Content warning: yes, as many of you are probably aware/anticipating, a miscarriage is about to happen. I keep it as not gruesome as possible, and I will have a star banner with C/W listed to indicate when the actual miscarriage is described and then when it ends. I will assume that discussing the reason/the how is beyond the scope of content warning, so the content warning will end immediately after the actual incident.
Just to remind everyone *this is a story that has a happy ending*, I will guarantee you that. Because of the sad nature of this chapter, I have posted two additional ones as compensation. Please do not murder this author.
The West Hall was really an outdoor corridor that spilled out to a courtyard with a spacious garden and one of the deeper ponds on the palace grounds. The trouble was it was the farthest thing from Li Changyu in the Inner Court. In order to get to it, he’d have to pass through all the other residences of the Harem. He could have asked Shen Pei to carry him across the rooftops, but the last time that happened the Silent Guard nearly had a fit and he was scolded. With no other options, Li Changyu would have to make the journey on foot. It was all relatively boring with servants and guards standing at attention only to quickly gossip when he walked past, but then he came upon a strange scene.
Third Prince Uncle, Zhang Wenru walked out from a branch in the path into the small intersection in front of him. Li Changyu narrowed his eyes. Alpha males, and even many betas, were very regulated in lingering around the Inner Court. Even though Zhang Wenru was technically Family, his primary residence was outside of the Imperial City. Even if he was visiting Royal Grandmother, he would still have to be accompanied by a guard. Furthermore, that line of residences is nowhere near the Palace of the Clear Mind.
“Hello Third Uncle!” Li Changyu called out, a little too cheerily. He smirked when Zhang Wenru stopped mid step and his shoulders stiffened. The older Prince turned to face Li Changyu, his face blank.
“Your Highness,” Zhang Wenru held up his hands and bowed to him as Li Changyu approached.
“Now, now, you don’t need to do all that. We’re Family, right?” Li Changyu crossed his arms and glanced at Shen Pei, who kept a safe distance away.
Zhang Wenru paused when he rose and his lips twisted together in the faintest of grimaces. He leveled his dusk-colored eyes at Li Changyu, “…Of course, Your Highness.”
“Say…” Li Changyu tapped his chin, pretending to be in thought. “What exactly are you doing all the way out here? Without a guard accompanying you, too.” He clucked his tongue and shook his head, “Tsk, tsk tsk. That’s a punishable offense, you know.”
Li Changyu put on a smile and watched Zhang Wenru carefully. A tic at the man’s temple drew the eye to his greying hairline and his eyes darkened, but his face otherwise didn’t change.
“Your Highness…” Zhang Wenru spoke to him in a tone like he was correcting a child. “I was merely visiting Her Highness my Mother and left. Surely you can’t fault a Son for being caring and filial?”
Li Changyu tossed the tone right back at him, “Your Highness…surely you can’t think I’m that dumb. Her Highness the Grand Empress Dowager’s residences are that way,” he turned half way and pointed towards the south west where the Phoenix Palace was. “But you were coming from the east.”
The residences at the east were Huang Guifei’s and a few lesser concubines. Zhang Wenru had to have visited someone from this end, and a single male alpha had very little business so deep in the Harem. Normally, he wouldn’t give a damn about some affair, but he wasn’t going to let his Husband be cuckolded by the likes of Zhang Wenru.
“My, Your Highness is very observant.” Zhang Wenru pulled his shoulders back and stood up taller. Li Changyu had to tilt his head back to look up at the elder Prince, but the man was making a big show of his height. “This one should have explained – I am also looking for my dear Nephew’s residence.”
“First Prince?” Li Changyu arched a brow, “You know very well he is living right beside the Royal Grandmother. He resides in Maple Hall, just like before.”
“Oh? I should have inquired about this to Her Highness then. It appears I went on a wild goose chase for no reason. It has also been much too long since I’ve walked these paths.” The older man bowed, “Do forgive my oversight.”
Zhang Wenru’s slippery tongue could probably work on any of the Court officials, but it wouldn’t on him. Li Changyu crossed his arms and steeled his features like he was commanding soldiers on the battlefield.
