Chapter Text
It is a month and a half after her unforgivable act when her moon cycle finally arrives, a little later than usual.
The morning she feels silks damp with blood, Anshi, Empress of Li, simply calls for her lady in waiting to begin her morning, like every other morning.
It is of no consequence, it simply means a child born of hatred was not meant to be born at all. Ultimately, she left the choice to the Heavens. She can’t, however, suppress the relief that spreads from her chest, and the guilt that sits like a stone in her stomach.
She doesn’t regret it. She doesn’t. But violence is a double bladed sword. Harming another one risks harming oneself. That’s okay, she’d resolved herself that night, and she went through with it. She’s not allowed to regret it.
No matter, her plan had been successful the moment that manchild sequestered himself inside his room, until neither hair nor hide was seen of him to this day. Now he would not be able to harm another child.
No, that’s just self-justification. If nothing else, Anshi would not cloud her own eyes with flimsy lies to comfort herself.
She did it out of hatred and resentment, for no other reason.
At the very least, she would need to make an act. The Great Empress Regent, mother of the Emperor, was cruel and fierce, capable of completely destroying families without recourse for consequences, but she couldn't very well kill Anshi if she had another child of the Heaven growing in her womb.
Anshi’s mind worked fast as she took a bath, idly scratching the scar in her belly. Ideas for a 8— no, 6 month-long theatrical production, starring her fictional son as the main character before tragically dying before he could ever see the light of day. An abortive slipped into her food by a maid that will suddenly disappear the next day, and no clue as to who’s to blame.
But that'll come later. In the meantime, she would begin dismantling the Grand Empress Regent support base, little by little.
Just like a slow acting poison.
---
9 months later...
There's a particular tradition, in which the Royal Husband is not allowed to be present in the room during the birth of his children. Under the layer of mythicism reveals a practical consideration: so the consort doesn't grip her husband's hand to dust.
Ah Duo, the Moon Consort, wishes her husband was beside her bed so he could share her pain out of the goodness of his heart. Oh, not at all because she blames him for every agony she's felt for the duration of her pregnancy— Oh no, that would be a treasonous thought.
"You're doing excellently, your highness," announces Dr. Lumen from the other end of the bed. His uncommonly soft voice is a comfort in her pain. The eunuch has helped her each step of her pregnancy, demonstrating both incredible wisdom and quiet humility.
Three long, painful hours later, the Noon Prince is finally allowed to enter the room. A beautiful child with rosy cheeks and pale pink eyes is placed in his arms. The Prince loves him instantly, and he guards this feeling where no one but few will ever see it.
His name had been long decided, with input from his mother.
"Ka Zuigetsu, this shall be his name."
Reclined from her bed, her body still slick with sweat, Ah Duo looks upon her husband and her newly born child, and smiles brilliantly as a warm feeling blooms from her ribs.
----
A year after that, in the La annex home...
"This is--!" the maid chokes out before she collapses, dead before she hits the floor. Lakan sighs, disappointed, and incredibly saddened. Fengxian, his beautiful wife, keeps her composure, externally, but he can see her fingers tighten around little MaoMao. The baby’s eyes were focused on the spilt beverage, her beautiful jade eyes shining with curiosity.
Lakan regarded the corpse at his feet with calculative coldness, before taking a small vial he swiped from the maid’s quarters before lunch, holding up over his head to stare at how the sun refracted on the transparent liquid. The antidote to the poison, most likely.
He knew his father was discontent-- no, no need for sugar coating. His father hated Fengxian, if not because she used to be a courtesan, then because she was married to him. Even so, he held onto the smallest hope that at the very least, he’d leave him and his family alone. Today, he feels the distinct sting of betrayal in his heart.
Because Fengxian was a courtesan, he didn’t need the approval of his parents to marry her. Naturally, they were furious, but even they couldn’t force him to divorce her. And Fengxian demonstrated her own fangs when their threats were responded with elegant ridicule.
He contented himself with staying in the annex building, and even further away from their scrutiny. And then, a little blessing came to their home. Her little cheeks, button nose, and big jade eyes that shone with hungry curiosity. Oh, how blessed he was to see the face of their little Maomao
For his father, that was the drop that tipped the jar.
