What If...I Remember?

Chapter 25

A/N: A chapter of pure Feng Jiu & Dong Hua, but I advise y'all to read it because *ahem* I can't give spoilers but you know...I can only say it's rather interesting :) Read it to find out why :D

"Your Majesty!" Came the call of a feminine voice, and Song Xuan Ren resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he put his book down, watching as the eunuch came over to his side.

"Your Majesty, Consort Zhi is back again." The eunuch bowed, and Song Xuan Ren frowned, "Have I not made it clear I will be spending the night with my Queen?" "She insists upon an audience, Your Majesty, she claims to have something important to show to you." The eunuch remained in a bow, and in mild annoyance, Song Xuan Ren waved his sleeve, "Very well then, let her in."

"Your Majesty!" Zhi Yue came in at once, and Song Xuan Ren looked at her with a face that said he was hardly in the mood for nonsense, "Consort Zhi, please tell me that you didn't come here for a silly matter." "My King," Zhi Yue instantly sank into a bow, "I have found something of great importance, regarding her Majesty, The Queen."

His interest slightly piqued, Song Xuan Ren gestured for her to continue. "My King, here is a scroll. In it are shocking contents. I beseech you to open it, my King, and read what treachery has been written in it." Taking the scroll from Zhi Yue, Song Xuan Ren unrolled it slowly, his eyes scanning down the rows of characters written.

With each column of wood he read, Song Xuan Ren's face turned a shade lighter, and his hands were trembling when he finally snapped the scroll back together, slamming it heavily against his table, taking a deep breath as he tried to keep himself from exploding in fury. The scroll had only a few lines of written words, and they now engraved themselves into his mind like flames burning into wood.

'Little Highness, you must leave soon. We cannot have him know that you are only there to toy with his feelings; I fear it will end badly if we were to be found out. Here is the plan: on the very last day, you need to sneak out of the palace, and after you sneak out, we can go back, and you can make plans for the wedding.'

"Simply atrocious!" Song Xuan Ren finally couldn't control his fury as he flung the scroll off his table and onto the floor, and Zhi Yue was celebrating gleefully on the inside. "Consort Zhi, where did you get this from?" Song Xuan Ren demanded, his nostrils flaring with the inhuman amounts of anger, and Zhi Yue immediately curtsied, "My King, I went to visit the Queen this afternoon, but I realised that her door was opened, and decided to take a seat myself. Then, I caught sight of this scroll stashed hastily into her drawer, and took it to read myself. Forgive me for my atrocity, My King, but had I not read it, we would never know of this treachery!"

"Rise." Song Xuan Ren could hardly stay within the room anymore.

"Let's go. I believe my Queen owes me an explanation."

•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•

"Little Highness, you-" Si Ming was interrupted by the greeting of the maids - "Greetings, your Majesty." - and Feng Jiu's eyes widened, "Si Ming!" But it was too quick for both of them. Si Ming barely resumed invisibility when Feng Jiu caught sight of golden robes entering her room, and she instantly sunk into a curtsy, "My King."

"Rise, my Queen." Song Xuan Ren had a deep frown carved into his face, "Are you going anywhere lately?"

Feng Jiu paled at once, "N-no, my King, where would I go?" "Eloping, perhaps?" Song Xuan Ren snarled, yanking a long scroll from inside his sleeve and throwing it at her feet, "Xiao Jiu, can you explain the meaning of this?" "M-my King, i-it's really a misunderstanding!" Feng Jiu dropped to her knees at once, pressing her forehead to the floor, and Song Xuan Ren took a deep breath, "Then tell me, where have I misunderstood you?"

"The wedding...is my aunt's; I was only hoping to return to attend it, my King." Feng Jiu picked up the scroll, her hands shaking, and much to her surprise, a slap landed on her cheek, sending her head reeling back from the impact, "Is that all we have misunderstood? So it's true, then? You've toyed with the King's feelings! You harlot!"