“Enlighten me Uncle, did you suggest me to His Majesty because you suspected I was an idiot?”
Zhang Wenru’s stony face finally cracked. His lips turned down, exaggerating the wrinkles around the edges, and his gaze hardened. Zhang Wenru lifted his chin and looked down his nose at Li Changyu.
“This one merely suggested to His Majesty that Your Highness was good breeding stock.”
Li Changyu didn’t dare let his temper show. He kept his face as smooth as jade and held up a hand to examine his fingernails.
“Is that all? Surely Royal Uncle would be concerned that someone as capable as myself defending the Harem could cause you trouble if you are doing things so blatantly like this. So what other reason was there?”
“I’m not sure I like what you are implying,” Zhang Wenru stopped being all about manners and referred to Li Changyu improperly. “But I suppose your time in the military has taught you the tactic that one should keep their enemies within arm’s reach?”
Oh?Li Changyu dropped his hand and changed his tone to a sickeningly sweet one, “Uncle…”
He took one big step forward and stood within reach of Zhang Wenru, locking eyes with him. His gaze was unflinching, and Li Changyu wouldn’t back down either. From the corner he saw Shen Pei step forward, but he flicked two fingers at her to signal that she should stay back.
“Are you implying that I am an enemy of the Emperor…or of yours?”
“You should always consider yourself an enemy. This one offers a word of advice, Your Highness,” started Zhang Wenru, then his voice dropped into a tone that some might consider menacing, but Li Changyu was unphased. “Emperors are fickle creatures. I’ve seen my share of them change their whims as fast as the wind blows. It’d be best to know your place.”
“Now Third Uncle really sounds suspicious…” Li Changyu stuck out his lower lip and cocked his head. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you are threatening me.”
Zhang Wenru leaned forward just enough that their cold, dead eyes were level with his own. “Don’t mistake me, Your Highness. The one that you should be worried about threatening you isn’t I. You’re a smart little boy – you would do well to take my warning to heart.”
Li Changyu felt a slight tightening in his belly, but he was sure it wasn’t fear. Not now, baby.
“Now, if Your Highness will excuse me, I will leave first and visit my Nephew.”
Zhang Wenru stood back up and brushed past Li Changyu, bumping into his side. Again Shen Pei made a move to rush over and Li Changyu stopped her with a raised hand. He would let Zhang Wenru think he had the last word and waited until he heard a few more of his footsteps before he called out.
“Royal Uncle,” Li Changyu turned. Zhang Wenru had stopped but made no move to face him, instead he looked over his shoulder. “You should know that once I sink my teeth into something, I don’t let go.” Li Changyu grinned and giggled like an innocent omega, “So Uncle should do well to heed my warning.“
With narrowed eyes and no other words, Zhang Wenru turned his head and continued along the correct path. Li Changyu finally let Shen Pei approach and he whispered low to her.
“Follow him and make sure he actually is visiting the First Prince.”
Shen Pei frowned, “But Yanhe…”
He waved both hands to shoo her, “Go, I’m fine. His Majesty will have the Shadow Guard beside him anyhow.”
She watched him, her pale eyes wary, but she turned and did as he commanded. Sighing, Li Changyu continued along the path and rubbed his lower back which started to ache. He would probably have to sit more than skip rocks with His Majesty, but it was still better than nothing.
When Li Changyu reached the West Hall garden, he was surprised at how lively it was. Qin Yuze was with the Consorts and a few concubines playing chess in the water pavilion, and several children were running about with a large kite in the shape of a bright orange carp. The Emperor was nowhere to be found, but it was early yet.
Two of the older children stopped when he neared, but the others continued to play. Chen Guojing, Jin Xiyan’s son, was one of the ones that stopped. He looked nervously towards the pavilion, then to Li Changyu, and quickly bowed.
“G-greetings, Royal Mother.” Chen Guojing changed to a shade of green, making his chubby cheeks stand out.
Li Changyu made sure not to flinch at being called that. It was technically correct that he was the Mother to all of Jin Xiyan’s children. However, Chen Ziyin was his biological Mother and could regard her as such, but his position as Empress trumped everyones. The children of the lower ranked Harem members couldn’t refer to their Mothers as Mother at all and took the Jin surname.
