he even loved you so much to sacrifice his life because he couldn't be with you." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo muttered as the thunder roared aloud and then amidst the uneasy silence that prevailed it slowly started to rain.
"For all you could have chosen in life was a just person and someone much more different from Her Highness, yet I regret that I didn't see it coming to this that you would become like your mother and I would force myself to resent you just as much." Yang Meizi assured him striking what appeared to be a sombre note in his heart.
He took a deep breath and fought hard enough to hold back his tears but with minimal success, Nuwa and Lan He witnessing the heated conversation having turned very bitter would have opted to break it at that but barely had the courage to interfere themselves.
"So you'll hate me just as much?" Crown Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"Nothing of what you posses do I own, I don't have as much power or might as you do and even the one person in the world that I could cherish dearly you took away you are no different from the Jurchen tyrants and those greedy and conniving Courtiers, no different from those cruel Han Emperors and those heartless monarchs the world has ever seen." Yang Meizi replied.
"Alright." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo muttered, "If I am already as heartless as you say, what's the use of me pretending to be very immaculate as the world would see?" Crown Prince Zhao Kuo muttered.
"Anyone?" He shouted and the Imperial guards quickly rushed into the room as Yang Meizi stared at them with a ghastly smile on her face she closed her eyes and raised her hands while her face looked up at the ceiling.
"Your Highness dared to come between us and you won't blame me, for everything there is however small you will learn today to walk alone and you shall forever burn in the heat of a lover's curse." She cursed at him while the guards ceasing her and Nuwa falling to her knees she watched as her mistress was being dragged out.
The other ladies in waiting reserving their silence the Crown Prince turned around while her final words lingered at the back of his mind.
"Burn in the heat of a lover's curse?" He muttered to himself.
"Your Highness." Lan He called him as he placed his hand on his left shoulder.
"I need to be alone." He assured him.
"But....." Lan He objecting the latter turned to him.
"I expect you of all people to listen to me the most." The Crown Prince reminded him and hesitantly he gave in and withdrew from the room while the Crown Prince feeling his cheek with his hands he fell down to the ground and sobbed so bitterly.
Yang Meizi being dragged without any resistance she was cast into a dungeon and with hardly any light in the cell she relied on the small and narrow window that was right in front of her.
There she gazed at the distant outside and turning around she leaned against the wall as she sat down in tears.
"Forgive me." She said to herself, "forgive me." She muttered under her breath as she pulled out of her sleeve the Jade pendant that Shi Miyuan had gifted her and she stared at it before embracing it tightly while she recalled the vows that the both of them had made.
Crown Princess stood on a bridge that overlooked the pond and as she watched the ducks swimming about on top, Qing Yi quickly hurried up to her side and she bowed her head.
"What's with the rush?" Crown Princess Han asked.
"His Highness the Crown Prince." Qing Yi replied.
"What happened to him?" She asked.
"He's ordered for the detainment of Court Lady Yang." Qing Yi replied.
"Court Lady Yang?" Crown Princess Han asked.
"Yes." Qing Yi confirmed as her mistress turned and faced her.
"On what charges?" She asked.
"I don't know." Qing Yi replied, "I only heard that she made a ruckus at the Eastern Palace in front of His Highness but it seems that the details of the incident have been purposely contained." She added.
"I wasn't one to think that he'd go all out on her?" Crown Princess Han asked.
"But since it is a punishment it seems quite strange to me Your Highness." Qing Yi remarked as she held the Crown Princess' arm and the two slowly started walking about the place.
"His Highness wouldn't get involved with Court Ladies thus any grudge that is possibly existent must have so much attached to it, the mere fact that the details of misconduct have remained contained is His Highness' way of protecting the latter." Crown Princess Han muttered.
"Your Highness, could it possibly be?" Qing Yi asked.
"Very likely that there is something between the both of them." Crown Princess Han replied.
"But she is much older than he is and it's likely that she couldn't on the other hand habour any affections towards His Highness." Qing Yi said.
"And that makes it much worse for us." Crown Princess Han replied as she halted in her footsteps.
"What should we do about Her Your Highness, surely as it is that she is in the dungeon her fate remains uncertain, it isn't that her body is any resistant to the harsh conditions if we were to bury her she is less important who would bother to find out her cause of death?" Qing Yi asked.
"We can not be as hasty given the very little that we know." Crown Princess Han replied.
