The Emperor's Obsession

Chapter Eighteen || Childhood Friend

The Great Palace, Xiang Empire, 1479
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Whispers swam back and forth from person to person like the wicked sirens from mythologies and legends. The ones who seduced and lured sailors to their deaths. And whispers, in a twisted way, were similar to those evil creatures. Whispers meant secrets and things that mustn't be mentioned out loud, but when they are, things could go downhill. The whispers turn to gossip. Gossip turns to rumors, and rumors—whether they were false or true, especially in the royal palace—never led to any good. If people in the palace start believing the rumors spread about you, whether they were good or bad, you might as well just wish for the deities to guide you safely into the afterlife. You see, if the rumors were bad, then it's obvious what will happen to you. But if the rumors are good, you still get the bad ending. Why? Because no matter what you do, no matter how kind or nice you are to everyone around you, you will always have enemies in the palace. You will always have people who loathe you. People who want you to disappear or to suffer. Sometimes, even both. We call those people monsters. And those monsters, they will do their best to make sure you don't survive in the palace.
And sometimes, they succeed.
Lihua wasn't really that nervous. I mean, it wasn't like she was going to meet the emperor's brother, right? All she had to do was stand there with the rest of the women and look pretty while everybody else greeted the prince and his wife. Hell, the prince wouldn't even notice her. All she had to do was stand back, and blend in with the rest of the noblewomen and concubines. Truth is, she didn't even want to be here. She hated huge crowds. She hated it when she was surrounded by too many people. It made her feel really uncomfortable and it gave her anxiety. All she wanted to do was run away to the royal gardens, where she knew she would be alone—for some reason, people rarely visited those gardens. Not that she was complaining. Or maybe her private chamber would be a better place to hide from everybody—including the emperor, of course.
What am I even doing here..? She thought with a small frown.
"I heard there's going to be a banquet tonight!" A maid whispered.
"Woah, really? We haven't had a banquet in so long! Plus, I heard the prince has gotten very handsome!" The other answered.
"Not as handsome as the emperor, though. His Majesty looks like he's been blessed a hundred times by the gods!" The two girls giggled.
Eun Soo gave them a warning glare and they shut up. She sighed and turned to Lihua, then in a stern voice, she informed, "the prince's name is Daeshim, and his wife is Hei-Ran. Do not forget that and embarrass yourself."
"Daeshim?" Lihua questioned with a raised brow.
Daeshim.
Why did that name sound so.. so familiar? She wasn't exactly sure, but why did it feel like she heard it before? Maybe she heard it once in the village? I mean, he was the emperor's younger brother, the prince. Of course people would talk about him. Lihua bit her lip and said nothing else, shrugging it off. Eh, she probably just heard his name somewhere and forgot about it. It wasn't really something worth thinking about.
"My lady? Are you alright?" Eun Soo asked, seeing how she spaced out.
Lihua blinked, "huh? Oh, yes. Yes, I'm alright." She looked away from the woman and allowed her eyes to wander. How long did she have to wait? She's been standing here with the others for 20 minutes. She wasn't exactly a patient person, that being one of her many flaws. Her aunt always scolded her for her impatience. "A lady should have patience! Patience is a virtue, after all." She would say.
God, did she miss her aunt.
And her grandfather too.
Just as Lihua began to drown in her thoughts, she noticed.
The emperor was staring right at her.
Her eyes went a little wide in surprise, and she stared right back. She shifted uncomfortably in her spot. Maybe he was staring at somebody else? Most of his concubines, including Hae Won, were present here. Maybe he was just looking at one of them.
But his eyes stared directly into hers. There was no mistaking it.
Lihua remembered the kiss and she quickly blinked, blushing furiously and instantly looking away. Good God..
"The second prince, Prince Daeshim, and his wife, the Lady Lee Hei-Rim, have arrived!"
The whispers died down and it seemed as if time had frozen. Lihua looked up. The gates of the palace were wide open, and a bunch of guards marched inside. Then a man on a muscular stallion appeared, and then a palanquin followed. The man looked in his early twenties, and his appearance spoke of power and wealth.
Lihua squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look.
Why.. Why does he look so familiar? Where have I seen him before?
Then realization hit her like a brick.
-
The ten-year-old girl giggled softly as she sat behind the old house, pressing her back against the wall as much as she could so no one would see her. Her light pink dress was dirty with mud and it was slightly ripped too, and her hair, although braided tightly, had been messed up because of her tomboyish, reckless behavior.
"Lihua!" She heard her aunt yell.
"Aish.. Wu Lihua, you crazy little brat! Where on earth are you hiding?! When I find you, I'm making you do chores with me." Aunt Biyu said with a scowl. She looked into the alley, but when she couldn't find anyone, she huffed and walked away to look somewhere else.
"Who are you?" Lihua almost jumped. She turned around with wide, innocent eyes, her startled gaze landing on a boy who looked around her age, maybe a little older. He wore blue, silk robes and his hair was tied. He looked pretty rich to her.
"Who are you?" She replied.
"You didn't answer my question." He glared at her.
"Neither did you!" She stuck her tongue out and glared back.
"This is my hiding spot. What are you doing here, brat?" He crossed his arms.

