Memories of the PalaceCh52 - The Enemy of My Enemy

CW: Mention of domestic violence and QYZ drugging JXY. Pretty unhinged meltdown.

— NYGBTD

“Your Highness, the kitchen sent some of the pastries that you li—”

“Get out of my way!”

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Qin Yuze slapped the tray of osmanthus cakes out of the poor, unsuspecting maid’s hands. The lacquered tray fell with a clatter and the decorated porcelain plates shattered on impact, while the cakes themselves were smushed into the ground by Qin Yuze’s furious, stomping gait. The maid’s eyes went wide, but before she could say anything, the eunuch that followed Qin Yuze quickly wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to the side. In her ear he whispered about what had just happened and the maid’s mouth dropped into a large ‘o’.

All the servants that were busy cleaning the courtyard had heard the crash. Upon seeing their Master in such a state, the ones that had been around the longest retreated, but the newer, less experienced ones, remained. The former had seen the Noble Imperial Consort like this before – but not often. However, when he was like this, it was bad. They knew to get away, and they could not help but pity those that were ignorant. uRLWBT

One of those said ignorant servants reached for the door to the main apartment in order to open it for His Highness. When the door was not even partially opened, Qin Yuze grabbed the edge of it and flung it open, striking the young servant boy. He fell to the ground clutching one of the hands that had taken the brunt of it to his chest. Tears of pain welled up in his eyes, but the eunuch quickly shushed him and closed the door after Qin Yuze entered.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, Qin Yuze tore off two of his hair pins, holding one in each hand. This made his hair fall into disarray, the other combs and pins falling in waves along after his hair. With the two intricately decorated gold pins in his hands, he raised his fists high and slammed the ends into a priceless scroll painting that Jin Xiyan had purchased him last year. He screamed as he dragged them downward. The fragile painting tore with two clean lines down from the center. Qin Yuze hit the painting once more, scarring it even more. Birds scattered from the trees as Qin Yuze’s cries rang out across his courtyard.

When one of the pins finally bent, Qin Yuze dropped them and went to another, this time raking his nails over the delicate painting of a rainy mountain landscape. It too became ribbons under Qin Yuze’s now splitting nails. The lines in the painting matched the rivers of tears that streaked his makeup as they rolled over his cheeks.

A tentative knock from outside the door interrupted him, followed by a weak “Your Highness?”

“SHUT UP!” he bellowed, and reaching for the nearest object, he threw a semi-large porcelain vase that sat on a nearby table at the door. It smashed against the door, discouraging the eunuch from entering. He could hear the servants muffled whispers and it enraged him further, “All of you just SHUT! UP!”

Qin Yuze followed the momentary bliss that came from smashing an object with another vase, this time swiping his arm over the table so all the contents fell over. All the fragile objects broke into pieces, while the slightly sturdier ones were now strewn about.

“Nine years!” he screamed again and attacked his own clothes this time. His raw fingertips grabbed his sleeves and tore each one at a time; the fabric tore with a screeching riiiiip! and they sagged on Qin Yuze’s arms. “NINE YEARS that I have given him!”

He shed the sleeves off and threw them to the ground. Unsatisfied with finishing there, Qin Yuze wrestled off his robe and attacked the collar with his teeth in order to make a tear that he could then rip between his hands. His reddened lips smudged, the color spreading around his chin and corners of his lips in a grotesque way. He also accidentally bit his lip in the process, and blood joined the slickened state of his makeup. hT8Fue

Qin Yuze let the robe drop in tatters and launched himself forward to attack a decorative pillow from the bed. But as he held the plush thing between his shaking hands, he couldn’t bring himself to destroy it.

Curling into himself and clutching the pillow, he choked on a sob, “These two years had been perfect!”

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 buried his face into the pillow and sank down onto his knees as more sobs wracked his body. Again he lamented, “…they were perfect…”

His scattered thoughts eventually collected into the memory of when Jin Xiyan told him that he would not be the Empress. Qin Yuze could see the Imperial Edict in Jin Xiyan’s hand vividly in his mind’s eye. Rmr5Ld

“I am not asking you, I am telling you.”

