The internal attendants delivered a cup of wine and presented it to Yu He. Concubine Yan was shocked.
The Emperor spoke coldly, “Repeated rumour becomes a fact and public opinion is enough to obscure the truth. More so in the palace. Since there is a rumour about Yu He being Emperor Yang’s prince, regardless of whether it is the truth, there is no place left for you. Concubine Yan is Emperor Yang’s daughter and she has already suffered. With you serving her, it will just add more trouble. Drink this cup of wine as your loyalty to Concubine Yan.”
Concubine Yan kneeled in front of the Emperor. “Your Majesty! Yu He has served me for so many years but has never made a mistake. Please be magnanimous, Your Majesty!”
“Concubine Yan, I am doing this for your sake. As long as Yu He dies, the rumours will disappear and you won’t have to suffer the indignance. I will treat you well in the future and always protect you.” The Emperor was stern. “Yu He, what are you waiting for?”
Yu He slowly picked up the cup of wine. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” He turned to look at Concubine Yan. “Take care, Your Highness, I will be going first!”
Concubine Yan suddenly crawled up and rushed to knock over the wine. She hugged Yu He and bawled, “I don’t agree to this! I will never agree!”
The Emperor was not surprised. After all, the rumour that Yu He was a prince of the previous dynasty could not have been made out of nothing. Moreover, to Concubine Xi, who has lost her son, she would not stand to gain anything from hurting Concubine Yan. The Emperor knew that this was most likely not a lie.
“In this world, it is not sworn kinship that is easiest to bring to light. It is true flesh and blood. Concubine Yan, you have accompanied me for so long, have you never forgotten the already lost Sui Dynasty?” His heart turned cold. He suddenly thought of the favour that he had shown her, other than the title of Empress, she had everything equivalent to the Empress.
Concubine Yan placed everything at stake and looked straight at the Emperor. “If Great Tang is destroyed, would you forget Great Tang? Would you forget the Great Tang royal blood that flows in you?”
“But you are my concubine, you are a mother of my prince! All these years, I have...treated you…” The Emperor suddenly grabbed his chest, his face filled with pain.
Concubine Yan was shocked and did not know how to react.
The Emperor looked at the cup of tea on his table before looking at Chief Cao in disbelief.
Chief Cao was calm and composed. “His Majesty’s arthritis has blown up again. It seems like it is more serious this time. I am afraid that it would be difficult for him to wake up.”
“Cao Yangde, I have never treated you poorly, you...you…” The Emperor swiped the tea cup but Chief Cao nimbly caught it.
“Your Majesty has treated me well. However, the one that I am indebted to is the emperor of the previous dynasty. On Emperor Yang’s travels, he saved me as I was about to starve to death. Although it was a casual instruction for him, he saved my life and I was able to enter the palace. I had food to eat and clothes to wear. I could even study along with the other internal attendants. To me, this was kindness that gave me a new lease of life. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to repay him before he was killed. When Chang’an was invaded, I was just a small internal attendant. Hence, I was able to stay in the palace to continue serving. However, I have always wished for my benefactor’s children and grandchildren to take over the palace once again and restore it to its former glory. Today, it is finally time.” Chief Cao remained polite, “Your Majesty, you should rest.”
“Great Tang is supported by heaven, the violent Sui...dream on…” The Emperor’s head tilted as he fell to the side of his throne, unmoving.
Ganlou Palace fell silent. All of sudden, there was a clatter. The internal attendant that had served the poison wine to Yu He was still around. He took a few steps back in fright. He turned, wanting to escape. Concubine Yan was faster than him and Yu He had a murderous intent. The both of them surrounded the internal attendant. One of them covered his mouth while the other strangled him. Very soon, the internal attendant stopped breathing.
It was only then that Concubine Yan felt the fear and fell to the ground. She looked at the motionless Emperor.
Chief Cao walked up to help her. “Your Highness, His Majesty had already decided to kill Yu He. However, he did this out of love for you and did not want things to spread and ruin Your Highness’ name. That is why other than us today, the other internal attendants and guards were instructed to stay far away. This is Your Highness’ blessing and Great Sui’s fate.”
Concubine Yan’s voice trembled, “Is...he dead?”
Chief Cao smiled, “He is still alive. He is just on the brink of death.”
Yu He spoke, “Your Highness, things didn't turn out as we expected and it is too late to be scared. We can only adapt.”
Concubine Yan took a deep breath as her eyes turned sharp. She slowly walked to the Emperor’s side, touching his face. Sorrow and determination fought in her eyes.
Chief Cao and Yu He hid the internal attendant’s body.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…” Concubine Yan suddenly raised her voice, “Men! His Majesty has fainted from his arthritis attack! Men!”
She loved him but had to choose between love or her country.
Chapter 90.1: Justice
The Emperor suddenly fell seriously ill and everyone in the harem was worried. All the concubines wanted to visit him. However, Concubine Yan naturally did not allow them to meet the Emperor. She instructed the internal attendants to prevent anyone from entering. However, not everyone listened obediently. A newly promoted concubine had just received the Emperor’s favour and she had a huge character. She made noise about wanting to see the Emperor and raged at the internal attendants. Concubine Yan was notified.
Concubine Yan walked out and got everyone to leave in a few sentences. Li Baolin had always had a clear view and was adaptable to things. She was the last one to go and the first one to leave. She was about to hurry back to her Huayin Palace when she heard Concubine Yan ask the concubine to stay behind. Similar to others, she stopped to watch the show.
Concubine Yan ordered for the new concubine to be slapped forty times. The concubine got slapped so hard that she even lost a few teeth. It was a pitiful sight.
Everyone was panic-stricken.
Concubine Yan, however, smiled and said that she has always been kind. But now that the Emperor has handed the harem over to her to manage, she had to be accountable to the Emperor. She was going to control all those that did not follow the rules and hoped that everyone would be able to understand and help her out. She made it sound good but she was actually even more cruel than the Empress. Although the concubine’s status was low, she was still the Emperor’s woman. Even though the late Empress was strict, she would never easily punish people.
Everyone forced a smile and only after Concubine Yan left did everyone dare to leave.
Li Baolin had vaguely heard from others that Concubine Yan was extremely scary when she was fierce and she seemed like an entirely different person from before. However, she did not think that Concubine Yan was like a different person. Most likely, Concubine Yan had suppressed and hid her real personality deeply and now she could finally show her true self.