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As the hour of the tiger was nearing its end, the Emperor set his teacup down and finally turned to one of his closest retainers. With a voice neither hurried nor slow, he inquired, “what seems to be the matter?”
The latter had a pale face, he closely observed. Quickly raising those sleeves to his face as if to conceal them, his retainer answered, “i–it’s just that… Lady Lishu has relayed a message of her desire to become Your Majesty's consort.”
At that, he lifted a curious brow. If he was not mistaken, wasn’t she one of his late father’s consorts? Though his hardened expression of stoicism hardly changed a fraction, deep down he felt the knots at his stomach tightening. It was too early in the morning to be recalling such a discomforting subject.
Till to this day, he questioned his late father’s preference to young girls. But most of the time, he'd push this certain thought to the very depths of his mind. Turning his face sideways as to also hide such an undignified display in front of his retainer, he continued a little further, “did she voice this in person or was it her servant?”
From the corner of his eyes, he could see his retainer standing with shaky hands and knees. He let out a sigh, already knowing what that meant. “It’s her, Your Majesty,” was the latter’s response which only confirmed more of his assumption.
Still, the notion of it baffled him. Neither of them showed interest in the other or rather, they were complete strangers with close family ties for that matter. So why would she–
It was then he remembered. The repeated moments that he often witnessed in passing and from afar; the sight of a young girl running up to someone with a flower in hand. A series of giggles filled the airy silence and a gleeful smile on her face. In front of her was a lady much taller and older than herself, his Crown Princess then and now Pure Consort.
Ah Duo. And in those brief yet several memories of his, she sat tall with a proud and regal air to her. It was to be expected of her as a former Crown Princess. Her smile even carried the same weight, but he knew then and now that there was more to it. The kind of smile she’d only reserve for a close few and that smile, he was very certain, had motherly tones to them.
As that little one struggled to stand on her toes, Ah Duo leaned down to the height she could reach. The girl’s smile grew once she took some steps back and saw the flower being pinned firmly in his consort’s head. Ah Duo smiled more as well as she looked fondly at the latter and her hand carefully touched the flower.
The very picture of a mother and a daughter. One that he couldn’t quite forget.
‘It’s not me she wants, but Ah Duo,’ the Emperor mused to himself.
After a while of short contemplation and reasoning, he turned his attention to the retainer before him. “Then, so be it,” was his response to the whole matter.
“B–But, Your Majesty. With due respect, she’s your–”
With a wave of his hand, he interrupted, “my decision is final.”
“As… As you wish.”
As he stood up from his seat, the Emperor had his back turned to his retainer. Whichever expression his face had; he didn’t want to show it to him nor to anyone else. But as he did so, all he could think of in that moment was…
‘Even if Ah Duo continues to pretend, she still grieves over our child. With this, may it ease some of her pains…’