Circ.u.mventing Fate - Volume 2 Chapter 358 Shocking Arrangements
Despite his mounting apprehension, Prince Yi would never give his brother the pleasure of watching him plead for mercy. Not that it would matter much, his brother was a cold-hearted man. He cared for no one and sought no one’s approval, not his parents and definitely not his siblings; very much like their royal father.
But what made Jun Kai more dangerous was that he was highly deceptive and manipulative; deceiving people and leading them to believe that they truly mattered to him. Then the moment they became useless, he would casually discard them, showing his true colors.
Therefore, Prince Yi steeled himself and harshly stared the Emperor down. But even then the Emperor could still sense his fear. It seemed the dire state of his present situation had finally sunk in for Prince Yi. The Emperor was finding Prince Yi’s dip in self-importance to be quite a welcome sight.
The Emperor straightened up as he smugly continued on to say, “But… Xing er’ has taught me a thing or two on leniency for my subjects. I understand that people are sometimes left with little choice in their life matters. Therefore, I have permitted the option of surrender before battle and they have naturally been informed of your current circ.u.mstance. Ahh, what is it that Xing er’ calls it again? Full disclosure? Ah yes, full disclosure. They have been made aware of all the facts, to be fair, as I’m sure Zhao Chang did for you earlier.”
Prince Yi lowered his gaze and frowned. The Emperor smiled, raised an eyebrow, and casually asked, “How many of them do you think will remain loyal and fight for you?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Prince Yi gulped, and his frown deepened, “I know nothing about any army…”
“Of course you don’t. If you did, I would kill you right here…” The Emperor coldly retorted. Prince Yi looked up at him skeptically, not quite understanding what the Emperor was getting at now. If he did not want to kill him, why bring it up at all?
“What do you want?” Prince Yi asked in a low voice, containing his anger.
The Emperor sneered, “Do you have anything to offer?” He asked with that irritating sly smirk that always made Prince Yi want to bash his head in.
Prince Yi angrily glared at the Emperor while the Emperor steadily met his gaze with cold calm as he callously stated, “You just need to understand that your life is at my mercy. It has always been so and will remain so. I warned you not to tempt me…”
Understanding suddenly dawned on Prince Yi. His glare intensified as he clenched his fists and quietly spat out, “You can kill a man but you should not humiliate him…”
“You humiliated me first!” The Emperor lashed out and then took a deep breath to regain his calm.
The Emperor leaned forward again and menacingly said, “If you can’t stand it, then kill yourself because I will not grant you death. You will be here for as long as it pleases me. When I am satisfied that you have truly learned your place, you may go live your life. Perhaps when I have something to celebrate, maybe the birth of a child? New life does bring with it new beginnings but that won’t be for about a year, at the very least…”
“…Well, it is great seeing you adapting so well to your new home,” the Emperor finished with a smile which fell as soon as he straightened up. He gave Prince Yi a final hard stare before leaving. Prince Yi stood frozen for a long time, still glaring at the spot the Emperor had vacated, not thinking of anything.
Was the Emperor serious about his threat of indefinite imprisonment? Maybe, maybe not…but that was not for Prince Yi to know.
Regardless of his true intent, the Emperor could not have his prisoner being too comfortable in captivity. Therefore, this ought to give Prince Yi a lot more to think about. He needed to understand fear since respect was unlikely. He needed to understand that no one was coming to his rescue, not unless the Emperor permitted it. And well, the Emperor was currently not of a mind to grant such permission.
****
The next afternoon, true to his words, the Emperor returned to the Empress dowager’s palace with Lei Xing in tow. Seeing that Lei Xing was unwell yesterday, he had not planned on “visiting” so soon but Lei Xing insisted on “getting it over with”.
Last night, he shared his encounter with the Empress dowager and what her “grievances” with Lei Xing were. He thought he would need to persuade Lei Xing to visit the Empress dowager, but to his surprise, Lei Xing said she was expecting it. Apparently, the thought had occurred to her the day after the ceremony that they needed to pay a visit to the Empress dowager. But everything was so hectic at that time and the Emperor had not said anything, so she too had ignored this obligatory visit.
After all, it was not like the Empress dowager actually wanted to see her face, the woman had made her dislike for Lei Xing utterly clear. However, Lei Xing had obviously underestimated the woman’s superiority complex.
It occurred to her that the Empress dowager would not leave until she had received her “due respect”. The Emperor had apologized for the trouble and was glad for Lei Xing’s understanding. He did not want anyone to have any more reason to criticize Lei Xing, and by extension, him.
So here they were, standing in front of the Empress dowager’s palace as the guards undid the locks at the entrance. The Emperor turned to Lei Xing when he heard her sigh, he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he said, “Nothing will happen, I’m here.”
