Translator: 🍓SassyStrawberry | http://www.sassystrawberry.com
Project: Phoenix Totem (凤凰图腾） | Author: Huaishang (淮上) | Rating: Mature
Trigger Warnings: Non-con, rape, underage, grooming, age gap, abuse of authority, problematic gong, harem politics, depression, suicide, murder, death.
Tags: Abusive obsessive love, Imperial Court and aristocracy, Strong x Strong characters, Jianghu grievances
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Chapter 10 To take, to beg.
FOR THE BEST READING EXPERIENCE, WE RECOMMEND READING THE CHAPTERS IN THE ORIGINAL FORMAT INSTEAD OF THE WORDPRESS READER.
By the time that Qianwan Emperor arrived at the bed-chamber, Mingde had already been locked up.
The youth’s thin body had been wrapped up in an ice-silk quilt and pulled up all the way to his neck. One could vaguely see the toothmarks and hickeys from that night faintly on his skin. The Qianwan Emperor knew that he currently wasn’t able to move. Both his wrists were locked up in the cuffs below his sleeves. Not to speak of acting out in rebellion, he couldn’t even turn himself over.
The Qianwan Emperor sat by the bedside, his palm gently massaging the blue-black marks on Mingde’s neck,”……still painful?”
Lao Junmei knelt just outside the bedcurtains,” This subject is incompetent. This subject does not know what disease that Mingde-gongzi has contracted, and only knows that the channels of gongzi’s heart have been damaged……”
“No issue,” The Qianwan Emperor replied indifferently, It is sufficient that Zhen knows. He intended to shatter the meridians of his heart, however with his current level of neili, to be able to injure them is already considered not bad. To have the capability of destroying them, however, will take a while.”
Mingde did not make a sound as he turned his face away. Again his lower jaw was pinched by the Qianwan Emperor, and he was forced to straighten his head.”
“You find Zhang Kuo displeasing to the eye?”
“……”
“You even want to kill Zhang Kuo?”
“……”
The Qianwan Emperor smiled faintly at this,” He is merely a servant, if you want to hit or kill him, you only need to say a word to me. Why subject yourself to this?”
Mingde’s long eyelashes drooped downwards, the fan-shaped, fine shadows seemingly like the vestigial wings of a butterfly. The Qianwan Emperor gave the order in an understated manner,” Attendants, drag Zhang Kuo out and give him thirty strikes of the rod.”
Zhang Kuo didn’t make a sound as he was taken outside.
“Look, all under the Heavens is the monarch’s territory, all those within the four seas are the monarch’s subjects [1]. Should Zhen wish to kill anyone, or beat anyone, only a word is required to accomplish the matter.
The courtyard rang out with the sounds of someone being beaten with a rod, depressing and monotonous, one blow falling after another.
Mingde didn’t look at him, lowering his eyes and speaking in an insipid manner,” Many thanks for Your Majesty’s instruction.”
“Your understanding of this brings Zhen great happiness. They said that you have not been eating recently?”
Mingde did not speak.
The Qianwan Emperor was extremely patient,” Is it that the food made by the kitchens is not to your taste?”
“……”
“Or is it your intent to die?”
“……”
“Since you won’t admit to anything, then there must be no problem at all.” The Qianwan Emperor pulled open the bed curtains, and gave orders to the little eunuch,:” –bring the food up.”
The little eunuch grovelled subserviently as he swiftly left. After a while, a team of palace staff gathered, all bearing more than ten serving boxes of varying sizes. Although their entire bodies were bedecked with ornaments, not the slightest sound of jingling was heard. They silently formed a line and stood properly in place. The foremost little eunuch bent at the waist to present a bowl of lily porridge. The Qianwan Emperor received this, picked up a spoon, and scooped up some porridge. He gave an imperious order to Mingde,” Open your mouth.”
Mingde silently turned his head away.
The Qianwan Emperor violently pulled the upper part of his body from the bed, then used a hand to forcibly pry open his lower jaw. he then used his other hand with a spoon to pour the porridge into his mouth. His movements were a little too forceful, Mingde □□ out an Ah sound, and half of that porridge was poured down this throat, with the rest being spilt. The Qianwan Emperor was completely unconcerned at this, only reaching out and scooping up another spoonful, pouring it into him again quickly.
Mingde twisted his body desperately in an attempt to free himself from the Qianwan Emperor’s fingers and their iron vice on his lower jaw. The Qianwan Emperor abruptly got up, then used part of his knee to press down on Mingde’s waist, and shouted,” Swallow it down!”
