Red String Part 2

Part 2

He knew that his official position was bestowed by the emperor because she wanted it. This official position was designed to guard the court. She wanted to let him stay at her side. He clearly remembered the night he was given the official position. Next to a Camellia tree inside the imperial garden, she looked coldly at him. She said, “Don’t think about leaving me this whole life. Because this is what you owe me. This is what you all owe my imperial father!”

She pulled off a few petals of the Camellia and fiercely kneaded them. A red juice flowed out as if her hand was full of blood. He knew she hated him. She hated everyone, everyone who was a coward and escaped, including herself.

His right hand unconsciously bent. He didn’t know whether that red string was still on his little finger.

—

Consort Rong implying glorious and flourishing. Perhaps it was the blessing of this name that the country had peace for several years. The emperor pampered this princess of the past dynasty very much. As long as she wanted it, the emperor would try to find it for her. A luxurious palace, numerous palace maids, beautiful clothes and splendid jewels. All of this was in order to win a smile like flowers from consort Rong.

Consort Rong also didn’t let the pampering of the emperor down. She became more and more enchanting. She had the youth and beauty to get the things she wanted. And the her of now had also learned the wisdom and means to please the emperor.

Regardless whether it was on outings or at the palace banquets, at the emperor side, there would always be the young and beautiful consort Rong. The emperor listened more and more to her. In just three short years, the officials who betrayed the past dynasty had been executed by the emperor because of consort Rong’s persuasion. Among them was one general who had killed consort Rong’s empress mother. He had been sentenced with the death of thousand cuts and all his ninth generation had been executed because of a baseless crime of defrauding the emperor.

On the day of the execution, the emperor brought consort Rong to watch the whole process. The general who had been sentenced screamed. He glared at consort Rong and cursed, “You, this demoness. You won’t have a good ending!”

Consort Rong cried weakly in the emperor’s arm. She couldn’t help herself from trembling violently. This caused the pity of the emperor. He quickly protected her in every way possible and was worried that she couldn’t stand such a bloody scene. However, he knew how she looked over the shoulder of the emperor and looked while she sneered at the man who died from torturing. In her eyes burned fire. It was a fire that was more charming than the most unique peony, the fire of vengeance.

—

There had also been an official who spoke out to the emperor to let him stay away from the root of the past dynasty and don’t let the consorts of the harem interfere with the court. The next day, a decree was sent to that official. He was bestowed a cup of poisonous wine. Before dying, the official left a suicide note saying that if this demonic enchantress isn’t removed a day, there won’t be peace at court.

From that day on, the reputation of the demonic enchantress was spread. She became the ghost of the past dynasty and swallowed today’s dynasty. However, consort Rong didn’t care. She still had hair black as cloud and red lips like water. The red mole under her eyes was so beautiful that it appeared out of this world. Thousand words from the officials couldn’t be compared to the feigning of anger or a seductive glance from her.

—

Now, sitting in the banquet hall, she leaned against the emperor like a little bird. From time to time those white and soft hands would offer the emperor rich wine. The emperor was drunk; drunk from the wine, drunk from glory, drunk from her beauty. The emperor clung to consort Rong and kissed her delicate neck without any care. She laughed, laughed so much that she swayed. She laughed arrogantly. Her eyes swayed and looked at him who was downside. There was provocation and ridicule in her eyes. What else was there?

He was expressionless as if he didn’t see anything. He knew that his blood was flowing in the opposite direction. His heart hurt very much, and his anger was surging like waves.

He clenched his fists. He didn’t know who he hated.

—

The night was cool as water. The hanging lanterns shed red tears in the autumn wind.

He kept watch outside her palace. This was one of his duties. He watched the emperor held her every night inside that curtained palace. Then, he used the coldness of the midnight to numb his consciousness. Also, consort Rong would always go out the palace alone at midnight. She would walk to the railing not far from him. The long hair was scattered and blocked her expression. He didn’t know what she was looking at or whether she was crying, laughing or feeling cold.

The space of the two people was always used to torture each other.

She was silent. He was also silent. Sometimes, she would walk to him and stare at him fixedly. She wouldn’t say anything and just reached out to touch his brow. The right hand which slowly descended along the contour of his cheek was almost transparent and shivered slightly. The moonlight infiltrated her eyes. At that moment, she became very fragile. All her sorrow and pain were reflected in her eyes. He wanted to hold her, but his hands wouldn’t move. The two were deadlocked like this. Finally, it would always end with her departure. He knew that when the sun came out, she would again  be that seductive and vicious consort Rong.

The little finger of his right hand suddenly became painful like it was being pulled by a thin string.

—

Consort Rong, the pampered consort of this dynasty’s emperor, the princess of the past emperor. There was a small red mole beneath her eyes. She was so beautiful that she didn’t appear like a human. She was so beautiful that it was unlucky. So beautiful that she appeared like a demoness. When the commoners talked about her, they would usually describe her like that. How beautiful was consort Rong? They didn’t know, but they knew that consort Rong was a bad woman. The emperor liked consort Rong. So, he spent a lot of money to make her happy. And this money was the result of their hard work every year.

However, she must be a very beautiful woman. Because didn’t she after all have a red beauty spot?

He knew that the red mole beneath her eye was a mole of tears. It was the sign of melancholy. The her of the past was a girl who liked to cry. Even the flowers that had been plucked would make her in tears. After becoming consort Rong, he didn’t see tears fell from her again. Consort Rong cried a lot. When a beauty cries it was like raindrops on a pear blossom and it always made the emperor more trustful of her and loved her more. However, he knew that those weren’t tears. Those were empty emotions, insincerity and a pretense.

He didn’t know when her tears would fall again. And by that time, for who would it be?