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 14 Of Surpassing Beauty
When the bright yellow flags carried by the Imperial guard of honor stopped, it was at the Full Spring Palace [1] belonging to Ding-zhaorong [2]. The chief eunuch couldn’t ascertain the Emperor’s intended destination, but when he had mentioned earlier that tonight would be Ding-zhaorong attending to him in his bedchambers [3], the Emperor hadn’t corrected him, hence they still brought the carriage to Ding-zhaorong’s residence.
The Qianwan Emperor was infuriated and hadn’t really paid attention; He dismounted from the carriage in one movement, then stretched his hand to scoop up Shangguan Mingde, dragging him into the inner chambers of the Palace.
Ding-zhaorong followed along quickly. It was unexpected that after the Qianwan Emperor dragged someone into the inner chambers with him, he would then slam the door in front of her with a loud bang, almost hitting her nose.
Ding-zhaorong knelt feebly outside the door,” Emperor, open the door?”
The Qianwan Emperor turned a deaf ear to her. He carried Mingde in and tossed him onto the large bed surrounded by azure hanging curtains. Mingde didn’t make a sound as he was thrown onto the bed with a ‘crash’, and his body went limp.
“Didn’t you want to teach Ding-zhaorong a lesson on who is the master of this Imperial Harem?” The Qianwan Emperor whispered beside his ear,” –Zhen will aid you in providing instruction for her benefit.”
Mingde abruptly flipped over and wanted to get up, but was held down by the Qianwan Emperor with a hand squeezing at his neck, and the other hand tearing at his clothes. The old white upper robes were mussed into a rumpled mess, revealing a large swathe of the skin at his chest; exposing the youth’s slim and seductive musculature, as warm and soft as jade. Even the feel of it was overwhelming.
Mingde kept silent and struck out with a palm at the Qianwan Emperor’s chest. As a youth who practised martial arts, the force used hadn’t been gentle. But the Qianwan Emperor hadn’t been affected at all and casually slapped back with a heavy palm strike of his own.
Mingde didn’t even groan as he faceplanted into a cottony-soft goosedown-filled pillow. The Qianwan Emperor’s hand wantonly kneaded at the back of his waist and moved downwards with the clear intent of violation.
“Emperor!”
The Qianwan Emperor pinched the back of his waist heavily,:” What?”
“Let go of me!”
The Qianwan Emperor flipped him over, using a hand to grab at the youth’s narrow waist, while his other hand traced the periphery of that gorgeous neck, all the while moving downwards. He mercilessly kneaded at him until green and red marks appeared. The memory of the violent and frantic pleasure gradually surfaced in the sea of his mind, and the hunger that he hadn’t felt for a long time made this mature and powerful monarch act like an anxious, green young fellow in his sheer eagerness.
The Qianwan Emperor bit Mingde’s ear, and hoarsely replied,” Dream on.”
Mingde spared no efforts to avoid the man gnawing at his back,:”……Tomorrow is the start of the Spring civil examinations! Let go of me! Let go of me! Scram! Get away! Get away! ……”
This voice was hoarse and quivered slightly due to fear. The sound of a youth whose voice had not completely changed yet was shrill, afraid, and brought with it a fishy smell of blood from the throat. Entering the ears of the completely stimulated man, it made him especially want to ……wreck him.
The Qianwan Emperor used a hand to roughly tear open Mingde’s belt, his other hand abruptly grabbed onto both wrists and effortlessly bound them to the head of the bed. Mingde struggled desperately, even kicking at the Qianwan Emperor. His voice was so hoarse that it had changed in pitch, one would completely be unable to hear the original indifference and sarcasm,” – you f*cking better not do ** to me in this kind of place! Li Ji, you fatuous ruler [4]! You bastard [5]! I will definitely kill you! You just wait!”
“When you’re capable of killing me,” The Qianwan Emperor kissed the ends of his eyebrows,” I’ll definitely let you do it.”
Where was this place? This is the Qianwan Emperor, Li Ji’s Imperial concubine’s palace within the Imperial Harem – it is the very bed-chamber and the same huge bed where he had previously engaged in his special favour with other concubines.
This heartfelt and deep sense of humiliation made Mingde’s entire body tremble almost uncontrollably. His entire body ** fell under that man’s wanton and wilful encroachment. That bastard was so forceful and unstoppable, that no one would be able to save him from this bottomless darkness and oppression.
There was no one because none dared oppose this Emperor of the world.
It was truly a very strange matter. In the Imperial court, he was a true man of his word. Even when he was dallying around he would be sure to soothe and comfort the people. When he was on military expeditions fighting in the four corners of the world, he would still know when to recuperate and build up his strength. Although he was cruel and ruthless, in the opinion of the majority of the ministers, their monarch was resolute, valiant, and boldly courageous.
Such an exceptional and rarely seen enlightened ruler, one so powerful and strong – was truly a perfect monarch. He was praised by all, and the future history books would definitely exaggerate and play up his achievements and the merits of his reign. The world would admire him, prostrating themselves in worship at his feet. Yet in private, he actually would use such callous and despicable means to forcibly take and torture an entirely defenceless young child.