"Yah! Who are you calling a brat?!" She stood up.
"Brat! Brat! Brat!" The boy repeated, sticking his tongue out and doing an ugly face. "What're you going to do about it? Huh? Huh?"
"What are you, five?" Lihua wanted to sound mature, so she used the line her aunt always told her.
"No, but you look five."
Lihua was about to respond when she heard her aunt's voice again. Her eyes widened and she immediately placed her hand on the boy's mouth, pushing him against the wall and whispering, "shhh!" When her aunt was gone, she looked at him.
He was staring at her with eyes as wide as saucers.
She pulled away, not noticing how red his cheeks had gotten.
"W-W-Who are you hiding from?" He stuttered.
"My aunt. You?"
"The guards." He answered.
Lihua tilted her head, "why? Are you a thief?"
"No. I ran away from the palace."
The girl looked at him in amazement, "woah!! You live in the palace? Lucky! I wish I could live there. Then I'd have nice clothes and I'd eat tasty food! Oh, and I would be treated like a princess! Oh, I wish I could be a princess. Imagine how fun that would be. Then I can marry a handsome prince and we can live happily ever after!" She sighed dreamily. "Ah, what's your name, by the way?"
"Daeshim. Yours?"
"Lihua."
He scoffed, "what kind of name is that?"
"What about your name? They might as well have named you Daeshoe instead of Daeshim."
"YAH!" He snapped, glaring at her. "How dare you call me a shoe? Do you know who I am? I'm the prince! The prince!!"
"Does that mean you can make me a princess?"
His glare dropped and he looked surprised. "What?"
"Let's get married!" Lihua grinned innocently.
".. See, this is why my mother tells me not to interact with people outside the palace. You never know when you might run into a lunatic."
"Come on! You can make me a princess and I can make you.." She thought for a moment, ".. I can make you happy! I mean, even though you're not even that handsome.."
"You little–"
"Well, I have to go now before my aunt gets a heart attack." She gave him a smile that made his little heart flutter and his round cheeks heat up. "Bye, Shim!"
-
"Shim..." Lihua whispered. She remembered how after they first met, they became good friends. He'd sneak out of the palace and they would play together, then the guards would eventually find him and take him back. But then, he stopped coming. She'd wait for him, but never saw him again. She always saw him as her older brother, nothing more, nothing else. He'd grown up so much. His once chubby face that she loved to pinch was now beautifully shaped, with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline. His eyes were dark and determined–
She turned away.
Then she ran.
"Lady Wu! Lady Wu!!" She heard someone call. But she didn't stop. She ran and ran until she reached the royal gardens. She slowed down to a stop and placed a hand on one of the pillars for support. She panted, out of breath.
"No.. No way.." She whispered breathlessly, sliding down to the ground. "Shim.. I can't believe it.." She closed her eyes as she heard footsteps running towards her.
"My lady!" She heard Eun Soo say in a worried tone. "What on earth happened? Why did you run away like that?"
She didn't answer.