His Majesty And I ✔️

His Concubine

Chapter 17

Second Class Female Attendant Wei
Lady Wei Li Lian
Hougong

Li Lian agreed with the Grand Dowager Empress for ranking her lowly. If she got ranked any higher than a concubine, it could make Yuwen Hong speak against the decree.

So far he was quiet and there was no reaction from his side.

Li Lian inspected her allocated quarters in Hougong later that day, after leaving the Rose Flower palace. Her quarters were small, only consisting of a make-do welcoming room and bedchamber. The decorations were hideous, she was going to replace them with her own. She would sow her own zabuton covers, fabric paintings and bed covers.

The Grand Dowager's court lady was showing her around. Li Lian wished the court lady and her attendants left as soon as possible. The second Grand Consort Shu heard the news of her arrival in Hougong, she would visit. Li Lian did not want confrontation with her mistress on why the Grand Dowager Empress's retinue was with her.

Speaking of the dragon's mother, Li Lian could have gone to Grand Consort Shu for help and her mistress would have managed to convince her son to revoke the decree sentencing Li Lian to exile. However, in the long run that wouldn't be beneficial. To be empress, Li Lian needed more than Grand Consort Shu by her side.

The Grand Dowager was prideful so Li Lian saw it wise to appeal to her when she seemed desperate. It made the woman feel she had the upper hand and Li Lian needed her.

Grand Dowager Empress lived in failure all her life, her only achievement in becoming empress. Her clan was next to nothing, no woman in the harem was from her clan and she had no other son than the fallen dragon. The old woman sought a basket to lay her eggs because of old age and her need to retire.

Li Lian would be loyal to her for now but when she was powerful enough, she was not sure they would still stick together if the old woman opposed her and her Huticah.

"His Majesty arrives!" someone shouted from outside but before they could finish, Yuwen Hong broke in.

He was in his full morning court robes, black and red, which defined his mood; his black slithering death wish and red magmatic anger.

Yuwen Hong strode to the cabinet with vases of flowers on top.

Crash!

He hurled the vases to the floor which rattled into cracked clay. The paintings were stripped off the walls, then torn into pieces. He kicked the zabuton cushions and strew them all over the room. The table was banged to the wall, plummeting. Everyone within the welcoming room scurried out for their lives.

"Have you gone insane?" She went to him.

At her approach, he violently took her hand and swung her against the wall, her back slamming the concrete. "What is it that you want from me?!" he growled.

'Breathe, breathe, breathe. He wants you to react so that he can have an excuse to hurt you.'

"Greetings to His Majesty." Li Lian calmly acknowledged his presence, swallowing back how shaken she was after being banged on the wall. The ache crippled her back momentarily.

He swore and snarled. "What do you want? Just because I am letting you live, you think you are above my authority?"

She shook her head and gave him a helpless adorable look. She was a copy of a cat with glistening eyes at the mercy of a dog with a temper. Yuwen Hong loved control. Let him know quietly that he has the control and you would be the rat that escaped the cat. "I want us to sit like adults and talk."