Chapter 89
Bai Shen Hong
The Dragon Palace
It had been two weeks, a fortnight since Huizhong’s heart fell into despair. His already deranged dreams were now horrors of loneliness, heartbreak and desolation. He ate, worked, and entertained officials, scholars and generals. It was all mechanical for one whose heart toiled with loss.
Shen Hong stood on the elevated stairs of his welcoming chambers, observing the woman that made her way behind his subject, Zhi Peng. She was elegant, and poised in exquisiteness and grace. Her garments were refined, poised to enhance the one who wore them. He recognised the coat she put on; it was the same one he gave the merchant who said he knew where to find Elora. But now, according to his men, the merchant recently drowned in the river―like that wouldn't make Shen Hong suspicious.
This woman claimed to be Elora. She looked like her. She walked like her. But his heart knew it was not her. It didn’t falter at her presence, nor did his stomach swarm with butterflies.
“Your Majesty, this is Lady Elora.” Zhi Peng bowed, the woman following suit. “She is the lady that the older woman we found at the bridge directed us to.” A week ago, an elderly woman was found, and she reported that she was the one who paid witness to the woman who burnt the explosives on the bridge.
“Thank you, Zhi Peng. You may proceed to give us privacy.”
Zhi Peng didn’t delay in departing. This left an unpredictable silence in the large throne room. The said Elora was a tame one, for she looked at anywhere but him.
He narrowed his eyes at her, not missing how she made sure to wear a lotus flower in her hair. “Present yourself.”
Huizhong wondered just how determined she was to prove that she was his beloved. And most importantly, he wanted to know who sent her. Who dared to try use his past strife to gain leeway into his heart?
Next to none knew what happened in YiYuan, between him and Elora. It was a well concealed matter that he had been rejected, although people noted that something was not alright with him. So people still assumed that he still looked for Elora thus taking advantage.
“Elora from the Borderlands presents herself to His Majesty, Emperor Huizhong.”
“Elora from which clan?”
“The Li clan, Your Majesty.”
“Lady Li, since you are from the Borderlands, what is it that you seek for in the capital of my great Nevoria?”
“The man I pledged to marry is from your Great Nevoria, Your Majesty. Might you know who he is?” Her whole body was still splayed on the floor, so he could barely make out her features. Not that it was of importance; for all he knew, he could have her dead in the next second. He hated deceit.
“Stand up and follow me.” Without checking if she followed, he led her to another chamber where they would dine. A meal was prepared for them; he casually sat on the side with unpoisoned food.
If you fail to do something right the first time, just redo it again, applying precision the next time around. He didn't have it in him to have his Elora dead the other night, sad to say he couldn't speak the same for this fake. His beloved, unlike this one had a grip on him, and in a squared match, he was always rendered powerless.
“I had them prepare a meal for us. I hope the food is to your taste, considering that you are a woman not from our culture.”
She sat after him and blushed. “Anything from His Majesty is an honor for this servant.”
He poured himself a sizable amount of wine, being cautious to not fall back into his recent habit of being a drunkard. “I made sure they made you bland food. I know that you hate anything spicy.” Elora’s diet preferences were not something he was sure of. He was just curious about whether she would admit to the lie or play along.
She shyly laughed. “How does His Majesty know so much about this mere servant?”
Her laugh reminded him of hyenas. “Because I am Luo Meng, the man who pledged to marry you so long ago.” He locked eyes with her.
“A… ohh… I am …” She expressed speechlessness at the “new revelation”.
He couldn’t help laughing at this mockery of a charade. “Yes, I know this caught you off guard, but surprise, surprise. I am that same man.” He threw a few grapes into his mouth. “Now eat.”
“But why did His Majesty lie about his identity in the past?” She frowned, pretending to be shocked. She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of her food.
This was too boring for him. “Because you are lying to me. Out with it, who sent you to mock me like this?”
“I don’t understand…”
Oh, she would understand soon enough when the poison started working. He, Huizhong, would not be taken for a fool.
It was only after pressuring and threatening her, making false promises about letting her live if she confessed, that she confessed that it was his grandmother who intended to set him up.
Did it shock him? No.
Never trust anyone. Nobody; that included any living thing that crawled on the face of the earth. Everyone had selfish desires, whether they would like to admit it or not.
What was love? Wasn’t it a pair of shackles that were there to restrain others into acts of kindness? To be selfless, to say it in simpler words.
S.V