Mingde yelled hoarsely,” Get lost! You get lost!”
The Qianwan Emperor suddenly grabbed the bowl of porridge from the little eunuch’s hands and directly poured it down his mouth. This child hadn’t eaten or drunk water for an entire day, and was already far too feeble. In this situation of having been tightly bound to the bed, he simply did not have any energy to put up any sort of resistance. The Qianwan Emperor held his chin in a firm grip and poured the remaining contents of the bowl down his throat, the rest having spilled out onto his bright yellow dragon imperial robe.
With a crash, the Emperor viciously smashed the bowl onto the ground. The people around fell to their knees.
“You want to act stubborn with me, is it? You don’t want to eat, is it? Fine. I will find someone who can make you eat!” The Qianwan Emperor turned his head and shouted angrily,” Attendants, summon the Crown Prince!”
The Crown Prince was currently sitting with the Eastern Palace learning about government administration. Upon hearing the summons, he was frightened out of his wits. He hurriedly followed the imperial dragon to enter the palace. Upon entering, he flopped to his knees noisily,” This son…this son-subject [2] gre…greets Emperor Father!”
The Qianwan Emperor spoke harshly at this,” You’ve come just in time. Your Didi [3] intends to torture himself by not drinking or eating. What should you as his Gege[3] do?”
The Crown Prince lifted his gaze to the miserable disordered state of the bed and immediately burst out into wailing. While he was crying, he stumbled over at a run, and hugged his younger brother, wiping away his tears as he wept,” Mingde! Mingde, you mustn’t die! What are you doing this for? Don’t scare me……”
Although Mingde may sometimes be angered by the Crown Prince’s inability to rise to the occasion and make great accomplishments, they still share a deep brotherly bond. The person that he was closest to in this world, was this Gege whom he shared a mother with. The Crown Prince crying himself into such a state, he also couldn’t bear it. He blinked once, a tear trailing down his jaw,” Crown Prince…..you, this……you……”
The little eunuch hurriedly brought over a bowl of medicine. The Crown Prince unsteadily took it, and knelt on the ground and wanted to feed him. Mingde saw him in this state, gritted his teeth, and told the Qianwan Emperor,” Let the Crown Prince go back. I’ll handle it on my own.”
The Qianwan Emperor unlocked the gold chains binding his hands. Mingde shook as he picked up the spoon, and slowly drank the medicine one mouthful at a time. The Crown Prince may have been extremely frightened of his Emperor Father and desperately wished that he could leave this place earlier, but he also could not leave his own younger brother. Hence, he hid to one side and watched while his heart pounded anxiously.
All under the Heavens is the monarch’s territory, and all those within the four seas are the monarch’s subjects [1]. So what if one is the Crown Prince, can’t he also be stripped of his title or killed at a word? Living in this imperial palace, whose life was not in the hands of the Supreme being above all, the Emperor?
Mingde was so furious that even the tips of his fingers quivered. Having swallowed the last mouthful of medicine, he only felt hate, anger, sadness, and humiliation. Unable to bear it at this time, his qi and blood surged upwards to his throat, and a visible change came over his complexion. The Qianwan Emperor noticed the problem with his complexion and moved forward to touch him, only to watch as the bowl fell from Mingde’s fingers. Then a mouthful of blood mixed with medicine sprayed out.
The Crown Prince howled as his body went weak, dropping to his knees with a ‘thud’,:” Didi!”
The Qianwan Emperor put his arms around Mingde, pulling him into his embrace. One hand pressed against the main acupoint on his chest, and uncaring whether he would be able to bear it, hurriedly poured in a stream of neili. The sea of qi within Mingde’s chest was extremely chaotic, it was only after about ten minutes of this, that it slowly subsided. The Qianwan Emperor lowered his head to look at him – he was already unconscious.
As long as he was awake, his expression was always very poor, but when he slept, he looked unusually obedient and loveable. After all, a child of this age, his features were lushly beautiful, his bone structure not fully matured. Sprawled tenderly in one’s embrace, looking so delicate and pampered, as if using a bit of force would break him.
The Qianwan Emperor slowly placed him back down, then rose to his feet, and strode outside.
The Crown Prince had originally not wanted to leave his younger brother. He was desperately prodded at twice, before hurriedly getting to his feet, and following them out of the palace’s main entrance. The little eunuch quivered with fear as he followed behind, and asked,” Emperor, there was news from the palace just now. The Empress is in the Zhengtai Palace waiting for you [4], would you [4]……”
The Qianwan Emperor didn’t even turn as he spoke,” Return to the palace.”
