Chapter 5

Taiji Palace;

The Emperor was seen sitting on his dragon throne as he awaits the arrival of Ruyang, the 6^th princess of Northern Zhao State, on the upper level of the stage. He was very confused, frustrated and worried at the same. They were both his daughters and he knew he couldn’t be bias towards one and leave the other.

Was it really Ruyang’s doing? Or did someone set her up? A bunch of unknown questions and reasons surrounded his mind.

The Empress was seen standing just below the throne, worried and powerless at this point. Ruyang was her only daughter, and she knew if anything should happen to her, she will put her life on the line.

“6^th princess Ruyang has arrived!” The Eunuch announced as she walks into the emperor’s hall.

“Greetings to royal father, his majesty!” She kneels with a bow to her head.

The Emperor stared at her with a hurt expression. He knew his daughters well, and prayed that Ruyang was not linked to this mess.

“At ease,” He excused her and she stood on her feet.

“You called for me?” She asked as she stares up to her father. Just seeing him was scary. She could feel the anger and pain from his eyes mixed with a little bit of wrath and frustration. “Did I do something wrong?” She pretended not to know anything.

The Emperor leaned forward with his hands on his knees, “You don’t know what happened this early morning?”

“N-No,” She shakes her head gently with an innocent look. “… What happened?” She asked as she looks towards her mother and father both; back and forth.

Her eyes blink slowly.

The Emperor clenched his jaw tightly finding it difficult to hear anything at this point.

“Tell your royal father,” The Empress walks over to her daughter’s side, “Do you have anything to do with the crown princess’s poisoning?” She asked with her muscle tensing.

“What!!?” She gasped and her hands fell apart. “Taiyang mei-mei was poisoned?” She was a great actress indeed. “Me? You think I did it?” She wanted to cry as she looks back into her father’s eyes.

“I didn’t say it was you…” The Emperor sighs, “I’m asking you if you had anything to do with it…”

“I don’t! I didn’t do it!” She shakes her head like a tornado. “Mother!” She clings onto her mother’s hands, “I didn’t do it! I love Taiyang! Why would I hurt her!?” Her tears flowed.

“I know, but…” Her mother frowns peeking back and forth to the emperor, “The crown princess’s maid said that you had brought over a bowl of black sesame soup for her to eat in the evening yesterday… Physician Ke Chi already confirmed that the dish was best to mix the poison in with…”

Ruyang quickly thought to herself, pretending to be innocent, “I didn’t make that soup though.” She denied it.

The Emperor tighten his fist, “Oh, then who did?”

Ruyang hesitated to speak and lowers her head.

“I asked you a question!” He shouted at her.

“I… I received it from General Chan’s servant.” She cried in fear.

“What?” The Empress furrowed her eye brows. “General Chan? Why would he give it to you?”

“I heard that General Chan and Taiyang mei-mei was having problems regarding their wedding agreement... I heard that he has been trying to seek audience with her for the past 4 days to talk to her about it, but she rejected to see him every time!” She explained step by step, “So, after doing everything he did, he sent a servant to my palace asking me for a favor…” She lied.

“A favor?” The Emperor gasped. “To deliver the soup to Richu Palace?”

“Y-Yes!”

The Emperor frowned deeply with a slight increase of heart rate, “Summon General Chan Weiting!”

“Yes, your majesty!” The guards shouted and stepped out the hall.

Richu Palace;

“Taiyang?” Weiting called out to her but she had fallen back into her coma.

Luyang was standing by the doorway staring out into the yard with Lu Geng to the right peeking at her in secret. She heard Weiting calling out for Taiyang a few times and turns slowly to face him.

“Let her rest,” She told him with her hands tied behind her back, “You’ve hurt her so much already. Maybe she got tired of hearing your voice.” She walks over and releases her hands to her side.

Weiting was starting to feel guilty and wanted to self-blame himself for not protecting her well enough. He didn’t love her, but he never hated her. He saw her like a younger sister only, to which he never expected to hurt her this much.

