Emperor Huan propped his head up with one hand and fiddled with the puppet with the other, remaining silent for a long while. After a moment, a smile played on his lips as he said calmly, "Why does the Empress come to report to me? Haven't you always been in charge of all matters, big and small, in the palace?"
The Empress suddenly raised her head, her gaze rippling like waves, and pursed her lips: "I am His Majesty's wife."
"You are my wife!" Emperor Huan paused, then, after a moment, though a smile still lingered on his lips, his tone suddenly turned icy. "Then I will avenge my virtuous empress and send Jiang Wei—"
He was beaten to death.
Four
The harem finally found peace.
As dusk settled, the Empress dismissed her palace servants and, alone behind the heavy curtains, buried her face deeply in her pillow, remaining motionless.
An endless emptiness and weariness, like the tides of a moonlit night, silently engulfed her. She hadn't dreamed in a long time, but now, in her dream, she looked at a slender crescent moon on the horizon through a thin mist.
When was that? It seemed to be nine years ago, on the eve of her marriage to the emperor.
She dismissed everyone else and paced back and forth alone in the backyard of the Prime Minister's residence. On a small table, the wine that had been warmed had gone cold. A gentle breeze blew by, cool and refreshing, penetrating her clothes.
*Thud!* Something hit her head.
She turned around to look, but there was no one on the wall. She picked up the object that had fallen; it was just a crumpled piece of paper. Unfolding it, in the moonlight, she could clearly see the two characters "抬头" (raise your head) written on it in bold, elegant strokes.
What the heck?
But she did as she was told. And then she saw that in the direction she had just looked, a slender moon hung low, and on the wall beneath the slender moon, a boy who had appeared out of nowhere sat with his knees bent, raised an eyebrow at her, but smiled without saying a word.
That was clearly her future husband, the emperor who had only recently ascended the throne. Now, however, he had abandoned his usual imposing demeanor, sitting on the courtyard wall, swinging one long leg as if to greet her.
She looked up in the moonlight: Why are you here?
He suddenly felt like coming to see her. He seemed to be really looking at her carefully, and then looking at her like this.
She laughed: "Can you see clearly from this far away?"
He grunted and said, "Then I'll come down."
He made a move to jump down, but she quickly stopped him. She ordered him to stay on the wall and not move, and said helplessly, "Fine, I'll go up myself!" Then, she actually climbed up an old elm tree next to her and sat down next to him on the courtyard wall.
She was never a pampered girl, and her temperament was very much like her father's. He knew this, so he didn't say much, but turned to hold her face in his hands, and suddenly a look of sorrow appeared in his eyes: You are too much like your father. I'm really afraid that if you marry into this family, one day you will treat me the same way he did.
By the way, since the late emperor, the prime minister has firmly controlled the government, and any minister who opposed him was exterminated along with their entire family. When Emperor Huan ascended the throne, he had to obey the prime minister's orders in every action.
She let him cup her face, gazing at him calmly: I won't.
Just as a smile appeared on his lips, someone in the courtyard suddenly spoke up, "Miss, it's late!" Then they both heard a series of footsteps.
He frowned, and only managed to say "I'm leaving" before sliding down the wall along the path he had come from.
But she still heard the whole sentence he didn't finish saying.
On their wedding night, he leaned on her, seemingly drunk. Thinking he was truly intoxicated, she turned her head, only to meet his clear, bright eyes. His lips brushed against her ear, and he whispered, "Well, I won't either."
I will never betray you. I will never abandon you. You will be my wife, and we will be together forever, growing old together.
In her dream, she should have smiled shyly. But outside the dream, she only felt a deep bitterness in her heart. She thought the dream should come to an end, and she forced herself to wake up.
As she rubbed her dry eyes and stood up, a maid came to report: "The Prime Minister requests Your Highness's return to the residence; he has important matters to discuss."
five
The important matter the Prime Minister spoke of was a force that had quietly emerged among the common people, specializing in assassinating high-ranking officials of the court. All the officials assassinated were none other than his trusted confidants. Even Lin Jian, the commander of the Imperial Guards, was found dead in his bed one day, poisoned. With his trusted confidants killed, the Prime Minister was temporarily unable to cultivate capable successors and could only hastily promote a few officials to fill the vacancies.
The court, which he had previously controlled, was in turmoil, and the situation suddenly became tense.
"Keep a close eye on His Majesty these days," the Prime Minister said.
The Empress opened her mouth as if to defend Emperor Huan, but in the end she nodded in agreement.
For several days in a row, Emperor Huan continued to use his puppets and perform his plays as usual, without making any unusual moves.
One day, he casually asked about the Empress's previous return to the Prime Minister's residence. The Empress sat next to Emperor Huan on the edge of the bed and said gently, "Father told me not to worry. I only need to serve Your Majesty well."
Emperor Huan had already scattered his outer robe and boots all over the floor, his hands behind his head, lying on the bed with his legs crossed, wearing only his undergarments. Upon hearing this, he turned to the Empress, his eyes crinkling with a smile, but he said nothing.
The Empress tugged at his sleeve: "Your Majesty often writes your own plays. I wonder if Your Majesty would be willing to perform a few for me?"
Emperor Huan smiled and said, "The Empress has served me for a long time, but she doesn't know what kind of play I wrote." His eyes flashed, and his voice suddenly lowered, "I have already heard about the affairs of the court." "Please rest assured, Prime Minister, even if I tampered with the play, no one could have spread the word outside the palace, let alone orchestrate an assassination."
The Empress's smile froze. She bit her lower lip and remained silent for a long while, but still turned her head away and scolded: "Your Majesty refuses to act?"
Emperor Huan laughed loudly, leaped out of bed, stepped barefoot onto the ground, and lifted the screen in front of the bed: "Guards! Set up my stage!"
The play continued until dusk. With colorful sleeves fluttering and silver threads dancing, Emperor Huan manipulated the emperor in the play, almost fully portraying the deep affection of a monarch. Every time he called out "beloved concubine" on behalf of the puppet, his eyes would drift towards the empress, eliciting giggles and cheers from the maids.
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