Love In The Forbidden City (Completed)

Chapter XIV - My Love Proposal (Revised)

"I'll have to wait then? If I were forced to marry to the Crowned Prince, I'd rather die."

"Die? Do not forget that I often save you from the brink of death. Your life belongs to me. Without my permission, you cannot die." He put the hair clasp into my hair and grinned. "Go back and rest. Let me handle the matter. I do not want to marry an ugly concubine."

He hit my forehead softly with his knuckles before walking away. I returned to my house, smiling contently to myself. Months had passed and one day, my muses visited me. I took out a parchment and some colourful inks, preparing to draw more designs for Consort Liang. However, when I almost completed it, I accidentally smeared the drawing. My heart raced in uneasiness. My instinct told me that something grief-stricken had happened.

"Sister Ruo Xi, Sister Ruo Xi..." Xiao Shun Zi launched at me. "Sister Ruo Xi, Consort Liang, she-- she had passed away." He stole a look at me, scared that I would collapse at the news.

"How could this happen so suddenly?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"Actually, Consort Liang had fallen sick for weeks. Her servants had asked for the Royal Doctor to treat her, but the emperor did not grant it."

Tears fell from my eyes as I heard what he had delivered. I wanted to write a letter to the Eighth Bei'Le to console him, but I had hurt him once because of my selfishness. I couldn't hurt him anymore. Sobbing, I walked to Consort Liang's house and knelt in front of the entrance.

"Consort Liang, you were always gentle and kind. Ruo Xi is only a maidservant but you always helped me, so that I could meet with my sister during my birthday. Your benevolence will never be forgotten. Please, leave all your woes here and have a good journey."

I bowed thrice on the cobbled path when all of a sudden, I saw the emperor and his men halt a few feet in front of me. The emperor spent only three seconds looking at the entrance door before walking away. My heart sank. This was love in the Forbidden City. Because of a split second of greed and lust, Consort Liang, who was from poor family background, became one of the emperor's wives. But due to her status, she could never gain respect from the emperor and her son could never be the ruler of the kingdom. In the emperor's eyes, Consort Liang was nothing but just a flower by the wall. He didn't even want to mourn in front of her altar.

The more I thought of it, the harder I cried. Heavy snow fell several weeks after Consort Liang's funeral. I meandered around the garden, thinking how the Eighth Bei'Le would handle his grief. Footsteps rose beside me but I didn't turn around to look who he was. I'd stayed long enough in the palace that I could even differentiate the way the princes breathed, the way they smirked, and the way they lamented without even looking at them.

"The snow is getting heavier. Why do you still stand there?" Ice Face asked.

"Life in this palace is getting harder and colder. We have to stay vigilant constantly." I stretched out my palm to cushion the falling snow. "My wishes are like the puddle of water on the floor. They will soon be covered by the snow and become frozen."

"Where is the old woe-less Ruo Xi that I know? You are not someone who likes to lock her brows together. Do not let grief mist over your path. Think of what you really want." He stared at me and asked, "Where is the hair clasp? You did not wear it today."

"I put it in the house."

"Where are the earrings?"

"In the house as well."

"In the house as well?" He sighed. "You have wasted my effort."

I grinned and touched the necklace sealed underneath my cloak. "I'm wearing this."