Reborn To Live Without You (and other stories)

Reincarnated As Wangfei Once More

Author's note; Please understand that this is not another chapter of Reborn To Live Without You.  This is a different short story that came to mind while I was reading TYRANNICAL WANG'S BELOVED WIFE (I copied and pasted that hence the capitals).  It's not exactly how I imagined it, actually, but I like how it turned out.  So read it, don't read it, but please don't be disappointed that it's not related to the former before giving it a chance! I really don't intend to make these short stories any longer than they are, despite their endings not necessarily being what you want.

"You've disgraced your parents, disgraced your grandparents, disgraced all of the ancestors to our family! You've left me with only one option. You will be cast out, your name will no longer be Chang, you will be forever and to the end of time removed from the family records! This family no longer has a Chang Xiu Ying! Now get out of my sight!"

"But father, what about the royal engagement with Jun Qinwang..."

"Is there only one gher in this family? Xiu Min is near his age. Just promote him..."

*****

Two hundred years ago, an emperor who had too many excellent sons was troubled, unable to choose an heir. Normally, it would be the son of his Empress that would be named his successor, however that man had been raised into a wastrel by his doting mother and aptly removed himself from the line of succession. Although it was written in the official records that Zhong Qinwang lost his life to a sudden illness, he actually died in the arms of a favoured Concubine, sent to his grave by a heavy and mixed indulgence of lust, alcohol and food. The mourning that followed his funeral was only upon the surface; the nine princes that had been suppressed by the Empress and her family began to make plans to replace him in their imperial father's eyes.

The Empress naturally would not pave the way for these sons of concubines, unwilling to allow them what should have been her son's inheritance so easily. Thus when the Emperor came to her still uncertain of whom to promote, she was careful with her words, balancing both compliment with critic and not placing one prince before the other. Her personal mama gladly played along, having helped raise the former crown prince into his foolish self and not letting blame stick to her mistress nor herself preferred to make things difficult for others. So she suggested that as a worshipper of Taoism, could not a priest who was blessed with the secrets of the stars not divine for the Emperor and aid him in his dilemma?

The Emperor found this a wonderful solution and sought out a diviner, not knowing that this man had been bribed heavily with silver and gold...

*****

I was a naive child when I first learned that I was to be wed to the Seventh Prince, Jun Qinwang when I came of age. At the time, this did not mean that much to me, for I was a gher, I knew just as every gher and every girl that there would come a time that I would marry into another family and have a husband to serve and a mother-in-law to cater to. I could not remain in my maternal family forever. I would have his children, raise them into good sons and daughters and they in turn would wed...

"I'm sorry, your highness," the doctor turned to face my husband, whose usually stoic expression had an edge of ice to it. "The child has been lost, there is nothing I can do." The Seventh Prince flung his long sleeves and left me to my suffering, lying in a bed now soaked in blood. I did not shed a tear for his departure, nor that of my unborn baby.

The first time this occurred, I cried pitifully for the lost life and for myself. Imperial Concubine Mother was quite kind at that time, sending medicine and tonics... this time she was heartless, blaming me for being careless, even forcing me to kneel before her palace. Not yet recuperated and already quite weak, I fell unconscious still kneeling and almost lost my own life right there. The Imperial Concubine was chastised by the Empress for being inconsiderate only causing the woman to hate me that much more. Hated for being a gher, hated for being a son-in-law rather than a daughter-in-law, hated due to losing the child that might have finally secured her son the throne.