Mingde even felt that the Qianwan Emperor’s dark and cruel side was exclusively vented upon him. He felt a lot of pain, but he couldn’t cry out. Youths whose voices were changing, shouldn’t speak too loudly or risk damaging their vocal cords. Yet at this time, he could feel that his throat was emitting the fishy scent of blood and was dry and painful.
If he could only have some cool water, it would be so wonderful……
Impossible. Just like how the Qianwan Emperor would never act less forcefully when he was in the throes of excitement. Once he felt the rush of blood in his veins, he would be unable to hold himself back and would definitely not let Shangguan Mingde off; Even if was merely to let him drink a cup of water and relax a little.
Ding-zhaorong knelt motionless outside the door. The palace staff accompanying the Qianwan Emperor stood within the distant great hall. Although they knew what was happening, they all seemed to keep their calm in the face of unexpected events.
Ding-zhaorong was kneeling nearest to the room, and the moans and pitiful cries all reached her ears unerringly. Initially, it was only the Qianwan Emperor’s harsh panting and sounds of his determined efforts. Later came the sounds of miserable wailing and moaning. It continued for a very, very long time. So very long, that she even felt that it was possible that the youth might be tortured to death.
It was the dead of the night, yet there still was no one who came forward to invite her in. Thus, she could only continue to kneel there, with her breath caught in her throat.
The pitiful wails from the inner chamber continued intermittently, interspersed in between a few moans and groans which would cause one’s ears to flush red with embarrassment. However, ultimately it had been reduced to extremely hoarse – as if the owner’s throat had been rubbed down with sandpaper – piteous pleas for mercy. Amidst a host of other sounds, the pleading was practically delirious, akin to a young animal that had fallen into a trap and its almost inaudible pleas for help.
The sounds of tossing and turning continued throughout the night. That boy’s entreaties were soft and feeble, bringing to mind a tiny kitten being played with and bullied in the palm of one’s hands. The sounds were panicked and fear-filled, giving rise to the notion that one could forcefully pull it into one’s embrace, forcefully and wantonly knead and mould it – causing it to completely belong to them and only them, rendered entirely at their mercy.
Ding-zhaorong has never personally experienced such treatment from the Qianwan Emperor, and neither is there any precedent for the Emperor treating anyone else from the Imperial Harem in this manner. The various imperial concubines’ lives were spent in dull and uninteresting ways, without any momentous incidents or events, as if no one had ever thought of even encroaching upon the Empress’ position.
It turns out that such torture and violation did not arise from hate or disgust but actually came from a sense of fondness locked away within the Emperor’s heart that had reached extreme levels.
Ding-zhaorong couldn’t remember how she had actually spent that night. By the early morning, even the intermittent moans and sobs had gone hoarse before disappearing entirely. It seems like she had fallen asleep for a while whilst kneeling on the ground until she was awakened by the sounds of Zhang Kuo’s shrill voice.
The sky had already brightened with the first glimmer of dawn. Zhang Kuo knelt on the ground whilst knocking heavily against the door,:” Emperor! Emperor! The Empress bearing the Ancestral Precepts is currently kneeling outside the Zhengtai Palace, pleading for the Emperor to attend morning court!”
The Empress?
That cowardly and incompetent Empress, who was bullied yet could only do nothing but endure it? The Empress who had practically been banished to the Cold Palace [6]?
Zhang Kuo couldn’t slap at the door anymore, hence kowtowed, knocking his head heavily against the ground,” Emperor! If the ministers from the morning court session witness the Empress’s current actions, the country would not be able to accept this [7]!”
Ding-zhaorong was frozen to the spot, watching as Zhang Kuo again cried out shrilly,” Even if the Emperor is not afraid of slander and rumors, at least leave the little noble sir a means to survive!”
The Qianwan Emperor actually didn’t fear at all what the ministers would say about him. In the past when he had ascended the throne, the first thing he had done was to clean out a group of conservative and pedantic old ministers who stubbornly clung to old and outdated rules and ideas. However, while he himself had nothing to fear, he still had to take Mingde into consideration. If this matter becomes known, this youth will be branded as an evil omen that would wreak havoc upon the country, bring misfortune upon the common people; and be found guilty of bewitching and misling the Emperor.
It’s not as if there wasn’t precedence for this during the previous dynasty. The late Emperor had showered his favour and doted on Prince Dongyang’s mother, Wang-guifei, and had even absented himself from the morning court sessions for half a month. That had been truly an example of ‘the beautiful woman smiles like a flower, and from then on, the monarch did not attend the morning court [8].” It was only after the imperial court ministers and the central government jointly petitioned to ‘rid the emperor of the evil company’, that the previous emperor had flown into a rage, immediately conferring the title of Empress upon Wang-guifei as a form of deterrence. That storm may have passed, but the Prince of Dongyang had been greatly affected by this, and the plans to install him as the Crown Prince had been postponed. And it was due to this delay, that he missed out on his chance at the Imperial Throne.
