PLEASE BE WARNED! THIS CHAPTER IS SENSITIVE.

Chapter 59

Court Lady Nam
The Palace

Rows of the surviving assassins who intruded into the grand palace were lined before the stairs that led into the dragon palace. They all had their hands tied at their back and were on their knees. Many died due to poisoning while some managed to run away. The true happenings of all the events, everyone was not really sure of as of yet as it had been only an hour since order started to manifest.

"You dared to infiltrate my palace! How dare Gurio do such a stupid thing!" The emperor sliced the neck of the traitor in front of him that sent his head flying into the air. "Huài dōng xi," he cursed.

It was only the hour of the tiger. (3 am-5 am) However, Court Lady Nam had the experience to know that this day was already inauspicious.

Gurio was an arrogant nation that had been having problems with the Nevorian generals at the outskirts. They fought over the river they had peacefully shared with Nevoria over the years.

This resulted in the emperor sending General Shen to represent him at the outskirts and restore order. But everyone was already emotional, and Gurio was even claiming the land of Nevoria as theirs, chasing away the Nevorians. After that, the emperor sent his military servicemen to kill anyone of Gurio trespassing on the land of Nevoria.

Due to that, probably, Gurio decided to retaliate by sending men to wreck the Grand Palace as their revenge. When a palace was attacked it was the women who the traitors liked to bully, to kill the harem was to kill the hope of the nation, the seed of the nation's future they would carry by womb.

Thus, many were killed in Hougong and some kidnapped. It was a way of shaming the emperor and setting a mockery for his name.

"Report!" A palace guard ran in and knelt before the dragon.

"Have you found her?"

"No, Your Majesty. We suspect she was taken along with Concubine Pi, Consort Wang, and a few other concubines. But she was definitely not part of the killed women of the harem. Apparently, a wagon was seen in the darkness of the night leaving the Capital."

"Leave the Capital? The gates are supposed to be closed until later on!"

"The gates were infiltrated, Your Majesty. So many places they bribed over the months."

"For the love of money?" The emperor was losing it by the minute. "I feed you all and make sure you are a prosperous nation and you repay me with this?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" His entourage begged.

"Take my orders!" He commanded Eunuch Nam.

Her brother bowed before His Liege, nervous as always.

"Summon all the palace guards to do countless rounds, searching for Li Lian. They must not stop until they find her, you hear me?" He clunked the sword against the floor as if it would pierce it. "Where is the Grand Palace Guard? Luo Meng? Where is he hiding? This is his duty!"

The last time Luo Meng was seen was when it was his birthday. Luo Meng was like that all the time, a dog that liked to wander around and disappear to here and there, if he was strolling and saw a butterfly, be it a rat or a snake, he would curiously chase after it until he got bored and decided to come back home.

His Majesty knew this, that is why he had not asked for him all this while, but now that he was needed; his agitation could penalise Luo Meng of his job if he was found to be not having a good excuse for his missing in action.

"Call out the servicemen, General Feng! You will search the whole of the Capital and even more men must go out of the Capital walls. Day and night you shall search for her and not stop!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Call out everyone to be doing something. No one must rest until I find my concubine. All of the monks, shamans, wake the whole temple. Every creature that believes in God must kneel and cry to the heavens for her to be found. Write thousands of scriptures and use your blood as ink until Li Lian is found if you must."

"Your Majesty, Concubine Pi is also missing and she carries the royal―"

"Who cares!" The sword instantaneously rested on the eunuch who came with the report, shutting him up. "Li Lian is the priority at this moment, and if you will not find her by the next morning, there will be bloodshed to pay."

"This servant is wrong!" The eunuch wailed as he fell to the ground in plea.

"All of them!" His Majesty pointed to the traitors. "They must die a slow and painful death. Bring out the large pots and steam them to death." He casually stabbed one of them into the chest. "Make sure the pot has ankle-deep water and they must have their feet boiled until they can't stand anymore, so that they will kneel, and cry until they can not kneel anymore, thus they shall sleep in their blood drenched waters for death. I want them to smell their flesh as it rots, their blood as it steams, and see their flesh become stew. Cook them alive and feed them to the dogs!"

Court Lady Nam felt the hairs on her neck stand as he said those words. This was why people were afraid of him. This beastly side. For the past months, he had become calmer, more human and forgiving but now... It all made her feel chilly and convulsed with goosebumps. The winds of the sorrows that were about to befall the palace clipped her to the core.

His Majesty threw away the dragon sword and paced into the dragon palace. When inside, he kind of lost balance but managed to hold himself back against the wall of the passageway. His breath charged the air and he anxiously hyperventilated.

Court Lady Nam turned to the entourage and waved so that they could give them space. They could not see him acting this way. She had to protect him and his integrity.

The nearest room was his studying place. She opened the door and went back to help him walk.

"Your Majesty, please." She accompanied him as he slowly trudged along.

His shoulders were slumped and his eyes in a mournful state. There was so much you could say about his demeanor. Empty, hopeless, afraid.

She had seen him like this before. It was not the first time. His father's death had been the first.

She was quick to close the door and that was when he let up. Hollow chest cries were pronounced as he hit his chest, his pain deep, but unable to be expressed.

It's like his emotions had nowhere to go because they were there to haunt him. So even though he tried to be calm, his unbearable pain was not letting him, leaving him in a panicked frenzy. He fell down, lying on his stomach as he clawed the floor.

"Not when I just found her... Not when I just got her back..."

Court Lady Nam had the desire to share comforting words, but it was not her place. She was just a servant and at all times she was supposed to know her place. On such occasions, His Majesty was unpredictable.

A knock on the door.

"Yu'er! It is Muqin. Open the door and tell me what is happening."

Court Lady Nam stepped from the door she rested on, opened it, and whispered. "Your Highness."

"Is he inside?"

She widened the door for Grand Consort Shu. This gave the leeway for Grand Consort Shu to stumble in like a mother hen after her stolen chick.

"Yu'er, why are you like this? You are the emperor!" She knelt beside him. "Get yourself together."

He heaved for air and anxiously coughed, struggling to breathe. Tension grew on his limbs, his breath becoming shallow and even more rapid. And with time, they turned into gasps. At any moment he could faint.

Court Lady Nam ran to take his other side and they both lifted him from the floor, helping him kneel.

"Breathe, Yu'er, breathe. Don't think, just breathe." They rhythmically patted his back for feeling and sensation. "You are alive. You will make it. Think of something happy. Me and you. Just don't think too much."

His ribs heaved like ropes were tied around him, straining and absolute frenzy. And all they could do was rub his back and try to fan the air for him.

It was only a while later that he finally spoke, appearing a bit calm.

"I feel... so sick..."

"You are not sick. You are strong. You are healthy. You are my son, after all. Very strong."

His breath slowed down and his face seemed to gain back a little color under the candlelight.

"Muqin..." Pain smeared his face. "It is all my fault."

"Nothing is your fault." She hugged him using her one hand. "Why would you say such words?"

"I could have protected her. I could have done something."

"The situation was beyond anyone's comprehension."

"Yes... but it took me four years to find her before, how many shall it take me now?"

Grand Consort Shu looked up to blink away the tears in her eyes but failed as many of them streamed on her face. She was trying her best to be strong, to be a mother, but her pain and misery was evident. She too, was afraid, clouded with the same question everyone had.

Where was Li Lian?

S.V