Memories of the PalaceCh26 - Red Spider Lilies

——- V6auM4

Because Li Changyu never went into battle unprepared, they did not take a direct path to Henglu. After consulting with some of the soldiers who were familiar with the area around the village, even those who were originally from there. The most strategic thing to do was to not be seen until the last possible minute. Though there was a lot of flat land, there were a few crested hills, and he and his men could ride up along the crest of one to avoid detection.

Li Changyu drew some shapes in the dirt with his sword and explained his plans to the squad leaders, “Majority of the cavalry will join me in the right flank, where we will circle around. Left flank, take the shields and archers with you, and head straight to Henglu. If you can draw their eye first and keep a shield up, we can rush them from the West.”

He lifted his head to look at the five men around him. “It is imperative we capture some alive in order to question them. Minister Ping explained that so far no one has been able to get a thing out of them. They will take poison if captured, so check their teeth immediately when you bring one down.”

Li Changyu hoped the severity of his words made it clear how important it was that they get some answers. All of them stood up and saluted one another before parting. Weixiao whinnied beside him and stamped his feet in anticipation. With a small pat on the soft nose, Li Changyu pulled himself onto the saddle, and the others followed suit.

He let the leaders have a minute to explain the details to their squads, which also gave him some time to collect himself. After an hour of riding, his thighs ached from the lack of using those muscles. It frustrated him how out of shape he was, but Li Changyu was confident he could handle this. He had tested out his sword arm, pleased that at least those seemed to remember how to work.

Looking back out across the land, Li Changyu found himself sad and a little elated. Jin Xiyan had said yes, and here he was able to put his skills to use. He wasn’t bound within the four giant walls, and he could breathe the fresh air despite it being tinged with ash that fluttered along. Li Changyu faced the distance where long plumes of smoke billowed up to the sky, stretching up like imposing columns of smog.

He frowned and worried, We haven’t run into any refugees yet… Though it wasn’t strange, since they had avoided the main roads, there should have been some that had been smart enough to avoid paths and run towards the capital. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and gripped it tight. Unwilling to think of the worst, he tried to reassure himself. There has to be survivors, at the very least.

A young man galloped towards him, interrupting him from his anxious thoughts. He stopped his horse beside him, close enough that Li Changyu could see the sweat visibly run down the open face of his helmet. Even with the chilly day, being under armor was laborious. iFbtCS

“Lieutenant General Li, we are ready at your command.”

Li Changyu pivoted Weixiao around to face his men. This was the first time he led more than a couple hundred, but they all listened. He hoped this wouldn’t be the last time he fought side by side with them, but…he shook his head. Li’s die on the battlefield, or not at all.

He tightened his grip on his sword and withdrew it from its sheath and raised it high. Many followed his move, brandishing their weapons proudly. A war cry would alert the enemy too early, so Li Changyu simply swung his sword towards the direction he would ride to signal his flank. Weixiao nimbly twisted around with just a slight tug on the rein and burst forward into a speedy gallop.

They rode hard and fast, only needing to cross the distance in enough time that once the left flank engaged, they would already be there and ready to blindside the enemy. Hoofs beat against the ground in sync with one another, creating a sort of war melody that had become a familiar song that filled Li Changyu’s heart. He didn’t enjoy killing, but he took pride and joy in defending his home. v6cApw

Like a flock of birds, he and his men rode up along the crest of the hill, kicking up dirt and grass as they did. When they came up and over the edge, Li Changyu raised his sword up and prepared to call a charge when he stopped. He yanked on Weixiao’s reins to bring him to a skidding halt, and others behind him did the same. A hush fell over them as Li Changyu stared down at the scene below.

There were several dozens of bodies strewn about wearing clothes that looked like they were trying to appear Northern. The colors and stitching did not appear like any of the groups he knew of, and their hair – what he could see from his spot – looked different amongst each person and, again, looked like a poor imitation of those he knew. Stranger still, was that Sun Shangwu and his unit were in the middle of this encampment, their Imperial Army flags raised high. It looked like they had been there for some time, too, for fires to have been made.

The left flank had just arrived, their shout cut off too by the surprise at seeing the rest of the Imperial Army. How…how could he have gotten here so fast? Ping Feng said that they were so far away, that this was why Li Changyu had to lead the troops. It appeared that Sun Shangwu had already taken care of the enemy, but there were so few bodies that Li Changyu’s suspicions rose.

