scarlet heart | exo

The Death of an Emperor

Following the rapid loss of two leaders, the enemy was forced to abandon their military conquests. They surrendered and accepted a peace treaty that much favoured the Qing empire - they were now a tributary state, and had to retreat to their original territories.

The war was over. All that was left was for the army to pack up and return to their original stations. The princes, of course, were to return to the capital.

Xuefeng was tidying up her belongings with Zitao, when Luhan burst into their tent, frantic and out-of-breath.

"Zitao, bad news. I've received news from the Palace - Father Emperor is very sick, he might not make it past the next few days. We have to return to the capital. Now."

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It took them two days to return to the capital even on the fastest horses.

Zitao and Luhan barely spoke, and Xuefeng's mind was a mess.

Sure, she kind of knew what to do. Before her marriage, she had been given a crash course on the Palace rules and protocol. She knew that as the Emperor lay on his deathbed, the Princes and senior officials would enter the main chamber and stay by his side, whilst she, a Prince's wife, would be with the other women of the Palace in an adjacent room. She knew that she was not supposed to cry until the Emperor actually passed away, at which point she would have to force tears or face death.

The bigger question, though, was what to think.

This was it, the end of an era. And in a few hours' time, the throne would be Zitao's, and he would rule as the new Emperor.

There were a million-and-one-ways that this could go wrong. Historical records were vague about how the throne passed from Emperor Kangxi to the 4th Prince, giving rise to several conspiracy theories ranging from the plausible to the outlandish. One popular theory suggested that the 4th Prince changed the Emperor's will to name himself as successor, stealing it from its intended heir. Xuefeng knew this was impossible - none of the princes were as favoured and politically popular as Zitao was - but the theories had to have grounded themselves somewhere.

Perhaps the Emperor had indeed changed his mind, or the officials had switched alliances during the time that Zitao was off fighting the war. She had to be prepared for anything - a power struggle at least, and violence at worst.

The Palace was eerily quiet when Zitao, Xuefeng and Luhan finally entered. A curtain of dread hung over the entire place, which not even the brightness of the painted buildings could alleviate.

The eunuchs quickly ushered them to their respective areas, Xuefeng joining the Emperor's concubines and the other Prince's wives in the antechamber. She spotted a familiar face - Huixin - and exchanged a curt nod with her.

An hour passed in silence. Then, a eunuch hurried into the room. "The Emperor requests the presence of the 4th Prince's wife and 10th Prince's wife."

Xuefeng and Huixin were hastily led to the Emperor's bedside. There was already another familiar figure present - Zhiyu. The three girls, reunited for the first time in two years, knelt in a row and kowtowed to the Emperor.

"I remember the three of you very clearly." The Emperor's voice, once full of energy and cheer, was now a breathy rasp. "The three of you entered the Palace on the same day, and served as my head tea ladies in turn. You were all so bright and creative, always thinking of ways to lift my spirits through something as mundane as tea."

"And then, two of you became my beautiful daughters-in-law - Xuefeng with Zitao, Huixin with Xiumin. There's only Zhiyu now. Yifan?"

The 9th Prince shuffled over to kneel beside Zhiyu as his name was called. "Yes, Father?"