The Emperor's Concubine

19.

The guard was shocked. They had told him that she was unconscious and also drugged, but she was awake. He took a closer look and noticed her unsteady breathing. He smiled.
"Don't worry pretty girl, I'll make you all better." He snickered and made to undress her but Sage struck and attacked. She used her paws to design his face.
"Where did this cat come from?" He fought with the cat and tried to struggle free.
Fortune heard the noise but couldn't open her eyes. She felt so hot and uncomfortable but from what she could hear, there was a bad guy who wanted to sleep with her. She sat up and tried to open her eyes, her vision was blurry but she could see what was going on.
"Get out of here, you pervert." She threw a pillow at him. With her little stability, she was able to fathom his movement and with the help of Sage, she took him down. Her attacks were not as strong as they used to but, they we're effective.
They both tied him up and hung him from the ceiling with a gag in his mouth.
"Why do I feel so hot and uncomfortable?" Fortune asked herself as she rested on the wall. Then her mind flashed back to the tea that Meng Meng brought for her. "That wrench! She drugged me!" She clenched her fist and tried to go out but discovered that the door was locked from the outside.
"Those who try to humiliate me, shall live to regret it." She said as she tried to get out. She sat on the floor, leaning on the wall and let the heat consume her. She looked at the man hanging from the ceiling and then at Sage who tried her best to fan the heat away.
"Its no use, Sage. They will come soon, so don't worry!" She said.
"Meow!" Sage meowed and settled beside her.
One of Meng Meng's maid ran towards Lixing Ji and reported that Fortune had entered his chamber with a man and the man had not gone out for a long time. Of course Lixing Ji refused to believe it and out of anger sent that maid to death. He knew that Fortune was not that kind of girl and no matter what anyone said, he would always believe her.
"I will not believe this!" He slammed and the officials with him wondered why he chose not to believe. One of them summoned courage and asked.
"What if its true, your majesty?"
Lixing Ji gave him a dirty glare and then it crossed his mind. If such a thing had been reported to him, then that could only mean that, Fortune was in trouble. He still didn't want to believe that Fortune was that kind of shameless girl. Plus, she was in a really bad mood. If she did take a man to her room, that man would have been dead. Now he didn't know who to worry about, her or the wellbeing of that man?
They all went to his chambers to see for themselves what was actually going on.
By this time, the lock had already been removed. He opened the door and indeed saw a man but, they never expected the man to be hanging from the ceiling.
They were shocked to see Fortune sitting at the corner with her clothes disheveled. She looked rough and didn't even know when they came in. Lixing Ji quickly walked up to her and covered her. He felt her temperature and found it to be beyond normal.
"I'm so hot!" She muttered.
"What happened to you, little girl? Do you have a fever?" He asked looking worried.
Fortune shook her head and pointed at the man hanging from the ceiling.
One of the officials removed the gag from his mouth and asked.
"What happened to you? Why are you hanging from the ceiling?"
The man looked outside and saw a tensed empress. He swallowed hard and decided to say what he was asked to say.
"She tried to seduce me." He spat out and on hearing this, Lixing Ji wanted to kill him but he was held back.
"If she tried to seduce you, why aren't you on her bed? Instead, you're hanging from the ceiling."
The guard thought hard and thought of something.
"Well, in the process, a masked man came in claiming to be her lover. He tied me up and wanted to sleep with her, when she refused he stuffed philter in her mouth. He just ran away." He narrated. 'Good! No one will believe that you're innocent with this kind of accusation'
Lixing Ji chose not to believe this story at all.
"Nonsense!" He exclaimed. "Little girl may be silly, but she can never think of such a thing." He defended but the officials who didn't know Fortune so well, found it hard to believe.
"Your majesty, this story makes sense. For all we know, it may be true." One of the officials said.
"Not another word from any of you." He threatened. "My little girl would never try to seduce a man, let alone, have a hidden lover."
Just as he said this, Fortune started laughing from a little chuckle. She held onto Lixing Ji tightly and opened her eyes gently. Her vision was still not clear but she could still make out the people that were standing before her.
Lixing Ji and every other person looked at her confused.
"Nice story!" She remarked.
"What does she mean by that?"
