My Liege And I

The Dragon Poison

For a bit, a second, softness flashed on his face before he pulled back his mask.

“Why did you do this to us? We were so happy, but then you stole that from us.”

Li Lian snorted in annoyance. “I wanted to stay happy too, and if I could, I would. However, I did not have the power to choose whom I was born to. If you want someone to blame, turn to the Heavens.”

If the world told her to kill Yuwen Hong or kill herself, she would never lay a finger on him. How did he easily turn around and point the knife at her?

She loved him. Didn't he love her back as much?

Li Lian watched him grab the bowl, and already, before it unfolded, she knew what he was about to do. His temper was predictable.

A loud clang pronounced from the walls as the bowl crashed into pieces, the liquid camouflaging the brown wall. A litter of white scattered on the floor, while some landed on the corner that kept her thin blankets.

A few curses passed his mouth as he punched the table, which thankfully did not give in to the pressure.

"If you need something, my neck is available for your hands," she said sarcastically.

Lines formed on his forehead, then his teeth clanged together in frustration as he stood up.

"I am so angry!" He yelled at the wall. "I want to kill someone!" He kicked the poor wall. "I hate this life!" He punched the wall, and this time, he left a hole in it.

Still not satisfied, he growled and kicked the wall, again, for the last time.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Luo Meng peek into her cell to ensure that all was well. When he realised Yuwen Hong was having a fit, he nodded at her and disappeared.

Yuwen Hong started straightening his clothes. The twisting of his face represented his pain. He raised his bleeding fist and blew on it.

Feeling a bit calm, he reverted to his original spot and sat down.

Noticing how she was eyeing his hand, the lover part of her wanting to check on him, he pulled his hand from the table and hid it in his sleeves.

Her insides buckled and crumpled. He was so near yet far away.

Yuwen Hong cleared his throat to start conversation again.

“Do you know what came to mind when people told me the truth?”

She shook her head.

“I would say to myself, ‘It cannot be true because that will mean my time to die has come. Without Li Lian I will die.’”

His words of loss caused her mind to cycle through emotions faster than a charging horse. Her leveledness dissipated from stability to rocky as she fought a torrent of emotions, each of them striving for dominance.

“When my father passed, I lost the strength to live because he was my rock and refuge. I looked up to Fuhuang. He would always show me the way when I got lost.” Yuwen Hong's eyes looked into the distance as he remembered his unfortunate past. “Inside me, it became a snowy winter―cold and desolate. I would sit and get drunk while playing the qin.

“Because sometimes the darkness was too overwhelming. The spirit of death was sultry that I began to view death as my only escape.”

He subconsciously reached for her hand and kneaded her fingers with his unhurt hand. It was an unexpected touch she did not know she needed.

Li Lian welcomed the shot of buried feelings that spiked within her system. Her stomach raged with forbidden warmth and giddiness.

“No, I would say. It is not time for me to die if Fuhuang’s death has not been avenged. Let me just live until then.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “That is how I would survive. That is what would stop my body from sweating, bringing back sense to my mind, for the darkness to lift."