"Then perhaps keeping a close eye would be good enough." Qing Yi asked.
"It's already been a couple of hours and the rain has stopped not too long ago, this remains too minor am issue for the time being I would rather we found about the true relationship between His Highness and this woman." Crown Princess Han replied.
"Alright Your Highness." Qing Yi agreed.
Shi Miyuan still knelt in his courtyard while everyone at a distance watched his clothes drenched and dripping as his hair fell over his face.
He'd been out in the rain and his skin had turned pale, his lips a dark shade of purple and bags underneath his dark eyes he was no different from a ghost as he shivered and seemed lost in his thoughts.
Shi Hao stood at the balcony and gazed across realising that in front of his son Dong Hua knelt in a very similar shape and appearance the two aching the same he didn't even budge a single bit or whimper.
Shi Miyuan seemed to recall at that moment that his knees were tired and raising his head he recognized Dong Hua at that moment he quickly got taken aback that he held his hands.
"What are you doing?" He asked but Dong Hua unable to give an immediate reply he was falling down when Shi Miyuan ceased him in his own hands and his head rested on his chest.
"Your Excellency." He cried faintly as he stretched his hand trying to touch him.
"Someone get some help." Shi Hao demanded and the household workers quickly rushed up to him.
They carried Dong Hua inside and put him down on the bed undressing him and giving him some dry clothes as they covered him.
"How did this happen?" Shi Miyuan asked himself.
"He insisted to kneel outside with you." Shi Hao replied as he moved right in front of his son who kept quiet barely having the courage to look him in the eye as he bowed his head.
"You had a choice." Grand Chancellor Shi Hao remarked.
"And which one was it father?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"The Empress, Han Touzhou they are all too powerful." Grand Chancellor Shi Hao asserted.
"Hence we must fear?" Shi Hao asked, "I appreciate that you cared so much for me father but I can't bear to lose you or any of the people that I hold dear." He added.
"So you would rather live your life so painfully?" Grand Chancellor Shi Hao asked.
"And the pain of losing you us unimaginable, besides Mei'er would never forgive me as well making her feel guilty for the rest of her life thinking to be the reason that I would lose you or the entire Shi Clan." Shi Miyuan replied.
"By now you should know my dear, at this age in life we can't possibly have everything and the more you strive to do so in the end you shall lose it all." Grand Chancellor Shi Hao remarked.
"And what is happiness?" Shi Miyuan asked while his father remained silent, "you and step mother that I loved like my own." He muttered under his breath as he looked at Dong Hua who was laying beside him unconscious.
"The only reason that we have ended up this way is because we are weak." Shi Miyuan confessed.
"Weak you say?" Grand Chancellor Shi Hao asked.
"The power we posses can't much up to that of our enemies hence every strife in our defense is unyielding in the end we can't possibly protect those that we love, we can't protect those that we cherish." Shi Miyuan replied.
"So vengeance is your calling?" Grand Chancellor Shi Hao asked.
"With all the tears that we have shed, I can as well remember this moment until the very day I am led to the grave, all that pain and anger and heartache evolves into something else." Shi Miyuan replied, "they shall certainly pay father." He assured his old man as he gently patted on Dong Hua's forehead.
Crown Prince Zhao Kuo still seated in his room was lost in his thoughts when there was a knock at the door.
"Your Highness?" Lan He called but reserving his silence he refused to offer a reply.
Shortly that very instant the doors were opened and right in front of him Eunuch Deng knelt down.
"Your Highness please." He pleaded.
"Which part of I want to be alone did you not understand?" The Crown Prince asked as he stood up and picked a jar about to throw it at the young man.
"I am here from the Palace of Virtue and Longevity." Eunuch Deng said as Lan He thrust himself right in between the two that Zhao Kuo's anger seemed to dissipate a little bit.
"The Palace of Virtue and Longevity?" He asked.
"His Majesty the Retired Emperor wishes to see you." Eunuch Deng replied.
"He does?" Crown Prince Zhao Kuo asked, "Grandfather?" He muttered to himself somehow coming back to his senses.
"Until now His Majesty hasn't visited him, I heard that the Retired Emperor refused to see anyone." Lan He replied.
"You're sure?" Crown Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"I am here on His Majesty's order and he is doing much better, however who can tell, his past couple of days have been quite lonely." Eunuch Deng replied.