“Move,” Luyang ordered him with a sullen look.

Without any hesitation, he got up and strolled his way over to where Lu Geng was standing.

“I think… Taiyang doesn’t have a lot of time.” Luyang stared down to her pale face.

“What do you mean?” Weiting asked.

“Didn’t you hear her?” She turned to face him again, “It’s black poison!” Her eyes furrowed in fear. “This is what my uncle—the late emperor, died from!”

Weiting bit his teeth together and stood in the longest silence of his life.

“Coming! Coming now!” Ke Chi rushed into the room with a bowl of hot medicine on a tray. “I’ve got the white berry powder medicine!” He carefully approached Luyang. “Here, feed her this!”

Luyang looked at him and smirked, “This isn’t going to save her.”

“What do you mean?” Ke Chi frowns.

“Black poison has no cure.” Her face become pale as well.

“But… You never know, white berry powder is a special detox--”

“It won’t save her!” Luyang shouted in tears. “You of all people know that white berry powder could only detox half the poison out, but it won’t save her! This type of poison can’t be cleaned out!” She shouted as she turns to face Ke Chi.

Ke Chi could see the anger, worried, love and sadness in her eyes and the tone of her voice. Weiting shuts his eyes and clinch his fist at his sides.

“If it won’t cure her, why give it to her?” Luyang growled at him. “I don’t believe in it!” She looks away with some regrets. “I shouldn’t have gone away if I knew she was going to get hurt like this…”

Ke Chi lowered the tray down without saying another word while Cui Feng covered with her small cold hands, crying in silence to the side.

“And… White berry powder is only used on the Chan clan... it’s forbidden to use on anyone else, even the Emperor himeslf needs the okay from your father… Did you ask your father’s permission?” She looked at Weiting. “Did your father give you the okay to give it to Taiyang? Or did you make the decision on your own account?”

It sounded like she was testing him now.

“I… I…” He looks down to the ground with a sorrow look.

“4^th princess, please… Weiting is hurt too. Must you talk like this?” Lu Geng pled for her to stop with the negative lectures and anger.

“Shut up!” She shouted at Lu Geng. “It’s none of your problem, stay out of it!” She gestured her hands into the air.

“General Chan Weiting!” A eunuch entered the room.

“Here,” He bows his head a little as he turns to look at the Eunuch.

“The Emperor is summoning you to his Taiji Hall. Right now!”

Everyone became curious as to why the emperor was summoning him. Did he know that Weiting and Taiyang was having cold feet about the marriage plans? Or was there something else?

Weiting was feeling uneasy.

Without another word, he walks out the room with the Eunuch and Lu Geng following behind.

Luyang felt uneasy as well, “Ke Chi,” She turns to him, “Please watch over Taiyang. I’m going to go see what’s going on. If anything happens, come get me!”

“H-Hao,” Ke Chi nods and watched as she took off in speed.

Taiji Palace;

“General Chan Weiting has arrived!” -

Weiting walks into the hall where Ruyang and the Empress was standing in the middle of the room. He noticed Ruyang’s red colored eyes and kneels with a bow. Has she been crying this whole time?

“Long live your majesty!” He greeted and bows.

“At ease!”

Weiting stood, “You summoned for me?” He asked the emperor.

The Emperor takes in a deep breath, “Tell me… And be honest!”

“Yes,”

“Did you send black sesame soup to Ruyang so she could take it to Taiyang?” He went straight to the main point.

“What?” He gasped softly, “Black sesame soup?” He became confused while Ruyang rolled her fingers in front of her with a secretive nervous look.

“Ruyang told me that you had a servant send her black sesame soup to bring over to Taiyang because of the complications you two were having… I also heard that Taiyang has been ignoring you for the past few days, so you wanted Ruyang to help you patch things up… Did you or did you not send that soup??!?”

