Center Of The Palace

第15集 (Final Chapter)

Xiaorui POV

I ran towards the prison, anger coursing through my veins as I held my sword in my hand. Being the Head of the Guards, I knew exactly where he was, and I laughed as I came up to his cell, opening the door and walking in to see him look at me without any emotion.

"I see my maid carried through since she is not here." He told me, chuckling as I came closer to him, my hands steady as I aimed my blade towards him. "Do it, what is stopping you?"

"Nothing, bastard," I replied, driving the weapon through his chest, making sure I hit his vital organs this time. I pushed him to the wall, digging it in as best as I could as I laughed. "You killed her. This is her vengeance. You will not see her again, even in the next life, I'll make sure of it."

When I slid my blade out, he fell to the ground, no longer a problem for anyone in this life. I fell to the floor and began crying, mourning the true loss of my mother after years of thinking she was already gone.

We held a small funeral for her, seeing she was already dead in the records. I held both Feifei and Zhennan close, my siblings losing both of their parents in a single day. Xiaofu was standing silently, trying to not cry as he held his wife, now swollen with child. He needed to act tough for her, in order to keep her safe from the chaos our family brought.

Later, after the ceremony was over, I pulled him to the side to speak with him in private.

"I wanted to talk to you before this happened, but I could not find a chance to. My apologies." I softly said, looking down in shame. "I, I know it doesn't matter anymore since your father is adopting our sister while I am taking Zhennan with me, but I wanted to let you know that I won't be coming back to the palace for a long time. I wanted you to take care of our siblings, but this is no longer necessary."

"Why, where are you going?" He asked, his gentle self holding me close as tears welled in his eyes.

"I have been assigned to be the representative of our nation. I will be traveling to Edo by the end of next month." I explained, making him whine. "I will also be making a stop in Joseon before being a permanent resident in Edo."

"Ge, that's so far away! Why did you say yes to such a mission?" He questioned, holding me closer as he let his tears fall. "Mother just died, my wife is with child, and you're leaving me alone to go across the sea?"

"I'm sorry, but I could not refuse the mission. I, I will return as soon as I can. You can keep this as a token of my promise."

Xiaofu POV

I whined as he handed me his favorite hairpiece, the cold metal contrasting with my warm skin.

"Ge, why are you leaving me?" I asked, no longer holding back my sobs.

"I want to travel the world, see how big it is. This was the only way to do so. I will be back." He explained, hugging me and petting my hair before walking away.

I cried for a small while before I returned back to my residence, Zongying ready sleeping as soundly as she could with her enlarged stomach. With a sigh, I laid down beside her and held her close, giving her a small kiss upon her hand as she moved to make more room for me.

The next day it was announced that Feifei would be married to a prince from Joseon. I gasped and looked to Rui with a knowing look, to which he simply smiled and looked away.

Zongying smiled and grabbed her sister's hand, excitedly sharing how fun it is to travel from the Palace. I walked over to my brother and folded my arms.

"Is that your 'little stop' in Joseon?" I asked, earning a nod as he chuckled. "Is that why you are so excited to go? To get rid of her?"

"No, of course not. I'm actually very sad to see her go. I'm excited because I will also be marrying someone once I get to Japan, to help boost our peaceful relations." He explained, earning a gasp from me, which made him laugh again. "Why are you so surprised? Did you think I'd die with no children?"

"No, no I just didn't expect you to want to get married. I thought you'd be one of those bachelors that would visit harems for their entire youth." I replied, earning a punch from him, causing us both to laugh.

It was one of the last times we saw each other before his departure, but it was the happiest we'd been in a long time. I knew we had forgiven any strife we may have had as children, and we grew to be strong young men with a close bond to one another.

I bid him a safe journey, congratulating both him and Feifei on their marriages, blessing them with many children and happy lives. I wanted nothing but peace for my family for the rest of our lives, knowing how much trouble we had as children.

I watched as my father aged and my children grew up, happy, and at peace with innocence and contentment with their lives at the Palace. It was a sight I didn't want to lose as I got older as well, smiling and laughing with my siblings over family meals disguised as national banquets, their own children being fluent in all the languages they'd come to know as they were raised in their own palaces so far away from where their parents were raised.

It made me rest easy, knowing we had peace and happiness at last.

The End

* Edo and Joseon are the names for Japan and Korea at the time setting for this story

* There will be an epilogue showing the lives of Feifei and Rui after leaving China

*I might make another book based off of Zhennan's POV (let me know if you're interested!)

* Thank you for reading and (hopefully) enjoying the story!