The Empress knelt without making a sound in the Zhengtai Palace. The bright yellow “Hundred birds paying homage to the Phoenix [5]” embroidery on the train of her robes glittered dazzlingly. From her nine golden phoenix hairpins dangled pearls from the East China Sea, twinkling in the radiance of the brilliantly illuminated Great Hall.
The Empress’s countenance bore an awe-inspiring and inviolable demeanour. The Qianwan Emperor casually and unhurriedly walked towards the main seat of honour and sat down. He smiled and asked,:” What’s the matter, Empress?”
The Empress prostrated deeply,” This concubine-subject is here to plead for your Majesty to let people go.”
“You are indeed direct……”
The Qianwan Emperor was about to continue speaking but was interrupted by the Empress,” This morning Shangguan-shilang reported to the Prince of Dongyang’s Jingyuan District Bureau that his youngest son has been missing for half a month. The Prince of Dongyang does not know how to deal with the inexplicable disappearance of Shangguan-gongzi , hence he reported it to this palace mistress [6].
“Oh?”
“Shangguan Mingde is not a woman. Your Majesty cannot keep him by your side for a lifetime, this concubine-subject pleads with Your Majesty to let him go!”
The Qianwan Emperor raised an eyebrow at this. The Empress has always been rather submissive and obsequious. Although in private she had committed many acts for the Crown Prince, she was not one of those so-called ‘Virtuous Empresses” who would dare openly resist or go against the Emperor publicly. This sort of action is really quite fresh and unusual for her.
“……Empress,” The Qianwan Emperor asked,:” What are you talking about, how is it that Zhen can’t understand?”
The Empress abruptly raised her head to meet the gaze of the Qianwan Emperor,:” Then this concubine-subject will speak plainly. Your Majesty, please return the youth in the suburban palace to his parents!”
The Qianwan Emperor questioned her back in a casual manner,” His parents? – He was a posthumous child [7], and his parents have since both passed away. Who are you expecting Zhen to return him to?”
The Empress desperately rose to her feet,” Your Majesty!”
“Shush,” The Qianwan Emperor made a hand gesture, indicating that she should continue kneeling,:” Empress, calm down.”
The Empress felt her breath becoming constrictive and harried. Everyone lowered their heads, even the palace maids cowered and shrank behind the dazzling gold and jade-inlaid “Nine Dragons holding up the Sky” column.
“There is something that Zhen truly has not been able to understand for a long time. Two years ago when Zhen wanted to abolish the Empress, Zhang Kuo told Zhen, ‘Empress Mingrui’s posthumous son, Mingde, was being fostered in the Shangguan residence. ‘To have an exceptional beauty, as an imperial companion’. – Empress, Zhang Kuo has served in the inner palace for thirty-five years and has never left the palace. How would he have known about Empress Mingrui’s posthumous son possessing ‘exceptional beauty’?
Zhang Kuo who had been waiting on the Emperor by the side, at this time silently dropped to his knees.
The palace lamps were lit up one by one. The perfumed clothing was sumptuous and magnificent. The fist-sized night luminous pearl shone resplendently, illuminating the Empress’ pale and seemingly bloodless complexion.
The Qianwan Emperor rose to his feet and smiled faintly as he descended the nine jade steps. He smiled faintly as he helped her up:” – The Empress has no need for alarm. Zhen is extremely grateful for you to have delivered this child to Zhen’s side.”
The Empress’ lips trembled slightly, almost unable to speak.
Two years ago, the Crown Prince had made an error and had been impeached by the Senior Minister of Ding-guifei’s family. The Emperor had flown into a great fury and decided to abolish both the Empress and the Crown Prince. The Empress Dowager had always loved her eldest legitimate grandson, the Crown Prince, hence she had dragged her ailing body to the Zhengtai Palace, and questioned the Emperor: Emperor, what actually has the Empress done wrong, that you must remove her?”
The Empress Dowager was not the Qianwan Emperor’s biological mother. Although he hadn’t needed to take her too seriously, the Emperor really couldn’t find a good reason to abolish the Empress. Hence he could only laugh and say that the Empress was not a peerless beauty.
If an Emperor has made up his mind that only a peerless beauty could be his Empress, then there wasn’t really any grounds for others to question him. That night, after the Qianwan Emperor had finished approving the court memorials, Zhang Kuo had suddenly knelt before him, and said,” This slave has something to report to your Majesty, but is unsure if he should say it or not.”
“Speak.”