“No!” Weiting denied it full force. “I never made any black sesame soup for 6^th princess to take to the crown princess! It’s true that me and the crown princess were having complications, but I never asked for any help or for her to bring some black sesame soup to the crown princess!!!”

“So… You’re telling me that Ruyang is lying?”

Just then Luyang runs into the hall while the conversation was going on.

“I’m not lying!” Ruyang cried and Weiting peeks at her, “A servant of the Chan house hold came to me yesterday morning and told me that General Chan made some soup for her… But because he was getting rejected by Taiyang mei-mei, he couldn’t send it himself and needed me to send it to her!”

Weiting carefully thought about it for a moment.

“Royal father,” Luyang rushes over.

“Luyang?” The Emperor gasped upon seeing her in the palace.

“What’s going on?” She asked them all, confused. “What’s this about black sesame soup?”

“… Weiting,” The Emperor calls his name and he snaps back to reality. “Do you still deny it?”

Luyang was ignored.

“Yes! I never made any soup. I never sent in any servant to Ming Palace.” He denied still with a straight honest expression.

Weiting was a loyal and smart general. The Emperor knew from the bottom of his heart that he couldn’t possibly have done it. Although he was only a general, he was someone the Emperor trusted with his life. It’s to the point where even engaged Taiyang to him!

He leans back into his chair and rubs his forehead with his eyes closed. One is his daughter and the other is a loyal general who he cherished like a son.

“I have a witness,” Ruyang confirmed the emperor’s mind.

“Who?”

“7^th princess, Feiyang.”

From that moment on, Weiting then knew that he was being set up.

“Summon 7^th princess, Feiyang.” The Emperor said.

Richu Palace;

Feiyang was seen quietly walking to Taiyang’s chamber alone. The air was filled with the scent of the blood Taiyang had threw up all morning. Her body language read of hate and confident. Feiyang approached Taiyang by her bed side and smirks in a way where an older sister shouldn’t do.

“Are you… Really dying?” She whispered enough for her to hear only. “It’s too bad that you have to go like this. But, with such an ill fate, it’s better to leave quietly. Don’t blame me.”

Taiyang’s eyes twitched from the sudden voice she was hearing but didn’t wake up. She was too tired and pained from the vomiting all morning and poison reaching into her heart. Cui Feng had left the room for a moment to grab more warm water while Ke Chi had left to reheat the white berry powder medicine, thinking that Cui Feng was still with her.

“It’s such a shame that a smart and young girl like you had to be born into this time of era.” Feiyang said as she took a seat next to Taiyang. “If you were only born as a lowly status, so many of us wouldn’t have to hate you. If you would have just stayed away locked in your chambers well, no one of us would have killed you.” She whispered into her ears.

She moved back and reached her fingers over to her sister’s forehead to brush her loose hair back, “You will thank us one day for doing this…” Her smirk turns malicious. “Since you’ve put burden on a lot of people growing up, dying is the only way out.”

Taiyang heard the voices echoing in her head on and off, like it was a dream, but was it reality? She was having a nightmare it seems. Someone chasing her in a dark dense forest; trying to grab her from behind. That someone was yelling at her it seems; but she couldn’t hear a thing. Growling and laughing it may have been what she heard, but wasn’t sure. Her eyes were twitching back and forth while dark colored blood drizzled from as she begins to cough, causing Feiyang to step aside, not wanting to get any blood on her clothes.

Taiyang was vomiting blood again.

Feiyang quickly threw her right two fingers onto her nose gently to cover the vomit smell. She peeks over to Taiyang who was now choking to death on her own blood.

“Help--*coughs*--me--*chokes*--” Taiyang choked on her blood as she lays there in her sleep.