General Sun Shangwu, who was sitting in a chair and table that had been clearly brought for him, stood up. He could tell it was him by his armor, which resembled the set his Father once wore. There was also the unmistakable scar that ran down from his hairline along his temple and curved over his cheek to point towards the corner of his lips. General Sun picked up a golden scroll from the desk and lifted it high. His voice carried easily over the plain. VHdElp

“Li Changyu! This is an Imperial Edict! Get down here!”

Two of his squad leaders came up beside him. One of them whispered, “What’s going on, Yanhe?”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Li Changyu lifted a fist in a stop motion, and he quickly calculated his options. An Imperial Edict? He watched Sun Shangwu carefully and he narrowed his eyes. He nudged Weixiao forward, and his horse walked slowly down the faint slope. His men followed, also taking a snail’s pace, until they reached the foot of the hill. Li Changyu rode a little further, but Sun Shangwu’s spearmen had surrounded their General and faced out in a defensive wall. Li Changyu could see him above their heads as he remained on his horse.

Li Changyu called to him, “What is the meaning of this, Sun Shangwu?” i0owP3

“Get down from there first,” sneered Sun Shangwu.

It was no secret that many other Generals openly disdained Li Changyu. More often than not, they thought an omega on the battlefield was a bad omen. He never let it bother him before, but now it irked him. His hold on the reins tightened.

“I’d remind you that I am the Empress,” he said, enunciating each word. “If there is an Imperial Edict for me, I would like to know the details of how you acquired it.”

Sun Shangwu’s lip curled into a smirk, “Want to do this the hard way, huh?” dAiG4e

Li Changyu’s spine stiffened as Sun Shangwu’s men parted and Genera Sunl stepped out. He leisurely unrolled the scroll as he walked towards Li Changyu, ending at a few feet from him before lifting the edict up.

“Former Lieutenant General Li Changyu is hereby charged with treason, harboring fugitives, and making a secret army with possible plans of endangering His Majesty, the Great Emperor Jin.”

Sun Shangwu’s words struck him harder than any blow that had ever landed on him. What?! The air left his lungs, and his heart stopped. He was momentarily frozen while the soldiers around him murmured.

The General’s beady eyes lifted to look at Li Changyu, his smug grin still present. “We came upon your soldiers here that attacked Henglu. We have evidence of your orders, and we captured some of your recent recruits that were willing to testify.” JQLbhR

Sun Shangwu blew out a sharp whistle and a small group of soldiers parted. A single soldier stepped through the gap, pulling on a heavy chain that hung over his shoulder.

“Move it!” yelled the soldier, and he came towards the huddle near Sun Shangwu. Tethered to the rusted chain were a series of shackles that bound fifteen men to it. Li Changyu’s blood ran cold and drained away from his face. At the head of those imprisoned men was Hao Feng, the son of one of the Ministry of Revenue officials and one of the men that went missing. In fact, all the men behind the soldier were the ones that had gone missing. They were dressed like the discarded bodies off to the side, in the mix-match leathers and silks

“Weiming? Weiming is that you?!” One of his soldiers cried out to a man in chains and began to rush over. “What is the meaning of this?!”

Li Changyu yelled when Sun Shangwu’s men started to draw their swords, “Stay back!” oxk9rT

His breathing came in short pants, his panic and shock threatening to overcome him. He tried to focus, but the shouting from his troops was distracting. Some of his men pulled that soldier back, but Li Changyu could see the distress on the man’s face. Others too were lost and confused, and they looked to him for answers, even though he had none.

“Well?” Sun Shangwu’s words yanked him out of his mental fog and his head whipped back towards him. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Li Changyu took this window of clarity as a chance to assess his situation. He and his men were outnumbered, and if any of his men lifted a finger they would be likely killed. Sun Shangwu had the soldiers that had gone missing, and he claimed that they provided testimony that supported the charges against him.

But that still doesn’t explain the edict. His eyes honed in on the scroll in Sun Shangwu’s hands. If – if – Sun Shangwu managed to get here, how would he have received an edict when less than two hours ago, Jin Xiyan let him go to battle? Jin Xiyan worked diligently as an Emperor, but even he couldn’t listen to guidance and arguments then issue an edict in such a small gap of time. There could only be one answer: GzQ30I

Li Changyu lifted his gaze to lock eyes with Sun Shangwu. That edict is fake, and the one person that could possibly have grabbed a scroll would have to be someone of the Imperial Family– he gasped — Zhang Wenru!

The man seemed awfully compliant about him going to this battle to begin with, and had been the top suspect on his list. The kidnapped men looked like they’d gone through Hell and back, and by the way they avoided looking at him, it was clear that they were victims in all this too. Still, he couldn’t make sense of the Third Prince Uncle’s end game. Frame me with a crime that leads to execution? What can he possibly gain from it?

