The Emperor's Concubine

14: The Reunion

THE EMPRESSES POV

"Did you receive the medicines I sent you?" he enquires awkwardly, hands cockily placed behind his back as he strolls around her chamber, observing various objects. A small smile brushes upon her features, her small hands folded neatly in her lap. Sweet, bitter, and painful memories flicker through her mind.

The day she had met The Emperor; she must have known then that no other man could ever possess her heart. Yet, his heart was never hers, it never would be. Despite all his hatred he claimed to hold for her, years of silently observing him from afar had taught her that the man although seemed cold and harsh towards her, he had always held a small and fragile piece of compassion for her. Such a man was capable of holding sympathy for the girl sent to a land she knew nothing about, forced to follow the ways and traditions she had never before even seen. After all, the man she knew now was nought but a young boy lusting for the exhilaration of freedom when she had met him all those years ago. Perhaps the reason for his coldness towards her was because she had stolen it. The death of The Emperor's brother had hurt her just as much as it had pained him, but it was the malicious rumours that floated through The Palace walls that caused her to cry herself to sleep at night.

She's from The South, how can we trust our very enemy to lead our kingdom?

She probably killed him.

They say it was poison.

The night, in which they had first and lastly shared a room together, he had looked at her with pained eyes, refused to touch her, and she had felt part of her heart shatter. But she could never loathe him. The man was made up of protective armour of iron, but his heart though bitterly cold, was made of clouds- soft and fragile. She remembers the day she had fallen off her horse during her first Hunting Festival as the new Empress. While he had looked at her with unimpressed eyes, he had grudgingly carried her all the way back to The Palace physician, grumbling unhappily along the way.

And still, it was things like sending her bottles of herbal medicines and the occasional dress that she was candidly thankful for. No, she did not have his heart, but she had managed to find herself a small place within it, where she would gratefully reside.

"Thankyou," she whispers, pale lips almost blue. Her hand clutches the front of her dress, gripping onto the pain radiating from her heart.

"For what?" She doesn't reply, opting to smile instead.

Everything.

LI HUA'S POV

She waits excitedly at the front of the old wooden door, eagerness coursing through her veins, making her bounce on her very feet. It slowly creaks open to reveal the face of a young girl, cautious and perplexed.

"I'm sorry, my parents aren't here at the momen-"

Li Hua cuts her off. "Don't you recognise me?" Silence ensues, and she watches as her sister's mind runs through the possibilities.

"...........Li Hua jie (big sister)?" She nods, hairpins almost falling out at the action. The girl laughs happily, embracing the eldest with warm welcome. The youngest, Lan Ai, plods over rubbing sleep from her drowsy eyes. Li Hua can see the realisation dawn on her eyes as she waddles over, throwing her small body over her jie (big sister) before giggling away. Her parents appear from behind her, farming tools still in hand, and mouths agape in shock.

"Li Hua?" they gasp in unison. Her mother is already sobbing, her tears soaking through Li Hua's dress as her father watches from a few feet away, a happy smile plastered on his face. Both seem as if they have aged quickly over the period of her absence, her mother's once dark and shiny hair, now dull and beginning to show strands of grey. Her father's wrinkles seem to have seeped in deeper, his eyes starting to lose its sparkle. They all marvel over her lavish clothes and elaborate hairpins until her mother suddenly pauses, expression looking panicked.

"How did you get here?" Her mother questions worriedly. "You didn't get banished, did you?"

She laughs in turn,

"No, no, I just tire of royal etiquette easily,"

The days in the countryside pass quickly, and almost too soon enough, the last days of her stay dwindle before her. Her mother huffs by her side, hands stained in green from picking the Ji Xue Cao (Gotu Kola) leaves.

"You shouldn't be doing this, you're part of The Palace now," Li Hua scoffs, wiping her hands carelessly onto the front of her borrowed dress. Without Jingah here to scold her, she was free to be as sloppy as she pleased. Her mother tsk's at her actions as her sisters run about giggling through the field.

"Part of The Palace or not, I am still your daughter," she hums in approval.

"I hear The Empress' health is diminishing, maybe it is the work of karma," her mother muses. Li Hua knows what the woman is hinting at. The rumour that The Empress poisoned her first husband had floated around The Palace even when she had first entered the accursed place.

"Mother!" she scolds. "Do not say such things! She is a beautiful person, she would never hurt anyone," The woman frowns.

"The heart can be a dangerous weapon, my dear. It can turn even the most kindest of people into wretches," At that, Li Hua's mind flashes back to a conversation she held with The Empress.

Flashback

"I fear my father is in danger. There are rumours circulating the southern region that there is a rebellion consuming Tūdì Huāngmò (Land of Desert). I believe it is my Uncle's doing"

"Does The Empero-"

"He does not believe me," she says softly, resignation in her voice. "My uncle cares for nothing but his own wealth. If Tūdì Huāngmò were to fall into his hands, the people of my land would suffer greatly. Poverty, starvation, disease, if my father dies, I must take his place as the ruler. But as you know, I am The Empress of another land........" the woman pauses, tired eyes beseeching as she presses an amulet into Li Hua's palm.

"Empress!"

"You knowit is not possible for me to rule two kingdoms, the law, it states so. I knowI am dying Li Hua, I can feel it" The Empress' hands shake as she speaks, her voice quivering and on the verge of another coughing fit.

"I couldn't possibly, I'm just a farmer's daughter-"

"I need to know that my people are in safe hands," Her hands encase Li Hua's own which hold the golden talisman, her chest heaving in exertion.

The amulet rests snugly against her chest, held by a simple string.

"No, she is a good woman," she says softly but ever so firmly as her hands reach out to pick more herbs.

Present Time

"Careful, don't' pick those flowers, they're poisonous," her mother says, changing the subject and gesturing to the pile of flowers next to her hands. Li Hua looks down at the blossoms, the bright and shocking purple, a stark contrast to the surrounding flora. There's a sickeningly sweet smell wafting from them, tickling her memory.

She cringes, plucking them from the earth and carding them aside.

A/N: Sorry for not updating in forever guys, I've been held hostage in a place with no internet and I'm trying to spend all my phone credit just doing this. Might be AWOL for a while again, forgive me.

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