Oh ya. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but Xi Liang = Western Liang. I kept it as Xi Liang cause I thought it had a nicer ring to it.
IDK, would you guys prefer to convert the names of places to their English meanings (when possible) or keep them in the original Chinese form? Eg: Autumn Mountains vs Qiu Mountains vs Qiu Shan.
To everyone who survived the first few chapters and made it here… here’s to a couple of light-hearted chapters ^^
Chapter Fifteen
Yuncang: Xi Liang.
An exquisitely made antique bed; swathes of silk curtains; a row of landscape paintings; swirling mists lingering from the burning incense; a room full of men and women kneeling on the floor, dressed in period costumes like those commonly seen on television.
What happened last night was not a dream?
She had time-travelled to another space-time?
This was… Xi Liang?
Except, she recalled that only her soul would be transported to this era. So, whose body was her soul residing in? Earlier, someone had cried that Consort Nian had revived… the original owner of this body was the Emperor's wife?
Wait. That person had shouted that Consort Nian had revived… did that mean that the original Consort Nian was already dead?
She had time-travelled into a dead woman's body?
Zhu Qi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to wrap her mind around the series of incomprehensible events which had just occurred. Rising, she stood barefooted by the bedside and glanced at the roomful of kneeling servants.
'I wanted to ask…'
All right.
There was no one left in the room; everyone had bolted in fright.
'Hello? Blue-eyed man…?' Anxiously, she called into the empty room.
'What is it?' The voice which answered came from beside her ear, startling her as she stumbled backwards.
'Where are you?' She said as she raised her hands, grasping blindly at thin air.
'I'm still in your original world.'
'What's going on here? Does this body really belong to the Emperor's wife?'
'She is the daughter of Minister Nian. Her name is Nian Xuanji, and she was recently chosen to enter the imperial palace as an imperial consort. Shortly before your soul entered her body, she had just been forced by the Queen Mother to commit suicide by hanging herself.'
'She was sentenced to death after having just entered the palace?' Zhu Qi said in disbelief, then her heart sunk. 'She is dead already, isn't she?'
'Zhu Qi, at the exact moment when Consort Nian's body died, your body also perished in the modern world. I switched your souls around. Now, the soul that has been collected by the Underworld belongs to the original Consort Nian.'
Zhu Qi recalled the image of her mutilated body displayed in the Future mirror and the blood which pooled on the streets. A shiver of fear slid down her spine, when anger, abrupt and sudden, jolted her out of her thoughts.
'She died in my place? How could you do that!'
The voice sneered, 'You should be more worried about yourself. The Queen Mother wants you dead, yet you are still alive!'
These words reminded her of the fact that the Empress Dowager still wanted her life! Survival instincts kicking in, she quickly asked, 'What about the Emperor? Doesn't he care?'
'Don't you know? It's because of the Emperor that the Queen Mother wants you dead. The previous Emperor died at a young age, and the reigning Emperor ascended the throne as a child. For years, the Queen Mother has governed the court on his behalf. It was only recently when the Emperor married his Empress did the Queen Mother return him his authority to govern, as per the wishes of the late Emperor.'
'But what does this have to do with her killing Consort Nian?' Her brows furrowed in her perplexity.
'This young Emperor has been said to be scholarly and refined, simple and guileless. Before his marriage to the Empress, he only had a few concubines.'
'Isn't that a good thing?'
'What's bad is that on the day the Emperor married the Empress, he also took three other women as his consorts. Zhu Qi, on the day of his wedding, the Emperor should have spent the night with the Empress, yet he chose to summon Consort Nian to his rooms.'
The more she listened, the further her heart sank. 'I don't understand. Just because of this, the Queen Mother wants her dead?'
'The Queen Mother's niece, Wen Huamin, also married the Emperor to be his consort. What do you think? Of course, this is only one of the many reasons. Xi Liang's political arena is complicated, the relationships between its power players complex. You should slowly understand it yourself.'
And you brought me here?
Almost immediately, another question came to mind. 'But surely the Queen Mother can't possibly sentence Consort Nian to death without rhyme or reason? And based on what you've said, the Emperor should favour this Consort Nian, so why did he not save her…'
The man interrupted, 'She was accused of poisoning the Queen Mother. As for the Emperor, he is currently away at the Autumn Mountains. You can start praying for your life.'
'Poisoning,' she murmured, and abruptly jolted back to her senses. 'What? The Emperor is not even in the palace?'
The man's mysterious presence had completely faded from the room.
Eyes widening, she said in disbelief, 'You - are - gone?'
At this moment, the flurry of activities outside her room seemed to magnify tenfold. From the swift footsteps, it appeared that dozens of people were heading towards her room.
Heart thumping uneasily, Zhu Qi hurriedly lifted her long skirts off the ground and rushed towards the window frame, where she extended a finger to prod a hole at the paper windows, revealing a glimpse of the world beyond her rooms.
Outside, it was a courtyard adorned with rows of blossoming flowers, a breathtaking sight. But she had neither the time nor the mood to appreciate this view now, for gathered within the courtyard was a crowd of men and women, likely eunuchs and servants.