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“You are quiet over there. Has the rabbit finally been cornered and rendered speechless?”

Li Changyu ground his teeth together and glared at Sun Shangwu. It was likely that Sun Shangwu was in on this, especially from the way he was acting extra high and mighty. He knew he had to choose his words carefully, “I am disturbed by these accusations…but I have no choice but to comply in order to clear my name.” gy0DZs

He hoped that he was successful in projecting an air of calm as he dismounted from his horse. Li Changyu wasn’t surprised by the chorus of shwick!s he met with when he turned and the closest dozen or so soldiers had unsheathed their swords and trained them all on him. His gaze tracked Sun Shangwu, which he could still see just a little bit over the shoulders of the men in front of him.

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.

Reaching for his sword got him yelled at by one of Sun Shangwu’s cronies, “Don’t even think about it!”

Li Changyu placed his palm over the clasp of his belt, “I’m disarming myself. Or, what, you want to take me to the dungeon with a weapon?”

He scoffed at the twisted up expression the man gave and he undid his belt, letting his scabbard and blade fall to the ground. Sun Wangshu squeezed through his soldiers, barking at them to back up so he could stand before Li Changyu. 6fy0sW

“Hands up, and don’t think of doing any funny business.” Sun Shangwu at least had the decency to be appropriately worried about Li Changyu’s capabilities. Li Changyu lifted both hands in the air, and Sun Shangwu nodded to his men.

Two came toward Li Changyu, one of them circling behind and kneed Li Changyu in the back. Even with a layer of armor, the blow to his kidneys knocked the wind out of him. He collapsed, falling onto one knee, and shouts rang out from the side his soldiers were on.

“You’re beating him, not arresting him!”

“You can’t treat Yanhe like that!” TU7Pn4

His ribs burned, but he pushed past the pain to yell at the men, “Knock it off! I’ve dealt with worse than this, so you all will stand down!”

A foot pressed against his shoulders and lurched him forward onto hands and knees, then the heel slammed into the back of his head, shoving his face into the dirt. His inhale in surprise pulled in grass and sandy loam which hit his tongue that tasted blood. Something solid pressed across his shoulders and his arms were wrenched back and up. His wrists were lashed to what felt like a carrying pole that was draped over his shoulders.

Li Changyu’s hair, which had come undone, was roughly grabbed into a tight fist and his head pulled back until he was almost on his knees once more. It was Sun Shangwu who had him by the hair, and his ruddy face hovered close with a self-satisfied grin that tugged on his scar.

“Not so tough now, little omega, eh?” oKSjGd

Heh, he chuckled to himself. Li Changyu slid his tongue out and dragged it along the blood on his split lip. He gathered it and some saliva in his mouth before he spat in Sun Shangwu’s face. He let out a real laugh as Sun Shangwu sputtered and hurried to wipe his face with a fat, meaty palm. Sun Shangwu didn’t let him go unpunished, of course. The General growled and pushed Li Changyu so he landed face first in the dirt once more.

—–

Li Changyu was led back on foot to the Capital under the hot midday sun, yoked to the carrying pole that sat heavy on his shoulders. He was led along like cattle with a rope around his neck, adding to his embarrassing march through the city. Like before, people stopped and stared, and their looks felt penetrating, cutting into his shame and anger. By the time they reached the Capital, the sky was tinged purple and the sun was preparing to touch the horizon.

The rest of his soldiers were left alone, except they would apparently have to be quartered and questioned. Li Changyu prayed that that would be the case – making twelve hundred people “disappear” would be a difficult feat even for Third Prince Uncle. Well, he did manage to plan this far. CJ7X5E

His drifting thoughts made him pause until a sharp tug choked him. There was a yell from the soldier at the other end of the rope, “Move it along!”

Scrambling on his aching and sore feet, he managed to keep up enough that the tension in the rope was lax. It was not a surprise that he was dragged to the Dali Temple, where many officials and high ranking cases were tried. He was ushered into a side room that held three jail cells with wooden lattice that only had enough space between the squares to fit an arm through.

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A low-ranking looking scholar in grey shuffled over to one of the cells when he and the group of soldiers escorting him came through. He unlocked the cell and held the door open for him. The soldiers removed the neck rope and untied his wrists, which had gone numb halfway to the Capital. His shoulders sagged down when his arms dropped thankfully to his side, but his relief was short-lived as his elbows were grabbed and he was pushed into the cell. He made no move to resist and went into it willingly, a bit too tired to fight at the moment. The scholar shut and locked the door behind him, then pointed to the corner of the floor near the single bucket.