“Your Majesty, that year when Empress Mingrui’s posthumous son had been sent away from the palace, he had been exchanged for Shangguan-shilang’s newborn youngest son. At this time he is already fifteen years old, and he’s said to be of exceptional beauty, and can be a companion to the Emperor.”
The Qianwan Emperor actually wasn’t a very lecherous person. When he had said that the Empress was not of unrivalled beauty, it was just a passing comment made casually. However, since Zhang Kuo had said this, then since it was of little consequence anyway, the Emperor couldn’t help but be curious about this youth who allegedly possessed ‘exceptional beauty’.
“In this case, you can bring him into the palace for Zhen to have a look at him, remember not to alert anyone.”
The Qianwan Emperor had originally been momentarily curious and had just wanted to have a look. After looking he’d send them back. However, that night, the young Shangguan Mingde had been swathed in the bright red palace brocade and sent into the palace in a stupor; it had been a moonless night, the night sky dusky and dark. The light from the palace lanterns was magnificent and imposing, blurring the ice mermaid silk madder red couch…and misleading the hearts of the heavenly monarchs throughout the ages.
To the Emperor, it was just as simple as that ‘When it is time to be cruel, then he’ll be cruel.’ ‘When it’s time to be despicable, then be just as despicable.’ Taking off one’s clothes and sleeping with someone, is just an ordinary matter of a man being unable to restrain his desires.
“Empress,” The Qianwan Emperor stood below the magnificent golden steps, and spoke indifferently,” – whether to let someone go, is my business. Zhen is not an unreasonable person. If you miss your nephew, visiting him is not an issue. As for other boons, if Zhen has granted them, then so be it. If not, there is nothing you can do about it anyway.”
The Empress ** grabbed at the Qianwan Emperor’s arm,:” Where is the child? Where is my elder sister’s son?”
Zhang Kuo moved over on his knees, still kneeling。 He kowtowed before the Empress, and spoke quietly,” The Empress can follow this slave.”
Mingde had already fallen asleep, however, his sleep was uneasy and restless. One moment he seemed to see the Guifei weeping and howling whilst kneeling on the ground, the next moment he’d see the Qianwan Emperor Li Ji, using a three-foot-length of white silk to strangle a woman by her neck. That woman wore the bright yellow ‘Hundred birds paying homage to the Phoenix’ court dress, desperately reaching out towards him.
Then after a while, he again saw the Crown Prince doing his best to shield him by standing in front of him, his only didi. However, he was really too weak – even though he exerted his full strength, he was unable to ward off the onslaught of the raging tempest.
Mingde suddenly shivered and woke up。 A little palace girl was waiting by his side and carrying some tea and soup. She whispered,:” Gongzi, the Empress-niangniang has arrived.”
The Qianwan Emperor stood by the bedside, icily watching as the Empress got on her knees to hug Mingde, her voice all choked up as she asked,” Child, how are you feeling?”
Mingde tried to reach out, but he wasn’t able to move. In order to prevent him from self-harm, his hands had already been chained up. The inside of the cuffs had been lined with fine lambswool in order to prevent chafing his hand.
The Empress reached out to touch the gold chains, and immediately turned to the Emperor with fury in her eyes,” Set him free!”
The Qianwan Emperor spoke gently,” You ask him why Zhen had to have people chain him up.”
Mingde did his utmost to tug at the corner of the Empress’ robes with his hand but ultimately failed. The Empress swiftly rose to her feet, and gave an order,” Come here and release these chains!”
The palace maids who stood by the side cowered and knelt on the ground, no one dared to speak, or even make a move.
The Empress gave a rare stare directly at the Qianwan Emperor, her tone sharp,:” – Your Majesty, did you [4] really intend to imprison this child here for a lifetime?”
The Qianwan Emperor nodded,” Yes.”
“Then fine,” The Empress said,” My older sister gave birth to this child in order for him to live freely and at ease, to live a wealthy and noble life. Not for him to spend a lifetime paying for your [4] moment of joy! Since you [4] are insistent on letting him suffer his entire life, then this concubine-subject might as well end him, and let him depart together with Empress Mingrui!”
The Qianwan Emperor’s expression changed at this, only to see the flash of a dagger hidden within the Empress’ sleeve. Even before he could stop her, he saw her kneel by the bed, and press the dagger firmly against Mingde’s neck.
The Qianwan Emperor roared at this,” Empress! What are you doing!”
The Empress’ hand tensed on the dagger, and the blade of the dagger slowly sank into skin,” – Your Majesty, if you[4] do not let him leave the capital, then this concubine-subject will let him die in your [4] presence today!”