He could feel eyes on them and the poor little beta son was shaking like a leaf. Li Changyu felt sorry for the kid – he was stuck in a rock and a hard place. His Mother didn’t like him, so he wouldn’t want to be kind to Li Changyu either, but he was the Empress, and disrespecting the Empress was punishable.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He tried to lighten the mood with a chuckle, “Hey now, you don’t need to call me that. You only need to worry about looking filial with your real Mother, okay?”
Chen Yuxi, his twin that was beside him, remained absolutely quiet. She squirmed in place like ants had crawled into her shoes and wrung her hands together. She wouldn’t meet Li Changyu’s gaze, and he wouldn’t press that issue.
“It’s very nice of you to be playing with your half siblings,” Li Changyu offered a bit of praise to try and calm them, but also to butter up to them a little. “Bonds between Brothers and Sisters are important.”
“Uh…huh…” Chen Guojing nodded his head slowly in agreement. They were interrupted by the sound of a loud, high pitched whine and Li Changyu went on alert.
He lifted his hands in a defensive position as he faced where the cry came from and stopped when he saw what the commotion was. The younger children accidentally flew the kite too close to a tree and it was tangled up in the large, outstretched branches. The four young ones cried and tugged at the string helplessly. Knowing now there wasn’t any real danger, Li Changyu’s heart should have slowed down, but it fluttered like a caught bird in his chest.
Li Changyu nodded to the twins and walked over to the small group. The Brother and sister pair trailed behind him until they got close, and they rushed to the other children and nudged them forward into bows.
One young child who looked so much like Jin Xiyan did when they were that little didn’t bow. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever met the child before, but the scent of an omega made the boy feel familiar. Fat tears streamed down his reddened cheeks and his small fist rubbed against his running nose. Li Changyu knelt down onto his knees to be level with the boy.
“Hey, little guy,” Li Changyu patted the top of his head, avoiding the small bun that gathered his light brown hair. “What’s all the fuss for?”
“M-my kite is, is, is broken!” Sniffles and hiccups followed the slight stammer. Li Changyu swiped his thumb across the cheek, wiping away some tears. “Emperor Father gifted it t-to me special!”
“Hmm…” Li Changyu looked up into the canopy of the tree. The kite in question was untorn, just tangled, and it would be easy to take it down. He smiled back down at the child, “If you tell me your name, I’ll go up and bring it back to you.”
The child’s large, dark grey eyes were less water logged and shifted to skepticism. “Nanny says I’m not s’pose to talk to strangers…”
Li Changyu laughed, genuinely surprised at the response. The older looking children gasped and Chen Guojing’s face went back and forth between sheet white and bright red. Li Changyu clapped the boy on the shoulder.
“Your Nanny is right, but it’s good that I am the Empress, hm?”
The boy’s little jaw went slack and his eyes grew rounder. He stared at Li Changyu, his little mouth agape.
“You’re the Empress?!” he squeaked.
“The one and only.” Li Changyu’s smile brightened when the boy turned bashful and ducked his chin down to his chest. This son of Jin Xiyan’s was precious. “Now, will you tell me your name?”
He scuffed his shoe against the ground and looked up at Li Changyu through his slightly damp lashes, “Jin Haoran…”
That name rang a bell. “Ah, His Majesty’s youngest. Well Haoran, how about I climb this tree now and get your present?”
Haoran blinked and his once sad expression lit up in a large, semi-toothless smile. Li Changyu returned one of his own and patted him on the head once more. When he stood up, a sharp pain raced up his back, giving him pause.
Ugh, is this pregnancy or old age? They said some babies sap the energy from their Mothers – he considered breaking his promise to Jin Xiyan to cultivate some more energy if this was the case. The children watched him with mixed expressions of awe and confusion.
“I’ll be right back!” He announced cheerfully. Li Changyu decided to give them a little bit of a show by leaping up onto one branch, then flipping onto another. Oos and ahhs came from below as he ascended the tree.
Li Changyu reached the branch just below the one that the string was tangled up in. Crushed petals scattered around the nearby branches, and the kite flailed helplessly in the wind above. Side-stepping, he inched towards the end of the branch in order to reach the string.