“You may change into those,” the squeaky voice of the man – who apparently was just old enough to have his voice just beginning to turn over – explained to him. Then the young man met with the soldiers for a hushed conversation. CRw9vI

Turning, Li Changyu saw the single white robe and underwear that was left. Since he’d been stripped down to just his shirt, pants, and boots, he was covered in dirt and grime from the journey. While a fresh set of clothes was tempting, he wanted to wait for the soldiers to leave before he changed in order to minimize how many people would see him naked. He did not need to worry, as shortly after that thought, all the soldiers and the scholar left the room, leaving him alone.

He untied the small knots of his shirt and hissed in pain when he shrugged the fabric off him. The small gesture was enough to pull at his bunched up muscles. When he got it off, he took some time to stretch his neck and arms in order to work out the stiffness.

Rubbing his wrists, he muttered to himself, “Fuckers knew how to tie good knots, too.”

“Planning an escape?” 8mlfhJ

Li Changyu genuinely startled at the voice, as it was not someone he was expecting. He jerked his head towards the sound, which was a mistake as it sent a shooting pain up the back of it. He groaned and hung his head while rubbing the aching spot.

“What do you want, Your Highness?” He addressed the voice without bothering to look at them, since they were easily recognizable.

Jin Ai, Jin Xiyan’s biological brother, let out a throaty chuckle. He leaned towards the wooden that criss crossed over itself, his face clearly on display within a square. His violet eyes twinkled in the dim lamp light in the windowless room.

“Is that how you plan on greeting your Brother-in-law?” Jin Ai had the nerve to add a pout at the end. 68UAEb

Ugh. Keeping his voice neutral, Li Changyu answered, “I think you can understand my lack of patience right now, Brother.”

“I think you’ll find the patience to listen to my offer to help.”

Annoyed and curious, Li Changyu slid his gaze over to Jin Ai while he tended to his wounds as best as he could, dabbing at them with a clean end of his shirt.

“Help?” He snorted and shook his head, “And how exactly can you help me?” JfQtEG

“You need someone on your side,” Jin Ai pointed out the obvious. “Someone who can help talk to His Majesty and see the value in holding off on any execution to further investigate these claims.”

“Oh?” He knew if he sat down, he would not be able to get back up again, so Li Changyu leaned against the wall in order to reach down and remove his boots. The air felt cold to the heated, blistered skin of his feet and he let out a sigh with his next words, “Ahh…and that someone would be you, I take it?”

“Of course!” Jin Ai’s smirk grew and he raked his eyes from Li Changyu’s face down to his now bare feet. He watched his Brother-in-law with a cautious eye and straightened before letting his boots fall. Jin Ai shook his head and tsk’d. “Don’t look so skeptical. I think we can help one another.”

“What is it that I could exactly do for you behind bars?” QtywNY

Jin Ai’s chin tilted down and his leer turned dark. Li Changyu became aware of how bare he was, and even if it was his chest, the way Jin Ai was looking at him made his skin prickle and crawl.

“How about I ask that pathetic jailer for the key and I join you for a bit of one on one time, hmm?” Jin Ai brushed his hair back, probably putting on a charming air that fell flat to him. “I am sure after a little coaxing, you will understand what I mean. It shouldn’t be too much trouble for you, surely. You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours by making my Brother nice.”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Li Changyu had a long list of people he wanted to seek revenge, dating all the way back to when he was eight and crossed paths with an older kid who stole His Majesty’s weiqi board that had been gifted to him by his Emperor Grandfather. Out of the dozens and dozens of names, Jin Ai rocketed himself into first place at this very moment.

He glanced at the water clock in the opposite corner of the room, and it was ticking closer to sunset. Li Changyu figured that if he wasn’t immediately put before the Emperor and a Judge, he’d be spending a night here. It was probably the safest spot for him, so he had no worries for what he planned to do. N0apyV

Li Changyu lowered his eyelashes for a sheepish look and murmured softly, “Is that what His Highness really wants…?”

He didn’t wait for Jin Ai to answer for him to slowly approach the bars. Li Changyu inched close, and given that he was slightly taller than most omegas, he was almost even with Jin Ai’s beta size. He peered up at the Prince with a sultry look, distracting him from the movement of his hand. Jin Ai smiled and opened his mouth, but a strangled cry came out.

