The Emperor's Obsession

Chapter Seven || A Night of Grief and Misery

Capital of the Xiang Empire, 1479
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By the time Lihua arrived home, the sun had completely disappeared, and the sky was an inky black. The silver moon's pale, faint light along with the glimmering stars was enough for her to see. Her family was definitely worried by now, and she was most likely going to get yelled at and her ear pulled by her aunt for taking so long. But that wasn't the problem here. The problem was, how was she going to tell her family about the emperor? About how she was getting married to him in 3 days? A tear slid down her round cheek as her heart was consumed with woe and dejection. Why? Why did this have to happen to her? Why did the emperor choose her, out of all the noble, wealthy ladies in this empire and princesses of other kingdoms?
She just wished for death right then and there. She'd heard many, many rumors of how Emperor Hyeon tortured his concubines and did other terrible, unspeakable things. She'd heard of his cruel, sadistic ways and how he feels pleasure when seeing others in severe pain or agony. And judging by the way he acted with her back in the palace, she could only guess that everything the capital of the empire whispered was true.
Maybe if the gods were merciful and her luck was bright, death would visit her soon.
But then her grandfather would die. All because of her selfishness. All because she didn't want to wed the emperor. Can she be blamed though? Who would want to marry a monster? A demon in the form of a human? A heartless beast? She shook her head, shutting those thoughts out, only allowing one to linger in her mind.
As long as her grandfather and aunt were safe, nothing else mattered.
Zhao Lin had saved her. He took her in when she was a mere child who could've died with her parents, and raised her. He and Aunt Biyu kept her under their wings and did all they could to make sure her life was a peaceful, pleasant one. They'd sacrificed so much for her, and although she'd never thanked them properly, she was extremely grateful for everything they'd done. And now it was her turn. It was her turn to sacrifice herself in order save her family.
Lihua stood in front of her home. She held back her threatening tears as she took a step forward. Her shaking hand slowly slid the door open, revealing the dim-lit room. A medium-sized cauldron full of warm stew hung over the fire in the middle of the room. Zhao Lin was inspecting some freshly-picked mountain herbs and writing notes. Aunt Biyu was sitting on the straw carpet, folding clothes. They both looked up at her and her aunt gasped.
"Lihua!" Aunt Biyu exclaimed, getting up. "Aigoo..! You crazy child! There's no questioning it, you are utterly insane! Do you know how worried I was? I was worried sick! Your grandfather too! Why did you take so long? I was almost going to call all the neighbors and search for you."
Zhao Lin calmly continued writing, his other hand reaching for another herb.
"I knew it was a bad idea to go to the palace. I knew it! If only you listened—" The frowning, middle-aged woman was cut off when her niece shut the door and ran into her arms, hugging her tightly as if her aunt was going to disappear any second now.
That's when Lihua broke.
She burst into sobs, tears streaming down her flushed face. Her cries spread throughout the entire house, her shoulders shaking as she wept into the woman's chest. Aunt Biyu was surprised. "Lihua?" She softly asked, clearly concerned. "Lihua, what's wrong? What happened?"
Lihua didn't answer. She just kept crying.
"What's the matter—"
"Don't let him take me, Aunt Biyu! Please! D-Don't let him take me!"

Aunt Biyu only got even more concerned and confused. "Who?" Zhao Lin was watching them, his eyebrows knitted in worry. His usual calm, emotionless face was gone. "Who are you talking about?" He questioned.
Lihua sobbed, "d-don't let him take me.. I don't want to be with him.." Her surroundings turned blurry and unclear. She felt numb and empty. It was like her body was slowly shutting down. She couldn't breathe. Her lungs were rejecting the air and sending it right back out. "Don't.. let him.." Her eyes fluttered closed, and the last thing she heard were the voices of her family yelling her name before darkness welcomed her.
Maybe the gods felt pity for her and decided to save her from the emperor by taking away her life.

They didn't.
The girl was regaining her consciousness. Her eyes opened and adjusted to the light of the candles. She found herself lying in her bedroom. She heard the faint voices of her aunt and sounds of soft crushing. "Lihua!" She heard her aunt say, "oh goodness.." She cried tears of joy and relief, grabbing her hand and caressing it.
Lihua was too weak to speak. She looked to the side and saw her grandfather smashing herbs and throwing them in a small pot with boiling water. Aunt Biyu poured some of the contents of the pot into a bowl, and brought it close to her niece's dry lips. "This will help you get your strength back. Be careful, it's hot."
The girl waited for it to cool a bit before taking a sip. She cringed at the strong, unpleasant taste and moved her face away. After being forced to drink the rest of it, she lied back down with a nauseated sigh. That was disgusting.
"Who was the 'he' you spoke of?" Zhao Lin asked coldly, making her flinch.
"Grandfather.." Aunt Biyu said hesitantly. He sent her a look and she closed her mouth immediately.
A minute or two passed with no response. Then, finally, Lihua whispered, "I met His Majesty.." And so she began talking. She explained everything to them, her voice breaking as she held back a sob.
By the time she was done, her aunt was already crying and her grandfather was staring at her in shock.
"You're marrying the emperor in only three days?!" Zhao Lin suddenly yelled, slamming his fist on the table. Lihua nodded slowly, blinking away the tears. "Why?" He asked, his voice softening as he trembled. "Why did you do this? You could have let me die. I'm old, and my time will soon come. You're young and have a long way ahead of you. Do you realize what you've just done? You just ruined your own life, Lihua." A tear rolled down his wrinkled cheek.
That night wasn't a night of sleep and quiet like usual.
It was a night of nothing but grief and misery..