*****************CW: Miscarriage**************
He stretched out his hand and his fingers barely grazed the string when another pain shot through him, accompanied with a burning sensation. It was strong enough that it seized his lungs and he breathlessly scrambled to grab the branch above to steady himself.
Heat blazed across his skin that traveled from his abdomen downward. The urge to vomit bubbled from inside and he covered his mouth as he let out a hacking cough. Dark blood splattered across his palm and dripped down his fingers. Small voices called to him, though he could not make out what they were saying. He stared down at his trembling hand in shock.
What…what! He coughed a second time, now his vision blurring and a wave of dizziness overcame him. Instinctively he lifted his hand to reach the branch above, but his other one had already let go. For a horrifying second, Li Changyu felt like he was out of his body and watching it fall.
He fell backwards, crashing through a few branches and landing flat on his back on the ground. His landing didn’t hurt, or rather, the pain surging through him already made his fall feel like stubbing his toe. Shrieks rang out, sending a sharp, ringing pain in his head. Li Changyu struggled to keep his eyes open, but it faded in and out of blackness and blurred reality.
Li Changyu thought he saw Haoran’s round face above him that was then replaced by Chen Ziwei, His Majesty’s male beta Consort. He smacked Li Changyu’s cheek repeatedly, hissing at him like a cat.
“Wake up! Don’t go to sleep!” Chen Ziwei turned his head away to yell something and then glared back down at Li Changyu. “How could you be so stupid and reckless like this?!”
More cries came as chaos brewed around him. It was a swirl of colors and a familiar voice beckoned him, “Yanhe!”
Thick arms enveloped him and a new round of dizziness came when he was lifted into the air. He blinked through his clouded vision and when it settled, he saw Qin Yuze among the crowd. His face was obscured by a red fan, but his cold stare sent a chill up his otherwise overheated body.
Time felt warped and his fever made him delirious, making it hard to grasp what was going on.. One second he was being carried, and another he was gently placed onto something soft. The pungent smell of jasmine cut through his fog, making him gag. He wildly swung his arms to try and brush whatever carried the jasmine scent away, but a gruff male voice shouted.
“Hold him down if I am to seal his acupoints to stop the bleeding!”
“Your Highness, th-th-this one apol-pol-pologizes!”
Something cool and wet touched his face and he shied away from it as his arms were held down. He cried out for his Mother, shouting her name along with his Brothers’. Sharp electric spots radiated across Li Changyu’s body and it felt like his energy hit several walls. It made him even hotter, but he could open his eyes and peer through the sweat. The canopy above was his own and around him were Shen Pei and Bowen’s faces.
Li Changyu peered down and two physicians were placing several needles along his torso. Blood coated his opened robes and quickly spread to his sheets. When the reality of what was going on hit him, he resisted Shen Pei’s hold.
“Mother! Get Mama!” He rasped, his voice scraping against his vocal chords. “I only want Mama!”
“Yanhe, she’s coming, I promise! Meimei went to get her!” Shen Pei’s tears fell onto him and she tore her gaze away to snarl at one of the physicians. “Why won’t the bleeding stop!?”
The old man from before, Mu Jiang, stammered, “We-we are doing everything we can!” Then, to someone Li Changyu couldn’t see, “Inform His Majesty, but tell him he must not enter!”
Jin Xiyan…As much as he wanted his Mother, he also wanted Jin Xiyan beside him. Li Changyu didn’t know when he began crying, but he started to feel his chest ache with his sobs. What felt like long, agonizing hours were probably just a few minutes, but his Mother finally arrived.
True to a battlefield physician, Li Yuyan had her sleeves rolled up as she brushed into the room. Like any other Li, she took command of the space. “Has he expelled everything?”
The younger physician beside Mu Jiang spoke, “Answering fellow physician, His Highness has. There is a problem with his bleeding, however–”
Li Yuyan pushed aside the man and took his position. Though her face looked stricken, there was a fierce determination in her eyes that reassured him. She still hadn’t greeted him, and he desperately needed his Mother. The effort felt too great, but he reached out a hand that had blood flaking off it. It shook so hard that the needle piercing it trembled.
