Ch.30 The Day Her Sky Broke
As the troops were welcomed back, the elated cries of loved ones resounded all around Luo Yue.
She used to have someone like that too. Someone who would stand in the middle of the streets, paying no heed to the danger he was exposing himself to should his identity be disclosed. Someone who would rather bring out all the Palace guards than wait at the Palace for her return; someone who never failed to welcome her back from any of her battles. Someone who would step forward, always anxiously greeting her with the same first question, ‘Are you hurt anywhere?’. Someone who would then pull her into his exquisitely carved carriage and then make sure she finished that bowl of warmed tonic soup.
Habit was a very scary thing, she realised. It was only when he was not there to welcome her return as he had always done did his missing presence feel a thousand times more noticeable.
A cough sounded from outside her window and then Shen Tian Ping's lowered voice was heard, “Master, I’ve brought you something.”
“Hm?” She lifted the window curtain and Shen Tian Ping placed a bowl of soup on the small table.
“You’ll feel better after having some hot soup,” he continued.
He must have slipped through the crowd after entering the Capital for this, Luo Yue thought as she took a sip. “It’s good. Thank you.”
“There is no need to thank me. It is my duty to take care of you.” As usual, Shen Tian Ping’s reply was ever studious and predictable and thus, a terrible bore in her eyes.
She ignored him and went back to drinking her soup. By the time she was done, they had already travelled further into the heart of the capital and had arrived at the Imperial Palace.
Inside the Imperial Court, the officials have already gathered when they were told that the General and the rest had entered the Palace.
The Emperor passed down a message and the two large doors of the Imperial Court were opened as a messenger quickly summoned the people waiting outside.
“Summon the Leader of the Imperial Hounds Army, General Wu Zhe Yan and the Lieutenants!” he announced.
Following behind Wu Zhe Yan, the 3 lieutenants also stepped foot into the Court as the rest of the troops waited outside and the doors once again closed behind them. Wu Zhe Yan walked forward, not a hint of his usual frivolity coming out from him.
In front of the Emperor, his lips were drawn in a serious straight line, his usual show of insanity kept tightly sealed under the locks of loyalty.
“Wu Zhe Yan greets the Emperor!” He knelt down on one knee and saluted. The 3 lieutenants followed behind.
It was hard to imagine that the Mad Dog was still a dog after all. A guard dog that could tear down as many enemies to its heart content yet never be able to even bark at its owner. Sometimes, Qi would wonder if the Emperor knew what an amazing feat it was to be the only person able to have Wu Zhe Yan’s unquestioning allegiance and devotion.
If there came a day where the Emperor and everyone else including Qi and the Imperial Hounds themselves were put on two ends of a scale of life-and-death, he was confident that Wu Zhe Yan would not hesitate to save the former.
After all, to Wu Zhe Yan, the Emperor was his lifesaver, the one person who had appeared and helped him in his most desperate time of need. For that one grace, he had sworn his entire life to him.
Outside the Imperial Court, Luo Yue knew that the Emperor would also summon her. Only, he would not do it in front of so many pairs of eyes. She was supposed to wait, but when she saw the familiar palace through the small slit from the curtains, she found herself unable to sit still.
“You two stay here, there’s a place I want to go to.” Before Shen Tian Ping can say anything, she firmly added, “alone.”
“Understood. Please be careful.”
She pulled out the plain, white face veil that Xiao Liu had gotten for her. Tying it carefully, she covered the bottom half of her face. Xiao Liu pulled back the door curtains as the slim figure clothed in white took a step out.
She gave the veil another check before walking in another direction away from the Court.
She was about to walk past the guards when two of them came forward to stop her. “The Palace is not a place where you can wander around. Please wait until his Majesty’s further orders.”
Luo Yue gave a visible frown but before she could say anything, an authoritative voice appeared from behind the two guards, “stand back. She is not someone you can order around.”
The two guards turned around and upon seeing the hunched back of a certain person, quickly changed their tone and greeted respectfully, “Eunuch Liu.”
Eunuch Liu was one of the oldest people still in the Imperial Palace. He was the Head Eunuch who had even taken care of the Late Emperor when he was a child and could be said to hold authority only below the Emperor himself. He paid them no heed and instead, bowed politely to the lady they had tried to stop. “Lady, allow me to guide you to the place you wish to visit.”
Luo Yue said nothing, merely following behind Eunuch Liu until they had walked a distance away from the surprised guards. Once out of earshot, she asked with scepticism laced in every word, “did he hurt his head? I doubt he would give you the permission to guide me there.”
“Truthfully, his Majesty didn’t.” The Head Eunuch admitted and then continued with a chuckle, “but if his Majesty hears of this and would like to hold me accountable, this old man will just protest my innocence and admit that I was forced by the God of War. After all, how can I fight back against the God of War at this age?”
A small laugh broke from the usually aloof lady, “you have not changed, old man. You still like using me as a shield.”
“When I heard from Sir Xu that you would be coming today, I knew that you would want to visit that place. Come, follow me. It’s your first time visiting him, isn’t it?”
“Should I…” her footsteps stopped as a rare shade of uncertainness and hesitation clouded her face, “not go?”
Luo Yue lowered her eyes and clenched her fists, that one step forward looking like a huge hurdle all of a sudden. She did not wish to visit him anymore. What was the use of visiting someone already buried under the ground, someone who had left only his name carved into the cold gravestone as the final reminder of his withered existence?