Li Changyu had slipped his hand through one of the squares that was level with Jin Ai’s groin. He grabbed a tight hold of Jin Ai’s cock and balls, his fingertips digging into the fleshy sack. The color drained immediately from Jin Ai’s face and his hand grabbed for Li Changyu’s wrist, but he just squeezed the Prince’s bits even tighter.

Wheezing, Jin Ai stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless. Li Changyu brought his face close to where Jin Ai’s face was and dropped his voice into a deadly whisper, “The next time I ever end up touching this, Jin Ai, is the day I rip it off you. Do you understand?” Audeb5

“Guh-!!!” Jin Ai sucked in a breath and cried, “GUARDS!”

Li Changyu let go of him and slipped back to the end of the cell. He smirked at Jin Ai’s crumpled form and reached down to pick up the crisp white doudou. Imperial Guards and the grey clad scholar rushed back in, looking between them both.

“Don’t just stand there!” Jin Ai snarled at them, “Help me up!”

A guard assisted Jin Ai while Li Changyu slipped the robe on. He tied it off quickly and pulled his hair out from the collar. The scholar banged on the wooden bars of his cell. fYg974

“You better hurry it up! We are bringing you to the sentencing hall, and you better not–”

“Yeah, yeah, I better not try to escape.” He was bored with the constant threats by now, and it grated on his already fried nerves. “I’m innocent, so there is no need for me to run.”

With the robe providing some modesty, Li Changyu pushed down his pants and quickly replaced it with the white ones. Jin Ai was led away and the guard that was left behind came up to his cell and held up some rope.

“Put your hands through so I can tie your wrists together,” he said, his voice gruff. QAd vW

Li Changyu complied and touched his wrists together, sticking them through a hole. His hands were tied together, and after being ordered to stand off to the side, the door was unlocked and brought out with a guard at each side holding an arm.

He’d never seen the inside of Dali Temple, but the main room was more imposing than the main hall of the Imperial Palace. Li Changyu was led into the center of a large open space, and to his left and right were a few short rows of theatre seating, as if the accused were a show. In front of him was a tall platform with a long table and several seats. In one of them was the Emperor, and next to him was the elderly Judge Ran, and of course, the ever-present Su Ao was off to the side.

“Kneel,” ordered one of the guards. He didn’t really give Li Changyu the opportunity to kneel himself, and instead pushed him to. He landed on his sore knees with a smack and winced.

Judge Ran peered down at him over the golden rim of a large magnifying glass that was almost as big as his face. He set it down on top of some files that were strewn over the table and folded his hands over one another on it. dvqSng

“Your Highness, we are here to ask some questions and determine if an immediate sentencing is appropriate. For the record, what do you plead?”

“Not guilty, My Lord.” Li Changyu made sure to keep eye contact and his chin up. He would be polite, but he wanted to express his conviction of his innocence.

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Judge Ran made a motion with his head that was neither a nod or a shake, then shifted towards Jin Xiyan. “Your Majesty, will you accept this claim before we continue?”

Jin Xiyan…didn’t look good. He didn’t look angry or furious, which is what Li Changyu had anticipated, but he was slumped in his chair, an elbow on the table and holding his forehead. His posture looked defeated, and his pallor was simultaneously pale and a little yellow in color. Jin Xiyan’s head lifted and his violet eyes caught his, and instead of anger burning in them, there was a pained look. He furrowed his brows, then waved his other hand. 6pIqL7

“Zhen accepts. Continue.”

Judge Ran looked as equally concerned as Li Changyu was. Su Ao kept looking between all the parties, and whenever his eyes landed on his Master, he would worry his lip. Judge Ran turned back to him and lifted his magnifying glass back up and hovered it over some documents. He looked them over with one eye shut, and he hummed.

“It is interesting that His Highness proclaims his innocence, with such compelling evidence.” The man lifted his head and motioned for a guard. One approached and Judge Ran handed a single piece of paper to him. “Please confirm if this is not your handwriting.”

The guard came over and held the paper in front of him. He reached for it, but the guard snatched it back, “Look, don’t touch.” eHFYk2

Arching a brow, he complied, and looked it over. It was a note outlining some orders, all looking martial and official, and while it was his handwriting, there was a key flaw. He smirked and looked back up at the Judge.

“This subject would ask where were these documents found?”

Judge Ran cleared his throat, “While it is not typical for the accused to be asking such questions…this is a particularly odd case as it involves the Empress. So, Your Highness, I will grant your request. These letters, and a map, were found by a Shadow Guard inside your bedroom in the Phoenix Palace.”

Oh? Li Changyu tilted his head, “And who warranted this search?” 7gD4h6

“According to the Shadow Guard, he made the judgement after finding some suspicious behavior from you.”