"Alright." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo replied, "Get out of the Eastern Palace and await my order." He said and Eunuch Deng bowing his head he withdrew from the room.
The Crown Prince turned around and he approached the mirror as he studied his expression in an instant he had seemed gloomy and very haggard.
"I can't see my grandfather like this." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo muttered.
"Your Highness...." Lan He muttered.
"Prepare me." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo ordered.
"Would it be that pleasing to His Majesty, to your mother?" Lan He asked.
"Grandfather is a part of the Imperial family, he is the man that bore my father and I am the heir to the house of Zhao." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo replied, "my father's conduct may in a way seem to be unjust to his feelings but if there is something that they both should demand from me then it is certainly filial piety." He remarked.
"Alright, if it is Your Highness' doing." Lan He muttered as he prepared the young Prince.
Eunuch Deng walking through the different walkways of the Palace he branched and he entered the gates that led through to the Cifu Palace and their mounting the stairs that led to the entrance of the Grand Hall, he was calmly received inside and offered his salutations to the Empress Dowager Wu.
"At ease." Empress Dowager Wu muttered while the young Eunuch stood upright.
"I bring news that is to your liking." Eunuch Deng said.
"It seemed very clear to me from the very beginning." Empress Dowager Wu replied, "you seem to fail at containing your excitement." She remarked.
"His Majesty the Retired Emperor wanted to see the Crown Prince, it seems to me that he is aware he might not live long enough, should that be the case he could intend to confine him until he breathes his last." Eunuch Deng announced.
"Really?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"The physician is a Goryeo native who has frequently met with the Empress, my guess is that if the medicine he offers doesn't contain poison then it contains an ingredient that reacts negatively with something that His Majesty the Retired Emperor ingests." Eunuch Deng replied.
"You seem to be very keen, I am pleased." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"Then Your Highness must certainly know that I have with me something very valuable." Eunuch Deng remarked.
"The Empress would use this as an excuse to frame me of even the Retired Empress of evil doing in the Palace, according to you, who do you think shall fall victim to the other?" Empress Dowager Wu asked.
"Is that up to me to decide?" Eunuch Deng replied.
"Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not, for all that we know if the Empress is to find fault in us, even Innocents like you shall be dragged along which is why I want you to do something for me." Empress Dowager Wu spoke with a smile on her face.
"I am listening Your Highness." Eunuch Deng confessed.
"Tell me what it is that the world would think if the healthy Emperor died right within the presence of the Crown Prince and surely, if there is something that he was in the position to say, the very person who would have heard would still be him in the end." Empress Dowager Wu remarked.
"I see Your Highness." Eunuch Deng replied.
"Whether the Crown Prince is a shield to us or a sword that depends on your competency, however one thing is certain if he intends to deliver his soul into the hands of heaven in the Crown Prince's presence then along with it he is bound to deliver his solemn will." Empress Dowager Wu muttered.
"But what if the Empress makes a move, there is no telling what mother and son can not do?" Wan Mei asked.
"You can leave the rest to me." Empress Dowager Wu replied as she smiled at herself ghastly.
The sedan chair carrying the Crown Prince halted outside the gates of Retired Emperor's palace and while he was lowered to the ground he got up and walked through to the outer Courtyard.
He mounted the stairs that led to the Grand Hall and negotiating a corner he found himself standing outside the doors of the Retired Emperor's quarters where he found Eunuch Deng standing outside.
"Greetings Your Highness." He said.
"Announce me." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo ordered and nodding his head the Eunuch quickly stationed himself right in front of the doors.
"The Crown Prince requesting for an audience with Your Majesty." He announced.
"Let him in." Emperor Xiaozong replied and pulling the doors open the Crown Prince Zhao Kuo saw his grandfather lying down on his bed as the old man noticing his presence he quickly sat up and faced him.
"Kuo'er?" He muttered.
"Grandfather?" The young Prince replied as he bowed his head.
"No need, just come in." Emperor Xiaozong said as he patted the side of his bed and the young man walking in he sat down beside him while he stared at his eyes with admiration.
"How fast you have grown." He Said.
"Pardon me grandfather, I haven't visited you in a long time." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo remarked.
"For that I wouldn't hold you responsible, this old man is not fun to hung around and it is much better that you enjoyed the company of your peers." Emperor Xiaozong replied.
