The Emperor's Obsession

Chapter Twenty-Eight || The Emperor's Obsession

"Uh, sure. Ask away." The prince gave a small smile.
Lihua took a deep breath and asked, "who's Meili?"
He stiffened and immediately frowned. Silence fell. No one spoke for a good two minutes, then he slowly asked, "where.. where did you hear that name?"
"It doesn't matter where I heard it. Who is she, and what does she have to do with the emperor?" She pressed. "Please, Shim, I have to know."
"Why do you want to know? Are you jealous?"
Lihua frowned, "what? No! I just—"
"Did you fall for him?"
"Shim, what are you—"
"I thought you were different from all the other girls."
Anger getting the best of her, she pointed a finger at him and snapped, "okay, first of all, what the hell is wrong with other girls? Second of all, I am not jealous and I did not fall for him. I will never, ever fall for that man. Third of all, I'm asking because I'm curious. Nothing more, nothing less. If you won't answer my questions, then I'll find someone else. Thank you for your time." She glared at him, turned around, and started walking away.
He grabbed her wrist.
Lihua inhaled sharply and looked at him in surprise.
"I'm sorry.." The prince mumbled, looking genuinely guilty. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just that.. Meili isn't someone who.. people here talk about very much." He slowly let go of her wrist.
Why did he act that way? Plus, why does it matter to him if I fall in love with the emperor? She wondered, could it be that.. he has feelings for me? Her eyes widened at the thought and she quickly shook her head. No, no way. He's a happily married man. We've been friends since we were children. I'm like a sister to him, and he's like a brother to me. What the hell am I thinking?
"Well, can you tell me about her?"
"I don't know.."
"Shim, please."
The prince sighed, giving in. "Jhang Meili. She was a noble's daughter, and my brother's lover. They met when the nobleman and his family were attending a banquet in the palace. The two got to know each other, and fell in love, but unfortunately, love had an entirely different meaning for the emperor. He was extremely possessive over her, treated her like an object, and his love for her eventually turned to obsession. He didn't let her leave his sight, imprisoned her in an isolated home so he would be the only one to interact with her. It went on for two years, before the poor woman finally had enough. She couldn't take it anymore, so she planned to kill herself. The emperor found her just as she was about to commit suicide, and was so furious that she'd tried to leave him, so he killed her. Put a blade through her heart." He explained sadly.
Lihua had stopped walking. She just stood there, frozen.
He'd killed her.
The emperor killed the woman he loved. How could he do that? What kind of monster do you have to be to kill your own lover, the one person you deeply loved and cared for?
"I didn't kill her.."
His words echoed in her mind.
But.. he said that he didn't do it.
Well he lied, you idiot. How could you believe him? Did you actually think you could change him? He was messed up right from the beginning. He's not right in the head.
But she saw it. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and she saw the pain in his eyes as he uttered those words. She saw how heartbroken and depressed he really was.
Lihua slowly looked up at Prince Daeshim, who looked back at her with a concerned expression. "Is everything okay, Lihua?" He asked softly.
She turned away from him, and began running, ignoring the sudden dizziness that washed over her. Gods, she needed more medicine. Ignoring his yells for her to stop, the girl headed straight to the court ladies quarters.