“I am assuming my staff was questioned as well?”

Judge Ran chuckled at that, “Please, Your Highness, we know how to conduct our work.”

Li Changyu’s eyes flicked over to Jin Xiyan, who watched their exchange with half-lidded eyes. His expression was blank, and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand. c81Ju0

“This subject means no offense,” Li Changyu dipped his head, returning his focus back to the questioning. “I am merely trying to ascertain the situation. Was my staff questioned?”

“They were, and of course, they all claimed that the papers were not yours.”

Li Changyu nodded, “Before I answer your question about the handwriting, I will say that while one can argue that a Shadow Guard was capable enough to sneak past my staff, it is another to sneak past two tigers. Tell me, was the Shadow Guard injured at all?”

It was Judge Ran’s turn to lift his bushy brows in surprise. He coughed into his fist, the action ruffling his long grey mustache. “Well, ah…there is a limit to what we will divulge. Now, if you please Your Highness, is this or is this not your handwriting?” 0tEQ9s

He kept his answer short and simple, “It is, and it isn’t.”

“Elaborate,” said Jin Xiyan flatly. For once, his face cracked and his brows lowered and pinched together.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Answering Your Majesty…” Li Changyu took a deep breath, “It is true that this looks like my handwriting, but it is a specific style that I used only for calligraphy. It looks nothing like my hand that I use for such correspondences within the military, of which there are countless examples in the Ministry of War’s archives.”

“Your Highness, would you like us to not believe that you wouldn’t use your calligraphy penmanship as a means to disguise your handwriting?” Judge Ran chuckled, and Jin Xiyan’s scowl grew. hwBs25

“While that is very well a possibility, it would be stupid of me to openly explain that I have two styles of writing. I could have denied it, but I know without a doubt these are forgeries.”

Jin Xiyan questioned him next, “What makes you so confident?”

Li Changyu paused to watch Jin Xiyan’s face, but when his heart started to crackle like dried clay, he turned his gaze downward. “Let me explain more plainly, Your Majesty. While this is similar to my calligraphy penmanship, this was clearly written by someone who is right handed. I am left handed, but as a fighter we use both, and then in the military we are to only use our right.”

Judge Ran sat up in alarm and motioned for the guard with an outstretched hand. The man returned and presented the paper back to him and the Judge examined it again with his glass. UdamMH

He lifted his head back to Judge Ran. “I use calligraphy on my real dominant hand, and my very poor scrawl with my right. For someone to know this style, they would have to have access to either the examples in my Family’s manor, or the countless ones that exist in the Grand Empress Dowager’s residence, or with the First Prince, or in the collection of His Majesty the Fallen Emperor’s—”

“Enough!” Jin Xiyan boomed, and his hand smacked the top of the table, shaking the documents on top. He, Judge Ran, and the others jumped in their respective spots. Jin Xiyan rose to his feet and glared down at him.

“You will tell me who you are this instant!” he commanded.

Li Changyu opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. How could he even explain it? I was your friend. I loved you. I thought the world of you. I thought you liked me too. He pressed his lips together more, afraid of what would spill out of his mouth. QkSad1

At his silence, Jin Xiyan grew visibly more angry. His grimace pulled back his lips enough that he could almost see Jin Xiyan’s teeth. The Emperor flicked his sleeve and rounded the table, left the platform, and came up to him.

Jin Xiyan grabbed him by the chin and jerked his head back, “Do you think this is one of your games?!”

“I happen to agree with your Brother and Grandmother!” He growled.

Su Ao stammered, “Y-Your Majesty–” wfpcan

Jin Xiyan ignored him, his fingers digging into Li Changyu’s jaw. “I do not care about that anymore! I am sick of this, and if I am supposed to believe anything that comes out of your mouth, you will tell me who you are!”

“Why would it even matter if you knew?!” Anger welled up, fueling the burn and ache that plagued his entire body from the whole ordeal. Snarling, he shot back, “I don’t care about what you want! Even if there wasn’t a risk, I would rather be left forgotten!”

Jin Xiyan let go and swayed. He fell back a step, and his hand went up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Su Ao hurried over to his side, fretting over him.

“Y-Your Majesty, maybe it would be best–” urIyDJ

“Silence,” Jin Xiyan whispered, shutting his eyes while he spoke. “Send His Highness to the Cold Palace, where he will stay until we conclude sentencing tomorrow.”

