A Forbidden Happiness

Chapter 15

De gui fei's confession sucked the air out of the room. The Empress's breath quickened.

"That is a heavy crime," said The Empress, "Have you told anyone about this?"

"No," replied De gui fei, "No one,"

That was good, then. If anyone else heard, they would assume De gui fei was showing signs of possession. De gui fei could be stern and overbearing, but murderous? That was unthinkable. Shen huang gui fei had been vying for more power year after year, but even then, The Empress hadn't gone far enough to think like this.

"De gui fei, if Shen huang gui fei was troubling you, you should've come to me instead of letting your feelings fester like this. Having these thoughts can harm your body," said The Empress.

"I know this. I've prayed. I've fasted. I've transcribed scriptures. My mother even sent me five blessed amulets, but the thought won't leave my mind," said De gui fei, "After what she did to Huabao and Huahuan, how can I live peacefully with that sort of woman?"

"What are you talking about?" Asked The Empress.

"The lewd paintings," De gui fei said, her eyes clouding with rage, "She helped Jiang gui ren with the plot to frame Xiang gui ren and damage you,"

At The Empress' confused face, De gui fei continued.

"The bamboo paper, Your Highness. It was huang gui fei's,"

"How could that be? Royal Mother ran out of those papers months before. Did she lend some to Shen huang gui fei?"

"She stole it from Dafuge. A few weeks ago, I went to pray in the early morning and bumped into Shen huang gui fei's A'Fang. The girl was so nervous and clumsy. She tried to cover the papers with scriptures, but I saw them. I assumed His Majesty told Shen huang gui fei to take from Dafuge and not make a scene. If I had known she took the papers to scheme with the reputation of Huabao and Huahuan on the line...I would've chopped her into pieces right there!"

"De gui fei!" The Empress scolded, "This behavior is unbecoming. The event is over. Huabao and Huahuan are safe and sound. Why are you still riled up like this?"

"Your Highness, these last years, I thought Shen huang gui fei was too proud and too arrogant but harmless. But knowing that she put our daughters' virtue in harm's way to suppress Xiang gui ren made it clear how far she'll go. I couldn't stop thinking, wasn't it strange how every woman that His Majesty favored is gone now?"

"His Majesty is monogamous. He favors all the women here at one point or another, you included. You're still here aren't you?" said The Empress.

"I'm not dead because I'm not a threat," said De gui fei, "Mu pin and Shu pin were different, they were your friends. The more His Majesty loved them, the more he loved you."

The Empress fiddled with the pearl and jade prayer beads in her hand. It was true. De gui fei and The Empress weren't friends. The Empress wasn't friends with anyone. She had no equals, no companions, only servants.  

"I care for you just as much, De gui fei," replied The Empress. She sighed. "Mu pin's death was tragic, but she had always been frail. Shu pin forgot her place and dealt with accordingly. If His Majesty didn't still favor her, she would be dead now,"

"His Majesty only spared her for Yiqiang's sake," replied De gui fei. 

Shu pin dug the knife deeper into her heart as she described the lurid affair between The Empress and Imperial Physician, Lou Ru. The same doctor whose marriage she arranged as a reward for diligently treating The Empress Dowager and The Emperor.