"Does it mean that she agrees to the confession?"
"What is her motive?"
Lixing Ji looked at her and felt that something was a bit off.
"I don't care if none of you believe in me. Just as long as this guy believes, it's far from enough." She said with a shaky voice.
Lixing Ji saw that she was not okay and demanded for the imperial physician.
"I can prove my innocence." Fortune said catching their attention. She whispered something over to Lixing Ji and pointed at the place where she placed her phone. Lixing Ji quickly picked it and handed it over to her. After a minute, she handed it back to him.
"This is what happened after you left." She said still feeling uncomfortable. He was worried for her and watched as the imperial doctor brew some medicine that could suppress the effect of the aphrodisiac.
Meanwhile, the video had started playing. Lixing Ji watched it with the officials behind him. They watched everything that happened till this moment and were completely shocked. Not only was she able to fight off the eunuch with her cat, but was able to suppress the burning desire for so long.
Watching the video had already proven to them who the real culprit was. Lixing Ji's face darkened as the truth came to light. He had had enough with the empress and made a royal decree.
Meanwhile, outside the chambers. Meng Meng waited impatiently for the good news.
"What's going on in there? Why haven't they apprehended the slut yet?"
The palace guards moved towards her and carried her.
"Hey, what are you doing? I am the empress! How dare you be so disrespectful?" She screamed as they carried her to the dungeon. There they whipped her a fair amount of times. The punishment was not enough to cleanse herself of what she did to Fortune and so, in addition, she was stripped of her position as the empress. Now the vacancy of empress was vacant but no one dared to fight over it because, it would naturally go to the one whom the emperor loved the most.
After that incident, the fact of how the truth was revealed was sealed. No one was to talk about the magic box in which the whole thing was replayed.
"Fortune?" Lixing Ji called and Fortune turned her gaze from the window. "What's on your mind?" He asked and she turned to look out the window again.
"I've been thinking. This whole life, really doesn't belong to me. None of this was meant to happen and I was never meant to meet you." She said and those words cracked a piece of his heart. He didn't want to hear her say those words, it hurt him so much to think about it. "I've been here for almost half a year, yet, I don't feel at ease. Its probably because I have another life waiting for me out there, in the world I come from." There was a hint of sadness in her voice.
Lixing Ji had hoped that this day would never come. Had she finally thought of leaving after sharing a blissful love with him? Was she going to abandon him to live a life of loneliness and sadness forever? Why did she want to torture him so much?
"I know what you're thinking but, sometimes, life doesn't always go the way we want it. You must love me a lot but now that I think about it," she chuckled and turned her head to reveal a sad and unhappy smile. "...you've never said the words 'I love you'. No matter how much you love me, seems that those words never seem to have any meaning to you." She said.
Lixing Ji wanted to kill himself at this very moment. He never actually said it to her and forgot the importance of it.
She walked past him and picked up Sage, who had sensed the tensed atmosphere and meowed.
"Lixing Ji?" She called. She rarely called his name and now that she did. She was going to say something very important.
"No Fortune!" He said, this time, calling her name and not referring to her as little girl. "I'm sorry if I made you feel insecure but I don't want you to say it. Don't say what you want to say, I truly love you and will try everything in my power to make you feel like you belong but please, don't say it." He pleaded and she watched him. She felt her heart shatter seeing him in this state but, she couldn't help it. Her eyes had started to water and her hands had started trembling.
"Its the first time you said the words and it makes me happy but," she said with a but. "...I miss my grandpa. You can't get him for me. He must be worried sick about me and his health isn't stable. I want to see him and tell him that I am fine and healthy so that he doesn't worry to death." She looked at him and stretched her hand forward and placed it on his cheeks. "I want to go back home, Lixing Ji. Please help me!" She concluded.
Fortune felt warm tears drop on her hand and saw that he was actually crying. It was understandable. Parting with the one you love is never easy. It's heart breaking and unbearable. Now she wanted to leave and also didn't want to leave. However, this decision was hard to make but she had to be strong.
"Okay! I'll help you!" He answered and on hearing that, Fortune could not hold back her tears.
"Thank you!" She said and in that instant, broke down into tears. Lixing Ji supported her and held her in his embrace for as long as they could tell.