“Mama…” he choked on his sob and more pain radiated throughout. The jasmine was acrid, stinging his nose now. She took his hand and said nothing, only examining his palm closely before she grasped the needle in his hand and plucked it out. Li Changyu’s body protested by coughing up some more blood. His Mother paled then looked at the two men.
“Get out!” She ordered. When they balked, she said it again more forcefully and they gathered their materials to leave. She commanded the servants to leave, even Bowen and Meimei, only leaving her and Shen Pei the only others in the room. Li Changyu could hear the commotion and protests outside the door, but it was beyond him what they were saying.
***********End CW, Miscarriage only mentioned passively*********
“A-Chang has been poisoned,” his mother said out loud in a hushed tone. Her hands rapidly worked over him, taking out some needles and inspecting his skin. “His bleeding should have stopped by now, but it hasn’t.”
Shen Pei matched his Mother’s voice, but there was a panic behind it, “What do you mean? His food is always checked – I even eat some just in case!”
“Mama…” he called to her weakly, his frail voice interrupting them. Once he got her attention, he pushed himself to speak, pleading to her. “Get rid of the jasmine, please. I can’t take it anymore.”
“Jasmine?” She frowned and sniffed the air.
“There’s a faint smell on the sheets, Lady Li,” answered Shen Pei.
Li Yuyan tossed the needles into a wash basin beside his bed and lifted the brazier next to it and brought it close to her nose, “But this is and everything else is sandalwood. Why would there be jasmine?”
“Jasmine is Jin Xiyan’s…favorite.” He swallowed back the bile that threatened to escape, and he turned his head to look at his Mother’s fuzzy image. “Even though I tell them not to, a lot of servants…sprinkle it around…”
A darkness passed over her face and she furiously ripped the top sheet off him. She examined the blood spots then the sheet itself. Confused, he tried to move, but he felt too weak. Shen Pei spoke up.
“Lady Li, what do you suspect?”
“Shen Pei, lift him off the bed. Hurry!”
Shen Pei stuffed her arms underneath him and lifted him. He winced with a hiss, but otherwise kept his protests to himself because he would curse. His Mother’s eyes roamed over the bed, looking lost in thought. She picked up her case and opened it to take out a black cloth and dabbed at his sweat soaked sheet. When she turned it over, a fine, white powder stained the piece of fabric in her hand.
Li Yuyan closed her eyes and hovered the cloth close to her face. She took a quick, sharp inhale that barely took in any air. Her eyes flew open and she dropped the fabric like it was a hot pan.
“Shen Pei, set him on the floor and grab a cloth from my chest. Cover your face with it, and don’t breathe too deeply.”
“Ma…ma?” He struggled to understand what was going on, other than he was poisoned. It explained so much about his symptoms.
His Mother was already fastening a cloth around her own face to cover her nose. Shen Pei mumbled an apology as she jostled him about in order to kneel and place him on the ground. The floor felt cool against his hot skin and the relief was enough to make him momentarily forget that there was trouble going on. Shen Pei and Li Yuyan stripped his bed and bundled the sheets together. They even took the pillowcases, tossing the cushion covered wood to the floor away from him.
Li Yuyan broke away from her task to kneel down next to his head. She pushed his sweat slicked hair away from his face. “I can’t tell what it is, but someone mixed something with the jasmine and has been poisoning you over a period of time by putting it on your bed. I suspect your clothes as well. I…I should have realized the rash was that.” Tears filled her eyes, “This servant failed you as a subject and a Mother.”
“Don’t…” What possessed him to ask, because he knew the likely answer, but he couldn’t deal with the what-ifs or should-haves right now. He grabbed her wrist to stop her hand. “Mama…am I…”
Li Changyu could tell by his Mother’s eyes how grim her expression was under the mask. She bent forward and touched her forehead to his and only responded with, “Let this Mother take care of her Son.”
He felt sort of numb as his Mother went about the room with Shen Pei. Li Yuyan cut another square from the sheets and folded that and the black cloth together and stuck it in a pouch. She told Shen Pei to soak the sheets and let them air dry before burning them, and to scrub her hands thoroughly. She also advised Shen Pei to later get a divan for him to sleep in until the bed could be replaced.