"Nonetheless grandfather, I heard you wished to not see anyone and for a moment as your grandson I should have disobeyed." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo said.
"I had my reasons." Emperor Xiaozong replied, "for a moment now that my mind is made up, I wanted to at least share a moment with you." He insisted.
"I heard that you are doing better." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo remarked as the Retired Emperor laughed sarcastically.
"What's funny?" His grandson asked.
"Better you say?" Emperor Xiaozong asked.
"Am I wrong Your Majesty?" Crown Prince Zhao Kuo asked.
"Apart from myself who would understand my body much better, after all of recent I have closed my eyes to often I realised that Everytime I could see the darkness embracing me, everytime there were shadows around me and all consumed by absolute rage it could give me no ease of the mind, for a moment my soul was drifting on a sea that was lifeless and I was feeling void." Emperor Xiaozong muttered as he coughed lightly.
"I see." Crown Prince Zhao Kuo muttered, "if you will then perhaps I can get Princess Qi'an or beg father to come here and see you too." He pleaded.
"Seeing you my heart is content and perhaps if you don't mind could you at least stay a while longer?" Emperor Xiaozong insisted while his grandson remained silent for a while before he agreed reluctantly as Eunuch Deng eavesdropping their conversation he turned to the Lady in Waiting that was standing beside him.
"Why do you seem uneasy?" He asked.
"Perhaps it's just because I am sickly." The young woman replied.
"This isn't the hour for you to grieve over illness." Eunuch Deng lightly scolded.
"Pardon me." The young woman replied.
"And where is the Head Lady?" Eunuch Deng asked.
"I haven't seen her since morning." The lady in waiting replied and Eunuch Deng dropping the issue at that for a moment he seemed overly suspicious of the matter but he didn't let it show.
Shi Miyuan sleeping beside Dong Hua's bed he opened his eyes and staring up at the ceiling he realised where he was immediately that he sat up and looked around at the room.
Those open windows and not so far away the incense that was burning in the room with a mild current blowing in it wasn't his usual cramped up chamber but rather his master's.
Shi Miyuan woke up and realised that the latter had gained consciousness and seeing that he had been caught he opted to get out of the bed but Shi Miyuan halted him that instant.
"Don't." He muttered.
"This is your bed Your Excellency and I am a lowly servant." Dong Hua insisted.
"And you aren't feeling well." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"I should be the one more concerned about your well-being given that you knelt in that rain much longer than I did." Shi Miyuan said.
"But since young though pampered I have withstood such harsh conditions I have grown used to it." Shi Miyuan raised his voice as Dong Hua kept quiet for a moment he looked down.
"Why?" Shi Miyuan asked.
"Must you really ask?" Dong Hua asked.
"Maybe it is something that I don't know." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"Your Excellency has been good to me and perhaps it is because I have been so used, too many times I am strong but my heart breaks this much when you are feeling low, your pain becomes my pain and while your drawn apart and disappointed I am troubled by every moment without respite from anxiety yet still I choose to convince myself that whether joy or sorrow, whichever it is I must bring myself to bear it the same." Dong Hua replied.
Shi Miyuan feeling guilty he kept quiet.
You let yourself go out for a woman, you let yourself come last but for me who has known no friends or even brothers since young when I look to you you are all that I have left to protect with my all because you saved me before." Dong Hua assured him.
"I didn't know." Shi Miyuan said.
"You have never known, you weren't supposed to know either." Dong Hua replied.
"I'm sorry." Shi Miyuan remarked.
"For all it's worth I know you might never be happy again in your life, but if you are to stake your life for something then I shall dedicate myself to make those that made you cry bleed or die." Dong Hua said, "this is a promise that I made." He assured him.
Empress Li walked into the Grand Hall to find Li San and Chiyun Ling waiting for her.
Mounting the stairs that led to her seat she sat down and faced them along with Yom Salhwa beside her as Liu Zhan offered her a small cup of coffee.
"His Majesty won't survive through the night." She muttered while they temporarily reserved their silence, that being the case we are all to be ready." She reminded them but the latter seemed rather concerned about something else and she too noticed that they were hardly paying any attention to her.
"Your Highness..." Chiyun Ling attempting to speak up she was halted.
"Judging by your expressions it seems to me that there is something wrong." Empress Li asserted.
"His Highness the Crown Prince." Li San replied and halted halfway.
"What happened to him?" Empress Li asked while the two barely finding the courage to speak up still reserved their silence which further enraged her.