At the front end of the courtyard was a large entrance where an imperial palanquin, escorted by numerous servants and guards, was currently entering. The palanquin, covered with thin silk, hid the individual sitting within it from view.
At once, Zhu Qi deduced that this new arrival must be the Empress Dowager, and a mounting fear gripped her.
Frantic, she called for the blue-eyed man once more but her pleas were met with silence. As she recalled all the time-travelling novels that she had read in the past, she was seized with a sudden determination: no matter how talentless and ordinary she was, she could not possibly allow herself to be killed in Xi Liang having just escaped the clutches of death in the modern world!
You said to save myself, so now… I can't sit and wait for my death!
Quickly appraising the room, her eyes zoomed in on another small window by the corner, and possibilities for escape flashed across her mind.
Hurrying over, she pushed opened the windows to reveal a silver of the world beyond.
Zhu Qi offered a prayer to the Heavens: her life and death depended on this one small moment. Clenching her jaw, she peered out of the window to see a winding corridor that extended far beyond the rooms. This room had separated the courtyard into two halves, and this corridor appeared to lead to the back half of the courtyard. From afar, she saw one lone female servant walk past.
There was no time to lose.
Zhu Qi flung open the windows and quickly scrambled over it. That young female servant had just walked over, and upon seeing her, said in alarm, 'Consort Nian…'
Her voice was swiftly silenced.
Zhu Qi placed the unconscious servant down on the floor and immediately lifted her skirts, running for her life. The gravel on the floor stabbed painfully into her bare feet, but she ignored the pain, suddenly overwhelmed with relief for the few years of karate she had learned in her school years. If not for that, the consequences would be unimaginable…
Exiting the corridor, she saw another small door. Without thinking, she rushed over, pushing the door open.
Beyond the door was another enormous compound shrouded with beautiful flowers, blossoming under the morning's sun, another enchanting view.
Zhu Qi smiled bitterly. Where was this?
Without reason, a wave of sadness filled her heart as realisation dawned upon her: no matter the reasons, now, she was merely a powerless woman in Xi Liang who did not have a say in her name, let alone her destiny.
From today onwards, she had to become Nian Xuanji.
Light laughter filled the air. In alarm, Xuanji glanced around to see a few female servants walking over. Bowing her head, she ducked into a small trail shrouded by a canopy of flowers and began running in the opposite direction. Without warning, she ran right into a person.
'Sorry!' She exclaimed, but did not falter in her footsteps.
Yet her wrist was locked within the stranger's firm grasp.
Beads of cold sweat coalesced on her palms; the man's bland voice sounded from beside her ear.
'How dare a servant be so careless and rude? Which palace do you serve?'
Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Xuanji kept her head bowed as she answered the man, 'I am from … palace.'
'What?'
Abruptly, she raised her head, her hand aiming for the man's neck.
Caught off-guard, the man, despite having managed to avoid her sudden attack, could not regain his balance, and staggered backwards to land in an awkward position.
Now, what should she do? She finally met the legendary martial arts of the ancient times.
The man's mocking laughter, crystallising into a promise for retribution, rang through the air.
'Very good.'
She had nowhere to run, so she simply met his gaze head-on.
It was an aristocratic face atop a body dressed in fine blue robes. The man's lips curled into an unpleasant sneer.
'What audacity. Do I look like a person that you can so casually hit?'
This was the imperial courtyard where the Emperor's consorts lived - an ordinary man would never have been able to gain entry to such a place. Moreover, though this man was dressed in everyday clothing, a simply glance revealed the extravagance of his attire.
Xuanji could not guess the man's identity, so she backtracked and said, 'Your Excellency, please be merciful. I have been summoned to Consort Nian's quarters, and in my hurry, I thought that I had met a trespasser…'
The man did not comment, the grip on her wrist tightening a fraction.
'She can't have gone far. Continue searching!'
That shout… it belonged to the imperial guards! Hearing the onslaught of swift footsteps echoing from behind her, Xuanji's heart thrummed with panic once more, and she exclaimed, 'Please release my hand, your Excellency! I have to go over at once. The Queen Mother's decrees are not to be ignored.'
The man scrutinised her face, beautiful even as she paled, before he sneered coldly, 'Aren't you lucky? It just so happens that I have too received word from the Queen Mother and am heading towards Fengjiu Palace as well.'
Hearing these words, panic rose within her. In the next moment, however, she was pulled into the man's embrace, before being dragged into the large rock garden by the side of the courtyard.
His body was tall and formidable, hiding her entire frame from view.
Almost instantly, numerous voices issued from behind them.
'Greetings to…'
'Enough. You can all withdraw. Can't you see that I am busy disciplining a servant? Am I to wait on your accounts?' The man's irritated voice lashed out.
The leader of the guards immediately took the hint, thinking to himself that this young Master was having a private rendezvous with one of the servants, and did not dare to further interrupt. Swiftly, he retreated, leading the other guards away.
Xuanji's forehead was already dotted with beads of cold perspiration. In her relief, her legs trembled and she stumbled, the man's broad palms tightening around her waist.
Startled, she lifted her head to meet his dark gaze.
'You are trying to escape. Who are you?'