Judge Ran quickly got to his feet and bowed along with the others as Jin Xiyan left without another word, Su Ao trailing in his wake.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

When the distant sound of doors banging carried out to them, Judge Ran sighed and looked to the guards, “W-well…men, send His Highness to the Cold Palace.”

———- v8X eN

Forty-five minutes later…

The Palace of Wise Guidance, Li Changyu thought bitterly to himself as he was roughly led in through the gate. Where one is sent to think on their actions against the Emperor. He snorted. As if.

Though he was taller now and an adult, the walls were still just as high and imposing as before. He wondered if he could still climb them as easily as he did in his youth. In the middle of his reminiscing, he was shoved into the small yard. The thick wooden doors slammed shut behind him, almost catching him in the back. 3BLcHJ

“We’ll be back to collect you when your judgement comes,” said the muffled voice of one of the guards on the other side.

He could hear their footsteps recede, and with a sigh, he padded across the cold granite with his bare feet. The Cold Palace wasn’t meant to be much; there was only the garden and the two buildings. One was a kitchen that probably had never seen its hearth lit, since there were no servants allowed and he doubted many Concubines and Consorts knew how to cook for themselves. The thought of food made his empty stomach pang, but he ignored it in favor of going to the larger of the two buildings. This was the main room which was just the living quarters, though calling it living quarters was generous.

The structures were crumbling and dilapidated, and the weeds even looked dead. The screen doors had long since fallen, the decaying wood scattered by the entrance, and thus exposing the room to the chill air. He coughed at the dust that lingered when he stepped in, then blinked to make out the room in the moonlight. There was a bare wooden structure that would normally be a bed, but there was no mattress, blanket, or pillows. However, there was something on it that was strange.

Li Changyu frowned and approached the bed and sat on the edge of it. The thick layer of dust would normally have deterred him, but his entire body felt like it was on the verge of collapsing. At what would probably be considered the head of the bed was a small white bottle with a red stopper, a note, and a faded bit of carving in the wood that was covered in dust. daxf5S

His heart stopped at the note and bottle, his mind forcing him to focus on the carved letters instead. After brushing away the dust, he ran his fingers over the carving to help better read them.

Murmuring, he read it outloud as he figured the words out, “What is past…I cannot reach again…And what is to come I…cannot keep…Empr–”

He snatched his hand back like he’d been scalded, his eyes widening in alarm. Empress Rulan?! Li Changyu knew these words were part of a poem he was familiar with. Tentatively, he examined the signature closer. Scrawled on the worn surface was in fact the former Empress’ name. While he couldn’t remember her handwriting, there was not any other Empress in the long Dynasty with that name.

Li Changyu frowned, When did Empress Rulan spend time in the Cold Palace…? Just then an eerie wind blew through the room and Li Changyu huddled in on himself with a shiver. The chill breeze rattled some of the loose panels and pushed the folded paper towards Li Changyu. uRKePA

It brushed against his thigh, and the cold sense of dread filled his heart. Li Changyu was not a stupid man – he knew what that bottle was. He didn’t want to believe it was what it was, but it was staring right at him. With a shaky hand, he picked up the note and opened it. There was only a short message.

Take care of this yourself quietly, and your Family and friends won’t be implicated.

You will be given a burial with your body intact.

This offer won’t be made again. ZDeTfJ

Li Changyu read the note over again, and again, but on the fourth time the ink became smudged from little drops of tears that fell down his cheeks and trailed down to his chin, where it would fall and land on the paper. There was the tiniest fraction of hope that the note would explain something like, no, this isn’t poison, but some medicine for you.

“Did you expect some cute note?” He mocked himself out loud, crumpling the paper in his shaking hands. “See you bright and early tomorrow? Get well soon? This will all be cleared up?”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

It seemed to be true that Jin Xiyan wouldn’t believe a word that he said, even though his argument was enough to cast doubt on the mysterious papers. With only himself there, he whispered;

“Maybe even with the doubt…” Li Changyu’s lip quivered, and the reality set in. “It would be easier to just handle it like this.” XHwl2h

The note slipped from his lax fingers and fell to the musty floor, only to be carried by another breeze that blew through the Cold Palace. Li Changyu reached and took the small bottle in hand and rested it in his lap, weighing his options.

“If I don’t take the poison and they find me tomorrow, will they arrest my Family?” Two generations would be wiped out. No, three! He remembered that Li Julong was expecting, and Li Changyu covered his mouth with his free hand.

Shen Pei, Bowen…even Meimei and Ping-Shixiong…Even his tigers, who were like his babies, would likely be slaughtered.