As Eunuch Liu watched the emotions that even she couldn’t understand flitting across her face, he smiled nostalgically, “even his late Majesty must not have guessed that the little child he had brought back to the Palace with him on that day would end up being this attached to him.”
“I am not,” Luo Yue denied immediately with a frown.
“Then, how much longer do you plan to keep running away?”
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[5 Years Ago]
In the busy streets of the Northern Capital, time seemed to have frozen over as all activities ceased to a stop. The only sound resounding in the streets that had gotten deadly silent was the loud and heavy chimes of the Palace bell. In the streets, people were covering their mouths in disbelief while others had already collapsed onto the ground in shock.
As the chimes continued, reverberating throughout the Capital like the cries of the people for the sudden death of their dear Emperor, the entire Capital was thrust into a state of despair. The Emperor has passed on, signalling the end of an era. An era that had been surprisingly peaceful and prosperous under his reign.
The citizens knelt down one by one, bowing in gratitude for all he had done as they mourned the death that had come like a bolt out of the blue. They had thought that this peace would continue a lot longer, that since the war had finally quietened down and the Emperor was still considerably young, the era under his ruling would be a long one. They thanked the Late Emperor for his benevolence and wisdom, his understanding and protection, and prayed that the new one would be capable enough to preserve the era of peace that he had so painstakingly ushered in.
The bell continued to sound, but one person did not care for it at all. Instead, she wished that she could just smash that infuriating thing to pieces. She rode on her horse at a dangerously pressing speed, making her way straight to the Imperial Palace.
She did not know what sort of faces she was making, nor did she care. There were more important matters to check, and the God of War had never felt so urgent, so desperate to move faster.
She arrived at the Imperial Palace, and it was only when she jumped down from her horse did she realise that it must have started raining some time ago. The rain had long penetrated her armour and soaked through her inner clothes. Again, the God of War was in no mood to care about such trivial things.
She stood there, facing thousands of swords and spears pointed towards her. They were stopping her from entering the Emperor’s chambers. They looked hesitant to step forward, seemingly aware that they were facing the God of War. Even their number would not be much of an advantage when faced with the most revered of the 3 Great Heroes. However, orders from the Royal family held the most authority now that the Emperor had passed away. With the throne being empty, the Empress and Crown prince who had always seen her as a thorn in their sides were warier of her now than ever.
“God of War, Luo Yue! Please leave at once. The Empress has ordered you to be under house arrest until after the new Emperor’s enthronement.”
Luo Yue stood a step forward, their words falling over her yet never reaching her ears.
“General! Please come to your senses! His Majesty has passed away and he will not be able to take your side anymore! It is also in your best interest to retreat for now!” They really did not wish to fight the God of War, but the choice was not theirs to make.
Luo Yue pulled out her blue fan, the raindrops glistening on the deadly blades.
“Halt.” A word sounded in the Palace engulfed in tension as Eunuch Liu walked out of the chambers. “Drop your weapons if you do not wish to throw your lives away. Do you really think the God of War is a person you can fight against?”
“But Eunuch Liu, the Empress-!”
“I will take responsibility for this and explain it to her Highness. There is no need for this unnecessary fight. The God of War,” he looked at the figure already drenched to her soles and felt an ache in his heart as he continued, “is not here for the throne.”
The soldiers glanced nervously at each other before they took a step back. The Head Eunuch addressed the person who had not spoken a word since, the person whose expression he couldn’t see under the head armour she was wearing. She must have rushed back immediately upon catching the news, he thought. “Go. See for yourself if you must.”
Luo Yue did not answer, her eyes deadly calm as she stalked past the thousands of guards and entered the chamber.
On the bed, a person looking thinner than she had remembered him to be was lying there. She stopped, suddenly apprehensive to take another step forward. She had rushed here, all the while thinking that the news that she had received must have been some kind of a mistake. Because he had clearly promised that he would stay by her side. Because he had definitely assured her that he had only caught a simple cold the week before.
She stood there; her foot rooted to the ground as strongly as the denial rooted in her soul.
“Luo Yue,” Eunuch Liu spoke up. “I’m afraid I cannot give you much time. The Empress and the Crown Prince are making their way here.”
She clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and then walked towards the unmoving body on the bed.
The Emperor was lying there, his face paler than a living human could ever be and his eyes closed even in her presence. This was not how it was supposed to be! Since when had he not been the first to welcome her arrival? Why was he being so quiet all of a sudden?!
She knelt down and reached out a hand as she slowly placed two trembling fingers onto his wrist.
Then, she stiffened as though she had frozen up all the way to her core.
Luo Yue had never learnt about diagnosing pulse, but it seemed like one did not need to be an expert to read this pulse.
He had long breathed his last.
Losing someone did not always start with the sudden crashing thunders of sorrow. Sometimes, like in her case, it was the darkening of clouds, the first drop of rain, the low growl of warning from the sky. The sorrow did not come right away. Instead, it was the unbearable apprehension that came first. Knowing that she was about to feel an overwhelming sense of loss yet, being so confused, so disoriented that her mind had yet to register her emotions. But, she knew they were coming.
The sky was about to break and the thunders were about to crash down on her.
It was... truthfully, not something she could handle at the moment.
So, the God of War stood up abruptly.
Turned her back... and left.
And so, 5 years had already passed.
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