Suddenly, Familiar shogi pieces were replaced with Go pieces, and then the harassment began. Ah, but not aimed at him, but at Fengxian. Small, inconsequential things that usually need not to beg attention, often disguised as honest mistakes. In that regard, they were a bit smart. His wife was too prideful, and too generous with those of lower positions to raise a complaint, and thus he missed what was going beneath his nose for a while. But those things add up. And he finally got a clue when Fengxian made a mistake during their daily games of Go. One amateurs mistake someone like her would never make.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the power to whip and then expel all the servants on a whim. Heir apparent he may be, but the lack of respect his father had for him reflected in his subordinates. The only reason he remained in his position is because of the support of his dear uncle Luomen, head physician of the Imperial Palace.
In fact, under advice of his uncle, he kept a close eye on the ledgers of the house, and discovered the recent purchase of suspicious ingredients. Ingredients that, not treated properly, were highly poisonous.
That’s what his father had decided on as his murder weapon. An accident.
It’s enough, Lakan had enough of sloppy mistakes in his home. Thus, with a clever switch the trap was turned against the would-be killers of her wife and daughter.
He sighed. “Looks like I’ll have to overthrow my father, after all.” he commented nonchalantly, as if he was discussing the weather. Inside though, his stomach boiled with long buried rage, accumulated over years and then dug out anew.
He couldn’t rush this, however. He lacked any kind of support. In his mind, he could already see all the exact moves he needed to checkmate his enemies. The solution was simple in theory, he just needed to gain achievements somewhere else, while renouncing his claim as Heir. His father should be glad in that regard, after all, ‘Out of sight, out of mind’.
“I guess it’s time we went on a trip.” He led Fengxian out of the room. He had a letter to draft to his uncle.
Attempting to harm his wife and daughter is a crime he would not forgive.
---
11 years after that.
Newly ascended Empress Ah Duo sighs after she's in the privacy of her palace, allowing herself a brief reprieve before her husband arrives. She pulls the pins and accessories that weigh her down even more than they embellish her. Not for the first time, she longs to be out in the field, on the back of her strong mare and the wind trailing at her back. The role of Crown Princess was incredibly limiting, and she could only imagine the role of Empress becoming worse still.
It took only a week for the Court to reveal its ugly and disfigured fangs. Only a week after the funeral of the foolish emperor, and of the Great Empress Regent. Only a week after the coronation ceremony of her Husband. The snakes and rats in the Court suddenly decided amongst themselves that she's not fulfilling her role as Empress, which as far as their narrow minds can see, revolves around making more children for the Emperor.
No thanks, one was enough. No, that was putting it lightly. Dr. Luomen warned her very clearly: her pregnancy was a difficult one, and so was the delivery. Attempting to bear another child would be far riskier.
She’s thankful for the older man. Thanks to his undivided attention, Yue, her little moon, grew up healthy and splendidly. It’s only because of that she was afforded nearly six years of reprieve from the pressure of the Court
Her husband arrives an hour later, indignant rage beneath a mask of otherworldly complacency. Only when he's sure there's no one spying on them he allows himself to sag besides her.
If she's just a baby maker, then he's just a stud in the eyes of their 'loyal' council.
His hand wraps around her back in a half hug, resting his head on her shoulder. This, finally, is what takes the cinch out of her wound up muscles, and she relaxes as she throws an arm around her husband’s shoulder, slowly dragging circles with her thumb.
The silence between them is comfortable, compainable. Words are often unneeded between them; they understand each other with the intimacy that comes from knowing one another since birth. They didn’t always get along in the beginning, sometimes they fought each other to frustration, but the care they have for one another is overstated.
They had plans. Great plans. Her husband, his mother Anshi, and herself would fight to right the wrongs made by the Former Emperor and The Great Empress Regent. They’d start by down-sizing the rear palace, one stone at a time, and the former consorts set with jobs and a proper life. They will ban the practice of making Eunuchs. And in the future, they may even allow for women to hold important jobs.
Today, they were harshly reminded that dreams were not so easily achievable in reality.
The most influential families presented their most esteemed daughters to be introduced into the rear palace as High Consorts. And this would once again open the floodgates for all the noble families to essentially sell their daughters to the palace.