After he took some medicine that Li Yuyan made, Li Changyu had to be washed with cold water in order to get any remaining dust off him. His head was feeling a little clearer, but he still felt separated from his body. It wasn’t even numbness, but as if everything from the neck down simply didn’t exist. He didn’t feel the goosebumps that broke out as the cold water washed away the evidence of his ordeal.
His bleeding stopped, but he was still not done. They removed their face coverings and packed things up to look as neat as possible. Li Yuyan cautioned Shen Pei to watch everything like a hawk, his Mother finally allowed only two servants in: Meimei and Bowen.
“Draw him a hot bath,” she ordered them. “He needs to sweat this out.”
The pair bobbed their heads and worked on their tasks. With the door now open, Li Changyu could hear voices out in the receiving room, but they still sounded too far away to make any of them out. Meimei pulled a robe from his dresser, probably to help him change since he was naked and on the floor, but Li Yuyan grabbed her wrist.
“No,” she shook her head, “Leave him be until he bathes. I will bring some new things for him from home.”
Meimei blinked, looking confused, but she was obedient and bowed. “Yes, Physician Li.”
Shouts made everyone stop what they were doing. Li Changyu knew the voices and he held out a hand to Shen Pei, “Help me sit up.”
“Yanhe, you shouldn’t–”
“Help me sit up,” he repeated. Her only protest was another frown, but she helped him sit up. He felt woozy, but there was no nausea anymore.
Li Yuyan rushed past him when the voices got closer and she bent down near the foot of the bed. He couldn’t see her from his position, but when she stood back up she had something wrapped up and stuffed it into the bottom of her medicine chest. She folded her large cloth that she bundled everything together over her stuff and tied it off.
“Zhen demands you step aside!”
“Your Majesty, please–!”
Two figures burst into the room. Jin Xiyan and his Mother Jin Qiuye entered, one after the other. Jin Qiuye practically bumped into his Son as Jin Xiyan stopped short and stared at them. Everyone but Li Changyu knelt down and pressed their foreheads to the floor.
Jin Qiuye’s eyes honed in on something at the floor where his Mother had just been and his already pale face turned as white as a lotus. His lip curled and he shouted behind him, “Take this away, the Emperor does not need to see this!”
Jin Xiyan had also been staring at the same thing, but his gaze shifted to Li Changyu. His brows sank low and drew together in a furious stare and he came forward, ripping his golden outer robe off and throwing it at Li Changyu.
“Indecent!” Jin Xiyan yelled at him and Li Changyu could only let the soft silk land on him. It’s larger size covered his head and body, which he had to pull down to expose his face. He clung to the fabric so it covered up to his shoulders. Neither Jin Xiyan nor his Mother regarded the other people in the room, so they had to stay kneeling.
Servants that he wasn’t familiar with came into his room and picked up what the Empress Dowager had pointed to. It was a small bucket with a bloodied cloth over the top. Realizing now what it was, the nausea that previously had gone away came back with a vengeance. The servants scurried out the door. From the floor, Li Changyu looked up at Jin Xiyan and opened his mouth, only to be cut off by Jin Qiuye.
“Li Changyu, you have brought shame to the Palace!” The Empress Dowager pointed his fan at Li Changyu, using it to punctuate his point by stabbing it in the air. “You are lucky that His Majesty refuses to condemn you to death for murder!”
“What?” Li Changyu looked from Jin Qiuye to Jin Xiyan. He felt like he was being washed with the cold water once again.
“Do not even try to weasel your way out of this one,” Jin Qiuye glared down at him. “You willingly went up into that tree, knowing full well that you were pregnant.”
Jin Xiyan cut in, “You promised me that you wouldn’t do anything like that!”
He didn’t raise his voice, mostly because he couldn’t. “I want to talk to you in private…”
“I think not!” Jin Qiuye reached a shrill that dogs could probably hear. “I will have you know–”
“Leave,” Jin Xiyan bit out between clenched teeth, his eyes never leaving Li Changyu.
