Love In The Forbidden City (Completed)

Chapter XXVI - Ice Face's Punishment (Revised)

In order to strengthen his power in the palace, Ice Face assigned One Sided to station at the Royal Tomb, which was a hundred miles away from the palace. Their mother became exceedingly depressed about the Fourteenth Prince being far from her and her ailment became worse. She was still unwilling to accept Ice Face as the current ruler and denied him as her son even until she blew her last breath. The ambassadors became to doubt that Ice Face was the legal emperor, and that resulting in Ice Face's reign getting more difficult. A week after the funeral, Ice Face decided to move the altar of his parents to a newly-built pagoda.

The Eighth Bei'Le was in charge of the painting and decoration.

In lieu of finding a getaway to discharge his frustration, he reprimanded the Eighth Bei'Le for the job not done properly. The Eighth Bei'Le was punished to kneel on the cold marble floor until the emperor's anger assuaged. I knew I couldn't persuade Ice Face to release the Eighth Bei'Le, so I knelt in a meditation chamber and prayed for the Almighty to endow the Eighth Bei'Le with tremendous strength to overcome the challenge.

Die Hard Thirteen advised me not to meddle in the case if I wanted to help the Eighth Bei'Le. I remained silent. I loved Ice Face, and I swore that my care towards the Eighth Bei'Le was mere friendship. But the princes wouldn't know. They liked to suspect one another.

That night, Ice Face came to the chamber to persuade me to go home.

"Stand up," he ordered. I ignored him, and his voice rose. "I command you to stand up."

"You're commanding me now with your emperor's status?" I glared at him.

"Yes."

I bowed and tried to stand up and collapsed in his arms. He held me tight but I pulled myself away from him. "Ruo Xi thanks for Your Majesty's concern."

Without looking at him, I left the chamber. He had never raised his voice on me or tried to conquer me with his status. He was changing, but he would never change my determination. I stood by the window in my room for the entire night, chanting a mantra to the moon. The next morning, he came to visit me again. When he saw me walking with staggering steps, his anger resumed and he tossed the tea set to the floor.

"I ask you not to kneel and you choose to stand throughout the night! How dare you disobey my orders!"

I stared at him, trying very hard to restrain my tears from falling down.

He continued to roar, "I have released him. Are you satisfied now?" He brushed the hem of his gown and left my residence; his face looked more fearsome than a lion on a hunt.

Devastated, I moved back to my previous residence, where I stayed with Yu Tan during the time I was still a Chief Tea Maiden. I felt the boulders on my shoulders weigh lesser there. One day, when I was sunbathing at the front yard, Die Hard Thirteen came to visit me.

"You seem to know how to enjoy life, aren't you? I pity my Fourth Brother, who had to drown himself in the sea of official documents and grief."

"If you come here to ask for forgiveness on behalf of him, I'll suggest you go home."

"Ruo Xi, don't you understand that Fourth Brother loves you so much? Now, he has to return to his empty chamber without your ringing laughter. You shall cherish both of your moments together, because you can never retrieve a lost love, just like Lv Wu and I."

He left me to ponder over his words. Deep inside me, I really wanted to go back for Ice Face, but if I surrendered now, it would show that I was a weakling and he would bully me more severely in the future. I continued to enjoy several carefree days there until Ice Face's servant came to beg me to return to his Master. I didn't want to heed his instructions but my obstinacy would result in the innocent servant being punished. When I reached Ice Face's study room, he was massaging his temple and rummaging through his work half-heartedly. He rushed towards me once he saw me. I ignored him and went to sit in a lounge.

He sat beside me but I maneuvered my body to stay far away from him, pulling a long face.

"Are you still angry with me?" His voice was as soft as a mouse but I wouldn't relent to him. "It has been almost a week. Can you not forgive me? Let bygones be bygones, alright?" While I didn't answer him, he pestered me, "Did you miss me? I have been thinking about you."

I pushed him away and said, "You should go look for Concubine Nian."

"Don't be sad. You will just hurt yourself. My good Ruo Xi, don't cry, alright? I really do not know how to coax a woman. You know that. Just let me pass this challenge, will you?"

"Who would believe that? You are the Almighty Emperor."

"Emperor is also human." He began to recite an ancient poem. I couldn't resist myself and chant along with him. He asked with sheer curiosity, "Since when did you memorize this?"

"I am curious about why you always like Mulan. In the poem, it mentions that one of the ancient emperors didn't like to wear lavishly, and would only decorate his home with the pure-looking and elegant Mulan flowers. You've heeded his steps and become an emperor that cares about your citizens."

Smile glint through his eyes. "You hated that poem. Since when did you learn about it?"

"I'm not going to tell you. You'll get over your head if I do so." I beamed at him. It was impossible to stay angry when he kept showering me with innocent looks.

The next day, when Ice Face, Die Hard Thirteen, and I were discussing some state affairs, Ice Face complained suddenly that he had some muscle pain. We quickly heralded the Imperial Doctor. But the woe turned to euphoria some moments later.

"Your Majesty, please worry not. The muscle pain is due to an improper sleeping style. In my humble opinion, something is constantly pressing on Your Majesty's arm during your sleep."

Ice Face, Die Hard Thirteen, and I exchanged glances. Suddenly, they broke out a peal of merry laughter, and my face turned as red as a strawberry. Three of us knew that I was that something which was constantly pressing on Ice Face's arm at night. Embarrassed, I tidied up the tea set and hurried away, concurrently knocking over the edge of a table and spilling the remnants of the tea. The twosome laughed harder, and I blushed redder.

Deep within me, I felt delighted. It would be great if we could laugh like this every day. But our happiness was always as brief as the passing of wind. News spread that Herald Zhang, the eunuch who took care of the Laundry Department had been released out of the palace. But with a price. His tongue had been cut and his fingers were chopped. This was the punishment for how awful and unethical he used to treat me.

I shivered at the news. I told Ice Face that I didn't want any punishment on those that had ill-treated me but Ice Face was someone who held on to grudges very much. It made me feel like I was the culprit for all of the deaths in the Forbidden City.

One day, Cheng Huan rushed towards me. "Aunt Ruo Xi, I heard that the emperor is boiling someone in the yard. He asked all the servants to witness the incident but ordered me to stay here with you. Why is he doing that? Is he boiling someone like how we boiled the dumplings in the kitchen? Aunt Ruo Xi, can you bring me along to see what is happening?"

I almost puked out at her words. He could always come out with lots of ideas in punishing the wrong-doers. Boiling a human like boiling a dumpling? That was just too gross. I ordered Cheng Huan to stay in the room and dashed out of my residence.

Who would the victim be this time?

Edited by YvonneKindle