Jin Xiyan had never been cold towards him, except for those words. By all accounts, Jin Xiyan had been a fair Husband and Crown Prince. He never demanded anything from Qin Yuze, who was then his Princess Consort. He never batted an eye when Qin Yuze threw a fit, nor did he scold him. He would buy an expensive gift and placate Qin Yuze by spending a few hours with him.

But now, less than an incense stick’s worth of time after the Emperor died, with his back to him, Jin Xiyan’s tone was anything but warm.

“B-but…” Qin Yuze stammered, the panic rising up in him threatening to cut off his words. “You said, after you learned my secret, that you would not divorce me!” idgLyz

Jin Xiyan turned around to face Qin Yuze, his frown deep. “Did I say anything about divorce?”

“You just said I would not be the Empress!”

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“You will still be in my Harem. Nothing will change for you. Why does it matter if you are not the Empress?”

Qin Yuze’s fists balled up at his side and his voice rose, “Because I deserve it! I am your First Wife, your Princess Consort, it makes the most sense!” p1PBhJ

Jin Xiyan stepped up to Qin Yuze, his finger raised and pointed at him, “You do not have the privilege to lecture me about sense.” His voice dropped down lower, to an even deadlier tone. “Do not think I am not aware that you have been poisoning Wu Shanjin’s food to prevent him from having a child.”

All the blood in Qin Yuze’s body pooled to his feet, draining the color from his face. For once, Qin Yuze was actually afraid. There were only two things that were Jin Xiyan’s weakness, one of them being children.

It took a moment to gather himself together and say, “I-if…if you knew, then why have you not–”

“Because it has not harmed Wu Shanjin. Yet.” Jin Xiyan shut his eyes, cutting Qin Yuze off from his judgemental gaze, and he let out a deep sigh. “You will stop immediately,” his eyes opened, his face set in an even sterner glare, “And if you dare try to do this when the Empress arrives, you will face far harsher consequences than what your Uncle could come up with.” 2rBCoI

All of Jin Xiyan’s warnings went in one ear and out the other, with only one word standing out. “Arrives?” Qin Yuze blinked, confusion mixing with his anxiety. Has the Empress already been chosen? “Who is it?” When Jin Xiyan’s jaw set tighter, like he was unwilling to answer, Qin Yuze’s voice pitched higher. “Who!?”

“I am sending for Li Changyu tomorrow.”

“Li Changyu?!” Qin Yuze’s hands scrambled for Jin Xiyan’s sleeve as he pulled away. “How can you marry Li Changyu?!”

“With Emperor Father’s edict, I can!” It was not exactly a shout, but Jin Xiyan’s voice was firm. mzuTKx

Qin Yuze’s gaze drifted down to the Edict held in a tight, white knuckled fist. It did not make any sense! Qin Yuze spent the past years hearing Jin Xiyan go on and on about how the Emperor foiled every plan to let Jin Xiyan contact Li Changyu. He was sick to death about Li Changyu! Even hearing his name made Qin Yuze’s heart rate skyrocket.

Wait, he thought to himself. How could the Emperor do such an about face? There was only one possible way, and the mere thought of it made Qin Yuze gasp out loud.

“Jin Xiyan, did you forge the Emperor’s final decree?! Did–”

Qin Yuze’s next words were cut off by Jin Xiyan covering his mouth. He had dropped the decree, forcing Qin Yuze back into the wall within the Emperor’s study – which would become Jin Xiyan’s study. aVG0 q

“Are you mad?!” Again that chilly tone returned, but Jin Xiyan lowered his hand away from Qin Yuze’s mouth. “And what of it?”

Qin Yuze stared into Jin Xiyan’s piercing eyes. He was bewildered – how did some stupid little omega thousands of li away in some backwater frontier town beat him? Just what spell did the little fox cast to have such a hold over Jin Xiyan?!

When Jin Xiyan moved to walk away, Qin Yuze said, “I will tell your Mother!”