Jin Qiuye flinched and his mouth dropped open, “Your Majes–”
“Leave!” He bellowed with all the force of an Emperor’s command. The room froze, but one by one each person left. His Mother shot him a look over her shoulder, and the last one to leave was the Empress Dowager. He looked angry that he was being shut out, but he left with a flick of his sleeve.
Once the door shut, they stared at one another, not saying a word. Li Changyu could hear the fierce, angry breaths as Jin Xiyan’s nostrils flared. Eventually, it was Jin Xiyan who broke the silence.
“Well?” He demanded, sweeping his arms across the room. “You wanted to talk in private. Here we are.”
Li Changyu took a deep breath and pushed aside the flare of annoyance because nothing good would come with a shouting match.
“What I have to say is very sensitive,” he began, shifting the robe to slip his arms inside it. “I was poisoned–”
“Do not lie to me,” growled Jin Xiyan.
“I’m not—”
“Twelve people witnessed you go up a tree and fall out of it.” Jin Xiyan’s knuckles that peeked through his sleeves turned white. “My own children explained to my face that you went up the tree and fell.”
“I fell after I was in pain. I only went up there to get–”
“It does not matter why! You promised to not do anything with martial arts!” Two angry violet eyes misted with tears and Jin Xiyan’s neck turned red as his voice rose. “You are so willful and disobedient, but I never expected you to be so careless about something as important as a possible heir!”
“I did promise,” he conceded. There was no reason to deny that. He told Jin Xiyan he wouldn’t do anything with martial arts, but he did. He took another breath. “I did break that promise because I wanted to help. But this wouldn’t have been an issue if it wasn’t for the fact that I was–”
“Stop!” Jin Xiyan pushed a hand through his bangs and rubbed his furrowed brow. “Just stop passing the blame!”
“Xiyan!” His voice croaked in protest at being loud. Li Changyu felt a noose wrap around his lungs that cinched tight. It was hard to breathe now, and fresh tears were at the corners of his eyes. “You know me, I am not like that!”
“I don’t know you!” Jin Xiyan dropped his hand and his dark eyes blazed. “You’re no more than a stranger to me, Li Changyu!”
A boulder landing on him would crush him less than those words. He blinked, and at first he was unsure he heard correctly.
“Jin Xiyan, I know you don’t have your memory of me, but, surely…” It was a struggle to get the last words out, “…a stranger?”
There was no response from him, so Li Changyu pressed, “Jin Xiyan, what am I to you!?”
Jin Xiyan’s chest lifted and fell, and his voice was soft. “A Wife and a duty.”
Zhang Wenru’s words crept up the back of his mind. Good breeding stock….Emperors are fickle creatures…
“…It’d be best to know your place,” he murmured under his breath. I can understand not holding a place in his heart, but…not even his thoughts?
“What did you say?” demanded Jin Xiyan.
Li Changyu shook his head, “Nothing…”
Like his Mother, Jin Xiyan turned on his heel and Li Changyu raised a hand to stop him, but his voice wouldn’t escape his throat. Jin Xiyan yanked the door open and he heard him speak.
“How long will it take for him to recover?”
“Answering Your Majesty…” it was his Mother, “It may take up to a month or more…”
“Then that should be enough time for him to reflect on the consequences of his actions.” Jin Xiyan’s bitter tone made the back of Li Changyu’s neck prickle. “He’s not allowed to leave, but he may receive no one but Family and Staff.”
Jin Xiyan’s body stepped away from the door frame and Su Ao cried out, “The Emperor is leaving!”
It took a minute for his Mother and Shen Pei to re-enter the room. When Meimei and Bowen entered, Li Changyu looked at them.
“Both of you go fetch water to heat for my bath.”
“O-of course,” Bowen nodded and took Meimei’s hand to drag his sister along with him. Now alone with his two most trusted people, he motioned for Shen Pei to shut the door.
A hardness encased his heart and it dulled the stinging pain that beat in his chest, but it was still present. He knew crying over this was useless, and anger slowly overtook his feelings of remorse and woe.
“Mother, can you give me medicine that can cut that recovery time in half?”
Li Yuyan frowned slightly, “I can, but I can’t guarantee how effective they will be until I figure out what poison this is.”
