Heavy is the Crown (WangXian Omegaverse)

35

The aftermath of the disaster was as complicated as Lan Wangji thought it would be. With the Empress being missing, the Emperor exercised his power to get rid of the Empress’ faction – including the Prime Minister – under the guise of investigation about the summoning of the jiangshi.

Mo Xuanyu – who was full of grudge – testified in front of the public trial that he was forced by the Empress to summon the jiangshi to get rid of Grand Duke Lan and then after that, she would kill the Emperor to put the Crown Prince on the throne.

He was sentenced to be beheaded in a week’s time.

When the Emperor found out that the Crown Prince was missing – presumed dead – he immediately appointed Grand Duke Lan as the next Emperor before he finally succumbed to his lung cancer – which was not predicted by Lan Wangji and everyone else at all.

Of course when Lan Wangji agreed to take the throne – albeit temporarily – Minister Jin forced his daughter to him alongside the veiled threat that he would seize the throne himself if Lan Wangji did not make Jin Su the Empress.

But with Feng Xue’s help, he got rid of the Jins and banished them to the Southern border with a charge of smuggling drugs and slaves, and aiding and abetting Mo Xuanyu, since it turned out that the young man was Jin Guangshan’s illegitimate son.

In short, Minister Jin was playing both fields to increase his chance of becoming the new Emperor’s father-in-law.

The week turned to months, and autumn turn to winter – and then to spring and summer, when Lan Wangji was finally able to take a deep breath and think about the event that changed his life.

He took the position of the Emperor out of duty, but his days felt too long and his heart felt heavy.

His subordinates and ministers encouraged him to take an Empress to help with his burden, and to have offspring to keep the royal line alive.

It turned out that the Emperor had already informed everyone that Lan Wangji was his son, and that he kept him safe out of the Empress’ clutch by giving him to the previous Grand Duke Lan, and everyone accepted the fact easily rather than questioning it.

For them, it was better for Lan Wangji to become the Emperor rather than the previous good-for-nothing Crown Prince, the son of the evil Empress.

But no matter how much everyone insisted, Lan Wangji did not budge. He did not want to take an Empress nor did he want to remain as the Emperor for long. He just waited for the day when Feng Xue found his twin sister and asked her about what happened to Wei Wuxian.

Yes.

Lan Wangji did not believe for a second that Wei Wuxian was dead.

He knew that there must be a reason for him to disappear, but he was alive, and he knew for sure from the mate bond that he had that was still intact.

Sometimes when he was alone at night, he touched the marking on his neck and wondered where was Wei Wuxian, and what he was doing – and hoped that he was happy no matter where he was and whoever he was with.

Sure, he wanted to search for him, but would it be better to stay away when the only person whom you ever loved was actually his own flesh and blood?

And out of the vices that he developed after the tragedy, Lan Wangji became fond of the liquor that Wei Wuxian always drank – the Emperor’s smile.

Funny.

He did not remember when was the last time he was smiling wholeheartedly after he found out about the despicable truth.

Ah well, maybe this was for the best.

Someday – soon – he would just quietly slip into the night and travel around the world – mourning about the love that was not his from the start – and ended everything just as quietly, hoping that he would be able to be with his one and true love in their next life.

Among Lan Wangji’s subordinates, other than Feng Xue – who was indisposed at the moment from a secret assignment – Nie Huaisang was the one who saw everything his liege had been through.

The love, the pain, the heartbreak – and the quiet acceptance. And he was worried sick that somehow, Lan Wangji would just die in his sleep from the heartbreak.

So, he utilized his ability to gather information with the help of the people at the Blue Orchid to find out anything about the disappearance of the previous Crown Prince, Wei Wuxian.

When he did not find any morsel, any gossip, anything, about Wei Wuxian, Nie Huaisang had a suspicion that somehow, someone else was covering for the man.

And his suspicion was confirmed, when one day out of the blue – when the first leaf fell at the sign of the end of the summer, the whole full circle ever since the change of the regime happened – an old man appeared out of nowhere and asked to have a private audience with the Emperor.

Of course the Imperial Guards denied him.

Who was he to dare to seek an audience with the Emperor?

Thankfully Nie Huaisang was just arrived from the Blue Orchid, and he saw that the man bore a very close resemblance to the previous Emperor, and he decided to take this man to talk to him before he decided to let him meet the Emperor or not.

“He’s with me.” Nie Huaisang waved at the Imperial Guards and signaled the man to enter his palanquin.

“Thank you, kind sir.” The man entered with a smile on his face. “May I know who you are, Sir?”

Although the man was old, and his clothes were plain like the ones for the commoner, his gray eyes showed intelligence that was beyond his status, and Nie Huaisang knew that he had hit the jackpot.

“My name is Nie Huaisang, and I am the advisor for the Emperor, Sir.” He bowed his head to the old man. “May I have the honor to know your name, Sir?”

The man looked at Nie Huaisang as if he was contemplating of whether he should tell him his name or not, but he finally decided.

“My name is Hei Changze, and I have something important to say to the Emperor.”