Empress in Danger
Page 20
“No,” I say again even though I’m sobbing. “I don’t want to die.”
Caihong laughs, her voice high and clear. “Then it’s a good thing you didn’t.”
“What?” I gasp and open my eyes.
“Daiyu!” Strong arms hold me so tightly, I can’t see who it is. “Thank the gods you are awake.”
I cough and pull back, drinking in the fresh air like a drowning person, which I guess I was. Honghui lays me back on my pillow.
“I saw…I saw her…” My voice is raw and it hurts to talk. Another figure brings me a cup of water. Yanmei. She holds the water to my lips and I drink it eagerly.
“Who did you see?” Honghui asks.
“Caihong,” I say. “She…she came to me. I thought I was dead.”
“I thought you were too,” Honghui says. “But Jinhai managed to bring you back.”
“Jinhai…” I look around and see him standing nearby, his hands to his mouth and tears in his eyes. I reach out to him and he comes to my side, gripping my hand.
“My lady,” he sobs. “I thought I’d failed you.”
“No,” I say. “You did everything just right.” I glance around again as my vision clears. “Where is Li…Liling?”
“I had her arrested,” Honghui says. “I can’t believe you drank poison for me. How did you know that she was poisoning me?”
“I know her. I knew she wouldn’t do whatever it took to become the empress.”
“I thought she was the source of my illness,” Honghui says. “But I couldn’t prove it. I kept letting her serve me, trying to catch her in the act. But I never saw her put anything in the tea. Did you see her?”
“Yes,” I say flatly. What’s one more lie, especially one that will save the life of the emperor? Now, his health can recover and she can be locked away. She can finally be held accountable for the dowager empress’s death and for poisoning the emperor.
“But why did the poison nearly kill you when it hadn’t yet killed the emperor?” Jinhai asks. I shoot him an annoyed look. I’d only filled him in on half of my plan. The other half of my plan, the part about poisoning myself and letting Lihua take the blame is something I plan to take to my grave…hopefully many years from now.
It was something I had to do. Lihua was willing to kill me to get what she wanted. I had to be willing to kill myself to stop her.
“Maybe because you are smaller than me,” Honghui decides. “She was putting in enough poison for a grown man, not a little woman.”
I smile and nod my head. “That must be it. Where…where is she?”
“The Cold Palace,” Honghui says. There is an anger in his voice. “I should have her put to death instead of letting her have the gift of killing herself.”
After everything Lihua has put me through, the idea of her dying makes me sick.
“Can I speak to you alone?” I ask Honghui. He nods to the others, who all bow their way out of the room and closing the door.
“What is it?” he asks me.
“Can you spare her life?” I ask him.
“What?” he asks. “She almost killed the empress of China! She has to pay.”
“And she will,” I say. “Remaining a prisoner for the rest of her life will be punishment enough, I’m sure.”
“If she lives, she will always be a threat to you.”
“Maybe,” I say. “But I just can’t do it. She and I, we are more similar than either of us would like to admit. Killing her would be like killing part of myself.”
“Fine,” Honghui says, but he is clearly not happy about it. “I suppose I could exile her far away, under constant guard. I’ll send her somewhere that she can never trouble us again.”
“Her and her mother,” I say. “She said her mother died, but that’s not the truth. And her mother is even more cunning. She’s dangerous.”
“I’ll have her arrested immediately, then. To hell with both of them.”
I reach up and touch the side of his face. “Do not be angry. We are together now. That’s all that matters.”
He reaches up and puts his hand atop mine, then he kisses my palm. “What about the boy. My…Liling’s son?”
I shake my head. “You know he’s not your son.”
“I know. I believe you. But he’s not Liling’s either. I don’t trust she will be a good mother to him now, but I don’t expect you to raise him. He can’t be my heir. He needs to be sent away.”
“Maybe my father can adopt him,” I say. “He has no sons of his own. I’m sure he and my mother would gladly accept him as my little brother. He’s just an innocent babe in all this.”
“Your…your father? I thought he… Well, I guess I don’t know anything about you.”
I sat up in the bed. “What would you like to know?”
“Everything.”
I open my mouth and pour out my heart to him. I trust him completely and know that my future is secure. No longer in disguise. Not in hiding. And finally, no longer in danger.
I am the empress, and I’m here to stay.
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The End
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ZOEY GONG was born and raised in rural Hunan Province, China. She has been studying English and working as a translator since she was sixteen years old. Now in her early twenties, Zoey loves traveling and eating noodles for every meal. She lives in Shenzhen with her cat, Jello, and dreams of one day disappointing her parents by being a Leftover Woman (剩女). Learn more at ZoeyGong.com.
About Amanda Roberts
Amanda Roberts is a USA Today bestselling author who has been living in China since 2010. She has an MA in English from the University of Central Missouri and has been published in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies around the world. Amanda can be found all over the Internet, but her home is AmandaRobertsWrites.com.
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