Unconsciously, her hands curl to fists when she remembers Lady Lishu, barely 11 years old now, once again stepping inside the gates of the palace, hands trembling.
Not a chance.
"Ah Duo, your eyes always see so far over the horizon. Share with me your wisdom," her husband finally breaks the silence.
She thinks back to the meeting. The old clan heads, greed and ambition naked in their eyes. The powers the Great Empress entrusted to them have gone up to their heads. But standing behind them were their heirs who they’d already brought into their fold. With careful and subtle planning, the Emperor focused on gaining like-minded allies within the next generation of the influential families.
Their hands are tied for now. They can't reject the High Consorts. But the sword has two edges. Just as the noble families can use their daughters for political leverage, they are also essentially hostages.
She’s had a thought throughout the day after the Council meeting. A little piece of wisdom shared by Luomen, about a disease of the mind, in which captives fell in love with their captors.
“Remember the summer festival? You know, that one ,” She asks him a non-sequitur, a little upward twitch in her mouth.
The sudden topic shift surprises him. His ears pink and he groans in shame and embarrassment as the memory resurfaces.
In one of the provinces, a festival was celebrated every summer to celebrate the birthday of the local princess. A horse race was organized, and the winner would earn the right of an afternoon with the princess. Nothing with strong commitments, but a brief romantic dalliance.
As prince, he was forced to participate by the Regent who favored that family, but the entrance was open to everyone. Imagine his surprise when Ah Duo, his fiancé at the time, decided to participate as well. Driven by an unexplained jealousy, he gave it his all in the race, only to tie with his promised. To avoid any political backlash, both of them were allowed to enjoy a wholesome evening with the princess.
After that evening, he clued that she was too at ease flirting with women. That sparked a discussion and a half, but they survived it, became closer even. He was more wary of women approaching her than men afterwards, however.
Let it be known, Ah-Duo loves her husband like a woman loves a man, but not because he is a man. He is one of the few people she can allow herself to be her true self without judgment. Intimacy between them is deep and plentiful.
He sees her, and loves her, and he’s now a piece of her heart, indistinguishable from herself.
But she could never feel like this with another man.
With another woman however, it’s far too easy to imagine. There’s something about the female figure that captures her attention without fail.
Finally, his eyes glint with understanding. His blush extends from his ears to his face. So adorable he can be at times. But he looks conflicted, not outright rejecting or accepting her plan. She can see it in his ruby eyes, weighting the advantages and the dangers.
The harem is a cesspool of conflict when left unchecked. This is only natural; night prowess aside, the Emperor can only grant his attention to only so many consorts. The history of the royal harem has had many dark chapters.
As Empress, she has both the safest and most vulnerable position. She’s afforded far more protection, but she has that many enemies to contend with. Not the lesser concubines, whose best hopes of prestige were attracting the Emperor’s affection. No, her enemies were the families behind the mid to high consorts, the Nouveau Riche and the Old Families, who understood the game of politics that they needed to breathe and live to survive. They would see their daughters in Ah Duo’s seat, one way or another.
Ironically, she would be safer among the competition as a consort herself as a rival and not a target.
But that’s where her enemies made a mistake. They pretended to use the consorts as tools to see inside the Imperial Palace and weigh in its decisions. But failed to realize the consorts were human too, and humans will always defend what matters most to them.
Herein lies the core of her plan. She needs to be as valuable as the Emperor to the Consorts, and more important than their families.
It goes against every tradition of the palace, every convention.
But she was never good at following the rules anyway.
She looks at her husband. Between them, a wordless understanding takes form. He is conflicted, but also ashamed at being intrigued by her idea. She thinks back to the promise his husband made when they were still silly children, and how it must eat him inside that he cannot make her his only wife. Silly fool , she thinks with endearment. From the beginning, she knew that dream was not in the cards for him, but that he meant it with honesty mattered far more.
On the other hand, his arousal is clear as day, horny dog that he is. Not that she blames him, though. The council chose their picks exactly suited to his tastes (Lishu being the exception) after all.
Yeah, she really can't blame him, her eyes were roaming the consorts not too respectfully as well. Traditionally, this would be grounds for her expulsion at best,
but between them an indiscretion shared is one forgiven.