“And you think he will believe you?” Jin Xiyan’s brows lowered into a sharp stare, “I am the Emperor now, Qin Yuze. This edict specifically states that you will never become Empress. You have my word – you will have plenty of riches, and nothing will be taken from you. You can live out the rest of your life in peace. Stop demanding for more.” LeuHS5

It would be later that day that Jin Xiyan would have his accident. At first, Jin Xiyan falling into the pond and being injured was a dreadful moment. He worried about being forced to marry the next in line to become an Emperor, who at the time was Jin Xiyan’s Nephew. Worse yet, he could have been sent back to the Sui Kingdom as a widow. His Uncle, the King, wanted this political alliance, and the fact he had not provided any sort of heir for Jin Xiyan would have earned him a severe punishment.

But the accident became a blessing in disguise, because Jin Xiyan woke up with amnesia. He struggled to remember basic things, and as a dutiful Princess Consort, he was at Jin Xiyan’s side. It only took a day to use this to his advantage. Qin Yuze fed Jin Xiyan soup, and in turn would feed him lies mixed with truths. He knew a lot of Li Changyu’s time with Jin Xiyan – it only took a few weeks to convince Jin Xiyan that he was the one that was in his heart. In these two years, he was the one Jin Xiyan loved more than the world.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

But the edict was mysteriously altered. It did not list Li Changyu as Empress any longer, but it still stipulated that Qin Yuze could never be Empress. Qin Yuze could never voice his suspicions, but he found it curious that Jin Xiyan’s Grandmother was in possession of the edict at the time of his accident. Qin Yuze’s scheme worked well, however. When Jin Xiyan had read that line about him not becoming Empress, he apologized to Qin Yuze profusely.

“You know Emperor Father was always opposed to us being together…” u2FVp7

“I know, Yan’er.” Qin Yuze gently stroked a few loose strands of Jin Xiyan’s hair back behind his ear. “It is alright now, because you are Emperor. It does not matter who is the Empress, right?”

“It does not.” Jin Xiyan’s arms pulled Qin Yuze even closer. “You will always be my one love.”

That would not last, however. Six months after the accident, Jin Xiyan started to show signs of his real memories coming in. It did not bother Qin Yuze until one night Jin Xiyan called him Li Changyu while having sex. That was when Qin Yuze knew he had to take control of the situation.

Now Qin Yuze worried that it was happening again, and worse, Jin Xiyan would not let him give him tea! Without the drug, it would be next to impossible to manipulate Jin Xiyan. If Jin Xiyan knew that he had given Qian Jing drugs, would his memories start to return? WlzpXs

I can’t let that happen. There had to be something he could do to turn this back around! If only I could get a moment to drug him again…

Then it came to him. Qin Yuze lifted his head from the pillow and blinked through his blurred vision to clear it. Qin Yuze felt some blood dribble down his chin from the split in his lip, so he swiped the back of his hand over his mouth to clean it. A sense of clarity washed over him as he stared at the back of his blood smeared hand.

Running his hands through his hair, he straightened himself up and called out softly, “Yu Jing?”

Less than a breath after he said his name, the eunuch gently pried the door open to peer inside. YToCRx

“Yes…Your Highness…?”

“Have some servants prepare a bath for me in the smaller apartment while the others clean this one.” His refined, elegant cadence returned, but due to the hoarseness of his throat he kept his voice down.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Do tell the servants to not put the replacements in my room.” Qin Yuze slowly rose and adjusted his robe to keep his modesty in check and stepped around the broken shards that surrounded him. “Package them up and send them to His Highness the Empress Dowager.” aorns3

“To Mu – ah, this one means – Jin Qiuye?”

“Yes.”

Qin Yuze stepped up to the large brass mirror that hung from the wall above his washing stand. He stared at his reflection on the polished surface while removing his makeup.

“…This lowly one wishes to ask why, Your Highness?” mvfyZX

“That brat of an Empress is a soldier, isn’t he?” Qin Yuze gently dabbed away his smudged eyebrows. He closed his eyes and cleaned off the ruined makeup around them. When Qin Yuze opened his eyes back up, he was smiling. “Doesn’t the saying go, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?”

With Jin Qiuye, he could find enough time to fix Jin Xiyan. The ends of Qin Yuze’s now bare lips curled into a vicious grin.

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“Let’s mend my relationship with Mother-in-law, shall we?”