[Suggested song for this Chapter: Moonlight Sonata, Beethoven]
"i ili!" Zhu Yicai roared. "No! I won’t have it! I won’t tolerate you looking at another man. You’ve known how I feel about you! How could you allow yourself to imagine feelings for soone else?"
"Crown Prince," she said gently, "it’s as you said to , the heart wants what it wants. We have no control over where our heart settles. I did try so hard not to fall for him, but the feelings crept up on , and before I knew it..."
"Don’t say it!" he interrupted her angrily. "Who is it? You barely know any n. It’s not my Father is it?" he asked with rising alarm.
She shook her head vigorously, "No, Crown Prince! Of course not!"
He suddenly knew who it was. It was Bai Li of course!
He had thought more than once that the number of tis the man had saved her would be pulling on her delicate feminine heartstrings.
"It’s that dog, Bai Li," he muttered, not requiring an answer.
"You barely know him, i ili. Young girls are very susceptible to romantic feelings when a man rescues them," he tried reasoning with her. "Have you thought you might be projecting a white knight persona onto the real man?"
"It’s not as simple as that, Crown Prince. I think you know well enough to know I’m not that type of girl."
He did know her well enough to know that, though he wished she was that type of girl, because she would definitely not be trying to avoid a marriage with the Crown Prince of the realm if she was an ordinary young woman with regular hopes and dreams.
"Have you spoken with your parents about him?" he said seriously, his mind already ticking on the problem now that it had been defined for him.
She shook her head. "Bai Li said he would talk to them."
He’d probably been to see them before he left for the North, the Prince thought. He would have to go and see Lord i imdiately. And General Bai...
"Have you promised him anything?" he growled suspiciously.
"Nothing official, but I told him I would wait for him."
Her words felt like a burning hot poker pressed to his chest, and he swore he felt his skin sizzle in pained reaction to them.
She watched the hurt deepen in his eyes, and she reached out her hand to touch his cheek, dropping it before she made things any worse.
"Has he... kissed you?" his voice cracked on these two impossible words.
"Why must you torture yourself? Don’t ask such a question," she whispered.
His eyes zeroed in on the new hairpin that swayed in her hair. A jewelled rabbit. For sure a gift from a lover...
"Has he kissed you or not, i ili?" he shouted, spittle flying as his rage flared uncontrollably.
"You’re frightening , Yicai," her voice shook.
"Hah!" he sobbed. "Only now you call Yicai? When you’ve trampled on my feelings for you. When you’ve caused such pain that it feels like you’ve reached into my chest and ripped my heart asunder!"
"Yicai!" she cried in despair. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I never wanted this to happen. What can I do to make it better?"
"You can marry , i ili! You can care for ! You can forget about ever kissing another man!" his roar was half a sob of pained anger.
She slipped from under his arm, tears pouring down her cheeks, and he let her go, too angry to trust himself around her.
"Gods!" he raged, punching the column in futile anger.
He continued to rain punches on the hardened wood until blood ran from his knuckles and the pain finally brought him back to his senses.
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"Madam Li has arrived to see you, Noble Consort," called Ling Lui’s eunuch.
"Show her in," called the consort languidly.
This Li Fengfeng hadn’t wasted any ti... coming to see her as soon as her husband was nad as the Crown Prince, she thought with a smirk. The Emperor’s stamp was barely dry on the order.
"Noble Consort Ling," Li Fengfeng bowed respectfully to the older and more senior woman... for now anyway.
"Madam Li. It’s always delightful to see you," said Ling Lui facetiously. "I understand congratulations are in order. Your husband has been promoted and is now the Crown prince, while his brother has been locked in the ironically nad, Palace of Purity. Such a to do. It has caused quite the stir in the inner courtyards. I’m sure the whole thing ca as a complete surprise to you though, Madam Li."
Ling Lui was quite sure the matter would have been long expected by this girl, whose Pri Minister father would have been working on these plans with the forr Second Prince from the mont he was engaged to his daughter.
"It certainly did, Noble Consort. No one would ever have guessed these events would unfold, least of all and my husband," she still got a thrill every ti she said the word ’husband’. "We fully expected to be moving to Gu shortly, though I can’t say I’m sorry to be staying in the capital," she smiled serenely.
"Will you take tea with , Madam Li?" the consort offered.
"If you have ti to chat with , Noble Consort, I would be very pleased to sit down to tea with you. I do have sothing of a rather confidential nature to discuss with you actually."
And here it was... the reason for her hurried visit.
"Of course, let’s move into my courtyard where we can sit in the pavilion undisturbed."
Both won knew this ant undisturbed by flapping ears.
Li Fengfeng followed the Noble Consort into her garden courtyard and joined her at the impressive table situated in a large pavilion overlooking an ornantal pond. It was quite lavish for a mber of the harem, and indicative of the value His Majesty placed on this consort... or on the support from her relatives, one or the other.
Once the tea was served with a plate of osmanthus cakes, and the servants had been dismissed, the won got down to business.
"Pray tell what this confidential topic is that you wish to discuss with , Madam Li. Please don’t stand on ceremony. I’m most curious."
"If you insist, Noble Consort, then I won’t hold back. It’s about our mutual problem. You know what they say, a burden shared is a burden halved..."
"I assu by our mutual problem; you’re referring to a certain Court Lady?"
"I am referring to that little slut, yes," said Li Fengfeng distastefully.
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