Li Changyu shut his eyes and slid his hand up to cover them, begging himself to stop his crying. The Emperor doesn’t deserve my tears, he reminded himself. AUmJIu

Even if he was forced into a corner, Li Changyu resolved to do this his way. He stood up and tightened his grip on the bottle so it would not drop as he left the room and stepped out into the yard. He turned and headed towards the pond.

When he arrived, it was a scene untouched by time. The withered willow tree was still there, gnarled and branches bare. The mud along the bank was familiar, and the large lotuses swayed as the breeze cast soft ripples over the dark, mirror-like surface of the water.

He turned to the tree, his stupid curiosity getting the better of him once again, and his hand touched the thin trunk. His fingers skimmed over the wrinkled bark, until finally he found the identifiable dip where his name was. Kneeling down, the moon was just bright enough to cast small shadows along it and reveal his and Jin Xiyan’s names.

Like a cruel ghost, the words of a more pleasant, simpler time haunted him. miaLxd

“What are you doing with a knife?!”

“I carry a sword during the day and you’re wondering why I have a knife?”

He choked out a laugh and pressed his forehead against the trunk. Thicker tears cascaded down freely, his physical pain and weariness preventing him from holding it back any longer. Strangely, the rest of the poem that was in the Cold Palace came to him. Whether to himself or the heavens, he recited the words.

“I wish…” he rasped, his throat barely working to say the words. “That I could climb the Taihua Mountain, roam up there with Songzi the immortal. The fisherman knew the sufferings of the world…” He sat up and his gaze drifted to the pond, “Taking a little skiff, he drifted along with the current.” Qx39dN

Li Changyu’s other hand found the stopper for the bottle and clasped it tight. With one last look at their names, he tried to invoke one final prayer. “Let my love for you die in this life, and not plague me in the next.”

Before he could back out and cause even more trouble, Li Changyu yanked the bottle open and threw his head back to chug the contents down. It was bitter and burned on the way down, stinging harder than his tears. He couldn’t take much more, and thinking that perhaps it was all gone, he dropped the bottle.

He did not feel any immediate effects, but before long his vision started to blur. He hunched over, swaying on his hands and knees. A hallucination of sorts came over him, and green stems unfurled up from the ground by his hands, popping to reveal vibrantly red spider lilies. They crowded around him, and while a rational part of Li Changyu’s brain tried to tell him it was just the poison taking over, his body reacted on instinct. He stood up and back peddled, his feet sinking into the mud as a sea of spider lilies formed around him. They chased him to the pond, and even the lotuses morphed into large bunches of them.

Li Changyu’s foggy consciousness registered the sound of the splash before realizing he was now under water. His chest burned the further he sank away from the rippling surface, and the only thing that cut through the inky blackness of the water was the bright circle of the moon. His arms reached up towards it, in his daze thinking he could touch it. NVdrlq

The edges of his vision were fading to black, but before he shut his eyes, there was a flash of light that covered the reflection of the moon, and something red crashed through the surface. A red string shot towards him and swam around one of his outstretched hands. The delusion felt so real that he could feel the tight coil. Li Changyu’s eyes threatened to shut once again, but he was suddenly yanked and he shot up with a great big gasp. Paper scattered from his sudden jolt, fluttering off the desk.

Desk? He blinked, his vision still somewhat blurred. Li Changyu looked at his surroundings. Papers?

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“What?” he whispered out loud, confused. Looking around, he found that he was in a room. In the Emperor’s room. Bewildered, he spoke louder now, “Was it all just a drea–What’s wrong with my voice?!”

Li Changyu touched his throat, and instead of the rough calluses he knew so well, soft fingers touched his neck. He jumped in his seat again and looked down at his hands, which were large. Touching his face, he could feel the sensation, but he knew this was not his face at all. The nose was too strong, and the jaw, and…and..! WtdOqs

He stood up, his legs feeling like jello and he stumbled, knocking over the tea set off the desk that he realized was the very same one he’d been fucked on. Li Changyu wheezed out a breath and he used the furniture to help support him as he made his way over to where he knew the long bronze mirror was.

Li Changyu mustered a bit of strength and stood at full height before standing in front of the mirror. His jaw dropped, as the face staring at him was Jin Xiyan’s. He repeated the touching himself bit, and even touched the mirror.

“What…what is…” His stomach clenched a bit and a bit of nausea, that was much too familiar, came over him. He felt like he’d been poisoned again by the Viper’s Tongue, but that was ridiculous because he was dying from the poison in the–

“Wait…if I’m here…” Li Changyu turned back to the mirror, still in disbelief, “..then where is my body and His Majesty?!” tjVnrD