NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: Death of the Warlord
The pouring rain lasted for an entire two days, and even beneath the feet of the prosperous Emperor, there were still very few people on the street, hardly reflective of its usual prosperity. On the contrary, there was a sense of strong decline, and this decline wasn’t due to the horrible weather, but instead, was for one person—Da Yu’s Ling’ping wang1, Shen Ling.
Since a few days ago, there had been rumours of the warlord being severely injured, and any citizen of the capital who heard of this news began to feel anxious. Many even voluntarily went to the temple to pray for a blessing for their war god to survive this calamity.
The symbol of Ling’ping wang within Da Yu was unique. He was like a guardian god. Since entering the barracks at the age of fourteen, he had never been defeated in battles large or small, to the point that the neighbouring countries didn’t dare to attack, and even subjugated numerous small tribes. If their Ling’ping wang by any chance at all died, then the neighbouring countries would definitely invade, disputes would arise, and their peaceful life would most likely disappear into the distance.
As such, for the citizens, Ling’ping wang having any sort of accident was even more unacceptable than their Emperor’s death.
But while the people of Jin’zhou City were still praying, they didn’t know that their warlord had already passed away. But this news couldn’t be announced as the surrounding countries were all restless. If the news of the warlord’s death was announced, then the countries would probably immediately act. So their new Emperor gave his order of silence—the people of the entire warlord’s mansion were to be imprisoned, and indeed, not a single piece of news was spread.
As such, the once glorious warlord’s mansion was now very bleak, with only a lonely coffin in the courtroom and a woman in a red dress kneeling beside it. She was adorned in exquisite bridal makeup, silently kneeling on a cushion with a vacant expression.
At this moment, a few people walked into the courtroom and the woman’s lifeless eyes finally changed slightly. She slowly turned her head and looked at the man that walked in front—the man she once admired. Without knowing when, whenever she met him, her heart no longer fluttered for him, remaining calm.
The man waved his hand and the few men behind him left. The man walked forward alone, “Xin’er, return with zhen2.”
“Return? Where can I return to? I’m truly but a lonely widow now.” The woman murmured in a soft voice, as if those words were just for herself.
“Zhen has already ascended to the throne. No one can take you away again. Zhen will designate you as an imperial noble concubine. You will have status beneath only one person and above tens of thousands.” The eager voice was filled with obvious joy and excitement.
The woman looked at the man in front of her, truly regretting her lack of judgement. She said coldly: “I’m not interested. You can leave.”
Shen Yi’s expression darkened instantly, and his tone wasn’t as gentle as earlier either, instead having a hint of impatience, “Xin’er, zhen understands that you are proud and look down on the position of an imperial noble concubine, but zhen just ascended to the throne and zhen still needs the support of the old officials. The candidate for Empress has already been decided. Zhen had already faced opposition from the court officials when zhen promised you a position as an imperial noble concubine, don’t make things difficult for zhen.”
Fang Miao Xin stared at the man talking to himself in front of her, then felt it was a little funny. He really thought she wanted the position of Empress? From the very beginning she had absolutely no desire for that position.
“Your Majesty possesses the most revered and respected identity, while I am merely the widow of Ling’ping wang. How could a widow even become an Empress? I never thought about this, and so Your Majesty should not think about it either.”
Fang Miao Xin paused, before continuing: “Before my dead husband, if Your Majesty wishes to offer some incense, then go ahead, but if Your Majesty does not have the heart, then please leave.”
Shen Yi looked at the woman before him in disbelief, then questioned furiously: “Dead husband, you actually call him your husband! Do you also want to remain a widow for him! He’s the one behind your entire family’s shattering, didn’t you hate him to the bones!”
Fang Miao Xin turned around to look at the coffin, deep guilt and remorse flowing in her heart. She whispered: “A single leaf obscured my sight3, when I understood, it was already too late. Since when did he owe me anything? I was the one that hurt him deeply. I was the one that killed him.” She said those words more like she was talking to herself.
She closed her eyes and tears fell down her cheeks. Because her father’s power and authority were too great, not to mention her second and third uncle were greedy and corrupt, the former Emperor could no longer tolerate him. Ling’ping wang was but a knife of his. Even if it wasn’t him, there would be others. But she simply couldn’t understand.
Even if he used his amnesty to death golden token bestowed by the former Emperor to exchange for her parent’s life, even when he chose to marry her at the expense of the throne, even when she inserted a dagger into his body on the wedding night. Even when he took to the battlefield with a heavy wound, resulting in him permanently damaging his body, even when they were married three years and pampered her to the bones.
From the very beginning, all she did was hurt him…
1wang (王) usually means ‘king’ or ‘prince’, often a title for someone related to royalty, such as the Emperor’s brother or even sons, but it can also be bestowed. I’ve decided to keep it as pin’yin.
2a form of self-address by the Emperor.
3she wasn’t able to see the bigger picture.
Note: Alrighty-o, this is the second, shorter series with less regular updates that I’ll be updating alongside marry me! Here’s the info page to pamper!