Feiyang bit her lips and drops her fingers to her side. She held in the hatred and anger through her eyes, “Don’t blame me…. Blame yourself for being born blind and loved by all. Blame Royal father for giving up on the rest of us as he chose you. Blame the ill fate you carry! Blame the world for not being fair. Blame Weiting for not loving you and allowing you to die!” She shouted in the end with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her voice horsed a bit as she tried to catch her own breathe from the built in anger.

Taiyang suddenly cracked her eyes opens as the poison finally reached her heart. Her world was still pitch black, she couldn’t see anything. She gurgled blood in like water and felt the excruciating in pain overcoming her body! Her body twitched up in a weird summoning way: her legs and arms jerked back and forth, while her head shook side to side. Her time was ending!

The real reason why Feiyang was there, was to make sure that she saw Taiyang die with her own eyes. That’s just how cruel she is!

Taiji palace;

A few moments later, after paying Taiyang a visit, Feiyang was seen walking into Taiji Hall all in smiles, “Greetings to royal father, his majesty.” She bows elegantly.

“At ease… Ruyang said you saw a male servant entered into Ming Palace to deliver black sesame soup?”

“Yes,” She nods carefully after peeking at Weiting’s back, “I did,” She lied along with Ruyang.

Weiting bit his lips. Liars! He clinched his fists.

Luyang was catching up with the conversation now. She bites her lips as well, listening to everything.

“Was it a servant from the Chan household?”

Feiyang stands tall and comfortable, “… He claimed that he was from the Chan household. But…”

“But what?”

Ruyang glared from the side secretly; was she going to sell Ruyang out to save Weiting?

“But… I’m not sure if he was really from the Chan household.”

Ruyang knew that Feiyang was trying to protect Weiting and took in a deep breath. She needed to be prepare for any backstabbing between them two.

“Why do you say that?” The Emperor asked.

“Yes! Be honest!” The Empress flickered her mood on and off. “Ruyang, your sister’s, life depends on it.”

The Emperor watched as Feiyang smiled and noticed a mysterious feeling she gave off. But then again, that’s who Feiyang is. So the Emperor brushed it off his shoulders for now. Feiyang could feel the pinning look Ruyang was giving to her from the side and smirks.

“I don’t know, all I remember the servant claimed that he was from the Chan household.”

“Impossible!” Luyang jumped into the conversation with a deep expression. “Royal father! I believe in Weiting! He wouldn’t do such a thing!” She fought in his defense.

The Emperor also thought the same.

Weiting was glad to see Luyang stand up for him. It released a few steps of stress for him to know that someone believed him.

“Someone is trying to set Weiting up! If he really wanted to kill Taiyang, he wouldn’t wait until now to do it-- and the plan itself, isn’t something he would plan out. Think about it, it’s too of an easy route!”

“Because it’s an easy route, wouldn’t you think he will play it out?” The Empress rolls her eyes.

“No! Weiting is from a loyal background of generals who has served Zhao State for many generations! I believe in him that he would never do such an evil thing! Besides, he didn’t even know what black poison is until today…”

“He didn’t know?” The Emperor whispered and Ruyang bit her lips.

He didn’t know? Ruyang and Feiyang had underestimated their plans a little.

“With what proof?” The Empress attacked Luyang. “He could be lying about not knowing it…”

Luyang couldn’t provide any proof that Weiting didn’t know about the poison. She stood at the side biting her own lips, staring at Weiting, trying to think of something to help him.

But! There was not enough evidence to frame it on Weiting. The Emperor knew him very well, and didn’t want to punish the wrong person. He truly believed in Weiting.

“Your majesty, if you shall give me 3 days, I will find the culprit and send him to you as my proof.” Weiting begs for an opportunity to prove his innocence.

“… What use is it?” He wanted to cry. “Taiyang is dying.”

“Royal father!” Luyang steps up, “Me and Weiting will find the murder if you give us the order!!”

Suddenly a servant rushes into the hall, “Your majesty! Bad news!”

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s the crown princess! Something is happening to her! Physician Ke Chi told me to come get you all!”

“What!?” Everyone gasped.