The Emperor's Obsession

Chapter Twenty-Eight || The Emperor's Obsession

The Great Palace, Xiang Empire, 1479
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Who was the woman he mentioned?
Could she have been a close friend of his? A relative? Or a lover? The lover one seemed to make more sense, judging by what he'd said. Lihua was frozen, yet her mind was very much active and filled with pestering, unanswered questions. She didn't know what to do. The chamber had gotten cold, the tiny flames of the melting candles were dying out, and the emperor lay peacefully asleep, using her slowly moving chest as a pillow. His arms were positioned around her lower waist, his fingers loosely gripping her skirt. If anyone saw them right now, they would immediately think that the two were a really close, loving, happily married couple. Well, the married part was true, but not so sure about the loving and happy part. The brunette swallowed, and looked down at him. He was just like a child. Why did he throw a tantrum like that out of nowhere? What did she say that affected him so much?
She needed to understand the reason he acted the way he did. She needed to understand why he was like this. No one is born evil. Something must have happened to have turned him into this evil, sadistic monster. A bad incident, perhaps, that had something to do with this 'Meili' woman. Before falling asleep, Emperor Hyeon had said something about not killing her. Which meant that this woman was dead. Murdered by somebody. Since she was dead, Lihua wouldn't be able to talk to her, obviously. Asking His Majesty about it would result in her head being cut off. But since the emperor knew her, then that meant that other people in the palace knew about Meili as well, right? She could ask them about her—or maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. They could tell the emperor, and she would be in huge trouble.
But what if the prince knew something about it?
She knew and trusted Prince Daeshim, so she was sure he wouldn't do anything if she asked him a few questions.
Lihua stared at the emperor's sleeping face, lost in thought. Long dark lashes creating tiny shadows over his smooth cheeks, soft-looking lips slightly parted. He looked so.. pure. No sly smirk, no wicked smile, no murderous glower, no death glare. Just a calm, relaxed expression. She noticed the way she was holding him, and the position they were in, and felt her cheeks heat up. Sleeved, frail arms wrapped protectively around his strong, large form. She removed her hand from his back and tucked a stray strand of his hair behind his ear, fingers brushing against the side of his face.
He was beautiful.
"What happened to you..?" Lihua whispered, gently caressing his cheek.
She realized what she was doing and quickly pulled her hand away. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't be touching him. She shouldn't even be holding him like this. His past, Meili, and whatever he went through was none of her business. The truth was, the girl was scared. Scared of what might happen. Scared of knowing the truth. Scared of finding out things that she isn't supposed to know. She just needed to stay out of his way, keep her head low, and live quietly in the palace. She needed to stop letting herself care about him.
She was supposed to hate him.
But the moment they were sharing right now.. it was almost like she was showing affection for him. Care. Concern.
It was almost as if she was in love with him.
Lihua grimaced at the thought. Her—a strong, clever girl—stupid enough to fall in love with somebody like him? She nearly snorted at the foolishness of that. She was smart enough to know that having feelings for him would be the end for her. Just because he was handsome, wealthy, and had more power than anybody else, didn't mean anything for her.
She cared about the personality, not the money, rank, and looks.
And he had the kind of personality she despised.
The girl sighed and called a guard in to place the sleeping emperor on his bed. After that, she brushed the imaginary dust off her clothes and walked out of the chamber. She'd decided not to involve herself in any of this. Something told her that if she did, things would take a very bad turn for her. If no one had succeeded in trying to change the emperor, then why would she? Why bother trying if she's going to fail?
But how do you know if people have even tried? Think about it this way. If something had the power to turn him evil, then you have just as much power to turn him good again, a tiny voice at the back of her mind said.
Lihua thought about it. If she turned him good, then that would benefit the empire. People would respect him, not fear him.
Do this for the empire. For the people. For your family.
With a new wave of determination, the brunette's walk sped up. She needed to see the prince. Surely, he would know something about this.
She arrived at the chamber he and his wife were staying in, and an eunuch announced her presence, before allowing her to enter.
The prince was reading some scrolls. Lady Hei-Ran was sitting on the bed, sewing. She glanced at up to see who it was and gave the girl a warm smile, "good evening." His highness looked up as well and an expression of surprise crossed his face. "Lady Wu.." He said with a raised brow, "what brings you here?"
"Good evening, your highness," she bowed, "my lady," she bowed again. "My most sincere apologies for bursting in like this, but there is something important I must talk to you about, my prince."
Prince Daeshim frowned slightly in confusion, glancing at his wife—who gave a small nod of approval and a kind smile—before saying, "alright." He stood up, and together, the two walked out to the courtyard.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"Well, I have a few questions. And I'm really, really hoping you could answer them."