"I am asking you what happened to my son?" She shouted on top of her voice as she lowered the cup onto Liu Zhan's tray and the latter handing it over to Eunuch Gong, he exited the room immediately.
"His Highness the Crown Prince went to visit the Retired Emperor at noon." Chiyun Ling replied.
"And?" Empress Li asked.
"Right now he is still in the Palace of Virtue and Longevity." Chiyun Ling replied and the Empress furiously clenched her left fist as she supported her forehead with her right arm.
"Suppose the Retired Emperor died in his presence and allegation could strongly be used against us, in the very least we should worry so much about himself hearing the words of the Retired Emperor." Li San remarked.
"The Crown Prince's presence in the Palace of Virtue and Longevity could only do us more harm than good." Empress Li muttered.
"Your Highness, if there is still time then we can get His Highness to leave the Palace of Virtue and Longevity soon enough." Chiyun Ling proposed.
"I too consider that we'll enough but the issue is that even if he insisted on leaving the old Cunning sly fox wouldn't let him out of his sight." Empress Li muttered.
"Even if he wouldn't suppose we made him get up to Your Highness?" Chiyun Ling asked.
The whole room falling quiet the Empress stared at her with so much intrigue as she fathomed all the possible schemes that wandered behind her solitary mind.
"And what have you to offer?" She calmly asked.
"A sick monarch us sufficient enough to keep the Crown Prince contained, what about a much sicker monarch to get him running this side?" Chiyun Ling asked with a ghastly smile on her face.
"I get you." Empress Li muttered.
"But that's not the most interesting bit of it all Your Highness." Chiyun Ling proposed.
"If it certainly isn't then what is?" Empress Li asked.
"One corpse might do little to get rid of the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince believes his Great Grandmother too much but nonetheless blood remains thicker than water, if there was an assault on Your Highness' welfare before him, how is it that the Crown Prince would see his Great Grandmother as dutiful once again?" Chiyun Ling replied.
"How come you didn't let me in on such a good idea?" Empress Li asked.
"Your Highness will forgive me for the circumstances haven't been favourable and as a result it occurred to me much later but now even without the Retired Emperor alone, you who has the support of another many people could stand the most grandiose chance to finally convince the world to rid itself of the Empress Dowager." Chiyun Ling replied as she bowed down her head as she stared at her mistress convincingly.
The thunder roared throughout while lightning streaked across the dark firmament and the clouds having gathered they hid the moon from view soon enough there was a mild drizzle the latter which evolved into a rather heavy downpour.
Empress Dowager Wu walking through the corridors she met with her brother who standing strong and resistant against the cold he was assisted by a couple of more loyal soldiers which had made up the Retired Emperor's Defense.
"Your Highness." They greeted her humbly while she stared back sternly certain that they had read the expression on her face.
"By now the Empress could be aware that the Crown Prince is in the Palace of Virtue and Longevity so if she fails at halting her plan as I suspect the first thing she'd do is try to find ways of getting the Crown Prince out of the Palace." Empress Dowager Wu said.
"Don't worry Your Highness, the Palace of Virtue and Longevity is very large and who is to tell which of the rooms harbors the Grandfather and the Imperial grandson?" Commander Wu remarked.
"I wish you would do more than that." Empress Dowager Wu replied.
"Your Highness...?" Commander Wu asked.
"As per my order you shall listen and let no one go inside or outside however big or small, not a single one of you is to abandon your stations and in the very least should the Crown Prince persist then you are at the liberty of taking him prisoner." Empress Dowager Wu replied that her brother seemingly taken aback with his fellows they gulped with disbelief.
"The Crown Prince must witness with his two eyes come what may and he will not leave the room or set foot outside the Palace of Virtue and Longevity without my order." Empress Dowager Wu assured them as they placed their right hands on the left side of their chests and bowed their heads.
"Yes Your Highness." They said in unison while the old woman smiled at herself content.
"I wish to see for myself yet again, where is it that the Empress will run that I can not reach?" Empress Dowager Wu remarked.
YOU ARE READING
ROSES OF BLOOD
Historical FictionThe Empress Wu fostered a daughter within the Crimson walls of the Cifu Palace who with altered and faint origins she became the sister of a Marquis. Bound to her filial piety and the path of hardship, a "seductress" is what she must become poisonou...