Lei Xing cast the Emperor a side glance, straightening her back, “I’ve told you, I can take your mother… There’s nothing to worry about.” She mumbled with a lopsided smile. She had absolutely nothing to worry about.
The doors finally opened to reveal Ling mama waiting on the inside to escort them, “This way please…” She said with an outstretched hand pointing towards the flowery path to the side of the building instead of the straight path to the reception hall -which was the expected venue for this “grand” visit.
Lei Xing and the Emperor glanced at each other. TheEmperor deeply exhaled and walked forward, Lei Xing also let out an irritated breath of her own and followed, with Ling mama and their retinue followed after.
The Emperor and Lei Xing slowed to a halt as they came around the building to find the Empress dowager sitting in a pavilion in absolute serenity, brewing tea. While a host of servants stood to the sides; amongst them were musicians and what they assumed were entertainers, who bowed towards the guests of honor, who seemed rooted to their spots.
Seeing the guests had arrived, Eunuch Li bent close to the Empress dowager and whispered, “The Emperor and Empress are here.” The Empress dowager looked up. She saw the Emperor and smiled at him, then her eyes went to Lei Xing and her smile slightly faltered, but she held it and “warmly” said, “You’re right on time. Welcome, come forward… Come sit.”
Lei Xing was the first to snap out of the stupor and she quietly murmured to the Emperor, “Hey, wasn’t this just a simple greet and leave?”
The Emperor quickly collected himself and he stepped forward and calmly asked, “What is going on here?” He casually asked, sending veiled daggers at Eunuch Li rather than the Empress dowager. This was obviously his arrangement, after all, no one could come here without his approval. The emperor was even more confused now as to what these two wanted from him.
Regardless of their intent, the Emperor felt as if he had just walked into a trap.
Eunuch Li smiled and bowed, “The Empress dowager thought that since it was such a nice day, it would be good to get together outside a-”
“I realize that we haven’t had a meal together as a family. I could not bear to leave knowing that, so I thought it apt to arrange one. It should naturally be grand as well, so I asked for some entertainment to go along with it… Or do you find my company so undesirable that you cannot bear a simple meal?” The Empress dowager asked, looking aggrieved as she cast Eunuch Li a quick glance, which he replied with an approving nod.
“Not at all.” The Emperor responded with a slight smile, “It’s just that you did not need to go through the trouble. After all, you are just recovering…” The Emperor said as a dutiful son should.
The Empress dowager’s smile faltered, then she narrowed her eyes at Lei Xing and said, “Your Empress is still young so I am left with no choice but to be the one to take initiative…”
{… This woman (_ )…}
Lei Xing inwardly scoffed and almost rolled her eyes at that masked insult.
The Emperor knit his brows and jumped to defend Lei Xing, “Xing er’ has been unw-.” He stopped when Lei Xing touched his arm and he turned to see her smiling at the Empress dowager.
Obviously, with the crowd around, Lei Xing could not express her true feelings, but she could not give the Empress dowager the satisfaction of her or the Emperor apologizing for her supposed “failings”. If she allowed the woman an inch, she would ask for a mile.
Moreover, she did not want the Emperor to get angry and prove the rumors right that she was the reason for his poor relationship with his mother. The two of them arguing because of her will do her no good. There were many ways to handle things like this and giving excuses was not quite it.
“It seems I have made mother feel neglected with my care. I may be young, but I was raised uprightly. Therefore, I rightly believe that it is health above all else. How could I have asked mother to indulge my whims when you are unwell?” Lei Xing said, putting on an aggrieved expression.
The Empress dowager blinked and then her eyebrows slowly drew together as the question hung in the air.
{… How dare this useless brat insinuate that I wasn’t raised right?! What right does sh-!…}
The Empress dowager’s raging thoughts were interrupted when Lei Xing smiled at her and continued, “Seeing you today feels my heart with so much joy. It is so good to see that my consideration has truly paid off…” Lei Xing “sincerely” said with a plastered on smile, narrowing her eyes back at the Empress dowager as she lightly bowed her head.
The Empress dowager glared at Lei Xing briefly before she caught herself and remembered the cause of the day.. She took a deep breath and then let out a dry laugh, “I see… It seems I failed to notice how considerate a child you were~” She replied tersely, clenching her teeth, “Such a good child, no wonder why my id- NOBLE!” She corrected when Eunuch Li loudly cleared his throat, “… My very noble son is so taken with you…” She finished, flashing a wide smile at the Emperor, who was looking at Lei Xing with an amused smirk.
Lei Xing smiled and bowed again, rolling her eyes as she faced the ground and coyly said, “It’s what I should do~…”
{… Tsk, tsk, if you keep talking out the side of your mouth like that, it might just rip you a new one… Ahhh, I’ve become such a hypocrite in this place. I might get a new mouth first Y_Y)… This woman, why can’t you just leave well enough alone? We had a good thing going, you and I! T_T)…}
