General Chang's Revenge - Boy's Love

Chapter 15

Almost one year later

I become cruel. Cruel to the emperor and to the maids and eunuchs but he still treats me the same.

And I was cruel to myself because I knew this would be our last year and instead of enjoying it, I kept trying to ruin it. The guilt I felt didn't let me enjoy it.

It got to the point when the empress started to fear that I would want her place so she tried to poison me.

The emperor went almost insane.

He demoted the empress and sent her to the cold palace. Before the ministers could complain, he convicted the prime minister of framing my real father.

The prime minister begged the emperor to spare his family.

Someone from his family came to see me since I was the only one who could make the emperor change his mind.

I wanted to laugh. The prime minister got all my family killed and now they wanted me to plead for them?

Then I thought about Hai. He had been recently admitted to the prime minister family. He went by himself, refusing to hear me.

Then I thought about my brother and sister.

There were also little kids in the prime minister's family.

Families were killed to avoid someone coming later for revenge. But look at me, didn't I survive and come for it?

I ended up asking the emperor to spare them. He looked at me with a strange look.

Maybe he is wondering why am I asking him to spare the one he thinks is my lover?

But as always, he grants my request.

Soon after I'm conferred as imperial noble consort and I'm given the phoenix seal.

And then the day arrives.

Today is the day we die.

We, not just him.

Because I can't live without him.

I don't want to live without him.

I go to his palace; I ask for wine and I send the eunuch away.

I put the poison powder on the wine jar.

Sometime after the emperor arrives.

I salute him.

-It's been many years since the last time you saluted this emperor.

I felt like it today.

We sit. His hand covers mine.

-Chang'er, today makes 13 years since you entered the palace.

-Yes.

-Do you regret it?

-No.

-That's good.

He gets up and tells me to follow him.

He shows me a secret passage and tells me only he and his secret guards know about it.

I go and serve the wine. Then I smile and I look at him and ask him:

-What if I ask you to make me be the empress?

-I will talk with the ministers.

-They won't agree.

-They will.

-How can you be sure?

-Because there's something I can give them in exchange.

-What is it?

-The secret army my father left me.

-What if I want to be the emperor? Will you give me your throne?

-I just ask you to let me be your empress. Or your concubine if you want Hai to be the empress.

I don't know if I should feel angry or laugh. I turn around and ask him the last question I had. The question I never let myself ask:

-What if I want your life?

-Then this emperor shall die.

I turn around to look at him and I see him with an empty wine cup in his hands.

I feel my heart being crushed into pieces.

-The wine is poisoned.

-This emperor knows.

-Then why did you drink it?

-Because you asked for my life.

-There's no antidote.

-It's okay.

I grab the other cup of wine and drink it before he can stop me.

The calm, acceptance, and love in his eyes turn into horror and despair.

Then I realize.

The best revenge wasn't killing him.

The best revenge was killing myself in front of him because I was the most precious thing for him.

Author's note:

Now comes the emperor's POV and in it, it will come to the end of the story.