Langhua: The Codependence of a Prince and His General

Excuses

"Qilang..." Consort Liang sounded horrified when Xuanyuan Lang remained silent. He could not bear to look at her.

Meanwhile, the Noble Consort was happy to keep twisting the knife deeper into the wound.
"I don't have any opinion if a low-ranking general is singled out to die, naturally. As a dutiful member of the imperial harem, I would never betray His Majesty's trust that way.

"However, Ding Jin was nevertheless my father's student, and I understand Yao'er spent some time training with him as well. In that sense, perhaps I should thank you, Seventh Prince. Ding Jin's death may yet knock some sense of reality into that foolish son of mine. He'll need it for the future."

There was a silence as she took a sip from her teacup and no one else said anything. Xuanyuan Lang could still feel his mother's gaze on him, but he did not know what to say. There was certainly nothing for him to say now, in front of the Noble Consort and Xuanyuan Li.

Consort Liang seemed to realize that as well. After a pause, she finally said, "Your Highness, it's getting late. Would you care to join us for dinner?"

There was no sincerity in the invitation whatsoever. It was the barest minimum of a pretence.

The Noble Consort giggled. "No, thank you. I am more accustomed to the cooking of the chefs back in my Virtue Palace. Besides, His Majesty is due to visit me tonight."

Of all the women of the imperial harem, only the Empress and the Noble Consort were entitled to fixed nights on the Emperor's schedule. Each of them claimed two days a month, more if the Emperor so wished, while the others had to clamor and hope for the remaining days.

Had the Noble Consort come here to ensure that Consort Liang would not interfere with one of her precious nights? In that case, it was no wonder she left once she was reasonably confident that Consort Liang would pose no threat.

Even if the Emperor were to appear on their doorstep tonight, Consort Liang would surely have other things on her mind.

Xuanyuan Li did not say a word as he followed his mother out of Benevolence Palace. He resembled his older brother that way.

Once the hall was devoid of any outsiders, Consort Liang asked quietly, her words travelling through the silence,

"Qilang, why?"

"...Ding Jin killed General Hua Meng. His crimes were wholly deserving of the death sentence."

"Yes, but that is not your decision to make, is it?"

"I was in charge of the investigation too. It's only normal for—"

"Qilang!" Consort Liang's voice turned sharp. "I don't want your excuses. Tell me the truth."

"...Like I said, he killed the general."

"You don't care about the general that much."

Her words struck him mercilessly. He clenched his hands into fists.

"That day... In Ah Heng's eyes...

"I saw it.

"Hatred."

That memory was still fresh in his mind. Haunting him at night.

"That's not the Ah Heng I know."

"So you thought you would kill his father's murderer for him?" Consort Liang said softly. "You stole his enemy from his hands. Did you think that would make him feel better?"

Xuanyuan Lang's voice sounded distant to his ears.

"Ding Jin should die for his crimes anyway. I just brought him to justice."

"Is that so?"

Xuanyuan Lang had not actively meant to keep his request to the Empress a secret from his mother, but perhaps, subconsciously, he had not wanted her to find out. Certainly not like this. After she went to all that effort to keep him clean from the cruelty of the palace...

But the Noble Consort was right. He may just be better suited to this than he thought.

Even so... He had wanted to stay a child in his mother's eyes a while longer.

He had been avoiding her gaze ever since the Noble Consort exposed him. Now, when he tried to look at her to beg for her understanding, she was the one who turned away without another glance. As she reached the door, she paused for just a moment.

"Consort Hui and Ding Jin. Ask yourself if they truly deserved the fate that you placed upon them. There's a difference between being a piece and a player, Qilang.

"I don't have much of an appetite for dinner tonight, so I'll be going to bed early. Call Dongmei and Xiaju to bring you your food when you're ready."

As far as Xuanyuan Lang could remember, that was the first night they did not have dinner together.

The First Prince did not visit as he had promised that night, either.

*

The next day, Consort Liang was in the entrance hall when Xuanyuan Lang woke up, doing her embroidery as usual. She looked up when he came in and smiled at him, telling him that breakfast was on the table. In return, he put her shawl over her shoulders and stoked the fire to make sure she was warm.

By lunchtime, it was as though yesterday had never happened.

However, sometimes when she did not realize he was looking, he would catch her gazing off into space, her expression blank and her eyes dazed. For the first time, she seemed lost.

Xuanyuan Lang had a lot of time that month to contemplate what had happened, and what he had done. None of his brothers nor the other consorts came to visit him during his house arrest, presumably to avoid incurring the Emperor's wrath. After a while, Xuanyuan Lang began to wonder if his father had done this to protect him.

A month was neither too long nor too short a period of time. Perhaps if he lay low, he would fade out of the palace consciousness, and then he and his mother could return to their relatively peaceful lives.

When the Empress summoned Consort Liang to her palace a week into Xuanyuan Lang's sentence, he knew that he was being naïve again. Ever so slightly, the power balance in the harem had shifted. There was no way for them to get out of this now.

Nevertheless, he did not regret what he did. And he would do it again in a heartbeat.

'Did you think that would make him feel better?'

One month later, when Xuanyuan Lang visited Hua Yuheng at Lin Junli's residence with his newly-acquired permission from the Empress, he received for his trouble a punch to the face and a trembling thank you.

No, he did not do it for Hua Yuheng. A month was long enough for him to figure out that much.

He did it for himself. And he would do it again.

Their lives were already slowly changing.