He nodded and rolled his neck, “Shen Pei, question Bowen and Meimei. I doubt them the least, but if you can gently figure out if they are part of it, fire them. In fact, fire all the servants and the steward. Let them go with their salary.”
Shen Pei wore a matching expression of concern with his Mother. “Yanhe…are you sure that is wise?”
“I want to make it significantly harder for the enemy to do this again.” He lifted up both hands and indicated to them to help him stand. The two women looked to one another before reaching down and helping him up. Not being a total idiot, Li Changyu leaned against Shen Pei for support. Li Changyu’s mind felt clearer now that he was upright.
“An attack on me is one thing, but it’s another to kill a possible heir.” His mind started to put together facts and possibilities, none of which he wanted to voice right away. “This means the Emperor was also a target in this.” Taking his Mother’s hand in his, Li Changyu squeezed it tight, “I only trust you to help me get better as fast as possible.”
Li Changyu took in a shaky breath and leaned into the touch. He would probably accept a hug later, but right now, he needed to make himself perfectly clear.
“All my weapons are gone, so you must ask Father to get me a sword. I’ll need a set of messenger birds, more clothes – especially covert ones for night – and a dozen brass bells.”
His Mother brushed the back of her fingers over the curve of his cheek. Her voice held a tenderness despite the sorrow in her eyes, “What is it you’re thinking, A-Chang?”
“I need to heal and get back into shape.” He pointed out the obvious first, since he lost weight. A slow, feral grin spread across his lips. “And I need to get back into shape if I’m going to hunt down each and every person that was part of this plan.”
His hurt feelings over his love of Jin Xiyan be damned. Li Changyu etched a vow into his very soul that he would make the conspirators behind this pay tenfold. He couldn’t definitively tie them to the events that helped this whole thing unfold, because there was no way to eliminate the idea that this was just Harem politics. Regardless, they would rue the day they messed with him, and he would begin with the person at the top of his suspect list:
Zhang Wenru.
🤬🤬🤬
The mother-in-law needs to DIE. Just. Die.
And as sus as ZW is, he is also too obvious. Guifei is also too obvious. I think they are part if it all, but maybe not the ringleaders. But the first prince and his osmanthus cakes? That LC ate without a taster? I don’t trust him or is well-timed return home.
Thank you for not taking a knife to this author
Lol, you are telling us a story. I hold the characters accountable for their own actions, lol. BTW I am an English professor and have taught creative writing. I am very much enjoying your work.
For once my work can impress a English professor. I’m a historian and archaeologist (if it wasn’t obvious), now in grad school.
What fun fields to study! Well, you are a good writer, too, and I wish you all the best in grad school. It is tough but worth it. But just keep writing, too!
Ugh. I hate this mother in law. And that Emperor, trash. He’s absolute trash.
👃 Thank you for not throwing stones
I’m sorry. My emotions just went from zero to a really dark place after reading this. I’m looking forward to their character development as much as I’m looking forward to the progression of the plot
There is no need to apologize. Please take care of yourself, this was a heavy chapter.
Ahh my dearest emperor you are going to regret your words today🤦
He’s going to regret so so much
No sabes cuánto espero que todo esto vuelva a Jin Xiya, oh hombre, se arrepentirá tanto y lo disfrutaré como no tienes idea🧍🏻♀️I expect all of those slags but this puppet emperor always ends up disappointing me more
He will suffer a lot, trust me!
ψ (｀ ∇´) ψ
I thought I was heartbroken during the whipping, but this? THIS?? 🤧
LCY, my poor dude. First you lose your baby and then the guy you love denies your importance. And he doesn’t even care that you’re okay.
I’m gonna need LCY to get revenge. And for him not to let JXY ever touch him again (although I know that’s not possible…I can hope a little bit).
YES BITCH FUCK THEM UP!!!!😤😤
I wanna play detective in the comment but its just too obvious-
Also…the further the torture, the deeper the abuse 🙂
Prepare yrself canon fodders and scummy jin xiyan ☺️🔪 ufufu~ i cant wait
Make it more DELISH pls~ ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)
🗡🗡🗡 for the emperor….