"Consort Zhi, control yourself - She is very much still my Queen." Song Xuan Ren snapped, and Zhi Yue backed away, understanding that she had been a little too presumptuous that Song Xuan Ren, even when disgusted, might support her slapping of Feng Jiu.

"Go on, Xiao Jiu. Is that true? You toyed with me?" Song Xuan Ren didn't sound as angry as he sounded hurt now, and Feng Jiu bit her lip, wanting to reply, only to hear Si Ming warn, "Little Highness, would it not be better if he misunderstood? You would not have to break his heart, then."

"Why won't you say something?" Song Xuan Ren sounded desperate now, almost as though he was begging her to refuse his accusation, but Feng Jiu only remained silent, her head bowed, and Song Xuan Ren shook her shoulders violently, "Xiao Jiu, say something!" "I did." The words tumbled out painfully, shaken out by Song Xuan Ren much against her will, and Song Xuan Ren looked like she had just plunged a dagger into his heart then thrown him into icy salt waters as he stumbled backwards, "N-no. That isn't true. That can't be true..."

There was silence in the room, except for the exceptionally harsh breathing of Song Xuan Ren as he tried to hide the pain of his betrayal from the girl he loved so dearly. "G-guards," Song Xuan Ren finally managed to pull himself together as he drew a rattling breath, turning away from Feng Jiu, "Drag her into the prison!"

The guards shifted uneasily as they looked at Feng Jiu, who could easily defeat them all, and they carefully hooked her up by her arms, wary that she might suddenly lash out in defense, but she merely just ducked her head in submission, hanging limply off their arms, and without hesitation, the guards dragged Feng Jiu away from the room.

And even as Feng Jiu was guided towards the doors, she saw the tears flow down Song Xuan Ren's face, but before she even managed to fully step out of the room, there was the sound of falling droplets of liquid against the wooden flooring, and Feng Jiu whipped around, only to see a bloodstained floor, and Song Xuan Ren sinking to the ground.

"Your Majesty!" She couldn't help but scream, whilst Zhi Yue collapsed right next to Song Xuan Ren, "My King! Someone, please, come! His Majesty has collapsed!", and even as Feng Jiu thrashed like a fish on the shore in the guards' arms to be let free, more guards had arrived at the commotion, and despite the struggles that Feng Jiu had put up, she was eventually dragged away to the prison, remorseful tears staining her beautiful eyes.

...

"Little Highness...it's just a trial..." Si Ming tried to calm Feng Jiu down, but she merely poked at the grass, a stony expression upon her face. "Just a trial?" Feng Jiu echoed, a mirthless laugh escaping her lips, something Si Ming thought he'd never hear from the bubbly princess who had never seemed to know what sadness was, "Si Ming, it's not just a trial. It's a torture for me. I did that to him. I broke his heart-"

"As did Di Jun, Little Highness. And today is the third day. We must return. You've already promised your aunt." Si Ming reminded slightly impatiently, and Feng Jiu shook her head, "I'm not leaving until I know that Song Xuan Ren is alright." "He-" Si Ming's sentence was interrupted by a deep and resonant chime of a bell, and Feng Jiu's eyes widened with horror as she rose to her feet, "What was that?!"

And her answer came, as one by one, the guards sank to their knees, crying out in their gruff voices, "Your Majesty! Why have you left us?!"

And Feng Jiu turned to Si Ming in wild panic, who was busily unrolling the scroll that contained Song Xuan Ren's fate, and when Si Ming's gaze met her eyes, Feng Jiu heard the words clearly.

"Little Highness...Song Xuan Ren is dead..."

And suddenly, her head seemed to be submerged into water. Her hearing was fuzzy, her breaths were coming short, and her vision was turning darker by the moment. "Little Highness!" Si Ming only managed to grab her arm, before Feng Jiu collapsed into a faint.

•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•

A/N Ta-da! The trial's done, haha...next chapter will likely be a heart to heart talk between niece and aunt, which is, of course, Feng Jiu and Bai Qian, and some wedding preparations (might include some laughs HAHAHAHA because don't we all need some)

Tell me if you liked this chapter ;)
Z, out.