LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 89
The evening night was cold inside the home she had just moved in. How many days has it been? No more than three? A crash sounded not too far from her bedroom, frightening her awake.
Sitting up on the bed, Ae Cha stared into the dark. “Is anyone out there?”
But no answer came. Frowning, she called again, and this time there was a spilling sound.
Getting up from the bed, she wrapped herself in a robe and walked towards the door. Opening the door, she looked around, but there was no one. A few candles were lit in the distance, but she could barely see with them.
“Where are you all?” She called, but again there was no answer.
Taking three steps down the hallway, she stopped in her steps. Her brows rose as she looked at the body laying on the floor. She walked up to it and as she bent down to shake it, her gaze was caught by the sight of the bodies laying near it.
Covering her mouth as panic and fright enveloped her. She wanted to scream, but to who? Who would help her? They were in the middle of nowhere, and only her family knew where she was.
Who could have done this?
The guards, the servants?
Who killed them?
Rushing out of the hallway, she appeared in the garden where more bodies were littered about but with those bodies, a fire to her right was raging and in the middle of the courtyard stood someone pulling a sword out of the body it was impaled in.
She gasped, catching his attention. He turned to look at her and smiled.
“Who are you?” She asked. “Have you no fear of the Emperor? Do you know who I am?”
The person was a little older than Tian Cao but she didn’t know who he was? Why would someone so young be here? Killing at will?
Bowing to her, “It seems I’ve disturbed your sleep, Consort Kwon, forgive me.”
“So you know who I am? Who are you?” She demanded.
“No one but a messenger,” he said.
“Messenger?” she questioned. “Who sent you?”
“You’re impatient consort.”
She scoffed, but it was only for show. The boy had an off look in his eyes and the longer she stared at him; the unfamiliarity grew less. “Where have I seen you before?”
“That doesn’t matter, Consort Kwon.”
“It doesn’t?”
He hummed as he came nearer. “I will be the last person you see in this lifetime.”
Her eyes widened as her heart sank, “You—you, how dare you threaten me! I am His Majesty’s consort. Do you think you will get away with this?”
Stopping on the step, not far from her, he smiled, “His Majesty’s daughter sent me.”
She frowned. It wasn’t her Yerim, so who… Youxia? She looked at him again. “You’re that boy from prison. Who did you get out?”
He stabbed the sword into her stomach, then pulled it out and watched the life in her eyes leave as her blood pooled at his feet.
*
Staring at Youxia, who was smiling at the blank parchment she just received, she frowned. “Ah-Xia, what is it? What’s so interesting about that parchment?”
Moving her hands to the candle, she lit the paper on fire. Haeun thought there would be a message showing once she moved it to the fire. It was a method of secrecy that she used before, but to her surprise, there was nothing.
Her frown deepened as they watched the parchment sitting in an ashtray now burnt to ash.
She turned to her mother with a tired smile and shook her head. “It’s nothing but a love letter.”
“A love letter?” she questioned. “The only one who loves you is your brother, so who is this from?”
She sighed, thinking about her brother. “You know, mother, I pity Ah-Cao. I hope he finds someone who’ll appreciate him.”
“I thought you’d appreciate my son,” she scoffed.
“I would have if the circumstances were different, but I don’t think that I can love him in this lifetime.”
“Not everyone can wait for the next lifetime, Ah-Xia.”
“Do you hate me?” She asked.
Haeun looked at her surprised, “No, I pity you. You have two men as parents and an uncertain destiny. Your biggest problem is that you take after both of those men. If you were raised in the palace since birth, then maybe you would have had a chance of living a normal royal woman’s life, but we can’t say that anymore. Soon you’ll leave us to live with the Lekranian’s but as your father said, you deserve a life suited for you.”
Youxia looked at Haeun with the strangest gaze and a smile. “I wonder what’s he like.”
“Who?”
“My husband.” She answered and stared back at the candle flame that was dancing.
*
Changling was walking around in Youxian’s chamber throwing Xian Ling into the air who was giggling. He loved the attention he got from his parents, especially from the man who was always dressed in shiny clothing.
Youxian was reading a book minding his business. With the palace being empty and free of drama, but Changling was still a problem in his life. Looking over the book at his husband, he smiled. ‘At least he’s a good father.’
A soldier came rushing in and knelt down in front of Changling, “Your Majesty, something terrible happened.”
Changling looked at the man, then at Youxian, who climbed off the bed. He took Xian Ling from his father.
“What is it? What happened?”
“Consort Kwon, the guards and the servants were all killed.”
Youxian, who was leaving the chamber, heard this and stopped. He turned to look at Changling and saw the dread on his face. What happened to the drama free days?