Court Lady Eun Soo had been living in the palace since the mere age of ten. She was forced to become one when her widow of a mother simply couldn't care for her anymore after marrying a wealthy man, and so she was sent to the palace, and trained for years. She'd worked her hardest, and made her way up through the ranks, until she reached the desired First Palace Lady, which came right after the rank of the Royal Concubine—which was Hae Won. She had the power and ability to order almost everybody around, including maids and servants and even some of concubines with low status. Her job was mainly to be by the queen's side, even though Lihua wasn't crowned empress yet. She was also the head of the royal kitchen, and arranged every meal of the day. She kept track of anything that entered and exited the palace gates, and thanks to her, everything was always organized. It was difficult sometimes, but Eun Soo was an intelligent and smart woman. Although very strict, she was like a mother or an older sister to the younger ones, always had a solution for everything, and many people depended on her. Some even wished she was the empress.
Though her life was peaceful, it didn't mean she never got lonely. Being a woman of court wasn't really the best thing to be. All court ladies within the palace were basically tied for life, from their acceptance into the palace until the time at which they had to leave. Once they entered service, they had to live inside the palace for their whole life, and stepping foot outside would result in severe punishment—unless it was for an important matter or a special occasion. Court ladies were restricted in their actions, prohibited from marrying, and if these rules were violated, they would be harshly punished. They were not allowed to contact men, or even women in some cases. The only time they would be allowed to finally leave, was when they're old or ill, since the only people allowed to die in the palace were the emperor and his immediate household.
Bringing the teacup close to her thin lips, the expressionless woman blinked as she gently flipped to the next page of her book. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed, or even smiled. Maybe a long, beautiful time ago, when she and her father played games together whenever he wasn't busy with work. Or when he told her these really stupid jokes, but being so young to fully understand their meaning, they would still sound funny to her. Her head hurt from all the concentrating and reading, but she had to finish this. This was something she did everyday: check the notes she'd wrote about the palace today. They were important, and not a thing should be missing. She didn't mind, she needed a distraction anyway.
Something to distract her from the anger she felt, and was still feeling, from stupidly falling asleep and waking up, only to find that disobedient girl gone.
Only the Gods knew what the emperor had done to her.
After reading it twice, maybe three times, she started to turn the page when she heard yells right outside her room. Eun Soo frowned and slowly stood up, before walking over to the door and sliding it open. "What's all this commotion?" She asked coldly, her stern voice somehow heard through all the noise. She saw Lihua standing there with an angry look on her face. The maid turned to her and bowed her head, "my lady, Lady Wu wants to see you and I keep telling her that you do not want to be disturbed but she keeps insisting—"
"She's the emperor's wife, you stupid girl." The court lady whispered harshly, "whose words are more important? Hers, or mine?"
The maid winced and bit her lip, before murmuring, ".. hers."
Eun Soo sighed and looked at the sixteen year old then bowed while stepping aside and gesturing to her room, "please, forgive the maid, and do come inside, my lady."
Lihua nodded and quickly mumbled to the maid, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I have a horrible temper." She gave the timid girl's shoulder a pat then walked inside, ignoring the shocked looks the servants sent her. This was the first time someone of higher rank apologized to someone as low as them. The surprised maid couldn't believe what she heard.
The door slid shut behind them, and the two sat down. That's when Eun Soo narrowed her eyes and slammed her fan on the table, causing the girl to flinch. "I thought I had told you not to see the emperor!" She snapped.
Lihua stayed quiet.
"If His Majesty finds out I fell asleep and let you do whatever you want, he would have my head! Why are you so disobedient? What part of what I said did you not understand? Is it that hard for you to do as someone says?!" She yelled, "how does your mother even handle you? If I was your mother, I would've pulled your ear until it came off!"
".. My mother is.. dead.." Lihua whispered sadly, staring down at her lap.

Eun Soo's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply, her mouth closing. She pressed her lips into a thin line, then let out a heavy sigh, "why did you come to see me?"
"It's.. about Meili. Jhang Meili.." That was what Prince Daeshim said her name was, right? She hoped she got it right.
The court lady froze. Her face turned completely blank, and in an ice cold voice she said, "how do you know about her?"
"Uh, well, th-the emperor—"
"She was his lover. He killed her. That's all there is to it." She muttered, taking a sip of her green tea, and cringing when she realized it had gotten cold. Lihua bit her lower lip and sighed. The same thing the prince had said, but with no details. What if His Majesty really did kill her? The question made her shudder. What if he kills her too? The girl started feeling scared, but she quickly shut the thought out and shook her head. No, he wouldn't do that. He had feelings for Meili, which was why he killed her. But he didn't have feelings for Lihua, so that meant she was safe.
But then.. that look in his eyes.
Remembering his words, she felt like she was getting torn apart. She didn't know what to believe, or who to believe. Both the prince and Eun Soo said that the emperor was the one who killed her, which meant everybody else would say the same thing, but the emperor said he didn't. After what he did to her, did he really deserve her trust? Would it be a wise choice to believe him, the man who ruined her life, over the people who care for her? Definitely not.
But then again, when did she ever make wise choices?
"Thank you for your time, Eun Soo." Lihua suddenly grinned, a new plan coming into mind. The court lady raised a brow at her, but said nothing. "Sorry for bothering you. I'll see you later!" She bowed and hurried out of the room.
Nobody was going to give her the information she needed but the emperor himself.
Which was why she was going to get him drunk.
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