The silence inside stretched for a very long time, and it was unclear what the Emperor was thinking about. When Ding-zhaorong thought that perhaps the Emperor hadn’t even awakened yet, the door was pushed open with a creak.
Zhang Kuo kowtowed again, Ding-zhaorong was already scared stiff, rigidly raising her eyes to look upwards.
In the dusky rays of light, the Qianwan Emperor strode out with a black and gold robe draped around him. In his arms, he carried the already completely unconscious Mingde hastily wrapped in snowy-white silk. One could only glimpse the youth’s profile pressed against the Emperor’s chest, his features covered in a snow-white pallor.
Ding-zhaorong stared blankly as the Qianwan Emperor strode over, she caught a quick glance of part of Mingde’s arm which swayed downwards. His fine and thin fingertips drooped weakly, entirely bloodless, so fragile and delicate as to stir one’s heart. It was as if it could be grasped in the palm of one’s hand, and broken with a little squeeze.
Zhang Kuo hurriedly stood up and followed behind. The Qianwan Emperor walked and asked without turning his head,” What is the Empress doing?”
“To respond to the Emperor, the Empress is currently kneeling outside the Great Conference Hall, holding the Ancestral Precepts above her head. She says that she will continue kneeling unless she sees the little noble sir.”
“Which Ancestral Precepts?”
“The monarch in his capacity must shoulder the responsibility of siring more heirs, and not fall to the perils of lusting after beauty.”
The Qianwan Emperor sneered at this,” What a virtuous Empress this is!”
Zhang Kuo whispered anxiously,:” Emperor, please consider. The ministers for the morning court session are already en route, the Spring Imperial…Spring Imperial Civil examinations will commence once the rooster crows thrice……”
The Qianwan Emperor suddenly stopped, and turned his head to ask,” Is he still attending the Spring Civil examinations?”
Zhang Kuo knelt on the spot,:” Emperor, whether he passes or not, it will be more effective to let him go and give up on this notion, than not letting him go for the examination at all.”
The Qianwan Emperor lowered his head to gaze at Mingde in his embrace. This child’s porcelain white skin looked slightly green, and his eyelashes fluttered tremulously, but he couldn’t open them. He seemed to still be in the throes of a nightmare; his alarmed expression revealed extreme fear as if being pursued by killers with no means of escape.
The Qianwan Emperor’s heart suddenly softened. He lowered his head and kissed Mingde’s forehead, it was covered in sweat and his temperature was very low, utterly lifeless.
What are you afraid of, he thought to himself. He has always watched carefully and scrupulously, with incomparable vigilance as he observes. Like a young and fearful young beast examining a behemoth before him, stretching out his claws with the intent to scratch at him and occasionally provoke him; It didn’t hurt or itch at all, instead felt more like him just venting his frustration.
However, every time he makes the slightest reaction, this person would puff up his fur angrily, and flee helter-skelter, uncaring of his life. In his panicked undirected flight, he would even ruthlessly smash into things, hurting himself badly.
Had it been anyone else who was so favoured, they would long have become arrogant and domineering, letting it go to their heads. It is only this little thing, who was always nervous and unsettled, full of worries as he huddled tightly in a little corner. Always hoping that one would never take notice of him or pay attention to him at all.
The Qianwan Emperor hugged him a little more forcefully. Mingde frowned and struggled unconsciously before later shrinking tightly back to himself as if he were cold. The Qianwan Emperor found that his temperature was somewhat high, and thought to himself that he should definitely not attend the Spring Civil Examinations.
But if he isn’t allowed to attend the examinations, what will happen after he wakes up?
It would be no matter if he cried or made a fuss. What would be worrisome, was if he didn’t come around to the idea. The last time he’d puffed up his fur in anger, he’d slammed himself against the wall and fainted. This time he’d probably wouldn’t stop throwing himself against it until he died.
The morning light meandered in from the tall window lattices and fell thinly upon the thick, dark carpet of the Full Spring Palace. The early spring air was chilly and laced with moisture, diffusing upwards from the shadow of the distant pale blue palace, looking as if it was so cold that it would freeze people.
The Qianwan Emperor stood in the shadowed corridor outside the palace entrance and slowly knelt down, moving the person in his embrace onto the soft and thick ermine cushion.
Zhang Kuo asked quietly,:” Emperor……?”
“Send him over to the Empress,” The Qianwan Emperor replied,:” The Empress knows how to care for him. She will find a way to secretly send him to the examination venue.”
“But, Emperor–”
“If the Empress inquires about it, say that Zhen isn’t aware.”
The Qianwan Emperor watched as the sedan chair left slowly. Someone had already rushed over to report the matter in advance, requesting for the Empress to get up.
The Ancestral Precepts atop her head…continued kneeling without getting up……
The Qianwan Emperor smiled faintly and icily.
Having already acted the villain, yet now feigning innocence?
