White Empress, Ashes of Love Sequel

Chapter 10

"What is it?" he asked without looking up from the scroll beneath him.

"I thought you might want to know something, Your Majesty," Kuanglu started.

"Tell me and then leave. It is daytime, I'm sure you need your rest," he added as he grabbed his brush.

"It's about that servant, Annchi."

At the sound of her name, his head immediately snapped up and his eyes fixed on the woman in front of him.

"What has she done now?" he asked in a hardened tone.

"Well, I have noticed strange happenings at her residence at night," she said, taking a step closer to the table he was seated behind.

"What sort of happenings?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Large groups of people seem to visit her, they sit for a while and then they leave. I don't know why they gather there. Dan Zhu says they come for wine, but I believe he was lying to me," she stated.

"My Uncle was there?" Runyu dropped the brush back in the ink pot, giving Kuanglu his full attention. "How do I not know about this?" he asked angrily.

"I believe it is because they plan these gatherings when you are not here."

His fist slammed the table, jolting her and everything atop it.

"Mmm...Master," she stammered. "I...I will investigate further, if you wish," she offered.

He stared at her for a moment, trying to calm his sudden rage, his fists clenching tightly before his expression evened out.

"No. I will take care of this. You should go," he said simply.

"But, I could -"

"No," he interrupted quickly. "I will investigate this myself. But, thank you for informing me," he added.

A bright smile appeared on her face. 

He is pleased with me, she thought happily before bowing.

*****

"I didn't think it was possible to fit any more bodies on this parcel," she said, looking over the crowd in dismay. They were literally packed together, shoulder to shoulder on her lawn.

"This is a very popular play in the Mortal Realm," Dan Zhu commented as he handed her a fistful of strings. "You have a few short ones in this pile. I will take care of Chunhua and Li Wang. They are seated on the far side of the property. You take care of this side," he said.

She immediately went to work, offering the strings, watching the guests pull them out and sigh when they revealed a long string or beam with joy at pulling a short one. She pocketed the pulled strings before moving to the next guest. It was indeed a challenge to navigate the mass of bodies.

She counted herself lucky that the Emperor announced another trip so close to the last play. It seemed the entire Realm felt the same way, if the crowd size was any indicator.

When all of the actors were assembled, it became apparent that their target couple would be playing the lead roles. In their excitement, they seemed to forget their animosity toward one another. At least, it seemed that way to Annchi.

She filled cups of peach wine from her small pot, picking up the tray and offering it to the actors.

"Here," she said, stepping in front of each person and lifting the tray.

"What is this?" one of the actors asked, she believed he was a fairy of some sort.

"Peach wine. To calm your nerves," she said with a smile.